Montessori 3 | House on the Hill

Helping Children with Self-Awareness and Confidence

Amanda April 2024

4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour Helping children with self-awareness and confidence Developing self-confidence and self-awareness enables children to develop relationships, express their emotions and desires and become resilient, self-confident learners. It is good to know this is something that can be nurtured from birth. At House on the Hill, we play a role in supporting children to have a strong sense of self and be in touch with their emotions and bodies. “Making friends and having respect are important skills that should be encouraged to support children’s social interactions”, said Marilyn Ow, Principal of Mount Sophia School. “At House on the Hill, we focus on how to increase self-esteem and self-belief in children under five, as well as help children to make friends and form relationships with their peers and educators,” she said. “If children have a strong sense of self they are less likely to experience negative social interactions and more likely to have positive relationships.” Children use relationships with their caregivers to form their “sense of self” and it is through positive caregiver relationships that children learn that they are valued and important in this world. Children with a stronger sense of self have: Improved self-esteem. Decreased stress and anxiety. Decreased depression. Increased persistence, particularly for challenging tasks. Improved problem-solving skills. Teachers and Educators are in the perfect position to support children with their emerging social interactions, improving their self-esteem and helping them connect with the world. Making and keeping friends may sound easy for us adults, but for young children, this may be something new and difficult. Just like supporting a child to walk or to learn to write, our role at House on the Hill is that of behaviour coach to support the child to learn the steps involved in making and keeping friends. By promoting and teaching social skills to young children, this will positively impact their behaviour, learning and health outcomes. House on the Hill has a strong focus on teaching children emotional regulation and confidence through a mindfulness program that supports children to connect with themselves. Teaching children to be more aware of their physical reactions and able to link them to their behaviours is helping them develop the confidence they need to deal with challenging social situations in later years. “When children are more in sync with their behaviour and reactions, they are more confident and more likely to stand up for themselves if they experience something they don’t like,” she said. For example, if two children want to play with the same toy and one of the children snatches the toy away, an educator will talk the children through the experience as it is happening. “Often a common and immediate reaction to this scenario is for the other child to push or snatch the toy, so an educator will narrate the experience and explain to both children what has just happened. By giving them the words, the children can express themselves and it also models a way of managing the situation,” she said. This helps the children to connect their emotions to the event that occurred and the language that describes that event: Acknowledge the feelings – “You must have felt really sad and hurt that Tom snatched your toy away.” Describe the situation – “I can see that you are missing one car from your park. Tom is also trying to line his cars at the traffic light” Provide the solution – “Let’s try showing Tom what you are trying to do with all your cars first. Then he can have your car when you’re finished with it.” What can you do to support your child at home? Parents can try this approach at home when they get frustrated or angry. Children then see and hear adults they trust in similar situations, helping them to understand that it happens to everyone and even people they care about. They also learn from adults about how to respond to these situations. Boost your child’s self-esteem by being a positive role model at home. Help children learn to complete tasks themselves, giving them a sense of achievement and pride. Acknowledge effort and refrain from giving harsh criticism. By helping build your child’s self-esteem, you let them know how valued and important they are. Talking about strengths and challenges can help children gain self-awareness. Getting children involved in something they like and are good at can raise self-awareness and confidence. By allowing your child to make decisions about how to behave in social situations you are giving them the understanding that they have responsibility for their interactions. It is also helpful to provide opportunities for choices during routines and play.

