Sensorial: Five Fun Facts

Sensorial: Five Fun Facts

Saturday, May 16, 2015 / No Comments

Sensorial is a unique area of study in Montessori.  While it is true that it involves the senses, there are a number of fun facts about sensorial that may not be known as widely.

1.  It's Different Than Sensory
Sensory play and related activities are great ways to engage your young child's senses.  However, there is a slight distinction between sensory and Montessori Sensorial.  With sensory activities, a child is stimulating multiple senses at one time.  It is usually open ended and without a direct aim.

Montessori sensorial is designed to train individual senses.  The activities isolate one very specific concept to bring awareness to subtle changes.  For example, a sensory bin is a favorite for sensory play.  It allows a child to experience a number of items in a tactile way.  In the realm of Montessori sensorial, the tactile sense may be explored using the touch tables.  This is a set of matched wooden tables that each contain a different grade of sandpaper.  Children will work, often blindfolded, to match the pairs using only the tactile sense.  The changes between each tablet are subtle and can require great concentration.  The end result is that the child refines and deepens the tactile sense.

The iconic pink tower with every cube identical in shape a color - drawing attention to size.  

Now please don't take this to mean that sensory play doesn't have its place as well.  We certainly enjoy both here.  In fact, you can read about how I created our sensory table for $5.  At the same time, I encourage you to explore some traditional Montessori sensorial activities as well.


2.  Sensorial Is the Precursor to Math
While Sensorial is recognized for its immense value to the senses, it is often overlooked for its strong foundation in math and logic.  In fact, in a traditional scope and sequence, the math area is not explored until the child has a foundation in sensorial.  Maria Montessori designed nearly every traditional Montessori material with some mathematical aspect.  Many of the items are in sets of ten to reinforce the decimal system.  But it goes further than that.  Let's visit the pink power again.  Did you know that the perfectly portioned cubes also represent the cubes of 1 through 10 (1, 8, 27, 64... through 1000)?  This can also be an experience in volume since the largest cube is equal to exactly 1000 of the smallest.  And you thought they were just stacking blocks.  ;-)

And the list goes on.  The red rods introduce early counting while the binomial and trinomial cubes introduce algebraic equations.  Materials like the constructive triangles and geometric solids introduce early geometry concepts.  Sensorial is truly one of the best math foundations.

This is the decanomial square, a primary level sensorial work.  This brilliant material is a visual representation of the table of Pythagoras.  It is a representation of the multiplication tables with the cubes running diagonally.  As you can see in the second image, the pink tower cubes fit the cubes in the table perfectly.  And yes, a preschooler can create it.


3.  Sensorial is Only Found in the First Plane
While sensorial activities provide an incredible foundation for training the senses, early math concepts, and logic, these activities are unique to the first plane of development.  This is the plane that encompasses the absorbent mind, which spans from birth to age six.  You will find a brief summary of the planes here.  Maria Montessori found that this age range was specifically geared towards this area of work.  Of course, this doesn't mean you can't introduce some sensorial work to an older child.  But in a more traditional Montessori approach, the activities are altered for the next plane of development.

And that brings us to the next point.


4.  Many Sensorial Materials Extend to Elementary
While we may consider many of the traditional sensorial materials for preschool, many of the materials will actually be used far into Montessori elementary through age twelve.  You may even see a few used at the adolescence level!  I was pleasantly surprised to make this discovery early on, and it helped justify my decision to invest in several key pieces.  But while the materials haven't changed, the way they are used has.  During the first plane of development, the children are primarily using the materials as a way to refine the senses.  However, in the second plane, the same materials they have become familiar with are reintroduced anew to explore advanced concepts in mathematics and geometry.

One of my favorite examples of this concept is a TEDx Talk that shows how the binomial cube transitions through the various planes.  It is a great demonstration of the brilliance of a Montessori education.

5.  Easiest to Recreate

One of the best aspects of sensorial is that the core activities are amazingly easy to set up using items that you most likely already have at home.  Simply choose the sense you wish to work with, and provide an activity that isolates it.  For example, you can try tasting various flavored liquids, matching pairs of fabric by touch, smelling various spices. visually grading different sized pieces of paper with same color and shape, and listening to how different instruments sound.  And don't forgot some of the lesser considered options such as discerning color, weight, and temperature or using the stereognostic sense.  Truly, the options are limitless in this area.  If you are interested in the traditional sensorial activities, you can find presentations from both the AMI Primary Guide and Montessori Album.


