Category Archives: Montessori Philosophy

Making Sense of the Sensorial Area in the Prepared Environment

by Imelda McShane, Early Childhood Head Teacher
and Doreen Adamo, Early Childhood Head Teacher

“There is the obvious value of the training and the refinement of the senses which,
by widening the field of perception, furnish an ever more solid and richer basis to the development of the intelligence. It is through contact with and exploration of the environment that the intelligence builds up its store of operational ideas.”
~ Dr. Maria Montessori

The Montessori Methodology emphasizes that Sensorial education is a fundamental part of a child’s development. By engaging with Sensorial materials, children are provided with experiences that help them understand and internalize the world around them in a concrete way. The essence of Sensorial education lies in its ability to refine the senses, leading to heightened perceptual skills and cognitive development.

Children live in a world of senses where they need to classify and express the impressions they have already received. Sensorial education in the Montessori classroom aims to develop and refine the five senses – tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory. Montessori Sensorial materials help children make judgements and comparisons based on isolated individual characteristics, such as size, shape, weight, texture, color, sound, and temperature. By providing a Prepared Environment where children can explore and manipulate these materials, The Montessori Children’s Academy allows its students to clarify, classify, and develop a keen awareness of their surroundings to better comprehend their world. The materials help children relate new information to what they already know. They find a sense of order in these materials. With order comes knowledge. This is crucial as it lays the foundation for complex thought processes and problem-solving skills.

Along with enabling children to clarify and internalize such concepts as size, shape, weight, texture, color, sound, and temperature, the Sensorial materials also provide a basis for the development of other skills, such as Music, Culture (awareness of classification), and Language (sound discrimination, visual perception, and eye-hand coordination). When children trace the Sandpaper Globe, they are taking in knowledge that will later be used when tracing the Sandpaper Letters. Later, the muscles of their hands will remember the tracing motion as they write their letters. Also, when children are given the opportunity to manipulate and internalize the Sensorial materials, they are then able to reach a level of abstraction needed for the study of mathematics.

Dr. Maria Montessori emphasized that “the training of the senses makes people observers”. The tactile and hands-on nature of the Sensorial materials make them accessible to children with varying abilities. This inclusivity ensures that all children, regardless of their development, can benefit from Sensorial education. Montessori Sensorial materials are designed to be self-correcting, allowing children to independently discover and learn from their experiences, fostering a sense of autonomy and confidence.

The child’s first exercise with color is Color Box 1, which contains six tablets – two red, two blue and two yellow. The child pairs the tablets and learns the corresponding color names. Gradually, in Color Box 2, more pairs of colors are added. Ultimately, the child will be able to name and match eleven different pairs.

During the next step, Color Box 3, the child will grade the colors by using seven different shades of nine different colors. The shades of each color are graded from very light to very dark. To carry out this work, the child must differentiate the intensity of the shades and place the tablets in order from the lightest to the darkest shade of each color. [See photo above.] Teaching children to be aware of the fine differences in color aids them in future work involving visual discrimination, such as reading, art, scientific research, and so on.

The Binomial Cube helps develop the child’s perception of differences in proportion in three dimensions. This cube represent, in a concrete way, the binomial equation (a + b)³. The child removes the blocks in layers and once all of the blocks are removed, the cube can then be rebuilt, one layer at a time.

The Geometric Cabinet is a wooden cabinet of six drawers, each containing cutout geometric shapes. The child works with one drawer at a time, removing the shapes from the drawer. Once the pieces are removed, the child is shown how to trace the shape of the empty space and find the correct match by tracing the outside of the removed pieces. In the next step, the child will use the drawers to match cards with corresponding shapes.

Sound Cylinders, as well as bells, are used for refining a child’s auditory sense. Sound Matching, such as identifying bells by sound, enables the child’s auditory sense to become heightened and more able to discern differences in sound when learning letter sounds, number names, vocabulary, etc.

The Geometric Solids are made of wood and painted blue. The solids are explored through both sight and touch. Work with this material helps develop the child’s awareness of the shapes and where these shapes occur in the environment.

