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Happy Holidays!

With winter break right around the corner, students have been excited for holiday celebrations. We've been talking about different holiday traditions and what each student celebrates in their home.

To support the season of giving, students and their families have been participating in our annual food drive. This year we are donating non-perishable food items to the Operation Phantom Warrior Emergency Food Pantry. 

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Montessori Materials in the Classroom

Geography Maps

Montessori in a Minute: Map Puzzles

Hudson Montessori School

What Makes Montessori Puzzle Maps So Unique?

Creating globally minded citizens is a pillar of Montessori education. Students are taught that all things are interconnected and nothing is studied in isolation, including our world. Students begin learning about countries and cultures around the globe as early as age 2!

In order for children to truly understand other countries, they must first learn to identify them. Three types of maps are introduced to children: the World Map, Continents Maps, and the student’s Country Map.

The colors are standard across all Montessori Maps: North America is always orange, South America is always pink, and so on. This continent color association stays consistent throughout their early Montessori education.

The most important thing about these puzzles is that all pieces are proportional. Students are able to feel each country or state’s size in relation to each other. They can see how much larger Asia is than Europe. They can hold a proportionally smaller country like Belize in one hand and hold Canada in the other before placing them on the same map.

The Value of Montessori Puzzle Maps.

Maps are used in every type of classroom to help students memorize continents and countries, but memorization is only one benefit. Montessori students use these maps to gain a deeper, more rich understanding of how countries fit together and their relative sizes. They feel the grooves and edges of each border and must pay attention to how it fits.

Even before they can write, their hand muscles are strengthened through grasping the small map piece pegs. Students eventually trace the map pieces on paper, building their dexterity and writing skills.

The labeling process begins after the children clearly understand each map—usually by Kindergarten and Lower Elementary. Using a control map, students label each country with their flag, cities, capitals, languages spoken, major landmarks, and more. With this geography knowledge base, students can better understand cultural studies, biology, geology, history, and even music!

Adapted from Hudson Montessori School: Montessori in a Minute Series

4 Mindsets to Adopt for Meaningful Holidays with Your Preschooler

December 19, 2019

Montessori Center School

Did you know that your child’s holiday wish is pretty much the same as yours? Your wish for the holidays with your preschooler is to have a joyous celebration with the people who matter most to you. Your child’s greatest desire is, and always has been, to belong.

Belonging means feeling like a valued contributor. It means spending time with you, partaking in the customs and traditions that your family finds meaningful. Those traditions, in turn, embody the values you want to pass on to your child.

1. Less Is More

A key principle in our Montessori Center School environments is that “less is more.” Maria Montessori discovered that young children responded best when she offered them fewer materials. Now researchers are rediscovering that too many toys can actually hinder a child’s ability to play.

“Less is more” can make the holidays with preschoolers more enjoyable and less overwhelming for family members of all ages. Focus on quality, not quantity, with gifts designed to engage your child actively. Consider practical life objects your child can use for care of self and environment, or materials for artistic, musical, or dramatic expression.

Gifts of artistic or musical items help keep the focus on meaningful activities for your child.

If you already have too much, perhaps donate some unused items. Involve your child in the spirit of giving to someone who has less. Create a family holiday tradition of contributing time to your community—maybe by picking up litter in the park or taking a donation to the local food bank.

2. Keep It Simple

Holidays with young children can become stressful because of upset routines. A “keep it simple” mindset helps you set realistic expectations. Know and respect your child’s limits. Try not to plan more than one challenging activity—a long shopping trip or a formal dinner—per day.

With school not in session, it’s easy to get lax about bedtimes. But preschool-age children are in a sensitive period for order, so they thrive on structure. It’s best for your child if you don’t neglect the usual rhythms and rituals. Build in time every day for big physical activities and outdoor play. Your reward will be a well-rested, cheerful child.

3. Let Me Help!

Your child’s strong desire to belong makes her want to participate in everything you do. With a Montessori mindset, you can include her in activities both routine and special:

• Dusting shelves and tabletops, just like she does at Montessori Center School
• Holding down the wrapping paper on a gift while you apply the tape
• Helping choose and pack her own things for a holiday trip

Look for opportunities throughout the holidays with your preschooler for teaching, learning, and connecting in everything you do together:

Call attention to the letters on the flour bag when you’re baking cookies. Sound out some words together.

Point out the fractions on the measuring cup. Let your child internalize what half and a quarter really look and feel like.

Holiday baking is a wonderful way to include your preschooler in special holiday activities

4. Stop and Smell …

… and touch and taste and talk! You know your child is a sensory explorer. Respond with your own Montessori mindset of exploration. Notice the rich aromas, sounds, and textures that abound during the holidays with your preschooler. Stop and smell the nutmeg and cinnamon as you assemble a dessert together. Feel the difference between the long, soft pine needles and the short, stiff ones.

Talk with your child about these sensory explorations. Give her the words to describe what she is experiencing. And tell the stories behind the season’s special objects and foods. What do these treasured artifacts, rituals, and traditions mean to your family?

The Gift of Your Presence

As you celebrate the holidays with your preschooler, remember that what your child wants most is simply to be with you. Give the gift of your presence and accept the precious gift that only your young child can give you—a daily renewal of your sense of wonder.

Adapted from Montessori Center School

Holiday Activities

Here are a few Montessori inspired activites from Milton Montessori School that you can do with your child this holiday season!

1. Gingerbread House: This hands-on activity is sure to keep your little ones entertained. You can start by either baking the separate parts of a gingerbread house or buying a gingerbread house kit. Assist your children as they put the house together and decorate the house with different candies. Go over the different textures and colors of the candy as they stick it on to their house. You can even flavor the icing in different flavors and they can guess which flavor is associated with which candy.
2. Cinnamon-Applesauce Ornaments: Start with ¾ cup of Applesauce and 4oz of cinnamon. Have your children mix the ingredients together in a bowl then roll out the dough. Have several different shape holiday ornaments available and let your children choose which to use. After they cut out all of the ornaments, make a small hole at the top of the ornament. Bake at 200 degrees for 2 ½ hours, then string a ribbon through the hole and hang on your tree.
3. Reindeer Counting Game: Start with 10 pieces of paper and number them 1-10 (if your children are old enough, have them write out the numbers 1-10 for practice). Then let your children lay out the number of reindeer that is represented in each piece of paper. This is a fun counting game that keeps children engaged while learning to count and recognize different numbers.
4. Cinnamon Scented Gingerbread Man: Start with sandpaper, pompoms, and a cinnamon stick. Start by cutting out the shape of a gingerbread man out of the sand paper. Let your children feel the rough texture of the sandpaper and compare it to the soft pompoms and cinnamon stick. Then let them scratch the sandpaper with the cinnamon stick – this will make the sandpaper cinnamon scented. After they are done, they can glue on the pompoms to make a face and buttons on the gingerbread man’s shirt. This sensory activity is fun and will leave your house smelling great!
5. Sensory Sorting: Start by choosing three flavors (we suggest peppermint, cinnamon, and chocolate) and pick 4 items for each flavor and put them in a basket together. Have your children sort the items by smell, taste, touch, and look. This will out their senses to the test all while having fun!

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