Sensorial exploration is one of the 5 key areas of study in Montessori classrooms. Maria Montessori believed that children learned best when allowed to explore the world through the use of their senses.
Sound jars are one of those traditional #montessori materials that can be easily recreated at home. Simply walk into your kitchen and you have the perfect recipe {ah, see what I did there (0=} for sound jars! Typically discarded materials like old spice jars, baby food jars, or medicine bottles make great DIY sound jars. Search your cupboards or pantry for beans, rice, popcorn kernels, salt, jelly beans, etc and you are ready to make Matching Sound jars! There are many benefits to doing sound jars with your child. The element of "masking" the material in each jar enables your child to isolate the sounds of each material and find its match within a set of jars. This fine-tuning hearing activity strengthens your child's abilities to isolate a sense when it is needed. It also teaches them characteristics of sound such as pitch, tone, and density. As with any Montessori activity, you want to provide a control of error (a self-correcting tool) which is why you see I used colored dot stickers to help S determine if her pairs matched once she finished the activity. I will mention, with a 2.5 year old, and lets be honest probably any age, the desire to match the stickers instead of shaking the jars to listen to the sounds will present itself. This will take several demonstrations by you and encouragement to try on their own and not use the stickers until they are done matching. Also, depending on your child's age and development, you will want to limit the amount of materials your present. For S, I only provided 3 matching pairs as to not overwhelm her. Later, I will introduce another 3 sound jars, apart from the first 3, to further sharpen her skills. Once she masters the activities, then I can combine all of the jars to offer a challenge. As for our first attempt at Matching Sound Jars, S was able to successfully match the sounds after a demonstration and a few tries of her own. I am looking forward to making more of these for her, including a similar version called Smelling Jars! She is always smelling the spices while I’m cooking. Are you wanting to try this activity with your child? Follow along with the steps below to make your own DIY Sound jars! DIY Sound Jars: Materials:
Instructions:
0 Comments
🔅As a traditional classroom teacher, I supported phonemic awareness by teaching children the name of uppercase letters, typically alongside or as a precursor to lowercase letters. This was the norm. It’s what I was taught in college courses and was reinforced by the district scope and sequence. We sang the ABC song. We were proud if they knew it. We showed letters on the board and drilled its name and then introduced its sound. Oftentimes when shown the letter and asked the sound it makes, children would tell me the name. I’d ask again “what SOUND does it make?” Again, I would get the name. It was frustrating and difficult to feel we had spent so much time isolating each letter and they still didn’t remember.
🔅Then I discovered Montessori and studied its approach to language development. Wow... we were doing our best in the classroom, but it seemed to go against logic and the development of language acquisition. Unfortunately, I have found this to be true of many teaching methods in the traditional classroom. This is no fault of the teachers or administrators, rather the system. 🔅Lowercase sandpaper letters are one of the first materials introduced to children in Montessori classrooms to help develop sound association to letters. The tactile tool offers them the sensory experience to recall the sound of each letter. Note: I did not say the NAME, I said the SOUND of each letter. Also, re-read the title... I mentioned LOWERCASE. This is an important distinction between the Montessori method and traditional schooling. 🔅If you think about it, when we read print, what do we see more often? Lowercase letters or uppercase? Lowercase, right? So why do we begin by introducing uppercase letters to children? Secondly, when we read words and decode them (sound them out), do we say the name of the letter, or it’s sound? Sounds, right? Traditional instruction goes against the logical and phonetic sense of reading. This discovery was so enlightening, but made me feel foolish for not recognizing it before... 🔅Now with a 2.5 year old who is in the sensitive period for language, I am changing the norm. S has shown so much interest in letters so I am following her lead. I recently introduced the sandpaper letters. Letters are introduced in what is called the 3-Period lesson, which is explained in this post. My letters are not store bought; they were created using sheets of sandpaper on plastic dividers sheets. They may not be beautiful or perfectly symmetrical, but they serve their purpose. There are many DIY options for sandpaper letters just a Google search away. 🔅I wrote this blog post because I want to share the knowledge I have learned about language acquisition in children. There is so much more that goes into the development of language and application in Montessori philosophy, but this is where we are now in our journey. I will share more as S builds her letter knowledge. 🔅In this post I have shared a video of S practicing her letters. Note that she does not yet have the dexterity to trace the letters properly, but she has observed me and “copies” my movements. Despite that, she can recall the sound of these letters. She is very aware of these letters now in everyday print and shares her findings with us. As her letter sound knowledge builds, she will eventually be able to use that knowledge to begin building {more on this later} basic 3-4 letter words (typically CVC words) by using the letter sounds. If you want to know more, please feel free to send me a message and I will be happy to help you along this journey! The Montessori 3-Period Lesson is widely used when introducing new concepts through the use of classification cards, sandpaper letters, or sandpaper numbers.
