tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22131895814217010512024-02-18T18:21:53.269-07:00The Helpful GardenI am a Montessorian. I love teaching children using the Montessori Method. I have spent countless hours developing my own garden of printable materials, and have made enough mistakes to learn a lot. I truly believe in this work, and want to see as many people have free access to great quality for teaching. Thanks to anyone who gets my blog site out there by linking or sharing.Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-62499863890411705322021-02-03T23:04:00.010-07:002021-06-09T23:07:03.743-06:00<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: x-large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(162, 196, 201); white-space: pre-wrap;">Big and Wonderful News!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Everyone needs great friends. They make life lovely and bearable. Sometimes it is your support network that keeps you afloat and brings out the best possible in yourself. Sometimes GREAT things come out of being together when life gets tough. I never used to have these kinds of friends. I never really held onto friends when I was younger. But when you go through the hard things in life those friends make the difference between being carried and feeling it all. My friends Katie, Milly, and Leticia have woven in and out of my life for years. We’ve had spells when we didn’t get to see much of each other for one reason or another, but whenever we get together it is as if we never spent any time apart at all. Montessori brings us together. Our love of children brings us together. Friendship brings us together.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95PufHqG7V3C5KaNl8qy6WRRIOpN3GNdOJYHYGwCA3mvzGpJwpjLeoLzVlpKQFe57OZwSkWvevE3DtHxPGlGq3-ktV42iZhgtrHto9wuuHKcKnM8YGxZjZrrTk2PrNT483SIzIssle8fp/s563/_U4A4355.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="563" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95PufHqG7V3C5KaNl8qy6WRRIOpN3GNdOJYHYGwCA3mvzGpJwpjLeoLzVlpKQFe57OZwSkWvevE3DtHxPGlGq3-ktV42iZhgtrHto9wuuHKcKnM8YGxZjZrrTk2PrNT483SIzIssle8fp/s16000/_U4A4355.jpeg" /></a></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">We always start by chatting about our lives, our loves, and our woes… but eventually the conversation turns into deep, meaningful discussions about Montessori, about education, about what the world really needs, and how the heck are we ever supposed to do something worthwhile about it. We can get awfully passionate about it all and I’m sure it would be really fun to be a fly on the wall. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">One December night in 2019 we got together for dinner and started talking about our desire to make Montessori more accessible and understandable to everyone. To children, parents, homeschooling families, teachers, support staff, administrators, schools, and the world. That night changed the direction of our lives. </span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: x-large;">That night Foresight Montessori was born.</span></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #a2c4c9; text-align: center;"><a href="http://foresightmontessori.com" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="3250" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6vFDp7mB9y6EtvU5iHQ4gHdoKon8TN4xYomKAuytJE6iZ4UoNOxpqzz3jbb15KI8ITgQ9sSW2iSGlIUIfsbLyQVUoo-JGe2DdfCojGZ2rDYU2XY9Aq0rcxunBiwvj2ydd95WEtCre-dz/w640-h190/Main+Logo+Blue+Words+Filled+In1.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #a2c4c9; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am thrilled to introduce my dear friends and </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">business</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> partners to all of you. We are working </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">together</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">make</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> our vision for guiding successful education, home, and life journeys a reality. </span></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Find out more about us and what we aim to do at <a href="http://www.foresightmontessori.com">www.foresightmontessori.com</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/foresight.montessori">@foresight.montessori</a> on Instagram and <a href="http://facebook.com/foresight.montessori">@foresight.montessori</a> on Facebook.</span></span></span></span></p><p><b id="docs-internal-guid-ffa33703-7fff-63a1-a264-1be6a2066355" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: x-large;">The future of the Helpful Garden blog</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">I'm certain everyone would agree that this has been an incredibly different year. I have sometimes been so stretched but always feel like my little Early Childhood Sequoias bubble is so precious. I have learned so incredibly much in the process of guiding little persons in the midst of a pandemic, but I haven’t been able to get to the blog. Luckily I now have help!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">In the coming months The Helpful Garden will be moving to a new home, but don’t worry, you won’t have to go looking for something new. When you get on the blog it will redirect you to the new landing page. Look for more information about this move soon. The free resources will be moving with us and you can look forward to more products and so many resources. The best news is that the planners everyone has been asking me about are finally here! We know many of you have been waiting patiently, or impatiently, for these planners. We have spent so much time in preparation and development of these new Teacher Planners, because we wanted to make the best product for you. We have made lots of exciting changes in all the levels including Early Childhood, Elementary 1, and Elementary 2. I EVEN learned how to paint on the computer so they would be beautiful for y’all! </span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/shop"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ZNOwFO5aY4pSeMNzonzSnBa0TO-SQlvQlh8QJfi0p596q5Jvt-au57lFwLmLrg5uA_MUCD7MMyGIGS1nFbaDgf_wLYkvHyfYOsYr0Sfx3xHwAtqycXBl2WKTDH0Y3SRYk-XHshc5Zf6O/w608-h423/_U4A1729.jpeg" width="608" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/shop">YEARLONG PLANNER FOR THE MONTESSORI GUIDE</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have been planning, developing, and creating for months! We are excited for the future of The Helpful Garden, Foresight Montessori, and to becoming Montessori’s North Star.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: x-large;">Loves,</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: x-large;">Cath</span></span></p><p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></p>
<script>if(window.location.pathname === '/') {window.location = 'https://www.thehelpfulgarden.blog/';} else {window.location = 'https://www.thehelpfulgarden.blog/blog/welcome';}</script>Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-83128029875349298022020-04-05T19:08:00.002-06:002022-03-04T17:02:46.234-07:00Montessori Botany - Seeds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #7f6000;">MONTESSORI EARLY CHILDHOOD BOTANY - </span><span style="color: #7f6000;">SEEDS STUDY PART I</span></span></b></div>
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Children simply adore the study of seeds. Nothing speaks to energy and new growth quite like a seed and the potential life inside. Sequoias Class has begun learning all about seeds even if it is long distance. This post will take you through the sequence of seed presentations and works for the Early Childhood classroom. Look forward to the second installment as our studies continue.</div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>#1 SOAKING & DISSECTING BEANS</b></span><br />
In the Montessori <span style="caret-color: rgb(127, 96, 0);">environment we always first introduce the real thing and then move to further abstraction of study. In order to study seeds we will soak many large bean seeds in a bowl of water so we can explore them later. It takes several hours, or even overnight for the beans to be ready. When we are teaching in a classroom we don't want to soak too many or they will go to waste or start to really stink. We try to soak only as many as we think will be used in a day. Typically a child who takes this work from the shelf after a presentation will dissect 4-5 seeds on their own.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeuNkk9FxgDajUBWp7TaUQ8XZKWEXdhd3lcxBs_ZZvJCZmLlUgZSpfphnawSRKjgd2G9GnAp3kliUq-QfgxfM_kF7ABceEo-SM6uJ_F5dG385zlNfmaqM4dC_nLx9p9Q_nAFEk6pC1NDc/s1600/IMG_E8136.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1555" data-original-width="1600" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkeuNkk9FxgDajUBWp7TaUQ8XZKWEXdhd3lcxBs_ZZvJCZmLlUgZSpfphnawSRKjgd2G9GnAp3kliUq-QfgxfM_kF7ABceEo-SM6uJ_F5dG385zlNfmaqM4dC_nLx9p9Q_nAFEk6pC1NDc/s400/IMG_E8136.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">soaking beans in a sunny window</td></tr>
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Once the outside (testa) of the seeds are supple and the seed is swollen they are ready to be dissected and explored. The guide (teacher) will invite a student, or small group of children (no more than 3) to observe this presentation.<br />
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For this presentation you will need -A paper towel folded, tweezers, beans that have been soaking in a small bowl until supple a tray to hold all the items, and a paper with parts of the beans glued as in the example photo:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOy7262cHR-E7Mcgf8Gq7R6WIC6mJcTkYDe7Em4LyYvl4t9pqEAhLjJJ7E_lmx65tVNoPFvxGwcWDmF0gP5uYhER_eKDz0SCXmduj6y6dZSXQJFkuijwM4u3uCxzdp3TUevcyyqn3l5PMB/s1600/IMG_8195.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1337" data-original-width="1600" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOy7262cHR-E7Mcgf8Gq7R6WIC6mJcTkYDe7Em4LyYvl4t9pqEAhLjJJ7E_lmx65tVNoPFvxGwcWDmF0gP5uYhER_eKDz0SCXmduj6y6dZSXQJFkuijwM4u3uCxzdp3TUevcyyqn3l5PMB/s400/IMG_8195.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dissecting Seeds Presentation Tray</td></tr>
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<b>Dissecting Seeds Presentation</b><br />
*Lay a vinyl mat or hand towel down on the table. <br />
*Go to the shelf and retrieve the bowl of beans which have been soaking for several hours or overnight.<br />
*Place the bowl of soaking beans at the top left corner of the table. <br />
*Remove one seed and place on the mat. <br />
*Say, "This is a seed. This seed has been soaking in water for several hours. I can see that this seed has gotten plump with water. See how much bigger it is?"<br />
*Point to the hilum of the seed and say, "This is the hilum of the seed. It is where the bean was attached to the seed pod."<br />
*Point to the micropyle of the seed and say, "This is the micropyle. It is a small opening in the seed."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7XpnLp5HwV9NimcHuFL0T5YBfX5-eMi4ohhuHNQu2RTQuEasBc8-65bXWL3kiWuUFuboFtL6k8G91PBxGP1dzbJhiAfRE7luTKYmw3CzDL74KL7luGZOiKz-r0O0BnGXBl2VRPqFaukc/s1600/seed+hilum.tif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="152" data-original-width="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7XpnLp5HwV9NimcHuFL0T5YBfX5-eMi4ohhuHNQu2RTQuEasBc8-65bXWL3kiWuUFuboFtL6k8G91PBxGP1dzbJhiAfRE7luTKYmw3CzDL74KL7luGZOiKz-r0O0BnGXBl2VRPqFaukc/s1600/seed+hilum.tif" /></a></div>
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*Without speaking remove the testa (seed coat) very carefully from the bean. Trying to keep it as intact as possible.<br />
*Point to the testa and say, "This is the testa of the seed. It is like a coat for the seed. It helps to protect what is inside."<br />
*Peel apart the two cotyledons of the bean seed being careful of the embryo inside.<br />
*Point to the cotyledons and say, "These are called the cotyledons. They will give the new plant the food it needs to grow."<br />
* Point to the embryo still attached to the cotyledon and say, "This is the embryo of the seed. It is the baby plant." (sometimes it is really helpful to have a red water soluble marker to mark the embryo with so the child can discern it from the rest of the plant)<br />
*Carefully break off the radicle and say, "This is the radicle. It will grow into the root of the plant."<br />
* Carefully take off the epicotyl and say, "This is the epicotyl. It will grow into the stems and leaves of the plant."<br />
*For older and more advanced students who can write: Demonstrate creating a sheet with the parts of the seed glued and labeled. It will take at least two seeds to create this work.<br />
*Place the unused been seed parts into the compost. Demonstrate how to clean up all of the pieces and return to the tray. Then place the tray back on the shelf.<br />
*Let the child(ren) know they may use this work whenever they choose now. Ask if they would like to work with this work.<br />
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<span style="color: #bf9000;">PARTS OF THE SEED PUZZLE</span></h3>
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After the introduction to the actual seed and its parts the child can be introduced to the Parts of the Seed Puzzle. I definitely have strong opinions about this work. In many Early Childhood classrooms there is not a puzzle of the seed parts but it is ever so helpful and highly engaging for students. There are many puzzle out there that seem like they would be more confusing than helpful to the student. </div>
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I love this set of puzzles that details the entire growth process from seed to young plant.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.montessoriequipment.com/IFIT-Montessori-Growing-Process-Puzzles-p/b.309.1.htm"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="483" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrzYNlGGyCljENUQ9aNjqQL6Nrnkpcb-8fdohQkxk389U1wzxjymioHI2JC51IC3fKmcmE6eggNr7N4aOHtvFeFq7VD0xq7EzcW4dU8uv6aQzu29nragloxH_SHYHDY8QIdBMfZl1istV/s320/B.309.1-2T.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.montessoriequipment.com/IFIT-Montessori-Growing-Process-Puzzles-p/b.309.1.htm">Growing Process Parts of Puzzles</a></td></tr>
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When a puzzle is not available there are other options such as <a href="http://teachermomplus3.blogspot.ca/2016/03/parts-of-seed-felt-puzzle-free-printable.html">this</a> one made of felt.<br />
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<span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>PARTS OF THE SEED NOMENCLATURE CARDS</b></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #bf9000;">After the child has had some experience working with the puzzle (or if they choose not to use the puzzle but have experienced dissecting the seed) they are ready for the Nomenclature Cards for the Parts of the Seed.</span></div>
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When presenting this work begin by laying out the control cards only (picture and word card) and do a naming lesson. This again goes over the vocabulary first introduced in the Dissecting the Seed presentation. Once all the parts have been named you may take the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Montessori-Small-Movable-Alphabets-Box/dp/B003BGYB8C/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&keywords=moveable+alphabet&qid=1586134326&sr=8-12">Movable Alphabet</a> to build the words. Young children really do love to build the words. You can find a printable Movable Alphabet <a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect">here</a>.</div>
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Once this presentation has been given you may, at a different time, formally present the Three-Part Card Lesson. This video is a great explanation into <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJSszKN46wU">how to give a Three-Part Card Lesson</a>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28JkUsPW1iQZVRqs0S06ra4qAhbkLJDS7Y5odi9dtSCNJ-mqHZd5dVlzTqM8XtOzdrPiafQOBj2rBJq9QHZMgax4hWBcUdnnBjeICYAYj0iliX2voOJxWSfgpaXO0UhkHeQhJeu7Rwyev/s1600/IMG_8102.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1600" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28JkUsPW1iQZVRqs0S06ra4qAhbkLJDS7Y5odi9dtSCNJ-mqHZd5dVlzTqM8XtOzdrPiafQOBj2rBJq9QHZMgax4hWBcUdnnBjeICYAYj0iliX2voOJxWSfgpaXO0UhkHeQhJeu7Rwyev/s640/IMG_8102.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seed Nomenclature Cards Laid Out with Booklet</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="746" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJt3M23eZr4jTRa5stPlTCp8URI8VK64g09Agg13Ohpj8u2BhNQTJg_Ekrgx6QL9LwX1gAf8B9WZhcvkiojMwzsxJz0qe65eWPwdice2Vl0kbZZi3oTC9VN2uh6084Cdyk4eoTm7Y9hA8/s400/Seed+Nomenclature+Cards.png" width="392" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Early Childhood Parts of the Seed Nomenclature Cards<br />
click on image for link to file</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #bf9000;">PARTS OF THE SEED BOOKLETS</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #bf9000;">Booklets just might be THE absolute favorite paper work in the classrooms I have directed. The children love to color them in and take them home. Sometimes children want to skip the nomenclature card set and move straight into making the booklets. I am careful to let them know they may do this work once they have worked with the nomenclature cards at least a few times. After a while it becomes an understood boundary the children are happy to work with.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="1075" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_p5Hi7gvw83vEzVivnF1uUFcib_Zmgfvd43JCJAllWqHRq9Pq4eWsP-41Q0xg0EXFzoc7FEoXTYZWMiWyFOH2FxKS3iHxx9sQjrXXDFSNcgmY_NV9E8Yt5HTvWafTmLjLApYUnr9Xjj5/s400/Seed+Blackline+Master.tif" width="356" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Early Childhood Parts of the Seed Booklet Blackline Master<br />
click on image for link to file</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #bf9000;">GERMINATING A SEED</span></b></h3>
Children love to watch a seed germinate outside of the soil so they can really understand what is going on. In this little experiment the child has the opportunity to set up their own seed germinating factory. Use dicot seed if possible, such as a bean or pea for this work. </div>
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All you need is a tray with plastic baggies, paper towels pre-cut to half size, bean or pea seeds, and tape. Children should get help to write their names on the baggie with a permanent marker.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAApvZX9n3e_YQk9osV3Yjws7W1fZZBU9IYbfnItqnpmYt2hUMGNGxpN8Y5EUd2qd97NSaoyorVl59-VNw72HDaTlIkjH_gx3p0iIxkS-kNzDK1HL4GX_xCsIDFDFjMKpd9laqI8K_vlR/s1600/IMG_E8216.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1505" data-original-width="1600" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAApvZX9n3e_YQk9osV3Yjws7W1fZZBU9IYbfnItqnpmYt2hUMGNGxpN8Y5EUd2qd97NSaoyorVl59-VNw72HDaTlIkjH_gx3p0iIxkS-kNzDK1HL4GX_xCsIDFDFjMKpd9laqI8K_vlR/s400/IMG_E8216.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Germinating a Seed Tray</td></tr>
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Demonstrate WITHOUT SPEAKING how to create this work and put it on the window including writing the name. After the presentation is finished you may say, "When you need to have your name put on your baggie please come and find me or the tonekeeper." Once the seed(s) are in the baggie the child can tape them up on a sunny window and watch their seed germinate over the next several days.<br />
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<span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>DOCUMENTING SEED GERMINATION AND GROWTH</b></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #bf9000;">This work is especially helpful for more advanced students who can draw something that approximates reality. That is often a second or third year student in the class. There is no need to draw the picture every day, unless the child is self-directed in this. Every few days is just fine. The children are usually keen to keep track but often need a bit of a reminder of it as an option.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="1088" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBb-uHmzMpsjiOBtGV6QFCa5D5rQJ9hmcLCPHiv3gxA9L67ifIGkbLp2fFr1VbngcwdLn8CiTq8b9bQJDZGQBHz9mxzz_FZZi6pN9QcfH6DR3Erspl38DMw6iprhNfUu2Um7Pju_n518z/s400/Seed+Growth+Diary.tif" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">My Seed Growth Diary<br />
Click on image for link to file</a></td></tr>
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Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-76798169064150819032020-03-29T00:17:00.004-06:002022-03-04T17:01:21.199-07:00Continent Studies - Africa Part 1<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">AFRICA ACTIVITIES 1ST INSTALLMENT</span></h2>
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It has been all hands on deck these past two weeks since we have had our school suspended for COVID-19. Since that time I have been working with many other Montessorians across the globe to get things into the hands of educators and parents. I have been wanting to get back to blogging with regularity for some time now but have had other very pressing and difficult circumstances in my family's life to take care of first. I am so glad things had gotten to a good place before all this happened. I am also so grateful I have this platform already in place to make an impact for my own students as well as for so many others. I wish to thank my readers for the outpouring of love and kindness at this time and in the past. I want to be one of the helpers. Thank you also for being one of the helpers.</div>
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We are gearing up for our Africa studies in Sequoias Class and I've been knee deep in creating new materials that are friendly to not only the classroom but for home as well. In this post I will endeavor to share what I have made and a few other things I absolutely love.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KsgMgdS3GaoMYbfyVakVAQ4_juDhlHL1-RWO_5mg2DUkb_jWIb3FV56cMON3QwbmdCgQt9ij_sn8Yc8l3rir11WpgkP7YKGs5vcNyPI6t3m_k5-rKa5DMZALxrrEJpdzC5Kg_QxyE3My/s200/EX-3402.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Continent Globe</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMp4ntNt3DcmPb9GkfWFbkutgRkuWyta-ewg21BlYbqEsJg-n7y8Ju7AMrFurXNN6k402TUQB7GkNY-ejC_lG_VgQYGX1HYpTZQKNicR7ZZW7VaGIGu7JTGI5GsET72QaENeKwYjqtBrPf/s1600/mapoftheworldheader.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMp4ntNt3DcmPb9GkfWFbkutgRkuWyta-ewg21BlYbqEsJg-n7y8Ju7AMrFurXNN6k402TUQB7GkNY-ejC_lG_VgQYGX1HYpTZQKNicR7ZZW7VaGIGu7JTGI5GsET72QaENeKwYjqtBrPf/s320/mapoftheworldheader.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Continent Puzzle Map</td></tr>
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<h3>
<span style="color: #38761d;">Setting the Stage</span></h3>
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Whenever we are introducing a new continent for study I will always take the Continent Globe and Continent Puzzle Map together during a Line Time. We will sing the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN_dlPW5vWI">Continent Song</a> together while pointing to the continents on the Continent Globe first and then again using the Continent Puzzle Map. The WHY behind doing this is simply - the younger the child the more often they need to see that these things mean the same thing. With the continued one-to-one correspondence practice more children will pick it up.</div>
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Every time we begin a new continent of study the children in our class renew their interest in coloring, cutting and pasting, and painting the continents. </div>
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More advanced Early Childhood students will appreciate making their own Continent Globe. This is also very beneficial for adults to create when a Continent Globe is not available. If the child is really interested you can have them do the coloring with a little support. The cuts make it difficult for Early Childhood students to know what color belongs where but it is such fun work. I take whatever color they should be using and make a small mark in the spot to color. This way they can be as independent as possible with the least amount of interference from adults. Once colored they will need plenty of support in taping it together so it forms a globe. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="730" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWizPV7p6IW6jGWzaNGz1rgtFPxL8-ns89K5UqT8iP66mZ7oksur_Jzz0f2DlSn9wLb55Kgv67csZYOTUK93soTgorhW8mER7Yzs5Fx6kH-m3Z9cy1tSTfxfA-kvDjMf_uL8IHrNHrwCy/s400/Continent+Flat+Map.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Continent Flat Map Work</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYJ6CYCkcWjqwuiihMuioSazCREJ0Hjyz_2eFjZoxivij0rdgVsvz19FwpqBDIvjnAFezNhyphenhyphenoEm3KwXuixagQaps7ZCl9srk0L6voekyoeg2eFbNruawL1TJpfOWLaSEIVrvrt2H9EYPW/s1600/IMG_8002.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYJ6CYCkcWjqwuiihMuioSazCREJ0Hjyz_2eFjZoxivij0rdgVsvz19FwpqBDIvjnAFezNhyphenhyphenoEm3KwXuixagQaps7ZCl9srk0L6voekyoeg2eFbNruawL1TJpfOWLaSEIVrvrt2H9EYPW/s320/IMG_8002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Colored Globe Cut Out</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjusJdjh15M7Y1x2grunejs41xcaOK1YG593luVcS9mSt_PGHrVTuUP44Iw4KhnbCVIKeWS_FK4ncIVuEplzJxCyUcFeYUk8TZO6AZt8crblk6fEWi0dP9hpdQ0rWQkVAKiz70dcvQwd-dC/s1600/IMG_E8010.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjusJdjh15M7Y1x2grunejs41xcaOK1YG593luVcS9mSt_PGHrVTuUP44Iw4KhnbCVIKeWS_FK4ncIVuEplzJxCyUcFeYUk8TZO6AZt8crblk6fEWi0dP9hpdQ0rWQkVAKiz70dcvQwd-dC/s320/IMG_E8010.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The assembled Globe</td></tr>
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This following Coloring sheet is so helpful for this. Whenever there is work that has a specific way to be done you should create a Control of Error. That is one which is colored in the correct colors as an EXAMPLE. I always write EXAMPLE on the paper or else it may grow legs and go home with some little one. Even then it may happen, but much less often. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="719" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqVmQwmmwfbWDUVNIGikE4o8lgpIo0TPQBsshjgYk1Ps3uD2jd0NNERNmHfSP0QpKXmrL5eOk2NhECmqFum644MSqebhC-p9dPUFqUjBF_Rchzj9BkYvqXxSVAojgwfaBilgkIYZcgbvXd/s400/Continent+Coloring+Work.tif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Continents of the World Coloring Sheet</a></td></tr>
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This can also be used when a Continent Puzzle is not available. You can print off two sets, color one set in the continent colors and the other with the blue ocean. Then you can cut out the </div>
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continent set and use them in place of the Continent Puzzle Map.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhLu_e2luS7K4Aa7kf8LjpllBC9KxtLe5YVuSas03tMgBaem3KEWae1W9ILE5ZnATJCC1WIwU8krfvsXP5SHiknwBER3MfUboqJG2PGUsW1fnvGjqbdSeiyho6wQi4qGNElfdACUv9JJ7/s1600/IMG_8087.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhLu_e2luS7K4Aa7kf8LjpllBC9KxtLe5YVuSas03tMgBaem3KEWae1W9ILE5ZnATJCC1WIwU8krfvsXP5SHiknwBER3MfUboqJG2PGUsW1fnvGjqbdSeiyho6wQi4qGNElfdACUv9JJ7/s400/IMG_8087.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Assembling the Continent World Coloring Sheet to be used in place of a Puzzle Map</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmt8Ecaj3pZo0Qjsa9wr2qW7PRaM-HOuK8nPw_gxoudyX_a3bCPtUInI2a_P4-H27C6EqQdtghxmyvksPup2_nuZqUfsEc5p2ldOJl2KoCqWGpeoOKHN9XPUlw0wdZ6Xn8kJbD_aU6Uf2Y/s1600/IMG_8090.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="1600" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmt8Ecaj3pZo0Qjsa9wr2qW7PRaM-HOuK8nPw_gxoudyX_a3bCPtUInI2a_P4-H27C6EqQdtghxmyvksPup2_nuZqUfsEc5p2ldOJl2KoCqWGpeoOKHN9XPUlw0wdZ6Xn8kJbD_aU6Uf2Y/s400/IMG_8090.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Continents Coloring Sheet Assembled as replacement for Puzzle Map</td></tr>
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<h3>
<span style="color: #38761d;">Introduction to Africa</span></h3>
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Once we sing the Continent Song I will point to Africa and ask which continent this is. Once that has been answered I will tell the children we will now begin our study of Africa. There are two very good ways to introduce a continent. The first is with <b>ARTIFACTS</b> and the second is through <b>PICTURES</b>.</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b>ARTIFACTS</b></span></div>
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In Montessori Classrooms we sequence our work from most concrete to most abstract. Artifacts are the most concrete representation of a continent. I find artifacts from friends who have visited and brought things back for me, by visiting my local second hand shops, and sometimes online. I try to get as many things second hand as possible. Carvings, textiles, jewelry, money, art etc. all make great artifacts for students to explore.</div>
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Add in photo of artifacts</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b>PHOTOS</b></span></div>
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<span style="caret-color: rgb(106, 168, 79);">Line Time Photos of a continent are large enough for everyone at the circle to see. We want to give an overview of the continent in a short enough time to keep the interest of the entire group while whetting their interest for more. That is easy to do with all the continents, but Africa is fabulous!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1327" data-original-width="1538" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGPoTldlbPxABE-d-BPh8EaAjrY-EYaYISu0kawVlEJbbp5wNd9xDq1jPS1jrQdulTFhBwiFUWV3GawdGg0ucCC0aRngk452AZNUlcYB3naQjIlxHsMw3WBzACRCrsL-6XSDexWaRvKgQ/s400/Africa+Line+Time+Cards.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Introduction to Africa Line Time Cards</a></td></tr>
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Once I have introduced our Continent it is time to give small group lessons for these very cool works.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">AFRICA PLAY DOUGH MAP</span></b></div>
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This work is so lovely for the youngest students to use and they love it. All works on a Montessori shelf should have an indirect purpose. This work with play dough and the fitting into the small spaces of the map develop both the gross and fine motor control of the child.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="680" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSK8xGgzS-u5qBgN7w7Adt_9gKM75K5uRo0AXrrcblgkCDFPzKCbIYSYkEUQ0CHb72bTGHmhUpm9oMLWOgv5Qk3v5dwbPBnTYvrZUg7LqPpWh8tuKjsT3CSxKWGcQNHvzAiisvHC0YoCyb/s320/Africa+Playdough+map.png" width="246" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Africa Play Dough Map</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">AFRICA TEAR MAP</span></b></div>
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This work helps the child with the fine motor control as they tear green paper strips into pieces small enough to be glued onto the paper. The older the child the better they will be with the fineness of their tears. It is a great thing to challenge your older and more advanced students to stay as much in the lines as possible. This also develops hand-eye coordination. I have included a page of green in case there is not access to a green sheet of paper. It works best to cut the papers the child will use into a 1/4th of a sheet or even into strips 2 inches wide.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="920" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKcN3zhBz497MAu2fzfnFb8z0ajGfZPiAgeyrlh31B4T6CpmvZ5P116rfPzuhcVyRPCvAZYBaWmXBm6EXud2oDvSTSOFbHkhx_D2osAmGo7pzWiFAoAqd0-Ft0lerx5VnuScjA-Xr0U4jp/s320/Africa+Tear+Map.png" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Africa Tear Map</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">AFRICAN MASKS ART</span></b></div>
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When presenting this work I will show a small group of children the African Mask cards and then invite them to color, watercolor, paint, or use oil pastels to create a beautiful mask with the African Masks Coloring/Painting Pages. They are meant to be cut in half. We keep a smattering of the masks on a tray for the children to choose from.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="1133" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_AVJsR_7GjHuPzvMfkydDz9bCHUglPF4_minKTF9gX7X5u_pgTUXhEvilLlZ2LAR3g6IE2A7SL_JOBuRlJINuJ3dU46TYSNBjkv8xGpSQ-ZNLuW9hbgnGgsMcFqnLE_O_yAiJI6wJ0hc/w320-h288/Africa+Masks.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">African Masks</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="914" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprNvNAyqLz0GNwR22TC8VaRc0PwTNbr3r15Fw2onfAaQ7m8kcguJEfh7IvcArPUxSHYamK0dsO5kqIk5y_qOGruO1766DmaT5S8vl4zmBhueMmCw163rqadTpmH9novwI45wTPiX9DHf2/s400/Africa+Masks+Coloring+Pages.tif" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">African Masks Coloring/Art Pages</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;">AFRICAN TEXTILES CARDS</span></b><br />
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Something the children seem to enjoy a lot is the bold patterns of many African textiles. These cards could to be printed twice to make a matching set.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1597" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVAo8klyE0drIZIZ1mESb14g0zgFW9ApZm6nyS1PyZ7oNA_DjgOEXN_nSQ-2Mo2zjm3-mLQxJ6YURwyiTE6_2SE30mht8Eq4N6Glv1rPuZXEK08EYPoRLTQHoDUTIATByZjV8cgd7MsqR/s400/African+Textiles+Matching+Cards.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">African Textile Cards</a></td></tr>
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They could also be traced to make clothing like you see here using the Clothing Cut Out Patterns<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="680" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYOss8I7iMjvDod7SKPG4a6OtBT0wRmp7yjCLf6TIjnLZ6GDtc9RmPxN_QI5ukeHdCeU-0W69bKIoeq2joUt-Jwhr0HAgzxpxhLyce9ucuClRjICtpwYSUseswc89YVwKTu4nxeBrOLeLt/s320/Clothing+Cut+Out.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Clothing Cut Out Patterns</a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjq1pdgoWw-q-Qqeb2vHpUyWtXN2BpYOpJQ0Qw9va07A3T0KbvA_RtgXY2v1RcjL2upjPbfo_voiValVfoezjgTsJF_RSBXIFKGVHMpy91p3q7XdQMJGAXtKJ9aXpR27IBb2bWorSGUaX/s1600/IMG_8826+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1445" data-original-width="1600" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjq1pdgoWw-q-Qqeb2vHpUyWtXN2BpYOpJQ0Qw9va07A3T0KbvA_RtgXY2v1RcjL2upjPbfo_voiValVfoezjgTsJF_RSBXIFKGVHMpy91p3q7XdQMJGAXtKJ9aXpR27IBb2bWorSGUaX/s320/IMG_8826+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCkcvzA5EgPVGLpTpgCOmh9yIMB4qwt4yJ_9ZwfFbRh6tRuaGr4ghY4BbtZj5TGhH-PsD26dvE2BxfAL3fCa48RS03lgTVjHVzU2aYSPf1wcH80e_K60t1II3ePnqbIKN5ZN0wtWY_OSe8/s1600/IMG_8827+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1559" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCkcvzA5EgPVGLpTpgCOmh9yIMB4qwt4yJ_9ZwfFbRh6tRuaGr4ghY4BbtZj5TGhH-PsD26dvE2BxfAL3fCa48RS03lgTVjHVzU2aYSPf1wcH80e_K60t1II3ePnqbIKN5ZN0wtWY_OSe8/s320/IMG_8827+2.jpg" width="311" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b>ANIMALS OF THE SAVANNAH DIORAMA</b></span><br />