I hope this helps give you a deeper understanding of Montessori Sensorial and inspires you to incorporate a few activities in your home.

-Bess
Don't forget to follow me on Facebook and join me at Montessori Homeschooling.


This post is part of the 12 Months of Montessori series.  I encourage you to visit each one to learn more about Sensorial.

Amazing blogs involved in the 12 Months of Montessori Learning

Natural Beach Living ~ The Natural Homeschool ~ Living Montessori Now ~ Planting Peas

The Kavanaugh Report ~ Mama’s Happy Hive ~ Study at Home Mama ~ Child Led Life

Every Star Is Different ~ Grace and Green Pastures ~ The Pinay Homeschooler

Edible Botany

Edible Botany

Thursday, April 16, 2015 / No Comments

While we often stress the importance of eating our fruits and vegetables, how often do we ask our children to eat their roots and stems?

Learning the various parts of a plant may be a common lesson in a Montessori classroom.  However, what can help those lessons come to life more than exploring those parts with our taste buds?

For this activity, I began by collecting various edible plant parts.  Here is what I chose:

• Flower:  Cauliflower
• Fruit:  Tomato
• Leaf:  Romaine Lettuce
• Roots:  Carrots
• Seeds:  Pumpkin Seeds
• Stem:  Asparagus
   

I gave my children plant part cards so they could label each item.

They worked together and were able to label everything correctly.

Then came the fun part - trying each of the items.

While my children had eaten everything I presented before, the activity made them particularly eager to try them anew.  In fact, I couldn't get them to stop eating.  I intend to try this activity again in the near future and introduce some new foods they have not been interested in before. 

We used a plant part checklist to label each item.  We checked them off as we tried them.  And yes, one of my children decided to eat a tomato as if it were an apple.

The lesson quickly took on a practical life element as my children asked to cut the fruits and vegetables.

We practiced our knife skills and safety.

To highlight just how successful this activity was, my children spent over an hour cutting and tasting.  It culminated with their desire to make salads.  They acquired the proper dishware and proceeded to prep the veggies.  

Overall, the activity was a phenomenal success.  I haven't seen my children this engaged in something for a long time.  I was also surprised at how deeply it helped them connect the lesson to other fruits and vegetables.  It wasn't long before we were trying to identify as many sources of seeds as we could.  My son's face lit up as he proclaimed that by eating a tomato we were actually eating both a fruit and seeds.

If you would like to try this activity at home, I have a free printable available here.  It includes the plant part cards, journal pages for the tasting experience, and a tasting checklist.

Here are a few suggestions to try:

Flower:  Broccoli, Cauliflower, Artichoke, Squash Blossom
Fruit:  Bell Pepper, Tomato, Apple, Banana, Any Berry, Squash

Leaf:  Cabbage, Chard/Kale, Spinach, Cilantro, Parsley, Basil

Roots:  Carrot, Sweet Potato, Parsnip, Beet, Turnip, Radish

Seeds:  Peanuts, Sunflower, Pumpkin Seed, Lentils, Wheat Berries, Rice, Quinoa

Stem:  Asparagus, Onion, Celery, Cinnamon, Leek, Rhubarb

Happy tasting!

-Bess

Don't forget to follow me on Facebook and join me at Montessori Homeschooling.This post is part of the 12 Months of Montessori Series.  I am truly honored to be part of this endeavor.  Don't forget to visit all of the participating blogs to learn more about Botany.

Amazing blogs involved in the 12 Months of Montessori Learning

Natural Beach Living ~ The Natural Homeschool ~ Living Montessori Now

The Kavanaugh Report ~ Mama’s Happy Hive ~ Study at Home Mama ~ Child Led Life

Every Star Is Different ~ Grace and Green Pastures ~ The Pinay Homeschooler

Mini Grammar Environments

Mini Grammar Environments

Monday, March 16, 2015 / No Comments

If there's one thing all my children love, it's miniatures.  As a result, our collection of Toobs continues to grow.  I began to wonder how I could capitalize on my children's interest in all things small.