Below you will find the explanation of how to introduce sandpaper letters. Please note that all 3 periods are not completed in one day. As with any concept, you move through each period when mastery has been achieved. It is important to not force the child. Follow their lead. If they are not interested, leave the lesson for another day. We want to provide a a calm, loving environment that builds and fosters success. Materials:
Instructions:
This process is repeated with subsequent groups of letters, until all lowercase letter sounds have been mastered. In a future post, I will share other activities that can be done with groups of letters to help reinforce the letter sound and build mastery. IF YOUR CHILD MAKES A MISTAKE IN ANY PERIOD LESSON: If at anytime your child makes a mistake when asked to show the letter or produce the sound, simply acknowledge the letter/sound they produced, then ask them to show the original letter you asked about, again. EX: I am showing the following cards: e b s Me: "Can you show me the "ssss" Child: Points to "b" Me: "You showed me "buh." Can you show me "sss?"" Child: Points to "s" Me: "Great, you showed me "sss"" We want to avoid saying things like "No, that is wrong" or "That is not "sss" that is "b."" because it discourages the child's efforts and does not foster an environment where it is ok to make mistakes. We want children to feel safe when learning, which is why we just acknowledge their effort and provide an opportunity to try again. Part of Montessori Curriculum is the element of Practical Life . Children are taught everyday life skills from a very young age in order to foster a sense of independence, develop motor skills, and involve them as important, valuable members of the home or classroom. Part of practical life is transfer work, moving items (liquids or solids) from one container to another using a variety of different instruments. Students typically begin with isolated activities that progressively become more difficult. These skills are then applied to real life works. Today, S practiced transferring banana muffin batter from the bowl to muffin tins using a ladle. She loves cooking so I always find a way to get her involved. Something to remember is that children's work will never look like ours. You cannot expect perfection {or even complete cleanliness} when children are completing their work. They are building the skills to develop that fine motor ability by doing activities like these. Just remember to practice patience and understanding. One of the ways of doing this is being sure the environment (yourself included) are prepared. That means anticipating accidents or messes and having the resources readily available to clean those up. (I.E.- wipes, towels, wet towel, etc) P.S.- You can also expect them to eat the batter any chance they get! If you are new to Montessori, please do not feel that you need to buy all of the small pitchers, bowls, wooden spoons, or whatever materials you may have seen in order to practice Montessori philosophy. You have everything you need to encourage Practical Life in your home. So go on, take the leap, get your babes involved, They will be better for it! Click here to get the Cinnamon-Banana Recipe we made!
We only walked a 1/4 of a mile. That wasn’t the intention, but S had other plans in mind. With that said, our family walk served more purpose than originally intended.