The Knobbed Cylinders consist of four wooden blocks containing ten cylinders each. The dimensions of the cylinders can vary in both diameter and height. After receiving a lesson with each block separately, the child may then work with blocks in combination, using two, three, or four blocks together. The child removes the cylinders from the block or blocks, placing them in random order, and then returns the cylinders to their correct places and the correct block(s).

The Stereognostic materials allow the child to recognize shapes through the movement of the muscles of the hand. By using two hands, the child is shown how to feel the objects, then separate and match them according to shape.

In summary, Sensorial education invokes the essence of being alive. The aim, purpose, and value of Montessori Sensorial education are intertwined with the goal of supporting the holistic development of young children. By refining their senses, children develop essential cognitive skills that serve as the foundation for lifelong learning.

“It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists;
not that the child shall know colors, forms or qualities,
but that he refines his senses through an exercise of attention, comparison and judgement.
~ Maria Montessori

World Connections Through Montessori

by Camilla Nichols, Senior Director of Montessori Development

At The Montessori Children’s Academy, we are always looking for opportunities to connect our students with other children and cultures through events inside and outside of the Prepared Environment. Maria Montessori believed that widening the children’s horizons was an important aspect of learning that we are part of something bigger and that we are all connected and needed.

We prepare MCA students to become global citizens through a variety of activities, lessons, and projects that will strengthen and develop their sense of belonging in this world. It also teaches our children at a very young age that they can have an impact and make a difference. This is something that has always been integrated into MCA, where we have inspired families to continue looking for opportunities where they can make a difference in their own communities outside of school.

In the Geography area of MCA’s classrooms, there are color-coded Cultural Folders representing each continent. In those folders our students find pictures of people, houses, food, and a variety of other items from each Culture. There are folders for North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Antarctica, Asia, and Australia. Often, the children will also find corresponding Cultural Boxes that house souvenirs from each continent. A student chooses a folder and the corresponding flag, along with the colored globe, and can discuss the pictures with a friend or simply review alone while also examining the objects.

As part of our Cultural studies, MCA students learn to sing moving, meaningful songs such as “The Universe”, “Beautiful Earth”, and “The Continents” by Shelley Murley (Montessori Minute Melodies: https://music.apple.com/us/album/montessori-minute-melodies/279575407) and are exposed to many wonderful books and fables with stories and messages from various cultures. We invite parents into our classrooms to introduce students to their own culture and traditions. In the past, parents have shared traditional celebratory clothing, food, or various small items, as well as assisted us in celebrating Diwali, Lucia, Yom Kippur, Chinese New Year, and many other cultural events. MCA is proud of our diverse community and celebrates the uniqueness that each child, family, and staff member brings to our little corner of the Montessori world.

Around September 21^st of each year, our students and staff celebrate the International Day of Peace. For many years, it has been an annual MCA tradition to participate in a worldwide celebration where approximately 150,000 Montessori students from 65 countries come together to sing “Light a Candle for Peace”. Dr. Montessori was a huge advocate for peace and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times! Her legacy of Peace Education lives on to this day. During the celebration, our students come together to hold hands and pass the colored Globe of Continents or a Peace Flag while singing at the dedicated New Jersey time, usually around 9:30AM. The chosen song always starts with children in New Zealand and then travels to all the continents throughout the day. For video footage of children singing around the world and to listen to the song “Light a Candle for Peace”, we invite you to visit www.singpeacearoundtheworld.com.

In past years, students, families, and staff from The Montessori Children’s Academy have built relationships with and donated money or supplies to Montessori schools in need in countries like Uganda and Puerto Rico. We have also assisted with rebuilding schools throughout Asia by collecting pennies and hosting numerous bake and craft sales.