This new work has been fun to create. It is best suited for more advanced students to do independently. Younger students will love doing this with a little support. Follow their needs and help only as much as they need.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="1600" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJxAbWTI8TonbUK9feEv0aYHBZGEyx_pre5GpMvHLYLXHpoVws9lHDGvrT-FnvJdG8P_5IKyryXvJHperuJbPj4Wpb6Kjp_TnAgkA97HYnEMfxypVsQyS9Pe0HyMzLZ32j2FGotCNk7YhJ/s640/Savannah+Diorama.png" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">African Savannah Diorama Animals</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT8-GSWD1P5Vrnyo2lzzkkKasbkLYJnk5e9vHrp9HgW5HAfcNw9lOGVB5Y0tk-q7RRH9mORvLIGG8YG7h5gAIK2-AGzp92fyhBzAJONIz6bAiCjxEcg-LeH78qYXUcXYKvJhGpMei3gYB/s1600/IMG_E8100.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1283" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT8-GSWD1P5Vrnyo2lzzkkKasbkLYJnk5e9vHrp9HgW5HAfcNw9lOGVB5Y0tk-q7RRH9mORvLIGG8YG7h5gAIK2-AGzp92fyhBzAJONIz6bAiCjxEcg-LeH78qYXUcXYKvJhGpMei3gYB/s400/IMG_E8100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">African Savannah Animals Diorama Completed</td></tr>
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Keep a look out for Installment 2 of Africa Activities!<br />
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Stay Safe! Stay Healthy!</div>
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Loves,</div>
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Cath</div>
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Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-91560322525320227602020-03-21T23:28:00.002-06:002022-03-04T16:54:47.008-07:00Phonemic Awareness Series<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It is undoubted that we are facing some uncertain times with the concerns over COVID-19. As a Montessori Blogger I want to do what I can to help the families who find themselves homeschooling not by choice but by circumstance. I have been working along with many Montessori Collectives to support teachers, administrators, and families in keeping as much continuity in the lives of children as possible. I have updated both the Pink and Blue Reading posts to include all of my updated works and have realized that this post was never completed and published. This is what I can do. These are my gifts to the world in times of trouble. I wish to be one of the helpers. I am still finishing the explanations on the bottom half of this post but I need to get these files into the hands of parents. I will publish this post and then continue working on it.</div>
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Phonemic Awareness is a vast and important arm of successful reading. Without Phonemic Awareness skills, even beyond the recognition of letter sounds, children will be hampered in their success. When a child has solid Phonemic Skills their footing is more sure and their success is greater.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">PHONEMIC WORKS</span></b></h2>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #1 - Compound Words for Line Times</b></span></div>
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Compound words and easy and VERY fun for children to practice and to try to distinguish from other kinds of words. Every day at Line (circle) our class practices at least a few of Phonemic Exercises and Compound Words is hands down a favorite. The Compound Words for Line Times document can be used with whole groups to first present the idea of compound words, and then to further practice. After we have practiced several times I will listen for compound words in everyday discussions at line. I may say something like, "When I was listening to Joy I heard her use three compound words. I heard her say playground. Let's practice that ... play (pause) ground, put it together - playground. I heard her say backyard. Let's practice that ... back (pause) yard, put it together - backyard." and so on. We use our hands to practice. The right hand is the first word, the left is the second word. We begin with both hands in the air and drop each one down as we say each word individually and slowly. Then we bring them together to say the compound word.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1024" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsh7KMMzNT1_lHl_dRVR3hkL-zVKR_-q6i1iU6LK6PW0jYiGa-b8KvyztHJ9pTQYRGLih4yCN3vDDFfTZxwija1aR_fxN9W9XINamdtxqKeKnn9Be_l7xnJ-y3W3AwrNvD-Dd0FBh8Dif/s400/Phonemic+Awareness+Compound+Words.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Skills Series Level #1 Compound Words For Line Times</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #2 - Compound Word Cards</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Once the children have practiced this work at Line plenty of times I will place these cards on the Phonemic Awareness Shelf for use. They include the compound words and the + & = cards with a control of error to help the children be as independent as possible. They do need a short presentation to aid them in laying out the cards in the below arrangement and to show them how to check their work.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="1191" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpP86j8oII-4oWQLM11AYXXGQyxl-mYoa6zXWpWfUzuv3iKyvGWfxSft9bVckGXUR2VdYL86jhNVeVPeudtlvBlVVj1rMOQtqu53ce-tZp-8-fd3zIe43Wa0P_6km8NKG1_ungquCtNUK/s640/Compound+word+cards.tif" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Skills Series Level #2 Compound Word Cards</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #3 - Syllables Counting for Line Times</span><br />
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<span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">There may possibly not be a more important skill than syllabification. The further I take my research and learning into language the more syllables show up as a key skill. This syllable work is a beautiful beginning. These cards are large enough to be used at Line Time. We look at a picture and clap out the number of syllables we think there are. The children hold up their fingers and then we turn around the cards to check to see how we did. I will generally do at least 3 pictures and then ask for words that go along with what we are learning. Dinosaur names are fabulous for this work.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="729" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKzsFMR3Asn1wlFBISswjt60D-vBQh4iv_wxhEwbUrsV2CLh-QzO8mNQ7GD2-faJ7y70HkcfJ76UTerQyp1CkZmfzTT5VFJXun_qZyol7SahM59Y7X8EPETKH0ARNz8xHlFGBAiz3pc9X/s400/Phonemic+Awareness+Syllables.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Skills Series Level #3 Syllables for Line Times</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-weight: bold;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #4 - Syllable Counting Cards</span></div>
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<span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> Once the children have had some practice with syllables at the Line this shelf work can be introduced. It uses many of the same pictures as the whole group work but we add </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Yuanhe-Pieces-Transparent-Counting-Chips-red/dp/B07Z1PF1KS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=red+bingo+markers&qid=1584848908&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEySDNXS1AzSEw1VjAxJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjA1ODIxMlJHN1dBSFpZQk1MQSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDE3MzMxMzlORFM4Mjk0Q0hUNiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=" style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Red Bingo Markers</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> for marking the number of syllables a child thinks there are in a word. The control of error on the back further facilitates independent work.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1036" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTHeXUPKMNZXEaA7qwKOdcajEBb5kcdJ5gjiO2vvacbYi-1cbKmqtbVnUS2xNzZTiwwMyP8zUyo10QCAazuRYJ_isrVtYE5NYuoxK0yXa8fpKPjfpad0RaLQKsKDURJBWzPq-HM6FB7lv/s400/Syllable+Count+word.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Skills Series Level 4 Syllables Word Cards</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #5 - Rhyming Word Cards</b></span></div>
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Rhyming skills are another pillar of language that should begin long before a child can read words. Training the ear to hear the rhyme supports the development of both reading and spelling skills. This is a set of cards with control of error to use on the shelf. This set requires a quick presentation before use. There is no need for a child to have any reading skills for this set.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="585" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHOxud8BIRQGuna-zC0BGyzhs6f8SQg-fLGPxmdrsHcGB-eI_QN44Ix6u479VJ9CvdFZit6ws5DybkTZk_CMzIm6VSXvSdekLbVU164JWzWjWDTDUqp-wCOW4AN3i-wauxSDrKSdr4juC/s400/Phonemic+Awareness+Rhyming.png" width="368" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Skills Series Level #5 Rhyming</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #6 - Introduction to Sandpaper Letters</span></b></div>
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As we get into the realm of letters there are some incredibly important things to understand. First, we learn to read lowercase, phonetic, short letter, sounds not uppercase letter names. After having taught Montessori for so long I cannot understand how we in the United States came up with the idea in traditional education to teach letter names, and uppercase no less, first. It just doesn't make any sense to me at all. In fact, I find that children who are taught their letter names before I begin working with them can sometimes have a challenge unlearning them in order to learn to read. During the introduction presentation to Sandpaper Letters we bring the box over to the top left hand corner of the table and ask a child to choose the letter they want to try first. This presentation is not about having the child remember any sound. It is about getting them familiar with the material and helping them know how we use the Sandpaper Letters for later use. We then show how to hold the letter depending on whether or not you are aware of the dominant hand of the child yet. At this stage we often do not know yet, so we will just hold the letter down with our hand in the margin on the left side and use our first two fingers (with the others tucked tightly under) to trace the letter. You may say the letter sound here but it is not absolute necessary. You may ask the child if they would like to try tracing this letter. Set this letter up in the right hand corner upside down and ask the child to make their next choice. Continue in this way as long as the child is interested.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AGVTLz0vmoy28r3UAmb01zxRxaRmGK8Bqek8hTqvBRWIGnC1ejlcqcyQ1Lj94lWRiqDT42bt6SKtLYqD83AltgwcKRHwrv7zkoH-Q1HObXE84ztofrQ1-naPN_d0ZqV8-vmw4gv3CdGh/s1600/Sand+Paper+Letters.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="286" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3AGVTLz0vmoy28r3UAmb01zxRxaRmGK8Bqek8hTqvBRWIGnC1ejlcqcyQ1Lj94lWRiqDT42bt6SKtLYqD83AltgwcKRHwrv7zkoH-Q1HObXE84ztofrQ1-naPN_d0ZqV8-vmw4gv3CdGh/s320/Sand+Paper+Letters.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #47- Initial Sound Booklets for Use With the Sandpaper Letters</span></b></div>
From now on the letter sounds will be broken up into groups of letters. This is where differences between schools and programs will show up the most. I have included the letter groupings that we will use here. They are: <b>s, m, a, t, b c, i, r, p, l d, f, n, o, g h, j, u, w, k x, y, z, v, e, q</b><br />
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We have taken a set of our Sandpaper Letters and put them into grouped boxes to support this next work. Inside the boxes we have the Sandpaper Letter and the Initial Sound Booklets. When we introduce this work we take the entire box with us to the table and place it on the top left corner. We first pull out the first Sandpaper Letter sound to teach and trace just as we did in the Introduction to Sandpaper Letters Lesson. If the letter sound was "ssss" I would trace and then say, "ssss". Then I would say, "now you trace and say 'sssss'". I have the child trace and say the sound at least three times in a sitting. I then say, "I know some things that begin with 'ssss'. Things like sandwich, song, and sit. Can you think of anything that begins with 'ssss'?" Once the child has said what they know I will say, "I have a booklet of things that begin with 'ssss'" and pull out the booklet. I touch the sound and say it, then touch the picture and say the name. Then I have the child do the same. I go through each page and say the sound as I touch it then say the name of the picture as I touch it. The child then follows me and does the same thing. Once we go through the entire book I hold up the Sandpaper Letter and say, "What was that sound again?" Then I immediately say the letter sound. I move onto the second Sandpaper Letter and sound and follow the same procedure. Once I have to letters to work with I will do the second step in the three period lesson. I ask the child to touch the 'sss', now touch the 'aaa'. We practice picking them up, handing them to me, turning them over etc. until I feel they are doing well. Once they are doing well we will turn over the Sandpaper Letters and practice the third step of the three period lesson. I will knock on the back of the Sandpaper Letter and say in a dingy voice, "Knock, Knock. Who's there? What kind of letter sound is under there?" The child turns it over and we see if they can tell me the sound without any support. If the child wants to continue and is doing fine I will keep adding letter sounds with a second and third period assessment between each letter to determine if I should still continue. If a child is really into it and doing so well I will do all the letter sounds in a box. Even if they get it all right I will come back another day to make sure they are still doing well before moving to the next set.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="715" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNhHSwWGcqd4-b6iDSuXatl1RpTZ2YAaKCV6KT8kcRJWPcdC83CgCbon05PIiloD-OXlGnp7wA4eRbaMdzwAoNZdIjHMOWoDLyigWsZFuWCMMUIyPZdhb7Key5gGiSStpB33oQh0zQxjJA/s400/Phonemic+Awareness+Initial+Sound+Letter+Booklet.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Level #7 Initial Sound Picture & Word Booklets for the Sandpaper Letters</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #8- Initial Sound Object Sorting</span></b></div>
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Children adore small objects. This work simply calls to them from across the room to USE ME!! There are 4 objects that begin with each letter sound in the group in the box. Here I must make an <span style="color: #cc0000;">IMPORTANT NOTE</span> concerning objects to use for a letter sound. They MUST be a pure short phonetic sound. NO BLENDS! I am making a statement on purpose. While many children might be able to do just fine there is a good segment of the population that struggles to hear the sound if you have a blend in there. To explain we can look at some of the objects in C's work below. He is using the first letter mat with objects. I would NEVER choose an object such as an apron for 'a' but instead have an astronaut, ant, alligator, and apple. For 'b' I would not choose something with a blend such as a branch or a blanket. Instead I carefully chose a butterfly, barn, bat, and ball. The sound is kept pure to support all learners. It fits the needs of all in this way. We never know what we are working with at this stage so being prepared to mitigate challenges BEFORE they show up is our mantra.</div>
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To use this work I help the child lay out the mat (which could easily be made of paper or felt). I go down the letter sounds and have the child say the sounds. If a child is missing a sound just let them know what it is and keep going. I then take my first object and say, "'aaaaa' astronaut. I hear a at the beginning of this word. Can you hear 'aaaa' at the beginning of astronaut?" Then place in the 'aaaa' row. Continue until all the objects are placed. Invite the child to do this work. Replace it on the shelf so they know where to find it and put it away and then give the child the chance to work. Say, "Please come get me to look at your work when you are finished." Step a distance away and watch how they are doing with it. It usually takes a child multiple tries with this work to accomplish it correctly. We DO NOT fix it for the child. We make not of how they did and see if they get better the next time on their own. They may need a new naming lesson if they are calling the 'pop' soda or something like that. Give as little interference in their work as possible. They really are great teachers for themselves.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Initial Sound Mat for Sorting with Objects</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #9 - Initial Sound Picture Sorting</span></b></div>
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This work is exactly the same as the object sort except with pictures. Once they do the hard work with the object mat this work is generally easier and so fun for them. The file includes names on the back of the work to help you give naming lessons and in checking work. This work will need to be sorted into sets as outlined above.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="667" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlOBplR5G_IAFkF02pB_2h6eJGSAR9WadSeiGmZ3-V2jc1kh2kE8g0RzkCSnNuyyjboe6sNGr0jfr8T5jisy_RGOCgn3VhcHxhtyXPV3t7KiJAq_3M8XBCZ5IDmjL4IpIP3PNVrfzK55t/s320/Initial+Sound+Picture+Sorting.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Series Level #9 Initial Sound Picture Sorting Cards</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #10 - Initial Sound Coloring Sheets</span></b></div>
Once a child has completed the Sound Sorting Cards they can solidify their knowledge with works like this coloring sheet.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1432" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcAIa1bQLdssbFkk0jO_QDPopgR_rMa5ozSBiDd5EglOf559pwcik3Yvh-Fwb3rCXjLjiCt3OecblzDGTs_0No2Y0tGiku50Byabhh4E7kxHD2aWpIvLQlrv4DKuVPFm9paNq_e2KWMY4V/s400/Initial+Sound+Coloring+Page.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Series Level #10 Initial Sound Coloring Sheets</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #11 - Initial Sound Cutting & Pasting Sheets</span></b></div>
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This cutting and pasting work is fun for children at this level. To make it easier I will pre-cut the strips into letter groupings and put them in a little file for that sound. They can color, cut, and glue if they want or they could just cut and glue.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="1043" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RtG7DEH_hmSOkGh408HabRAzwXQGIBcK9_uyKhyphenhyphenOBDEulw-ZcFOs_kPpf6xh8OTfa0x7F_ruGhXMLSeXcneHQtp1fC6cumw37BmnKA8OvQQp4E9TiOI1mJ03jIcRZYwe7IuQhLa3NZPd/s320/Initial+Sound+Pasting+Work.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Series Skills #11 Initial Sound Pasting Sheets</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #12 - Eensy Teensy Letter Books</span></b></div>
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These Teensy Letter Books are pretty engaging for children. They like how small they become. To make these sheets into books follow <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21qi9ZcQVto">these</a> instructions. The children can trace the letters inside the outlines and read their new book with you.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="999" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeelHeSP214G_8nqjVVq9oNC-7P1E-huxFfwNqmNQzxwT3kaQik7EGq8bQ5kn8h8jP2ESYJ_xzjdLAHBXVoyzie1pTE3cifCj3PoIx_-O_JqfjUXoHF3Nv9QqBoUVP4275WcftchQcxmPt/s320/Eensy+Books.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Series Skills #12 Eensy Teensy Letter Books </a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #13 - Ending Sound Picture Sorting</span></b></div>
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Ending sounds are more difficult for some children to hear. We use this work similarly to the Beginning Sounds work but instead we use our hands to stretch out the word and "throw" the last sound down. This really helps the children to hear the last sound. You must have a lot of patience as they will keep flipping to the first sound. Simply say, "We are listening for the last sound." Then stretch out the word again. If they still feel challenged offer support by saying, "I can hear 'bbb' at the end of tub. Can you hear it?" and stretch out the word giving emphasis to the last sound as you "throw" it down. Once you finish the presentation give the child a chance in the same way as the Initial Sound work. This work will need to be sorted into sets as outlined above.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="662" data-original-width="619" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJU5eGaf2DA6Vei3wD4_KmzcPFkklbTdnbjW87wLf_TJCo9CvQ7eOzI6n9F-2CTeeTZVNF-O8cdR-qeJI5b53ht8CQc2biUpkgCjV_u6jCDTK_hqe4d4m4kwJFwKmi8mKWViu7g1Iiwy5J/s320/Ending+Sound+Pictures+Cards.png" width="299" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Series Level #13 Ending Sound Picture Sorting Cards</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #14 - Word Building with Letter Sound Groups and the Movable Alphabet</span></b></div>
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Once a child has the first group of letter sounds (s, m, a, t, b) mastered, or almost mastered, they can begin practicing building words with the Movable Alphabet. These sets are made to use only the letters introduced and scaffold as new letter groups are mastered. This work's main purpose is to give children PRACTICE with the Movable Alphabet so that when they move to Pink Reading work they are more independent. When I first present this work I give a naming lesson and build the words with them by sounding out first sound, next sound, last sound. I then put the letters away and let the child have a turn. I will stay with the child as they hunt for the letters in the Movable Alphabet. In a sea of 26 letters a newcomer can feel overwhelmed. I do not want to take the letter sounds out of the box because by the end I would have 26 letters to hunt through which would be worse than keeping them organized in a Movable Alphabet box. Once I can see they are getting the hang of it I will step away more often. I always ask the children to "<u><i>show me your work when you are done</i></u>". I do NOT say "before you put it away." I've learned that again and again over the years. I hang back away from the child but still in viewing distance and see how it is coming along. I make any notes about what I observe.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1304" data-original-width="1560" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOx2roWfVlGTIH9wLWatN8FVPDQin0zYrYSWm06FgehXNgopWajHL07tnR4uDKTrvBH6aLjT-BFzBuxJDFcoWaOsMp_bH7aLCpgZHTmnxeTeXWDhAIOkf4AGLHH_01y41b_-VsCwxkfVex/s400/Phonemic+Word+Building.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Series Level #14 Letter Sound Group Word Building Picture Cards<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #15 - Middle Vowel Sort with Objects or Pictures</span></b></div>
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Middle vowel sounds are tricky things. They are taught last. You will notice they are actually taught after the word building cards. That is because I am explicitly teaching the child how to build the words in the sets. Only at the end of all the letter groupings will the children have all their vowels learned so it is not really helpful to teach this lesson earlier. I place the vowels sounds down one at time and saying the sound on the center of the mat. I say, "I am listening for the sound in the middle of the word. That sound is a vowel." Take the first cards and say, 'map' slowly. What is the sound you hear in the middle of the word 'map'? For this work it can be very helpful to use your hand as a roller coaster with the vowel emphasized at the top. Be certain to always say the entire word. Once the vowel is determined I set the cards on either side of the vowel card so I end up with two on each side. Now put the work back in its basket and give the child a turn to use it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="769" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yOhySdRsscawQWoUv-s09wK8B9KdJqYpxIV-vtjgwcH4yQv_cHrZ87gAntrqNhFErJiwnnI4l_Og67L3nUeMnK-EPytXr2Ur09KA6D1ZAjJfvlBe8JRtH1u1zn6piLnHbQINmidYXXBq/s400/Middle+Vowel+Sound+Sort.png" width="348" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Series Level #15 Middle Vowel Sorting Pictures</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #16 - Beginning Alphabetizing with Pictures</span></b></div>
sdfg<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="1600" height="75" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPq6-BmeUB57mQ_PsNN3fXVkVwMlhAj6Ee1sdONKVNsDszjWtJd0WcUuWaQ7H9iEcJyc2msTAFA4uAfx2h7unv66TxkWGD8w8puEIEKDbUT6t7OI4Ky6Cvy5i3mJXx3U9YSBmHMdI3WwF/s640/picture+alphabetizing.png" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Series Level #16 Picture Alphabetizing</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Montessori Phonemic Awareness Series Level #17 Alphabetizing Cards Work</span></b></div>
sdfg<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YLnFgyQPd2SceR2hFtERjRp1qnmxkhCK0AKIfkdRr2HFYQq7obEOlKw6TaAM6-M47eF1KH08bHp9zmNHYNjRHuDnwq4y1WFhPfrjPKL6vpUMnWgcmSAYMgpvo1_SvagcOWJtJ3QXCQWJ/s1600/alphabetizing+mat.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1412" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YLnFgyQPd2SceR2hFtERjRp1qnmxkhCK0AKIfkdRr2HFYQq7obEOlKw6TaAM6-M47eF1KH08bHp9zmNHYNjRHuDnwq4y1WFhPfrjPKL6vpUMnWgcmSAYMgpvo1_SvagcOWJtJ3QXCQWJ/s320/alphabetizing+mat.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alphabetizing Mat</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj80MxUmjXZtAZbNFHqCDYqSMFHg-XV0Sox_a7jOecy4LgHpU71ir5F_o2Bt_aBujm-sbLjlsGbbYwAY6atAK_ji0hl8RHh2G4PckzLIsYlwFUBkCQNNOXeuub-OLgvTFXcC-5-HuKKHyku/s1600/alphabetizing+close.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj80MxUmjXZtAZbNFHqCDYqSMFHg-XV0Sox_a7jOecy4LgHpU71ir5F_o2Bt_aBujm-sbLjlsGbbYwAY6atAK_ji0hl8RHh2G4PckzLIsYlwFUBkCQNNOXeuub-OLgvTFXcC-5-HuKKHyku/s320/alphabetizing+close.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="881" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITsLTDsBcLBf9Qlmt4grD418JsKAYVBk5RF5ijeeVlsC_S342z5x00jPuyd2HkHeaiY1poRouiq9AKEYQY9tfvouL4rK_A5kytK992yt18NU00cFxhaNev0raWY9OJmOoNl8onAibJnVu/s400/Alphabetizing+First+Letter.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Series Alphabetizing by First Letter</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="917" data-original-width="850" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4qI32ZOvRYmNekhE2fK8BpoFgA5X8w0OLNK_EbnQ0gji4ppuyoZlh0s_INItyEfY3jOvnV8wYbrzJBDpp942byE5Z1Rp3dmTiw6Fzu2EBBfWaXTjihu1OxUyAr5d5Qzw6JL39lwaR_yg/s400/Alphabetizing+First+Two+Letters.png" width="370" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Phonemic Awareness Series Alphabetizing by First Two Letters</a></td></tr>
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Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-74330180881283244092018-03-12T21:23:00.004-06:002022-03-04T16:51:04.156-07:00Blue Reading<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My Montessori journey has been an incredible one of self discovery and learning. Through it all one thing I have learned about myself is my utter respect for learning something new and making my craft as a teacher better because of it. This often means that my created work will change. In no place has this been more true than in the Language Program. The Pink Reading Level has remained fairly static since it was created. Not much has changed about it except a couple of additions like Sight Words and Nonsense Words. I'm sure it will happen and then I will update, but for now the NUMBER 1 hit for Pink Reading on the internet will stay the same. I really like that this humble little blog has the #1 hit for Pink Reading work, mostly because it is free for anyone who wants and needs it. I feel in this way I am serving my greatest desire: helping those who really need it with the best materials I can as a means of serving the children of the world and my Savior, Jesus Christ.</div>
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Since I first created the Blue Reading Program I have changed it a couple of times. I am now at a place where I am feeling pretty confident in its completeness. With that said I am unveiling it to ya'll today. I've actually had this for a while now, but was overwhelmed being a full time spouse, a full time mommy and cancer mommy to boot, in the Relief Society Presidency at church, being a full time Montessori teacher, being a sister, daughter, cousin etc. I gave myself permission to make the world wait a little while. My Cancer Cutie finished his treatments for leukemia last month and I'm ready to get back to a new kind of normal life. I changed jobs again and moved to a WONDERFUL new school in Salt Lake City called Montessori Community School. I absolutely LOVE it there! It really is such a place of community and fully interested in following the child. I am back in Early Childhood again. I don't think I could choose a favorite between Early Elementary and Early Childhood. I sure am missing those 8 year olds right now, but I'm in love with the 3-6's just as much.<br />
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I am going to take you on a tour of my Blue Reading set-up, why they are the way they are, and how these skills are taught in our classroom.<br />
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My favorite part about creating a Blue Reading Program is the fact that I have had complete control over how integrated all the parts are. It has been so frustrating trying to make what is out there work for my vision. I could see what my students were lacking but couldn't really fix it without creating an entire program that addressed all of their needs. Students with learning differences, visual processing disorders, and even dyslexia needed all the steps and what I was using wasn't cutting it, but the students who were not facing any of these challenges could make big jumps in the matter of a week or even days. How was I to service both ends of the pendulum? The answer has been to service the one with the greatest need and let them all move at the pace right for them. The child who doesn't need all the steps can show me they are totally mastered, have written their words, can read the sentences and match them to the pictures, know their sight words, and they can move on. These children will often get through 3-5 envelopes in a week if they are really motivated, and truth be told, sometimes these children will come back after a weekend and have all kinds of new blends under their belt. This is fun to talk with them about it and work through what they can skip when we get back together. It also feels like a great accomplishment for them.<br />
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<u><b>Blue Reading Pouches:</b></u><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wRGX7XjNiY0_eRiA-0gT_CVFS1bO19KO/view">This</a> video will take you on a walk through of the Blue Reading Pouches.</div>
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<b>I Spy Cards</b><br />
Before each of the above mentioned set of boxes is used we first use an "I Spy" game to introduce letter combinations. This is a great assessment tool to see if a child can sort the sounds and is ready to use the boxes. If they are not at mastery wait a bit until they are and then have them use the boxes.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/18DCJkrsGkj5fjj-U9oVsY69HcEZgu2xf/view">This</a> video shows how to use this work<br />
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To introduce the I Spy Set for #1 you would take out the Movable Alphabet and get a 'c' & a 'k'. Say, " When c and k are together the just say 'k'". Then build a few phonetic words using the blends such as duck, luck, tack, sock, deck. <b>Notice</b> how I am naming only words that do not have ANY other blends. Now do this for "ff", "ll", "ss" & "zz". Once you have introduced the sounds you can move onto the "I Spy" Cards for that set. The "I Spy" cards do not need to be purely phonetic since we are not building any words with this set, only seeing if the child can hear and sort by the correct sound. These sets have a control of error on the back of each card and a word list on the back of the letter card.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="186" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpXP2sWBeUIf-CElyUEneTTM-OnlDuAptLPkd9pRDKH6y6Oz8uAva83JUrySlr_g8aqlYQ2XDXD3aNmOgJTlj1SCNxuxdnMa-Y0hFDkJS51Th-gSDQEQXN_T9VybQuOanrwiqz6qgqm9F/s200/Blue+Reading+I+Spy+Beginning+Blends+Game.png" width="186" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><span id="goog_2100044539"></span>Blue Reading Beginning Blends and Beginning Digraphs<br />
<span id="goog_2100044540"></span>and First Digraphs "I Spy" Cards</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg00KGc8oUKzC_XRk-YpuZ30xY-2PTFmazymSpReXUi-QC3jANMEbyGX7MZxTbgiswOi2m2zi76yZEcQXT6cp8041ngKl9RFh4TXSabrSU0c6TAxMZpwpkQYcNg5PkcPu6wzBWaWzMo-ZAt/s1600/Blue+Reading+ending+consonant+blends+cards.png" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Ending Blends, <br />
Triple Blends and Triple Digraphs "I Spy" Cards</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="634" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yAWoY5j2VzEF5vMoMkuoCoqPfQopYhdThy6NoY6Pzn0noQjyA8_fU8vhm37ukm1LaqgVy6u9QHXfAEbTZCvRmkzhO4ZJeyFYchKaC5EuSG1AtaJ9Wnbj3zjX9xWmNWw5xRYQVcSTDcKm/s320/I+Spy+Stickers.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">I Spy Sets Stickers for Vinyl Envelopes</a></td></tr>
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The first lesson in the Blue Reading Program is presented using the - ck - envelope, the<a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect"> Small Moveable Alphabe</a>t, and a Blue Reading Moveable Alphabet Mat I've made from a Blue Rug (you'll see a picture of that in just a moment):<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGo8CsY21KvTVBdptOAQdIqs5m2hJwiNb_1MFFGS5jUA0SM10A0kHY5HUoCMAjHcgCa04z7gvuXfhnpXlZm5sPF0An2CAZUkDMtCUSYemASaBfGSbqsSfNhFjtnlt8XUPMgDgcSaDqs8XM/s1600/IMG_1840.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="802" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGo8CsY21KvTVBdptOAQdIqs5m2hJwiNb_1MFFGS5jUA0SM10A0kHY5HUoCMAjHcgCa04z7gvuXfhnpXlZm5sPF0An2CAZUkDMtCUSYemASaBfGSbqsSfNhFjtnlt8XUPMgDgcSaDqs8XM/s400/IMG_1840.jpg" width="332" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Reading CK Envelope<br />
This is the only set of Blue Reading I keep in a clear vinyl envelope. <br />
All the others are housed in the boxes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIh9dJk0w6ooVJGXEfeiEfpJE2xks4eH2Y4S-2mEugm7HOk6rqVklw4Uz43o-ndfSmNF4ofT8d5SoehYxPc3RrmRvrtV82dUKBGOYMXIebC-0Lh5VkslUvI-mhPmD2V0ha4lhpSnhSTDGV/s1600/ck+envelope.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIh9dJk0w6ooVJGXEfeiEfpJE2xks4eH2Y4S-2mEugm7HOk6rqVklw4Uz43o-ndfSmNF4ofT8d5SoehYxPc3RrmRvrtV82dUKBGOYMXIebC-0Lh5VkslUvI-mhPmD2V0ha4lhpSnhSTDGV/s640/ck+envelope.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Reading Envelope Contents<br />
