Tag Archives: Montessori Morristown

Making Sense of It All – The Montessori Sensorial Area


By Alex Chiu

This month, The Montessori Children’s Academy will host the third in its series of Parent Education Workshops on January 9th from 7-8PM at the Short Hills campus. The topic for this upcoming workshop is the Sensorial area of the Montessori classroom, a hallmark of Montessori education. The Sensorial materials were designed by Dr. Montessori as a way for children to be able to explore and then make sense of their environment. Because she believed that sensorial exploration began at birth and that children had a developmental period where they were exceptionally receptive to what they took in through their senses, she created the Sensorial materials.

Dr. Montessori said, “The senses, being explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge. Our apparatus for educating the senses offers the child a key to guide his explorations of the world” (The Absorbent Mind). Each material in the Sensorial area isolates a different sense, and Dr. Montessori categorized her Sensorial materials into eight groupings based on which sense was being used: Visual, Tactile, Baric, Thermic, Auditory, Olfactory, Gustatory, and Stereognostic. The Montessori Sensorial materials help children organize, compare, order, and classify things based on how they look, feel, sound, smell, taste, etc. While this may at the surface appear very simple, a child’s discovery of these various qualities helps to build the foundation for learning in other areas.

For example, when children use the Pink Tower, a centerpiece of the Sensorial area, they can discriminate the size of each pink cube from the smallest to the largest. However, if we take a closer look at the depth of the learning behind this simple work, we can recognize that children are gaining so much more. First, as with most Montessori materials, there is only one Pink Tower, so children must either wait for a turn to use it or learn to use it cooperatively with another classmate. Next, the child must go through a multi-step process to prepare to do the work. A work rug must be unrolled. Then, taking one cube at a time, the child must navigate the classroom from where the Pink Tower is stored to his or her work rug. This takes several trips back and forth, as there are 10 cubes!

Once using the material, the child may arrange the cubes in a variety of formations. Horizontally on the rug, the child can see how the cubes compare in size. Vertically, the child can build the tower. Children can be quite creative as they use these materials, sometimes creating beautiful displays in an endless array of patterns and designs. This promotes not only discovery of the size discrimination, but it also provides an outlet for creativity and artistic expression.
As with all Montessori materials, the work is self-correcting, and the child, through the control of error built into the work, will see whether or not he or she has placed the cubes in correct size order. If a larger cube is place on top of a smaller cube, the tower would not look visually accurate, and in some cases, would topple over because it’s not structurally sound. There’s no need for a teacher to intervene in this work, as the child can see for him or herself whether or not the work was completed correctly.

On an even deeper level, the Pink Tower is an introduction to mathematics. Each tower is made with 10 pink wooden cubes that increase in size from 1cm cubed to 10cm cubed and represents the base 10 number system. From the youngest age of 3, children are exposed to the concrete material that later helps them understand more advanced mathematical concepts. As an early introduction to mathematics that can grow with the child as he or she is ready, it leads the child to move on to the cubing of numbers and cubed roots with the Montessori Golden Bead Material in the Math area in a natural and progressive manner.

Each colorful and beautiful Sensorial material, from the Pink Tower to the Red Rods, the Knobless Cylinders to the Color Tablets, the Trinomial Cube to the Geometric Solids, the Sound Cylinders to the Rough and Smooth Boards, has a plan and a purpose behind its creation. While initially the children may simply be intrigued by the materials because they are attractive and colorful, they eventually are drawn into deeper learning as they investigate the many aspects of each work. Their senses are refined and awakened, and they come to make sense of their world in a much greater way. Again, as Dr. Montessori so cleverly understood, the children’s work with the Sensorial materials indeed “open(s) the way to knowledge”.

