Classroom Activities
Areas of Concentration
The Montessori classroom is rich with carefully prepared learning materials in the following areas:
Practical Life
- Care of Self: hand washing, dressing, pouring
- Care of Environment: dusting, sweeping, polishing
- Social Relations: grace and courtesy
- Elementary Movements: holding, carrying, grasping
Sensorial
Refinement of the senses through work with scientifically designed materials that explore physical properties such as dimension, color, texture, smell, sound, taste, and weight.
Language
- Spoken: story telling, reading poetry and prose, conversation, phonetics
- Written: writing, reading
Mathematics
- Concept of quantity
- Decimal system
- Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
Cultural
- Geography
- Science
- Botany
- Biology
- Art
- Music
Presentation of Materials
The Montessori teacher observes and guides the children in their work, allowing for a natural pace that facilitates unconscious absorption and better retention. The emphasis is on a “work cycle”, allowing the child to be his/her own timekeeper. The teacher knows when to intervene so that concentration and involvement, which is second nature to the child’s work, is encouraged and not interrupted. New materials or concepts may be presented to a child individually or in a group presentation.
The children initiate their own work and show great enthusiasm for what they are doing. Activities are freely chosen and repeated according to the child’s needs. Montessori educational materials give the child an impression of the world around him/her by showing how all living things are interrelated and interdependent.
Although most of the class time is spent in individual or small group format, during some part of the day the teacher will assemble the group of children to engage in large group activities such as story telling, singing, movement exercises or large muscle activities.
Children will be supervised at all times. An adult will be nearby, within sight, even if the child is working alone.
