4 Great STEM Activities for Montessori Elementary School Kids

Science, technology, engineering, and math are going to be vital subjects for private elementary school kids growing up in the 21st century. It is important that today’s children receive a solid foundation to build on as they get older. Fortunately, hands-on activities and greater involvement in the natural world are intrinsic parts of the Montessori Method, and children are taught STEM skills from an early age.

1. Basic Botany

Planting seeds, then watching them sprout and grow will mesmerize Montessori elementary children throughout the Spring and Summer months. Keep journals containing data about watering, planting, and even daily growth rates. This hands-on science project can be expanded to growing a fruit or vegetable garden if the space and resources are available.

2. Learning Logic

Computer logic only contains 2 states: yes or no. Learning to understand how logic flows will help children with more than their computers: it will also give them valuable perspectives pertaining to social interaction, project preparedness, and more.

3. Fractions in Food

Fractions are an intrinsic part of recipes, and preparing meals and snacks are an excellent way to put those math skills to the test. From measuring out the ingredients to slicing vegetables into equal pieces, not only are children learning fundamental life skills, but they are also discovering that math is easier and more prevalent than they may have suspected. Spoiler alert: Math is used to greater and lesser degrees in almost every project or routine your children will take on, so encouraging a love of math in early development sets the stage for years of happy learning.

4. Building with Blocks

Lego blocks are perfect for brushing up on addition, multiplication, percentages, and other math skills. They also promote the use of engineering logic, demonstrating how objects can be built to meet a wide range of design goals. As a hands-on STEM activity, building with blocks has a lot to offer as an engaging and entertaining pastime.

STEM activities can be all sorts of fun projects, including experimenting with ice, magnets, and building exciting toys such as a baking soda and vinegar fueled rocket. Not all children will be interested in every STEM project, but there are plenty of ideas available, and there will always be something for everyone.

How Does Teaching Courage Promote Development in Preschool?

Courage is a necessary ingredient of preschool life. It takes courage to try something new, ask for permission, and participate in social activities. Here we will look at 4 ways that courage promotes early development, and it is so important for small children. From apologizing when she makes an error to volunteering to perform a classroom task, many facets of childhood development hinge on having the courage to get started.

Intrinsic Motivation

Also called independent motivation, intrinsic motivation is when a preschool child is naturally involved and engaged, eager to learn more. Maria Montessori recognized that intrinsic motivation is a critical part of the early childhood development puzzle because children have to first be engaged in the process before they can begin to build on it.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is vital to communication and performance. Children need to learn to consider their options and then act on their decisions. This involves a special kind of courage because decisions have consequences and each child has to learn to stand behind their choices.

Self-Esteem and Confidence

Having the courage to take chances comes with the knowledge that “I can.” And once a child has begun establishing a healthy sense of self-esteem, she will be more invested in herself and the actions she takes. It is courage that turns a shy child into a public orator, courage that comes to the aid of a fellow student in distress, and courage to take on new challenges and tasks.

Social Skills

Any activity that involves interaction with others, whether they are classmates, parents, or friends of the family, requires children to be courageous and open. It takes courage to play a team-based game, learn to spell new words, or take part in other activities. Without courage, no one would ever go that extra mile, put forth a little more effort, or bother to try at all.

Courage is at the heart of empathy, sharing, and simply wanting to be a part. It should be fostered at every opportunity so that children understand that even when something may not work out as they expected, success is just around the corner if they stay focused and believe in themselves.

4 Montessori-Inspired Rainbow Activities Appropriate for Daycare Children

Daycare children love rainbows, and a rainbow can teach them quite a bit. A rainbow is a scientific event occurring when light bends or refracts. Rainbows happen when sunlight passes through very moist air, but the prismatic effect can be observed using simple tools like a bright light and a container of clear water. Here are several ideas for teaching children about rainbows in Montessori-inspired ways. 

1. Rainbow Art

Drawing and coloring rainbows allow Montessori daycare children to express their creativity while learning to work with frameworks. They do this by drawing the basic rainbow shape and then using creative coloring or adding expressive content to complement the drawing. In time, you can expand these activities to include the correct order of the colors in a rainbow, and even apply some basic science to why and how rainbows happen.

2. The Science of Rainbows

Shining a bright light on a surface through a magnifying glass held at the right angle will cause the wavelengths of light– the colors of the rainbow– to bend and separate from one another. But you can achieve the same thing with a bright flashlight and a clear glass or plastic container of water, and that makes the science of rainbows easier to work with. Seeing how ordinary light gets broken into distinct bands of color is an exciting science experiment, and it makes an ideal lead-in for other academic pursuits.

3. Reading About Rainbows

Reading books and coloring images of rainbows helps daycare children retain what they’ve learned about rainbows, teaches them the vocabulary associated with light and color, and more. Rainbows are used as a symbol of diversity because of the way the many colors are able to merge into one, and vice versa. In this way, rainbows can be used as an educational aid in talking about the importance of cultural diversity and how all races make the single human race.

4. Sorting and Counting With Colors

When children are able to see how their homemade prism splits colors out of light, they can learn the true order of colors in the spectrum, running from red to violet. toys or blocks in the colors of the rainbow can be sorted into correct progression, and children can learn to count the colors inherent in a beam of light.

The Montessori Method works by applying concepts to physical activities in multiple ways to impart multiple types of learning. Rainbows work well as a Montessori-inspired tool and have the added benefits of being naturally loved by everyone. Even when it is raining outside, your kids can have a little fun with rainbows indoors.

3 Exciting STEM Activities You Might Find in a Montessori Elementary School

STEM is short for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. STEM activities are designed to teach Montessori elementary school children important concepts and abilities that help them become more successful members of their 21st-century communities. STEM activities are vital in encouraging today’s youth to engage in and pursue higher skills and education necessary in the modern world.

STEM and the Montessori Method

Because Montessori is a hands-on form of education, it is perfectly suited for STEM subject material. In fact, Maria Montessori recognized the importance of STEM activities and took them into account while developing the Montessori Method. The world has progressed a lot since Maria Montessori’s time, but the ideas behind Montessori learning are as prudent and beneficial as ever. Here are 3 examples of how Montessori-inspired learning is fun and engaging.

1. Sciences

Science subjects are ideal for hands-on activities in Montessori elementary school. From astronomy to wildlife, science helps children grasp the complexities of the natural world. Butterfly habitats, experiments with states of matter using ice, and discovering the magical properties of magnets are all fun activities that teach the principles of science.

2. Jellybean Engineering

With jellybeans and toothpicks, elementary students can explore the science of atoms, or tackle architectural design and structural stability. This simple activity allows children to build in 3 dimensions, helping them develop math, critical thinking, and engineering skills that will be useful in later studies as well as providing practical experience that will last a lifetime.

3. Math in All Things

Math permeates the natural world. When children learn how important math is at an early age and develop the critical thinking skills to apply math in problem-solving exercises, arithmetic quickly becomes second nature. From measuring and cutting foods to building a birdhouse or other project, math keeps the dish delicious and joints square, and children are often fascinated to realize that their brains are using complex math without them even thinking about it, simply to perform tasks such as walking or throwing a ball.

Montessori elementary schools have always made STEM subjects an important part of the curriculum. They can be easily incorporated into a hands-on environment, and provide children with a wealth of learning opportunities above and beyond the actual project at hand. Preparing for life in the 21st century is going to demand that children understand and embrace science, technology, engineering, and math, and Montessori schools foster the love of learning children need to develop into successful adults.