Day: March 27, 2018

Children learn best when they’re involved in the learning. Hands-on science encourages children to observe and ask questions, touch and smell, explore and experiment. A learning experience will become more meaningful if it gives children the chance to make discoveries on their own.

Being ‘scientists’ allowed the Montessori Seniors to ask the why, how, and what questions. Even better, they found the answers to the questions themselves and learned the scientific process along the way!

Cleaning a Coin:

Which solution is most effective to clean a copper coin?

Looking for Fossils:

How does a paleontologist look for fossils?

Blowing Balloons: 

What happens when baking soda meets vinegar?

Magnetic Maze:

How can you make the paper clip reach the bag without touching it?

Sink & Float:

Find out for yourself which objects sink in water and which objects float.

They may have been ‘scientists’ today, but they have become explorers for life.

“Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery – it’s the sincerest form of learning.”
― George Bernard Shaw

Children are very observant. They can pick on mannerisms, accents and emotions and then replicate them with startling accuracy.

So, when the Montessori students role-played ‘At the Doctor’s Clinic’, the ‘doctor’ came across as an important person doing serious work while the ‘patients’ distress and frustration in the waiting room was evident. The ‘secretary’ was smiling and helpful and dealt efficiently with the waiting ‘patients’ while the ‘chemist’ made sure to read the prescription carefully before handing over the medicine.

What the children learned throughout this process was evident in their ideas, their actions and their language. They may have played at being doctors but they were on a journey of discovery – discovering themselves.

“Through others we become ourselves.”
― Lev S. Vygotskyy