The Montessori sound cylinders are a sensorial material in the casa classroom. The cylinders come in a set of 2 boxes containing 6 colour-coded cylinders, each containing different materials that make different sounds. The child matches each cylinder with its corresponding sound partner by only using their auditory sense. This activity teaches the child to be able to distinguish between small differences in sound, developing their auditory sense....
Our grade 3 and 5 students have been busy this week doing our annual standardized testing. This language and math test, done over the course of five days, is a valuable test taking opportunity for the children and a helpful assessment tool for both teachers and parents to measure their math and language skills against other children their age across Canada....
Plant care is an essential practical life activity in the Montessori classroom. The purpose of this exercise is to encourage the child’s interest in caring for their environment, to help them learn about what plants need in order to grow and thrive and to develop empathy and compassion as they gently care for a delicate living plant....
Our annual Science Fair was a huge success and enjoyed by all our students, parents and teachers. Congrats to our upper elementary students for such well researched and beautifully presented projects!...
We had so much fun today on Animal Visit Day! It was enchanting to see how engaged and enthusiastic the children were as they admired and learned about the animals. Each class had an animal spend the day in their room and everyone had a visit with all the guest pets. Thank you to our families who volunteered their animals!...
The Metal Insets are part of the Montessori language curriculum. They are a delightful learning tool used to prepare children for handwriting, as this is the first material they will work with that has them use pencils to place controlled marks on paper.
Working with the Metal Insets helps children to develop their pencil grip, refine their fine motor skills and learn how to draw within an outline. They also indirectly allow children to practice concentration and order as they work with, and master, the material....
In Montessori education, historical knowledge is organized in chronological order and launched through impressionist stories and charts. Lower elementary students first learn about and explore the Timeline of Life (Paleozoic era, Mesozoic era and Cenozoic era) accompanied by the Great Lessons and several experiments.
Later, the upper elementary children explore the Timeline of Hominids (seen here) that begins more than 3 million years ago, is divided into 3 Epochs (Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic) and shows a map of human migration. It features key events, such as the use of fire and development of hand tools, correlated with physiological developments in the history of humans.
Students are fascinated by the Montessori timelines that are rich with key elements, visuals and research cards with just enough information to pique their interest. When a student asks a question about something on a timeline, this becomes a springboard for further research....
Our gym classes were thrilled today about our new basketball nets! The height of them can be adjusted for all our students from casa to upper elementary. Woohoo!...
Our grade 3-6 students had a blast on the slopes! Aside from being fun, our ski days are an opportunity for many to try skiing for the first time and feel a great sense of accomplishment. For others who ski regularly, it’s an opportunity to lead, share their skills and shine....
Here you see a casa child transferring water using a dropper. This fun practical life activity strengthens the pincer grip and helps with hand-eye coordination, but it also develops concentration. Notice how focused and captured by the task the child is despite all that is going on around them!...
One of the many benefits of mixed age groupings in the Montessori classroom is that the older children have many opportunities to assist the younger children with various tasks, such as dressing. Helping their classmates teaches them to be sensitive to the needs of others, builds confidence, develops their mastery of a skill and gives them a stronger sense of self-worth and purpose....