Practical Life is the Foundation of the Montessori Classroom

This water transfer activity was a favorite this week. It is a incredible sensory experience for every age. The action of squeezing the baster, helps develop hand muscles and fine motor skills. Carrying this work also takes an incredible amount of concentration and control. We have had a few spills between the shelf and a table, but that only brings the opportunity to clean up a spill after oneself.

Food Preparation

Food preparation has been a large part of our Practical Life classroom. The "egg work" and "banana work" have been staples at our morning snack. Children age 2 1/2 through 5 have displayed satisfaction after completing the multi-step process, including peeling, slicing, eating, and cleaning up for the next person. The children also get a chance to offer what they have prepared to others friends around the room!

We have prepared vegetable trays a few times for morning snack. Here we have a 3 and 5 year old peeling and slicing carrots and cucumbers for their friends.

A full tray lasts a couple days, allowing the children time to experiment with trying new foods. Different protein and dairy based dips have been offered along with these foods, including hummus, cream cheese, and pimento cheese.

The Children Learn to Care for Their Environment

Most of the practical life curriculum is caring for oneself, for others, and for the environment. These children were actually excited to vacuum the carpets in the classroom! We have added vacuuming as a job on our job chart. Using the job chart as a guide, the children take turns completing classroom care responsibilities, which teaches them to be contributing members of a community.

Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue Back in 1492.

At circle time we sang a catchy tune about Christopher Columbus and discussed, using the globe, how Columbus's intent for his exploration west was to find an easier route to India for spices. Of course, going west from Europe, Columbus came across the Americas instead...

With talk of oceans and ships, I thought the children would enjoy some sailing (or should I say "floating") of their own on this dark, damp day in South Carolina.

First we prepared a tub of water.

We cleaned the sand out of a container and scrubbed the inside with sponges. This was a group effort first thing in the morning! It was amazing to see the children all work together and communicate while developing essential practical life skills. 

Then we tested our sails.

We reused a styrofoam egg carton for to base of our ships. At first we utilized old playdough to hold up our scrap paper sails. But soon realized this construction slowly sank our boats. So we opted to eliminate the playdough and sails for the remainder of our exploration.

Continued the Theme in Our Snack

Columbus was gifted three ships to make his journey- the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. So today for snack we had "Three Ships on an Ocean" (celery, raisins, and cream cheese tinted blue for added fun).

Our Picture Day Smiles Light Up the World

"A picture says a thousand words!"

Has Fall Weather Finally Arrived?

I found it funny how I just stated in my last post that it has still been warm here in South Carolina. Only a day later, I'm shivering and wearing a fleece jacket! Has fall weather finally arrived? I sure hope so, because a little bit of chill goes better with all these Fall crafts we've been working on! 

Books, Books, Books. We LOVE Books!

The children have enjoyed the Autumn, leaf, and apple tree themed books in the book corner. Unfortunately, most of them need to be returned to the town library in a few days :( Some of these we'll  really miss- like the Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush. The story progressed through daily activities but ended each verse with, "on a cold and frosty morning", "on a cold and frosty afternoon", and "on a cold and frosty evening". It's not yet frosty here in South Carolina, but we are ready for that change! 

Reading Chapter Books Already!

Last Monday, on the final day of September, we finished our first chapter book of the year! We try to read a chapter each day as we settle down at nap. This adapted version included a picture every few pages which I would show the children, but mainly it was a listening activity. Life lessons were scattered throughout this story and I believe the children really grew to love "Anne Shirley" a.k.a "Anne of Green Gables". I know they grew to love reading chapter books at nap, because they were elated when I brought out the options for our next read!

Over the past week, we discussed the book in small groups. I was truly impressed with how much the children remembered! On their own, they recalled 8-9 events that I had even forgotten! Some of the children were interested in drawing, describing, and writing about their favorite scenes (shown below). Some have even acted out the events, playing different characters!

A three and four year old's drawing and explanation of an event in the book.

A five year old's interpretation of two main events.

Spontaneous Learning In Our Outdoor Classroom

Look what we found!

We are VERY curious!

Making observations.

Last week, we came across a new creature in our outdoor classroom. The children were fascinated and I have never seen such a thing. We discussed the characteristics and through a Google search, concluded it was a "Saddleback Caterpillar". We learned that it has venom in the hairs or "urticating spines" covering its body, that can cause a painful rash on humans and more.

Concerned for the well-being of our school family, the children brainstormed solutions to keep others informed, safe, and alert for these interesting insects in the future. I loved the suggestions a couple of the older children came up with! We settled on making a sign warning others and moving the plant they were eating out of the natural play-scape. Chances are we will come across those Saddleback Caterpillars again, but…

What a great spontaneous lesson for us all! 

Thanks ladies for designing this warning sign!

Learn more about the Saddleback Caterpillar at:

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/medical/saddleback_caterpillar.htm

Bringing the Outside In

We have been collecting "Signs of Fall" and now have these items incorporated into our work cycle!

Here we have a child developing the "pincer grip" by pushing a pin into a pumpkin.

Another child is counting tiny acorns as she moves them from one bowl to the other. 

Here we have a child getting a closer look (with a magnifying glass) at small pinecones.

We also made art with tiny pumpkins we grew at school

First we had to scrub them!

Then, time to decorate!