Montessori Parent Education

Part one of a nine part series of Montessori Parent Education Newsletters… By Lynn Belmonte
Starting a new year in a Montessori environment is a very exciting time! Here are some things you can expect at the start of the new school year.

• The first few days (and weeks) of school can be nerve wracking. Talk to your child about how they feel about going back to school and about how you felt on your first day of school
• Students are to be left on the blacktop by their classroom number. Quick exits are actually best to help your child adjust to their classmates
• For a child returning to the same environment, you might ask him or her to relate the things that are the same or different as compared to last year
• Expect at least a six-week adjustment period in their new environment
• Returning students become role models and leaders for new friends in the classroom
• Expect to wait about six weeks before volunteering in the classroom. This enables the teacher and children to normalize. We will write more about the normalized classroom in next month’s newsletter

Montessori environments are specially prepared for your child to develop and grow to become successful, independent thinkers.

At each level, care and attention is devoted to each area of the classroom. The class flows from one area to the next with table and floor spaces interspersed. The rooms are intended to be peaceful and beautiful. That is, there may be one beautiful piece of artwork on the wall instead of a wall covered with many things.

The furniture is child size and made for the child’s comfort. Furniture is light enough that the child can move it himself. The shelves are set up for the children to take materials as needed. The shelves are sequenced from the easiest (most concrete) work to the hardest (most abstract) from left to right. The work is also organized from the most simple to the most complex. At the conclusion of a lesson, the work is put back in the correct spot on the shelf and the child is invited to perform the task. 

Now when you visit the classroom you will have a better understanding of areas of the classroom.

Areas of the Montessori Environment

There are five major areas of the Montessori environment: practical life, sensorial, language, mathematics and cultural.

Each area serves the child in different ways. The following are explanations of the area and some sample work from that area. Once you know the areas of the classroom you can speak to your child about different work they may have done in each area.

“The extreme exactness and concreteness of a child’s mind needs and precise help” - Maria Montessori

• Practical Life: The exercises for practical life are designed to teach the child to function in their own environment by teaching them how to cope with the things around them (Hainstock, Teaching Montessori, p.21). The practical life area prepares the child indirectly for all other areas of the curriculum with order, concentration, coordination and independence. Practical life exercises include pouring, sorting, food preparation, care of self (hand washing, grooming), care of environment (table washing, floor sweeping, dusting, polishing). As the child progresses through the practical life work it becomes more involved. For example, at the elementary level, a child may work on test taking skills as part of practical life skills. The teacher may show students step by step how to analyze a test question. Or an elementary child learns advanced cooking skills or techniques. This is the easiest area of the classroom to bring to your home environment. Invite your child to help you sort the laundry. Show them how to load the washer and put in the appropriate amount of detergent. After the load of laundry is dry, your child can fold the laundry.
• Sensorial: Sensorial exercises deal with developing the five senses. By developing the five senses, the child develops intelligence and independence. Dr. Montessori wrote, “The aim (of sensorial exercises) is an inner one, namely, that the child train himself to observe; that he be led to make comparisons between objects, to form judgments, to reason and to decide, and it is the indefinite repetition of this exercise of attention and of intelligence that a real development ensues.” (Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook, p. 71). The sensorial area also includes geometry as the subject is introduced to the child through their senses.
• Language: At the 3-6 age level, language exercises train the child to focus on sounds and noises and to discriminate between them. Writing is included in the language area of the classroom. The elementary child focuses on classifying and organizing language. The 6-12 year old child will extensively study grammar and word etymology.
• Mathematics: Mathematics is the science of numbers. Montessori mathematics focuses on numeration, the decimal system, and geometry. Our base ten system encourages the child to sequence and order his work. This area of the classroom starts with very concrete material and moves to more abstract work. Each child works to memorize facts and understand abstract concepts.
• Cultural: This area of the classroom refers to anything that does not fit in one of the above categories. Cultural subjects include history, geography, art, physical science, music and physical movement.

