My Semi- Montessori Method

I have always been interested in Maria Montessori. I spent about 5 months working in Montessori Childrens House of Denver, as a teachers helper. I really loved how the kids were treated like little adults.
They really "led" their own education, daily free to do as they liked in the classroom. Whether it be working with an abacus, reading in a cozy corner, measuring colored liquid with droppers, or cleaning oxidized pennies with baking soda and lemons! It really is quite amazing. I saw five year olds reading fluently and doing multiplication and division-True, they had been in Montessori since 6 weeks old, but it was amazing for me to see. It made me a true believer in "Montessori Method"

Carrying that method out is another story! The organization and consistency I do not have, and the educational toys are extremely expensive, so I stick to ones that are easily found around my home or the dollar store :) I found a tray, a rug (for setting activities on), some little glass bowls, a shower curtain for messy events, and fun timers,(to give an added time-limit element to some activities)

One simple Pre K activity is a smell/match game. It involves multiple bottles with different scents mixed up, the child then finds the 2 that match in scent.
I used the above salt/pepper shakers and placed 3 cotton balls in each. On the top cotton balls, I scented 2 bottles with vanilla, two bottles with Almond extract, and two bottles with Peppermint extract.
Jessica really enjoyed it, and it took Tori just a minute to match the mixed up bottles with the correct scents!

Every week, involves filling our reading corner, and bedside table with lots of wonderful children's classics. I follow a classical education site, where these above books were recommended for ages 5+

Here is a picture of Tori in our homeschool room with a couple of her activities that we did for "Letter T" day. I have to admit, I have shifted my focus to the phonetic sound and not the letter name anymore. That can come later :)

Closer, you can see the Tree is made out of colored noodles, and she painted the Trunk.

We then colored a Tiger and made sand paper letters "T t"

The next day I had Jessica work with Tori, I just gave them all the materials and Jessica gave the lesson on letter "Z". This is common in Montessori environment where they have Multi Age Grouping. An older child will often be paired with a younger child to work/teach a skill.

They also read the two Bob books that pertained to the "zzz" sound.
I think this encapsulates the Montessori method, because it was a child led activity that was fun & play while still being educational. Positive for everyone. :)