Montessori at Home: Behavioural Strategies to Help Improve Your Child’s Sleep

Amanda March 2024

4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour Montessori at Home: Behavioural Strategies to Help Improve Your Child’s Sleep With Evelyn Bonney, Sleep Consultant Are you having trouble with your child at bedtime? You are not alone! It’s normal for children to want to be in control and push boundaries. It’s an important part of their cognitive development. So how do we as parents navigate this? It’s developmentally normal for children to test the boundaries. Our job as parents and caregivers is to create safe, healthy, predictable limits and boundaries for our children. When you keep to those limits, your children feel safer and more secure. You need to re-establish the balance of control which is key to getting your child to bed and sleeping through the night. House on the Hill engaged Evie, Founder of Evelyn Bonney Sleep Consulting to conduct a workshop with our parents. Evie is a registered nurse, founder of Evelyn Bonney Sleep Consulting, mum of 3 (including twins!) and a certified Sleep Sense™ Consultant. As a certified sleep consultant, with 20 years of nursing experience, she is able to support parents when they need it most. So how do we make it easier? Choices, Connection and Confidence The 3 C’s = help children to adapt to changes more easily and help to instil intrinsic motivation. Choices – Offer choices to your child at the appropriate times. This will allow them to feel in control of some situations and reduce overwhelm, while still giving you as parents, the space to implement strong boundaries. Connection – Acknowledge your child’s feelings using empathy, compassion, and a problem-solving process. This helps them feel validated, heard, and connected which = less bedtime boundary-pushing. Confidence – BE CONFIDENT and stay consistent. Top 4 Tips Below are the top four tips to ease bedtime battles. You can also use these strategies throughout the day to manage being overwhelmed and maintain boundaries. Give them time warnings. Transitioning from one task to the next is hard for many young children and it’s completely normal. Giving them time warnings can be a very effective way to get their brains ready to make the transition to the next activity before it happens. For example, “In 5 minutes we are going to start putting the Lego away and then go out”. “In 5 minutes we are going to go upstairs to get ready for bed”. The amount of time you specify doesn’t matter with younger children, but the warning itself is very useful when implemented with consistency to help them get mentally ready for what is coming next. Give them choices. Children LOVE being in control. Offering choices to your child at the appropriate times will allow them to feel in control of some situations and reduce overwhelm, while still giving you as parents, the space to implement strong boundaries. A proper choice has 2 equally positive choices. For example: Of these 2 pairs of pyjamas, which would you like to wear? Of these 4 stories, which 2 would you like to hear? Tell them exactly what is going to happen next. Not only does this help foster language development but it can also help to prevent overwhelm and emotional dysregulation. Give them specific details like “we are going to go out to the shop in the car”. When you then approach the car, there is less chance your child will become overwhelmed about having to get in, as it’s not a new piece of information for them to process. Be consistent and stick to your boundaries. Do the same bedtime routine every night! Don’t underestimate the importance of consistency. Being consistent and sticking to boundaries ultimately makes your child feel more safe and secure and less out of control of their situation. It is hard to say NO and stick to it when it leads to being overwhelmed but ultimately it ensures a secure bond between you as parents and your child. What is the approach at House on the Hill with sleep and quiet time in our schools? At House on the Hill, we understand the importance of consistency between the approach in school and at home. We share with parents the approach to children’s sleep and quiet time in school as the children work towards independent sleep patterns. Below are the steps our Teachers follow during sleep and quiet activities: Infants in our Nido room For our young infants in our Nido, our Teachers work with the parents to understand and follow their child’s sleep patterns. For the older infants, rest occurs in the middle of the day. The Teachers signal their sleep and quiet time by setting up the children’s cot/bed on the floor and laying their bedding down. Once the children are settled in their bed, the lights are turned off and the curtains are closed and the Teachers stay close to keep an eye out whilst the children sleep. Our Nido team works together with parents, considering each child’s unique needs, therefore creating a sleep environment that promotes children’s health and development. Playgroup to Kindergarten Children Sleep or quiet activity time is crucial for children at House on the Hill. This period of rest gives your little one a chance to break away from constant stimulation and calms their mind and body. The Teachers start the routine to signal it is time for sleep and quiet activities. The children collect their bedding, set up their cot and lie down. Once the children are settled in their cot, the lights are turned off and the curtains are closed with soft music playing in the background. This approach is consistent with the idea of teaching the children self-independence. By allowing children to fall asleep on their own, they learn to self-soothe and regulate their emotions. This can lead to better sleep for both children and parents. With newly enrolled children in our schools,

