In Montessori education, letters are introduced by phonetic sounds rather than letter names. The children learn the sound each letter makes in preparation for reading and writing. We introduce a sound to pair with each letter symbol through sand paper letter lessons. First the child hears the sound the letter makes, she then visually sees the representation of the letter and finally feels the texture of the sandpaper as she traces it with her fingers. There are many other let

In the Preschool classroom, we are currently studying the beautiful country of Italy. We have been discussing and exploring many of the delicious and familiar Italian foods that we often eat here in the United States. One morning, Caelainn brought in her pasta maker and the children each had a turn taking a piece of dough and putting it through the machine to make fresh spaghetti. Once the pasta was finished, we cooked it and each child had a turn to try it. Many of the child

The school smelled of crispy home fries and the Preschool children were eager to try a taste of their culinary creation. Days prior to baking this afternoon treat; the children practiced scrubbing and chopping potatoes in the practical life area of our classroom. Once all the potatoes were scrubbed and chopped, we tossed them with a little oil and salt and baked them to perfection. Many of the children were delighted by this tasty snack. Food preparation is always a fun work

Play dough has become a staple in the art area of our classroom. We have observed this material to be soothing for many children. There are many fun tools to use with play dough to refine fine motor skills, including rolling pins and cookie cutters. This week, we introduced the children to using their hands to make balls with play dough. We added white play dough to the art area with a bowl of assorted materials to make tiny “snow people”. The children are strengthening their

“One, two, three, four, five,” the child said as she moved her game piece along the squares of a game board. “Your turn!” she exclaimed to a friend. The other child excitedly rolled the dice and they proceeded to play the traditional children’s counting game, Snakes and Ladders. The game has been a very popular math work this week. The children are not only enhancing their counting skills with this activity, they are also practicing patience and taking turns. Snakes and

“Green, yellow, orange… green, yellow, orange,” a child whispered to herself as she carefully placed each bead on a pipe cleaner. The afternoon enrichment project that day was making autumn colored bead bracelets. The children enjoyed picking out the colorful beads and participating in a fun fine motor activity. When a teacher presented the project, she encouraged the children to try to make a pattern if they wished. Patterning is an excellent activity for enhancing the child

“Look, a butterfly!” a very excited child showed her mother the beautiful monarch butterfly, which had hatched from it’s chrysalis overnight in a jar on our science shelf. One of our preschool families brought in three jars with chrysalises for the children to observe. The timing was perfect as we are currently studying living and non-living things as part of our science curriculum. We discussed that all animals are livings things and that most living things use their legs, w

“How do I do this?” a three-year old boy, a new student, asked a four-year old girl, returning to the preschool classroom for her second year. “I can show you!” she exclaimed with joy. They proceeded to explore the geometric solids from the sensorial area. The girl introduced the boy to the shapes and proudly taught him how to play the “What’s Missing?” game. They continued to enjoy the work together and were later seen choosing other works together, as well as playing togeth

In celebration of Earth Day, some of the children, during afternoon enrichment, painted recycled toilet paper rolls to make into “nature viewers”. The children were very excited and each painted their viewer with many cheerful colors. Once their viewers were dry, a teacher helped form them into binocular like tools. The following Monday was sunny and warm and we prepared to head out on an adventure into the woods with our projects. Before heading out, first we reviewed our na

“Who remembers which country we are studying?” a teacher inquired to the children. One child raised his hand and proudly shared, “Thailand!” The children have been learning about the beautiful and fascinating culture of Thailand. They’re been making Thai flags, exploring Thai play foods, learning about Thai textiles and more. One of our Preschool students recently visited family in Thailand and has been especially excited to share his knowledge of the country with his peers.