In a traditional Montessori scope and sequence, grammar is often explored through a material called the grammar farm.  It is a detailed model, complete with realistic animals.  Children experience grammar concepts by using sets of cards to label items within the farm; increasing the difficulty to full sentences with practice.

I was excited to discover that there were several farm themed Toobs I could use to recreate the grammar farm.  The smaller size was easier to manage and was far more budget friendly.  But as I put my farm set together, I wondered, "Why stop there?"  I subsequently began creating simple miniature environments for each of my children's favorite Toob sets.

 This ocean environment features the Coral Reef Toob by Safari Ltd.  It was very easy to create.

The box includes:

• Toob Miniatures
• Aquarium Plants
• A Standard Blue Felt Square
• Brown Felt Cut Freehand for Floor
• Ocean Grammar Labels - See below to download for free

Children are free to explore the contents to create scenes.  

Before introducing the cards, review the names of everything in the box via the three period lesson.  

Once the various parts are known, introduce the noun cards (black outline).  If your child is a new reader, it may be helpful to simplify the noun set by removing more difficult words.

As your child progresses, you can begin to offer more words.  Here are a few examples of how the experience can progress over time.

It is not necessary to name the parts of speech.  In fact, it is often more meaningful to the child if they independently discover how the various color coded sets are used.  The cards have been color coded to match the Montessori Grammar Symbols.  An older child who has experience with that material will be able to make the correlation.

But the fun doesn't stop there!  Here is an example of our Musical Instruments mini environment.  I was able to purchase a full set of matching grammar cards from LDA Montessori.

As you can see, you can turn any Toob set into a miniature environment to help expand vocabulary and explore grammar.  I prefer to store each set in a small box so my children can choose.  However, if space is limited, you can rotate the available option.

Click here to get your own set of FREE grammar cards for the ocean set.

-Bess

Don't forget to follow me on Facebook and join me at Montessori Homeschooling.


This post is part of the 12 Months of Montessori Series.  I am truly honored to be part of this endeavor.  Don't forget to visit all of the participating blogs to learn more about Language Arts.

Natural Beach Living ~ The Natural Homeschool ~ Living Montessori Now

The Kavanaugh Report ~ Mama's Happy Hive ~ Study at Home Mama ~ Child Led Life

Every Star Is Different ~ Grace and Green Pastures ~ The Pinay Homeschooler

Shapes of Geography

Shapes of Geography

Tuesday, February 17, 2015 / No Comments

One of the aspects I adore about Montessori is the focus on geography and culture.  By exploring geography, we are far better equipped to understand the details of history and current events.  My children love having a grasp of where they exist in world.

While we enjoy exploring geography through traditional maps and globes, experiencing geography through a tactile encounter of shape has helped my children internalize various continents, countries and states.

Our work often stems from Montessori wooden puzzle maps, one of my favorite traditional materials.  These puzzles are fairly large at roughly 22 by 18 inches.  The pieces are durable and precisely cut with knobs that indicate where capitol cities are located.  My children haven taken an interest in our puzzle maps from the earliest moments of primary and they will be used for many years to come.

We enjoy using them as basic puzzles.  Here you can see my son working with our puzzle map of Europe.

But the use goes far beyond that.  Here are few additional ways to explore shapes in geography.


When we introduce new land masses, we trace the exterior with our fingers.  We often take turns, passing the pieces between us as we name them.

To take it step further, we trace pieces with an object such as the back end of a thin, watercolor paintbrush.

A child with more control can trace the shapes onto paper.

One exploration of geographical shapes unique to Montessori is called pin poking.  For this activity, the child uses a poking tool to create small holes along the outline.  It is a work that helps develop patience and fine motor control.  Once the outline has been punched, you can tear off bits of paper to reveal the shape.


If you're interest in pin poking, you will need the following supplies:

• a thick felt pad
• an outline on paper
• a poking tool*

*You can purchase authentic pin punches from Montessori suppliers such as Montessori Services and Montessori n Such.  You can also use jumbo push pins.  However, please do not use standard sized push pins as these can be swallowed.  There was an unfortunate accident at a Montessori school several years ago so I cannot stress this point enough.



