Pyjama Day

Last week at the Waverley Montessori Preschool we had pyjama day! It was a fun day for the children at the preschool to come to school in their favourite pyjamas and relax with the teachers. Children brought along their favourite soft toy and blanket and we all enjoyed watching one of my favourite movies – Frozen!

Its safe to say that nearly all the kids knew the words to the songs and sang along. It was A LOT of fun!! We all had so much fun (and I’m talking about us teachers!). The children were so excited to do something out of the ordinary like this and it was a nice little break from our usual activities at the preschool. The children work so hard that it is good to give them a fun filled day like this once in a while. I hope we can do it again soon!

If you have any ideas for days like this, we would love to hear it in the comments below!

Mrs. Zarine

Mothers Day

 

We celebrated a lovely Mothers Day at the Waverley Montessori Preschool last week. Everyone shared a lovely lunch and the children gave their mothers a special little gift they made themselves. Afterwards the children were able to show their mothers their favourite activities in the classroom. Thank you to all the mothers who were able to join us on the very special day which celebrates all that mothers do for their kids!

Enjoy the photos!

Mrs. Zarine

Sensorial

Sensorial activities are fundamental to the Montessori method as Maria Montessori believed everything came through the senses. At the Waverley Montessori Preschool develop children’s sensorial skills by introducing them to activities from early on that will help them be logical, aware and perceptive. These activities encourage children to identify patterns, discrimination and order.

The pink tower (often the children’s favourite activity) develop children’s discrimination of sizes. The cubes decrease in size by one centimetre and children build a tower from largest to smallest. The knobless cylinders (green cylinders above) take this on step further and refine their discrimination skills. This activity also targets fine motor skills  and concentration. The rod rods also refines children’s discrimination skills as children order the rods from longest to shortest (length). The colour box encourages children to identify colours and grade colours from darkest to lightest.

Mathematics

Mathematics is introduced to each child at the Waverley Montessori Preschool from early on. It is important that children understand the concept of the numbers to ten – this is the foundation of mathematics in Montessori. We have a range of Montessori equipment and the children understand that each number represents a certain quantity. The equipment helps children visualise the concepts concretely rather than working with abstract ideas.

The rods and numeral cards activity assist children in associating quantities with the number symbol. The cards and counters activity above (green dots) also introduce the children to the concept of odd and even numbers – the odd numbers being the ones that have a dot without a partner. The spindle boxes introduce children to the concept of zero and loose units making up a number quantity.

Once the children master their counting and understanding of the numbers to ten, they are introduced to more complex concepts such as the decimal system and the teens and tens.

 

Veggie Patch

At the Waverley Montessori Preschool, we are introducing the children to sustainability by growing a little vegetable patch in our backyard.

After one false start with the veggie path after the possums or birds ate all our seedlings, we were off to a good start. The children have planted a range of vegetables including lettuce, spinach, beetroot and strawberries. We also planted a herb patch which consists of coriander, basil, parsley and lemongrass.

While planting the seedlings we explained to the children the health benefits of eating our vegetables and how herbs can help make our food taste yummier.

And the second time around, we made sure to place a net around the patch so that no cheeky animals could find their way in!

Until next time,

Mrs. Zarine

 

Welcome to 2016

Welcome to all the new children at the Waverley Montessori Preschool. We are happy to say that everyone has settled really well into the classroom. And of course, welcome back to all the older children as well who have had a good break over christmas and have now advanced to challenging Montessori activities.

At the Waverley Montessori Preschool we have the full range of Montessori work from sensorial to language and mathematics.  New children are introduced to the basic work which they focus on mastering prior to being introduced to advanced tasks.

The theme for the classroom this year is the ‘States of Australia’ and this term we are focusing on Victoria. For show and tell everyday we ask children to bring something about Victoria. Children are eagerly bringing photos and souvenirs about Victoria and it is so lovely to watch their enthusiasm. We also discuss the different virtues during the term and our virtue for this week is respect. It is amazing how children grasps the concept and practice it in the classroom. We encourage parents to continue this discussion about respect and the different virtues at home.

I am really looking forward to this year with this lovely group of children. They have settled in the classroom and into the routine well, and are so interested in learning!

Fathers Day Photos

Book Week

 

Last week at the Waverley Montessori Preschool, we had Book Week. We encouraged children to bring in a copy of their favourite book. We got a range of different books from Disney classics to Dr Seuss. On Thursday, we had dress up day where children were asked to dress up as their favourite book character. This was a fun day! Everyone put in so much effort and looks amazing. We had a Cinderella, Woody, Tigger, Ironman, Mickey Mouse and even a Lorax! We even had a Noddy amongst the children which was my children’s favourite books growing up.

Thank you to all the children and parents for their effort. These days are truly memorable and fun for the children.

Enjoy the photos,

Mrs. Zarine

I can do it myself…

Our Montessorians have well and truly settled into the year as we are now halfway through 2015. Children are now working more and more independently as they choose the work from the shelves and work on it on their mats. Older children in the classroom also enjoy showing the younger children how to work on material and assist if they are experiencing any difficulty.

One of my favourite things as a Montessori teacher is to watch children interact socially. I love it when I can take the back seat and observe the children assisting each other without my interference. This not only develops their social skills but also builds their confidence and independence.

We have a nurturing environment at the Waverley Montessori Preschool so children never feel intimidated or unsure about approaching the teachers if they need any help with their work. This enables us the adopt Maria Montessori’s principle of “Help Me to Help Myself”. Children are encouraged to to approach new work if they are interested or move onto more challenging work once they show their readiness.

We are excited to see what the second half of the year holds and how much more our little Montessorians will grow in preparation for next year at the Preschool or Primary School.

Mrs. Zarine

The Montessori Method

The Montessorians at the Waverley Montessori Preschool have been working away this year, mastering the Montessori material in the classroom. As many of you know the Montessori method involves exploration and discovery of concepts by working with the Montessori materials. Today I will write a little about how the Montessori method works at the Waverley Montessori Preschool.

In the classroom, our qualified Montessori teachers present the material to the child. During presentation, the Montessori teacher shows the child how the objects are used with brief instructions. If the child shows interest, the child will then repeat the activity for the teacher. Following the first presentation, the child will approach the material on their own and masters the material.

One of the most important equipment in the classroom is the sensorial materials which comprise of objects which can be grouped together or arranged according to a physical trait, for example, colour, shape, size or texture. Examples of this are the pink towers and red rods. This teaches the child to distinguish the difference between different objects and develops the child’s language and vocabulary.

Our mathematics equipment is used to teach the children to count and is an introduction to arithmetic. One of the first materials introduced to the child is the series of tens rods. These are not only graduated in length but are also have coloured red and blue sections that can be counted. This overcomes many difficulties children face when first learning to count.

I hope this information helps as a small introduction to the Montessori Method.

Mrs. Zarine