ORGANISING IN THE MONTESSORI CLASSROOM Although I am now working in a Montessori lower elementary (grade 1-3) classroom, there has not been a big shift in the way the classroom is organized. Again, the classroom is organized into zones, with shelves being child sized and easily accessible. The zones in my Montessori classroom are as follows: Math - including shelves for number (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, counting), money, measurement, time. I have 3 shelves in the math area. Each shelf contains the Montessori (and commercial) materials that we use for each area of math. For example, in the money area, I have Canadian coins and dollar bills for counting, money games, money stamps and other exercises related to counting money. On the measurement shelf I have thermometres, measuring jugs and cups, weight scales, weights, rulers etc. Language - again includes a mix of Montessori language materials and other materials to support the language curriculum. Culture - includes books (atlases, theme related), puzzles of the world, flags, matching activities, objects for touching and viewing etc. The list can go on - the culture area is dedicated to the study of the world and environment around us, so this area is both society/environment and science/technology focused. Computer - I'd recommend getting a lap top - it allows the students more freedom Books - non fiction and fiction. The fiction books are organized into categories and the shelves are labelled for ease of use. We also have several reference materials such as dictionaries (in French and English as I am teaching in Canada which is bilingual), atlases, thesauruses etc. Sensorial and Practical Life - includes activities that encourage exploration of the senses and use of fine motor muscles. Practical life activities are based on activities that extend skills that children (traditionally) learn at home such as pouring, sewing, polishing, building etc. See this link for more details. Daily Living - my class is fully responsible for the maintenance of the classroom, so this area includes a set of hooks from which are hanging a broom, mop, dusters, dustpan, small vacuum etc. All of this is small enough for the students to use independently and is hanging at their level. Sponges, cloths and bottles of cleaning solution are also on stand by for the students. There is also a "snack table" in this area where students have snack. They are responsible for keeping this area clean also. The Montessori classroom steps away from the traditional "students in rows" concept present in many schools. Children work freely at tables in groups (or at a table on their own if they choose to). They do not have an assigned seat, rather they sit where they choose (provided they are able to work with the students around them with minimal interruption). Students also work regularly on the floor, either at "tv tables" sitting on the floor or on plain colored mats with the materials they are using placed on these. Students move freely around the classroom, choosing work for the most part independently. After working in a kindergarten in Australia for 3 years with a very similar set up, it was really no big shift to work in an elementary classroom in a Montessori school in Canada. The principles of freedom of movement, zones, child centred learning, and organization are the same. These areas and concepts are common to all Montessori classrooms, whether it be a toddler classroom or a classroom for upper elementary students. |
I set up learning "zones" in my classroom. All of the zones are free-choice areas. This means the children are free to choose when they would like to play in there and for how long. The materials in these zones can be used in whatever way the children want to (as long as they are being used sensibly and with purpose). I believe it is very important to have many free choice areas so that children are free to explore and socialise at their own pace within a safe environment. I like the zones to be child-friendly - I prefer them to be carpeted or to have rugs, and have child-sized shelving and furniture so that children can comfortably make their own choices about the materials they want to use. The zones I like to have are as follows: Book Corner - also doubles as the language corner for reading, music and show & tell sessions Puzzle and Manipulative Corner - for puzzles, sorting games, matching games and other manipulative materials Block and Construction Corner - for large building blocks and other construction kits such as lego, duplo, waffle bricks, popoids etc. Dramatic Play area - I try 1 or 2 themes every school term. Construction Table - for junk materials and boxes with PVA glue for children to glue together their own junk constructions Interest Table - for items of interest such as felt boards and felt pieces or new items for children to play with that they haven't seen before. Sometimes it is a science table for items of interest on a specific topic. Audio - Visual Table - a radio and headphones for children to listen to stories on cassette or play listening games |
TABLES FOR FREE-CHOICE AND COMPULSORY ACTIVITIES IN THE KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM I prefer to have a mix of free choice and compulsory activities. I have the free choice learning zones around the classroom and some tables are free-choice areas. One free choice table always has playdough as it is very popular with the children. Other free-choice tables have an activity based on the theme we are looking at for that week - it might be a game, an art/craft activity or something similar. Another two tables are "compulsory activity" tables. On these two tables we have skill-based activities which children must complete for their portfolios. All the children must complete the activity but they are free to come up to the table whenever they are ready to. We usually allow two days for all the children to have a turn at the compulsory activities. Therefore, the child has two days to get to those activities. If they dont complete it on the first day, then they are told that they will need to come and do the activity the next day. This system works well, as the children are able to work at their own pace and have plenty of time for play. Having the compulsory activities also allows us to keep track of the skills that children are completing and allows us to ensure that all the children are trying different skills. This is important as often there are children who like to play for the whole kindergarten session and are not interested in doing things such as cutting or drawing. This means that they are missing developing important skills. By having the compulsory activities we can be assured that they are having exposure to these skills. |
Here's a bit about how I prefer my classrooms to be set up... |
Miss G's Aussie Kindergarten |
Organizing the Classroom |
ORGANISING IN THE MONTESSORI CLASSROOM Although I am now working in a Montessori lower elementary (grade 1-3) classroom, there has not been a big shift in the way the classroom is organized. Again, the classroom is organized into zones, with shelves being child sized and easily accessible. The zones in my Montessori classroom are as follows: Math - including shelves for number (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, counting), money, measurement, time. I have 3 shelves in the math area. Each shelf contains the Montessori (and commercial) materials that we use for each area of math. For example, in the money area, I have Canadian coins and dollar bills for counting, money games, money stamps and other exercises related to counting money. On the measurement shelf I have thermometres, measuring jugs and cups, weight scales, weights, rulers etc. Language - again includes a mix of Montessori language materials and other materials to support the language curriculum. Culture - includes books (atlases, theme related), puzzles of the world, flags, matching activities, objects for touching and viewing etc. The list can go on - the culture area is dedicated to the study of the world and environment around us, so this area is both society/environment and science/technology focused. Computer - I'd recommend getting a lap top - it allows the students more freedom Books - non fiction and fiction. The fiction books are organized into categories and the shelves are labelled for ease of use. We also have several reference materials such as dictionaries (in French and English as I am teaching in Canada which is bilingual), atlases, thesauruses etc. Sensorial and Practical Life - includes activities that encourage exploration of the senses and use of fine motor muscles. Practical life activities are based on activities that extend skills that children (traditionally) learn at home such as pouring, sewing, polishing, building etc. See this link for more details. Daily Living - my class is fully responsible for the maintenance of the classroom, so this area includes a set of hooks from which are hanging a broom, mop, dusters, dustpan, small vacuum etc. All of this is small enough for the students to use independently and is hanging at their level. Sponges, cloths and bottles of cleaning solution are also on stand by for the students. There is also a "snack table" in this area where students have snack. They are responsible for keeping this area clean also. The Montessori classroom steps away from the traditional "students in rows" concept present in many schools. Children work freely at tables in groups (or at a table on their own if they choose to). They do not have an assigned seat, rather they sit where they choose (provided they are able to work with the students around them with minimal interruption). Students also work regularly on the floor, either at "tv tables" sitting on the floor or on plain colored mats with the materials they are using placed on these. Students move freely around the classroom, choosing work for the most part independently. After working in a kindergarten in Australia for 3 years with a very similar set up, it was really no big shift to work in an elementary classroom in a Montessori school in Canada. The principles of freedom of movement, zones, child centred learning, and organization are the same. These areas and concepts are common to all Montessori classrooms, whether it be a toddler classroom or a classroom for upper elementary students. |
This page was last updated on: April 18, 2009
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