Sensorial

A collage with a plastic eyeball tweezer transferring activity, a ghost and marble tong transferring activity, and a child brushing a pumpkin

Seasonal Classroom Changes

|

This Autumn, we added new materials to some of our staple activities such as transferring with tongs/chopsticks, gluing on the x, and care of the environment. Children will often care for the environment by watering plants and washing plant leaves. This month, the children have an opportunity to wash and care for a pumpkin in preparation for Halloween. (Please click for full photos and more information.)

View
A collage of a child in front of her Birds Eye View activity

Birds Eye View

|

Our friends really thrive and feel accomplished while embracing their independence as they work with the Montessori materials within the class. The child feels so proud to have put together the Birds Eye View. This is an activity that involves counting through units, tens, hundreds and thousands – from 1 to 9000!

View
A child placing a numeral beside a corresponding quantity while having a view of the whole mat

Birds Eye View

|

After being introduced to the decimal system via the golden bead materials and number cards, the child combines the two: symbols and quantities. The child will display all the units and the corresponding cards followed by tens, hundreds, and thousands, displaying the hierarchy of the decimal system. The child has an overview or a bird’s eye view of the golden beads and numeral cards together. (Please click for more information.)

View
A collage of a child counting the beads of coloured bead bars and checking their work by lining up the golden and coloured bead bars of 10

Snake Game: Level 2

|

The second, third and fourth levels of the snake Game have a child converting a coloured bead bar snake into a golden 10 bar snake. In the second level, the snake is evenly divisible by ten and the child counts the beads and makes a golden snake equaling the number of coloured beads in the coloured Snake. (Click to find out how they check their work and for the full photos.)

View
children working on the small number rods, the snake game, the Birds Eye View, and Division

Math Materials

|

Children in Casa are introduced to quantities, numerals and counting up to the thousands. The materials help children to understand math concepts and recognize numerical sequences, patterns, and their relationships. Working with Math materials in a Montessori program helps children to make learning impressions in their mind by moving from the concrete to the abstract. (Please click for full photos.)

View
A collage of a child getting materials and placing them on the decimal placement mat

Bank Game

|

The initial play relies on previous knowledge and experience with the units, 10 bars, 100 squares and 1000 cubes. The child receives a verbal request to bring one of the four quantities. As the child becomes more familiar with the game, the teacher will increase the challenge by including 2, 3 and finally all 4 quantities as the child learns to use the decimal placement mat to place the material in its corresponding places. (Please click for the full photos.)

View
A collage of a child with a snake game colouring sheet and overlooking their coloured bead snake with a control pattern

Snake Game Extension

|

In addition to the Snake Game, the children work on colouring sheets showing a colourful snake as well as a golden snake, learning the properties of the coloured bead bars. Once the child has mastered the snake game, they place the bead bars in the patterns shown on various control cards, making a variety of combinations of equations that they can later print out. (Please click for more information and full photos.)

View
A child sitting with a completed Pythagoras Square and worksheet

Pythagoras Square

|

The Pythagoras Square is a beautiful, colourful sensorial expression of the multiplication table. It consists of 10 squares and 90 rectangles. Once the child has completed the Pythagoras Square, they may colour the corresponding worksheet to bring home their own Pythagoras Square. (Please click to find out more!)

View
A child working on skip counting with bead chains

Skip Counting with Bead Chains

|

The Bead Chains are found in the Bead Cabinet; two different chains for each number, 1-10. The first chain breaks down the number squared, and the second chain breaks down the number cubed. Accompanying each chain is a square or a cube, respectively. When a child uses the Bead Chains for skip counting, they lay the chain on a mat and use corresponding numbered arrow tags to count out the chain, in multiples of its particular number. (Please click for more information).

View