Manchester Montessori House

A few friends worked together looking at the large globe. Talking to each other about familiar places they had been on holidays or places they remembered hearing about. Lucy joined them after a while showing them on the globe where certain places were. We extended this activity by introducing the puzzle map of the United Kingdom.
We spoke about the individual countries that make UK the United Kingdom this prompted lots of talk about visits to the different places the children had visited with family. Lucy encouraged the children to draw around each part of the UK on some paper, then colour in each part with the corresponding colours. Next the children were asked to pick 1 country to write on the map. Lucy guided them to think about the letters in the country, sounding out the word and then copying the written word.

What a beautiful late spring/early summer day. We described the weather as a bit sunny, some clouds in the sky and a little wind. We began our session with a circle and a story about a fox who leaves the city to visit a forest. We discussed how our green spaces are a great place to relax and take in all the green sights and smells and the sounds of the birds in the trees and wind in the trees. We played a game of sun shines on. We learn to go around the outside of the circle and find out what interests we share. I introduced our tool for today the loppers. We did the safety talk and discussed what we use the loppers for. We cut sticks, wrapped wool around them, coloured them and collected things from the garden. Some children recalled what they had done this morning and some children told a story using the things they collected. We also made some tree guardians with clay. We also used our collected items for this. The children described the texture and shape of the clay using words like hard, cold, round, flat and squashed. The children put them on our Cherry tree. I loved hearing the children help each other and admire each others work.

This week the children have been learning all about farming as part of our RRSA Article 29 – Freedom of Education. The children began by brainstorming different topics of interest and then took part in a democratic vote. The majority of the children chose to learn about farming, showing confidence in expressing their own ideas and opinions.
To introduce the topic, we provided a farm-themed tuff tray containing farm animal families, dry pulses, hay, grass, mud, wheat, and oats. The children explored the materials using their senses and engaged in rich conversations with both adults and peers. Open-ended questions encouraged the children to think critically and share their knowledge and experiences about farms and animals.
The children watched short clips of a farmer milking cows and shearing sheep. They showed great interest in the farming processes and were eager to recreate these experiences through role play. The children carefully followed the milking process correctly, demonstrating good listening and observation skills.
Creative activities included vegetable printing, where the children discussed the different textures, shapes, colours, and features of vegetables. They used descriptive language to extend their vocabulary and explored pattern making through paint.
To end the week, the children used junk modelling materials to design and create their own tractors. They showed imagination, problem-solving skills, and perseverance while constructing their models.
Throughout the week, the children developed their understanding of the world through meaningful hands-on experiences. They extended their vocabulary, communication, counting, creativity, and fine motor skills while learning about farming in an engaging and child-led environment.
Well done, little farmers! 🚜🌾

R was invited by the teacher to work with the frog terminology puzzle after engaging in a discussion about and recalling the life cycle of a frog. R willingly accepted the invitation and carefully removed the puzzle pieces. As he explored the puzzle, he noticed the skeleton image beneath the pieces and commented, “That’s the bones — we have bones.” When the teacher asked what protects our bones, R confidently replied, “Our skin.”
R thoughtfully replaced the puzzle pieces while being encouraged to name the body parts. The teacher introduced new vocabulary, including “hind legs” and “forelegs,” which R repeated with ease. When asked if he could think of other animals with hind legs and forelegs, R paused to think before naming a dog, cow, and lion.
R repeated the frog puzzle several times, demonstrating sustained interest and concentration. He then independently chose the horse terminology puzzle. As he removed the pieces, he again identified the skeleton beneath and carefully replaced each piece. R confidently recalled the new vocabulary, stating that horses also have “hind legs and forelegs.”
The teacher introduced the word “mane.” R showed curiosity and asked, “What is a mane?” The teacher explained that a mane is the horse’s hair growing from the back of the head downward. Together, they discussed how lions also have manes.
R demonstrated strong language development, curiosity, concentration, and the ability to transfer newly learned vocabulary between activities. Well done, R.