Here is example of my daughter completing a pink poke work of Texas, which she had previously outlined from the puzzle map.

She is storing her state pieces in a folder.  Her goal is to create one of each so she can recreate the United States map.  This is a classic work in a Montessori classroom.  As a simpler work, a child can recreate the continents from the world map.

To highlight how these experiences have benefited us, my daughter chose to draw an outline of Texas from memory.  It wasn't perfect but she managed to capture several key features.  She immediately whisked it to a special place in her room so I wasn't able to get a picture.


While the puzzle maps are fantastic, it isn't always possible to acquire them.  I love one of the exercises my children do at their weekly Classical Conversations community meeting.  They use dry erase markers to trace laminated maps.  Since my daughter's class is older, they trace individual states.  My son's class is focusing on tracing the United States as whole.  This is an excellent way to explore the shape of landmasses without the puzzle maps

I hope you enjoy these simple activities to further explore the shape of landmasses in geography.

-Bess

Don't forget to follow me on Facebook and join me at Montessori Homeschooling.

This post is part of the 12 Months of Montessori Series.  I am truly honored to be part of this endeavor.  I want to encourage you to visit all the participating blogs to learn more about Geography.

Natural Beach Living ~ The Natural Homeschool ~ Living Montessori Now

The Kavanaugh Report ~ Mama's Happy Hive ~ Study at Home Mama ~ Child Led Life

Every Star Is Different ~ Grace and Green Pastures ~ The Pinay Homeschooler

Exploring Georgia O'Keeffe

Exploring Georgia O'Keeffe

Sunday, February 15, 2015 / No Comments

For those who are unaware, we are part of a classical education based program called Classical Conversations.  It's something we use in addition to our Montessori base as a compliment.  As part of our CC cycle, we are studying American artists.  Recently, we studied the work of Georgia O'Keeffe.

The children each worked on an art project at our community meeting.  In William's class, they observed flowers and painted them; reminiscent of the floral work O'Keeffe is known for.

Here is his finished project.

But the fun didn't stop there.  An art museum within driving distance was showcasing some of her work and our fabulous leadership planned a field trip.

To be perfectly honest, the thought of taking my clan to an art museum made me a little nervous.  Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how accommodating the staff was.  We brought a large group with a majority of the children being on the younger end of the spectrum.

The lobby was filled with art designed to be realized by the public.  In other words, there was supplies and an example picture.  It was up to us to recreate it.  Everyone gave it a try.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take any photos inside the exhibit.  As you can imagine, the works were closely guarded.  I did take one lovely shot of before we entered.  The photography of  Georgia O'Keeffe throughout the exhibit was breathtaking.

We were paired with a fantastic guide who went into great detail with the older children.  I was curious to see Elora's reaction since she's my self-professed artist.  The results did not disappoint.  She stayed deeply engaged for the entire tour; asking many questions.  What surprised me the most was the reaction of the little guy.  He wanted to get up close to everything which wasn't an appropriate behavior.  It was tricky.  He was hysterical at points because he so desperately wanted to see everything.  I was limited in indulging him and he didn't understand why.  There were a few moments where I was able to hold him so he could get a satisfying look.  He would tell me about the colors he saw and other details he liked.  Neither of us are used to that type of power struggle so it was, um, interesting.  But we made it and I'm thankful we had the opportunity.  :-)

The exhibit we saw is touring so if you have an opportunity to visit it on another stop, I highly recommend it.


After our official tour, we were taken to a family friendly area.  

Everyone certainly had their creative juices flowing.  There was a lot of art happening.

We learned about Robert Indiana.  The boys each created something inspired by his work.  Can you tell who made what?

Elora had her portrait recreated with dots, a style called Pointillism.

And if there's one thing I loved about the museum, it's that every last detail was beautiful in some way.

This structure spread several floors.

Even the corridor to the parking garage was a display.

I do hope to go back sooner than later.  I'll probably wait a few more years before I take the littlest into a highly guarded exhibit but there were plenty of other things we could explore there.