Montessori philosophy is rooted in the idea of “following the child.” Following the child means observing your child and learning their needs as a means of living out your day-to-day life. Maria Montessori stressed the importance of taking time to observe your child, in their natural state, uninterrupted {within reason, safety first!} so that you could take note of the child's interests, disinterests, phases of development, learning style, and quirks. This can be so hard as an adult, but especially as a parent. We want to protect them, control them, and hurry them along. It’s just the way our society is. I want different for my children. The busy lifestyle, go-go-go mentality, is exhausting. As adults it leaves us feeling stressed, drained, and over-stimulated. Imagine the child... I would be lying if I said I don’t sometimes feel like I fall into that trap. Today was a perfect example. Being 4 weeks away from delivering, a walk seems arduous. Add a toddler who wants to stop and look and touch and climb everything- even harder. I had to remind myself that her goal isn’t to walk a mile, lose a pound, or make it to the end of the trail. Her “job” is to explore, learn, and enjoy! There were several times I told her, “let’s go, keep moving” and I wish I hadn’t. I wish I hadn't stunted her exploration and discovery of nature in the moments I hurried her along. Thankfully, I caught myself and let her be. I followed her lead. So today we walked a 1/4 of a mile, but in that time we found different species of flowers, we climbed rocks of various sizes, we learned about pine trees and how their needles fall, we practiced throwing, we learned how to balance, and we learned that daddy will always be there to carry us when we need it. Today, we learned to take it slow. This is your daily reminder to TAKE IT SLOW. Enjoy the walk. Enjoy the ride. Read the book. Put the phone down. Enjoy the rest. Life is not comprised nor measured by achieving everything on a list. It’s in the small moments, the seemingly meaningless activities, that happiness and joy are bred. EXPLORATION
Montessori focuses on the use of senses for development, especially focusing on nature as an ideal environment for sensory exploration. So we encourage outdoor play and exploration, as much as we can. When it it comes to exploring nature S has no fear, which is a great thing in theory, but this mama has to bite her tongue sometimes. She loves to observe, pick up, and touch any creature she sees. She definitely didn't get that from me, but I would never want to discourage her interest or love of something because of my own reservations or fears. When she does embark upon picking up small creatures I encourage her, ask her questions about what she’s noticing, or even offer her some information when I can. The Seek app by iNaturalist has been a great tool for us when we aren’t sure what something is. Check it out! #seekbyinat Look at the joy on her face as she explores the gentle crawl of the ladybug. We even found a yellow version in our flower pot later that day! 🐞 With just 4 days until our move, I have been working to find things to keep S occupied but still getting those wheels turning. Our #kiwico_inc box could not have come at a better time.
Kellan and his friend Peter go through different parts their neighborhood to get items to help their friend Ella feel better. S has LOVED the books that come with the boxes, but this one was topped them all. No joke, I’ve probably read it 15 times since we opened it yesterday. The box comes at the right time because with a move coming, we will be going to a new part of our city meaning we will have a new neighborhood for us to explore. This box allowed me to explain to S how we will get to explore our new neighborhood just like Kellan, major elements of a neighborhood, and the term map. I’m hoping to make an on-going map of our new neighborhood as we discover new parts of it. Along with the hands-on activities that come in the box, KiwiCo offers a discovery booklet with more things to explore and try that relate to the theme of the box, a dynamic I really enjoy. Check out that smile when we unpacked her box, such a ham! Laundry
This girl loves doing laundry, doesn’t matter who’s it is! Since about 1.5 she’s been collecting laundry, putting it in the wash, adding detergent, starting the machine, transferring to the dryer and placing it in the basket to be folded. I want to reiterate that none of this is forced. She showed interest in helping one day and I honored that request. Now, on laundry day she runs to the laundry room to help. Children are capable of so much if we provide them the right environment and tools to the do the job with their small hands. We are currently working on folding. She’s mastered her undergarments and shorts. Next up, shirts! Deadheading flowers🌸
We added a new word to our gardening vocabulary. S learned a new element of care of plants, deadheading. She has always helped watering our plants, but now she knows plants need to have their flowers and leaves removed when they are dead to help new flowers bloom. I hope her love of plants continues as she gets older. I can see it now, her garden full of flowers and vegetation, buzzing with the sound of bees and ladybugs fluttering from plant to plant. Maybe that’s a bit of my dream too, but as I know her now, I can imagine it being hers too. 🌱 Follow Through
It’s often referenced to disciplining children, but for me it is the basis upon which to lead a Montessori lifestyle for my daughter. It is so easy to just take over and do for children what they can do for themselves. I have to constantly remind myself {and my husband} of our daughters capabilities and need for independence. So yesterday I followed through and we made homemade apple sauce with the help of Scarlett (2). Super simple and easy to involve children! 🍎 Recipe: •4 apples (cored, peeled, and cubed) •3/4 cup water •1/4 cup of water •1/2 tbsp of cinnamon •Put all ingredient in a pot over medium heat for 15-20 minutes then mash! * |
helloWelcome to My View of Montessori! Archives
September 2020
Categories
All
|