The children above are working with one of the Dressing Frames and the Numerals and Counters material. It was a wonderful cooperative experience this week as both have been shown these materials and were working together, helping each other with each job. “It was so interesting to hear the conversation between them,” said Elizabeth.
The work being done above, organizing creatures according to what they eat, is one of the Montessori cultural materials older Casa children can work with, and it helps in preparation for their move to the elementary level. This material always promotes discussion as the children use the pictures as clues to aid in their sorting. This type of work also invokes a great degree of concentration.
This was a big event for this student this week as she finally reached the point where she was ready to make her own map. These are beautiful moments of pride and accomplishment for the children, plus they are continuing to develop their fine motor control. It is also excellent, indirect preparation for later geography studies.
The past week also saw some work with the silent “e” exercise. If you’ve read each room’s updates lately, you will know that this work continues into Upper Elementary. This material allows the children to see the word with the short vowel sound, read it out loud, add the silent “e” , and then see the change in the word and how it sounds.
“This work helps when they get into their own written work,” said Elizabeth. “I say, what needs to come at the end of that, and it come back to them.”
Books are a big part of the Casa East environment. Reading is, of course, encouraged and a valuable activity, but books also provide opportunities for social interaction. “Of course, I do have to break it up eventually,” Elizabeth says.
Squeezing a Sponge may seem like a simple activity, but it helps to build strength in the hand necessary for later writing, continues fine motor and focus development, and teaches children to follow specific steps and to be careful. Also, as with all such presentations, it is presented and practised from left to right in preparation for later reading and writing.
Above is a great example of natural consequences in Montessori. We use ceramic items because when you drop them, they break, and the mess has to be cleaned up and properly disposed of. The next time this material was used, the girls reminded their peers to be sure to put jug further back on the table.
This student spent his entire morning doing abstract math, showing he is ready for elementary. They are not required to write out the numbers when they work with the 1000 Chain material, but they often want to and the repetition helps instil the numeric sequence in their memory.
“It’s taller than Elizabeth!” he gleefully declared.
Finally this week, please note that the sleepover for the third-year Casa children will take place Friday, June 6, at 3:30 until the morning of Saturday, June 7, when pick up will take place promptly at 9:00 a.m.