SNAP-Scaffolding for Numerical Synapses |
I love hearing children ask, “Why?” Some adults shrink away when they hear the question because they think that they are expected to be able to answer every question; not necessarily so. Better, we are learning, it is to wonder and ask questions WITH your children. You can seek answers together or let time pass for them to cogitate over questions and have answers revealed later. October 21, 2015, Linda Flanagan writes "How to Spark Curiosity in Children Through Embracing Uncertainty" She references Jamie Holmes, who has just written a book, “Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing.” According to Holmes, one way, among others, to inspire curiosity and to encourage tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty in the classroom is to: "Adopt a non-authoritarian teaching style to encourage exploration, challenge and revision. Teachers who instruct with a sense of humanity, curiosity and an appreciation for mystery are more apt to engage students in learning, Holmes explained. “Those with an outlook of authority and certainty don’t invite students in,” he said. Also, when teachers present themselves as experts imparting wisdom, students get the mistaken idea that subjects are closed. “Teachers should help students find ways to think and learn,” he said. “The best teachers are in awe of their subjects.”" Find just such an “appreciation for mystery” in "SNAP-Scaffolding For Numerical Synapses.” If you’re interested in “How to Spark Curiosity in Children Through Embracing Uncertainty” see how to create an environment where questions about their numbers 1-10 are triggered and connections are found across the curriculum. (Please note that observing each number includes exploring geometric expressions related to each number.) Ask, "What do you know about the number one?” and look to art, math, music, science, astronomy, botany, language, life skill activities, and many others for answers. Subsequent questions that will puzzle and intrigue: “Why are planets, moons, and suns spherical in shape, or near to spherical in shape?” “Why do we have two eyes, two ears, two arms and legs?” “Why is a dinosaur with three horns on its head called a ‘triceratops'?” “Why do people talk of 'the four corners of the earth’?” “Why do so many different flowers have five petals?" “Why are snowflakes hexagonal?” “Why does the Australian flag have seven stars?” “Why does the octopus have eight arms?” “Why is nine the atomic number of fluorine?” “Why do oranges, not always but, often have ten segments?” "SNAP – Scaffolding for Numerical Synapses" is my way to share a Montessori-inspired theme that engages curiosity and sense of wonder in the numbers one to ten among children and their adults.
When I write it is usually in response to an article or blog that I have read. Here is a TED talk that resonates with me. “The majority will lose this sense of wonder and curiosity before they grow up.” “If the children are born with anything, it’s a sense of the invisible beauty of the world. The math of learning | John Mighton | TEDxCERN Why does this resonate with me? I have often seen this kind of excitement in Montessori classrooms. Even Early-Childhood guides listen for and get a special thrill whenever they hear a small child exclaim, “I did it!” In regard to the idea named here, “guided discovery,” Montessori said, “It is necessary for the teacher to guide the child without letting him feel her presence too much, so that she may always be ready to supply the desired help, but may never be the obstacle between the child and his experience.” – Maria Montessori And, as for looking for patterns in multiplication factors, “The numbers so underlined stand out like a design in such a way that the child easily can study and compare the tables.” – Maria Montessori, from "The Montessori Elementary Material," first copyright in 1917. "SNAP – Scaffolding for Numerical Synapses" is my way to share a Montessori-inspired theme that engages curiosity and sense of wonder in the numbers one to ten among children and their adults.
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ArchivesAuthorA former teacher hopes to pique interest and encourage a lifelong love of numbers, regardless your age; at the same time trumpet the merits of Montessori. Categories |