Help your child get off to a great year! Here are some simple steps you can follow to ensure a fantastic year:

• Volunteer! – Volunteer in the classroom after the first six weeks. Your participation makes a huge difference!
• Be involved! – Even if you are not able to volunteer in the classroom, participate in other ways, such as parent night, cutting out materials at home, providing school materials, and attending special school events.
• Partners! – Let your child (and child’s teacher) know that you form a partnership. See the teacher as a help to raising your child. You can ask the teacher for suggestions relating to things other than academic areas.
• Participate! – Take part in any school activities like back to school night, ice cream social, field trips, safety walks.

A major benefit of the Montessori Method is the normalized classroom. The normalized classroom provides a structure for:

• Independent and small group work that is productive
• Minimal discipline issues High level of independence A love of work
• Signs of initiative
• A high level of self-discipline
• Work that is at just the right level of difficultly for the child

A normalized classroom refers to a room where children are working purposefully and cooperatively. Dr. Montessori described the normalized child as “... one who is precociously intelligent, who has learned to overcome himself and to live in peace, and who prefers a disciplined task to futile idleness.” (Secret of Childhood, p. 148) A child’s nature must be recognized and allowed to grow. This is the goal of any Montessori teacher.

Teachers in the classroom strive to assist the child in purposeful tasks. This is done through lessons and exercises that interest the child. The teacher may observe the child wandering around the room and then invite the child to choose a lesson.

By choosing a lesson, the teacher is providing an opportunity for purposeful and meaningful work. By choosing the lesson, the child is likely to repeat the work shown by the teacher.

Indications of a normalized classroom (and child) depend on the children and teacher involved. Normalized classrooms tend to have teachers that are highly observant. The teacher observes by watching what work the child chooses, how often the work is chosen, how long it takes the child to complete the exercise ... and when the child is ready to move on to the next lesson.

The teacher provides an environment suited for optimal learning by providing material that is well prepared ensuring that concentration is possible.

At the beginning of the school year, the teacher may choose work for the children. Whole group activities may be more frequent than at any other time of the year. As small group and individual lessons are given, children are given more independent work time. Children earn the right to work independently and choose their work. As more and more children are able to work on appropriate activities, the work time is increased.

Normalization of a Montessori classroom allows the students to work and learn in a wonderful learning environment.

Sandpaper Letters

The sandpaper letters assist children in learning sounds that letters make. A child is shown a letter, the letter is traced for the child, and the letter sound is spoken. The child then repeats what has been shown. The child is introduced to two different letter sounds each lesson. The teacher works with the child to learn the sounds. When a child returns for another lesson, they will review the sounds already taught.

Grammar Symbols

The grammar symbols (shown below: article, adjective, noun, verb, adverb, pronoun, conjunction, preposition, interjection) help the child visualize very abstract grammar concepts. Initially the lower elementary child is introduced to the noun symbol. The pyramid is black to represent the coal of the Earth. The pyramid is the sturdiest shape. Grammar symbols that relate to the noun are also triangular in shape (article, adjective, pronoun) but are of differing size and color. The verb is red to represent the sun. Grammar symbols that relate to the verb are round (adverb) but are of differing size and color.

Early on, children learn to connect a noun with the black pyramid (or triangle on paper). We are reinforcing the idea of an abstract idea represented by something concrete. As each part of speech is introduced, so is the grammar symbol. When children work on grammar they are reminded of the part of speech by the color-coding and symbol. For example, the black triangle symbol represents a noun.

As the child progresses through elementary, the grammar symbols become more complex. For example, the child now has a definite article symbol and an indefinite article symbol.

In addition to learning the parts of speech, the symbols are also used for sentence analysis. So the sentence “A dog runs.” Would be written with a small blue triangle (article), a black triangle (noun), and a red circle (verb) drawn above. This may be reminiscent of sentence diagramming for parents.

Montessori Glossary

Free Choice – The ability to choose work at will is free choice. A child is granted free choice as part of the Montessori environment. However, free choice can be limited or structured if the child requires more guidance.