Keep Calm and Help Children Learn

Amanda March 2024

4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour Keep Calm and Help Children Learn Calm and peaceful parenting is a distinctive positive approach in which the aim is to promote harmony and respect in a family’s daily life. This method places emphasis on less conflict and creating more cooperation by understanding the root cause of children’s behaviour. By teaching children to be calm, we need to role-model calmness ourselves. Most of what children learn about emotions comes from us. How we respond to our own worries, stress and frustrations will guide the children to learn to manage different everyday experiences and challenges. As you experience challenging emotions and situations, demonstrating how you bounce back will help your child relate better to respond to their own issues with optimism, calmness, and confidence. Calmness helps reduce children’s “alarm reaction” (fight-flight-freeze) and allows them to feel safe and secure enough to think rationally and learn a better way of behaving and coping while building trust. When your child is calm, they will have more focus and concentration to be more engaged in activities they are interested in. Consistency is also critical. It’s what sets the tone and will immediately put your child at ease in their environment. Children need to feel safe to learn Children need to be given the right environment for learning. Our Teachers at House on the Hill have adopted the approach of calm and consistent Montessori environments, recommending a balance between intentional and child-led learning, in an environment that is safe and predictable. Montessori environments are structured differently than classrooms in traditional preschools and childcare centres. The method integrates practices that lean into children’s natural tendencies, weaving classroom and behavioural management into regular, everyday practices. “To understand the children’s behaviour, we need to know the trigger or functional need of the child to feel and behave the way they do. We provide them with the safe environment to express their feelings and make them feel validated”. “By acknowledging their feelings, we help them to relate to their big emotions and let them feel connected with us. We continue to describe and talk about their situation to address their functional need and provide solutions for them to support them”. Ms Marilyn Ow, Founding Principal of House on the Hill Central to this approach is having a predictable and consistent environment that facilitates the development of your child. Helpful Tips For Keeping Calm Environments Importance of Calmness: Children learn by example: Adults need to model calmness to teach children how to manage their own emotions. Calmness promotes learning: When children feel calm, they are more receptive to learning and problem-solving. Calmness fosters trust and security: A calm environment helps children feel safe and secure, essential for learning and development. Montessori Approach: Balance between structured and child-led learning: This provides children with both opportunities for exploration and guidance. Predictable and consistent environment: Helps children feel safe and secure, allowing them to focus on learning. Modelling appropriate behaviour: Adults demonstrate how to interact effectively, manage emotions, and solve problems. Tips for Creating a Calm Environment: Stay calm yourself: Recognize your stress triggers and take steps to de-escalate. Establish routines: Consistency reduces anxiety and creates a sense of security. Practice self-regulation: Children learn to self-regulate by observing calm and consistent adults. Be patient and understanding: Respect children’s capabilities and avoid placing unrealistic expectations. Let go of small issues: Focus on what truly matters and avoid creating unnecessary tension. Teach children coping mechanisms: Help them understand and manage frustration in a healthy way. Open communication: Discuss emotions openly and help children learn to express themselves constructively. By incorporating these principles, parents and Teachers can create a calm and nurturing environment that fosters children’s emotional well-being and learning.

A Day In The Life In Our Nido Classroom

Amanda February 2024

Leading Montessori Infant Care in Balmoral From birth to age 3, your child’s brain is developing more rapidly than at any other time. Book A Tour A typical day in the life of our Nido children Our Nido, or ‘nest’ (in Italian) is the perfect nurturing environment for children aged 2-17 months. In these formative years, their mind is like a sponge, soaking up huge amounts of information from their environment. This is when children develop their sense of self and their sense of their place in the world. Our Teachers follow flexible routines that are created to allow your child to feel confident and safe while learning and having fun every day! These routines ensure a consistent and high-quality Montessori education that supports your child’s learning, development, and identity. So what does a day in the life look like for our Nido children? As parents and children arrive at our House on the Hill – Balmoral School, our Teachers welcome them and help with each child’s transition into the day. As you wave goodbye to your child, their Teacher will take them to the room to put their bag in the cubby hole with your child’s name on it. A nutritious snack is served at 8:30 am to kickstart the day to give them lots of energy! The morning is a time to explore new ideas together After a snack, the children participate in group sharing sessions and creative development. Group sessions add to children’s sense of belonging and typically feature a thematic topic (examples of Thematic topics include: sensory play, all about me and feelings). Children are then invited to explore a range of engaging, interest-based activities designed to build each child’s development. These activities are carefully planned by our experienced Teachers and often include creative arts, music and movement, and storytelling. After this session, the children move on to the next activity. For our children aged 2 to 12 months It’s tummy and gym time. Supervised tummy time is important because it helps to: Strengthen your baby’s neck, shoulder, and arm muscles so your baby can start to sit up, crawl, and eventually walk on their own. This will help improve your baby’s ability to move and control their muscles to complete various actions (sometimes called “motor skills”). We also make sure our children spend time in the outdoors exploration time too. For our children 13 to 17 months It’s movement, games, and outdoor exploration to develop their motor skills. This is an exciting time for our children and provides an opportunity to explore, discover and appreciate the natural world, as well as be active, strengthen fine and gross motor movement skills, test physical limits and get messy. Time spent in the outdoors is an important part of the daily program for all our children, including infants. The mid-morning, where everything is possible It’s time for their routine care with bottle feeding, creating a calm and relaxing environment for feeding. The Teachers will spend some time cuddling and bonding with your child after feeding. Next, it’s time to change your child’s diapers to freshen up your little one. While doing this, the Teachers will talk to your child and sing songs to keep them entertained during the diaper change. The rest of our morning is spent learning and exploring together! The Teachers begin the children’s Mandarin lesson where they talk to the children in Mandarin to build a solid foundation in their listening skills. We strive to instil a love of the language in each child by making it fun! Our teachers approach lessons with a sense of adventure, using animation, and lots of body movement to keep students engaged. Next, the children engage in Montessori activities which include: Practical life activities are at the core of the Montessori philosophy. They introduce children to the concept of education as an aid and a preparation for life and assist them in developing a sense of order, concentration, independence, and coordination. Examples of practical life activities include transferring, pouring, opening and closing bottle caps activities. Working with the Montessori learning materials such as the object, permanence box, imbucare box, ball tracker. In the middle of the day, time for lunch and a well-needed rest Respectful mealtimes are an important part of our day. Our bespoke menu plan was developed by a world-renowned nutritionist and is freshly cooked and nutritionally balanced. We often share a family-style meal where our Teachers take the opportunity to connect with the children and share thoughts and ideas. This is also an opportunity for older children to practice self-help skills. Children are encouraged to feed themselves with the assistance of our Teachers. Following lunch, the children have the chance to rest. After a stimulating and busy morning, rest time is an important opportunity to rest physically and unwind emotionally. For the older children rest occurs in the middle of the day, for younger children rest time varies depending on their needs. For children enrolled in the half-day session, the Teachers will get them ready for collection. The afternoon is an opportunity to learn and connect When children wake up from their sleep or finish their rest, some exciting new activities will be waiting for them. The afternoon is a time to transition back into learning and play. Teachers will set up new educational activities that will often follow on from what has been taught that morning, to create continuity of learning. We have some time to share afternoon tea before your child participates in group-sharing sessions and creative development. We have another group session where the children review the thematic topics learnt in the morning session and explore a range of engaging, interest-based activities including creative arts, music and movement, and storytelling. The next activity is outdoor playtime which is child-driven play in the outdoor playground and mud kitchen. Child-driven play is when your child will have the freedom of choice to choose the outdoor materials that they like to play with. Child-driven playtime helps improve your

