We are almost done setting up our classroom with brand new authentic Montessori materials! One thing that's missing? The Pink Tower.
I had been waiting for weeks for it to arrive, but what a disappointment it was when I opened up the box and found this:

All sides of the cubes were covered in blistered paint! If you're like me you feel my pain, I almost cried 😭

Fortunately, the company I ordered from was amazing and sent me a brand new set right away, with a great surprise:

I love the fact that they sent an extra piece of the smallest cube, I can tell there’s a montessorian in the company somewhere that told them "that little piece WILL get lost, lets cut these teachers some slack".

Maria Montessori always emphasized the importance of a beautiful carefully planned environment for the children, and I can’t wait until the children get to touch, feel and see the wonderful work we have prepared for September.

I've always fought with the idea of bringing technology into the classroom, there are such wonderful tools out there and I don’t see why we shouldn'tgo beyond the ones designed by Dr. Montessori herself. I feel that Rachel Hendron’s article on "The Characteristics of Montessori Materials" should be a guideline when choosing appropriate materials:

Isolation of a single property through a single sense
Purposeful activities using movement and sensorial exploration
Control of Error / Criteria for Perfection
Limitations
Aesthetics

“It is the child’s love of perfection, her effective use of objects, her tendency to work, respond to the materials, judge her efforts and correct her error which develops a strong character and creative development.” R.H.

I’ve chosen to introduce a section of the classroom which includes the child-led game system Osmo that uses physical objects and learning tools in conjunction with technology to promote problem-solving, critical thinking, develop visual spatial abilities, fine motor skills, and executive functioning.

I love Osmo because like many Montessori materials, it promotes self-correction, giving the child instant visual and auditory feedback and I’ve seen how easily it has introduced early literacy, math, and coding concepts to my own child.

I’m not trying to sell the product by all means I just like to share a good experience when I have it with the children I work for. I hope they love it as much I did.

From Pink Tower to Coding