Normalization – The child or classes ability to work cooperatively and purposefully.

Part three of a nine part series of Montessori Parent Education Newsletters… By Lynn Belmonte
Tips for every level: Parent and teacher conferences are a wonderful time and opportunity for you to visit with your child’s teacher regarding progress. This is your chance to discover your child’s strengths and areas that they need to work on.  Montessori schools function as tight knit communities - a “village” if you will. Bring any concerns or issues with you to the conference. The teacher will be happy to work with you to best meet the needs of your child.

Kindergarten – This is a stage of intense development for your child. Be prepared to hear lots of information about the work your child is doing at school. Don’t be overly concerned if your child spends a majority of their time in one area of the classroom. This is perfectly normal at this age. The teacher can guide you regarding classroom and work expectations.

Lower Elementary (Grades 1-3) – Children at this developmental level start to be very academically oriented. Often, the organizational skills they learned in kindergarten are ignored or forgotten in favor of tremendous academic growth. After an initial adjustment to the environment (normalization) the children can begin anew in creating their organizational skills. Lower elementary students often use work plans or organizers to help plan their work for a day, week or month.

Upper Elementary (Grades 4-5) – The upper elementary child is starting to go through changes and preparation for middle school (especially if they are in their last year of upper elementary). This aged child is very concerned with social aspects of school. Most children want to fit in and be accepted by their peers. Parent-Teacher conferences are an opportunity for you to discuss concerns social, academic, emotional that you have about your child.

Montessori Glossary

Freedom within limits This term refers to a Montessori ideal that children have freedom, but it is freedom that is structured by the environment and the teacher. For example, at this point in the year, a child may be asked to complete work in math, language and cultural daily. The child would be free to choose the order in which the work is completed, the work in those areas, and the amount of time spent on the work. Children in a Montessori environment are given quite a bit of latitude when they make appropriate choices.

Work time/work period – Typically referring to a three hour period of time in which the children cycle through work, being very diligent, slowing down or taking a break, and then reenergizing to finish the work or choose something new. It is tremendously important that the work period not be needlessly interrupted. At the elementary level the work period enables the teacher to provide small group and individual instruction while other children are working. At the kindergarten level, teachers tend to give mostly individual or small group lessons. Large group lessons are given for cultural subjects.

Montessori Materials – Mathematics

Montessori Spindle Box

The exercise consists in placing spindles (like pegs) in a corresponding numbered slot. So the ‘one’ slot would get one spindle, the ‘two’ slot would get two spindles and so on. This is the first exercise where the children are introduced to the concept of zero having nothing. Each successive slot has a corresponding number of spindles. When the exercise is complete there will be no spindles left. We refer to this as the control of error (if there are not enough spindles or too many spindles, an error has been made).

When used by a very young child, the spindle box exercise can provide a concrete basis for mathematics. The child sees what the numeral 3 represents. After the child’s initial lesson they are able to independently practice using the material as much as is necessary for understanding.

Montessori Bead Cabinet

3-6 year old environment:
The bead cabinet consists of two sets of chains for each number, 1 to 10 - the squaring chain (pictured on the left) and the cubing chain. Also included are the squares of each number (pictured on the far right) and the cubes of each number (pictured in the middle). The bead cabinet materials shown above are for the number 5. Children are exposed to the bead cabinet in a sensorial way. That is, they handle the material and lay it out, but may not be ready to learn to count the beads. The child can practice counting from 1 to 1000 using the chains. After learning to count the beads on the chain, a child would learn to use the chain to skip count. So the five chain would be counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25. This helps prepare the child for multiplication.

6-12 year old environment:
In the lower elementary class, the child continues to work with the bead cabinet to practice counting, if necessary, but mainly to learn squaring and cubing concepts. The child sees the 52 is made up of 25 beads. The cubing chain (53) is made up of 125 beads, which can be manipulated to form a cube. This helps the child visualize and compare their creation with the cube of the number 5. Work continues with the squaring and cubing chains into upper elementary.