Chinese New Year Matching Card Game with Zodiac Animals

Amanda January 2024

Celebrating the Lunar New Year is a wonderful time to introduce children to the vibrant world of Chinese culture. And what better way to do that than through a hands-on, interactive activity that brings the beloved Chinese zodiac animals to life? Bringing the Chinese zodiac animals to life for children is a wonderful way to share this fascinating culture and its traditions. This matching card game is a simple yet powerful tool for supporting your child’s cognitive development and will help contribute to building a strong foundation for memory, perception, thinking, and attention skills. Start your DIY print-and-play matching card game with your child now! Click the image for our DIY printable Materials: Paper or cardstock: Choose sturdy paper or cardstock for your cards. Thicker material will make the game more durable. Printer: You’ll need a printer to print out your card designs. Scissors or paper cutter: For cutting out the cards. Optional: Laminator (for extra durability), glue stick (for attaching backing paper), markers or crayons (for personalizing the cards). Click here to download your House on the Hill Chinese Zodiac Animals Matching Card Game Instructions 1. Prepare for the game Print your cards on your chosen paper or cardstock. Carefully cut out the individual cards using scissors or a paper cutter. Optional steps: Laminate: Laminating your cards will make them waterproof and more durable, especially if you’ll be playing with young children. Add backing paper: If your cardstock is thin, you can glue a piece of plain paper to the back of each card to make it sturdier. 2. Play the game There are several ways to play this game: Matching: Shuffle the cards and matching pieces and lay them face down on the table. Players take turns flipping over two cards at a time, trying to find a match. The player with the most matches at the end wins. Memory game: Lay all the cards face down on the table. Players take turns flipping over two cards at a time, trying to remember where the matching card is. The player who finds the most pairs wins. Sorting: Sort the cards and matching pieces into groups based on the animals. This is a good way for younger children to learn the names of the zodiac animals. Montessori-inspired learning outcomes By playing the matching card game, your child will learn the following outcomes: Open-ended play: The game can be played in different ways, allowing for different levels of challenge and engagement. Sensorial development: The different textures and materials of the cards and matching pieces can stimulate children’s senses. Concentration and memory: The matching and memory game variations help children develop their concentration and memory skills. Fine motor skills: Cutting, drawing, and manipulating the cards and matching pieces help children develop their fine motor skills. Additional tips: Bilingual families are encouraged to play in both English and Mandarin Make the game more challenging by adding more than one matching piece per card. For younger children, start with just a few animals and gradually add more as they become familiar with them. We hope this activity helps you and your little ones explore the captivating world of the Chinese zodiac in a fun and meaningful way! Happy Lunar New Year!

