Experimenting with Montessori

So I've been doing LOTS of reading lately about different educational approaches, and a few have caught my eye. Montessori is one of them, and mostly because it is such a concrete method of learning and it really gives kids practice for every day tasks, AND increases attention span. (One of my problems) That said, I haven't read ENOUGH to really know what to do for these activities! So here's my shot at a bean tray. I took a box top and filled it with dried beans and a bunch of things I had in the kitchen. It was a hit! John Paul had a great time filling and refilling containers, listening to how the beans sound, and using a spoon to transfer beans. I could tell he was really focusing. When Joey woke up from his nap, he really enjoyed the bean transfer too. I am now almost 100% sure he is a lefty. Yay! I love leftys!

Anyway, I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to be doing while they were working on the tray. We practiced full and empty and less and more, and guessed which container would hold the most. I'll do some more reading before I do this again, but for the boys it was a big success. Until I took a phone call and the beans went all over the carpet. Now I'm afraid to vacuum, but at least they had fun!