Part four of a nine part series of Montessori Parent Education Newsletters… By Lynn Belmonte
One of the differences between a Montessori environment and a traditional classroom is that of a multi-aged environment. These classrooms provide the following benefits:

• Self-esteem boosting for children in the program for more than one year.
• Confidence builder - the child knows the teacher and class expectations.
• Each child has access to many “teachers,” not just the adults in the room to seek out help or guidance, but older children that know the material.
• Easier transitions. Your child remains with the same teacher for two years so they have an easier time transitioning from grade to grade or year to year.
• Maximizes curriculum options available to anyone child. If you have an advanced 6-year old, your child is able to move through the curriculum at his own pace.
• Provides a family atmosphere where children develop sibling like relationships. Older children watch out for and nurture the younger children. The younger children learn from the older children and return the favor in the future years.

Children in a Montessori classroom rarely become bored. In a Montessori environment children use different materials at different times in different ways. For example, a child may sensorially explore the geometric solids. The child handles the solids and explores them, but may not be ready to learn their names. After a time, the child learns the name of each solid. The material stayed the same, but what the child was developmentally ready for changed. This happens with many materials in the Montessori environment. Montessori multi-aged classrooms offer opportunities for children to grow and learn over an extended period of time.

“What I have shown in the immense potentiality of the child is the existence of an energy which previously had not been taken into consideration.” – Maria Montessori, The Advanced Montessori Method (1961)

Magnificent Montessori Materials: Geometry

Geometric Solids

Kindergarten— At this level the children explore and learn to name geometric solids. The children also are introduced to the geometric cabinet (a series of drawers in a cabinet that contain geometric plane figures).

6-12 year old environment Lower elementary students review the geometric solids as they begin their study of geometry. The focus at this level begins with nomenclature (naming objects). Children learn names for geometric solids, plane figures, and more. Children at this level also delve more deeply into studying each plane figure (parts of a line, parts of a triangle, parts of a circle…). After mastering plane figures, concepts of congruency, similarity, and equivalency are studied. Area and volume are also studied in depth.

Holiday Gift Suggestions

Kindergarten Books are a great gift for young children. During your child’s early years, foster a love of reading. Stay with repetitive and patterned books that have a clear rhythm. Choose stories that relate to their life (holidays you celebrate as a family, for example). Avoid scary stories for this age group as children have a difficult time keeping fantasy and reality apart. Montessori Materials - Dozens of Montessori companies sell materials designed for home use. Wouldn’t your child love to do banana-slicing work at home? Some Montessori materials can be reproduced by shopping around. Look for objects (tools) that are child sized and made of good quality. Children can be extra hard on tools and they will want to use them often. How about a tool set to help Mom or Dad with chores around the house?

Elementary (6-12) If you are the parent of a first grade child, now is the time to buy your child an analog watch. This is when children develop a sense of time and understand the meaning of time. Learning to tell time can be facilitated by their very own watch! Start a hobby. The elementary aged child is old enough and mature enough to start a hobby. Think about a gift that would expose your child to a new hobby. Is your child particularly creative? How about stamps and inkpads? Do they love the outdoors? How about a gift certificate for a climbing club? Do they love to move? How about dance lessons? The idea is to introduce your child to different things at this age so they can discover what they really love. If after a few weeks they lose interest, don’t lose heart. Try a different hobby.

Several gift ideas are provided, but another element children love is the tradition you create around gift giving. Could you creatively wrap the gift? What about a pair of earrings in a box, nested inside many other boxes? Do you guess what the gift is prior to opening? It is easy to give to our children, especially when they are appropriately appreciative. Consider this year giving of your family. Could your family spend time together wrapping gifts for children in need? What about volunteering at a soup kitchen? One of the best ways to teach a child gratitude is to show them how other people live, thereby creating awareness on their part.

 

Part six of a nine part series of Montessori Parent Education Newsletters… By Lynn Belmonte

In a Montessori classroom, the materials are carefully selected and displayed with the expectation that children will be drawn to and interact with the work. With such enticing materials and lessons, it can be challenging for a child to organize his/her day and complete the work expected by the teacher.