The Montessori Grammar Farm

Amanda August 2023

4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour Montessori materials are designed to match the natural inclinations and developmental needs of children. They encourage self-correction and tap into a child’s inherent motivation to learn and improve. Concrete and tangible, they provide children with objects to touch and manipulate in order to internalise abstract concepts. These materials are often made up of small, intriguing objects that pique a child’s curiosity and allow them to playfully recreate the world around them. “The study of grammar is to language what the study of anatomy is to science. By studying grammar, we become better writers and readers.” Lori Bourne, Montessori for Everyone The Montessori Grammar Farm is a perfect example of these qualities coming together. Not only does it allow children to practice building simple combinations of words and phrases, it also provides an opportunity for the younger children to build on their vocabulary through interactions with the objects. More commonly referred to as ‘The Farm’, this is a set of instructional materials used to teach grammar concepts in the Montessori classroom, laying the roots for good communication, reading comprehension, writing, speaking, story-telling and more. Children are given opportunities to interact with the materials to learn about the different parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and articles and how they are used in sentences. It provides a setting for activities of language enrichment, grammar, reading, and eventually writing. The Farm consists of a barn, people, animals, fences, a tractor, and many more. This fun material introduces grammar by using characters and labels, making it very interactive and interesting for the children. Other variations of this type of material include dollhouses or city plazas. Strong grammar skills are essential for young children, and in particular, help our students as they transition to higher levels of education, such as the Singapore Ministry of Education Primary 1 syllabus and international schools. The children are invited to investigate the Montessori grammar farm model that includes animals, objects, and label cards that correspond to each figure. By utilising The Farm material, the children are able to develop their language skills by constructing basic word combinations, identifying the objects, and vocalising their sentences or phrases. Despite not having been introduced to the parts of speech yet, the label cards are colour-coded to match the system used when teaching about verbs, nouns, articles, and other parts of speech. Through the use of a material that stimulates their interest and curiosity, the children’s comprehension of formal written language and its principles can be improved without them being aware that they are “practising their grammar.” The Montessori Grammar Farm in Action The Nursery to Kindergarten Montessori classroom provides an opportunity for early grammar instruction, which can be facilitated through materials like The Farm. After learning about the function of nouns, a child can apply this knowledge by labelling the various nouns found on the farm, such as sheep, goat, farmer. Similarly, a child who has received lessons on articles and adjectives can distinguish between different items or use more descriptive language, such as identifying the brown cow versus the black cow or a fluffy, white sheep. Finally, a child who is practicing with verbs can add some action by placing cards that describe activities such as planting tiny seeds: The farmer plants tiny seeds. By using this material, children can enhance their reading skills by practicing reading words within a given context, comprehend the role of different words, and develop the groundwork for reading and writing creatively. Once children have gained an initial understanding of grammar through sensorial activities, they can proceed to comprehend it at a more profound level. They now have the tools and confidence to master literacy, indispensable knowledge as they move from preschool to primary school, and beyond! Addendum Grammar in Montessori Montessori’s approach to grammar assigns a specific shape and colour to each part of speech to convey its unique significance. For instance, the Noun is depicted as a black pyramid, which represents the solidity and immobility of one of the earliest human structures. The colour black symbolizes carbon, which is thought to have been the first mineral discovered by humans. This visual cue suggests that nouns, or words that denote people, places, or things, may have been among the earliest words spoken by humans. Conversely, the Verb is represented by a red sphere, evocative of the shape and energy of the sun, which sustains life. The verb animates objects and imbues them with movement, much like the sun animates all living creatures. Dr. Montessori designed a series of Grammar materials that bring this work to life. To make learning grammar more engaging and memorable, each part of speech is presented through an interactive story or game. For instance, when teaching adjectives, the teacher might gather a group of children and ask them to fetch a book for her. As the children return with different books, the teacher rejects them one by one, claiming she was thinking of a different one. After several unsuccessful attempts, the children realize they need more information to fulfill the teacher’s request. At this point, the teacher explains that when there are many options, we need to use more precise language. She then specifies, “I want the small book with the green spine,” illustrating how adjectives can modify nouns to provide additional details and specificity. Further Reading: How To Introduce English Grammar With A Farm – Jojoebi Grammar in Montessori language — The Wonderful World of Montessori (wonderfulmontessori.com) Grammar Materials Bring Language to Life – Montessori for Everyone Blog Phonetic Animal Farm — The Wonderful World of Montessori (wonderfulmontessori.com) Phonetic Reading, Grammar (montessoriworld.org)

