A main approach to teaching in the Montessori classroom is the 3 part lesson. It is amazing for teaching new concepts and names of objects such as colors, numbers, phonetic sounds, shapes, animals, plants, opposites ect. This is a positive way to teach your child. It is self correcting and the approach gives the child a clear understanding of the material taught.
To start a three part lesson choose two items you will be teaching. for the example, I'll use colors.
Get a piece of red paper and a piece of yellow.
Step one: "This is": Point to the red paper and tell the child "This is red." next point to the yellow and say "This is yellow".
Step two:"Show me": Ask the child "Can you show me red?" If they point to it correctly, move on to yellow. if they do not point to red, repeat "Can you show me red?" while pointing yourself at the red paper and getting them to follow. Next ask the child to show you yellow and repeat as needed.
Step three: : "What is": In this step, you point to the red and ask the child "What is this?" In this step, if they say it correctly or not, still move on to the pointing to the yellow and asking what it is. If the child has grasped the concept and said the correct name, then you are ready to present the lesson again and can now add a third item. If they did not successfully name the colors, you can try the presentation again later.
Notice that throughout the lesson there is not the use of "no" or 'wrong" ect. this is important, in my opinion to help keep the activity positive for the child. If they have positive experiences in lessons, they are more likely to want to try again and learn more.
This is such a simple approach to teaching items and you can start with this as soon as your child can talk. It's so easy for children to pick up new knowledge the first few years of life, as they are little sponges wanting to absorb everything. This presentation doesnt over stimulate or offer too much at once. It helps them focus on a few objects at a time and the repetitiveness helps them grasp the concept.
I have used this activity to teach Aydin her numbers, letter sounds, colors, shapes, animals, sight words and more