While in the 3-6 environment, children are free to choose work that is engaging to them. Beginning with the ages of 6-9, expectations shift and children learn to independently organize their day to choose appropriate curricular work with the ultimate goal being a self-sufficient child. Dr. Montessori felt that “The greatest sign of success for a teacher… is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist’” (The Absorbent Mind 283). The teacher assists the children in the planning of their work and goals.

Initially, some children may have difficulties choosing appropriate work and then tracking the work that may have an assigned date of completion. The teacher will intercede to help the child make a routine of choosing and recording work. Similarly, parents may be unaware of newly introduced work or upcoming due dates/projects. One way to approach this is to have each child update daily a monthly calendar with newly presented lessons, upcoming work, and dates of completion on various works/projects. The child would then prioritize which is an important life skill both in school as well as in the workplace. The teacher would assist the children in developing priorities, which work is most important to complete, what work needs to be broken down into smaller tasks. Also, this calendar could travel from home to school and serve as a discussion point between parents and children regarding upcoming work and completion of assignments.

Many parents have found this approach to be a way of keeping touch with their child’s work as well as a conversation starter beyond “How was your day?” Assisting a child in becoming more organized will help him/her to be a more successful student at each subsequent level as the work becomes more challenging and the expectations rise. A good organizational foundation can help develop a more confident, self-sufficient child.

Elementary (ages 6-12):

Work Plans—At the elementary level many schools implement work plans (also referred to as contracts) to assist the child in study skills. The work plan fosters individual and independent learning. A work plan is developed by the teacher and includes lessons from the previous week. The work plan is organized to fit the Montessori environment and includes the different areas of the classroom. Depending on the independence level of the child, the work plan may start out completely blank. The child would then fill in the work plan with appropriate work for the day, week or month.

A younger child may use a daily work plan while a child with more independent work habits might use a weekly or monthly plan. A child who is less independent would work with the teacher to fill in the work plan, discussing what work needed to be completed.

With the work plan in hand, the child then has a guide from which to choose their work. A child can also check or cross off work (or the teacher may do this) as work is completed. Crossing off a completed work helps give the child a sense of completion. As the child gets older, the work plan easily translates into a student planner. The student planner lists upcoming projects and due dates. By using work plans and planners, students are practicing a lifelong skill that will help them to organize and plan their work.

 

Part seven of a nine part series of Montessori Parent Education Newsletters… By Lynn Belmonte

In this edition of the Hammer Montessori Learning Magnet Parent Education Letter you will gain more knowledge of the various activities found in the Montessori classroom.

One of the key components of the Montessori classroom is the prepared environment. The teacher in the classroom has extensively prepared the classroom for the children. The teacher is also expected to be a model of exemplary behavior and social skills for the children. Montessori teacher training is extensive and involves course work, readings, and an internship in a Montessori classroom.

There are many unique qualities to a Montessori environment. Qualities include a variety of lesson formats (listed below), freedom within limits, choice on the student’s part, peacefulness, and the ability (and encouragement) to repeat exercises. A variety of lesson formats allows the student to more actively participate in the lesson. By giving one on one lessons or small group lessons, the teacher is able to more quickly determine the child’s understanding of the concept. Within a Montessori environment, the teacher prepares the room and material so that students have a variety of work from which to choose. Activities that encourage peace and tranquility are made available. Many classrooms have a peace corner where children may go to reflect. Activities that encourage the child to learn stillness and silence are performed. Leaning to carry materials with care, control one’s body, and to know when to be quiet or silent all add to the beautiful quality of the Montessori prepared environment.

