The Gazette
November 2014
Exploring through our Senses
This month we continued to present materials from all areas of the Montessori Classroom: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language and Mathematics. Children also repeated 'old materials' and observed their peers. This month, I would like to focus on Sensorial Materials in this newsletter.
The education of senses makes men observers. The child who has worked with the sensorial materials has not only acquired a greater skill in the use of senses but also guides his exploration of the outside world”.
The Montessori Method, Maria Montessori
Sensorial materials are used in the classroom to help children develop and refine their senses from Visual to Stereognostic. They are objects designed to educate the senses. Unlike Practical Life activities, children will have never encountered Sensorial Materials quite like the ones presented in the Montessori classroom. However, prior to joining the Montessori classroom the child will have already ‘worked on’ or explored his senses and the world around him. Thanks to the Sensorial Materials developed by Maria Montessori, the child will not only continue to explore his senses but also refine them and his knowledge. These materials are intended to make the world more interesting by allowing children to see it in a more differentiated way.
Maria Montessori understood that the sensory discrimination was an extremely important ability that we tend to take for granted. Her Sensorial Materials isolate various sense perceptions. The purpose of Sensorial Materials exercises is for the child to absorb and attain information and then to be able to make classifications in his environment.
Working with sensorial materials gives the child and opportunity to learn how to classify the things around him. As a result the child makes new experiences in his environment. Through the classification, the child is also offered the first steps in organizing his intelligence, which then leads to his adapting to his environment. Sensorial exercises also assist the child’s concentration, ability to make judgments and move with purpose.
"In order to develop his mind a child must have objects in his environment which he can hear and see. Since he must develop himself through his movements, through the work of his hands, he has need of objects with which he can work that provide motivation for his activity." Maria Montessori
Direct Goals of Sensorial Materials
Maria Montessori believed that there is nothing in the intellect which first does not exist in the senses. Sensorial Exercises were designed by Montessori to cover every quality that can be perceived by the senses such as: size shape, composition, texture, loudness or softness, weight, temperature etc. Montessori categorized these qualities into eight different groups: Visual, Tactile, Baric, Thermic, Auditory, Olfactory, Gustatory, and Stereognostic. Sensorial Materials isolate various sense perceptions. Each group works on a different sense. Each object in the material set is identical in every way except that one quality. For example in the Pink Tower activity, all cubes are identical expect for their size. This allows the child to focus on what one attribute makes the cubes different. The child will work on Visual and Tactile discrimination first.
A few Sensorial Materials in Use...
The Pink Tower
The Red Rods
Geometrical Figures
The Sound Boxes
Intro to Fractions
Constructi-ve Triangles Box 1
Geometric Cabinet
Stereognos--tic Sense
Color Tablets: Box # 3
A Few Highlights in November...
In preparation for our Thanksgiving Feasts, our classes prepared carrots for the All School Friendship Soup. The children thoroughly enjoyed preparing carrots for the soup. We often spoke about our part in the soup preparation/making and the importance of this work. Children were pleased with themselves to contribute an ingredient.
Works like this really encourage children to concentrate. It is an involved activity and therefore fosters the development of will-power and independence. Children usually spend around 20-30 minutes working on their own.
Thank you to all the parents who brought in an extra bag of carrots with their child's snack choice. I also wanted to thank parents who have been including carrots or bananas regularly with their child's snack; children have been able to do these works daily, thanks to you!
Thanksgiving Feasts
Leading up to Thanksgiving, we spent a lot of time during circle time discussing and sharing what we were thankful for. We used a story board to introduce terms like the: Mayflower, The Pilgrims, The Indians, Harvest, Feast and Thankful.
Both classes celebrated Thanksgiving and tasted the delicious Vegetable Friendship Soup and some wonderful pumpkin bread that Mrs. Andresen and Mrs. McNeil had made.
The Monday/Wednesday/Friday group celebrated Thanksgiving in the Classroom. A special thank you to our class parent, Mrs. Passananti, for helping us get organized for the feast. Thank you to all the parents who provided delicious food and paper goods last Monday.
The Tuesday/Thursday group celebrated Thanksgiving in the gym with the other classes that attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They had a lovely time as well! Thank you to Mrs. Sekhar, Mrs. Edgar and Mrs. Moravick for volunteering to help us during the Feast!