Summer Fun

Summer Fun & Freedom-
brought to you by Walking the Line, Animals at the Zoo, Montessori Sandbox, Camper's Delight, and Your Questions Answered.
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It's soon approaching Independence Day. Dr. Montessori was a great believer in freedom and independence for children to become good and productive people. Regardless of where a child is born, each child deserves the best environment that society and the world can offer. This hope for the world was her faith in the goodness of each child. This hope would be manifest in each generation in that we would become more thoughtful, loving and kind to each new generation of children. Read more in Montessori's "Have Faith in the Child"

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Summer is here. I love summer because it is a great time to do outdoor activities such as sand and water play, painting, chalk drawing on the sidewalks, and just enjoying the sounds and wonders of nature.

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This has Geography/Culture Scope and Sequence spans the preschool years through high school.

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Camper's delight-This is great outdoor cooking on a hot summer day.

My kids loved to cook this meal for themselves.

You'll need:
Pineapple chunks
Green pepper-cut in large pieces
Green onions
Zucchini-cut in circles
Cubed tofu seasoned with soy sauce or chicken or turkey hotdogs
Foil
Brush and oil
Salt, pepper-onion, and garlic salt

Let your child gently wash and dry the vegetables with you.
Your child can easily cut the tofu or a hot dog with a serrated butter knife. More advanced prep chiefs can cut the zucchini. Give your child an 8 to 10 inch piece of aluminum foil. With a pastry brush and a small dish of oil, let your child lightly oil the tin foil. On half the foil, let your child put on the vegetables, tofu, meat, and lightly season with salt, pepper, and any other seasonings.
Fold over the top and crimp the edges.
The adult part-
Put on a campfire grill or a barbecue grill on high. Let it cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning the foil packet so it doesn't burn. You can serve this with rice or bread.

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Your Questions Answered

Question:
"What is deviated child and
normalized child?"

A deviant child thinks outside of the norms of society. They have a different way seeing the world. Montessori's inclusive environment helps a child like this to normalize. The community in a Montessori classroom helps a deviant child adjust to his or her world through positive peer pressure. This is especially true in children over the age of 6. Here are some qualities of a normalized child-

A peaceful and joyful personality.
A normalized child is obedient.
Quite and thoughtful.
Loves others and animals.
Long attention span to finish and do work.
Orderly and puts away projects.
Helps take care of environment, plants, animals, and other students.
Can work in groups with other children.
Is polite with good manners.
Has inner discipline.
Most of all he or she has a quiet self-love and self-esteem.

Montessorians usually believe children who are deviant take a little longer to adjust to society. They are just unique children who may for awhile exist outside of the norms compared to other children. Because the Montessori classroom is so nurturing, these children usually normalize.

Question:
"The senses are points of contact with the
environment" How does activity with the sensorial material encourages observation and perception of the environment. Can you please help me how to answer this question?"

Answer:
Babies and toddlers have innumerable impressions of their environment, including language. Sensorial education refines these impressions into concrete representations. One of the first senses defined is touch. Touch is probably the basis for all future learning. For a young child, and even a baby, it's not real unless you can touch it.

For example, the natural or pink tower helps show dimensions, shapes, sizes, and gradation. This is first done by touch. After the exercise is mastered you introduce the names, big and small, short and tall, heavy, light, and so on. This helps the child understand language expressions in a concrete way.

The sensorial activities refine the senses, and narrows the use of the senses with the material. For example, the sound boxes are helpful in developing the sense of hearing. The rough and smooth boards isolate the sense of touch. With all the sensorial exercises, vocabulary is introduced after the exercise is complete. Vocabulary for the Sound boxes-loud, soft, louder, loudest, etc. Rough and Smooth board- rough, smooth, rougher, smoother, roughest, smoothest help refine the abstraction of gradation.

All of these exercises are helpful with math and reading readiness. Since most of the towers and cylinders are degrees of 10; they introduce the concept of counting, less and more, and big and small. The vocabulary is also helpful for reading readiness.

The refinement of the senses helps later with number and letter recognition in that a child can see differences in objects, and eventually symbols. This key of analyzing the sensorial material helps the child observe the environment to classify it for the sensorial mind of a preschool child. Montessori knew that young children are kinetic learners, and that they learn by doing and using their senses. With this knowledge children can understand their environment.

Here is a link that may help

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Happy Independence Day!

Montessori Mom

Summer Fun

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