At HMS, we begin each school year with the unit of Space. As a part of that, our four year olds have been working hard on a perforation work to create their own map of the Solar System.
This is a multi-step process for the young, developing mind–one that takes patience, dedication and concentration, and a channeling of the mind into a kinesthetic learning process. It requires the student to combine many of the aspects of the Montessori education they have acquired over their first two years in our classroom. Without a doubt somewhere along the line she will make a mistake and have to correct it.
The benefits to completing this task are many. Of course, there is the obvious Science lesson–internalizing the names, shapes and images of the planets and our Solar System. There is the pride in completing a task that took multiple school days to complete. But like everything in our classroom, the child is a work in progress. He has improved his sense of order, and his ability to concentrate. His fine motor skills are improved. In working with the different sizes of planets, he better discerns the difference in sizes. By grasping the push-pin and perforating the shapes, he will soon perfect his writing skills.
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