Ringing in the New Year brings the promise of exciting growth within the lives of the children around us. Each day can be an adventure in the life of a child. There should be opportunities to experience nature, learn a new skill, laugh, sing and sit back and watch with amazement at how quickly they build their intelligence!
This is the time of year when everyone stresses about trying to purchase the perfect gifts for the children in their life. This can be a challenge for parents and grandparents who try to come up with the “best” gift for their children and grandchildren. Many of our children have more toys and things than they need, and sometimes it becomes overwhelming trying to purchase gifts that will be enjoyed, used, and loved. I came up with a few guidelines that I will be adhering to this holiday season as I purchase GIFTS for the children in my life.
It exists within everyone, but it must be nourished in order to grow. In 1968, George Land conducted a very interesting study on creativity with 1,600 preschool children in a head start program. The study showed that 98% of children are creative at the age of 5. However, when the same individuals were tested at ages 10 and again at 15, the results showed only 30% were creative at age 10 and 12% at the age of 15! When the same test was administered to 280,000 adults only 2% tested positive for creativity!
This month we have been focusing on the Practical Life exercises, which are the foundation of our method. This is the area of the classroom children are first introduced. Within these exercises, of the movements of everyday living, the child gains hand-eye coordination, control of movement and builds concentration! I believe that we need to intentionally carry these exercises beyond the materials on our shelves to activities that support the care of themselves, their environment, and others.
Almost all primary classrooms have a work involving some type of tongs and transfer work, but do we make it real? Have you shown children how to use tongs to serve snack or a meal? It does take a little more effort and time to allow them to serve one another or family members with the correct size utensils, and definitely a little more time during the daily meals themselves, but the skills, independence, and self-esteem that is gained through these simple changes are well worth the joy and satisfaction these young children experience.
Let’s think, how can we make our practical life exercises real? Consider allowing children to cut bananas, wash carrots, apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, and other fruit for eating. Take the time to demonstrate how to wash dishes and then allow them to do the task. This preparation and eating of snacks and meals may start at an early age. Toddlers love cutting bananas and popping the slices in their mouths!
During my last classroom teaching experience, we began a wonderful practice that the children truly loved! The preparation of a formal dining experience. Once a month we brought out the beautiful linen table cloths and napkins along with our dinner plates, crystal water glasses and flatware. The children themselves set the table, and with the assistance of the adults, cooked and then served the meal. Discussions were held about what to prepare and serve a week in advance. This was far more than our regular daily lunch experience! It was a meal in which they were truly in charge with the adults serving as the assistants!
In my work as a Montessori Teacher Certification Instructor, I have had the pleasure of walking through many beautiful schools! Often I have seen the adults in the environment doing tasks that I truly believe children can do for themselves. Simple things such as putting out nap mats and blankets, cleaning the shelves, washing tables, cleaning cubbies, and so much more. We need to think, is this something the children can do? Then give them a demonstration of how and the materials to do the work. When children are given these experiences they increase their listening skills and ability to follow directions along with independence that will serve them for their entire life!
When children first enter our Montessori environment they are led to the Practical Life area. This is considered the foundation of the method because through these exercises the child develops hand-eye coordination, an attention span with the ability to concentrate, and at the same time gaining skills they will need throughout their lives! It is the beginning of allowing the child to gain physical independence from adults in their world. The child’s positive self-esteem begins to emerge as they push the adult away to say, “I can do this myself!”
While teaching a Montessori Teacher Certification Program, one of my students asked, “Why do we teach Opposites? How do opposites help children with language skills?” Basically the student was asking, what is the point to teaching Opposites? It was a question that I had to think about for a moment. To me the most obvious reason is that it builds a child’s vocabulary! Reading, writing, and oral language skills are all about ….WORDS! WORDS! WORDS! Introducing the child to opposites not only increases vocabulary, but it is a fun activity that forces the child to use higher order thinking skills thereby building his/her intelligence.
