“The child, making use of all that he finds around him, shapes himself for the future.” ~Maria Montessori

The use of our senses help us to make sense of the world and what is happening around us.  When new objects are presented to children, they examine it using their senses. With this kind of natural exploration, Maria Montessori felt this was the best time to give the children material to help sharpen those senses and enable them to understand the impressions that are given through the material.

The material provided in the sensorial area of the classroom help the children to become aware of details. This is accomplished by offering strongly contrasted sensations like red and blue, then various graded sensations such as different shades of the same color. The children are able to understand concretely what is red or what is blue, followed by an understanding on a more abstract level. This particular concept can be seen while the children are using the color tablet boxes. From primary colors to shades of colors, the children are using their senses to understand the meaning of color.

Within the sensorial area, there are different qualities that are being taught including color, weight, shape, texture, size, sound, smell, etc. Every material is made so there is little variation. For example, the color tablets are all the same size, and the sound boxes are all the same size and weight. The only difference is the actual sound the cylinders  make. With practice and repetition, the mind is able to be trained to appreciate differences.

One of the very first activities introduced to children is the Pink Tower. This work introduces the children to three-dimensional objects. There are 10 pink cubes graded in size from one centimeter cubed to ten centimeters cubed. The blocks are the same size, color, shape, and texture. In order to complete the activity, the child must recognize the gradation in size and build the tower beginning with the largest cube and placing the smallest cube on top.

Another introductory work is the Brown Stairs. The children are introduced to size in two dimensions. There are ten prisms with a constant length of twenty centimeters, but the width and height vary from one centimeter to ten centimeters. The children will create a stair-like structure. The terms thick, thicker, thickest and thin, thinner, thinnest are introduced.

The pink tower and the brown stairs together are used as an advanced work, once the children are comfortable with the two works separately.

There are several other works in the sensorial area which allow children the ability to explore using their senses. They find joy in mastering these works at their simplest form and then being challenged with extensions. Below are some more pictures of different works the children enjoy doing in the sensorial area.

IMPORTANT DATES:

December 7th: PTO Bazaar & Holiday Craft Fair

December 21st: Kindergarten Assembly & Half-Day dismissal at 11:15

December 24th-January 7th: Winter Break; Happy Holidays (school resumes 1/8/19)