The vinyl envelopes are purchased at <a href="http://everydayplastics.com/VinylEnvelopes.php">Everyday Plastics</a></td></tr>
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When I give this presentation it is my job to make sure they know how to use all the components of a Blue Reading Box because there are several parts. The younger the child using these, the more broken down the presentation will be. If I am showing a First Year and many Second Years (Early Childhood), I will do each part of the envelope as a separate presentation. If I am presenting to an Early Childhood Third Year and above I will show the contents of the entire box in one sitting. In our classroom there is enough room to house all the Blue Reading Blends and First Digraphs works in separate stacking boxes. If there was less room I would house them in clear vinyl envelopes like the ck presentation is in and put them in order inside bins or baskets (this is how I organize the Green Reading Difficulties but since I have some first years that get into Blue Reading I wanted younger students. I wanted them to have more independence and success). It is important to note there are 55 Blue Reading Blends and First Digraphs to house. Yeah I know, you had NO IDEA there were so many. In fact this doesn't cover every single one, but pretty dang close and all the ones we run into with any regularity are covered. These are the included Blends and First Digraphs:<br />
<br />
<b>Set #1</b><br />
Double Letters -<br />
1. ck (you linguists can debate with me about it being a double letter or a digraph but I'm sticking to my guns on placement with this because it is SO easy to teach at this point and so necessary for reading success at this stage)<br />
2. ff<br />
3. ll<br />
4. ss<br />
5. zz<br />
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<b>Set #2</b><br />
Beginning Blends -<br />
6. bl<br />
7. cl<br />
8. fl<br />
<br />
<b>Set #3</b><br />
9. gl<br />
10. pl<br />
11. sl<br />
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<b>Set #4</b><br />
12. br<br />
13. cr<br />
14. dr<br />
<br />
<b>Set #5</b><br />
15. fr<br />
16. gr<br />
17. pr<br />
18. tr<br />
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<b>Set #6</b><br />
19. sc<br />
20. sk<br />
21. sn<br />
<br />
<b>Set #7</b><br />
22. sp<br />
23. st<br />
24. sw<br />
25. tw<br />
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<b>Set #8</b><br />
First Digraphs (There are two reasons I have placed these in the middle of the Blue Reading Sets. Number one: most are regularly used at both the beginning and ending of words and these are very important for reading success at this stage. Number Two: Because by this time children are wanting to read what is around them in the world, having these simple digraphs under their belt at this point gives them much greater confidence in the world at large.)<br />
26. ch<br />
27. qu<br />
28. sh<br />
29. th - This box also contains the word list for both voiced and unvoiced <u>th</u>. Voiced example: bathtub, unvoiced example: that. I also have the voiced and unvoiced th sorting mat in this box.<br />
<br />
<b>Set #9</b><br />
Ending Blends (there are children who don't actually need much help with ending blends and can skip ahead. But then again, there are children who really struggle with these and need the support of the boxes)<br />
30. ct<br />
31. ft<br />
32. lt<br />
<br />
<b>Set #10</b><br />
33. nt<br />
34. pt<br />
35. st<br />
<br />
<b>Set #11</b><br />
36. lp<br />
37. mp<br />
38. sp<br />
<br />
<b>Set #12</b><br />
(There is a good reason to introduce the ld, ng, and nk closed syllable with short vowel sounds). Later in green reading we will explore the closed syllable exception in words like hang, old, and tank)<br />
39. lk<br />
40. nk<br />
41. sk<br />
<br />
<b>Set #13</b><br />
42. ld<br />
43. nd<br />
44. lf<br />
45. ng<br />
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<b>Set #14</b><br />
Triple Letter Blends<br />
46. scr<br />
47. spl<br />
48. spr<br />
49. str<br />
<br />
<b>Set #15</b><br />
Beginning and Ending First Triple Digraphs<br />
51. nch<br />
52. shr<br />
53. squ<br />
54. tch<br />
55. thr<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1h5FLL63uJNd_3GCY1uSlPllCzpbUC_P1"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="802" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UPq2ObtqUtuB0WRC7FTr6cRUXlnOyF0MWRmnM9AWvOP9Fhzg190Su7zEwhFo-z_ZXbO435QmzVfzSlHrSMe0GFBrdUVQaeuOdbzRY3nkmcI02jZcgyuE-TmzVvE4XsJ2NVnBHi82bou7/s400/BLUE+READING+DRAWER+STICKERS.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect">Blue Reading Blends and First Digraphs Drawer Labels</a><br />
<a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect">I label the fronts of the drawers with these stickers after </a><br />
<a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect">I've laminated and cut them out. I place the number on </a><br />
<a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect">the left and the picture on the right.</a></td></tr>
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<b>Picture to Movable Alphabet and Word Cards</b></div>
<div>
When using these cards the tonekeeper or person working with the child holds the word cards while the child builds the word with the <a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect">Movable Alphabet</a>. Then they fetch the word card from the adult and see if there are any letters to fix.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="844" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1adNMMfPEAY_cTM2z44TZH4Wq2pRySem7A_0Nm95cRUQgy7eBesJbeLqqidQR0in6_pattWqLJFB5P9nQEKJP85t6_dbIyyR0OTQUsWrvQzggHVhb447vz9rixczolP_T47jnpBZ6BKh/s320/Blends+pics.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Picture to Moveable Alphabet and Word Cards</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0DGp-SGmJ5hNhL4opqzzPiHojapiLdHxoT8-o9Zl56goW9JnDT3wuO2kqkEbM8NRK3niDKqkyG-Cs1G7VYtEsbNPjAILqFWajLIP6bbQjmTap7SETD9wxwT1izbao5cdoLT3TGNxFIcQ/s1600/Blue+Mat.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0DGp-SGmJ5hNhL4opqzzPiHojapiLdHxoT8-o9Zl56goW9JnDT3wuO2kqkEbM8NRK3niDKqkyG-Cs1G7VYtEsbNPjAILqFWajLIP6bbQjmTap7SETD9wxwT1izbao5cdoLT3TGNxFIcQ/s640/Blue+Mat.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Layout of the Blue Reading Picture to<br />
Moveable Alphabet and Word Cards</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Blue Reading Word Booklets</b></div>
<div>
These are single word booklets to help the child have further reading practice with the skill and success in booklet form.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="651" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUh0XBTkmPS9iqpYBoL1ICKIbRfo9A0fFUsuBlQmQ3Wt-bjD5tLIktXj83yUbiSo1Zefbmy3o3eMxWtkI-ObIIjQ5A0Vm4wKdvIstqVdFihhqZHAfihVM367SJj5HmCmESDqwqVKlcuzo/s400/blends+booklets.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Blends and First Digraphs Single Word Booklets</a></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWUgCDUdgUqpWad8bJqqC-_FxLEGg-E5_10xdg00src4lIdAfmSD2N1HywZNg81ENIBYV7QnaN2Qx0iKhbsON28Jf01hil7GMJqjVhSVQAlvodOXrPPW4av1ewizKABPSsr0KzmkpvpQS/s1600/Booklet1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1389" data-original-width="1600" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWUgCDUdgUqpWad8bJqqC-_FxLEGg-E5_10xdg00src4lIdAfmSD2N1HywZNg81ENIBYV7QnaN2Qx0iKhbsON28Jf01hil7GMJqjVhSVQAlvodOXrPPW4av1ewizKABPSsr0KzmkpvpQS/s320/Booklet1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKWTaBTw1YHDXIdNMy-ns9D0-2idDq3ZU8MY_8O9z0zyXMknYuF9CK1rKlLzcThshj-qMY51mMGwAdIWiFXFdZ432xjeY5Gl3yZTKwoVkzxmfJdycnPrtKcts0yRKTggCrU9OKjxDvhYV/s1600/Booklet2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1600" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKWTaBTw1YHDXIdNMy-ns9D0-2idDq3ZU8MY_8O9z0zyXMknYuF9CK1rKlLzcThshj-qMY51mMGwAdIWiFXFdZ432xjeY5Gl3yZTKwoVkzxmfJdycnPrtKcts0yRKTggCrU9OKjxDvhYV/s400/Booklet2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Reading Single Word Booklets</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Blue Reading Word Lists</b></div>
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After a child has mastered their word list there is a writing piece. They use the Blue Reading Word List writing paper to write their list and put in their file or binder.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="1075" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_SAx6QU2tfN4KB9PioegXpRJlDJ_ZnDBNvk0kA-nfg3Y-gnuAmHkAuU0aoND6Nu2cj2Tz2hSAZxV4lAHuEGXc4y9kvLIfV90zUp9JMje_XS1hJ4Ih9klbKpXU7Ie60o_s-vnwL_cQL7cu/s400/Blue+word+lists.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Blends and First Digraphs Word Lists</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUNHjt9FXTfsh8HC8x85i8cMtz46kj81C2LHL5lc70gw9ihASFhqu-Sxj6dAE06luwd6mUoIrYRIcfiByyMUF2psOv8Q9E-vIrfh_VC5cpqk6OccGhRhAo5KplT9zcM_RLGy2wy2suKpv/s320/Blue+level+word+list+paper.png" width="119" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Blends and First Digraphs Word List Recording Paper</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTH1zuljZ1aWQ6LuNrb5MaLqLvhlilVFYLXIfL2XovlCW8NGTWHDzo-h6HYo0bU9AiGdpZkUSRgB0x1-uUXPIV5kzq_6Zi0aYP36_LRLR-eBx6la1XqnglqMMOKJMdL7zeSN2vm1v_zj3/s1600/Word+List.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1574" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTH1zuljZ1aWQ6LuNrb5MaLqLvhlilVFYLXIfL2XovlCW8NGTWHDzo-h6HYo0bU9AiGdpZkUSRgB0x1-uUXPIV5kzq_6Zi0aYP36_LRLR-eBx6la1XqnglqMMOKJMdL7zeSN2vm1v_zj3/s400/Word+List.jpg" width="392" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Reading Word Lists with Word List Recording Paper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Voiced and Unvoiced <u>th</u> Sorting Mat</b><br />
The th digraph is really two subsets the voiced - as in bathtub and the unvoiced - as in that. This work helps the child become more familiar with both.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="463" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPq7Y2sJLKlJxvzL6-y-NFm6kEmi1wQcoMv4iPATslHw7nLY_hHHJhUCDskD0DMlugmSMz_1BOTEZsrg31gK4iPC1Okdf4VgGitkIsthgGZFPB5Vcy2XdpAwjhgezOXhuF55duR2-QjI_s/w345-h400/Voiced+unvoiced+mat.png" width="345" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect">Blue Reading Voiced and Unvoiced <u><b>th</b></u> Sorting Mat</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><br /></b><b>Blue Level Sight Words Sets</b><br />
If you have been working with the Language Works from this blog since the beginning you will have been introduced to Sight Words in the <a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect">Pink Reading Series</a> blog post. These words follow the same presentation format. It is important to note that it isn't necessary to be finished with the <a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect">Pink Level Sight Words</a> before beginning to read these sentence matching cards. You will find detailed instructions for the presentation of sight words with he pink sight words. You can click on the link above. If a child is reading along and needs help with a word you simply tell them the word and have them reread the sentence with the word included. These words are in 4 sets that correspond with the Sentence Matching Cards Sets.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1028" data-original-width="1254" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_AwT3tSwzgJoEaVXNl-8N8X4mgCcv7tG3eqHCIGOKbhgk-Z6u_qeSsg_Wm4GS8WlXtf1mODksXln4zk6TPWZIMmLiW3Ah4c_14nAb6XD4x7qr8qz2238sHOf84vgIMtlOnvLNFwF2J0Z/s400/Blue+Level+Sight+Word+Cards.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Series Sight Words Sets</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Picture to Sentence Matching Cards</b><br />
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These sets correspond to the Sight Words. Each set of Blends has a certain number of Sight Words that are used in the sentences. Everything is scaffolded and builds skill upon skill. I LOVE this part of the program. This is exactly what I felt was missing from everything else I'd used. Children at this level NEED to be working on their sentence skills and building confidence in their reading at large.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="899" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ejOmErNu-eDpPfqSwJhB4DdIZjC0mF213cpOhlPY3MFekKFx_cmodPz0gGJm812k9PXu34W7CAC10Jp78zZFsW9QHZBbhPrHjNVCXNshzSKePH2hXCTXzo1HpSp35oUlKZ04B6quijG0/s320/picture+to+sentence+cards+blue.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Series Picture to Sentence Matching Cards Set #1Beginning Blends</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="744" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQvkKU0sGjZ67JrJ3tNfgF3vTfvnDfKXzGR9apxMyGlE6DX3HKF4yRuHRUrGSWGV9B7McnwKRi4CfTr-PdvNmUug6RK1y99VTx6MDB_gdB9Fvf6lgPbI2FJvZ6sl_E-MVEsv05Q2h5379/s400/Blue+Sentence+to+Picture+Match+Set+%25232.tif" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Series Picture To Sentence Matching Cards Set #2 First Digraphs</a></td></tr>
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<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
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Set #3 Ending Blends and Triple Blends & Sets #4 Digraphs are still in the works but getting closer!</div>
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<b><u>After the Blue Reading Boxes</u></b></div>
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That is right. After the boxes there are still some skills to learn before moving to the Green Reading Level with real success.</div>
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<b>Blue Reading Blends and First Digraphs Fluency Cards</b><br />
I am putting in a HUGE plug for this work. It is quite possibly our key to success in reading. The ability to read words with fluency literally changes the ball game for students. Look <a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect">here</a> for the Pink Reading Level Fluency Cards. These words are in 12 sets of 24 words. By this time the child is working on moving more quickly. During the Pink Level we are working on learning how to blend. In the Blue Level the child masters the set by reading 20+ words easily. This usually takes a few times through the set before they reach this mastery. We use the same game as with the Sight Words. First time through any words they can read easily within about 3 seconds goes into their pile. Any they still need practice on stays in my pile. We count how many are in their pile and say, "Look how many you have in your pile today!". We then practice through the words they need twice and see if they can add any more to their pile. Only the amount from the first run through count towards mastery. The child will use this work until they have mastered all the sets, or until I feel confident they are reading blends and beginning digraph words with facility (at this level it is harder since those triple blends will trip up the kids sometimes). This could last into the Green Reading Level.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="802" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKIKkm8H47o9Bi9H_oqtj-gtbTnVN8JfwUp4-y4ewdhLiSAzROSc6QW9hl2FpPPUfmB3TfNi2iLnwptj94ZKA3qRMd6D0V8Jgth4CYDvZRA8hf20dr-djRBWQ4idl3o1LqKxv8AnxiK6s/s400/blue+fluency+cards.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Blends and First Digraphs Fluency Cards</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XP4H-6nVQ5K-c1FO66srzzirRFQr__-iMu0nDbqTiDvjePendDht9sPdDYJK9u9bXl0unGbMwVfC04L7Y6YvLvxdI3Tx7LEE8tPW3RrAlHE4mfl68zrWqAxRK7B3hfICYFy3RB6RwFcI/s1600/IMG_1850.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1223" data-original-width="1565" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XP4H-6nVQ5K-c1FO66srzzirRFQr__-iMu0nDbqTiDvjePendDht9sPdDYJK9u9bXl0unGbMwVfC04L7Y6YvLvxdI3Tx7LEE8tPW3RrAlHE4mfl68zrWqAxRK7B3hfICYFy3RB6RwFcI/s400/IMG_1850.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Reading Blends and First Digraphs Fluency Cards</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b>Blue Reading Single Word Command Cards</b></div>
<div>
I have replaced Secret Words with these cards. The children I've worked with have loved this work. This is a two person work for children on the same level or one on the level and one already mastered with this work. The cards are sorted into two piles and set face down. The first child reads their top card to themselves and acts out the command. The other child tries to guess the word and then it is revealed. Then it is the other child's turn and so on until all the cards are acted out.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="675" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQyRXy3QgQDs_tOjw7b7qoYnSvqSgCnU1nCars8-S1zq_7c2WV9B_ocuPvIeH7LimDa_S0vOXuafnFod0CUgaoC3QhW1M4P2AL3IYQuanSC4VrikvYBZDafciQvDU3z1mJHhLKbpb5xzf/s400/command+cards.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Blends and First Digraphs Single Word Command Cards</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0YYvWb4bURs4sSabLMwjt1G62ElqvXnmMXEMx-lqp5AqFqld_z-e3c0H8K5LIizVGLWJa_yrVSONEKCvevwxYZ2P2awtU6jexUtXDAI52FqMTsDrkbcgF1s7wvhhm5X_EyaabPwzMXLY/s1600/IMG_1848.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1264" data-original-width="1600" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0YYvWb4bURs4sSabLMwjt1G62ElqvXnmMXEMx-lqp5AqFqld_z-e3c0H8K5LIizVGLWJa_yrVSONEKCvevwxYZ2P2awtU6jexUtXDAI52FqMTsDrkbcgF1s7wvhhm5X_EyaabPwzMXLY/s400/IMG_1848.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Reading Single Word Command Cards</td></tr>
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<b>Blue Reading Command Cards Sentences</b></div>
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This work is used exactly the same as the Single Word Command Cards but the sentences give more direction for the children to follow.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="843" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-CB6CBSroEYEhFvaabfKGTd-cdVuJ6zbD77Rnw4Vp4nihd7vMSpNHanEFsSWQgd6wJnQ88lup6IW3CioJXDpJ0sSa8w1mV5nfuj5j0OJ8UZ2iZEQwpp2UgXMTz3LiWh9kRUdAbxHitX0/s400/command+sentences.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Blends and First Digraphs Command Cards Sentences</a></td></tr>
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<b>Blue Reading Nonsense Words Cards</b></div>
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There is a very important reason to add these cards into your reading works at every level. I was first introduced to the importance of nonsense words when working in the public school system for a couple of years. I thought it was so strange until I learned about the research behind this skill. A child who can read nonsense words and feel comfortable with them will have greater ability to read longer and more complex words with ease. If we break down a big words, such as <i><u>presidential </u></i>or <u><i>endangerment,</i></u> they are made of word segments that do not make much sense until the word is put together. Honing the child's skill to read nonsense words supports their overall reading success.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="798" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nU-Ok2E2QpCl7dCWSKJfRQgD6neaIf0h2QjYCTLuKkxVZcTPTFS-1vDkTH_np6a1bRBB5lz15ZXWzXRFpwJTqILxXNs3hPN45Jh3_MB-GU0A9wdgmoF0ss0ayyjr3nurXwRywQu2OVe8/s400/Blue+Nonsense+words.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Nonsense Words Cards<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JHar4Ib1i2M8KFxC-c4P2DwCDSoe0WyXmbDovymLD9HmU6xcY-aFPGdokcZxCF6PBssMrsAdAGlhDQR1-X7N1Bhjsh6otb0VfsTTUFBhieCqF8Db_YbOy9P4RhwOlXAsRO-VTWijZiSu/s1600/IMG_1842.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1465" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JHar4Ib1i2M8KFxC-c4P2DwCDSoe0WyXmbDovymLD9HmU6xcY-aFPGdokcZxCF6PBssMrsAdAGlhDQR1-X7N1Bhjsh6otb0VfsTTUFBhieCqF8Db_YbOy9P4RhwOlXAsRO-VTWijZiSu/s320/IMG_1842.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Reading Nonsense Words Cards Layout</td></tr>
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<b>Blue Reading Rhyming Set</b></div>
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Rhyming is so important to reading success and this set helps with the further practice of this skill.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="518" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJksAapk-OTZZ72WmcUsrMAGWkv7lrctzuE4OVt5IApmReFNHsuXywRSlyyyQQ8ymhyphenhyphen9DD9IiWzLyI6rCSAmul92XYe6AcBCVOdF4ILWV2IEOnYBZp0J9DwrFiHM79WPjZV7XwSUfwi3SH/s320/Blue+Rhyming+Families.tif" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Series Rhyming Families Set</a></td></tr>
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<b>Blue Reading Multi-Syllable Picture and Word Matching Cards</b></div>
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I've always found it so confusing to throw children into the Green Reading level without giving them the success with multi-syllable words before they begin. This work has three sets of ten pictures and matching cards. It allows for a formal introduction to multi-syllable words.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="465" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUsHfpVmBaFdK0_Y9VJdrlBqU_XzS9DbrdqkXWkSi74BTksZ2wCfiWLGODJl-zupHh8BvRHwdG60nVcJnoHoGqTnVgmF2FSLMo6jglXvDrv9klO9CAD7JOlVIlRZnNNDhLwHXlzSHHaH8/s400/blue+multisyllable+cards.png" width="322" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Multi-Syllable Picture and Word Matching Cards</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbf7FaKVYdw3e0DUjo8XE3PUYEy2bbn4br0GVDo3g0pvnXXRDlqMxjSMykudvlDcTfjg9saqjU1oQKY2f-BYpe-Wv7OesHtgrmLkcnZEJFJkHcozyaRkd4YDWEAS9DMTC2vV89GIIE-PR/s1600/Multi-syllable+word+cards.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1600" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbf7FaKVYdw3e0DUjo8XE3PUYEy2bbn4br0GVDo3g0pvnXXRDlqMxjSMykudvlDcTfjg9saqjU1oQKY2f-BYpe-Wv7OesHtgrmLkcnZEJFJkHcozyaRkd4YDWEAS9DMTC2vV89GIIE-PR/s400/Multi-syllable+word+cards.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Multi-Syllable Words and Picture Card Matching Layout</td></tr>
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<b>Blue Reading Multi-Syllable Fluency Word Cards</b></div>
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This set is used the same way as the other fluency word cards. Sort into sets of about 24. This work will be used well into the Green Reading Level.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="465" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4M6rLwNPgGXuUXscYAnpn29e9GiulTnaJ9IL-IFiqhgN24Nx3tbBgMzccE89sPVmz1MAZHLkLhJ349bedMwLliN9jNn7F_39YvXgrHYKdevuw_B4-e1JJMvrBBhqYbv0glNIqiEGPXDjO/s400/blue+multisyllable+fluency+cards.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Multi-Syllable Fluency Cards</a></td></tr>
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<b>Blue Reading Multi-Syllable Picture and Sentence Matching</b></div>
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This work gives the child practice in using their multi-syllable words in sentences before adding new difficulties found in the Green Reading Level.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="817" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyR50BUTX1FhqtDOzaTtzMyhU1HBpq7c1esFKGhjT9zhDXc_UUlAxyChhjt-HM5ADKmlVH85GBjIkTO3uPU-sXRpZoAUjLgfwFZFw6HB-84IvrD6dOSRf8aT9a0yLN1cdqdUy7WZuB-rSl/s400/multisyllable+sentences.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Blue Reading Multi-Syllable Picture and Sentence Matching</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07hfTbUC0nbGX1zVeJohveVn6A_eBBEQo21DA6pe0U7peTGmQ8Pq0TDLyU3Yg8bW5ufWMhhKFIAgA2LpC5nli8oZpZ5ez0v6QtC1bftej8u_-MCxXVMrukkw4sN4ZK2-xt7KjXZq23uTq/s1600/Blue+Multi-syllable+sentences.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1399" data-original-width="1600" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07hfTbUC0nbGX1zVeJohveVn6A_eBBEQo21DA6pe0U7peTGmQ8Pq0TDLyU3Yg8bW5ufWMhhKFIAgA2LpC5nli8oZpZ5ez0v6QtC1bftej8u_-MCxXVMrukkw4sN4ZK2-xt7KjXZq23uTq/s640/Blue+Multi-syllable+sentences.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Reading Multi-Syllable Picture and Sentence Matching Layout</td></tr>
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<div>
All these works have made a huge difference for the one and for all in the classrooms I've been in the last five years. Particularly for those who would have been struggling in their reading much more without the skills being broken down for them. I hope you love it as much as I do.</div>
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LOVES,</div>
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Cathie</div>
Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-10745286344625514192017-02-05T21:44:00.002-07:002022-03-04T16:39:27.546-07:00Montessori Green Reading Program - ReimaginedI am pleased to introduce the reformatted and imagined Green reading program. This has been years in the making and there are still portions under construction. There are some specific reasons this has happened and I think it worth having a discussion about learning to read.<br />
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There are enough children in the world that do not learn language easily and smoothly. I have known droves of children who could quickly move ahead in reading. They made jumps in a single day. Some of my own children could do that, some could not. Because my oldest daughter really struggled to learn to read it has become very important for me to learn how to break the Montessori language program down in a way that it will fill in those gaps. There are plenty of children who enter my life every year who also struggle to learn reading. I want such a challenge to be beatable. These children need explicit instruction and it is our challenge to do that in such a way that compliments a Montessori, self learning style. You can never tell which rules someone will get quickly, and which have to be broken down. It varies so widely.<br />
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What I have been looking for is something that truly scaffold skills. Since all the reading programs we have purchased and tried are either missing too much, do not build skills on each other, or do not follow a coherent pattern I have decided to do it myself. I do not in any way believe I am remotely finished with updates and changes to the program, but this is a great start!<br />
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The groupings have changed significantly from any of my previous work. I have reference the Orton-Gilligham sequence as well as several other well known programs. I have tried to stay close to the OG method while still making allowances for the needs of this program. Because of the scaffolding nature of this sequence it would be very tricky to find images if we stayed purely with the OR sequence so there had to be some changes made.<br />
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First I should like to bring to your attention the way in which all the parts of the program are used. For each difficulty there are 6 steps. NOTICE that the difficulty is isolated in <span style="color: red;">red</span>.<br />
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<b>#1 - Picture to Word Cards:</b> using this work the child matches all the picture cards to the corresponding word card. There is a control of error on the back of each card for the self checking. When checking for mastery the guide sits with the child while they show their knowledge. If a child peeks at the back of the card you would simply say something like, "You are getting close. Try it again and get me when you feel you've got it." Once there has been mastery the child then records these words in their language notebook or binder.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwNqHCxKbQMeQDc6MwwVXuZeM5TZvCcS9Nbqgtpj5M0yfaTest4zywwBCLoXeqfZrhzQ8rttKO04ijQuY6oEm2MYZ1iFWBAjWa-MQeIARJu9pvXXQMzvCidMH82NN98L3ZGqrXpgRteds/s1600/%25231.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwNqHCxKbQMeQDc6MwwVXuZeM5TZvCcS9Nbqgtpj5M0yfaTest4zywwBCLoXeqfZrhzQ8rttKO04ijQuY6oEm2MYZ1iFWBAjWa-MQeIARJu9pvXXQMzvCidMH82NN98L3ZGqrXpgRteds/s320/%25231.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Picture to Word Cards</b></span></h3>
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<b>#2 - Domino Cards:</b> this work is new, fun, and engaging for the children. Each domino has the word first and the child looks for the matching picture to be found at the bottom of the mat. There is a red dot at both the beginning and the end to show where to start and stop. Mastery is shown by the guide watching the child put the domino chain together independently. Once mastery has been achieved the child records these words in their language notebook or binder.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazr8y7tDL9ip1baWN2X82p821PVMs9LdVqRHhuu-IuUz4HjCIxK3tY67nvVEEMexi7WQ0RMuWpbPfZ9ifXcnxWyZ5rC0n9zpMyqn7dRN5tw0-vL7FOkzOEq_C-IdmS3UWh4RFGbQZHw9i/s1600/%25232.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazr8y7tDL9ip1baWN2X82p821PVMs9LdVqRHhuu-IuUz4HjCIxK3tY67nvVEEMexi7WQ0RMuWpbPfZ9ifXcnxWyZ5rC0n9zpMyqn7dRN5tw0-vL7FOkzOEq_C-IdmS3UWh4RFGbQZHw9i/s400/%25232.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Dominoes</b></span></h3>
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<b>#3 - Word Booklets:</b> the child practices reading words in booklet form. Mastery is shown when the child reads through the book with ease. Once mastery has been achieved the child records these words in their language notebook or binder. This booklet acts as a means for the child to practice their knew skill.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWeCj4k4m2Uf2yfBESJpoCOlLoDQ4q-xx205xxQ_WzCZryF21x_cnj9muxnkkpDfdXA8jxO5hRAlhK2IozVP1xnk_YUfGgdvYaDPH8xWJLGa0WqWyGZ0K_xMzU72fOxPG36EYlOKwcxFsf/s1600/%25233.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWeCj4k4m2Uf2yfBESJpoCOlLoDQ4q-xx205xxQ_WzCZryF21x_cnj9muxnkkpDfdXA8jxO5hRAlhK2IozVP1xnk_YUfGgdvYaDPH8xWJLGa0WqWyGZ0K_xMzU72fOxPG36EYlOKwcxFsf/s320/%25233.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3>
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Single Word Booklets</span></b></h3>
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<b>#4 - Printed Moveable Alphabet Sentence Building with Picture Prompts:</b> Several of the children in my current class have said that this is their favorite part of each drawer. Each card has an interesting picture with a word containing the specific difficulty on the back. The black and red printed alphabet are used to create a sentence of the child's choosing. There is often a need to coach the child for a few sentences before they begin to figure out how to make their own sentences based on the picture. They feel pretty accomplished with their sentences. The spelling/punctuation we are most concerned with is the isolated difficulty (i.e. a-e saying long a) and capitals and periods. Inventive spelling is fine except in the case of any previously learned difficulties or punctuation lessons a specific child has had during Writer's Workshop or Word Study. Once they have had their sentence checked by a guide they record it in their language notebook or binder. This work provides a motivation for spelling as well as for writing practice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiunO-C1Ed1KHSiSwAfHmznaHZ2aNOv-QDtZNDw7foQl0elFmxURY995yk5zJ-5va7yvr_4H0AKtQIj5WV9EixjiZ1BNT1Mb1t4qYQ81FflyzbiT5OsJzdNeB_2-qPgne4zqTsYyML8q9nb/s1600/%25234.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiunO-C1Ed1KHSiSwAfHmznaHZ2aNOv-QDtZNDw7foQl0elFmxURY995yk5zJ-5va7yvr_4H0AKtQIj5WV9EixjiZ1BNT1Mb1t4qYQ81FflyzbiT5OsJzdNeB_2-qPgne4zqTsYyML8q9nb/s400/%25234.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3>
<span style="color: #38761d;">Picture Prompts for Building Sentences with the Printed Alphabet</span></h3>
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<b>#4a - Red and Black Printed Alphabets in Lower and Uppercase Letters: </b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-weight: normal;">In the lesson presentation portion of this post you can learn how to use these files for your classroom. I keep my sets in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Darice-1157-11-13-7-Inch-8-6-Inch-1-37-Inch/dp/B001B0S2H6/ref=sr_1_2?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1486347656&sr=1-2&keywords=bead+organizer">these</a> boxes from Amazon:</span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_v0tnLX0ICNjcE0GK5bxP9c1Oyw1Zc4bhOdfHH7gUjZiYDarKPkx74_q3o020dk_cVN7lweVZD6Sr5ZKJSRGVAJuulm3hnH9VfJVHM8MbVjl6Px56UFOnCJBi7rE2H62WsY47R2hOXVc/s320/red+and+black+printed+alphabet+uppercase.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Red and Black Printed Alphabet in Uppercase Letters</span></b> </a></h3>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Red and Black Printed Alphabet in Lowercase Letters</a></span></b></h3>
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<b>#5 - Word Lists:</b> This work is meant to give the child practice in reading more words with this isolated difficulty. When the child can read all of the words with ease and fluency they may then write the words in their language notebook or binder. Notice that the difficulty is no longer in red.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6miTJuJ_ylpHJE-eCkZMB3uBl-2Rm3EhFG4WwqfzUUYpoTe6n6FOJNCyPmk_XCtBGuhGKba2eGf_Dk9-MMsstex0qZELtoUJh-mWkM0yJcEkTQ3WSffJ3zPtflkDS2wwy4tM8yIxVNhQ1/s1600/%25235.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6miTJuJ_ylpHJE-eCkZMB3uBl-2Rm3EhFG4WwqfzUUYpoTe6n6FOJNCyPmk_XCtBGuhGKba2eGf_Dk9-MMsstex0qZELtoUJh-mWkM0yJcEkTQ3WSffJ3zPtflkDS2wwy4tM8yIxVNhQ1/s400/%25235.png" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Word Lists</span></h3>
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<b>#6 - Sentence Strips:</b> The child reads for practice a set of four sentences for each difficulty. High frequency words (Fry words are used) are included in the weekly practice for the child. The full set of Pink, Blue and Green word cards in sets will be made available once the series is completed. Once a child can smoothly and fluently read their sentence to a guide they may write it down in their language notebook or binder. Early Elementary: Be certain to edit with the child for capitalization and punctuation.<br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Sentence Strips</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>An Initial Presentation</b></span></div>