The Importance of Play for Children

Amanda March 2023

We have been talking a lot about the concept of ‘play’ and ‘playing’, and this is because in essence, children learn through play. Dr. Maria Montessori said, “He [the child] does it with his hands, by experience, first in play and then through work. The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” Play should come from a child’s imagination and there is no right or wrong way to play – it could be anything, whether chasing after a butterfly, playing with board games or simply staring out a window. Play enables children to explore and make sense of the world around them, as well as to use and develop their imagination and creativity. Play is how children learn about the world, themselves, and one another. 4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour In his book You Are Special: Words of Wisdom for All Ages from a Beloved Neighbor, Fred Roger wrote that “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning.” Adults need to be reminded that play does not need to be purposefully created. Play can occur naturally through the child’s imagination. For example, a child who is walking to a destination may stop along the way to observe their surroundings and chase after birds on the street. “Play is the work of a child” -Dr. Maria Montessori How We Play At House on the Hill It follows that at House on the Hill, we are playing all the time. Children’s development is stimulated through multi-sensory exploration where they learn to explore the world around them through their senses. In the prepared environment of a Montessori classroom, children learn and play at the same time. There are hands-on learning opportunities through practical life activities, from transferring objects with their hands and pouring water through a funnel to cutting short snip fringe and threading beads. We also have sensorial materials such as the Pink Tower and Knobbed Cylinders that help refine a child’s visual sense by learning differences in dimension. Such skills can also aid in their Mathematics learning in the years ahead. Such activities may seem frivolous to adults but it’s an important playtime for children. Here we see a child experiencing hands-on learning during our March holiday programme theme on “Bubbles” , where the children used recycled materials like bottles and socks to create items such as a snake bubble. At House on the Hill, we provide natural resources for child directed play as well. Our daily programming includes lots of time outdoors, in nature and the opportunity to learn through play in the sunshine. Our schools have mud or outdoor kitchens for the Playgroup and Pre-Nursery children and “Loose Part Play” for the Nursery and Kindergarten children. This is a great way to encourage them to exercise creativity during outdoor playtime. Through pretend play, the children will stay engaged and start seeing endless possibilities with their imagination. Dr. Maria Montessori once said that “The hands are the instrument of a man’s intelligence.” This coming weekend, do not hesitate to play! Do not be stressed about how you should plan an eventful day of play . Ask your child, how should we play today and you never know what creative ideas they will come up with. Have a jolly good time playing!

What is Loose Parts Play?