Peace

By Alex Chiu

“Peace is every step,” wrote Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, mindfulness teacher, author, and peace activist. In his many books, he offers suggestions for how we can find peace in any and every moment, especially the most hectic ones! This sage one would probably love spending time in a Montessori classroom where he could see that peace, indeed, is in every step the children take at school. Within everything a child does in the Montessori environment, there is an underlying lesson which helps to build the foundation of living mindfully, joyfully, and peacefully with ‘every step’.

This peace education begins on the very first day of school when teachers introduce lessons on Grace and Courtesy. They model the use of simple words and actions that demonstrate respect and regard for self, others, and the environment. Children learn the polite way to greet people. They are shown how to carefully walk around the work rugs of their classmates and how to move throughout the classroom slowly and with care. Vocabulary for interrupting someone or asking for something is provided and practiced. All of this early groundwork sets the stage for a classroom community whose members can work together and enjoy one another, while at the same time promoting a peaceful, safe, warm environment in which the children can learn and grow.

After these early Grace and Courtesy lessons, the children begin their exploration of the Montessori materials, making their way to the Language, Math, Cultural, Practical Life, and Sensorial areas. All of these areas of the classroom are filled with enticing ‘work’ for the children to do, leading them to wonderful academic discoveries. But mastermind that she was, Dr. Montessori incorporated ‘secret’ lessons into the materials she developed. In addition to teaching an academic skill, each activity is also a lesson in mindfulness and part of Montessori’s goal of education being a vehicle for peace in the world.

When using any of the Montessori materials, children must navigate through several steps. These include setting up a work space (either at a table or on a floor work rug), retrieving the material from the shelf, performing the tasks required to complete the work, returning the work to the shelf when finished, and then cleaning up the work area. The children’s movements must be planned, precise, and peaceful in each step. As they traverse throughout the classroom, they must negotiate the other people and furniture in the environment. When attending to their work, they have been shown how to use the material purposefully and carefully. The children understand that the care of the materials benefits the whole class, and they want to make sure things are taken care of for themselves and for everyone in their classroom. The beauty of the materials captures their attention and inspires their interest and careful consideration. Children take their time as they work. They aren’t rushed to complete one thing in order to move on to another. Instead, they are in charge of their work time which is safeguarded in an uninterrupted work cycle which facilitates their investigation of the materials and allows them to explore without being hurried along to the next activity. They enjoy the work that they do!

Many Montessori classrooms also include a special Peace Table where children might be found raking sand in a Zen garden, observing seasonal items from nature such as seashells or pinecones, or balancing a collection of smooth stones. Even the youngest Montessorians engage in these peace activities either at a Peace Table or in their other lessons chosen from across the curriculum. As shown in the lovely photograph above, some of the children in one of our MCA 2 ½ – 3 ½ classrooms took time to create beautiful ‘nature mandalas’ using a collection of items from nature in combination with pretty glass seashells and stones. Providing children with such opportunities allows them to observe nature, to make a connection with the materials, to mindfully take time to create a pretty display, to sit peacefully, and to take delight in the work that they completed.

Peace, indeed, is every step in the Montessori way. We take heart in knowing that Montessori education continues to promote peace in the development of our children, and we remain hopeful that the children will live out these lessons of peace as they grow and move about in our world. We wish everyone a joyful, peaceful 2019!

December Decision-Making

by Alex Chiu

Although it may feel as though the school year just started (a mere three months ago!), it is already time to consider educational options for the 2019-2020 school year! MCA will be hosting a series of Open Houses for current families to share information about both the Kindergarten and Elementary Programs we offer. Our Open House dates are as follows:

Kindergarten Open Houses:
Short Hills Campus – Tuesday, December 4th from 3:15 – 4:15PM
Morristown Campus – Wednesday, December 5th from 3:15 – 4:15PM
Chatham Campus – Thursday, December 6th from 3:15 – 4:15PM

Elementary Open House:
Short Hills Campus – Thursday, December 13th from 5:30 – 6:30PM

The Kindergarten Year: Completing the Three-Year Cycle
Parents of preschoolers may wonder why their child should continue in Montessori for the Kindergarten year. The Kindergarten year is the third and culminating year in the Montessori three-year cycle. It is what many children aspire to, and once they reach this level, they are proud of their roles as “upperclassmen”.