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When I begin the first drawer with the children I set them down with the entire drawer and all its components and the black and red printed alphabets. There will be some children who have the capacity to be at this reading level and still need an individual presentation on each component so take that into account when preparing for this lesson. Each pouch is numbered and I point that out to the children. I let them know that they are so advanced now they will be able to begin working through these boxes at their own pace and as quickly as they are ready. This tends to get them excited right from the start. I let them know that each new box (or set of boxes) needs a lesson and say you get to have your first lesson right now. I introduce the black and red printed alphabet. I say that because they are now more advanced they may use this special kind of moveable alphabet. Since the first set is Magic e I use the black printed alphabet to write the word can. I say, "This is the word can. I am going to add the letter e to the end of the word can." I add the letter e and say, "This letter e is going to change the word can into something new." I then take the red printed e out of the box and lay it at the end of the word. I then lay the red a over the black a. I say that when an e is added to the end of a word it usually makes the vowel say its name and we discover together what new word we have made. We practice with several other words (including other vowels such as pin/pine, hop/hope, cub/cube); always adding the red e at the end and laying the red vowel over the black one. Once we finish this part of the lesson I say that there are several parts to one box and they need to do them in order. I also say how important it is that each one be mastered before moving onto the next. If there are children who need each part of the lesson explained I will only present one step of the box at a time. (Many Early Childhood children fall under this category). I pull out #1 - Picture to Word Card Matching and mention that they will recognize this work from the blue reading series. I do a quick refresher on how to do this work and let them know to find an adult to see their work when they are ready to master it. I then put that one away in the box and pull out #2 - Word and Picture Dominoes and show show special interest in the beginning and ending dots. I say, "You will know where to begin and where to end by paying attention to these dots." I put together the first set of dominoes so they can see how this work is done and tell them to find a guide when they are ready to master off this work. I return this work to the box and move on to #3 - Single Word Booklets. I mention how quickly they will be able to read these new words with all the practice they will be getting in. I show them how to read through the booklet and make certain to find the front page to set it right for the next person and tell them to find a guide when they are ready to master off this work. I put this work back in the box and get ready to show #4 - Picture Prompts for Sentence Building with the Moveable Alphabet. I show one picture card on the front and then flip it onto the back. I like to show the pink lake first because it is a bit sensational. I say, "Look, Here is a lake and it is pink! Look here on the back of this card, it says lake. I am going to write a sentence about this lake on my mat." I proceed to ask them what kind of sentence I could build about a pink lake. I take their suggestions and build a sentence. I make certain to point out that the difficulty will be in red and nothing else. I put this work back as well as the printed alphabet letters and move onto #5 - Word Lists. I mention how they will recognize how this work from the blue reading series and tell them to find a guide when they feel they are ready to master this work and return this work to the box. I show them #6 - Sentence Strips as well as the matching High Frequency Words set. I tell them that this work will help them become good readers and that the sentences have the High Frequency Words in them that will help them read a lot of other things as well. I return this work to the box. I reiterate the importance of finding a guide before moving from one work to another as well as the requirement that only one work from the box be out at a time. I let them know they may do this work whenever they like and have the children help me return all the parts of the lesson to their proper place before allowing them to use it. Sometimes a new set of difficulties will require a new lesson about how to use the set, but often each new box needs a new lesson on the rule that accompanies it. You can never suppose anything and it it much better to be safe than for the children to flounder and get frustrated.</div>
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Finally - The Green Reading Series has been uploaded to the Free Downloads site <a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect">here</a>. You can navigate through the different sets that are available now and I will update more as I get them. I am currently working on the sentence strips for Set D. There is a Reading Program Check-off List we use and it will become also become available when the program is finished.</div>
Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-7901734683009620222017-01-29T19:44:00.001-07:002022-03-04T16:36:58.480-07:00Volcano materials for Early ChildhoodI was saying how many files I have that are not available on this blog and think it is about time to get some of them uploaded to share with everyone. We have been studying plate tectonics in our Early Elementary class over the last few weeks and we are finally prepared to move onto volcanoes and their types. I have files and suggested materials for both the Early Childhood and Early Elementary classroom. My next post will deal with Elementary files and suggestions.<div>
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Volcanoes are so fun no matter what age the child. It doesn't seem to get too boring to study every year from age 3 to 9 and even older. To begin with it is great to show the children a video of an erupting volcano. This is a good route to go simply because we cannot take the children to a live volcano unless you have the great opportunity to live in a place like Hawaii or Iceland where active volcanoes can be seen up close. These are a couple of suggested videos from the web <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V863xR0Y2qk">here</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgktM2luLok">here</a>. After they have seen the video you can have a conversation about what they noticed about video. This is a great time to show the children a volcano demonstration. I have created several volcanoes from kits. I've usually found one at Michaels and used my 40% off coupon. There are several to choose from and here are some great choices with a link to Amazon:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Erupting-Volcano-Model/dp/B0008JILB8"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4jxl_33Uj7HdOk1yYBNAJr_ctfwg-bezg98wudAna_9iCSJnXWu3Ry8Ta-V7FePdlBXfLu9s1nT5ULGfx6Z-rr37kMv2_BP_0rrn85YhRRwzxNTAJ4HjyNnVqThZnKAQXJB9kEV7uXXRb/s320/51C9EPX0XZL.jpg" width="272" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Erupting-Volcano-Model/dp/B0008JILB8">Learning Resources Erupting Volcano Model</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Smithsonian-52101-Micro-Volcano/dp/B003O68ZYU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1485741215&sr=8-3&keywords=volcano+smithsonian"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMv3UdPZHfVTrpmCBoNTSpP1sOeAUhs2t8wEfjRO_ruS6eFdUqZuBUJXxv9rKqVj7IvPJuwGZRui8YV-yn6E6D5BwbzCl9Sj6WOR6Vxw-K37jnk8kjt-L1oHVOiA2g6vJLwtyfFBLh4feC/s320/71RAYJbvBDL._SL1050_.jpg" width="272" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Smithsonian-52101-Micro-Volcano/dp/B003O68ZYU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1485741215&sr=8-3&keywords=volcano+smithsonian">Smithsonian Micro Volcano</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Create-Your-Own-Volcano-Kit-by-Lakeshore/dp/B00137GL02/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485741527&sr=8-1&keywords=volcano+kit+lakeshore"><img alt="https://www.amazon.com/Schylling-VKN-Volcano-Kit/dp/B000ELT03S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485740533&sr=8-1&keywords=build+and+erupt+your+own+volcano" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIRkWqmie6dPMSr5sjieMA8YcMuEHavP3A8Oy3GUyYNXU7LKaz0Rn9IgCl7U5s3tYvBfKXoghC-lDCCDtkf3S9pM4lNFrjMCFMMHwSDAp0P2Tw3RmTpAW5kf39JsEip_woyXhBBcRbFWPi/s320/81RZ4dK5apL._SL1500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Create-Your-Own-Volcano-Kit-by-Lakeshore/dp/B00137GL02/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485741527&sr=8-1&keywords=volcano+kit+lakeshore">Create-Your-Own Volcano Kit by Lakeshore</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/4M-3431-Volcano-Making-Kit/dp/B0007KK0V2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1485741255&sr=8-3&keywords=volcano+kit"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2Z5pwLj1aJH-bI6phTLCI9pMOZRQBvlxp3up16C3XY2mg_WCxba1MuVotCout5WI6aFWyxDkSCysT7rpDJM-kxLi0tlrUli_aBWfs5MeasrL2EaWbw4sJYEaHLb42vMMDWNznyTIrin1/s320/91kD5gPcaiL._SL1500_.jpg" width="308" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/4M-3431-Volcano-Making-Kit/dp/B0007KK0V2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1485741255&sr=8-3&keywords=volcano+kit">4M Volcano Making Kit </a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/NSI-Smithsonian-Giant-Volcano-Kit/dp/B00200JX2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485741215&sr=8-1&keywords=volcano+smithsonian"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhSkBL0fsIdLeHzq54iS4D9u2YJQdiIoxJz9vt-ddO9smYHBHT84Vv3CvMf1UjRZc_vw4fwLkROBu7vBw3lqDRbE8JH9Bfew8nojn_RRVe6Tne954EXXUU2ZCqZ3YVgDV-ILmKBjriVj4/s320/91RS7MaNN6L._SL1500_.jpg" width="285" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/NSI-Smithsonian-Giant-Volcano-Kit/dp/B00200JX2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485741215&sr=8-1&keywords=volcano+smithsonian">NSI Smithsonian Giant Volcano Kit</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Schylling-VKN-Volcano-Kit/dp/B000ELT03S/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1485741255&sr=8-11&keywords=volcano+kit"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8EIIVPIp1WBd3aC9lV1t3s2Mrd5QHTMlSdfvIDQSOvBtL4aDUskJvwtlbmFvYeMYY5F6vwWj73RB9SJY-Sy3ym4foT6biRJxVfgKcpxL6He1tS2YC0Mz9dgmXZH5oK0bFZLbwehfV4Og/s320/910FNAkqSNL._SL1500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Schylling-VKN-Volcano-Kit/dp/B000ELT03S/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1485741255&sr=8-11&keywords=volcano+kit">Shylling Volcano Kit</a></td></tr>
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I simply use vinegar, a couple drops of orange food coloring and some baking soda to create the demonstration. In order to give the children a hands-on experience in erupting their own volcano it would be best to choose something made of plaster or plastic. The plastic volcano kits are the easiest to clean independently. I actually love <a href="https://www.amazon.com/4M-Science-Your-Pocket-Volcano/dp/B003OVL8V2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485741515&sr=8-1&keywords=pocket+volcano">this</a> volcano for the on the shelf independent work because of its small size and easy clean up. When it is set up there is just enough baking soda and colored vinegar for one eruption. Once finished, including the child has cleaned it up for the next person, they can put it on the replenish shelf for the assistant to add more colored vinegar and baking soda.</div>
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I add to a second basket these photo cards to give children a chance to see great pictures of lots of different kinds of volcanoes. This is a great primer for the elementary grades where they will learn about the types of volcanoes.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx46IRo-hIv-M-05Cd5rxIO-FTEM2m9A5FxhCJbpyDQmMrIk2ALcEwWthhpWJVkHDiRMrfzNjSzkyvUe1GrJXiB5FmMeHPUhaAmpuobpvdYvq919mQ8boRVpmMSo5ywVX_OJNccPylK2cs/s320/volcano+photo+cards+EC.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Volcano Photo Cards</a></td></tr>
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After the children have had plenty of experience erupting the volcano it is a great time to introduce the Volcano Nomenclature Cards. Sometimes you will have someone who knows a lot about volcanoes in your group and other times you might not. The ones who know so much can really enrich the conversation. This is the Early Childhood set of nomenclature cards and the blackline master to go along with it. Older children should ALWAYS write the words independently by looking at the booklet while the littlest ones could trace the words. I make my control booklet from this blackline set as well. I trace over the letters with a thin black Sharpie marker so that children could place their paper over the booklet and trace the letters if they wanted to. I want my letters to look nice so the children learn the correct formation.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSp2nZVA6Dd6dn89IX9t4rAImOt-TXF5Bi0H8Nq024MrIlOw0ookRWNNga7EVF92CxLaQlurlyGvvtbE81zcmqb02spHUMI4gaNa_w0lDDBjyKbgoEI9X10Spm_gXGACn0Q4Auy35O2W5/s320/volcano+EC.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Early Childhood Volcano Nomenclature Cards</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMhKPi-NPxu-ycgJCsmeFLQi0To_zYrXSz7XwsmY_vMtD_GcmocD0465GOdScZhiQZnwxWb8tzxP2SCJcTJPZbcqWUwWlbO5XMtMhPLy83pQYu2MoLf0SMAbaa5rmX5wCt4k4Mi9mcl9X/s400/volcano+EC+blackline.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Early Childhood Volcano Blackline Masters</a></td></tr>
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There are so many great books about volcanoes that are very appropriate for the Early Childhood classroom. Here are a short list of these books but you can find many, many more:</div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jump-into-Science-Ellen-Prager/dp/1426300913/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485742688&sr=1-10&keywords=volcano"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMWn-xwIUFim4pFxtfWMSHV8kylmrkGBBqrRPeU5JqGn9DsVJasgRlFYr2YLl1NUs4zn0Txb6454eNTvJe0OrOh72RHTtz55waHGL0k6d13zoI5wB8lqfwpsqrvrcWzGVlOgFp0ywmoZM/s320/61zq8YOCDHL._SY411_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Vacation-Under-Volcano-Magic-House/dp/0679890505/ref=sr_1_24?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485743250&sr=1-24&keywords=volcano"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlyzcuZEouriWhOKrU6d2ZR0qiuXVzLCOPyMMtWZljGOP8sO18y19MFismeCObwLAVwhaYFTKeu-p48YrkTEoDLjKdAam8iaxWW22ZU8YbPCQhAwbYyCGjxO8_y_aQM8zkWmR7hJ0LXrw/s320/61%252BkVjuc2JL._SX334_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Vacation-Under-Volcano-Magic-House/dp/0679890505/ref=sr_1_24?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485743250&sr=1-24&keywords=volcano">This Magic Tree House book is a great one for your advanced readers</a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Volcanoes-Mountains-Their-Penguin-Readers/dp/0448411431/ref=sr_1_159?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485743487&sr=1-159&keywords=volcanoes"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE7jJRbjEb7J0zn0_a7zWHwcObBn_JLvWi0buinXYVNJ5GNyfJ-Cjp8GdqIz_dN9Thi9OdhelqwQc_AqRTvwmCADiPMTBk6mORZOMt_LyFbigmi6evMHO6w3IxikfqcgXW0WewtlwevILS/s320/51yW6oIMMoL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-44681376485974680202017-01-05T21:46:00.003-07:002022-03-04T16:35:31.228-07:00Parts of the Human BodyI was emailed by a reader that they had seen the parts of the body cards but it wasn't available online. I have so very many things I haven't uploaded yet that I can't remember which ones I do or do not have online. I thank her for asking for them.<br />
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Here they are:<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_94375117"></span><span id="goog_94375118"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img alt="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-Jp2xvcHjp4UVhlLW9ra1pEdHM" border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7zcjZglte-R6fNapqwH53RDKSVf5-OmPUz0uTxn0xCpEoWnDYuV-FkAV_ce7DqxBQdMAyAO3eWQ-CFQb-iHw-vsF39wJjv19PPp9Cda9a-3spT11S0CseprhcZnSmcq5TKdVPSikg9Gz/s320/Parts+of+the+human+body.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Parts of the Human Body Nomenclature Cards</a></td></tr>
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This is the companion Blackline Master for making the booklets:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6axmR0FqgjAhilI4bkWKq4U4ouVt0F_B1u6kT6abxkdsyOqMcSfxoP5v8YkV2qx-j2d_Pn_7Zt1FkA0QhA54djMDiRdLIa4hZCHtf0coBhek2HVgugvUjPeRjPOXnIB7VcUEAow2Eox87/s320/Parts+of+the+human+body+blackline+master.png" width="247" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Parts of the Human Body Blackline Master</a></td></tr>
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Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-31754579497189435812016-12-29T22:50:00.000-07:002018-03-12T22:31:38.504-06:00A Life of ChangeMany of you who are regular visitors to this page are aware that my family's life has become about change. Our son, Andon, is doing well in his fight against leukemia and we hope he will continue to do well throughout his life. He has just over a year left in maintenance - a portion of treatment that requires roughly 130 chemo pills monthly, a monthly visit to the cancer clinic for intrathecal treatment and often a back poke with more treatment. His feet are damaged by the Vincristine he takes and require special boots, which he hates to wear, his executive functioning is affected by the 6-mp, and his bones are affected by the high doses of Prednisone he takes monthly. After all this he is an INCREDIBLY cheerful and kind child - growing into such a wonderful young man. He will be 14 before we are done with treatment, and there have been enough scares along the way that the cancer was back and we would be back in the thick of it once more. There have been way too many of our friends from the clinic and ICS that have relapsed and are fighting again and some who have, sorrowfully, left us. Our life is a life of change, and it will never be one of stillness ever again. I am grateful to have him for as long as I am able. It is worth every moment.<br />
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After 9 months of sabbatical I returned to my Montessori classroom and was so different. Somehow serving Andon changed me. I had a calmness I didn't before, and I spent the summer in a beautiful classroom with a wonderful assistant. When it was time for Andon to return to school I became so fearful of him going into a germ filled school with a depressed immune system and being so far away. I prayed for some way to take care of this great worry.<br />
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I was presented with the opportunity to move all of us (4 of my children and myself) to a new school that had a Montessori Early Childhood classroom as well a couple of Early Elementary classrooms. The only catch was there was no position for Early Childhood open, only Early Elementary. I took a leap of faith and moved into Early Elementary for the 2015 - 2016 school year. I sometimes felt out of my depth, and overwhelmed with all the demands on me as a mother, wife, guide, trainer, and person. I turned to the wisest people I knew for advise and help, and they did help me. In February 2016 Laurie Stockton Moreno (she teaches at Brookview Montessori School in Benton Harbor, Michigan as well as instructs at Westminster College of Montessori, Utah) visited my classroom for a week and changed everything for me. I chose to stay there and have fallen in love with Early Elementary and cherish my time with these beautiful souls. My brain feels about 10 times larger - as well as my heart. I used to say I didn't want to teach any older than 6 because of the change in the child, but I have such a great blessing to walk with the children through these changes and the explosion in to exploration that happens in these years. The complexity of their young lives leaves me breathless and overwhelmed at times, as well as the heroic way in which they face their challenges and overcome what they can. Their hearts are so good, and they strive to do so much good for each other and the larger world. I miss the Early Childhood classroom. I don't think I could choose a favorite - ever. I see that working in the Elementary Classroom has solidified my understanding of the importance of the Early Childhood Classroom.<br />
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I do not know what the future holds for me and my family, but I strive and pray to have the courage to face it and take on whatever lies ahead of me.Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-88444886333526065712016-12-15T19:56:00.000-07:002016-12-26T16:10:39.446-07:00Montessori Theory Part III - The Formative Years<div style="color: #90c227; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 20px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">The Formative Years</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Heading</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">"L" is a happy and active four year old who happens to be my nephew. He is highly articulate and precise in his use of language. He is the middle child of three boys and loves to imitate his older brother who is six. He usually gets along fairly well with his younger brother until he tries to take whatever he might be working on; then he feels upset. He will tell him to leave his things alone and stands firm without yelling or hurting until the younger one relents. His parents are very loving and concerned for his development and well-being. They ask good questions and study good books about how to aid his development. They are particularly kind, calm and set appropriate boundaries consistently. He is always busy doing something and especially loves to spend his time outdoors where he loves to pick the vegetables and dig in the dirt. We were a little concerned about his vocabulary development for a while when at two years he wasn’t really speaking much, but one day he burst out with words and quickly caught up with his peers. Some of my favorite times are when "L" comes to visit. He always asks if I have some works he can do. He knows just where to find the rugs and gets busy. He will work until he has had his fill and is ready to move on. He has a rich social life with his large extended family and friends and plenty of enticing and interesting modes for development.</span><span style="font-kerning: none;">According to UNICEF early childhood is a critical time for emotional, cognitive, social, and physical development in children like Lincoln. During this time the building blocks of lifelong function are formed as child’s developing brain is highly absorbent and flexible to change as trillions of interconnected neurons are established through the interaction of character traits, environment and experiences with that environment and others. Nature has set the path for childhood development which requires a stimulating environment, adequate nutrients and social interaction with attentive and adequately informed caregivers.</span><span style="line-height: normal;"><sup>1</sup></span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The Psychic Life of the Child</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">It wasn’t too long before Maria Montessori’s entrance onto the scene of medicine that a correct understanding of the development of the embryo took place. It used to be thought that inside the egg was a minute form of the baby we see born. This was because the embryo develops in secret; hidden away from the eyes of the world. Montessori said that the growth of the embryo is a miracle of creation and so wonderful because it is carried out in secret and alone… This marvel of creation, however, has been carefully hidden.</span><span style="line-height: normal;"><sup>2</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Montessori also spoke of a development that was just as important in the life of the human as physical development. She spoke of the psychic development. In her research she said that “just as every fertilized cell contains within itself the plan of the whole organism, so the body of a newborn creature, no matter to what species it may belong, has within itself psychic instincts which will enable it to adjust itself to its surroundings. This is true of every living being, even the humblest insect… and just as the lower animals, so the newly born child has latent psychic drives characteristic of its species. It would be absurd to think that man alone, so superior to all other creatures in the grandeur of his psychic life, would be the only one to lack a plan of psychic development. Unlike the instincts of brute animals, which may be seen immediately in their way of acting, a child’s spirit can be so deeply hidden that it is not immediately apparent.”</span><span style="line-height: normal;"><sup> 3</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">It is this psychic life that helps humankind move from infant to adult. Not an adult that is the same as any other, but one with a particular individuality and personality. There is a hidden pattern of development which must be revealed by the child.</span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The Absorbent Mind</span></div>
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<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">When the child is born it seems that he begins with absolutely nothing; a blank slate. How then does this tiny thing go from nothing to a babbling baby and then to a confident reader? From the moment he is born he begins taking in stimulus from his surroundings and it is filed away for later use. The child has what is termed an absorbent mind. “He wills that which does not yet exist.”</span><span style="line-height: normal;"><sup>4</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Because the child’s mind is not yet formed, he must learn in a different way form the adult. The adult has a knowledge of his environment on which to build, but the child must begin with nothing. It is the Absorbent Mind that accomplishes this seemingly impossible task. It permits an unconscious absorption of the environment by means of a special pre-conscious state of mind. Through this process, the child incorporates knowledge directly into his psychic life. “Impressions do not merely enter his mind, they form it, they incarnate themselves in him.” An unconscious activity thus prepares the mind. It is “succeeded by a conscious process which slowly awakens and takes from the unconscious what it can offer.” The child constructs his mind in this way until, little by little, he has established memory, the power to understand, and the ability to reason.</span><span style="line-height: normal;"><sup> 5</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">When a child is young he doesn’t just learn how to play the piano or water the plants, whatever he experiences with his world becomes a part of his person. This means that every good thing is absorbed as well as every bad thing. Therefore, “a struggle, fright or other obstacles, may produce effects that remain for the rest of life, since the reactions to those obstacles are absorbed like everything else in development…In this epoch therefore we have not only a development of the character, but also a development of certain deviated psychic characteristics which children will manifest as they grow older…So also it is with any defects and obstacles acquired now; they remain, and grow; and so many defects that adult people present are attributed to this distant epoch of their life.”</span><span style="line-height: normal;"><sup> 6</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Some years ago I had a little girl in my class. The place where I worked had bathrooms lights that turned off automatically with a sensor. Everyone shared the same bathrooms in the hallway and they had heavy doors. One day she accidentally went into the boy’s bathroom and was so still that the light turned off. She was a tiny girl and froze with fear. She cried and cried, but they couldn’t hear her behind the door. I went looking for her after it seemed like she was taking too long to get back. Since she was in the boy’s bathroom it took me longer to find her. She was a wretched little thing in that bathroom stall and a changed person. It was so devastating to me to see her brightness change to fear. She was afraid of the garbage truck coming while we were outside. She jumped at noises. She was afraid of the wind. I worked as much as I could with her to help, and her issues lessened. However, in the two years following it was apparent that she had been affected long-term. I decided right then that I would never install automatic lights, if a child could be so affected it would never be worth it.</span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The Sensitive Periods</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Maria Montessori felt that of all her contributions to early childhood studies, her discovery of the Sensitive Periods was the most import. During her life she called for the greater in-depth study of the importance of these years.</span><span style="line-height: normal;"><sup>7</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> There is now much more research that supports these critical periods of learning. There are several well-known Sensitive Periods spoken on news programs and in newspaper articles, such as the acquisition of language. Sensitive Periods are critical times of learning when the child is attracted to certain activities in order for specific developments to occur. These can be parallel stages of development. Each period has its unique characteristics that require a specific kind of environment and teaching.</span><span style="font-kerning: none;">These periods of sensitivity in the young child are detailed by the Montessori Institute Northwest as follows:</span></span></span></h3>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">Sensitive Period for Order (birth through age 4 1/2)- Guides the formation of mental structures necessary for the emergence of human intelligence; and organizes the child’s experience to provide the foundation for all aspects of the child’s adaptation to his time and place</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">Sensitive Period for the Coordination of Movement (birth through age 4 1/2 -5) - Guides the formation of physical movement of the body and the hand, movement which is directed purposefully by the Mind (specifically, by the mental power know as the Will)</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">Sensitive Period for Development and Refinement of Sensory Perception (birth through age 4 1/2) - Guide continual development and refinement of perception through the five senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, and vision or sight) leading to: first, the classification of sensory impressions; and, second, the formation of abstractions for sensory experience (memory)</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Sensitive Period for Language (birth through age 6) - Guides the formation of the specific human language (or languages) used for spoken communication in the child’s environment </span><span style="line-height: normal;"><sup>8</sup></span></span></li>
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</h2>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The importance of the child remaining free to follow the pull of interest during this time is so important that Montessori stated, “If the child is prevented from following the interest of any given Sensitive Period, the opportunity for a natural conquest is lost forever. He loses his special sensitivity and desire in this area, with a disturbing effect on his psychic development and maturity. Therefore, the opportunity for development in his Sensitive Periods must not be left to chance. As soon as one appears, the child must be assisted.” </span><span style="line-height: normal;"><sup>9</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> It follows that it is necessary for the child to have assistance from adults who are educated in the specific needs of that Sensitive Period, who know how to follow the child, when to intervene, and more importantly when to remove themselves.</span><span style="font-kerning: none;">When a child is in a sensitive period for any particular thing he can learn to make adjustment and new acquisitions with ease. He does not tire from his efforts, but his enthusiasm is increased. One characteristic of the child’s environment becomes the focus to the exclusion of others. They appear in the individual as ‘an intense interest for repeating certain actions at length, for no obvious reason, until – because of this repetition – a fresh function suddenly appears with explosive force.” </span><span style="line-height: normal;"><sup>10</sup></span></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">By the time my fourth child," B", was little I was learning as much as I could about Montessori philosophy. When he was three my friend gave our school room a gift of some brightly colored nesting boxes with lids from IKEA. I gave him a lesson on how to stack them like a tower and left him to it. I had never experienced such a tiny thing working for hours and hours on the same work. He explored EVERY possible combination with incredible speed, and then repeated this work again and again and again. It felt almost pathological, watching this happen for the first time, and it was only my promise to adhere to the rules of not disturbing his work that kept me from stepping in and stopping him. Eventually that feeling subsided and longer I watched, the more awed I became at what was taking place. He worked relentlessly through lunch and playtime without noticing anything going on around him. He became the work entirely. Finally he was done and he put it away happy and ready for the next thing. The work didn’t tire him out; on the contrary, it filled him with happiness and a readiness to find something new to work on</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #90c227; font-size: small;">The Role of the Adult</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10px;">When my oldest daughter, "S", was two years old I was pregnant with my second child. I had not yet been introduced to Montessori principles. During that summer we went on a short trip every day to the school for the summer lunch program. The first day she let me push her in the stroller on the way there, but would have nothing to do with it on the way back. She wanted to walk and explore, especially in the gutter. It was June and beginning to be uncomfortably hot for me. We were going to make this trip five days a week for the rest of the summer and I was certain that I could not handle the same thing happening on every trip. I was thinking forward to July and August and how my pregnant body would be wanting to die. I didn’t understand the importance of her walking and, therefore, didn’t take her into account. The next day I said that we were going to race from pole to pole all the way home. She mostly obliged but was never very happy about it. As soon as we stopped at the next pole she was ready to explore again and I was ready to move on. When that proved to be too troublesome for me I took to driving her in the car. I find it interesting that I have always looked back at that summer with discomfort, even in the years before I knew that I should follow the child. I have gone back to that experience multiple times and thought of what I might have done to accommodate both her and me. It felt wrong even then, but I didn’t understand why.</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">Montessori’s words about the relationship between the adult and child are straightforward and accusatory. She lays at our charge that we are in a constant conflict with them because we have not understood them, that we cannot see the child as he is, and that from the moment the child enters our lives we are on our guard against it. She further states that, “In their dealings with children adults do not become egotistic but egocentric. They look upon everything pertaining to a child’s soul from their own point of view”. </span><span style="line-height: normal;"><sup>11</sup></span><span style="font-size: 10px;">What children really need are caregivers who study the normalized development of the child. Caregivers who are willing to put their convenience and comfort on hold for a while to follow the child in her developmental needs. Because the world that the child enters now is so artificial in comparison to more natural world of the past we must make the necessary steps to fulfill the needs of the child, whether this be in homes or schools.</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">In Summary</span><span style="font-size: 10px;">Personally I feel such gratitude for what I now know about the secret life of the child. I have always ascribed to the idea of a light that guides a child, but until I spent many years in personal research I could never have imagined that this light could be found in the minute details of the everyday. Children are not just floundering about. There is a pattern for development and they hold the reigns. I get to be part of it, I get to help them and provide a safe and stimulating place to do this work of growing and creating themselves. I have the coolest job!</span><br /><span style="font-size: 10px;">Notes:</span></span></span><ol style="font-size: 10px;">