Most recently, MCA enjoyed an exchange program with Bladins Montessori School in Malmö Sweden. Our students created art projects and booklets representing the USA and introduced Flat Stanley to Sweden. Those items made their way to Sweden where Bladins’ students reciprocated with art projects, pictures of Swedish foods and traditions, and even a life-size Pippi Longstocking. Once here in America, Pippi visited all MCA classrooms and our students fell in love with the character while learning about her adventures and the author Astrid Lindgren. Swedish students viewed photos of some of MCA’s classrooms and compared our Prepared Environments with theirs. Bladins’ main hallway entrance now displays of all the items that our MCA students sent to Sweden.

At MCA, we love sharing and connecting our students and our school to all corners of the world.

“Culture and education have no bounds or limits; now man is in a phase in which he must decide for himself how far he can proceed in the culture that belongs to the whole of humanity.”
~ Dr. Maria Montessori

How to Establish Healthy Transition Routines at the Start of a New School Year

by Camilla Nichols, Senior Director of Montessori Development

In Montessori schools, we often refer to Head Teachers as “Guides”. The primary role of a Montessori Guide is to act as a role model for the children in her or his care. These Guides, or Head Teachers, are trained to observe and follow the needs of each child, as the needs look different for everyone, and will most certainly change over time. In a nurturing and Prepared Montessori Environment, the goal is to ignite each child’s inner flame and his or her love of learning, while allowing children to become independent citizens of the world. Children will begin to feel a sense of belonging and that they matter, they are needed, and they make a difference to the world and those around them. Together, we establish and create a community where parents, children, and teachers form trusting relationships and build a foundation where everyone can feel safe, loved, and cared for. We welcome our families on this wonderful lifelong journey of learning that starts here at The Montessori Children’s Academy.

As our families are preparing to return to school, or to begin with us for the first time, we wanted to offer a few tips to help make the start of the new school year as successful as possible for your children and your families.

Read books. A wonderful book that we recommend is The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. This book gives just one example of how to establish a special ritual with your child, reminding your child that you are always nearby and that you love her or him unconditionally. For an audio version of the book, you may want to check out the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWRV6Tmn5gU

Keep your morning routine positive. Children are experts at sensing what their parents are feeling. So, even though you may be a bit anxious yourself, try to stay positive while you and your child are getting ready for school in the morning.

Keep your school drop-off/goodbye brief. Once at school, keep your goodbye short and positive and don’t linger, as this will only make it harder for both your child and you. Making positive statements such as, “I can’t wait to hear all about your day”, “I love you”, and “I will be back soon”, help your child understand that you are comfortable with the school and know that he or she will be safe there. Trust your child’s teachers and know that your son or daughter is in the hands of other loving, caring adults.

Be on time each day. It is much more challenging for a child to enter a classroom when everyone else has already settled in and is busy working. Children acclimate better to a new school routine when they are entering the classroom during greeting time along with all the other children.

Encourage your child to walk independently into and through the school. Do not carry your child into school, and allow extra time for your child to hang up his or her backpack, coat, lunchbox, etc. Children are more than capable of doing this and when doing this on their own, it helps to foster independence. Practice patience and allow that extra time to “follow the child’s” lead and pace.

Stay consistent with the same routine every day. If your child attends school three days a week, the transition may take a little longer than that of a child that attends five days, where each weekday looks the same. You should allow 6-8 weeks with some ups and downs for your child to get used to the new routines. Remember… a long weekend or an illness that necessitates an absence from school often causes a child to regress and makes them start all over.

Communicate with your child’s Head Teacher. Remember that we are on this path together. Be open to communicate your challenges and needs with your child’s Head Teacher. Share observations and reflections and discuss together a plan/strategy for drop-off if your child needs more support. Discuss this privately with the Head Teacher and not in front of your child. Then stick to the plan and you will see great results.

Support your child as needed. Add a picture of your family to your child’s backpack that can be there as a reminder that family is always close by. Or maybe add a favorite stuffed animal or blanket that will remain in the backpack all day, as the child learns to leave attachments behind and enter through the classroom door independently on his or her own.