The HotH Team January 2023

4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour Play is an important aspect in children’s learning development. When children play, it gives them many different ways and opportunities to learn through play. Information is usually best retained when play experiences are fun and spontaneous. “Play is the work of the child” – Dr Maria Montessori Here at House on the Hill, we want to cultivate and explore this natural creativity and engagement further. Therefore, we are excited to introduce Loose Parts Play, together with gardening and exploration of nature-themed projects as part of our afternoon activities curriculum from 2023! Using the outdoor spaces as our play areas, the children will have numerous opportunities to explore, discover and learn in, about and through the outdoors. The freedom to play with spontaneous ideas and creation using a collection of small objects provides the children with opportunities to make, build, experiment and invent. Loose parts materials can be used in combination, redesigned, pulled apart or put back together, carried around, manipulated, put into patterns or used as visual representations for children’s imaginations. Loose parts also invite children to explore and discover, imagine and create, enquire and experiment, play and tinker about as they build on their developmental skills in a supportive learning environment. The material in itself has limitless use in the world of the child’s creation. At House on the Hill, our loose parts play is about guiding the children to make connections to their daily experiences. We allow the children to recreate these thoughts, ideas and feelings by documenting them using the loose parts material to make their experiences visual and concrete. With our recent trip to the zoo, the children recreated their zoo trip experience using leaves and pebbles from our garden, plus our collection of toilet paper core and ice-cream sticks. How do we include this in our play environment at school? Here is an example of the children’s play experiences after they took a school trip to the zoo: This group of children explored with toilet paper cores, leaves and rocks. They discovered that the toilet paper cores are good for making structure, and so they decided to add the leaves as the shelter. Once they created their structure, they decided that they still needed to renovate the zoo for more details. This meant that the animals were not ready to move in. Instead, they would be in transit from Malaysia! 😂 Come, join us in our next play and discover if the animals did arrive from Malaysia…. Here is a second group of children playing with the same topic: This group explored with ice cream sticks, leaves and rocks. Each of them created enclosures of different sizes. Some were larger than others to fit larger animals like the elephant. They added animals to their enclosure (using rocks) to represent the elephant, cheetah, hippopotamus and lion. Can you make a guess which is the elephant enclosure? Hint: In that enclosure, there are both elephants as well as lots of food for the elephants. Why do we want to include this in our Montessori environment? The importance and benefits of loose parts play Loose parts play is open-ended; the same material can lead the children to create different uses for it in many different ways. When they play, the fun is all in the process, and not the outcome. For example, a brown leaf can be an elephant in one child’s play, the next time, the same brown leaf can be a skateboard in another child’s play. The possibilities are endless! This means it helps to expand the child’s creativity and imagination to use the same material in many different possible ways for the different play theme setting. Children are the content creators in this play, and teachers act as facilitators to lead and guide them through their story-line. This child-directed play helps the children towards more independent play. Besides fostering imagination and creative play, the children build upon their problem-solving skills, determination, patience, as well as communication skills, to discuss and work together towards a common goal. As the children use the loose parts to integrate in their play, there are many connections and applications to the subject areas. For example, in the subject area of Math, children could apply the concept of sorting and classifying as they arrange the loose parts into different categories or grouping them with similar characteristics together. In the creating the zoo enclosure example, they discovered the differences in size and dimension when they add more sticks. By adding more sticks, the shape of a square also changed into a rectangle. In another subject area of science and geography, the children discovered how to place the toilet paper core to make a more balanced structure using simple engineering skill to create the shelter for their animals. They also learn from one another, when one friend shared about the distance of Malaysia to Singapore, hence the animals were still in transit. These play experiences, when facilitated by the teachers, can help extend their learning. By adding the fun element in play, the children enjoy the whole process of their creation using their child-initiated ideas and imagination. How can parents also include loose parts play with children at home? Similar to our classroom environment, play can also be extended to your home environment. Start with any open-ended materials that can be played with in multiple ways. Common toys will be wooden blocks, magnetic tiles, rainbow blocks, pebbles, assorted flat marbles, play silks, assorted sizes of LEGO bricks, etc. When your child is playing with these materials, allow them to take the lead to shape the content of their creation. Protect your child’s space and time and try not to interrupt or direct them in their thought process. Use lots of observation to have an understanding of what your child is thinking. When conversing with your

Art Discovery Experiences for Children

Amanda November 2022

Dr. Maria Montessori wrote “Free the child’s potential and you will transform him into the world”. Her philosophy is something that we hold close to our hearts here at House on the Hill as we relate this to the art experiences we provide for the children in their preschool years. Children are naturally inquisitive from birth. They make sense of what is happening around them by learning through observation and exploration. Through the process of art experiences, they make interpretations and form connection of how things work around their environment. These opportunities will also help to enhance their brain development and growth. Engaging in art activities is also a form of self-directed discovery which fuels creativity in children. It encourages risk-free exploration and freedom, which helps to builds confidence. Free expression also enables children to express their emotions and feelings, especially when children are still learning to use words to verbalise their thoughts. Art experiences in House on the Hill include activities that encourage children to explore through art elements such as lines, colours, shapes and textures. Examples of art activities include painting using crepe paper and foam, as well as crayon resin and cellophane collage. In House on the Hill, we strongly believe in the importance of reuse, reduce and recycle materials in our daily activities. We are appreciative of the support coming from the parents to have recyclable materials passed on to the school for the children to be purposefully engaged with. For example, the use of plastic bottles bases and toilet cores are useful in the process of printing outlines. Here are some suggestions of what adults can do to support in this process: 1.Support and don’t lead your child, allowing them to have freedom of choice to use materials in a safe environment In House on the Hill, we do this via the well thought out lesson plans by the teachers. With the objectives of the lesson in mind, the next crucial component includes ensuring that preparation of the materials is ready before the lesson. The children have the freedom to be engaged in using the readily available art materials to work on their masterpieces. 2. Keep it open- ended, instead of having a specific expectation. Let your child explore, experiment, and use their imagination. This is a crucial part of encouraging and building their creativity. Focus on the process, not the product. Do encourage the effort of the child as the process of exploration is more important than the end product. Acknowledge the child’s effect in the process. In the classroom our teachers use encouragement such as “I like the colours that you have chosen for your painting. They are colourful and vibrant”. This helps children to develop their self esteem and confidence. There is no right and wrong in Art Expression, every child has the ability to create their own unique art pieces. They are the masters of their artwork! 3. Art experiences in the home Art experiences do not have to happen in school settings only. Besides the art activities we have written about in this article, other examples of art experiences you can try with your child at home includes monoprinting where the painted image is transferred to another sheet of paper, while the use of playdough encourages creativity, when they can build and construct 3D sculptures. Lastly, an important takeaway for parents is to allow art discovery opportunities at home. They are a great way to encourage social-emotional development and enhancing fine motor skills. In addition, it creates moments for quality interaction and bonding with your children. Do have a go with providing similar art discovery experiences at home and be amazed at the wonders that children will create! Some suggested further reading: Keep Up the Good Encouragement Montessori at Home: Hanging Artwork

