Schedule of Activities

Hi! I wanted to provide you an update, and a peek into some of the materials I've been making.  I also wanted to provide a background on the education philosophies and teaching methods of Montessori, and how that will transcribe into the camp.

Montessori is a method of education started by Italian physician Maria Montessori in the early 1900s. (She is often considered the first occupational therapist because of the techniques and manipulatives that she created are still in use today). Entering its 100th anniversary, Montessori schools are found through-out the world for grades infancy through high school. Going beyond a curriculum, I classify it as a holistic learning style.  It first provides a carefully prepared environment where children can move about freely choosing their work, or better known as "following the child".  It then goes beyond the core study subjects incorporating the refinement of the care of self and environment, and sensory learning.  The first on that list is the respect for the child as his/her own person.  Deb from Living Montessori Now explains it best as she expresses "that a teacher in a Montessori class acts as a source of guidance and gentle direction. Whether the child is ready to learn how to tie shoes, how to differentiate shades of color, how to read, or how to understand the decimal system, the child determines the major educational direction. While the children develop inner direction and discipline, the teacher provides freedom within limits."

I hope this provides a very very simple explanation of the philsophies and practices of the Montessori education.  For our summer activities, we’ll be focusing on the areas of Sensory, Practical Life, Botany, Zoology, and Human Science. I’ve provided a list of what will be available in our environment for their study and exploration below.  These are including the thematic units that we’ll do as a group, but otherwise they’ll have the freedom to explore on their own as their own intelligence and desires guide them. 

Practical Life (Art, Care of Self, Care of Environment): 

Art 

•   Clay

•   Cutting 

•   Pencil colors 

•   Free drawing

Control of Movement (refinement of extremities): 

•   Wet Pour (whole hand grasp)  

•   Transfer (three finger grasp) 

•   Hand-washing 

•   Dressing- hooks, buttons, velcro, snap 

•   Polishing- shoes, metal, wood  

•   Wrist Movement- nuts and bolts, tearing paper, cutting paper, spreading butter, cutting banana, hammering   

•   Bread making 

Care of Environment: 

•   Grace and Courtesy- treating one another with respect through positive reinforcement. Help promote peace through a peace table 

•   Pushing in a chair 

•   How to politely interrupt 

•   How to roll and unroll a mat 

•   How to work with and alongside one another 

Sensorial (Learning through the senses in isolation) (Thematic Unit of 5 senses)

• Object	Direct Aim	Indirect Aim
  Cylinder Blocks	Discrimination of thickness, height.	Pre math; writing
  Pink Tower	Visual discrimination of dimension	Pre math; decimal system
  The Brown Stair	Visual discrimination	Prep math; decimal
  Red Rods	Discrimination of length	Prep math; metric decimal system
  Colored Cylinders	Visual disharmony	Prep math
  Binomial Cube	Discrimination of form; construction of a cube	Prep for algebra
  Constructive Triangles	Discrimination of form and new construction	Prep for geometry
  Color Box 1	Discrimination of color- primary	Intro to primary colors
  Color Box 2	Discrimination of color- secondary	Intro to secondary colors
  Color Box 3	Discrimination of color- grading	Gradation of shades
  Geometric Solids	Visual and tactile discrimination of solid forms	Prep for geometry
  Rough and Smooth Boards	Discrimination of texture	Prep for writing
  Thermic Bottles	Discrimination of heat	Consciousness of temperature in environment
  Sound Cylinders	Auditory discrimination of sound	Prep for music
  Tasting Bottles	Discrimination of taste	Making the child conscious of 4 basic  tastes
  Smelling Bottles	Discrimination of Smell	Conscious of different smells

Botany

•   Sequence of Seeds 

•   Leaf  Puzzle 

•   Tree Puzzle 

•   Flower Puzzle 

•   Leaf Insets (matching a puzzle to a leaf in the environment) 

•   Magnifying board study   

•   Care of live plants 

Zoology 

Life cycle of a butterfly (thematic unit) 

•          stamping 

•          art creating 

•          live releasing of butterflies 

Life cycle of a frog 

•          habitat study 

•          art study  

Outside will be free play, but we will have a water wall, garden caring, Geometric shape bean bag toss, ring toss, and a  

glow in the dark color sensory room if they wish to explore.