Experiencing The Four Seasons At A Montessori School

Education & Development Articles

Instead of working with a set curriculum, Montessori schools often implement real elements and activities that children are experiencing.These educational elements are often rooted in nature. As each season passes, you can expect math, geography, and critical thinking projects to involve the corresponding seasons.

Browse through each of the four seasons below and see how they can apply to your child if they attend a Montessori school.

Autumn Montessori Learning

The fall season is a great time to experience colors, changes, and wildlife. The actual activities at your local Montessori school depends on how autumn changes occur.

• Leaf Activities: Leaf printing, color observations, and counting are all implemented as the trees change and leaves fall to the ground.
• Seasonal Fruits: Children learn about the educational value of fruits like apples. This includes apple recipes like applesauce. Apple slices can also be used for math activities. Seeds can be planted for a lesson in gardening. Vegetables like pumpkin and squash may also be involved with this learning.
• Halloween Activities: A Halloween celebration brings the opportunity for a number of learning experiences. This includes proper Halloween manners while trick or treating, storytelling and creative brainstorming, or healthy Halloween candy alternatives.
• Thanksgiving Activities: Thanksgiving gives students a chance to open up, develop their feelings, and learn proper ways to express them. This specifically includes gratitude and appreciation. Additional activities for the holiday includes table setting and eating etiquette.

Winter Montessori Learning

The winter months are good times to learn geography, weather, and a number of writing and math activities. A lot of holidays are often included in these learning experiences too.

• Indoor Snow: Wooden trays with salt placed in them can turn into a small tray of "snow". Children can draw letters in the snow, perform math, or get creative with a variety of images they create.
• Snowman Activities: Art learning often involves snowmen, expanding creative boundaries, and using the different sections of a snowman to develop math skills.
• Winter Sensory: Children experience the different textures and scents of winters. A sensory bin often includes winter accessories like gloves, cinnamon sticks, mints, and other materials associated with the season.
• Winter Holiday Activities: All types of winter holidays are explored as children experience traditions from Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and other holidays from around the world.

Spring Montessori Learning

The spring is a great time to expand learning to the outdoors. Many activities revolve around the growth and reemergence of plants and animals.

• Gardening: Focus is placed on gardening. This includes flowers, fruits, and vegetables. The specific plants will depend on the best for growing in your local area. While gardening, children will learn planting basics, along with math and critical thinking.
• Animal Exploration: Students can learn about the care of farm animals, observe wild animals, and get educated on proper animal safety. Classroom pets are often a large part of this learning. Children learn proper feeding, watering, and handling of the creatures.
• Earth Day: The education of Earth Day expands to a lot more than just a single day. The children learn about recycling, reusing, and ways to implement these steps everyday at home and school. Proper cleaning and trash pickup is also explored through Earth Day activities.
• Birds: Bird watching, learning, and exploration is a big focus for many Montessori schools. Children will learn about local birds, endangered birds, their unique structures, and other things like nesting.
• Spring Holidays: Easter and St. Patrick's Day are often explored through creative activities involving colors, patterns, and art projects like egg coloring.

Summer Montessori Learning

Most Montessori schools are out of session during the summer months, but there are still activities for the children to engage in. Weekly summer day camps offers children the chance to explore nature, learn at their own pace, and continue to grow as an individual.

Contact your local Montessori learning center to find out more here on the summer activities and detailed planning for every other season.

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8 September 2014