A Day in the Life of a Montessori Student

Thoughts & Reflections

Meet one of our newest and youngest students, Eileen. She’s not yet three. On Friday, October 29, 2010, we decided to follow her around the classroom. We wanted to share with you a day in the life of a Montessori student.

Okay, let’s start. After Eileen greets Mrs. Maltai and Mrs. George with a “Good morning” and a handshake, she heads to the fish tank to check on the goldfish. They look hungry so she decides to feed them.

First activity selected? Folding napkins. Notice her concentration. It’s impeccable.

The second activity Eileen chooses is painting. She describes her artwork as “pretty” and then proceeds to hang it to dry. Of course, when she is finished, she takes the time to clean the easel, ensuring that it’s ready for the next person.

Next, Eileen selects a sewing activity, continuing to work on refining her fine motor skills, as she threads a string through a series of different colored shapes.

Then Eileen decides she wants to try shape paper punching. A lovely activity that requires great dexterity and concentration. Note how Eileen holds the paper and prepares to punch. (It’s backwards in this picture, but it didn’t take her but a second to figure it out.)

After she enjoyed her practical life activity, Eileen decides to explore some sensorial materials. This time she choose Color Tablets #1. We’ve written a blog about this activity and learning through the concrete here.

Next up, Eileen chooses a puzzle activity, tasked with matching, sorting and distributing various shapes, colors, and sized objects. She achieves this with ease, happily enjoying her time, and then proceeds to the next color tablets activity.

Having already completed Color Tablets #1, Eileen challenges herself and selects Color Tablets #2, which contains a broader spectrum of colors. She works with this activity intently, exploring the colors in greater depth.

Since it was the last day before Halloween, we welcomed a guest into the classroom for the first time of the year, to conduct a group activity. We made “Ghost Pears”, which Eileen thoroughly delighted in.

Things Learned:

√ Independence.
√ Concentration.
√ Fine Motor Skills.
√ Coordination: hand, eye, body, etc.
√ Social Skills.
√ Language: descriptions, explanations, conversations.
√ Mathematics: sequence, order, determinations.
√ Practical Life Activities.
√ Confidence.
√ Respect: for the materials, environment, friends, teachers.
√ And, and, and….

Eileen is a half-day Montessori student at The Baan Dek Montessori.