Little Sprouts Montessori

Knobbed Cylinders- to teach children to visually discriminate between dimensions. It also indirectly prepares children for writing, as they begin coordinating their fingers in a pincer grip. The moveable Alphabet is a key part of the Montessori language curriculum. It teaches children to from words and it has endless learning extensions that educators can build upon to challenge students increasing language competency. Montessori learning environments take a unique approach to teaching maths. The carefully designed math materials take an abstract concept, such as length, and make it into concrete materials that children can hold in their hands. The number rods help the child begin to understand the numbers 1- 10

Some of the fun things we have been doing.

Celebrating the Queens jubilee

Celebrating St Patrick’s day.

We had so much fun today celebrating world book day.

Lots of people ask me why I have mixed age groups in my classroom so when I saw an older child helping a younger child learn how to draw hearts I had to post this and this was exactly what Montessori is all about.

Dr. Montessori recognized very early on that the mixed-age classroom had a number of benefits and applied this information to her method moving forward. She observed that children learn in different ways and that a mixed-age grouping was a critical component in this learning.

She noted that children learn through:

Observation: Younger children learn by watching older children as well as adults. In a mixed-age classroom, older children who are completing challenging lessons are an example to the younger children; they show what is possible.
Practice: In a mixed-age classroom, children stay with the same teachers for three years, giving them plenty of time to repeat lessons, practice skills, and advance at their own pace; they are not rushed.
Teaching: Older children are viewed as role models in the Montessori classroom. They teach by example and it is not uncommon to see a five or six-year-old sitting with a three-year-old and giving them a lesson! In teaching something to a younger child, an older student deepens their own understanding of the lesson. In teaching, we learn.

As children stay in the same classrooms with the same teachers, there is minimal change from year to year. Older students age out of the program and new ones are introduced, but the continuity of the classroom more or less remains the same.

This consistency builds confidence. Older children become leaders and step into their role with delight! They are finally the big kids! For children who might be the youngest sibling at home, you can imagine how exciting it feels to be seen as a leader in your classroom “family”.

The final year of this three-year-cycle is typically a child’s kindergarten year. Rather than starting at a new school with new teachers and a whole new set of expectations, they enter their kindergarten year with confidence; excited for what lies ahead!

Benefits of Mixed-Age Classrooms: Repetition and Advancement

For a Montessori child who is four years old and still working on learning their sounds, a mixed-age classroom offers plenty of opportunity to practice. They are not rushed to meet an invisible benchmark before the end of the year and they are not sent off to a new classroom or a new school. They have the benefit of added time and can work and learn at their own pace.

Their teacher works with them at the level they need and provides opportunities for that child to work with older students AND younger students to help that four-year old succeed. As time moves on, he or she will have the chance to observe children writing and reading and will want to work on mastering their sounds, so that they, too, can write and read! They will see new classmates who are just beginning to learn their sounds and will sit with them and do the sandpaper letters all over again, because this time they are the teacher.

In a mixed-age classroom, children can work at their own pace in a natural way. Whether a child is more advanced or needs additional time, the Montessori classroom is designed to meet them wherever they are.

An older child helps a young friend learn how to draw hearts.

We had so much fun this week celebrating Chinese New Year.

We had so much fun today at little sprouts on a rainy day 😀

We had a fun first week back 😀

So happy to see my little Sprouts back at school today 😀

Some of the activities we got up to for our last week of school.

Using Christmas stencils 🎄

It’s beginning to look allot like Christmas