We have been very busy!
The first part of our
year was very busy. Because in
Montessori we follow the interests of the children there were lots of different
things going on in our classroom. The following is a brief summary of how we spent the first part of our
school year.
Practical Life
The children have been practising pouring using pitchers
teapots, funnels etc. They have also
been using tools such as scissors, tongs,
hammer and nails and screwdrivers.
Children have also been enjoying weaving activities and sorting
activities. In our classroom everybody
helps with setting the tables, sweeping, vacuuming, scrubbing tables, and
dusting. These activities seem to give
the children real ownership in the classroom.
Sensorial Activities
The children have spent a great deal of time exploring and
creating with our sensorial materials.
The children have been particularly interested in the red rods and have
been building some interesting structures and patterns with them. We have also been spending a great deal of
time using a set of hand bells. We have
been exploring the sounds that the bells
make. We play “repeat after me” with the
bells and we have even formed a “hand bell choir” and learned some simple songs
like row row row your boat and Jingle Bells.
These materials help the children notice and appreciate differences
in shape, size, color, and sound.
Using these materials in many different ways help the children
develop language, math, art and music
skills.
Language Activities
This year there has been a real enthuasium for language
activities. Children have been learning
the sounds that the letters make and then have been building three letter
phonetic words with the moveable alphabet.
We have been using games and songs to practice these skills.
Math Activities
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| Painting Sunflowers |
Art
We did a study of Vincent Van Gogh. We explored painting still life, landscapes
and self portraits. Some of the
children have also been very engaged in sewing.
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| Exploring Landscape painting |
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| Self Portraits |
