Because he is having difficulty retaining information about his numbers, I decided to really dial in on the benefits of the Montessori three part lesson, and dig into only two numbers at a time.
We always have a lot of fun in the second part of the lesson, adding in as much movement and game-like components as possible, but this time I decided to add in some narrating and it was probably my favourite way we have ever done the lesson.
Always Start with Part One:
It is important to have all the aspects of your lesson gathered together and prepared so that you are not losing the child's interest or breaking concentration by trying to go and get things midway through the lesson.
If I do need to gather or prepare something, I try to do it quickly while Jerome is really immersed in something. Because, hey, we are all human, and sometimes things come up.
First I sit Jerome down and I go over the first part of the lesson each time.
This is one, one. (While I trace it with one finger) Now it is your turn.
Repeat with number two.
Now On to Part Two:
Then we did a few preliminary exercises as part two of the lesson before jumping into narration.
Such as: Can you put number two over there by that book? Can you put number one on my hand? Put number one on top of number two.
Then I started the story telling: Number one is going for a walk. Can you walk number one? Number two comes, too. Number two decides to go get an ice cream cone. Can you walk number two to the ice cream stand?
He asks number one if he would like an ice cream cone. Number one comes over to the ice cream stand as well. They both get ice cream cones.
After we had narrated this story for a while, acting it out with the number one and two pieces, I gave him a white board with the number one and two written on it and gave him instructions. Can you draw number one holding his ice cream cone? Can you draw number two holding his ice cream cone, as well? Number two dropped his. Can you erase that one and draw him a new one.
When we had finished this story, I asked him if he wanted to do another. He did. And another.
That repetition is where it is at.
If you don't feel confident with narrating and coming up with stories, here are a few ideas:
- Going to the swimming pool
- Jumping on the bed and falling off
- Walking the dog
- Eating at a restaurant
- Making supper
- Having a birthday party
And Lastly, Part Three:
Next time we sit down to work with numbers, I will take out the 1 and 2 pieces and ask him if he knows what they are. If he does know, then we can move on to the next two numbers. If he does not correctly identify them, we will work through part one and two again.
This is the beauty of the three part lesson, it is so easy to isolate concepts and to track what they know, as I mentioned in my post on giving the three part lesson.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. I would also love to hear any suggestions for posts you would like me to write about. And if you are interested in following along in our daily adventures, follow us on Instagram where I post daily.
God bless,
Olivia Fischer
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