In our kindergarten, the intellectual and motor development of children is stimulated to a large extent by teaching aids designed in accordance with the Montessori concept. In our work with children, we also use everyday objects that children often come into contact with in their environment.
Teaching aids in our kindergarten
When selecting materials and teaching aids, we are guided by their impact on motor and intellectual development. We choose those that, in our opinion, will fulfill this task best and at the same time will meet with the greatest interest among children. All aids are arranged in such a way that each child can reach for them at any time, whenever they think they need them.
Development through working with everyday objects
The work and tasks that are part of household chores are extremely popular with children. Mastering these activities not only makes it easier for them to function on a daily basis, but also increases their self-confidence and motivates them to be active.
Simple actions such as screwing in screws, wiping down a table, pouring water into a container improve the planning and coordination of movements. Fine motor skills, which are very necessary in learning to write, among other things, are developed by practicing dressing, fastening buttons, lacing shoes, or stringing beads.
Montessori teaching materials and aids
Montessori aids are designed to stimulate all the senses of a small person. Thanks to them, children learn spatial thinking, perception of shapes, colors, smells and tastes with interest and pleasure. We also successfully use Montessori materials to develop children's language and mathematical skills. Here are some examples of Montessori educational aids:
- pink tower – a set of single-colored blocks, differing in size. They can be compared to each other in terms of size, arranged in various ways (vertically and horizontally), build a tower, stairs or floors or, for example, mark the center of the structure;
- brown stairs – similarly to the pink tower, it is a set of single-colored blocks that differ in width and length;
- colored boards – used to learn colors;
- murmur boxes – 12 boxes in red and blue, filled with various loose materials. Excellent aid in practicing sound recognition and comparison, concentration training and auditory memory;
- flavor bottles – teach how to recognize flavors – bitter, salty, sour and sweet;
- scented containers – these are 6 pairs of containers filled with different scents. The children's task is to find 2 containers with the same scent. An excellent aid in learning scents.
In addition to sensory materials, we also use Montessori aids for mastering language and mathematics, including: rough letters and rough numbers, a movable alphabet, golden pearls, abacuses, and metal frames.
All materials have a very simple structure, are made of pleasant, often natural materials and are arranged in a logical way. They help children easily understand the complex world of words and numbers.