Lessons are given in three formats:

• Class presentations: meetings, games, music, movement, stories, and poetry
• Small group lessons: small groups of children gather for a common lesson
• Individual lessons:tutorial, remedial and accelerated work

The classroom is comprised of several different areas:

Practical life
Sensorial
Language
Mathematics
Cultural

Practical Life

The practical life activities meet the internal need a child has for organization. At every level, the practical life area helps the child to learn more about the environment and how to interact with the environment. Life skills, grace and courtesy, care of self, and care of the environment are examined in practical life. Examples of practical life activities include:

• Life Skills – Pouring, sorting, cooking, bead stringing, paper cutting    
• Grace and Courtesy – Offering food to a friend, asking for help, setting a table, hanging up a coat or backpack    
• Care of Self – blowing the nose, clipping nails, using dressing frames to learn how to zipper, button, lace and tie… (pictured above)    
• Care of the environment – table scrubbing, polishing (silver, shoe, wood)

Sensorial

Activities in the sensorial area include the pink tower (cubes), brown stair (rectangular prisms), knobbed cylinders (shown below), red rods, color tablets, weight tablets, smelling jars, tasting jars, Montessori bells, and geometry. In this area of the classroom the child works independently or with a friend to explore the relationship of items in the environment. The child is shown the material and then has many opportunities to repeat the exercises themselves. The child is introduced to concepts such as weight, height, heaviest, lightest, darkest, sweet, sour, smooth, and rough.

Language

The language area of the classroom assists the child in learning how language functions. Children begin by matching pictures (flowers, animals…) to increase their skill of discrimination. Eventually the child begins to discriminate letter shapes and letter sounds. Reading is taught phonetically, starting with objects and pictures. The child begins to learn what sound they hear at the beginning of the words. The child likes to manipulate the objects or pictures. Children begin sound lessons, which are individual. The teacher shows the child how to trace a letter made of sandpaper while hearing the sound the letter makes. From sound work the child builds words using a moveable alphabet. Individual alphabet pieces allow the child to create phonetic words readily (mat, cut, sit…). Phonetic reading books are introduced when the child is ready and the students also listen to stories read by the teacher. The child also learns sight words in a variety of lessons.

Another component of Montessori language is grammar. Children are introduced to grammar after obtaining a certain level of confidence with reading. Each part of speech is matched with a symbol. The child learns to connect the grammar symbol with the part of speech, thereby giving the child one more way to remember parts of speech.

Writing (mechanical and creative) is taught in the language area. Metal insets increase the child’s small motor coordination and prepare the hand for writing. Mechanical writing is taught by grouping like letters together. For example, letters like 0 and a are taught together because 0 is the basic handwriting shape and you make the same shape, but add a connected line to make the letter a.

Mathematics

The mathematics area of the classroom covers numeration, math operations and facts. The child is introduced to concepts in math, such as addition. Then through a series of different exercises using manipulatives, the child practices and masters each mathematical concept or skill. After introducing a concept, the child works on memorizing facts. The child is exposed to many different pieces of material including golden beads, stamp game, small and large bead frame. With each successive material and lesson, the child moves from very concrete (hands on) work to more abstract work. A kindergarten child can often add large operation problems (2361 + 1423) because they have materials that help them solve the problem. Receiving individual lessons allows the child to work at their own pace and progress, as they are ready. Independent work follows lessons and students have an opportunity to practice until the concept is understood. There is a large variety of fact work for the child to practice. Dr. Montessori created a series of fact charts for each operation (addition, multiplication, subtraction and division) to assist the child in memorizing their facts.

Montessori Mathematics comprises the following:

• Operation work Key here is introducing the child to concepts such as addition using a variety of Montessori materials. The material gets progressively less manipulative as the children lean to solve more problems in their heads.
• Factual work Materials (like the addition chart shown below) provide an opportunity for the child to practice their facts quickly. Fact work is typically performed with one digit numbers (4 + 5). Like operation work, the fact work starts out with material that the child can move and progresses toward material that is non-moveable.
• Numeration The study of numbers and their meaning. In the Montessori environment we have a beautiful bead cabinet. The children are shown the bead chains initially and learn to count. Later, the child learns how square numbers and cubes are created by manipulating the chains. Children also learn about numbers and their value from the red and blue rods, the spindle box, cards and counters and more.
• Geometry at the 3-6 age level, geometry is part of the sensorial area of the classroom. In the elementary classroom, geometry joins the math area. The child is introduced to solid and plane geometric shapes, the names of shapes, and to the study of geometry.

Cultural

Montessori classrooms include a cultural area where the children study cultures (how and where people live) around the world. The children use beautiful globes and maps to learn geography and the location of capitols, rivers, and mountains and then associate culture with the various geographic areas. Children study landforms and how those landforms originated, and how the landforms impact daily living. As children acquire the geography skills necessary to understand the Earth, they want to know what everything is.

We use this natural curiosity to introduce the child to a plethora of new vocabulary. The young child also learns concepts of the whole and then the parts. For example, we introduce a bird to the child. We typically have a bird in the classroom so the child can observe the bird, and then we introduce the parts (beak, eyes, wing…) of a bird. Eventually the child will progress from external parts of animals to internal parts of animals. At the elementary level the child is curious about how they fit in the global scheme. The cultural studies seek to help the child answer their own questions about the world and their place in the world.

 

Part eight of a nine part series of Montessori Parent Education Newsletters… By Lynn Belmonte
One of the core beliefs in Montessori education is that we are preparing the child to be a part of the larger community - of one’s school, neighborhood, city, state, country, and planet. The aspects of being part of a community particularly stressed by Montessori:

• Empathize with others’ circumstances.
• Take part in the action to solve problems that go beyond the scope of the child (giving back to the larger community).
• The ability to work together even while doing different things.

What a tremendous gift for children to understand, early in life, that they are part of a bigger picture. Children learn early in a community that it is important to help another when needed, to care for each other, and to respect each other.

The sense of community in a Montessori environment comes partly from the multi-aged aspect and partly from things that go on under the direction of the teacher.

How does one build community? First, children get to know each other. This may initially be fairly superficial. At the 3 to 6 age range it may be getting to know each other’s names. As children work and play together they learn more about each other. The teacher promotes respect with the children. Lessons are given in manners of grace and courtesy. A child is shown how to appropriately interrupt or to watch someone work. Teachers promote community in classrooms by showing the children how to work together, how to handle conflict, and how to appropriately interact with visitors. As the children grow and mature they are given opportunities to learn how to work in a group. Children have the opportunity to play cooperative games that teach about themselves and others.

You can be part of the Montessori community. You can be involved in what is going on at the school. You can arrange play dates with other children from the school. Children learn community from parents, school, and the larger community.

Magnificent Montessori Materials

Bead Stair

The colored bead stair was developed to teach young children about quantity in a very tactile manner. Children are able to see and touch from one bead up to ten beads mounted on a wire base. A child spends time building the bead stair and subconsciously learning the color system of the beads. The color-coding of the beads remains the same at the elementary level so when children use the beads for more advanced work they can recall their prior experiences with the beads.

As is true with some materials, the color-coding has evolved slightly. The ten bar is golden (ergo the name ‘golden bead material’). The eight is a dark brown, and the six is lavender. The unit bead is colored red.

The children use the beads eventually for memorizing math facts (addition, multiplication, and subtraction) and for higher-level math concepts like multiplying numbers. The bead stair is used to create a decanomial, for checkerboard multiplication, and golden mat material. The decanomial consists of 55 colored beads. The child lays out 1 unit 1 time, 1 unit 2 times and so on until the ten bead bar is laid out ten times. The child gets a very visual representation of multiplication by creating the decanomial. Like many materials created by Dr. Montessori, the bead stair has many functions in the elementary classroom.

The Montessori Glossary

Control of Error – Montessori materials are typically designed so that a child is able to discover their own error. The error does not have to be determined by the adult in the environment. Color coding systems on cards are often used as a control of error. So, a child laying out cards for vertebrates and invertebrates can check their own work by turning the cards over and seeing that all the vertebrate cards have a blue dot and the invertebrate cards have a red dot. The child can independently fix the error.