<li style="color: #021eaa; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.unicef.org/earlychildhood/files/Brochure_-_The_Formative_Years.pdf"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">http://www.unicef.org/earlychildhood/files/Brochure_-_The_Formative_Years.pdf</span></a></span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;"><i>The Secret of Childhood</i> Maria Montessori (1996) New York, Ballentine Books p. 18</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;"><i>Ibid</i> pp. 19 - 20</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;"><i>Ibid</i> p. 35</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;"><i>Ibid</i> p. 36</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;"><i>The Absorbent Mind </i>Maria Montessori (1949), Adyar, Madras, India:<i> </i>The Theosophical Publishing House p. 187</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;">Montessori A Modern Approach Paula Polk Lillard (1972) p. 36</span></li>
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<li style="color: #021eaa; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/519e5c43e4b036d1b98629c5/t/527d398ae4b0176f8d6c00ff/1383938442236/Sensitive+Periods+C38.pdf"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">http://static1.squarespace.com/static/519e5c43e4b036d1b98629c5/t/527d398ae4b0176f8d6c00ff/1383938442236/Sensitive+Periods+C38.pdf</span></a></span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;"><i>Montessori A Modern Approach</i> p. 32 - 33</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;"> <i>Ibid</i> 31</span></li>
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<li style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"><span style="font-kerning: none; font-size: small;"> <i>The Secret of Childhood</i> p. 15</span></li>
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Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-69006742563038051962016-11-30T19:30:00.000-07:002016-12-15T20:06:22.485-07:00Montessori Theory Part II - The Prepared Environment<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 30px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>The Prepared Environment</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Most children do not have the luxury of entering a world prepared to meet them with caregivers prepared to fulfill their needs. Most children enter an artificially altered world with adults who do not actually understand what their needs really are. A newborn’s needs are more readily understood than a child of one year or eighteen months. Once a child is mobile we become guarded against what she might do to all the things around her. We are weary of her hands that grab, her feet that go in unwanted directions and the mouth where everything enters that she comes across; from dirt to precious houseplants and pets. We say that we must baby-proof a house for this child, but in reality we want to change as little as possible and then not deal with the frustration that comes with not really preparing for the child in our lives. Because they are weaker, less able to tell us what they want, and smaller we choose for our wants trump their needs – if we know what those are at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Once the child moves out of the unconscious level of living and into the realm of ordering her subconscious for conscious living, the adults in her life can become more baffled about the support that she needs for proper and normalized development. Anxious parents are easily guided this way and that as they try to do the right thing; frequently entirely missing the mark. Personal difficulties and issues stemming back to their own childhoods can make it even more difficult to see their child for who they are and what they are trying to accomplish. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">If we look at the difference between a typical American home environment and a Montessori Early Childhood classroom we will see several stark contrasts. First, the home environment is usually outfitted for the comfort of the adults. Frequently there are a limited number of rooms that are geared toward the child. Take the kitchen for example, the counters are high and out of reach for the child to use. The tables and appliances are proportioned to the adults. Even the chairs in most kitchen/dining areas are one size, the fully grown adult. The milk in the refrigerator is large and heavy. The young child has great difficulty in pouring from it without spilling. If we let them try, and they do spill, they are often scolded. The playroom of the typical American home is filled with many things to occupy the time of the child, but that do not necessarily fulfill the developmental needs they have.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In contrast, the Early Childhood Montessori environment is filled with natural sunlight, neutral colors and beautiful surroundings. There so much to draw they eye and interest. The walls are adorned with a few lovely paintings at the eye level of the child, the low shelves are adorned with flowers that the children arrange themselves. This classroom is specifically made to the child’s measure with low sinks and tables and they, the children, are the central focus here. There is no teacher’s desk, you might not even readily be able to find her since she is probably on the floor with one or a few of the children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Tenets of a Prepared Environment</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">There are six basic tangible and intangible tenets of the prepared Montessori environment. They include freedom, structure and order, reality and nature, beauty and atmosphere, the Montessori materials, and the development of community life. I also include the prepared teacher as one of these tenants, making in actuality seven. Each of these components is incredibly important to the development of the child. With even one element missing the whole child struggles in his education. There can be many dropped stitches that continue to affect him throughout his life.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; line-height: normal;"><sup>1</sup></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>Freedom</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Four year old Skyler enters the classroom and says goodbye to his mother. He immediately heads straight for the peace corner. He takes the thumb piano off the peace shelf and sits to play it quietly. After about five minutes he puts it away and retrieves the water tube with the tiny beads and shaped sequins. He lays down sideways on the pillows and watches the beads float back and forth. He likes and needs his alone time in the morning and tells May, who is coloring in a chair near the peace corner, that he doesn’t want to talk to her yet. His life at home can be somewhat disorganized with changes between parent’s homes and styles. After about fifteen minutes he puts things away and heads across to the other side of the classroom. He walks the line and then lays out a rug, gets the pink tower and broad stairs, and proceeds to work with them for about twenty or twenty five minutes. This routine has been repeated by Skyler every school day since the beginning of June. Once he puts away the tower and stairs he will choose any number of things. Today he asked if we could use the ending sound mat together. The beginning of his day is always the same. He needs to take time in the peace corner and he needs to use the tower and stairs every day. If someone else gets there first he will wait in a watching chair until he sees that it is free to use. He chooses to work with friends and alone. He stops to chat with other children from time to time. He prepares his own snack; sometimes early in the work-cycle, sometimes much later. He is progressing nicely through the language and math works of his own volition. He is highly interested by what his older friends are doing and wants to do them as well. He particularly likes to sweep under the shelves with the broom to look for any missing pieces of classroom works that might have rolled under there. He is really beginning to come into his own at school, and makes friends easily. Several new children have started coming in our classroom and he is enjoying the chance to show them how to do things. He is confident and happy; a considerable change from the scared, boogery, and undirected little one he was when he first started in the fall.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">We do not know who a child is when they come into our lives and classrooms. They must reveal themselves to us. Freedom in the Montessori classroom is of the utmost importance to this revelation. I have worked in both traditional and Montessori environments. The most apparent difference in a child’s day is the freedom they have in its construction. Instead of a teacher who chooses what the entire group of children must be doing, and where they must be at any given time, the child has the power, within proper boundaries, to make those choices. There are guidelines and a schedule, but even those have plenty of wiggle room to accommodate for the ebb and flow of any particular day. If, at the normal time for cleanup, a child is not ready to put away their work they may scoot out of the line area – if needed – and continue. There have been plenty of times in the classrooms where I have been a lead guide when a child has worked straight through outside breaks and even, a few times, lunch before being finished. No one is required to have a snack and no one is required to go to the garden, movement, or the library. This freedom develops an incredibly important inner discipline and drive. The responsibility of the guide is to make the materials in the classroom speak to the child, and to discover the ways in which she will control the environment and not the child. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“It is necessary for the teacher to guide the child without letting him feel her presence too much, so that she may be always ready to supply the desired help, but may never be the obstacle between the child and his experience.”</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; line-height: normal;"><sup>2</sup></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>Reality and Nature</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Near the beginning of the school year we were outside in the yard area when a little garter snake came to visit. Several of the children were spooked by this little creature and started screaming and running around. I have a bit of trouble with snakes myself because of being bitten when I was young, but I knew that this was a rare opportunity in most of these children’s lives to learn to have respect for all life. Most of them had never seen a snake up close, in real life - AND we just happened to be studying reptiles. As children came over to look at the snake, who was doing its best to hide, we chatted about how big we were to this snake and how scared it must be. The children became quieter and more fascinated. They understood what it felt like to be small and scared sometimes by the big people in their lives. I modeled using a quiet tone around the snake so as not to scare it. Pretty soon more and more children came to observe, with the child who first spotted the creature telling everyone to be careful not to hurt the snake or scream because it was really scared. I had 17 children looking and speaking in hushed tones as they asked questions about the snake. Allen was particularly scared of the snake and would dash over to take a peek, would grab my hand, and then dart back up to the top of the hill. As we continued our quiet discussion he kept coming over for longer periods. The snake moved and he stayed still, content to hold my hand. We eventually agreed that we should let the snake go and hide, and went back in the school to watch what he would do. He slithered away while the children all talked about how exciting it all was.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">A picture may be worth a thousand words, but the real thing is priceless. The young child learns best by their senses. The Montessori environment and guide, inside and out, take this precious knowledge into account in every bit of planned, and unplanned opportunities that present themselves. Because of the freedom to adjust the curriculum for the day, a visit from a turtle in the gardens (which we have also had) or the robins outside actively building their nests above the fire bell are not an interference; they are the choice experiences the children are naturally drawn to. We can then utilize this practical knowledge to create interest in all sorts of areas of the curriculum now and later. After our visit from the snake, Gretta (the girl who first spotted it) wrote a story about it for writer’s workshop, and the reptile nomenclature cards and booklets became a more interesting work on the shelf. Some of the children asked to look at pictures from the internet at snake scales and drew freeform pictures of snakes with many scales. The addition snake game was remembered by some of the children who had used it previously who took it out to practice with it together. This experience was also expressed sensorially when some of the children created a rainbow snake with the third box of colors, and another created snakes from the knobless cylinders. Just last Friday (nearly 9 months later) I was asked if we could go out and look for “garden” snakes again by May. I could never artificially create something as valuable as the snake did just by being itself, and our class valuing the chance to observe it and let it go on its way. We have had visitors with snakes and reptiles, and the children have loved them so well, but finding that little snake out in his natural home has remained in their consciousness this whole year. They still talk about it with each other sometimes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Careful planning of the indoor and outdoor environments should be made in order to support the child’s experience with real, appropriately proportioned things, and with nature. No pretend sink or refrigerator could ever be as exciting to a child as a real one with real things to use them with. When I first witnessed a lesson on a real tea party my heart sang at how beautiful it was to give this chance for loving grace and manners to a child. Children don't just want to play pretend, they really want the chance to do what they see their parents and other adults in their lives doing. They would much rather really polish shoes and mirrors, sweep and mop the floor, wash cloths and sew a straight line than to pretend to do these things. The indoor classroom is extended to the outdoors by carefully planning which activities can be done outdoors and by the installation of components that will engender the exploration of the natural world along with large motor development. Trails, trees, flowers, bushes, quiet spaces, and gardens are complimented by playgrounds and works that encourage the care of the environment and large motor development such as playgrounds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>Structure and Order</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></i></b>“If there is one feature more than another which should characterize the prepared environment it is order. Order should pervade the Montessori classroom down to the smallest detail, being present wholly and completely in each part, as a spirit is present in very part of the body which it informs. This order expresses itself in many different ways, and on different mental levels, according to the degree of development of the children who are helped by it.”</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; line-height: normal;"><sup>3</sup></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">A child is not free to do whatever he pleases. He may not destroy or misuse materials, hurt others, or misuse the environment. There are rules of grace and courtesy that we all follow in the classroom, and they are the benchmark for behavior. The more we practice and reinforce how to respect another’s space, the classroom, and the works, the more in tune and connected all the children become with our environment. In this way we become a community caring for our special “house”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As a lead Montessori guide, I spend a great deal of time planning for our time in the classroom. I usually begin plans for a school year in about February. I have had enough time during the current year to know the things I didn’t spend quite enough time on this year and start researching how to improve for the following one. Planning out the year is just a sketch of mostly cultural lessons and focuses for each month. There are the weekly and daily plans and then the individual lesson presentation with follow through tracking and planning. There is so much planning and preparing in a Montessori classroom. I visit my local thrift shops at least a couple of times a month to look for all kinds of things from creamers that get broken now and then, to knick-knacks from faraway countries, books, science and art materials, and in short anything that will fit into our curriculum. My co-teacher and I spend some of our planning time reviewing which things in our classroom are not getting used anymore and deciding what will inspire interest and activity based on observations of the children and their individual stages of development. I might have made an observation that one child was using a clothes pinning work for stacking instead and my co-teacher may have seen her trying to balance on the edge of the playground and therefore bring out a balancing and stacking work for her; while at the same time increasing the interest in the water works by introducing colored water they can make themselves. I might spend an entire weekend pondering a behavior that a child is displaying and trying to work out what might help him; what might I be missing? I re-read portions of books and articles that are particular to a question about myself and my approach to the classroom or children that might need an adjustment. I prepare and make many, many materials while focusing on what I believe, from some experience, will make the children go crazy with delight and therefore entice their to work and focus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“It is one of the main duties of the directress to maintain this order in the environment; and be ever on the watch lest it be impaired in the smallest degree. Every piece of the materials - down to the smallest cube in the pink tower, the points of the pencils, the accurate folding of the towels, the exact position of the materials in the cupboards, the correct tally of the words in the grammar boxes, the right number and order of the decimal system number cards, the soap in the soap dish, the shoe polish in the cleaning outfit - everything must be always and absolutely in its right place.”HL&W 271</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>The Montessori Materials </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The Montessori materials are beautiful and appealing. The classroom is equipped with low shelves that the child can easily access and retrieve the work they love so well. They are sorted into the following areas of the curriculum:</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Practical Life</b> - The child is in contact with his world, but he needs assistance with how to live in it. Most adults are confused or weary about how much their child knows and how to give them independence without making too much inconvenience or mess of their home The practical life exercises are designed to assist the child with this living by isolating a specific practical skill and putting it into the hands of the child to practice and perfect. Pouring, spooning, polishing, scrubbing, weaving, sewing, sweeping, dressing, folding, wrapping, washing; all of these and more give the child independence. These exercises are easily extended into the daily function of the classroom and outdoor environment. Each of these activities has a practical purpose and develops in the child a love of his environment and fosters care for his space while at school and extending to home. Preparing the tables for lunch and serving your friends, washing the windows of the classroom, sweeping under the shelves to keep the classroom clean, dusting the works and shelves to maintain a lovely atmosphere, cleaning plant leaves and arranging flowers for the shelves, gardening and sweeping walks gives purpose and independence to the child.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">S<b>ensorial</b> - The young child makes sense of the world through his senses. The Sensorial area isolates one area of a sense to develop and educate it. These very didactic materials leave a sensorial impression on the mind of the child that he can draw on later. These exercises include the visual, auditory, thermic, gustatory, olfactory, baric, tactile and stereognostic senses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Language</b> - The language area trains the child to use the hand in preparation for writing and reading first and then moves on in a step by step process to teach competence in writing and reading skills. The child writes words with the moveable alphabet before he can read them and then begins to learn how to read. Again each difficulty is isolated in order for the child to focus on one thing and master it before moving on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Mathematics</b> - The Montessori math materials are by far the showiest of all areas in the classroom. They are beautiful and attractive. When I began reading lessons and practicing them in order to teach my own children, suddenly I understood math in a way I had never before. It is the most frequent comment I hear from assistants and leads in the classroom. They really wish they had learned this way. Math is such an abstract concept in the traditional school but in the Montessori early childhood classroom they are hands-on physical representations of abstract ideas that become part of the child. They can again, in later life, draw on these physical experiences with the works as their understanding of difficult concepts. At a young age children are understanding the concepts of large numbers, fractions, time, addition, multiplication, subtraction and division.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Most schools also include science, geography, history and art in the same hands-on way that is so compelling and brain developing as the other areas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>Beauty and Atmosphere</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Every day I strive to arrive at school at least an hour before the day is scheduled to begin. At the end of each work cycle our class cleans and straightens pretty well and we of course, as guides, clean and prepare the room, but after we leave there is aftercare in our room. Things might not be as well in order as they could be and I want to do everything I can to make certain they are ready to go for the coming day. Are the metal inset papers stocked? Do the watercolors need to be replaced? What about the bathroom (one of the aftercare children tends to pee behind the toilet) and under the shelves? Are the cloths and dusters for cleaning ready to go? Are the trays clear of sand from the sifting work the aftercare children have a difficult time not touching? Over several years of working with young children I have come to honor and appreciate the difference that a clean and prepared environment makes in their lives at school. I may have some small influence on the home lives of some of the students in our classroom, but certainly not any control. I do, however, have control and stewardship of the environment that they step into, and an expanding knowledge in how to foster our little community.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“It goes without saying that we should make this prepared environment as beautiful as possible. ‘The best for the smallest’ was always Dr. Montessori’s motto. A well-equipped Montessori classroom is indeed a beautiful sight, with its many low windows adorned with bright curtains, its gaily painted tables and cupboards decorated with vases of flowers. Even the materials themselves are beautiful.”</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; line-height: normal;"><sup>4</sup></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The beauty and atmosphere of the Montessori environment is created from more than just materials. There are curtains in the windows, the shelves are made of wood, if possible. There are plants dotting the shelves that the children care for. The children take pride and care of the classroom and adorn it with lovely flowers that they cut and place themselves. The peace corner or area is a quiet and beautiful space where a child can go to escape or calm down. There is also a peace table where the children work out their differences. This adds to the peaceful and inclusive attitude in the classroom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>The Development of Community Life</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">At the end of our worktime today I gave the music box to Charles to carry around the room. He walked by friends without announcing the end of worktime. The music box does that job with no words. Many of the children cleaned up their work and started helping others who were still putting things away. Some children still wanted to work and they left them alone. We have spent a few weeks working up to a great cleaning of the classroom. Five or six children get out the little finger dusters and dust works and shelves, others want the full hand duster or the wand dusters. Other children use the brooms and the small dustpans to sweep under shelves and floors. A couple of children take out the crooked rugs and make them straight, while others wash the tables and the sink. My assistant helps a couple of children straighten and edge works, and I help a couple of others to put some of the practical life exercises back in order and fix some of the aprons. After the tables have been washed we set the napkins and name tags at the tables to get ready for lunch and then ring the bell to sit for the circle. This is a real community effort, but there is no jobs list. No one is assigned any jobs before hand, but everyone keeps busy, or is invited to help one of us. During our afternoon circle, arnold wanted to read a book that he had written to the class. He sat in the author’s chair and counted down the five scoots toward the middle of the circle. Once his story was finished the others in the classroom clapped for his success in writing and he again counted the five scoots back to their spots on the line. When that was finished it was time for the silence. They children encouraged a couple of the younger children to be extra quiet today for the silence. They said that they really wanted to see if they could be silent for three minutes today. One of the boys said he didn’t feel like he could be quiet today and slipped into the neighboring room. It was very thoughtful of him to not want to disturb or ruin everyone else’s silence today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The real story of community life exists in the very day to day activities of the classroom. With a few guided lessons on the respect and love we show to others children take care of each other when they are not feeling well, are sad, or afraid. Because of proper training, children need much less of our interference in their small disputes everyday. They really love the peace rose talks and frequently take care of issues without any adults being aware that there was ever a problem. They take turns to share their feelings and declare friends when finished. Once in a while they will ask for a mediator to help with a big problem. Sometimes that is a guide and sometimes it is another student. I have watched children spend a great deal of time making lovely pictures and notes only to give them all away to their friends. The way they care for the classroom is a show of love for the classroom and develops their sense of community. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>The Prepared Teacher</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">If there is one incredibly valuable thing I have learned in the years leading up to and since the beginning of my formal training is this: You can have a beautifully crafted and organized room with the most expensive materials from the best companies, and you can have an incredible facility with the best intentions, but place an untrained and unprepared teacher in that space and the children will be the ones to lose out. Montessori philosophy and methodology, not to mention the use of the materials, takes a long, long time to understand and perfect. It is a beautiful thing to watch the prepared teacher at work. Her classroom is calm and orderly, the children are happy and busy with good things, the works are treated with respect, and she is warm and understanding. The directress of a Montessori classroom must have the ability to focus in on the one she is working with right now, while her antennae are out with a pulse on the rest of the children at the same time. She must learn through practice when to intervene and when to stand back and observe. She thinks and thinks about what a child is doing and what it may mean and then observes more to try to determine how to help that child. Her real work is to remove the false notions, and shackles of of her own prejudices in order to see the child for who they really are. She must remove pride from herself continually. She is overjoyed when her necessity in the classroom shrinks; when the children are acting as if she is not there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“In addition to maintaining as close a contact as possible with the children’s parents and family life, the Montessori teacher has an important role to play as an interpreter of Montessori aims to the community at large. There is a demand to know more about Montessori education on the part of parents and teacher, and Montessori teacher must be capable and willing to meet their requests for lectures, demonstrations, and visits. They do this as a part of their commitment to the child and his education, a commitment that extends beyond their own classroom.”</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; line-height: normal;"><sup>5</sup></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>In Summary</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I am aware of how far I have to expand in the knowledge of my craft. I am excited about the perfecting of my work as a guide and preparer of the classroom. People always say that they can tell how much I love my work, and it is so very true. At first it was difficult to hear where I was wrong or taking missteps, but now I really watch and listen to try to pick up on the little things I can change. It wasn't until I visited and observed one of the classrooms at a beautiful facility last spring that I saw enough of a good cleanup routine demonstrated that I could understand the process well enough to put it into practice with such great success in our classroom. When I read, study, ponder and journal about the classroom and how it works, I learn with leaps and bounds. I don’t just want a good classroom and I am not interested in being just a good teacher. I have this quote that is carved in stone on my bookcase that I strive to live my life by: Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it - Autograph your work with excellence. This phrase calls me to humility. If I am to be an excellent teacher, and provide and excellent environment, I must be absolutely open to correction and change. It has only been since I have opened by heart and mind to change that things have begun to improve for myself, and my family in all areas of life. I get a great deal of satisfaction from what I do; from creation to implementation to revelation. There is so much room for improvement, and I feel like every year brings greater ability to prepare the correct environment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>Notes:</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">1 - <i>Montessori A Modern</i> Approach Paula Polk Lillard (1972) Random House, NY p.51</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">2 - <i>Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook</i> Maria Montessori (2013) p.55</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">3 - <i>Maria Montessori Her Life and Work</i> E.M. Standing (1957) p. 270</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">4 - <i>Ibid</i> p. 268</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">5 - <i>Montessori A Modern Approach</i> p. 86</span></div>
Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-66426088652087387122015-06-25T21:04:00.000-06:002015-07-02T15:39:54.855-06:00Montessori Theory Part I - Normalization<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(220, 89, 34); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #dc5922; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 32px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">Normalization</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">The Normal Child</span></div>
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Within each human is an innate push to move forward, to learn more, to learn how, to create oneself. On this path to self-creation each person meets with opposition and obstruction. Continued obstruction causes deviations in a man’s behaviors. An infant may feel the pull to learn to turn over onto his stomach and will work and try until he has been successful. Having done that he will work to perfect his new skill until he can turn over with ease. What if instead of success on the other end of his strivings there was something that impeded his ability to turn over? He would become agitated and upset. He may be very likely to cry and make a fuss because he needs to do this work, he is driven to learn this skill and then another. What would happen to the child if he was stopped at every struggle to turn over? His behavior would become changed or deviated until his impediment was removed. Just as damaging to the child would be the parent turning him over every time he began his struggle for greater independence. As we see, the infant becomes disturbed if his pursuit of learning is obstructed, the young child’s behaviors become deviated when he cannot follow that inner guide in accomplishing the task of creating the adult he will become. </div>