Here are just some of the benefits of the Montessori Kindergarten year:

1. Full Day Kindergarten. Students participate in their multi-age classroom activities in the morning session. Here they act as mentors and role models while at the same time honing their academic and social skills. The afternoon portion of the Kindergarten day is a time for the Kindergarten peers to come together in a separate environment from the 3-6 classroom. Here they not only continue to expand on their exploration of Montessori materials across the curriculum, but also are introduced to some of the traditional educational materials they might encounter should they move on to a non-Montessori elementary school. This transitional work complements their Montessori curriculum and is still performed at the rate that each child is ready.
2. Kindergarten Specials Classes. In addition to weekly Spanish and Music classes offered to all 3-6 classes, Kindergarten students also participate in Technology, Health, and Physical Education classes. In Technology, students use laptops, iPads, digital cameras, etc. to explore and grow their techno-literacy skills. In their Health and Physical Education classes, students are introduced to healthy habits to carry with them throughout their lives. They learn basic fundamental skills in a variety of sports, with a focus on activity as a fun way of staying fit and living well.
3. Kindergarten Community Connections. MCA Kindergartners are afforded an abundance of enrichment experiences outside of their classrooms. These include special Kindergarten field trips, community service outreach activities, pen pal correspondence with Elementary students and students from around the globe, being special guest readers to younger students, and much more. Students take on greater roles as organizers and leaders of many events throughout the Kindergarten year.
4. Kindergarten Special Events and Graduation. The Kindergarten year includes a variety of special activities geared specifically for our Kindergartners and culminates with a very special graduation celebration honoring the growth the children have made over the course of their three (or more) years in Montessori.

MCA’s Kindergarten Program is an excellent alternative to public or other non-public Kindergarten options. Our full-day Kindergarten provides our students with immeasurable social and emotional benefits in addition to academic rigor. MCA may accept students from other preschool programs to join its Kindergarten classes after a “Kindergarten Interview”, if enrollment space allows. For more information about the benefits of the Kindergarten year, you might enjoy watching this video by the American Montessori Society, Montessori Kindergarten: Empowering & Essential at https://vimeo.com/109029560.

Expanding into MCA’s Elementary and Middle School
MCA’s Elementary Program serves children through the 8th grade and promotes academic excellence, critical thinking, cooperation, and civic responsibility in its students. Our dynamic program focuses on the whole child and is guided by a team of passionate and experienced teachers who attend to the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive needs of each student. Our Elementary teaching team makes learning meaningful and motivates students in their study of the core subject areas of Language, Math, Science, Social Studies, Geography, and Culture. We also nurture our students’ growth in the areas of Technology, Health, Spanish, Physical Education, Music, Theater, Visual Arts, and Peace Education. In addition, MCA Elementary includes lessons and programs that are unique to our school.

Some of the hallmarks of MCA’s Montessori Elementary experience include:

1. Independent learning and individual pacing without ‘grade level’ restrictions. Montessori education understands and respects that every child learns at a different pace. Students move through their academic studies with materials that complement their ability and facilitate their growth. They may work independently or in small groups depending on the task at hand, and students learn collaboration with others and take ownership of their learning.
2. Progressive learning in traditional Montessori curriculum areas with cross-curricular and real world application. Our Montessori Elementary environment includes all traditional Montessori curriculum areas complete with physical manipulatives and learning materials. As lessons progress, relationships are drawn among the curriculum areas, and understanding moves from the concrete to the more complex and abstract. Work is scaled up in terms of difficulty. Collaboration between teachers and peers becomes necessary and “intangible” skills like critical thinking are employed to solve problems and complete projects which often are related to real life applications.
3. Peace Education and “Service Learning” projects. Another intangible, but critically important, part of the Montessori curriculum is its incorporation of Peace Education. Students become involved in their communities in very meaningful ways. From participating in reading clubs with senior citizens to planning and organizing fundraisers to support local charities, our Elementary students share their time and talents in the service of others. Our students not only become positively contributing members of their local communities, but they also become more globally conscious citizens as they learn about the needs of those in faraway communities, as well. Opportunities such as these gift children with a sense of civic responsibility, tolerance, and empathy, traits that are not easily obtainable in a standard academic classroom.

