The LCM Program
Lyons Community Montessori offers eight realms of learning: practical life, sensorial, language, math, geography, history, science, and peace. All topics are interrelated and hands-on learning is key. Pervasive throughout each area are music and art. For example, during a geography unit that teaches children about the solar system, each child holds a planet and revolves around the child holding the sun, all while singing a song about the solar system.
Practical life lessons teach fine and gross motor control, and the ability to sequence work. Children also learn innately to increase their concentration through self-care, care of others, and care of the environment. Motor skills are taught by encouraging the child to get involved in activities such as dry and wet pouring of colored grains and liquids respectively, using a child-size pitcher. The work accustoms the child to holding objects, thus strengthening the pincer grip, in preparation to holding a pencil for writing. Children are taught that all work has a beginning, middle, and an end, and they are responsible for seeing these phases through to their conclusion. Children get their own snack when they are hungry and clean up when they are through. If they spill something on the floor, they clean it up-thus teaching them to care for their environment. Self-care includes washing their hands, blowing their own nose, going to the bathroom, and putting on their own shoes (tie or Velcro). One of LCM's many animals-a hamster named Benton-helps children learn how to care for others. Practical life lessons teach daily living skills and are often referred to as prelanguage teaching.
Sensorial lessons involve educating the senses. They focus on helping the child learn to make comparisons (large vs. small), establish categories, and observe and create patterns.
This is accomplished through matching, sorting, grading, and discriminating. One tool that we use is a series of pink cubes that range in size from 1 to 10 cm. The child will learn the difference in ranges from small to large, thick to thin, heavy to light, and so on, in a hands-on manner. This type of differentiating is considered "premath" and thus prepares the child for mathematical learning. The child's sense of smell is tested on lavender and a variety of other herbs and spices. Touch is encouraged by using different grades of sand paper and rough and smooth boards. We use sound cylinders to stimulate hearing-loud and soft. By combining a range of senses, the child begins to learn at many levels.
Language lessons include a phonetic program. Sounds of the letters are presented sequentially and blended into words. Children progress through language learning based on their own abilities-not those of the group. As mentioned earlier, all lessons are interrelated. Sandpaper letters, colored shapes, and variety of other tools are used to bring language to the forefront. "I Spy"-a favorite game with the children-is used to teach letter sounds.
Math lessons instruct the child in enumeration, quantities, and operations that use manipulative materials to move the child from concrete to abstract learning. The spindle box is used to teach quantities of numbers. Numerals and counters are used to teach odd and even numbers, and golden beads are used to teach addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The "Bank Game" is a favorite that helps teach a child to add. Fractions are taught as well.
Geography lessons help the child develop a clear sense of spatial orientation through enriched interactions, such as the solar system game described earlier. The concept of the world is taught using sandpaper land and water globes. The continent globe presents each continent in a different color, each of which is associated with the same-color continent map. Again using color, the countries of each continent are displayed on cards. Knowledge and appreciation of other cultures is also taught (e.g., the Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico).
History lessons teach the child about himself or herself in time. Calendar and clock concepts are taught, all of which help to create awareness of time (and its management) in a young child. Birthday celebrations are a wonderful opportunity to impart a sense of history. On a child's birthday, the birthday child holds the earth and walks around another child who holds the sun the number of times equal to the number of years of the child. For example, a six-year-old birthday girl will walk around the "sun" six times. The birthday child can choose someone to hold the sun and sit on the floor. The parents of the birthday boy or girl are also encouraged to bring pictures that show the age progression of the child.
Science lessons focus on botany and zoology, with the ultimate goal of providing children with a rich ecological view of life and an appreciation and sense of responsibility for the world in which they live. Puzzles are used, for example, to teach the parts of a flower. Three-part cards are used to teach the parts of, say, a turtle. Children need to match the head with the body with the tail. Recycling is discussed to teach the children the importance of caring for our planet. Earth Day is celebrated to impart a sense of respect for our planet and nature.
Peace lessons are geared to introduce the concept of a person in the world. Children are taught that when they are happy, their love light glows; when they are sad, their love light dims. Flashlights are used to illustrate this point. Discussions are encouraged regarding how to reilluminate a dim love light. Children can opt to wear a felt pin daily that symbolizes their love light glowing. Niceties toward each other are encouraged, and children may add a flower to the Sacred Tree when they do something nice for someone else or when they observe another child doing something nice for someone else. Children also learn to express themselves while holding the Peace Flower. When one child holds the flower, all others must listen-thus teaching children respect for others. The Peace Flower is also an instrumental tool in helping to resolve conflict.
