GREAT Lessons are Fun!

(Repost from Sept. 2007. If you're doing the Montessori Great Lessons as a basis for teaching History to your children, here is an example of how we started. I can't believe how little Sean-Paul looks here, two years makes a big difference, wow!! Enjoy and let me know if any of the links are dead, I don't have time to check them right now as it's a very special birthday today for the children's grandpa :) Many blessings in your day, next up: Botany!)

Well, this picture pretty much sums up how our First GREAT Lesson went on Monday!!  It was FUN!!!

I followed Andrea's lead at Gray Family Circus and used a combination of materials from the above page link and the MTC Albums "God Who Has No Hands" to prepare for and present this VERY Montessori way of describing the Cosmic Beginning of the Universe.   

It was truly a captivating lesson for all of my different aged children and there was a surpise in each of the wonderful Experiments.  Here is the basic progression or order of the Presentation that I gave:

• Discussion of what we see in our world outside our door and in the greater world
• Presented the vastness of nothingness, while waving a balloon filled with confetti over our work space
• Popped Balloon and talked about this new great force of energy (Who was this force??? GOD)
• Lit a candle to signify how God brought Light into the vastness and transformed the chaotic Universe into something more orderly (Sprinkled Bits of Confetti onto surface of water to show order
• Discussion of the Stars, the speed of light and how our Sun was created to warm only our Earth
• Discussion of Size ratio of Earth to Sun (show Picture of Sun enveloping the Earth)
• Talked about Earth's components (Demonstrated 3 Forms of Matter with Honey, Water, and Oil)
• Talked about how the 3 Forms react to heating and cooling (Demonstration of Ice melting, Boiling and Steaming/Evaporating)(Pictoral Sketch)
• Showed how the liquid form of matter flows around solids by filling each crevice and space (Poured water over clear marbles in glass, demonstrated gas by spraying perfume)
• More discussion of Earth's formation and trapped hot liquid matter under the surface (Demonstrated Volcano)  HUGE SUCCESS and SURPRISE!!

We finished up with a Picture Sketch of the Earth ready for life to begin and discussed how God was very precise when he created it for us!!  Here are some more pictures of our day, Matthias tries his hand at the Volcano!

Our Three States of Matter, don't you just love the blue water, I know the kids did!

After we finished up with our lesson, I brought out all the Sandpaper and Homemade Landforms and we explored with some great hands learning on Earth formations!

Seamus trying the Gulf/Penisula Form:

After watching big brother, it was his turn to try the Cape and Bay!!!

Matthias working at the Isthmus and Strait:

Violet trying her hand at the Lake and Island, notice the forlorn Sean-Paul, he just could hardly stand to wait for his turn again...

At last....a little blue Lake!!

Thanks for popping in on our GREAT learning!!!  I have a wonderful set of photos of Seamus's very own Volcano that he created and demonstrated later in the day and I'm trying to make it into a slideshow, stay tuned....Blessings to you! Here's the slideshow, well worth watching :))

Comments

[Theresa]

That does look fun!!!! "GREAT" job, Meredith!!!
Is that Sculpey clay you used for the landforms? Did you bake it, or air dry it, or keep it moist? How does it hold up to the water? Does it get soggy at all or is it pretty water resistant?
Sorry so many questions, I just am getting ready to have dd make these and am not sure what type of clay to have her use.

[Genevieve]

Wow! What a great presentation! You are on a roll! Can't wait to see more!

[Melissa]

I'm also wondering about the kind of clay you used. Any information about how you made them will be great!

Melissa

[betty]

WHAT FUN!!! I want to be there for your next GREAT LESSON!!!

[Gae]

Dear Meredith,
That looks like so much fun and the children get to learn as well... what a bonus.
God Bless