Social/Cultural Upbringing in Montessori

Amanda June 2022

“Within the child lies the fate of the future.“ – Dr. Maria Montessori We are a proud Montessori school and hold fiercely to the tenets of the Montessori Method, as laid out by Dr. Maria Montessori. A central and core component of our schools’ curriculum is the social and cultural curriculum. We encourage kindness and respect, building an understanding of harmonious living amongst our students, which we hope they will take to heart and carry on as they develop into adults. Every experience is thought through and purposeful. In their daily activities and interactions, our children develop social and emotional awareness as they relate to their classmates, teachers, and surroundings. Children learn the world they live in and the various cultures through subjects that include science, zoology, geography, history and art. In their mixed-age classrooms, children experience mutual learning opportunities and collaboration. Through daily interactions and group activities, our students develop social skills necessary to relate and participate in a harmonious society. It is our belief and hope that in helping to set this fundamental foundation for our children, we have set wheels in motion. They start to learn self-awareness and awareness of their surroundings. This helps eases difficult transitions and inculcates a sense of confidence and comfort as they age and develop. Social Development the Montessori Way Humans, by natural design, are social creatures. In the real-life world, interactions with others occur regardless of differences amongst us (e.g. race, religion, age). A Montessori classroom of different age-groups seeks to mirror this. Mixed-aged grouping is a classic part of a Montessori curriculum. Montessori pedagogy believes in peer-learning through mixed-aged grouping as it avoids competition amongst them and promotes a healthier learning adventure. Every day in class, the children develop the social skills necessary to relate and participate in a harmonious society. In a class of different ages and skills, the older children become more sensitive to the younger children’s needs and through their own, personal experiences, can predict and help problem-solve the challenges a younger child might currently go through. It is often common in our schools to see an older child wiping tears off a younger child’s face and holding their hands to calm them down! On the other hand, younger children feel less ‘pressured’ in a new environment – especially for new additions to the class. We see that the younger ones have trust and support in, relying on the older children for guidance. This mimics the siblings-at-home relationship, and we have seen many interactions where the younger children are inspired by the older ones, who in turn ‘lead’ play and lead the way. Having the experience of being helped, and admiring or looking towards the older kids for inspiration imparts confidence and a sense of security in the younger children. We also encourage them to see that one day, they too, will be older and can pay it forward to other newer, younger children. Cultural Development the Montessori Way Cultural lessons/experiences enliven a child’s understanding of the very much adult world around them, and helps them make sense of it through their discoveries. Admittedly, the Cultural exploration in Montessori curriculum is very broad in content, but it does tend to be quite specific in its intent. Typical topics such as Botany and Zoology are well-received by children of various ages as they tend to be worlds that children experience in a daily sense and therefore can relate. Experiences such as observing caterpillars morphing into butterflies, growing seeds into edibles, rearing stick insects or even nursing injured birds back to health give children concrete and tactile understanding of the essential needs in life. They develop emotional depth as love and care naturally pours out while taking care of the animals and plants, as well as a deep-rooted understanding of one’s sense of self. Travelling to different parts of the world at a much younger age is common for many of our students. Deeper and more complex topics such as History and Geography – just to name a few – makes sense as well. Going through the puzzle maps of the countries of the world helps them relate to their travels and to the different countries they’ve been. The act of the Montessori birthday walk tracks and marks a child’s year in life in a simple but essential history lesson. It drives a child to understand how ‘much’ they have grown. This in turn, helps them to make that connection to the milestones they have gone through to get to where they are currently. It helps to facilitate a lifetime habit of pausing, self-reflection and acknowledgement of growth. Comments such as “I was so small and could only cry!” or “I could only crawl then!” are common throughout birthday walks and mark a child’s understanding of their physical and emotional growth. It is a natural inclination for people to seek connections through their experiences, especially with young children. The cultural concepts taught through the Montessori pedagogy aim to help children connect and make sense of the world through their own discoveries and experimental journeys.

Category: Montessori