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When a child meets with an obstacle to his learning we then see unwanted, or “naughty” behaviors exposed. Many of the behaviors that are commonly attributed to childhood such as rowdiness, bossiness, naughtiness, defiance, carelessness, timidity, laziness, and stubbornness are actually an outward manifestation of unmet developmental needs in children. These behaviors, contrary to belief, are actually not attributes displayed by a child who is allowed to follow his voice unimpeded. The world is still largely unacquainted with the true normal behavior of children because the world, at large, does not understand the innate needs that children have and, even more importantly, how to meet them. At every turn the child is hampered in his journey to independence and growth by well meaning adults. The child must grow, and he must do this himself. No one can do it for him no matter how we might wish to. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In fact, ‘every useless aid arrests development.” What the child needs is to work. Work is </div>
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for him a necessary form of life, a vital instinct without which his personality cannot </div>
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organize itself. So essential is it for the child to have the opportunity and means for this </div>
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creative “work” that if it is denied him his deviated energies will result in all sorts of </div>
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abnormalities.<sup>1</sup></div>
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The publishers of educational and parenting materials have no shortage of, and make a great deal of money on books in the subject of the management of children, the correction and alteration of undesirable behaviors, and using the “good” child as a model of behavior in the classroom. In her work with the slum children of Rome, however, Maria Montessori discovered something new; something that is still new. She began without any preconceived idea about what education ought to be. She approached her charges with an eye toward scientific exploration and observation. She was most astounded by what the children divulged.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was thus, through experience, that Montessori discovered - one might say </div>
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stumbled upon- the characteristics of the normal child. She was not looking for them; she </div>
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was not expecting them; she was not even thinking about them. It was a genuine and </div>
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unforeseen revelation. . . These normalized children - “the new children” as they were often </div>
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called - have appeared again and again in almost every country in the world for a whole </div>
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generation. Race, color, climate, religion, civilization, all these made no difference. </div>
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Everywhere, as soon as hindrances to development were removed, the same characteristics </div>
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appeared as if by magic. <sup>2</sup></div>
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<sup><br /></sup></div>
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What then are the characteristics of the normalized child?</div>
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<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>Love of order</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>Love of work</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>Profound spontaneous concentration</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>Attachment to reality</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>Love of silence and of working alone</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>Power to act from real choice and not from curiosity</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>Obedience</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>Independence and initiative</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>Spontaneous self-discipline</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>Joy </i><i><sup>3</sup></i></li>
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In Maria Montessori’s words, “The children of our schools revealed that the real aim of all children was constancy at work, and this had never been seen before. Neither had spontaneity in the choice of work, without the guide of a teacher, ever been seen before. The following of some inner guide, occupied themselves in work (different for each) that gave them calm serenity and joy, and then something else appeared that had never yet appeared in a group of children: a spontaneous discipline. This struck people even more than the explosion into writing. This discipline in freedom seemed to solve a problem which had been insolvable. The solution was: to obtain discipline, give freedom. These children going about seeking for work in freedom, each concentrated in a different type of work, yet as a whole group presented the appearance of perfect discipline.”<sup>4</sup> </div>
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This idea that to obtain discipline, give freedom is even more counter intuitive in our society today than in her time. Within the traditional education system it is common practice to believe that a disruptive child needs an intervention. If a little intervention is good, then a lot must be better. When a class is struggling they must need more assessment from which to draw data. If a little data is good, a lot must be better. People in our society sometimes make horrible choices, therefore they must need policing. If a little policing is good, then a lot must be better. When a group of people becomes unruly they must be forced into obedience. If a little force is good, then a lot must be better. One might even consider that, from this perspective, we first make thieves and then punish them. From this camp of thought, how could greater discipline possibly be achieved through greater freedom? Contrary to this deeply rooted misconception, year after year in Montessori classrooms all over the world this guided freedom unveils the true nature of children and their capacity for internal discipline.</div>
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">Laws or Principles of Childhood</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Before the age of three a child is in a state of unconscious preparation for later years. He begins, as it were, a blank slate onto which all stimuli and experience is written. His mind is absorbent and he constructs himself bit by bit, little by little. By the time the child has reached three years of age the unconscious work is fixed and the child steps into a new frontier; the development of his mental functions. He is ready to take what is unconscious and make it conscious. Once a child emerges into this conscious arena he is ready to follow her innate pattern for development. If two conditions exist, an environment that appropriately supports his and the freedom within that environment to follow the inwardly motivational pull of development, we will be witness to the laws and principles of childhood. It is as if he is the theatre and will show to us:</div>
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<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>The Law of Work</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>The Law of Independence</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>The Power of Attention</i></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(178, 74, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #b24a00; font-family: Baskerville; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><i>The Principle of Will</i></li>
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">The Law of Work</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the fall the leaves pile up under the towering maple tree in our front yard. I will want to find the easiest and most economical way possible to do the job of raking up and removing the leaves. I may spend extra money on a fancy rake or even perhaps a leaf vacuum that will help this tedious chore be finished more quickly. I look to the time when my chore is completed and what that will look and feel like. For me this is a job to get done with, and I am so grateful when the last leaf has fallen and my raking is finished for the year. Conversely, how often do we see the children of a house rake up the leaves into a pile just to scatter them out again and begin the process all over. The adult and the child have vastly different aims in work. For the child the interest is not getting to the end of the process; the process IS the aim. Work, and it’s timing, are a different thing to children. Repetition of work is a seminal observation of the normalized child. Because her work is to develop her skill, and to understand what is before her she takes it up again and again.</div>
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“ …as we have seen, the child does not stop when the external end has been reached; he very often goes back to the beginning and repeats it, many times. But he does stop in the end - and that quite suddenly. Why does he stop just at that moment? It is because, unconsciously, he feels within himself that he has obtained what he needs from that particular activity - for the time being at any rate. While he has been repeating the exercises, there has been going on inside him a process of psychic maturation, which has now come full circle.”<sup>5</sup></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because our aims in work are so opposed to the child’s, we miss the needs of the child and consistently project our own views of the value of work onto the child. This presents no small opposition to his growth. The adult may see the repetition of work as unnecessary, because it might be for us, or become agitated with the amount of time it takes her to be ready to move from one activity to another. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If adults persist in interrupting the child during this cycle of repetition, his self-confidence and ability to persevere in a task are severely jeopardized. Constant interruption during this time is so upsetting to the child that Montessori felt it caused him to live in a state “similar to a permanent nightmare.”<sup>6</sup></div>
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The world is tailored to the adult for his convenience. Everywhere in the child’s life the adult plans usefulness for himself. This convenience is planned into even the cups and dishes that will not shatter to save money, time and necessary supervision without considering the impact on the child because she is unaware of what he may actually need. </div>
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Because of the social nature of his life, which is neither adaptive nor productive to adult society, the contemporary child is largely removed from it. He is exiled in a school where too often his capacity for constructive growth and self-realization is repressed. This problem in contemporary civilization increases as the adult’s role becomes even more complex. In primitive societies, where work was simple and could be carried out at a relaxed pace, the adult could coexist with children in his working environment with less friction. The complexity of modern life is making it increasingly difficult for the adult to suspend his won activities “to follow the child”. </div>
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There are great factories built for adults to do their work. Even the home seamstress or weekend carpenter understands the need for a place to complete their projects, and of the importance of access to all the necessary items for their occupation. It is so frustrating for the adult to try completing something without the right tools for the job that they plan and save to create the “perfect” workspace for themselves. The child as well needs his own places in which to do his incredible work, but he is not just building a car or a quilt, the child is building himself. </div>
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In order that the child may be able to carry out his great work properly, he needs something more vital and dynamic than a workshop. We must accustom our minds to the notion of an environment which will be more akin to that living environment which surrounds the embryo in the maternal womb. <sup>7</sup></div>
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Therefore children needs a “living environment” that is prepared to answer the cry of their heart. When adults understand and prepare themselves and an environment that is conducive to the very sensitive periods of learning in children, they respond by revealing themselves.</div>
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Maria herself had this to say about the role of the prepared environment in this way:</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“All children, if placed in a new environment allowing ordered activity, show this new appearance, so there is one psychic type common to all humanity, which hitherto had remained hidden under the cloak of other apparent characteristics. This change that came over our children and made them appear as of one uniform type, did not come gradually, but suddenly. It always came when the child was concentrated in one activity; so that if there was a lazy child, we did not urge him to work. We merely facilitated contact with the means of development in the prepared environment. As soon as he found work all his trouble disappeared at once.<sup>8</sup></div>
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It is imperative to understand the importance of the correctly prepared environment and sufficiently trained and practiced adults in achieving normalization. Children need the right conditions in order to do their work, to follow this law. If their conditions are not right we see all kinds of problematic behaviors surface…</div>
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but once the conditions for building the psyche are there, the normal type appears. We therefore called the type that developed in our schools “normalized” children and the others deviated children.<sup>9</sup></div>
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During the 2013-2014 school year there was a girl in class 11 named “Lila”. She was nearing five years old at the beginning of the year and had begun attending a Montessori school just a couple of months before I transitioned into directing that class. She exhibited several deviated behaviors when we began classes together. She consistently sought for inappropriate attention. She would speak out of turn and over other children, interrupt children who were talking to me and demand that it was her turn, and deliberately make a lot of commotion at the line and outside in an attempt for one of the adults to pay attention to her. When she didn’t succeed in getting the thing she was after, she would cry very loudly and flop on the floor. Rather than turning our attention to her problematic behavior, my co-teacher and I strategized that we would ignore anything that didn’t disturb other’s work, hurt herself, the items in the classroom, or others. We also strategized what works might interest her and made plans to present them. She was interested in the practical life exercises in the classroom, and even more interested in works using water. I gave her a few preliminary exercises to make sure she could be successful with more advanced ones, and then I presented her with the lesson of scrubbing shelves. Being allowed to have a tub of water at her disposal was an experience that made her giddy. She loved the soap, the bubbles, the dirty water, the drying of the shelves and seeing them gleam when they were dry. She was completely engaged at this occupation the remainder of the work cycle on day one and returned to this same work for the three days following. She never once brought us over to look at her work; she almost didn't even notice that anyone else was there except when they got in her way. Each day when she would clean up she had the most satisfied and calm demeanor about her. From this moment on she was a changed person. It was as if something inside of herself opened up and light poured in. She came to class eagerly looking every day for work that called to her and would get busy alone and eventually with friends. She remembered practically everything we ever said or sang, and drank in the entire experience. She loved demonstrating the grace and courtesy lessons, and took delight in her abilities to wait in absolute silence at the circle, especially in being called to leave the circle very last because she was so adept at waiting. It was no longer about what someone else saw her doing, but what she knew she could do herself. She was no longer possessive about our attentions and looked for opportunities to be the teacher and helper to the younger children. There was a little three year old with some sensory issues that she took under her wing. Line time was particularly difficult for this child. Lillian once saw me rub her back in a circular motion and took it upon herself to sit by this girl the remainder of the year and rub her back at the line so she could be successful. This tale of change is just one of many that has been repeated again and again in the classrooms I have directed, not to mention my own home.</div>
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">The Law of Independence</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Help me do it by myself is the watch cry of the child. He longs to be in the world and to work in it as the adults in his life. He is driven to do things on his own, and in his own time. It is the necessary application of our stewardship to apply the law of work in such a way that the child feels that he has been his own teacher, in truth that he becomes his own teacher. To set up his environment with success in mind, to prepare work that will isolate the difficulties he meets in his life in such a way that he can be successful in mastering it. To step away from the child and allow him his own work and development within bounds that help him progress from one step to the next. It is our aim for the parent to ask the child if we have taught him a new skill and for the child to answer that he did it himself. We are aware that “Except when he has regressive tendencies, the child’s nature is to aim directly and energetically at functional independence. Development takes the form of a drive toward an ever greater independence. <sup>10</sup></div>
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">The Power of Attention</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At a certain stage of his development, the child begins to direct her attention to particular objects in his environment with an intensity and interest not seen before. <sup>11</sup> It becomes the responsibility of the adults to make the environment attractive and irresistible to the child in order that she may pick up whatever may direct her attention and use it. The child becomes concentrated in her work and will not leave it even when disturbed.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When a normal child is concentrated on his work, he refuses to be interrupted by those who try to help him. He wants to be left alone with his problem. The result is a spontaneous activity that is of far greater value that simply noticing differences in things, which is, of course, of great value in itself. The material thus proves to be a key which puts a child in communication with himself and opens up his soul so that he can act and express himself.<sup>12</sup></div>
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“Sara” was a first year student in class 11. At the beginning of the year she was fearful and intensely quiet, but soon lost these attributes and worked well among her peers. Every day she would begin with the broad stairs and pink tower as long as no one else got there first. She was careful and attentive. On a day in February I made the particular observation that Sara was performing this work with such concentration. She looked around the room intently for the right place to put her rug, and began taking each cube and prism to her rug. The classroom had a cement floor with seams. She had set her rug so that she could take a trip to and from her rug on the seams in retrieving her work, and placed each foot carefully in front of the other. She walked so slowly and patiently. She would stop and wait if anyone went in her path. We noticed this quickly and worked to shift a rug that was in her path as soon as that child was finished, and helped other children set up in another spot of the room so she could keep up her work uninterrupted. Once she had gotten them to the rug she made the tower and the stair only once, and proceeded in the same fashion to return them to the shelf. Her work that day was the trip back and forth to the rug. She began this work at approximately 9:15 and did not end until roughly 11:20.</div>
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The power of attention is that once a child has developed this skill and is attuned to the things that draw his attentions, he can then move from being acted upon to acting. “He has more experience and builds up an internal knowledge of the known, which now excites expectation and interest in the novel unknown.” <sup>13 </sup>His appetite has been wetted for experiences and the knowledge that work and learning imparts to him in his quest to create himself.</div>
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">The Principle of Will</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Once a child has established this ability for prolonged attention and concentration he reveals within himself a principle of will. This will continues to develop through further as he works harmoniously in an environment that supports him. An inner formation of the will is gradually developed through this adaptation to the limits of a chosen task. <sup>14</sup> He must make decisions and act, and these in turn develop will. Because traditional schooling severely limits the choices, decisions, and actions of a child, Montessori felt it “not only denies the child every opportunity for using his will but directly obstructs and inhibits expression.”<sup>15 </sup>The observations garnered in her work with the children of the Casa de Bambini have been vetted by generations of Montessori children. She has detailed three stages of the development of will. The first stage begins with the repetition of activities. When a work draws deep concentration and attention he will repeat such work again and again and demonstrates obvious satisfaction in said repetition. This “achievement, however trivial to the adult, gives a sense of power and independence to the child.”<sup>16</sup> The child has achieved an independence in this work. We could say the first step of the will is independence through repetition. Whereupon succeeding in this, the child progresses to the second stage of the development of his will. This second stage is marked with an independent and spontaneous choice of self-discipline. The child makes conspicuous choices to exert his efforts in the discipline of his own body in its relationship to his environment. He develops self-knowledge and self-possession. At the onset of this stage of development we may see a child exerting great effort to walk around a rug and not on it, to use “quiet” water, to shut the door with no sounds at all, to walk without so much as a shuffling sound during the quiet game, to walk the line with ever increasing precision, or to sit in an absolute stillness during the Silence.</div>
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“Anton” is five years old and has been in class 10 for most of the 2014-15 school year. During the first weeks of the summer schedule we have had daily silence. During worktime he has shown an increased concentration and self-awareness which has transferred into our line-time. For him the silence has nothing to do with me. His focus is increasingly inward and he has on several occasions become unaware that others are leaving the circle to go outside. His travail is for himself alone and it is an inward work. I spoke to his father about Antons’s development in concentration and stillness. He asked if there was some kind of prize for the child who sits in silence the longest. He had a difficult time understanding that his son would do this by choice since there was nothing for him to gain for this work except inside himself. He wondered aloud why he was behaving so unlike himself.</div>
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Out of self-knowledge and self-possession springs the third stage of the developed will, the power to obey. Obedience is not the same as the “discipline” so often described in parenting and educator help-books. Obedience is the conscious choice controlled by a child herself to work in cooperation with her environment and world.</div>
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Will and obedience then go hand in hand, inasmuch as the will is a prior foundation in the order of development and obedience is a later stage resting on this foundation…Indeed if the human should did not possess this quality, if men had never acquired, by some form of evolutionary process, this capacity for obedience, social life would be impossible. <sup>17</sup></div>
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This is the pinnacle of normalization that we as Montessori educators look to. This is the bar that is set for us and by which we measure the effectiveness of our classroom environments. Are we participating in the development of a whole child? A child who is in possession of all his faculties, who is awake in looking to learn, who displays self-awareness and knowledge, and who has developed his will of obedience.</div>
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">In Summary</span></div>
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The revelation of “new child” is the work of the guide. This is not a work we can take off the shelf and manipulate. Our work is the constant observation, experimentation and careful managing of the prepared environment. We must become attuned and experienced in the cues the children give about current needs so that we may alter that environment to meet them. We must remove her pride from ourselves since humility is necessary to keep our eyes open to the workings of the classroom. We must remove what distracts, discard what does not entice (even though we may have spent time creating it) and become the practiced observer of the children’s space. We must teach ourselves; must choose to change ourselves and value the ways and workings of the child. In the end we do not need greater interventions, but greater independence, greater understanding and greater preparation.</div>
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Each time a child walks the path to becoming new I am rewarded for every effort. Each time the child discovers themselves through concentrated work, and I become invisible, that is when I get a feeling under my skin that cannot be described. When the child awakens his new self and exalts in independence my heart flutters. This is the work I love.</div>
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<span style="color: #e06666;">Notes</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>1</sup></span> <i>Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work</i> E. M. Standing (1998) New York: Plume p.148</div>
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<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>2</sup></span> <i>Ibid </i>p.174</div>
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<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>3 </sup></span><i>Ibid </i>pp.175 - 178</div>
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<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>4</sup></span> <i>The Absorbent Mind </i>Maria Montessori (1949), Adyar, Madras, India:<i> </i>The Theosophical Publishing House p.289</div>
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<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>5</sup></span> <i>Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work</i> p.150</div>
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<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>6</sup></span> <i>Montessori: A Modern Approach</i> Paula Polk Lilllard (1972) p.41</div>
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<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>7</sup></span> <i>Montessori: A Modern Approach</i> p.38</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 27px;">
<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>8</sup></span> <i>Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work</i> p.155</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 27px;">
<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>9</sup></span> <i>The Absorbent Mind </i>p.290</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 27px;">
<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>10</sup></span> <i>Ibid </i>p.296</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 27px;">
<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>11</sup></span> <i>The Secret of Childhood </i>Maria Montessori (1966) New York, Ballentine p.82</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 27px;">
<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>12</sup></span> <i>The Discovery of the Child </i>Maria Montessori (1967) New York, Ballentine pp.178-179</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 27px;">
<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>13</sup></span> <i>Montessori: A Modern Approach</i> p.40</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 27px;">
<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>14</sup></span> <i>Ibid</i> p.40</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 27px;">
<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>15</sup></span> <i>Ibid</i> p.40</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 27px;">
<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>15</sup></span> <i>Ibid</i> p.41</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(220, 89, 34); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: #dc5922; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 32px; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 12px; text-indent: 27px;">
<span style="font-size: 8px;"><sup>15</sup></span> <i>Ibid</i> p.42</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-33241980933370593272015-04-13T23:46:00.000-06:002015-04-13T23:54:44.347-06:00Oceania Mat for the Early Childhood Classroom<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;">I am in love with this work. Not only because it took a while to produce, but because I got to make it with my sweet son, Andon, who is battling Leukemia right now. I want to express my thanks and love for all your support and kindnesses during our fight. We are not done yet by any means. He still has another 2 years and 10 months, at least, to go.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyj0VeXzWhZa0DskQfJomQrFsXxvq2tRmPCnyK2Nn_vNHOtE-F0OXFsc3zlFqEQluXtxcby9ww-jfgLpU5hMFNRqHSHnu03RG_VWbiOY1LghOGslO-QxghcfZvWj5oog9XkkPwjx63tXGu/s1600/IMG_5373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyj0VeXzWhZa0DskQfJomQrFsXxvq2tRmPCnyK2Nn_vNHOtE-F0OXFsc3zlFqEQluXtxcby9ww-jfgLpU5hMFNRqHSHnu03RG_VWbiOY1LghOGslO-QxghcfZvWj5oog9XkkPwjx63tXGu/s1600/IMG_5373.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Oceania mat laid out. I forgot to take a picture of the mat in the bag.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvdIP6Viq8X3k1kRbX30Ti8Bh_DQyXqsH1Bg9_3Rn2bVM9OScLm1EQNYyDcM5MTaTPwAtGPrSSN_CCLaSoAkLBiO48R4l-PaqJioXlXlkN7dq2wpsIKS2oxt6cyXY8nUS7SMe612kExR2/s1600/IMG_5362_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvdIP6Viq8X3k1kRbX30Ti8Bh_DQyXqsH1Bg9_3Rn2bVM9OScLm1EQNYyDcM5MTaTPwAtGPrSSN_CCLaSoAkLBiO48R4l-PaqJioXlXlkN7dq2wpsIKS2oxt6cyXY8nUS7SMe612kExR2/s1600/IMG_5362_2.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The work on the tray. The mat itself is kept in a bag that can hang on a wall or sit<br />
behind the tray on the shelf.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I've been taking a sabbatical from school while Andon undergoes chemotherapy, but that doesn't mean I haven't been keeping very busy. I have so many things I could post about, and I really want to post everything, but I don't have that kind of time right now.<br />
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Since Andon has come home he has been VERY interested in islands, and we have studied all kinds of them when he has felt well enough. In fact his Make-A-Wish wish is to go to Aulani resort in Hawaii with his family. He wants to see the island up close, swim with the dolphins, and learn to surf. He has also had a real interest in Australia, so I thought it would be perfect to study Oceania. I figured I do several things all at the same time, and get some work in for school as well. We ordered the Elementary Biome work from Waseca Biomes, which will arrive on Wednesday (we are so EXCITED!!!). While I've been waiting for that to arrive I set to work making something I have been meaning to make for over a year now. The Early Childhood mat of Oceania. Since Andon hasn't been exposed to this type of work he helped me to create it while also learning. We spent some time learning about the animals, plants, biomes, industry etc. of Oceania and then we worked to create this mat. He has learned a lot of things through this process, and has really enjoyed it.<br />
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The first order of business was to find a site where I could print a large-scale copy of Oceania. I found that <a href="http://www.yourchildlearns.com/megamaps.htm">here</a>. I used the 4X4 setting, which used 16 sheets of paper. I tried the 5X5 setting first, but thought it was too large. I wanted to be certain that littler arms could reach the center of the mat without walking on it.<br />
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NOTE: I think it is important that children be exposed to the Biomes before they start this work. <a href="http://wasecabiomes.org/">Waseca</a> has a great curriculum that you can download for free. It is, however, one of those life changing and mind expanding sites. I LOVE their biome work, but am not such a fan of their rainbow boxes for language. I DO, however, love their biome readers.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0liatK67AG_qOGq-x13At9Yhw2nJ5rRVjIJPrJ-yB7IKCtNtXhxgugb02EQxBPpno2w6bxx8SnqnXxypBVC-SbDEmFKDQD9MGn6e7wvlzu03WV7zL2XMajrT5cZXQOPkwmsgum2ezsV0y/s1600/IMG_1669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0liatK67AG_qOGq-x13At9Yhw2nJ5rRVjIJPrJ-yB7IKCtNtXhxgugb02EQxBPpno2w6bxx8SnqnXxypBVC-SbDEmFKDQD9MGn6e7wvlzu03WV7zL2XMajrT5cZXQOPkwmsgum2ezsV0y/s1600/IMG_1669.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I traced Australia onto brown Duck Canvas twice. This was to give stability and a control<br />
of error you will see later. I used some of the left over brown canvas to make a bag to hold the mat.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_n_x0mhszrbQAiv_vJVUVpCvcBj4mt_AnkuVDqbLJqf69wnvm_xoKp3NIvOvbH5HokR0yj0Waw0YGnZvE5jmDKJqllX_fTVr-8pyBy1VWwINkW_0FaMOzHsLlMrcHUQoowgXSvgRFukVO/s1600/IMG_1675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_n_x0mhszrbQAiv_vJVUVpCvcBj4mt_AnkuVDqbLJqf69wnvm_xoKp3NIvOvbH5HokR0yj0Waw0YGnZvE5jmDKJqllX_fTVr-8pyBy1VWwINkW_0FaMOzHsLlMrcHUQoowgXSvgRFukVO/s1600/IMG_1675.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I turned the paper pattern backwards so that when I cut out the fabric I could turn it the<br />
