bead pyramid

Recently we have been working with the short bead chains but before we got them out I wanted Ebi-kun to review the colours of the bead pyramid, the trouble with not doing Montessori every day is that it is maybe weeks between using the same materials and often he has forgotten how to do it or in this case he had forgotten the value of the colours. He started off by building the pyramid and colouring the worksheet that goes with it. Then I used the same principle that I used when I was teaching English, use the same target (in this case to remember the colour values of the bead pyramid) with several different games and activities.

combining the short beads to make 10
 the challenge was to find as many different combinations as possible.

The beauty of doing it this was is that the child doesn't get bored doing the same thing over and over and we all have different ways of learning, by having the target presented in several different ways chances are, one of those methods will sink in - so the theory goes.

using the number cards, gold beads and short beads to make numbers

I attended a lecture one time where we were asked to fill in a questionnaire, I don't remember the specifics but the outcome told you what kind of learner you are, I had the lowest score possible for auditory and my visual and kinesthetic levels were the same. The lecturer explained that the point of the exercise was to help improve your teaching method, as teachers tend to prefer teaching in the style of their learning strengths. This was so true for me, up until then, I rarely used a tape in class (yes, it was a long time ago) and most of my teaching was very visual. 

in the bag are the short beads, he takes out two,
makes a note of what they are and then does the maths

By mixing it up, it made the classes more interesting and I was able to reach all the students not just those who had a similar learning style to my own.

I think the Montessori method does well on this score, there are several exercises which in theory are teaching the same point but the presentation and the method are different, I think a Montessori classroom is a good way to reach all the children, no matter what their preferred learning style is.

treasure hunts are popular in this house just now,
so I hid post it notes with numbers on them, he would
find the note then come back to the mat and make the number.

To get the auditory bit in, I  have also been quizzing him, I'll ask 'what colour is 3' and so on, it didn't take that long for him to remember them all so we were able to move onto the short bead chains and skip counting.

If you are interested in finding out your learning style, there in a on online quiz HERE.

I have just done it and got 8 for visual, 7 for kinesthetic and 1 for auditory, never try and tell me directions, just give me a map! Chances are if I have been their once I will remember the way the second time. So, what kind of learner are you?