My Montessori Material

Maria Montessori was the first female physician in Italy, and she believed in mixed-age classrooms and allowing children freedom and choice while learning. She suggested a new approach to teaching where teachers act as guides and only intervene when absolutely necessary. The Montessori approach to classroom learning emphasizes independence and choice, and recognizes that children will initiate their own learning in a suitable environment. This idea makes a lot of sense to me because children that I interact with are constantly stimulating their senses and practicing fine and gross motor skills without being directed to do so by parents or teachers; it seems to come naturally to them.

I remember when I was a kid, I loved playing a game where I put a peg in a hole, and would have to figure out which shape went in which hole. So, for my Montessori material I decided to create a game where kids can put blocks into a mold that fits the bottom of the shape. The different colored sticks can fit in their respective color of hole so children can practice through trial and error to place the sticks in the correct holes. My Montessori material is built on top of a stool to be correctly scaled to the size of young children. It is also made of mainly natural materials, including air-dry “earth” clay, wooden blocks, and a wooden stool.

While making this material I learned the importance of considering the level of difficulty when creating Montessori manipulatives in order to create age-appropriate practice. At first, I was going to create a material that was much more complicated and had many parts that wouldn’t be self explanatory, but I realized that it would probably be too confusing and frustrating for the age of the children I am teaching. I think striking the right balance between stimulating activities with room for self correction and confusing activities that may frustrate children and would require assistance from an adult.