What comes to mind when you think of children? I picture them smiling, laughing, and just enjoying the moment. The “Joy of Childhood,” is a phrase that has been used in articles, book titles, and lecture topics for those in childhood education for years. Is it a topic we truly understand? I believe joy is an emotion that takes place within an individual when they are truly content, satisfied, pleased, and happy. The outward signs of joy are seen in the smiles on a face, the happiness in ones eyes, and the tone of someone’s voice.
As a new school year begins many of us are preparing the classroom for the first day! It is important to set up the physical aspects of the learning space, but there should also be an intentional preparation of what is to happen in that environment every day. The following are a few things I try to keep in mind as I work with my students to create a productive learning environment.
The new school year will soon begin. Across the country, young children will experience their first day of school. Returning students may be sad that their summer has come to an end. To make the back-to-school transition easy, here are a few tips:
Early childhood educators have understood the correlation between rhyming and reading for years. We read nursery rhymes, Dr. Seuss books, and sing songs with rhyming lyrics. Those of us who have taught reading using the phonics approach have introduced word families to our young readers.
Words that actually rhyme because they have the same ending sounds. An example is the “at” word family: bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, pat, rat, sat, etc. Using this approach to reading, children learn the phonic sounds of each letter and then begin reading words within word families. Children that have been exposed to rhyming can hear the similarities in words which aids them in early reading and spelling skills!
There is an interesting research study conducted at Dartmouth University by Dr. Donna Coch. In this on going study, experiments that read brain waves of young adult readers are indicating that there seems to be a strong connection between knowing how words rhyme and knowing how to read them. This research study was recently highlighted in the Dartmouth News: “How Rhyming Helps Reading: Brain Waves Tell the Story.”
There are many studies that that state the importance of introducing rhymes to young children, not only to develop reading skills, but to increase their vocabulary.
Recite and Memorize Nursery Rhymes such as, Little Bo Peep, Jack and Jill, etc.
Read books that rhyme such as “The Cat in the Hat” and “A Giraffe and a Half.”
Play a Rhyming Game where the child is allowed to give the adult a word and the child listens while the adult must tell the child a word that rhymes with that word. This allows the child to “hear” the rhyme in words. It is a natural progression then for the child to begin to rhyme words on their own! This game really works and is a lot of fun for the children and adults.
Matching Rhyming Objects. These maybe purchased from Montessori-n-Such or Primary Concepts. No reading involved but 3-D objects to hold and match. Listening to rhyming words is emphasized and practiced. The child is given a few sets of rhyming objects such as: rake/snake, fan/can, mice/dice, fork/cork, car/star, etc. Pair together stating the name of each with an emphasis on the ending sounds. State to the child, “Rhyming words have the same ending sounds!” Continue matching each of the rhyming sets. Review aloud as a conclusion.
Rhyming Puzzles. A set of 5 ½ by 5 ½ picture puzzles. The top half of the puzzle has a picture and name of an object the lower half of the puzzle has a picture and name of an object that RHYMES with the top section of the puzzle. Each rhyming puzzle is made up of two pieces. Here is a presentation of these Rhyming Puzzles.
Reading Word Family Cards. The short vowel reading cards are lists of words divided by the vowel sound. Then each vowel sound is divided into word families. An example is Card#1 Short “at family”----- bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, pat, rat, sat. (All “at” words) The reading cards continue in the same manner with “an” words, “am” words, ‘ag” words, etc. These can be purchased as a downloadable file here and an example is below.
Having access to rhyming materials is great but remember that reciting and memorizing chants and songs as well as reading rhyming books is the first step!
Check out your local library and use them for free! Oral rhyming games are fun and free and can be played one-on-one or as a group.
In your home or in the classroom,
Sing a rhyme to a favorite tune,
Just take a little time
And create your own rhyme!
In our Montessori classrooms we all have the beautiful sandpaper letters. As an instructor in the application of the Montessori Method I have the opportunity to visit many schools and I am seeing less and less of this important material in the hands of the children! Yes, it does require some one-on-one with all 26 letters, but the benefits of this work are great! The presentation not only presents the sound of each letter to the children, but also a sensorial experience of how the letter is formed.