right way and not have the tracing show.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVqDHwou8RAsJDK_XtD22WwT178OrV-3gvzv2XG-H4McHKmywywA1Wd-CjG9oyL4ZoGd4JY8bYNN4laGBDJIRQRJEWGeduU5Z2VgO_QH-sLdr-lBN6Sjr_CWHxXX9Gnj55Nztk2Lpy5G7/s1600/IMG_1676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVqDHwou8RAsJDK_XtD22WwT178OrV-3gvzv2XG-H4McHKmywywA1Wd-CjG9oyL4ZoGd4JY8bYNN4laGBDJIRQRJEWGeduU5Z2VgO_QH-sLdr-lBN6Sjr_CWHxXX9Gnj55Nztk2Lpy5G7/s1600/IMG_1676.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In this mat I am teaching the child the biomes found in Australia mostly. The other islands<br />
won't have their biomes expressly taught since they are significantly smaller. Sorry to all my kiwi<br />
friends :). I do talk about them in the presentation a little. You can see the biome map I am<br />
referencing above. You can find it below.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwy6ykw3esG-6MxEcOYv7bxjvMgPyKwh4phJppIqaCoxVZeoitmeiaCuv_YV9zQRw1-zoSSdwfO4cbr7an_Dmai1zNwD4zhyphenhyphenFSiPvW7Ppr65llOPJ0yCxaBWKw6DWeoYHYxu5SlHXHSPZ/s1600/B_Australia_biome.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwy6ykw3esG-6MxEcOYv7bxjvMgPyKwh4phJppIqaCoxVZeoitmeiaCuv_YV9zQRw1-zoSSdwfO4cbr7an_Dmai1zNwD4zhyphenhyphenFSiPvW7Ppr65llOPJ0yCxaBWKw6DWeoYHYxu5SlHXHSPZ/s1600/B_Australia_biome.gif" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIOuYGYSHpJJiPDV-PggEq067zcPOL5E3XOmlpi-0mv2hIRLOs3fcvIW16zrx4KGzlFcM2iJKXqGyKkIpWxy8LRUtwN4sASZZn41QyOKfL6FC8qK3Il7agBHHjGulpxsMKOKjsRVVoGOp/s1600/IMG_1677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIOuYGYSHpJJiPDV-PggEq067zcPOL5E3XOmlpi-0mv2hIRLOs3fcvIW16zrx4KGzlFcM2iJKXqGyKkIpWxy8LRUtwN4sASZZn41QyOKfL6FC8qK3Il7agBHHjGulpxsMKOKjsRVVoGOp/s1600/IMG_1677.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I sketched out the biomes onto the paper pattern.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_gaDl-CH-RvWpIpZWD3jf2qk9UdZSiJ3ChuEaO7dxoYfK7z2TLXnVqh3hyphenhyphenNVuG4PD6PDJ3dLD_h4XJ3pQcD3ziBKzg3bagfEc66kfubCBGNf1EWLtUPIgAxrJp28YuRNA5WDlTpTMMiF/s1600/IMG_1684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_gaDl-CH-RvWpIpZWD3jf2qk9UdZSiJ3ChuEaO7dxoYfK7z2TLXnVqh3hyphenhyphenNVuG4PD6PDJ3dLD_h4XJ3pQcD3ziBKzg3bagfEc66kfubCBGNf1EWLtUPIgAxrJp28YuRNA5WDlTpTMMiF/s1600/IMG_1684.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then I cut them out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhWNt6ghq6GxwyJ-kNxLSqjqmSoBznz3P-Y0hQm2Ocduo7e3Bpsz9bd2s1aSW5YOOWv2KqKx5O-Q15yPmX9VuFwO7wFAkSU_89IBKBW4duSHaNpFOfimyjx6Uy3ib7jZEb09VLBMyzGSq/s1600/IMG_1712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhWNt6ghq6GxwyJ-kNxLSqjqmSoBznz3P-Y0hQm2Ocduo7e3Bpsz9bd2s1aSW5YOOWv2KqKx5O-Q15yPmX9VuFwO7wFAkSU_89IBKBW4duSHaNpFOfimyjx6Uy3ib7jZEb09VLBMyzGSq/s1600/IMG_1712.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I traced those lines onto the front of one of the canvas cut-outs of Australia. Once that<br />
was finished I used a triple stitch and a light blue thread to sew the lines onto the top piece<br />
of the cut-out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgeOtCXF8bUH1H7lqAjROKX3wjTAjC6GcrUwbambPOUpK5Hs2XrJNcjWYu1QLZs4HlF1h-Hi95JuUYhqG0JgBstujnZ4eWqoNVRnTYnTICihzBEB9HB9MXOxce427u1zwZTpgKbYnc5qtN/s1600/IMG_1718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgeOtCXF8bUH1H7lqAjROKX3wjTAjC6GcrUwbambPOUpK5Hs2XrJNcjWYu1QLZs4HlF1h-Hi95JuUYhqG0JgBstujnZ4eWqoNVRnTYnTICihzBEB9HB9MXOxce427u1zwZTpgKbYnc5qtN/s1600/IMG_1718.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The next step was to pin the two pieces of fabric together and sew them.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJkFwH7XGVkWKDiiY5DaLNF3N7LqCA0zrO9UczfmOfo6Egos2R46xbdaLj1yvte21YeMpTnbj_ntDJI4xr5lRZpmNPl1wqKvwn3SOqp63id-g0wamJN4AN-zxTHihfm1G1Knt6-oKITIa/s1600/IMG_1721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJkFwH7XGVkWKDiiY5DaLNF3N7LqCA0zrO9UczfmOfo6Egos2R46xbdaLj1yvte21YeMpTnbj_ntDJI4xr5lRZpmNPl1wqKvwn3SOqp63id-g0wamJN4AN-zxTHihfm1G1Knt6-oKITIa/s1600/IMG_1721.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used clear thread and a zig-zag stitch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBrJseDvLlch_6gcr0zk0mE9UzidnCFzK4A_poA_a1BfueVBHegTx-FKOfxGRsPShpB6zBlxnzv5Z2q5JZzE13CNLDuxKebRrC40bLqySD0pHNC85OJz3qoKNfFpzbippB0BzCDzPfB5k/s1600/IMG_1723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBrJseDvLlch_6gcr0zk0mE9UzidnCFzK4A_poA_a1BfueVBHegTx-FKOfxGRsPShpB6zBlxnzv5Z2q5JZzE13CNLDuxKebRrC40bLqySD0pHNC85OJz3qoKNfFpzbippB0BzCDzPfB5k/s1600/IMG_1723.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I cut a piece of blue Duck Canvas to 20X40 and placed Australia where I wanted it on the fabric. <br />
I was certain to leave plenty of room for New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and some of the smaller<br />
islands of Oceania. I traced the outline of Australia onto the front of the blue fabric. I then used brown<br />
thread to sew the outline onto the blue fabric.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBmxX7VaDNgcnq8_158TU4pX0cXpYSRa1ixqQFMxGYewTA8tbYv0VgEWkOhB-BXAnB22_4exvF5MiGRodprArwXVxc7qBACCRrOHxct4izdo-dJ3zKM9ROf8YU5xag4IHDsTXG97wNB7M/s1600/biome+cut+outs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBmxX7VaDNgcnq8_158TU4pX0cXpYSRa1ixqQFMxGYewTA8tbYv0VgEWkOhB-BXAnB22_4exvF5MiGRodprArwXVxc7qBACCRrOHxct4izdo-dJ3zKM9ROf8YU5xag4IHDsTXG97wNB7M/s1600/biome+cut+outs.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I then cut the biomes out of their respective colors. Again I used duck canvas and cut two<br />
of each piece. I traced the major rivers and Lake Eyre onto the top side of the biome fabric and<br />
sewed them in a darker blue thread with a triple stitch. Once that was done I again sewed the pieces<br />
together with clear thread and a zig-zag stitch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4oaFf2kOnSf5kzWmfahKpHna04kJjhzOlTkMyTHlAWwNubn1psluRIsVrEtshH58tQeCrhNkLkTYDu-f6ms_3LLrYAr75zPJFPxK2j9-nlzDfSQSL4GBtHJIrOhiWbTPetUdjajfyViRd/s1600/IMG_4976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4oaFf2kOnSf5kzWmfahKpHna04kJjhzOlTkMyTHlAWwNubn1psluRIsVrEtshH58tQeCrhNkLkTYDu-f6ms_3LLrYAr75zPJFPxK2j9-nlzDfSQSL4GBtHJIrOhiWbTPetUdjajfyViRd/s1600/IMG_4976.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I cut out a small Australia and sewed it onto this light blue fabric with<br />
clear thread and a zig-zag stitch. I then turned it into a drawstring bag.<br />
It holds items that go onto the mat. Here you can see the stitch work on the biome fabric.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjaAuMg6ggd14DqamOL35I7loMtG8Px7F-D5Hru73yiZA6W9jVKabytnwz08YixGQvfYXn51pArD3NSWkzEhZRrdARy8oLplz9_ur5XOH9iVVSSEdTtqzM_2sEpzwdiYqAsblOgy11niY/s1600/IMG_5352_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjaAuMg6ggd14DqamOL35I7loMtG8Px7F-D5Hru73yiZA6W9jVKabytnwz08YixGQvfYXn51pArD3NSWkzEhZRrdARy8oLplz9_ur5XOH9iVVSSEdTtqzM_2sEpzwdiYqAsblOgy11niY/s1600/IMG_5352_2.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next I made pieces for Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. I used some tan<br />
vinyl to do the other side in order to be neutral. I cut two pieces of blue for each, sewed<br />
the islands onto the top side with clear zig-zag. The white paint dots<br />
you see are for the placement of objects.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwrMsUqZTNWmllKlnExshXM1dDpncNeBklkiYp6ZcmpvKIyV_YEGjMQKiNRWWKJwT08SJMBgpRxosYBvBF9p0VZm9_bTWW6W2usdIN6epRXNpRm6Md-mt1QPGhrTXf7E_S1WnNwMP1uPg/s1600/IMG_5344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwrMsUqZTNWmllKlnExshXM1dDpncNeBklkiYp6ZcmpvKIyV_YEGjMQKiNRWWKJwT08SJMBgpRxosYBvBF9p0VZm9_bTWW6W2usdIN6epRXNpRm6Md-mt1QPGhrTXf7E_S1WnNwMP1uPg/s1600/IMG_5344.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using the sewn island pieces, I traced onto the blue mat and then sewed the<br />
outlines for them in blue thread with a triple stitch. Some of these photos<br />
were taken at night so they didn't turn out so well.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEn9O4EdC9C1mkLB9up0XCZX3YDTLyNPGYeBXGgNG7hPq8lU4rYwOIUNCrIbS_lVIFkLIjpRA5CDqEc-PpofWm_GDRnKmzgmoxInSEAr2nrJWYHDZL6amsz4MuXqrkJ3w0tGaj21eySU4L/s1600/IMG_5329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEn9O4EdC9C1mkLB9up0XCZX3YDTLyNPGYeBXGgNG7hPq8lU4rYwOIUNCrIbS_lVIFkLIjpRA5CDqEc-PpofWm_GDRnKmzgmoxInSEAr2nrJWYHDZL6amsz4MuXqrkJ3w0tGaj21eySU4L/s1600/IMG_5329.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once New Zealand and Papua New Guinea were made, I used the large scale<br />
print-out as reference to trace more smaller islands onto the mat. <br />
I used brown fabric paint to paint them onto the mat itself. Tasmania was cut<br />
out of the Duck and sewn directly to the mat. Then I used double fold bias<br />
tape in a dark brown to finish the mat. <br />
The contrast of color is nice.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCu1GXmQoutB4CA2dH-ke31nwbnUOOmQpX9k_iJItNMPqzATlCfmm5sjRNIiSSyT6VcagZNbBiVbdXKx8OEd-7Vl3P-6KvUw6kow_r6Q8pFtcdQ8xS4Tu0erUPiM9l5gDgmV16DnUVd4G/s1600/IMG_5332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCu1GXmQoutB4CA2dH-ke31nwbnUOOmQpX9k_iJItNMPqzATlCfmm5sjRNIiSSyT6VcagZNbBiVbdXKx8OEd-7Vl3P-6KvUw6kow_r6Q8pFtcdQ8xS4Tu0erUPiM9l5gDgmV16DnUVd4G/s1600/IMG_5332.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This shows the basic set up of the mat with just the brown fabrics.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-H2RrTN5h4KR3pz9ooVwGcFEhbMx08QF-4_Keq4WJiGFbHZAOpQXlK3JliNbADAijm2JzdS0MovX4wOWJ2GxMCWE2qnuhPBHUpi-HFTrhw4kHAVnhVSpD5Fb_ZLlC_ZLcqjfPYzdkMn-n/s1600/IMG_5343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-H2RrTN5h4KR3pz9ooVwGcFEhbMx08QF-4_Keq4WJiGFbHZAOpQXlK3JliNbADAijm2JzdS0MovX4wOWJ2GxMCWE2qnuhPBHUpi-HFTrhw4kHAVnhVSpD5Fb_ZLlC_ZLcqjfPYzdkMn-n/s1600/IMG_5343.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally, all the fun stuff is added. I am a big fan of using already made resources if I can. <br />
The Down Under Toob had a lot of these things. I also used the cycad palm<br />
from the Trees Toob, the coral, seahorse, diver, chest of gold and clown fish from the<br />
Coral Reef Toob. I used the apples and bananas from the Fruit Toob. I used Super Sculpey<br />
to create the Mountain ranges, Ayers Rock, the base of the Aboriginal man<br />
(because he doesn't stand on his own), and the volcano. I used a wooden disc and<br />
painted it with dot painting. I cut very thin blue rick-rack for the rivers,<br />
and blue felt for Lake Eyre. Each item is placed during a "story"<br />
told to the children. I am working to find a tiny boomerang, cassowary,<br />
echidna, kiwi bird, "diamond", "opal", sheep, Maori carving and Sydney Opera House.</td></tr>
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The story goes something like this:<br />
<br />
"This is Oceania. Well, not all of it, but a lot of it. There are many small islands not on this mat, but this mat has Australia (place it), Papua New Guinea (place it), and New Zealand (place it). Here is also Tasmania (point to it). Up here at the top are several smaller islands (name some of them if you can).<br />
<br />
"In Australia we can find several biomes (pull out the biomes control card). The orange is desert (place the desert), the yellow is grasslands (place the grasslands including the small yellow piece), the light green are the temperate forests (place the temperate forests), and the dark green is the tropical forest (place the tropical forest) We can find some rivers in Australia. Down here we have the Darling River, the Lachlan River, and the Murray River (place the three rivers together) Over on this side is the Murchison River (place it). There are other rivers in Australia, but these are some of the largest. Sometimes the rivers in Australia DRY UP! Sort of in the middle of Australia we have some lakes. I am just putting on Lake Eyre because it is the largest lake (place it). On the eastern edge of Australia there is a range of mountains. These mountains are called the Darling Range (place the three mountain ridges). This curved set on the bottom is also know as the Australian Alps (point to the bottom ridge). In the center of the desert is a very large rock formation called Ayers Rock. The Aboriginal people; the people who have lived here a very long time, call it Uluru (place it and the Aboriginal man) and it is very special to them. In the desert there are gold mines (place it), and diamond mines (place it), and opal mines (place it). Bananas and pineapples are grown in Australia because it is hot (place them). The Aboriginal people create wonderful works of art called dot painting (place it). We will be creating some of these ourselves. Off the west coast of Australia people dive for pearls (place the diver)."<br />
<br />
"Emus live almost ALL over Australia (place it), so do cockatoos (place it). Frilled lizards and kangaroos live mostly in the hot deserts and in the grasslands (place it). Dingos can be found a lot of different places in Australia, but they are finding less and less of them all the time (place it). The taipan lives right along the upper coastal areas of Australia (place it). The platypus lives on the western edge of Australia (place it). Koalas have to live where they find eucalyptus trees, so they live on this western side of Australia (place it). Wombats only live down here as you get to the southern tip of Australia. They also live in Tasmania (place it). Another animal that lives in Tasmania is called the Tasmanian Devil. It is known for being very aggressive (place it). Off the east coast of Australia we can find the Great Barrier Reef. It is home to many kinds of Corals (place it), fish (place clown fish) and seahorses (place it). There are many, many other kinds of animals that live in the coral reef, but we will learn about them when we study the coral reef. In New Zealand they have many volcanoes (place it). They grow apples and they herd many sheep (place them). In Papua New Guinea and on the top of Australia we can find the Saltwater Crocodile (place it). We can also find a kind of palm tree called a Cycad (place it). Scientist believe that this type of palm tree has been around a very, very long time."<br />
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When you are finished with the presentation, carefully return all the items to the bag. return the pieces to the tray. Roll up the mat and put it in the mat bag. Ask the child(ren, because by about 1 minute in you will have most of the class wanting to watch your presentation) if they would like a turn with this work. When they say yes, you get to tell them that you will show them where to find it on the shelf so they will know where to put it back. You then put the entire work away before allowing the child to use this work. In this way you are consistently showing the child the importance of putting their work away in pristine condition for the next child to use.<br />
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The best thing about this work is that it has endless extensions. Reading, writing, grammar, math!!Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-18452127536966208392014-11-19T23:44:00.000-07:002014-11-19T23:44:29.902-07:00Updates on Andon - And a Go Fund Me AccountThose who have been following this blog know that our youngest son, Andon, was recently diagnosed with and started treatment for leukemia. Once we left the hospital, we went out and got family pictures done before things really started to change. He has been losing his hair in clumps and decided on Monday to shave it off. It was a very emotional experience for me. Somehow him losing his hair has made it very real for me. His brothers and father chose to show support for him and shaved their hair off that night as well. Our oldest boy had about 6-8 inches of great hair that was hard for him to part with. In the end he did it because he knew that Andon didn't want to loose his hair and he had no choice. This experience will forever change us as a family and as people.<br />
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Since last month, I have not been back to work full-time and have, in fact, only gone into work once a week since his chemotherapy started. I have a great fill in for me at work which has made it much easier. Dancing Moose has been an amazing support through this new challenge, as well as the parents of the children in my class this year. I wish our family could afford for me to stay home with Andon full time until this school year is over, but at the beginning of December I will be going into work for the morning work cycle everyday except his chemo day. This is of course subject to change according to how well he is and how he handles the chemo. Our oldest daughter, who is 18 and graduated, has been amazing and is currently looking for a new job that will allow her to be there in the morning and work in the afternoon. <br />
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We have seen many blessings and an outpouring of love. It has been good for me to see how many people in this world are so kind. Our family has truly appreciated all the emails of support and concern for our sweet son. Several visitors to this blog have emailed and asked if there is a fund set up for Andon that they can donate to. There is now. A parent of another childhood cancer patient told us about Go Fund Me. Here is the Link http://www.gofundme.com/hcoh50.<br />
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It is our hope that through the Go Fund Me account we can keep our family afloat while paying hospital and doctor bills, working part time, and having all the unanticipated expenses of a child with cancer. We are trying to raise $20,000.00 so getting the word out is important. Whatever readers of this blog can do to help that happen is very appreciated.</div>
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Thank you.</div>
<br />Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-77858569502331202452014-11-05T14:09:00.000-07:002014-11-05T14:09:42.425-07:00Three-part Card Trays From Montessori Research and DevelopmentI have made it no secret that I like many of the materials that are available through Montessori Research and Development. This has always been purely because of many years of loving their work. This is the first time I have ever gotten anything in exchange for a blog post, and I am so happy to do it.<br />
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If you have read some of my previous posts about Nomenclature or Three-part cards you will know that my classroom has had a big uptick in those cards being pulled off the shelves and used this year. In fact it is almost certain that at any given time during the day there is at least one set of cards in use. Since this is the case, I have felt it is in the best interest of the class to have more cards available in the areas at the same time. I have owned and loved a few of the <a href="https://www.montessorird.com/curriculummaterials/three-part-cards-traycontainer">Three-part Card Trays from Montessori Research and Development</a> for a some years, but really needed more. I corresponded with Erik Nuno, who is the company director about hoping to get a few more for my classroom. He shipped them right off and my class has been so happy to have them on the shelf ever since. I currently have 9 on the shelves of my class. 3 in science, 2 in language, 1 in math, 2 in geography and 1 in sensorial. Now that they have been set up for a couple of weeks I find that we actually could use a total of 5 in science (depending on what we are studying), 4 in math for currency, fractions, time, and golden beads (my colored bead stair cards are a different type). I could also use a total of 5 in language for pink cvc cards, blue blends, parts of speech, the farm and metal inset cards, and 4 in geography regularly. I would prefer to have 4 available for sensorial for sensorial apparatus cards, geometric cabinet cards, geometric solids cards, and color nomenclature cards. I would lastly put one in art, not all the time but according to the lessons. So that is a grand total of 23 that I would have in my classroom. I am far from it, but will continue to order from Montessori Research until I have the number I want.<br />
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The Three-Part Card Tray from Montessori Research and Development is a economical and lovely tray for the classroom, running only $9.00 each. The compartments are spacious enough to hold even larger cards, and certainly the cards that I create. The depth of the compartments is a feature I like as well. These are both something you want to watch for when ordering trays. They are easily cleaned by even smaller children, with the control of error being a gleaming white surface.<br />
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The other tray that I looked at in the same price range had the control on the right. That went against my core feelings when it comes to Montessori works. I have always been taught, and ascribe to the standard that all work should move left to right. Since we place the control first it should be on the left hand side. <br />
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I am so happy to recommend the 3-part Card Tray from Montessori Research and Development.Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-46482191510055189422014-11-03T11:30:00.005-07:002022-03-04T16:33:42.063-07:00Parts of the Eye Nomenclature Cards and Blackline Master Free Downloads - Plus a Musings About the Sense of SightI created this set over the summer for our class to use while we learned about the sense of sight. This year I have changed from doing all the senses at once to focusing on on sense in a month. All of the senses were introduced during the 3rd week of school, but taking each sense and focusing more in depth has been rather enjoyable for the children this year. The sense of sight was the first sense of focus.<br />
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To begin the sense of sight we took a little walk out to our community garden with a bit of prompting to pay close attention to interesting things that we could see there. Once back inside we had a discussion about all the things they could see. This took some time since all the children wanted to talk about more than one thing that was interesting to them that they could see. The next question was, of course, "What part of our body do we use to see?". At a later circle I introduced the Model of the Eye. I have long been of the opinion that the Early Childhood through the Upper Elementary Child can benefit greatly from good quality medical models just as much as the college student. While I would love to have inexhaustible pockets, I do not, so I purchase the best quality I can for my budget.<br />
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This model is from EISCO and was purchased from Amazon using our Prime Membership. It ran just about $25.00.<br />
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After the children were introduced to and had some experience with the model, I introduced them to some sheep eyes and did a dissection. Now-- I must say that there was NOT one child who was grossed out by this science work. Quite the contrary. Utter fascination and riveted attention is more like it. I used these Large Line Time Cards to point out different the same parts we were seeing in the sheep's eyes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKHVCuu2PqTFMkQGMzRKXn23Jvb9Hn8E_ueOJ6oFlUF-4oMtBk3Z7qENr6ID0XgvX3YeIUjLM3Cf5wV8Ms_V8M1JvbNWRsuxVKywwYi3OOAF0xffjsOV3iPKQb2ZM-Yv-MDz6sr8JKchdM/s1600/Parts+of+the+Eye+Line+Time.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Parts of the Eye Large Line Time Cards<br />click on picture to link to file</a></span></td></tr>
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On a different day I introduced the Parts of the Eye Nomenclature Cards and the accompanying booklets. Especially the 4's & 5's loved this work. There were some children who loved them so well, they took them off the shelf EVERY day for two weeks.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJv5BT5WV65g4iWySxhI-PhyphenhyphenLDI5X0aLTxLnq79vT60gowWL8g-ZUDaDvz3OAqpqyTMCFdZeOuJ1woBpKgimG-ipcW7tksRHvzcuPcbab4_5pWhsb8MmI3dSHJJBuZ6gAVkZh9Dodi0whJ/s1600/Parts+of+the+Eye.png" width="307" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Parts of the Eye Nomenclature Cards<br />click on image to link to file</a></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Parts of the Eye Blackline Master<br />click on image to link to file</a></span></td></tr>
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Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-75776942761912048572014-10-27T00:03:00.001-06:002014-10-27T00:04:53.087-06:00Life Can Change in a MomentOn Thursday, October 16th, at about 6:00 pm, we took our 11 year old into the Instacare. He had been pale and fatigued. They took blood work and sent us in a big hurry up to Primary Children's Hospital; which is, so thankfully, just a 20 minute drive for us. There they did more blood work and had the Oncologist on call come in. She looked at his blood right there and gave us the diagnosis we were devastated was coming. Our baby had Leukemia. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Life can change in a moment. </b></span><br />
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We left our other 4 children in the charge of my parents and aunts, and both my husband and I spent the next 5 days with him in the care of the wonderful doctors and nursing staff at Primary's. He had Surgery on Friday to instal a port, do a bone marrow aspirate, and do a spinal tap to check for lymphoblasts in his spinal fluid and give him a dose of chemo in his spine. We got to come home on Wednesday, and life with leukemia has started to settle in a bit. We have weekly visits to the Cancer and Bone Marrow Clinic for chemo treatments, at least until the 2nd week in November. We do not know what his road map will be after that yet. It is an emotional and sometimes very difficult beginning. He is very tired and his knees and stomach are starting to hurt from the medicines. He is a champ! He told me that having courage means that he is sometimes pretty scared of what he needs to do, but that he does it anyway. Andon is certainly right. His prognosis is good, we are so grateful for that. We wait to hear back about the bone marrow aspirate and the chromosomal markers that will help to determine more of what his future course of treatment will be.<br />
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We have seen an outpouring of love and concern from everywhere. On Saturday they told us that he had broken the record for the number of visitors in one day, 25! His favorite things on earth are probably hugs. While he was going into surgery, my sister called from California. At the end of the conversation she told me to give a hug for him. I said that it would be great if she and her husband were to take a picture hugging each other and email it to me so I could show it to them. They posted it on Facebook and pretty soon a hashtag -which I don't really get- was set up for him on instagram. That had so many visits that My sister suggested setting up a community page for him on Facebook. It is called <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/hugsforandon">Hugs for Andon</a></span>. He has been getting picture hugs from all over the world and they make a yucky day better for sure. This has become a real big deal for his oldest sister who has become an administrator on the page. She had told me about 2 months ago that she felt her future lay in charity and service work. She said she never feels as complete as when she is doing things that are really meaningful for others. She has stepped up in an incredible way around the house and with the other members of the family. Our other children are all reacting in a different way to their lives changing so quickly.<br />
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We have had meals brought in, laundry done by members of our ward and family, cleaning helpers (since the house has to be made and kept super clean), gifts, prayers of many faiths, fasting, and letters of encouragement. It has lifted us and helped to carry us through the beginning of difficult times.<br />
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<br />Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-12078705522976524862014-10-11T23:57:00.001-06:002022-03-04T16:30:05.081-07:00Parts of the Skeleton and Parts of the Pumpkin Nomenclature Cards with Blackline MastersHere are two offerings that I have finished in these last couple of weeks. These are topics we are studying right now during October and I found I didn't have either of them created yet.<br />
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An important note is that the skeleton cards are patterned after a 3-4 year old's skeleton. I adapted them from <a href="http://eskeletons.org/sites/eskeletons.org/files//files/resources/000646791.pdf">this</a> printable work. <br />
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I didn't like any of the Parts of the Pumpkin cards that are out there. You might notice the same type of cutaway as the layers of the earth. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJV_PAYItRMJaBe0zbw7apnyAAzPnVDMtUCNf9Wq1nuW-iiqwx8kwd9eOLd58fBpuIUIoNNT93519m0vikbwtyZX_FeIUIWwiOK5AU-rFbx3Ymps_cIXWJ-sAdfxP34bJkhkQJfWr6b-hU/s1600/Parts+of+Skeleton+nomenclature.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Parts of the Skeleton Nomenclature Cards<br />click on image to go to file</a></span></td></tr>
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These are the blackline Masters for both sets. I have been learning a new way to make and use Parts of Books that I really like. The first page in the blackline masters are just the image with no words or even a line. The following pages are to help me in making the Parts of Control Books. First I color in the isolated image in red and then I trace over the light gray letters with a fine sharpie pen. I cut them apart, laminate them and plasticoil bind them. I make sure that the plasticoil gives plenty of room for turning the page with ease.<br />
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One thing I learned years back is that whatever way you write your letters the children will copy. Another thing I learned during one of my Practicum weekends was that a segment of the population cannot make sense of dotted or dashed letters. Each dot looks separate and does not really create a whole letter. This was troubling news to me and I started wondering about my oldest child with dyslexia. Did that make things harder for her? <br />
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When the child creates the parts of books they can do one of 3 things in order to write the words. They can copy the words because they are advanced enough to do that. They can lay their colored parts of paper over the top of the page they are trying to create and trace over the letters, or I can write the words in a yellow highlighter for them to trace. All three methods are regularly being employed in my classroom with great success.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSOnp91ip4XYgUk8fydj3jjqpOMT_EynHv1E-fYponSk0KdTgri9_huFHCtv6O8xybbIuvOipHULF71di82l1P0X34_ksY3Fpff7OHHFfiKfpDp9KEA8EJkD5fYsM4fXEVQLYZdHaFOX9Z/s1600/Parts+of+skeleton+blackline.png" width="247" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Parts of the Skeleton Booklets Blackline Master<br />click on image to go to file</a></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Parts of the Pumpkin Booklets Blackline Master<br />click on image to go to file</a></span></td></tr>
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<br />Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-16190781350974538772014-10-01T21:51:00.000-06:002014-10-01T22:31:40.963-06:00Nomenclature Cards and Parts Booklets - What a Little Child Taught MeI have formed a new friendship with the Nomenclature and 3-Part Cards and their subsequent Parts of Booklets this year. Last year a few of the children really loved doing the cards and the booklets, while most of others have shown no real interest in them. This year I have been hoping to interest more children in these lovely little cards and booklets that I have spent so much time creating (literally), laminating, cutting, coloring, binding etc. They are great works that help integrate learning across the areas of the classroom. They can be a pre-reading, reading, writing, coloring, story-telling, show-off to parents, memory building, science, geography, math, sensorial work. You might be getting the picture.<br />
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WELL... this year our class has had the most wonderful thing happen, AND it was child directed. About the third week into school I had a 4 1/2 year old, who is driven by a lovely inner voice, do the Parts of the Plant and Parts of the Fruit Nomenclature Cards at the same time. He then made the Parts of Booklets as well. Another child saw his work and wanted to do it too. Both were very accomplished at their work. At the end of the day they asked if they could read their books to the class in AUTHOR'S CHAIR (they knew this from last year and Writer's Workshop). Of course I let them, and everyone clapped for their wonderful and challenging work. I could have chosen to save the Author's chair for books that the children had independently created, but I am so glad I didn't. We will make an extra special note when a child makes a book <u>All-By-Themselves</u> for Author's Chair.<br />
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The magic happened the next day. Multiple children asked me if they could create their own books in order to read them to the class. One child said... "So when I finish the Nomenclature Cards I can make a booklet right?" I said that once she had mastered the nomenclature cards she could create the booklet. The children spread the word and the Nomenclature Cards have NOT sat on the shelf gathering dust (that a child would clean off) this year. The valuable lesson the children taught me is this: There is such beauty in sharing your work with your friends, and such a good feeling. As an adult I recognize this in myself. It is one reason I have this blog. I love to share what I have created with people who appreciate and can really use them. Why would it be any different for children?<br />
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I just have to say... Follow the Child, they are our best teacher.<br />
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Solar System Nomenclature Cards</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">This is the same child doing the Nomenclature Cards and the Parts of Book in the next Picture.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Solar System Parts of Cards</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">This Parts of Booklet is pre-stapled because last year I noticed how frustrated the children were </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">about this booklet. They kept getting confused which planet was which. I have some unstapled </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">sets for the older kids.</span></td></tr>
