Last week we received two large boxes of our final Montessori materials order. Turns out there will be a few more things that need replacing - sigh (my own fault for not checking!), but at least we have something for everything, in some state or another ;)
Some of the items we purchased ARE replacements; some are brand new to my son; and some are materials he has worked with elsewhere and only now has a set at home.
We had an open exploration morning with the materials - FORGET the "perfect" presentation - what better presentation than to JUST EXPLORE!?
We had SO much fun!
One of the first favorites was discovered when he was helping unpack the box of squares and cubes - it is introduced in lower elementary (around age 8) and continues into upper elementary - at least according to my albums and if a child is on top of the squaring and cubing concepts. There is obviously going to be a wider range of ages for various children - us adults in training loved these ;) But I have been astounded to hear time and again that this material isn't touched even in upper elementary - on a *routine* basis; and that many elementary teachers don't even bother getting the material because it is more appropriate to adolescence REALLY!? Tell that to my (non-genius, totally normal) 8 year old son after our experience last week --- and all the children I've shown this work to in schools at ages 7-10. They won't tell you it's for adolescence!
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| Note the styrofoam still all over the floor. That stuff is a PAIN - so we ignored it and got to work ;) |
He just looked at me, all serious, and said, "No." Then he paused. Looked at the half-done tower and said, "It looks like like the cubes from the bead cabinet. Wait. You mean the bead cabinet cubes are the same as the pink tower, too? I didn't know that!"
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| Aren't those just the cutest little toes!? ;) |
(this is one of those aha! moments when a child who has already been demonstrating clear understanding of a concept for literally YEARS, suddenly "gets it" - the light bulb turns on and the child can VERBALIZE it; it makes us wonder if he didn't really get it before - but he did, it was just unconscious before - and by allowing the child the JOY of discovery, it is truly his own learning!)
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| He wanted to build it corner-aligned - he likes that layout so the #1 can "fall" down the stairs of the tower! |
Love it! I really would love to have the cubing material for our homeschool. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI keep putting out requests to various groups that make handmade items (Etsy teams I am on, etc.) but so far, no-one has come back saying they could do something like this for less than $200. Huge bummer. BUT. IFIT (montessoriequipment.com) has it for the best price possible as of today. My only complaint is that the squares are supposed to be a slightly different shade from the cubes - and they totally match. NOT a huge deal, just a tad disappointing :)
Delete(yikes! I just checked and they've raised the price by $20 since I placed my order! I hope that doesn't happen again for a while! (it is possible it was on sale when I ordered too...))
Oh how I wish I could afford these cubing materials! I'll keep a lookout on the site you have posted. Maybe a good deal will come along. Thanks for the great blog! We love Montessori!
DeleteBe on the lookout for $250 - that's the lowest I've seen it.
DeleteAlso, it was stated in my training that the box is what adds to the price - the wood squares and cubes are the easy part.
It's a worthy investment if you can get it - and while I've not seen it for resale yet, I would guess it has excellent re-sale value for the very reason that it is not often available! ;)