This week, the children voted to learn about the farm at MMH. As we had already explored farm animals in previous weeks in our french sessions, this became an opportunity to revisit and extend familiar vocabulary through songs, stories, games, and sensory experiences.

In small groups we repeated the names of farm animals such as la chèvre (goat), le cheval (horse), la vache (cow), le mouton (sheep), le lapin (rabbit), la poule (hen), le canard (duck), and le cochon (pig), while also revisiting colours, numbers, vegetables, and family vocabulary. New farm-related words included le foin (hay), le lait (milk), l’herbe (grass), and le champ (field). These words gave context in French to our farm small world tuff tray with teacher Lucy and cow milking activity with teacher Nathalie, which the children approached with great excitement and curiosity.

Then the children participated in matching games where they connected animal figures to their French names using strings and visual prompts. The teacher modelled both languages throughout the session, encouraging the children to make links between French and English vocabulary. During story time, we revisited two French books with parallel translation: one describing where animals live and what they eat, and another introducing the names of baby animals such as le veau (calf) and le lapereau (baby rabbit). The children later became interested in our large “1000 words in French” book and explored the farm and zoo pages together with the teacher. They listened carefully to prompts such as “Trouvez la chèvre/ le cheval etc!” and could identify the correct animal.

We sang Dans la ferme de Mathurin” (Old McDonald had a farm), and also revisiting last week’s favourite, Vole, vole, vole papillon.

Last week, the children were really enthusiastic to explore the terracotta clay, so we continued to work with it today. Many of the children returned to explore their interests and ideas using their hands as tools to flatten, shape, squeeze and mould the clay. They also worked with the tools both physically and symbolically as marks and lines developed into meaning.

Scraping, and carving into the sides of the clay with a tool: “ I’m chopping. (Sings) Chop, chop, chop and chop!” (S)

Squeezing the clay to make it stand up tall: “I’m making a mountain.” (Asks for wooden matchsticks) Now get some legs.”

Tools were poked into clay to make marks and repetitive patterns:
“I’m doing holes!” (S)
“I’M doing holes!” (A)

“I’M making spikey balls.” (Later, she creates a flattened base and then makes a perfect circle imprint in the centre with a cardboard circle and sticks a stick in the middle of the circle with a clay sphere on top): “The Earth goes round the sun. I need some more balls (for the planets). I need lots. I’m going to cut it (practises cutting safely with the tool). I did it!”

Toy animals were introduced to the clay as a provocation for mini world play and story-making. The children became interested in the different footprints the animals made in the clay, which led to animal prints and “fossils”. Soon animals began to pile into the clay:
“Everyone’s stuck in the mud. All the animals are getting stuck. Argh! The Knight is coming with a sword to kill them. Quick! The cow escaped! (Makes clay forms) This is a sword. This is a rainbow: it’s where he puts his sword. I can’t get out of this mysterious mud!” (S)

Y chose to explore the geometric solids, carefully creating towers with the shapes. The teacher approached Y and asked if he knew the names of the solid shapes.Y responded, “No, what are they?”
The teacher invited Y to feel the cone and asked whether it could roll. Y tested the cone and observed, “It rolls all the way round, it’s like an ice cream cone.” The teacher then introduced the names of the geometric solids, including the cone, cube, prism, and sphere, encouraging Y to feel the edges and surfaces of each shape.
Y continued his exploration by matching realistic picture cards to the geometric solids. He identified a tissue box as being “the same as a prism” and recognised that a wooden block was “the same shape as a cube.”
Y demonstrated strong engagement throughout the activity and showed growing understanding of geometric vocabulary through hands-on exploration and discussion. Well done,Y, for your lovely engagement and for extending your vocabulary.

R worked with our colour grading activity form the sensorial shelf. He began working at a table and soon realised there was not enough space. Together we moved to work on the floor with a mat.R used the colour wheel to organise the coloured pieces of wood. Each one a different gradient of a colour, he then placed the corresponding coloured figure on the right gradient. Lucy used words like “light” “ lighter” “lightest” and “dark” “darker” “darkest”.
R told me his favourite Colour was blue.