Usually during the beginning months of the school year, I like to talk with the children about good food choices. We have lessons on our bodies, exercise, and the importance of eating healthy. This sets the tone for the school year about snacks and lunches. However, talking about the basic food groups can be included anytime of the year.
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Circle Time Book/Play
During the month of December, we talk about the continent of Africa. I always introduce the children to the book, Honey Honey Lion, by Jan Brett. We also read The Hat, by Jan Brett with the season changing to Winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
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Montessori Math Materials
The math materials in a Montessori classroom are beautifully and uniquely designed. They allow for a child to successfully grasp mathematical concepts concretely as they progress towards abstract ones. Materials are developed from simple to complex. Process is taught first then facts.
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Trees
This is a good time of the year to begin talking about deciduous and evergreen trees. With the colors of fall beginning to fade and the leaves falling off the trees, the evergreen trees stand out. A review on the parts of a tree and why leaves change color can start off the lessons leading up to those trees that are still green.
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Initial Sound Boxes
As children begin to learn letter sounds using the Sandpaper Letters, it is important to provide other materials that reinforce the letters and sounds they are learning. Initial sound boxes are a great way to do this. These boxes help to refine auditory perception of sounds, encourage development of concentration, and prepare a child for reading.
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The Sandpaper Letters
The Sandpaper Letters are one of the main features of the language area in a Montessori classroom. They are beautiful and easily attract the attention of children. As children work with the Sandpaper Letters, their sense of site, touch, and hearing is involved. They can feel the sandpaper shape of each letter and begin to learn that each one has a name and a sound. Phonetic sounds are the foundation for the reading program in a Montessori classroom.
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Pumpkin Time
In the northern hemisphere it is time for pumpkins to be harvested. Many families and schools will visit pumpkin farms to pick pumpkins and perhaps enjoy a hay ride around the farm. The areas of Botany, Practical Life, Math, Science, and Language often have a variety of pumpkin themed exercises.
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Activities for Autumn
Autumn is such a fun time for a variety of activities found throughout the different areas of the classroom. The shelves in the Practical Life area are often filled with the orange, red, and yellow colored materials. Many art activities involve leaves, acorns, pumpkins, and scarecrows.
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Sunflower Fun
Depending on where you live, sunflower seeds are ready to be harvested at the end of summer or the beginning of fall. Many things can be done with sunflowers. It is good to provide actual sunflower heads for children to experience and work with. A variety of activities and art ideas can be introduced to the children.
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Preparing for Seed Lesson
It isn’t too early to start preparing for an upcoming lesson on seeds. I usually introduce a Botany lesson on seeds about the third week of school, depending on how the first few weeks have been going. Prior to a discussion on seeds, a simple lesson on the parts of a plant are given. Then the various parts of a plant are talked about separately over the following three or four weeks.
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