MCA’s Elementary Program promotes the growth and development of our future leaders through a wealth of meaningful academic, social, and community experiences. As Dr. Montessori said, “The Absorbent Mind is indeed a marvelous gift to humanity”, and giving your child the opportunity to complete the three-year Early Childhood Cycle with a Montessori Kindergarten year or to continue in Montessori through the elementary years, is a gift that will be carried with them throughout their educational journey.

If you would like more information about MCA’s Kindergarten or Elementary Programs, please speak with your Campus Director, or join us at one of our Open Houses this month!

Growing Up with a Grateful Heart

 

By Alex Chiu

Your spouse passes a dish from the dinner table to your son. You bring a tissue to your daughter when she is sniffling while watching TV. Your mother brings your child a birthday gift. As parents, our almost kneejerk response when any of these things occur is to immediately prompt our child with “What do you say?” Sometimes we do this even before the child has had a chance to process that someone has done something kind for him or her. But what do we really accomplish with that prompting? Generally, children will give the required “thank you” response you are seeking, but is there a real sense of gratitude behind those words?

To nurture a true grateful heart, we must make gratitude a daily practice with our children. It’s important for them to understand that there is so much we can be grateful for—big and small— and recognizing this at an early age helps children grow up with gratitude as a matter of course. Why is this important? Research indicates that having a sense of gratitude can help people reduce feelings of sadness, stress, and loneliness. In his article “7 Surprising Health Benefits of Gratitude”, author Jamie Ducharme outlines how gratitude can help people become more patient, reduce overeating, combat depression, improve relationships, improve sleep, and generally make you feel happier (Time Health, November 2017). And Ann Morin has her own list of seven benefits (seven must be a lucky number!), adding that gratitude can lessen aggression, improve empathy and self-esteem, and promote better physical and psychological health (“7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude That Will Motivate You to Give Thanks Year-Round”, Forbes, November 2014).

So how can parents help their children (and themselves) learn the practice of gratitude? Let’s count some very simple ways to express gratitude at least four times throughout the day:

1. First thing in the morning: Begin the day by sharing one thing you’re grateful for that morning. Warm water to wash your hands, the sun shining, fuzzy pajamas, breakfast—model a sentence of gratitude and invite your child to think of what he or she is grateful for that morning.
2. On the way to school: Comment about one thing you see that makes you feel grateful. Recently, for me, it was having all green lights on the drive to school! But it could be anything—a car that functions, the beauty of the changing leaves, a favorite song that comes on the radio. A simple recognition of “I’m so grateful that song came on—it really brightened my mood!” is a great way to share your gratitude with your child.
3. At home after school: Express your gratitude to your child when he or she is helpful, kind, or considerate to you or any other family member. But be specific and add on to the usual “Thank you”. If your child remembers to put toys away before coming to the dinner table, you might extend your gratitude by saying “Thank you for remembering to clean up—that really helps me and shows me that you’re responsible and that you care about taking care of your toys and our house!” Invite your child to think about who has done something since coming home from school that he or she would like to thank.
4. At bedtime: Have your child share one thing about the day that he or she is truly grateful for—it could have been time spent with friends, learning a new skill or concept at school, the yummy dinner you made, snuggling with the dog, anything!

It may take some time for this habit to take hold, but if you take the initiative in sharing what you are grateful for on a regular basis, your children will very likely follow suit. And then the entire family can reap the many more than seven benefits of a grateful heart!

