The Use of Didactic Materials and Practical Activities

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The materials used in many of today’s Montessori programs were inspired by the objects originally developed by Maria Montessori more than a hundred years ago. This image shows a child using the “sandpaper letters,” which provide sensory reinforcement of the shape of each letter as the child traces the textured surface.

Like the Montessori environment, Montessori materials and demonstration lessons are organized and sequenced. Some resources and activities, like taking care of plants and sorting picture cards that depict the different parts of a plant, support nature study and physical education, while others, like working with puzzle maps and cards that identify different types of land forms, emphasize geography. Children actively manipulate materials to train their senses, refine their motor skills, and learn academic concepts.

Sensory materials promote discrimination skills and are typically self-correcting. For instance, knobbed cylinders made of wood with a small knob on top encourage manipulation with the thumb and forefinger. Each cylinder fits into only one corresponding hole in a wooden block, so the child knows when a correct match is made. There are several sets of cylinders intended to teach how objects vary by a particular attributedepth, diameter, or both.

In addition to the cylinders, some of the more commonly recognized sensory materials include:

Color tabletsThree sets of color tiles that focus on primary colors, secondary colors, and shade and tints of both
Sound boxesCylinders filled with various materials for matching sounds
Smelling jarsSmall glass jars with lids that have holes through which children can smell and compare the contents
Pink towerGraduated set of pink wood cubes that vary by one centimeter in each dimension
Brown stairsGraduated set of wooden blocks that vary by height and width

Montessori believed that children learn reading through writing first. The academic materials prepare children to hold writing implements properly; learn the shapes and sounds of letters and numbers; gradually put together words, phrases, and sentences; and develop a sense for numbers and geometric forms. While children typically master the practical life and sensory materials by age 4, elementary Montessori still employs the academic materials for math and language activities. Some of the most recognizable academic materials include:

Sandpaper letters and numeralsfor tactile internalization of the shapes of numbers and letters
Metal stencilsfor tracing geometric shapes
Geometric solidswooden models of basic shapes
Movable alphabetblue vowels and red consonant letters with wooden trays for arranging letters
Golden beadsbeads grouped as singles, tens, hundreds, and one thousand that can be manipulated in various ways to teach the decimal system

Activities are practical and emphasize everyday routines for care of the person, environment, social courtesies, and movement control. Children develop physical coordination and concentration and learn to be self-directed, independent, and responsible. Lessons introduce and reinforce the left-to-right and top-to-bottom orientation children will eventually use to learn to read, write, and perform mathematical operations.

Some of the practical life activities include:

Pouring rice from one pitcher to another
Washing and polishing plant leaves
Mastering different kinds of clothing fasteners
Walking and balancing on a line
Greeting visitors
Dusting tables

Finally, Montessori programs often include gardening and extended periods of time set aside for outdoor activities and exploration.

Waldorf

Waldorf education emerged at about the same time as Montessori education. Although the curriculum is not as well known, Waldorf programs can be found worldwide and in all fifty states in the United States. Moreover, interest in Waldorf is increasing. Some people consider the principles that underlie Waldorf and Montessori to be mutually exclusive ideologically, but others believe that there are elements that can be compared (Peterson, 2010).

Basic Principles

Rudolf Steiner (18611925) is generally credited with founding the Waldorf approach, known for its attention to aesthetic beauty and the spirit. He was an Austrian who believed that children learn by imitation and sensory stimulation for about the first seven years of life. Steiner coined the term anthroposophy (Trostli, 1998)what Gardner might call intrapersonal intelligence, or knowing and understanding one’s true nature. Like Montessori, Steiner believed the purpose of education was to allow children the freedom to develop their inner potential. He also believed that learning should be driven by children’s interests and questions.

The Waldorf Classroom

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The Waldorf curriculum emphasizes the importance of an aesthetically pleasing environment, use of natural materials, and time for children to experience the natural world.

A Waldorf classroom environment is designed and organized to be aesthetically pleasing, inspiring, and “nourishing to the senses” (Trostli, 1998). Materials are attractive, engaging, and colorful. Most are open-ended, like paints, clay, or blocks, as Steiner felt that didactic materials (like those found in a Montessori classroom, or a puzzle, for example) limited a child’s imagination (Edwards, 2002). Imaginary dramatic, creative, and exploratory play is encouraged, as are many activities throughout the day that foster oral language. Followers of the Waldorf approach believe that the intentional teaching of reading and writing is not necessary until the age of seven.