Listen to your child. If your child is having a challenging time, it’s important to acknowledge those feelings with phrases such as, “I know you feel sad when I’m leaving, but I also know that you will have a great time and I will be back very soon.” Avoid bribery such as, “If you go to school, I will bring a cookie or a sticker for you at pick-up”, as your child will then start to rely on external rewards in order to go to school. Remember… your child is learning to be a part of society and to adjust to daily routines; not unlike the way parents go to work every day. Encouraging phrases like, “You must feel so proud of yourself” and “You are amazing and I can’t wait to hear about your day”, will help give your child an inner satisfaction that will lead to feeling good about him or herself rather than trying to please mom or dad.

Learn how you can be involved in the MCA Community. Showing your child that you are involved in the school community allows your child to see that mom and dad can learn and have fun too! Attend our Parent Workshops, participate in the Parent Book Club, join us for Harvest Family Fun Day, and drop in for our Coffee Mornings. Speak to your child’s Head Teacher once everyone has settled into the year to learn about the possibility of visiting the classroom to share something from your culture, a recent trip abroad, your profession, or even to read a book to the students.

Some children will walk through the MCA doors with ease and transition into the new school routines quickly. For other children, the transition may take some time. Therefore, it’s important to know how you can help to make this transition as smooth as possible in a supportive way that will ultimately help your child. Most of the time, it’s harder for the parents to say goodbye than it is for the children. So, a routine that looks the same every day is beneficial for everyone.

We encourage you, as parents, to embrace this special journey and to take the time to observe how you can encourage opportunities of independence in your child while taking a step back and remembering Maria Montessori’s quote… “Help me to help myself.”

The Montessori Children’s Academy and Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary: A Match Made in Nature!

By Camilla Nichols, Senior Director of Montessori Development

In a quaint neighborhood in Short Hills, New Jersey, within walking distance from the train station, lies a hidden gem; a sanctuary, nestled in the woods known as Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary (CHA). The arboretum was developed by Cora L. Hartshorn on 16.5 acres of land that had been gifted to her by her father, Stewart Hartshorn, in 1923. Cora Hartshorn passed away in 1958, leaving the arboretum and bird sanctuary to Millburn Township.

In addition to a bird observatory and lab facility, CHA offers over 16 acres of beautiful woodlands with three miles of protected hilly hiking trails. The grounds of this non-profit organization are not only home to undisturbed nature, but house a diverse woodland habitat where native trees, plants, and animals can thrive. CHA offers several impressive environmental educational programs, and the old Stone House contains some live animals, a beehive, and other rotating exhibits.

Throughout the school year, CHA is a popular field trip destination for school groups, and on the weekends, you will find families participating in guided hikes, Nature Scavenger Hunts, camping in the woods, learning about composting, and more. There is no fee to enter, but donations to CHA are encouraged.

CHA invites parents to explore its weekly Arboretum Sprouts program for children 18 months to 3 years (with a caregiver) or the After School Turtle Tots drop-off program for 4-year-olds through Kindergarten. Both programs offer nature experiences through hikes, songs, stories, songs, hikes, and hands-on learning.

At CHA, there are opportunities to volunteer, to sponsor an Arboretum Animal, and to become a Hartshorn Arboretum Member. The Montessori Children’s Academy has taken, and will continue to take, advantage of all that CHA has to offer for our students, and we are thrilled that one of our current MCA mothers, Anudeep Virdi, proudly volunteers at CHA. MCA, with support from Mrs. Virdi and the Executive Director of Cora Hartshorn, Tedor Whitman, is thrilled to be building a relationship to support this local hidden treasure, where residents and families from around our great state and beyond can explore and connect with nature all year round.

Now more than ever, especially since the pandemic of 2020, children are spending more time indoors and have come to depend on screen time where abstract impressions are being introduced. In Richard Louv’s bestselling book, Last Child in the Woods, the author discusses how to save our children from “Nature-Deficit Disorder”. Louv makes direct connections to a lack of nature experiences in children and childhood obesity, attentional issues, and depression. Dr. Maria Montessori also recognized the need to involve the body in order for “natural learning” (or concrete impressions) to take place.