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Parts of the Body Nomenclature Cards</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx99N0VvicvMexzwNj-s9qeMLCi4lBsRkxSYBw8bkHsevwv1Y-opTrtkRsibVPTGRsB7DTZFQNp375sos8UfwD1ZknX0jkkRjHgDuhVlNj01eXJbYw7ZQ1k6ol7biAB5MTmruqUSt0_UMX/s1600/Parts+of+the+Body+Nomenclature.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx99N0VvicvMexzwNj-s9qeMLCi4lBsRkxSYBw8bkHsevwv1Y-opTrtkRsibVPTGRsB7DTZFQNp375sos8UfwD1ZknX0jkkRjHgDuhVlNj01eXJbYw7ZQ1k6ol7biAB5MTmruqUSt0_UMX/s1600/Parts+of+the+Body+Nomenclature.JPG" height="220" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">This child ended up getting one more rug out to hold all the name cards you can see at the top </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">of the picture for</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"> this work. There really are a lot of cards to this work. Almost enough to break it </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">into two sets, but </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">they really like it together so I have kept them that way. The Tray is from </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Montessori Research </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">and Development.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: small;">Parts of the Plant Booklet</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinht4Pa5U-aDSR2xT6lSJ_Vhyphenhypheny6PgSHWq6PXo2VaKOIW3nZOOBf6wgWQbJ_QeRQdcrivoMVDDAZOv4s9bkEZ5_T3g_51GyWtsRW6KgKjcNMU68wYa4b7ym1Bb3rSMwbc3OYIAlcKdSAIHe/s1600/Parts+of+Plant+Booklet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinht4Pa5U-aDSR2xT6lSJ_Vhyphenhypheny6PgSHWq6PXo2VaKOIW3nZOOBf6wgWQbJ_QeRQdcrivoMVDDAZOv4s9bkEZ5_T3g_51GyWtsRW6KgKjcNMU68wYa4b7ym1Bb3rSMwbc3OYIAlcKdSAIHe/s1600/Parts+of+Plant+Booklet.JPG" height="210" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">This child did not want to write the words to her booklet this day. I let her know that as </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">soon as </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">she "publishes" a book - meaning that it is colored, with all the names written and </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">stapled - she can read it to the group.</span><br />
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Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-49299150059436750512014-09-13T21:36:00.001-06:002014-09-20T12:31:57.150-06:00Taking Over a New ClassThis year I have changed classrooms and responsibilities. I moved from my safe little classroom to take over for some teachers who left our school. It is my job to make this classroom successful. I am in the Spanish dual language program classroom now. It is a mixture of children from several classrooms, but there is a core group of children who were there last year. These children have really needed retraining this year. About 80% of them are boys. I have spent a lot of time during the first 3 weeks of school observing all of the children, becoming emotionally available and a confidant, creating structure in the classroom, following through again and again with ground rules, and setting the stage for correct treatment of the environment and each other. It is tiring work to be sure, but sticking to the difficult work at the beginning of the year really pays off.<br />
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For the first two weeks I pulled out over 25 different manipulative works and had several shelves dedicated to them just to give myself a pulse on the room and where the children were. They used these works with gusto. It has really helped to have only manipulatives in retraining the children to become careful with their work, return the work ready for another child to use, walk around and not through rugs, walk in the classroom in the first place, respect when a child has already chosen a work and not to disturb them etc. This is certainly an ongoing process. It seems like it can take an entire year for some of the younger children not to walk on their neighbor's rug if something grabs their attention.<br />
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During the third week I noticed that the older children were bored with the manipulatives so I began giving lessons. Some of the record keeping was spotty so I had to test out to see where they really were in the different areas. On Thursday, this week (being the 4th week of school), we noticed that it was 2 hours into our work time before any child chose a manipulative work. YIPEE! I only have one shelf of manipulatives now, and only the ones that the children find the most interesting.<br />
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These are some images from our last week of work.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcSyHA5C-s1T_V33DhIvIGhwR5HQ-KQvREL3mVy8LkyOHHzX_B3XyTst1OIpM0Nd4DzNaGsIioJX4-Wx_UbRPzJhvCwU9Zq4NodGafh9WhXn_eex-KJEzb9ACu5SLEcOs_fTuZM8jGJkP/s1600/IMG_0097_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcSyHA5C-s1T_V33DhIvIGhwR5HQ-KQvREL3mVy8LkyOHHzX_B3XyTst1OIpM0Nd4DzNaGsIioJX4-Wx_UbRPzJhvCwU9Zq4NodGafh9WhXn_eex-KJEzb9ACu5SLEcOs_fTuZM8jGJkP/s1600/IMG_0097_2.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exploration of Metal Insets by a returning student</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1Nn7Tk3cVqorJ4r5KELOvsYfki2ZHq-q_EurUkzqnF4Rvv9XrL49zkB7NJwLYX_6S8zOGLcDMrODBltue4O0j6sBnyt78-7IcqfGMw8hpgug27ZYz-K4a6z0DQPiT6nniIopCtfrYLb6/s1600/IMG_0101_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1Nn7Tk3cVqorJ4r5KELOvsYfki2ZHq-q_EurUkzqnF4Rvv9XrL49zkB7NJwLYX_6S8zOGLcDMrODBltue4O0j6sBnyt78-7IcqfGMw8hpgug27ZYz-K4a6z0DQPiT6nniIopCtfrYLb6/s1600/IMG_0101_2.jpg" height="222" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mouse House turned into a Spanish Work. Es el raton debajo de la casa anaranjado?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62NeEUsfisL5OLPlQDMAPnGCGDbMU-XAQfwBu-26yya_vUH6luwfTOZE2zGu3CzaunLCXRKJjJqpoYq0f2LrVylgyWhs1iQ9EB_CljVjBiY0eKD5wY1M_KJQ0y4P-clL37PW2o4x5YMk5/s1600/IMG_0119_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62NeEUsfisL5OLPlQDMAPnGCGDbMU-XAQfwBu-26yya_vUH6luwfTOZE2zGu3CzaunLCXRKJjJqpoYq0f2LrVylgyWhs1iQ9EB_CljVjBiY0eKD5wY1M_KJQ0y4P-clL37PW2o4x5YMk5/s1600/IMG_0119_2.JPG" height="185" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging Bead Stair</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwI-vHoC7iwYmsqWv-N0S8Lsme7OT3L5c7AKF5ANc7OfI1mbJdyB7ufI9gA2jXlAaDB9XXFZlKwiOL5I-5nALdVDdtrSsbFLLzyLemWe0gnz-9GE2xsJc1PEnhx9CHZObyttgMS8UY2LBc/s1600/IMG_0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwI-vHoC7iwYmsqWv-N0S8Lsme7OT3L5c7AKF5ANc7OfI1mbJdyB7ufI9gA2jXlAaDB9XXFZlKwiOL5I-5nALdVDdtrSsbFLLzyLemWe0gnz-9GE2xsJc1PEnhx9CHZObyttgMS8UY2LBc/s1600/IMG_0141.JPG" height="238" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Writing Words using the Large Moveable Alphabet</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kSSkWVcx5F38GSn592nsExCezvEMRqfUAP0TXUQPVSsN60SN3wUry_1nAL7vVHjw7wQ2liVCCY_h8o865We2818i0qZHxDNZEyMAJ5IpMqzwUD5DU46Y1rUiy4Hcc8ThvwSMfVJZuFTK/s1600/IMG_0271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kSSkWVcx5F38GSn592nsExCezvEMRqfUAP0TXUQPVSsN60SN3wUry_1nAL7vVHjw7wQ2liVCCY_h8o865We2818i0qZHxDNZEyMAJ5IpMqzwUD5DU46Y1rUiy4Hcc8ThvwSMfVJZuFTK/s1600/IMG_0271.JPG" height="191" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Initial Sound Object Sort - This is the Pink Mat<br />
I am so excited to have these new mats. I handmade the set I <br />
have been using and just got these new ones this week.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRal0f1WIo7W-EbVdcGS5fCvujgn_9u_Sl9lYAS0Aje5N-9umYOAQfVIvhoWLfSNDIZlp8saL3uE9HiQXTImrfVlPvz9Tv0W_7RVxQrmqRi25J_tfdBKkZ21IfTyHtLz1567n72txP6Qz/s1600/IMG_0302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRal0f1WIo7W-EbVdcGS5fCvujgn_9u_Sl9lYAS0Aje5N-9umYOAQfVIvhoWLfSNDIZlp8saL3uE9HiQXTImrfVlPvz9Tv0W_7RVxQrmqRi25J_tfdBKkZ21IfTyHtLz1567n72txP6Qz/s1600/IMG_0302.JPG" height="320" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gluing noodles on apples work. Next week we will paint these works.<br />
This allows the work to be done in more than one step but still follow<br />
the Montessori rule that art should be a shelf work.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MdHqLOklY7Bn2ktDKRetvox22MYWUsQvp6cKrRLKx0c-zJ68KlA_fvbWmN0cZJl4JQtoEn8fNPs5wV5bf2asuTI5z9z-meFHdgazEaYwx335oLetcrreL9Yjs9UPBla3j2hhKKQl-T4j/s1600/IMG_0322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MdHqLOklY7Bn2ktDKRetvox22MYWUsQvp6cKrRLKx0c-zJ68KlA_fvbWmN0cZJl4JQtoEn8fNPs5wV5bf2asuTI5z9z-meFHdgazEaYwx335oLetcrreL9Yjs9UPBla3j2hhKKQl-T4j/s1600/IMG_0322.JPG" height="280" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parts of the Plant Nomenclature Cards. This child completed this work<br />
beautifully and could even tell me every part of the plant and later the<br />
Fruit. He then made the booklets for each work.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLm06Aa8uQAD1IjDbqL8qfHVbz_Ot3RhfkIFJfihssTa0jdsL0Acplc-bJEk61luV6qN5K_aKZxSjnxcrR0ME8XUM_4eGVYnDJ11aakqvaQ_QeHjS0jxZRe3Zf29XpgLzFkkk-EoWRxz7n/s1600/IMG_1469_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLm06Aa8uQAD1IjDbqL8qfHVbz_Ot3RhfkIFJfihssTa0jdsL0Acplc-bJEk61luV6qN5K_aKZxSjnxcrR0ME8XUM_4eGVYnDJ11aakqvaQ_QeHjS0jxZRe3Zf29XpgLzFkkk-EoWRxz7n/s1600/IMG_1469_2.JPG" height="201" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow Rings. My children LOVE this work. It is actually<br />
Wine Glass Markers that I found at a kitchen store in Park City.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBv39ENZwJmRhVbVwlj8ZVzQRAi0gfqmL5ReQWkEok19ttfqZa9McxbceCYzoBjVdewQKDC9hLhV1R-A5meIJ4AD5lPuOQp4dqUUhkquxtGk3j9trYY-uc1mDfozOXDupH0GlykSXVks4p/s1600/IMG_1473_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBv39ENZwJmRhVbVwlj8ZVzQRAi0gfqmL5ReQWkEok19ttfqZa9McxbceCYzoBjVdewQKDC9hLhV1R-A5meIJ4AD5lPuOQp4dqUUhkquxtGk3j9trYY-uc1mDfozOXDupH0GlykSXVks4p/s1600/IMG_1473_2.jpg" height="273" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using Clay Lesson. You can see how the little one is using<br />
his "watching arms" during this presentation.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQD5BdT9kmJQicQGxG0uqEcfYv1M8DAossdrddeQ_SCAf4hkmRwVUZzGNZjTXl7IroTI3Nf2VCWk7xGx_yB-lxFG-UEQ-wujHXPqv5iaHta-pOXpJjwTwD5F2YnFcoFWjxoKSy5spnitY/s1600/IMG_1474_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQD5BdT9kmJQicQGxG0uqEcfYv1M8DAossdrddeQ_SCAf4hkmRwVUZzGNZjTXl7IroTI3Nf2VCWk7xGx_yB-lxFG-UEQ-wujHXPqv5iaHta-pOXpJjwTwD5F2YnFcoFWjxoKSy5spnitY/s1600/IMG_1474_2.jpg" height="253" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parts of the Snail Puzzle. We wouldn't usually have this work<br />
out right now, but this child found a snail in the school<br />
garden and was really interested so I pulled it out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOgobxuW1tcOIE7YeLCcMFcWWJsc9NL2iUoiQbBPvXLh6KYAeHAIcEkPNjw246b46A4AGY125PLUFzrsEoHGCQWSWDiDmjJWZzH4pA29Q8G5jz4FUnExKXAQLIsRs9ZxGt4yu3Tf7ghnG/s1600/IMG_1493_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOgobxuW1tcOIE7YeLCcMFcWWJsc9NL2iUoiQbBPvXLh6KYAeHAIcEkPNjw246b46A4AGY125PLUFzrsEoHGCQWSWDiDmjJWZzH4pA29Q8G5jz4FUnExKXAQLIsRs9ZxGt4yu3Tf7ghnG/s1600/IMG_1493_2.jpg" height="191" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weaving with ribbons</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cFfLwckVSonWzEMDjGuwinI999F8ZCMJ9tpdHC-Y99vUJuEMw10VfI3xFxD2O9mDZ7okbhMOm7t4pc6IJcyjt-KTHqaaPdjmcg0h_SAMHik3hurjG7htSk3wWXs0IJvUNyLrvMFdn9tc/s1600/IMG_1498_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cFfLwckVSonWzEMDjGuwinI999F8ZCMJ9tpdHC-Y99vUJuEMw10VfI3xFxD2O9mDZ7okbhMOm7t4pc6IJcyjt-KTHqaaPdjmcg0h_SAMHik3hurjG7htSk3wWXs0IJvUNyLrvMFdn9tc/s1600/IMG_1498_2.jpg" height="287" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parts of the Flower Puzzle</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXUJotxWZKwru8eAsi3Yhyphenhyphenn_PXOM2ArloPiix9ReKgPI-V2q5Z1tnV3ImUx4ZwfB8Zl4R_iwUjdjisn1If4sUBWutpdMaCYuwSVsU5iDqfUUaQC7mjH1L2qu8CfMvk2SBctosTKiWRx4k/s1600/IMG_3199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXUJotxWZKwru8eAsi3Yhyphenhyphenn_PXOM2ArloPiix9ReKgPI-V2q5Z1tnV3ImUx4ZwfB8Zl4R_iwUjdjisn1If4sUBWutpdMaCYuwSVsU5iDqfUUaQC7mjH1L2qu8CfMvk2SBctosTKiWRx4k/s1600/IMG_3199.jpg" height="320" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parts of the Fruit Nomenclature Cards and Magnetic Parts Puzzle<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RPNinspORajAZ-Uy4IRU-on5NW952hLBA0ObJXYcLqG9lLijd-EcFquSJe77hr6X1y050PN4PZpRwpgwsfYEECTl3QHK82gsVttIrsXedB8MuBzVNzqbO5keG147wzQogmcZCHQr7c9J/s1600/IMG_3206_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RPNinspORajAZ-Uy4IRU-on5NW952hLBA0ObJXYcLqG9lLijd-EcFquSJe77hr6X1y050PN4PZpRwpgwsfYEECTl3QHK82gsVttIrsXedB8MuBzVNzqbO5keG147wzQogmcZCHQr7c9J/s1600/IMG_3206_2.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Spooning Stars. This work is pretty challenging for this child. <br />
She has been with me since last year and has needed this long to<br />
be ready for this work.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_-kCX_L60KiZCMkkG8tcv7LedhitO8P9B9dkwS_MdLzybvt23ggmy0nXFG1sX0IA6gKuflZ2D_7QsvIC-zIEFqI52j8d7Yxd39attV4ofUJdE9vnWGHq6QXwqhKbRL4JTHEoCW0lVUhq/s1600/IMG_3207_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_-kCX_L60KiZCMkkG8tcv7LedhitO8P9B9dkwS_MdLzybvt23ggmy0nXFG1sX0IA6gKuflZ2D_7QsvIC-zIEFqI52j8d7Yxd39attV4ofUJdE9vnWGHq6QXwqhKbRL4JTHEoCW0lVUhq/s1600/IMG_3207_2.jpg" height="320" width="182" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandpaper Letters with Initial Sound Booklets.<br />
This child was successful at all the letters in the first <br />
set and was subsequently hiding them in the <br />
classroom to then find them again.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoODWnMjYWOwOgKQdg_u7dKGi7VyU9TQXYguopuaQ1-3JLInzgulhGlfI82tWEfdfwB6TtiMmbYSavRuAE7iphI6CHYm45dKjRfsLJw5BfBEUTNjV9BYTO_84AGL2w3J7pYBG_TxiwpF_/s1600/IMG_3228_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoODWnMjYWOwOgKQdg_u7dKGi7VyU9TQXYguopuaQ1-3JLInzgulhGlfI82tWEfdfwB6TtiMmbYSavRuAE7iphI6CHYm45dKjRfsLJw5BfBEUTNjV9BYTO_84AGL2w3J7pYBG_TxiwpF_/s1600/IMG_3228_2.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hand Transferring. I just have to say how much I love the <br />
elliptical shape of these wooden bowls. There are mung beans<br />
inside. They sound just like rain when they hit the<br />
wood. Many times the child will remark about this when<br />
they first have this lesson.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_CREvqnN4OTGb46LKihz28tR8Nn7LFDhlns04OLtMEznoKox3C5rbSMC-4JiXhN8AsjFAIKLBMNb2PolAP-6Hg56idEVNHKkCs6-i7WR6gJn8vsvA60SM6lmP8h3Y8NpAGvPoQJ_HFg-/s1600/IMG_3235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_CREvqnN4OTGb46LKihz28tR8Nn7LFDhlns04OLtMEznoKox3C5rbSMC-4JiXhN8AsjFAIKLBMNb2PolAP-6Hg56idEVNHKkCs6-i7WR6gJn8vsvA60SM6lmP8h3Y8NpAGvPoQJ_HFg-/s1600/IMG_3235.jpg" height="298" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Object to Object Sorting with two Space Toobs. Because I <br />
have so many boys I have geared some of the Pre-reading <br />
works to pull them in. We are also beginning the year by<br />
learning about our place in the universe.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLcVi0rneqVaJTywc0YRD_TGc0M5vd0aBHes2OoE0nGLnm2eO-WS9xgGDhU9PvF8K3BxU_S7-IRRlGpOEvXrWEXdIEZUzQD6Ahu3tGna3nQzOpslipImeEByHrO4zdub2_SM4wpakfY37/s1600/IMG_0287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLcVi0rneqVaJTywc0YRD_TGc0M5vd0aBHes2OoE0nGLnm2eO-WS9xgGDhU9PvF8K3BxU_S7-IRRlGpOEvXrWEXdIEZUzQD6Ahu3tGna3nQzOpslipImeEByHrO4zdub2_SM4wpakfY37/s1600/IMG_0287.JPG" height="262" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Farm Mat - a grammar work. I made this mat as well.</td></tr>
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Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-49807196374479937132014-09-13T20:40:00.002-06:002014-10-01T22:44:24.451-06:00Class ApronsI am a bargain hunter. This is definitely something very true about myself. I believe in quality and in spending good money where it really matters - on the materials. However, I have a hard time spending my own money or my classroom budget (small as it is) on something I can make for less.<br />
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I have been blessed with many talents that I find useful in the Montessori classroom. One of them is sewing. I was a professional seamstress in my younger married life. I used to give children and adults sewing lessons, sewed for the state prison, did alterations and tailoring, and did original work for hire including the occasional custom wedding dress. I got so tired of sewing! I felt that looking at any of my 5 my sewing machines might make me throw up. I put the bobbins and threads behind me and moved on to other forms of employment that could supplement our income, keep me at home and able to homeschool. It took many years before I had an itch to pull out the machine and create some halloween costumes for my own children again.</div>
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I am happy to say that my former love of sewing has returned now that it doesn't actually have to pay any bills.</div>
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This summer I have really wanted to make aprons for my class. I love the pattern of the ones from Montessori Services, but do not love that the wet aprons are not actually made of vinyl. I own some from a local shop that are vinyl but the bands are too long to fit around the child's waist, and the hole for the head is a little too small for my older children. SOLUTION? Make my own. I took the suggested measurements for a primary apron and checked them against the smallest and biggest of the children in my class. Once that was finished I created a pattern. I would really love to post the pattern, so if anyone knows how I could take something that I just drew up and get it onto the computer to share it would be FABULOUS!</div>
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Next I found an great deal at the fabric store on some vinyl. I always check in the clearance section for it. You can pay almost $20.00 a yard for vinyl, but I ended up only paying about $6 a yard plus a 25% teacher discount. I bought everything on the bolt and got the last 30 inches for 50% off. I figure it will get used one way or another. From the almost 4 yards that I purchased I was able to cut out 12 aprons. This vinyl is a midnight blue. This part is not important except that if you are going to have aprons mostly of one color, they ought be easily distinguishable from other aprons in the classroom. They will be used as the generic aprons for any works using water or food preparation in the class. They will also be the apron for painting and other art works. There are a few works that have a different colored apron. Namely the polishing works which have their own coordinating aprons.</div>
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Until I can get a pattern uploaded this picture can at least give some help with measurements. I took some width out of the shoulder area and rounded the corners. I like the look of the softer corners on these aprons.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZcDhWiOJUwVGQFoJHpHYH15-TiCi1JKjC28AMlnFO5KP0LhBOvZ7kgGtB8kGE9D3UTTx5RjpsFUZeStfMzzvegje_T-040g0zLQs0f5SN2P21QeVfTOHZUAJCri30Ly47XD2_ZGjbW7T/s1600/apron+measurements.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZcDhWiOJUwVGQFoJHpHYH15-TiCi1JKjC28AMlnFO5KP0LhBOvZ7kgGtB8kGE9D3UTTx5RjpsFUZeStfMzzvegje_T-040g0zLQs0f5SN2P21QeVfTOHZUAJCri30Ly47XD2_ZGjbW7T/s1600/apron+measurements.png" height="640" width="314" /></a></div>
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Once I finished cutting out the aprons I pinned them up with a navy blue, double folded bias tape. I purchased a couple spools of clear thread. I like clear thread for bias tapes because I can sew a lot of bias tape on things in different colors and I don't have to spend money on every color of thread that way.</div>
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Once they were pinned, I sewed them up and added the "ties". These aprons are an independent work for the children. They can put them on by themselves and fasten the "ties" in the front with velcro.</div>
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<strike>I will have to get a photo of a child in the class putting one of these on during the next week and post it.</strike></div>
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UPDATE :<br />
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This is a photo of one of the children in an apron<br />
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Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-42970834498699849572014-08-05T08:12:00.003-06:002014-09-20T12:29:24.396-06:00Cosmic Nesting BoxesSummertime is such a busy time for a Montessori teacher. Saturday has been spent getting some Cosmic Nesting Boxes ready for our Solar System Studies/Cosmic Education studies for this year.<br />
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A gorgeous set of <a href="http://wasecabiomes.org/products/cosmic-nesting-boxes">Cosmic Nesting Boxes</a> can be found here as well as the Cosmic Nesting Box Lesson as a free download. The child gains a greater understanding of where they belong in the universe. It can somehow be grounding for little children to have this information, and to use the boxes over and over again. I have seen the cosmic nesting boxes used as a reference when creating stories during writers workshop.<br />
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I have wanted this set for my classroom, but did not want to spend the $85 for them. Now that I have finished with this project I believe I love these boxes much more than I ever would the pre-made set.<br />
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I spent a long time during the school year looking at thrift stores for a set of nesting boxes but never could find a set. I ended up getting a cheap Melissa and Doug alphabet set for $10 on Amazon and spray painting them black. It took several coats to cover the previous images entirely. I also used the extra coats of paint since children will use them.<br />
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You can see my 10 year old's bike helmet in the background :)</div>
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Next I printed off images of the following to paint on the boxes:</div>
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<li>Galaxy - largest box</li>
<li>Solar System</li>
<li>Earth</li>
<li>North America (since that is where we live)</li>
<li>United States</li>
<li>Utah</li>
<li>West Valley City (since that is where our school is located)</li>
<li>Dancing Moose (since that is our school)</li>
<li>A Boy and a Girl</li>
<li>An Atom (to represent the energy in the child) - smallest box</li>
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I traced the outline of each image onto the respective box and filled in the lines with white paint to help the images show up better on the black background.</div>
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This image shows the galaxy already finished as well as the water for the earth filled in. The rest of the images are just filled in with white.<br />
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I choose to make the images the same colors as the Nienhuis maps. These are the same colors used in our classroom.<br />
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Once I was finished painting all the fronts of the boxes I let them dry for a day and then sprayed many, many coats of clear coat varnish on them. I really love them and I know that it may very well be because I did them myself. Even so, they are beautiful. I will place them in a lovely basket with an ecru cloth liner when it is time to put them out on the shelf.<br />
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I am certain that the children will really take to them. I am most interested in how long the children will be interested in choosing them from the shelf after our lesson and, subsequently how well they stand up to use during this year. I may find myself needing to make another set from sturdier material at the end of the year.<br />
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This project probably ran me around $20 with boxes, paint and varnish.Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-19216320209003881452013-11-03T22:03:00.002-07:002022-03-04T16:27:20.916-07:00Montessori Botany Primary Parts of Cards - Update!!!During my new training this summer I learned so much, and have had to adjust my thinking and approach in some ways as I have been stretched. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to become a better educator and guide for my children.<br />
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As a result of the training I have learned more about the Parts of Cards. My lovely and VERY knowledgable queen of a trainer, Teresa, spoke about why it is important for primary Montessori classes (3-6 years) to have the isolation of the difficulty in red. First, our eyes are drawn to red. This was, of course, not new information for me. But more importantly, when a child is making their own parts of booklets and they have to keep changing pencils to color, let's say, the horse's legs in dark brown, off white, and light brown for the hooves... the child is actually paying more attention to the COLORS instead of the part they are learning about. We also discussed which parts are appropriate to focus on for the primary class as opposed to the elementary class. They should be more simple. For example, when making Parts of Cards for the fish we will show all the fins together and call them just fins instead of separating them as the caudal fin, pelvic fin, pectoral fin and so forth. <br />
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The light bulb went off in my head, I understood it in my heart, and then I groaned within myself. I knew that all the parts of cards that I have been making and posting on this blog have been geared toward ELEMENTARY and not primary!! I also knew that I would need to remake my cards for the children's sake. It took me a couple of weeks to really get my soul prepared... and then I went to work.<br />
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part of the fruit of my efforts are in this post. I am actually excited now to make more. I have been wanting to make parts of cards for tools, the house, and other things like cars, planes and trains that some of my students are fascinated with.<br />
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You will note that Botany and Zoology cards have a colored line around them. I have considered this idea for a long time, but wasn't sure how I really felt about it. Now I am ready to roll with it. Another thing to note is that I have done these cards in D'nealian only. I will not lie that it is my preferred font for parts of and nomenclature cards and I am not ready to do the print font yet.<br />
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This is a living and changing experience for me and it follows as the night the day that my blog will also change.<br />
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<b><u>Botany Parts of Cards</u></b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd1QtJmGihma2P6o9lYjawC83IshiXv0r8iz50TQZj8GhD8w3PAjjpUSxk1j0zad8fL-JSDgMWfPa23p__zK3POjOR1IUQ7ATh23LZQEIlvYMhjKs2DiTNIsLb2PwausQbqHRvopuXazC9/s1600/Parts+of+the+Plant.png" width="168" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Primary Parts of the Plant Cards - red isolation<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">click on picture to link to file</span></a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgh_ReDDxSDwaCI214oDThNbToYnppo91p1_Vbo2gYZhC7CijvzpVR7sbfcfnw0-SXJQjq8n3rintDWoAj7Sdg8RiS3IWrUOLH87TE1_HtK0smxlZg1vZObVrat_8L9pG2ccQ6ES4O4i8N/s200/primary+parts+of+tree.png" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Primary Parts of the Tree Cards - red isolation<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">click on picture to link to file</span></a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7m2ZEzvcdTEHryANfkqu8sxjgcXGLHkW78FTsssxxrR31hXnGBfwFKpeBeJ5YqHY15a_MkW3QgpWO4xLuhXeOpXCx-Hj56YRbsVHtlxvtjagPiGWH8au3eCWBK52Vbd08rVm2DZwVmV_/s200/primary+parts+of+leaf.png" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Primary Parts of the Leaf Cards - red isolation<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">click on picture to link to file</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6HN3sDaQqip1kZB6AZghsYmNLCt-ht0eidVuwkyl4HP25AiHJNPiyna4xIghWj5g8tssDu8yOZmBGxoR3YNKTi4lkvDN8tuGqS78ArO7NVIA8TjQxyrBJ3x3mFbatKcqd0d6NiIqDDni/s200/Primary+parts+of+flower.png" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Primary Parts of the Flower Cards - red isolation<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">click on picture to link to file</span></a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TQozlG-WtXBdUXyXiiB61Y4nGeQ5ml6Zx_5gHRIxqtNNVCqnH0FNXRQMTKWOpGafucZDbQdU4e6tS4pAX4yz5wsMLHBxD-duBMphW3nL8i7lX7HDXvBZ8txXcaoZlMdVkcS-78bqCRzQ/s200/Primary+parts+of+fruit.png" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Primary Parts of the Fruit Cards - red isolation<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">click on picture to link to file</span></a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwbDE8aJYfmfcEjN6kDohUhd0268RE8rRpvWPeCmyRS18ecWldiei0mvajPfujXruK8D9uC30Do8mpAbyOKlRv3AWZ24sgIOWK6LstWSH4W5Eoxikhji7ZzBL2B86Ewu1api-8AvPtFuu/s200/Primary+parts+of+seed.png" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Primary Parts of the Seed Cards - red isolation<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">click on picture to link to file</span></a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhaMhmam83JLen7jW8ogjwI_4FHfjS_JWrCvPplj41TUilgWlRJOkDDPia5jqy9dsnj7lZhjKGbfTt53p71gTIdl-4BQ073sIBWO7yJY3Q5CzdUyBHTCQsuFSnMrX-tAIqQJ4_FJ-ASzWy/s1600/Parts+of+the+Root.png" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Primary Parts of the Root Cards - red isolation<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">click on picture to link to file</span></a></td></tr>
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Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-9373733672438363912013-08-12T23:34:00.002-06:002022-03-04T16:26:07.595-07:00Parts of the World Coloring SheetFor a long time I have felt frustrated about how much it costs to be a Montessori teacher. Some of us are very lucky and have schools that cover our costs, while others of us bear much of the expense of teaching. I think that is the real reason that I have this blog and do what I do. <br />
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There is a principle involved here that I have never been able to think or learn away. It is this... Maria began her work with the poorest in her country. These children had not had much experience with beauty, grace, or loveliness in their lives. They were poised to become a miracle in the eyes of the world BECAUSE of what they had lacked. So many of us teach the children of well-to-do families, and we love what we do, but it is, in my experience, the children of those who struggle financially that dive into the works with abandon, who really have an inner appreciation and love for the beauty on our shelves and in our environments.<br />
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The reason for bringing it up at all is that I love what I do and want to serve children globally, if possible. If it is my goal to lift up and free the potential of the disadvantaged child, I need a better way to do it. If one has to outlay so much money just to get the printed materials downloaded, before printing costs, what are they not able to provide in the classroom. This is an ethical question for me and prompts me to action since I have it within my power to change this situation.<br />
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My blog doesn't have a huge following, but I get emails and comments every week, at least, telling me how much it means to someone in a developing country, or a small school or homeschool on a tight budget to have access to these files for free. I am sure some Montessori minds out there dislike that there is not a tighter control on what people have access to, and may frown on my blog. I would simply ask if they really feel they are watching out for the needs and interests of the children of our planet.<br />
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--I actually have a reason for this post besides getting my thoughts down. I can not find a nice and free Parts of the World Coloring Sheet. I was sitting through my Geography part of the course this summer, saw what we were given to use as our masters and knew that I could make one in just about 1 hour that I would love to have in my geography area. The other master would have, and has worked for others, just fine, but I really like clean lines. The new one I have made is beautiful to me. I believe it will be enticing to the children.<br />
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This coloring sheet is done after the children have had work with the <a href="http://www.montessoriequipment.com/Puzzle-Map-of-World-Parts-p/g.501.1.htm">Parts of the World Puzzle Map</a> for a while. This one is unlabeled so it can be used for oceans as well as continents.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XLBwyjsi8W3Ke2-81d7PVexEjv1f5RaJAZKjGqGLYHpXhvkIOJjZ4oPhneIzA9T4LrfzPbmmWwXd2SDlEvJwmmEIe69zWX-s-4pUfG2DghzYeive4Ifva6r5DHtAwrbbrN1VWWFs3y71/s320/Parts+of+the+world.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.foresightmontessori.com/helpful-garden-redirect" target="_blank">Parts of the World Coloring Sheet<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">click on picture to link to file</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2213189581421701051.post-2887604004680195712013-07-27T07:27:00.002-06:002013-07-27T07:30:26.285-06:00Where have you been???I have taken a break from blogging for a few months while I have been riding the wave of change in my life. I have changed jobs and have moved to The Dancing Moose Montessori School in Salt Lake City. I am excited by this new location and the chance to work in an environment that is much more conducive to an authentic approach to Montessori. This will also give me the chance to create a blog where you can see more of what happens in my classroom. With the change of employment comes a change in location. I am busily moving from one house to another. My living room is littered with school materials (waiting to go into storage space at the school and on the shelves) and moving boxes.<br />
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I have also undertaken a <a href="http://www.mepiforum.org/index.html">MEPI</a> (Montessori Education Programs International) Early Childhood certification program this summer through <a href="http://www.igs-montessori.net/Pages/default.aspx">IGS</a> (Institute for Guided Studies). This course is <a href="http://www.macte.org/">MACTE </a>(Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education) certified. MACTE is the international standard setting and accrediting body for Montessori teacher education. This training has and is changing my life as a teacher. I have several times during the course said, "I feel like I need to erase my blog and just start over." While I will not be starting over, I will be implementing changes immediately. There will be posts - especially in the language area - that I WILL erase completely. I am sorry to anyone who has printed my blue and green reading... they will be changing. I have been, for some time, troubled about finishing my green reading work. I understand the feeling of uneasiness now and know exactly how to proceed. So everyone who has been waiting so patiently for more green reading, you will instead get a COMPLETE reading program beginning with Readiness Activities leading all the way through Green Reading and Purple Reading (sight words).<br />
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I look forward to the future and all it holds. Thank you for all your support, your comments, and your love.<br />
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Cathie<br />
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<br />Cathie Mathewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305526981246079631noreply@blogger.com12