THE PUZZLE MAPS
A Montessori classroom offers many opportunities for young children to expand their knowledge during the times when they are motivated by spontaneous interest. The large wooden puzzle maps are among the most popular activities in the classroom. The child can move each puzzle piece by grasping a little knob on its flat, shiny surface. The introductory map of the world has a separate puzzle piece for each continent. After working with the world map, the child can do one of six puzzle maps of continents in which each country is represented by a separate puzzle piece. Finally, there is a map of the United States with a separate piece for each state.
At first the children use the maps simply as puzzles. Gradually they learn the names of many of the countries as well as information about climate and products. The maps illustrate many geographical facts concretely. The children can see the great size of Russia and the positions of Great Britain, Japan and Iceland as islands.
LAND AND WATER FORMATIONS
The common land formations - island, peninsula, and isthmus - are made with floral clay and set in pans that are painted blue. The children can pour water around the island, on three sides of the peninsula, and on both sides of the isthmus. Other pans contain formations in which the land surrounds a lake, the land borders a gulf, and the land borders a strait. The children can pour water into the pans to actually form these bodies of water. They often put miniature trees or houses on the land and little boats on the water. As a follow-up, they locate similar bodies of land and water on a large map.
THE GRAMMAR MATERIALS
In a Montessori class, children are introduced to grammar by little games with a piece of equipment called The Farm, complete with a barn, silo and animals. During the first lesson, the teacher says playfully to the child, "I am going to write something down that I want you to get from The Farm." She writes the horse, and the child eagerly brings her a horse. The teacher than says, "Oh! This is a very fine horse, but it is not the horse that I want. I will have to use an adjective." She writes the black horse and suddenly the child knows exactly which horse to bring her. In this way the child begins to understand the descriptive nature of the adjective.
Because children are such sensorial learners, colors and shapes are introduced in written work to denote the different parts of speech. Black triangles are used for nouns. Adjectives and articles are also triangles, but smaller because their job is to modify the noun. Later, with The Farm, the child is introduced to conjunctions (pink rectangles) and prepositions (green crescents). Verbs-the action words- are denoted by red circles. The adverbs that modify the verbs are smaller orange circles. When verbs and adverbs are introduced the child can do the actions as the teacher writes them-sing softly or walk slowly. Later the children can continue grammatical work on their own with The Farm and other exercises that the teacher has prepared.
INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY
To introduce young children to the concept that history is a series of sequential events that occurred before the present time, Montessori used Time Lines. In the three to six classroom a child begins with a short Time Line marked with the dates of the five or six years of her life. Beside the earliest date she places a picture taken shortly after she was born. Next, a picture when she was one year old. Then at two, perhaps with a favorite toy or pet. Then at three, possibly with a new sibling; then four perhaps with a photo taken at school, etc.
After age six, children use other longer Time Lines on which they can place pictures or cards representing historical times or events
BOTANY
Many Montessori classrooms have beautiful wooden puzzles or sets of nature cards that illustrate in color the parts of a tree, the shapes of leaves and the parts of a flower. The children match these illustrations with the corresponding names. Working with these cards or puzzles helps the youngsters to become more observant of the characteristics of things which grow in their own environment. They frequently have plants, flowers, or vegetables growing in the classroom; or they bring in samples that they can coordinate with the materials.
Most of the Grammar and Science Materials in a Montessori classroom are made by the teacher or by persons working under her supervision. These materials vary from classroom to classroom, often reflecting the interests of the teacher and the level of work for which the children are ready. In general, however, these attractive materials demonstrate Dr. Montessori's theory that youngsters can learn all kinds of information if it is made accessible and inviting. Children are stimulated by natural curiosity; the materials are fun to manipulate, and learning by discovery rather than by being told gives children a particular satisfaction.
WHY EARLY LEARNING?
You may wonder why Montessori introduces grammar, geography and geometry to children between the ages of three and six. At this age youngsters can joyfully absorb many abstract concepts- the usual stumbling blocks of the elementary grades - if they meet them in materials that they can manipulate. In a Montessori classroom children can hold units, cylinders, spheres, nouns, or fractions in their hands. When adding, they can actually carry beads to the next column; when subtracting they can take away beads with their hands; when dividing they can share the beads representing the dividend. It is fun for them to act out verbs; pour water around an island or on three sides of a peninsula. They like to form a square with five rows of five beads each or to put together fractions. The materials that demonstrate these concepts serve as touchstones in their memories for many years- touchstones that will clarify these difficult abstract terms whenever they meet them in future learning situations.
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