“What the hand does, the mind remembers.” ~ Maria Montessori

Dr. Montessori spoke often of children learning and exploring the world through their senses. For example, while observing a leaf, a child’s vision is being stimulated. While smelling the leaf and listening to the sounds of the woods, the olfactory and auditory senses are being developed. And when touching the leaf, the tactile sense is being stimulated. These are all happening at the same time and constitute a holistic Sensorial learning experience.

The Montessori Children’s Academy is thrilled to announce that we will be hosting a Harvest Family Fun Day at the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary this fall. More information will be sent to our MCA parents, and we encourage all of our families to join us outside in nature while we connect with everyone in our MCA community.

“Let the children be free; encourage them; let them run outside when it is raining; let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water; and when the grass of the meadows is wet with dew, let them run on it and trample it with their bare feet; let them rest peacefully when a tree invites them to sleep beneath its shade; let them shout and laugh when the sun wakes them in the morning.” ~ Maria Montessori

For more information on Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary, please visit: https://hartshornarboretum.org

School is Out, Summer is Here… but Learning (and Fun) Don’t Need to End!

by Camilla Nichols and Zachery Inkley,
with additional content by Tori Inkley

Along with welcoming Summer, we would like to provide some fun activities and ideas to help keep your children stimulated in a meaningful way. It’s important for them to remain in a state of learning and exploration even when they’re not attending school. One suggestion would be to arrange a small shelf in your home with activities that you can rotate throughout the summer. Set it up so that your children can independently choose the work they desire. The activities can represent the same areas found in our Prepared Environments at MCA: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Science, Math, Cultural, and Art. For more information on how to set up a Prepared Environment at home, visit https://themontessorichildrensacademy.com/blog/2016/06/13/maintaining-a-montessori-mindset-through-the-summer/ and visit https://www.forsmallhands.com/ and https://livingmontessorinow.com for Montessori items and ideas.

No matter where the summer takes you, we encourage families to spend as much time as possible outside and in nature, as screen time is best saved as a treat for rainy days. New Jersey has so many beautiful parks and beaches for you and your little ones to enjoy. Take a hike through South Mountain Reservation or go see the Great Falls of Paterson! While exploring the outdoors, take time to set up Scavenger Hunts, or help your children craft their own Nature Journals. They can collect and learn about all the different beautiful flowers of our region or do leaf shadings to help fill up the pages of their journals. At home, you and your children could grow an herb, vegetable, or flower garden, or together you could research all the critters roaming in your own backyard! To learn more about animals from all over the globe, your family could take a trip to the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, or if your children are more curious about our aquatic friends, you could visit Jenkinson’s Aquarium while enjoying a day on the Point Pleasant boardwalk!

Most of our local libraries have Story Times for children. Taking your young ones to such events will help to inspire their imaginations and reinvigorate their passion for reading. We also encourage you to read with your children at home as often as possible, or maybe listen to audiobooks together while picnicking outside! We’ve included some links to books we recommend at the end of this post.

Finally, if possible, explore local museums and art festivals to stimulate your children’s imaginations and encourage their creative sides. Both Montclair and Morristown, as well as New York City, have excellent museums, and Montclair also has art festivals and live music concerts all summer long! If you really want to watch little eyes go wide, take your children to Liberty Science Center, where they can get a taste of almost everything this world has to offer. Right now, they have an incredible exhibit on the Blue Whale, a Touch Tunnel where children can learn how much we rely on our sense of touch, and a Globe IMAX Theater where you can take incredibly life-like trips through the farthest stretches of the universe and the greatest depths of the sea. We encourage you to embrace every opportunity to expand the young minds of your children and broaden their natural sense of wonder!

We hope all of our families have a lovely summer full of exploration and joy!

NJ Parks and Reservations:

NJ Zoos and Aquariums:

Museums and Creative Centers:

Classic Children’s Books:

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Anatole by Eve Titus
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Max and the Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper
Abuela by Arthur Dorros
Corduroy by Don Freeman
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Arts and Crafts for Inside Days:

And for those rainy days, or possibly travel days, when you feel a little tech time is appropriate for your children, you may want to check out the app “Mobile Montessori” at https://www.mobilemontessori.org .