For a list of fun gratitude activities for the whole family, including how to make a ‘gratitude box’, some gratitude prompts, gratitude games, and even gratitude apps you can download, check out: https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/gratitude-exercises/

More information and resources on gratitude, including those used as references in this article include:
http://time.com/5026174/health-benefits-of-gratitude/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2014/11/23/7-scientifically-proven-benefits-of-gratitude-that-will-motivate-you-to-give-thanks-year-round/#13d897b9183c
https://tinybuddha.com/

And some lovely children’s books with a gratitude theme you might enjoy:
Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by Dr. Seuss
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Jake Swamp
Splatt Says Thank You by Rob Scotton
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts

Preparing for Parent/Teacher Conferences

By Alex Chiu

With Parent/Teacher Conferences coming up very soon, we thought we would repost this article from last fall to help parents prepare for these special school meetings.

By the month of November, students are well into their school routines. They have learned the classroom rules and guidelines, refreshed their memories after a summer off from school, likely made some new friends, and are deep into their new learning. This is why November is often the time of year when schools will schedule their Parent/Teacher Conferences. It’s a perfect time for teachers to connect with parents to share their observations about their students, and it’s the opportune time for parents to glean some insights into how their children are performing in school both academically and socially.

Prior to conference season, teachers take a great deal of time to prepare for their upcoming meetings with parents. They may work with the students individually for the most up-to-date assessments of certain skills, they will take more time observing the children as they interact with peers in the classroom and on the playground, and they will collect any important and pertinent information for students, which depending on the child and the school, may include support services reports, samples of student work, or additional notes.

Montessori teachers have an edge in preparing for Parent/Teacher Conferences because a large part of their training specifically focuses on observation in the classroom. Montessori teachers learn and practice the art of observing how their students work and interact, using their observations to drive which lessons to present to which children, which materials to rotate, and which parts of the environment to adjust to meet the children’s needs. Therefore, parents of Montessori students can be assured that at their conferences, they will learn quite a bit about how their children function at school and what they might be able to do at home to bridge the school to home learning.

For parents with children in school for the first time, we’ve gathered some information to help you prepare for your first Parent/Teacher Conference. For ‘veteran’ parents, these reminders may help you get the most out of your conferences this year.

At your conference, you can expect to learn about your child’s:
1. Recent academic progress.
2. Behavioral development as observed by the teacher since September.
3. Social interactions and development in the classroom.
4. Strengths and challenges within the classroom.

During the conference, you can help your child’s teacher learn more about your child by:
1. Describing your child’s attitude towards school.
2. Sharing anything that currently may be impacting your child’s academic or social progress (e.g., family illness, move to a new home, other family changes or potential stressors).
3. Discussing what you see as your child’s strengths and challenges.
4. Providing information about any special interests/activities your child has outside of school, so as to help your child’s teacher get to know a little more about your child.

What parents can do to prepare for and help facilitate a smooth conference:
1. Bring a list of questions you may have or topics you would like to discuss, keeping in mind the time allotted for your conference. Prioritize your list.
2. Ask your child if there is anything he or she would like to discuss with the teacher and share his or her comments with the teacher.
3. Come prepared to listen and take notes.
4. Ask to see samples of your child’s work or which Montessori materials he or she has been using.
5. Ask what you can do at home to help your child with academic, social, and emotional development. Inquire if the teacher has any community references that may be helpful to your family.
6. Be respectful of the time. If you have more questions than time allows for, do ask for a follow-up meeting at a later date. Communication with your child’s teacher can and should continue beyond the conference as needed.

Parent/Teacher Conferences are a wonderful opportunity to learn about what a typical day at school is like for your child, develop stronger connections with your child’s teacher, and gain insights into your child’s development. By participating in these conferences, you are showing your child that you are interested in what happens at school. You also are modeling the importance of open communication, and you are building the bridge between home and school to promote your child’s success as a student. Happy conferencing!