Over the last few days, I have had the privilege of watching the most beautiful mentoring unfold in the classroom. I am watching as the young children are taking out their new work and are practicing it and then I watch as they show it to the older children. What has been cool is that the older children are watching and listening and then offer to show it back to the child. That is exactly what was happening with the sandpaper letters. When we teach the children their numbers, we do it by touch and sound. One of the first things we do is ask them to wash their hands to sensitize their fingers for the touch experience. We then introduce the numbers, one at a time, in groups of three and show the child how to trace the letter. The act of tracing the letter is about helping them make that mental experience with the number. So, while we are tracing the number, we are also saying, "this is five." This is what I saw unfolding at this table on this particular morning. In the above picture, the child in pink is the older student and the child in purple is the new child. That is one of the most beautiful things about a Montessori classroom. It's the mentoring and how those relationships carry through that make it all worth it.
I have also included a bit of work here as I am sure your children are coming home with beautiful handmade bracelets everyday. It is actually their math work and this is how we have it set up. The yellow cards are called "recipe cards" and have the order in which the children are to choose their ingredients to make their bracelet. I have it set up so that three children at a time may make one. They gather their items in the small wooden bowl. Along with their recipe card, they take their bowl and "ingredients" and proceed to a table to make their bracelet. So much fun to set this up for the children -- and even more fun to watch them count and make!
Over the last few days, I have had the privilege of watching the most beautiful mentoring unfold in the classroom. I am watching as the young children are taking out their new work and are practicing it and then I watch as they show it to the older children. What has been cool is that the older children are watching and listening and then offer to show it back to the child. That is exactly what was happening with the sandpaper letters. When we teach the children their numbers, we do it by touch and sound. One of the first things we do is ask them to wash their hands to sensitize their fingers for the touch experience. We then introduce the numbers, one at a time, in groups of three and show the child how to trace the letter. The act of tracing the letter is about helping them make that mental experience with the number. So, while we are tracing the number, we are also saying, "this is five." This is what I saw unfolding at this table on this particular morning. In the above picture, the child in pink is the older student and the child in purple is the new child. That is one of the most beautiful things about a Montessori classroom. It's the mentoring and how those relationships carry through that make it all worth it. 
I have also included a bit of work here as I am sure your children are coming home with beautiful handmade bracelets everyday. It is actually their math work and this is how we have it set up. The yellow cards are called "recipe cards" and have the order in which the children are to choose their ingredients to make their bracelet. I have it set up so that three children at a time may make one. They gather their items in the small wooden bowl. Along with their recipe card, they take their bowl and "ingredients" and proceed to a table to make their bracelet. So much fun to set this up for the children -- and even more fun to watch them count and make!
Thanks for explaining this - I was curious about the bracelet!
ReplyDeleteGreat way to reinforce their counting!
ReplyDelete