Children are naturally drawn to use their senses for exploration in the first few years of life. When we support this, we help them to build a mind that perceives all the nuances of the world around them clearly.
Montessori’s Sensorial materials offer systematic experience for the senses through hands-on activities and clear materials that help the child gain clear concepts.
Build the pink tower without being able to see any of the cubes. This is another work that he had mastered long ago, but the blindfold made him slow down to be sure he was choosing the next largest cube as well as placing it carefully on top of the tower without knocking it all over.
Harmony. There is a distinct sense of peace and harmony in the prepared environment. Students move carefully, define their work space, and respect each others work. The children instinctively work together to create a harmonious classroom community that is essential to learning, concentration, and exploration.
This system in which a child is constantly moving object; with his hands and actively exercising his senses, also takes into account a child’s special aptitude for mathematics. When they leave the material, the children very easily reach the point where they wish to write out the operation. They thus carry out an abstract mental operation and acquire a kind of natural and spontaneous inclination for mental calculations.
Are children able to learn in a mixed-age environment
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In Montessori, children of different ages learn together in the same classroom. This promotes collaboration, social skills, empathy, and the sharing of knowledge. Older children become mentors to younger ones, fostering a sense of community and mutual respect.
Smelling bottles are standard material in the Sensorial area of a Montessori classroom. The smelling bottles are a part of the early childhood Montessori Sensorial lesson sequence, focusing on the olfactory sense.
Children and adults alike can have fun with the smelling jars, and they’re easily adaptable for different spices and leaves. The purpose is for the child to develop their sense of smell. The process is simple – the child sniffs their way through the bottles trying to match two identical scents.
Making the smelling bottles is pretty straightforward and can be done with items we already have around our school compound – betel leaves, pandan leaves, curry leaves, and kaffir leaves.
