Guest author Jeanette Norman

The Montessori Method Part 2

The following is from a page out of one of my binders from when I was training to get my CDA.

Practical Life Skills:

Children learn how to care for themselves and their environment through "practical" work. Children are first taught how to pour water properly and how to clean up with a sponge when any spills occur. When doing pouring activities it can be as simple as pouring from one cup to another or as children progress, lines can be marked on a cup with tape or paint and have the child fill to the line. As soon as they have mastered this, they move on to more complicated activities such as hand washing, dish washing, shoe polishing, and mirror polishing. With each exercise the children are increasing the coordination in their hands and fingers (an extremely important skill needed in writing). As they work on polishing and washing they learn to notice the smallest imperfections in their work (spilled water, spots missed in polishing). This increases their concentration and promotes excellent work habits that they will later use in their academic work.

Sensory Type of Activities:

The sensorial activities help the children to discover the world through their senses. Color tablets are matched, identified, and graded from darkest to lightest. Children match familiar smells such as cinnamon, perfume, and vinegar using smelling cylinders. Different gradations of sound are matched using the sound cylinders. Later the cylinders are put in order from loudest to softest. Knobless cylinders are put in order from thickest to thinnest, tallest to shortest, and largest to smallest. This precise ordering and perception of the world is a skill that is used later for math work.

Language Development:

Children are introduced to letter sounds through the sandpaper letters. They trace each letter as they say its sound ("ssssssss" for "S"). Later they start putting these sounds together to form words with the moveable alphabet, a large set of individual plastic letters. Even children that have trouble writing can spell words with the moveable alphabet if they have learned the letter sounds. At the same time paper, markers, colored and regular pencils, crayons and chalk are provided so that children can constantly use they’re writing and drawing skills to express themselves. Stencils are highly popular for children to trace and many teachers will provide rubber stamps and an inkpad.

Math Learning:

Children learn to identify the numbers 1-9 using sandpaper numbers, just like the sandpaper letters that are used for letter sounds. Many different "manipulatives" such as chips, buttons, and lids are provided to count and to match quantity with the written numeral. As children become more skilled in counting objects they are introduced to addition and subtraction where they use the same manipulatives to figure out their answers. When they have mastered addition and subtraction, multiplication and division are taught, depending on the interest and ability of the child. Here again, the child uses real objects to figure out the answer so that they understand the process that is taking place, not just memorizing formulas.

Geography and the World:

Learning about the world around them. Children are first shown a globe with the landmasses coated with sandpaper and the water painted blue and smooth to the touch. This gives them a tactile introduction to the continents. This is followed by work with the world map puzzle. They learn the names of each continent and note the differences in size and shape. The next step is the individual continent puzzles where the children learn the names and placement for the countries in each continent. Soon the children have a concrete feel for the configuration of their world and where they live in it.


More great Montessori books: