Ms. Maureen's Classroom

Summary       News Letter

Montessori Quotes:

"Growth is not merely a harmonious increase in size, but a transformation." - Maria Montessori

"Since it is through movement that the will realizes itself, we should assist a child in his attempts to put his will into act." - Maria Montessori

Interesting and Historical Montessori Facts!

President Wilson’s daughter was a trained Montessori Teacher and during his Presidency, there was a Montessori Environment/Classroom in the White House basement!

Our Practical Life Area

Practical Life materials consist of activities, which encompass four main areas: Grace and Courtesy, Control of Movement, Care of Person, and Care of the Environment. On our K-1 Practical Life shelves, you will find a variety of works that connect the home to the school environment. Most importantly, you will see activities, which meet the needs of your child’s desire for independence and sense of order as well as those, which will support and refine his/her fine motor skills, which are much needed for writing. The number of steps, which comprise many of the gross motor outdoor activities, lend themselves to extending the child’s ability to focus for longer periods of time as well as enable them to become proficient in performing multistep (45-60 steps) activities through memory.

Our Sensorial Area

The Sensorial materials provide your child with the chance to learn about the world around them, and what it is comprised of! Your child’s preschool sensorial experiences are continued in the K-1 environment with familiar materials to the more advanced. Each of the various materials will isolate a specific fundamental, measureable quality, which will be taken in through the child’s senses, to enable their senses to be developed and refined. The didactic Sensorial materials provide distinctions between similar and different, dimension, volume, weight, color, form, tone, texture, temperature, and taste. These materials give the child the opportunity to develop their need for the sense of order for they lend themselves to sorting and classifying also.

Before using the materials, it is necessary to perform a sensitizing exercise. It is done by sensitizing the fingertips. Some require the sensitizing of the (pointer and third) fingertips by rubbing them on the inside of their forearms, or dipping them into a small dish of water. Even still, some require the whole set of fingers to be wet! The magnificent genius of Montessori’s Sensorial materials is that there becomes a growth in perception of the various qualities particular objects have and it is through the refinement of this perception that children obtain an understanding that forms the basis for abstract thought, which will ultimately lead them to higher order mathematical thought processes.

Socialization: A Special Note:

During the transition from age 5 to 6 and during the ages 6 and 7 your child will be losing his/her first teeth. It is at this time that he/she will be entering a new stage of life. Your child’s personality becomes more set and two major changes will become apparent to you! He/she will begin to be more peer-oriented; concerned with rules, which will be very important to him/her; and he/she will become more interested in learning about the world and other cultures. Therefore, we will be having many meetings on rules/fairness and studying many different cultures this year!