Some materials found in the Montessori classroom - Rivendale Montessori School

	Sensitive Periods & Normalization Some Materials Found In The Montessori Classroom What is the Montessori Way? What is your child really like?		Some materials found in the Montessori classroom Practical life Dressing frames-each frame teaches one particular skill needed in dressing oneself; there are frames with buttons, snaps, zippers, buckles, laces, hooks, and eyes, pins and bows. Sensorial The brown stairs- introduces size differences in two dimensional and teaches concepts of thin thinner and thinnest and thick, thicker, and thickest. Pink Tower- introduces size difference in three dimensions and helps the child differentiate among big, bigger, and biggest and small, smaller and smallest. Cylinder Blocks- there are four cylinder blocks with ten cylinders each; one set differs only in height, one only in diameter, and the other two in both height and diameter. Matching each cylinder to its proper hole teaches size discrimination and develps hand muscles to be used for writing. Language Sandpaper Letters- mounted cut-out sandpaper letters allow the child to learn the shape of each letter through touch and to associate the sound each letter makes with its shape. Metal insets- there are ten metal insets, each a different geometric shape with a knob for lifting and replacing; tracing the outline of an inset helps prepare the hand and eye for writing. Math The spindle boxes- two boxes divided into separate compartments and labelled 0 to 9 are to be used to teach counting and the concept of quantity; the child places the correct number of rods or wooden sticks in each compartment. The Golden Beads- these materials provide a concrete introduction to concepts of counting, quantity, and basic mathematical functions.