A lesson plan created once a week helps give learning experiences a sound structure. When used in conjunction with the Montessori work cycle, a weekly lesson plan plays a vital role in identifying, following, and building the interests of a child using purposeful teaching strategies to support the development of skills over time. These same principles can also be employed to facilitate learning at home.
To develop a Montessori-based lesson plan for home, it is essential to incorporate some simple components and avoid overscheduling activities. It is important to remember that the key to developing new skills and mastering them is repetition.
Make a Note Of Your Child’s Interests
To start your lesson plan, begin by first observing what your child is interested in. You can use the information as a foundation for the learning activities you prepare.
- Among their toys, which ones do they play with the most?
- What is their favourite topic of conversation?
- Which songs do they like?
- What type of things are they most interested in?
Use Homemade Materials
When you develop a weekly lesson plan, it is best to use what you have in the house. It will be helpful to go around your home and takes notes of which materials and tools you can use to create activities and lessons – and they can be anything. Aluminium cans and empty water bottles may be used as musical instruments or sound cylinders.
Properly Name the Activity
As you present the planned activity to your child, it is essential to give it a name that is factual and relevant as it helps the child find a point of reference. For instance, if you are about to start an activity that involves helping to organise their toys according to colour, you can name the activity “Colour Matching.” An activity where you and the child brush your pet’s fur can be “Dog Grooming.”
Identify The Goal of The Activity
When planning lessons or activities for your child, consider which developmental milestone or real-life skills are relevant to the child and their interests. This leads to the creation of a purposeful activity.
Repeat and Repeat
There is no need to create a lesson plan that covers every minute of the child’s day. It is best to choose a few activities you can do and repeat them daily for a week. It is important to note that learning does not happen instantly. It takes practice and repetition. Remember as an adult you already have the capacity to complete the activity. It is important not to impose an adult perception of ‘repetition as boring’ on the child and their interaction with the activity. You can certainly vary and extend on the activity as it is repeated.
Use The “W-Questions”
It is best to use open-ended questions to help your child build their skills and develop their learning. Use the W’s.
- Where should we place this toy?
- What do you think should happen next?
- Why do you think that happened?
Expand on The Child’s Interests
For a lesson plan to be effective, it should fully utilise your child’s interests to help them learn new skills and build on them. For instance, if your child is interested in astronauts, try to incorporate astronauts into different learning experiences, like asking the child to count how many miniature astronaut figures they have.
Begin Anew
The final lesson planning stage is to create a new one for the following week. Try improving activities that your child is interested in.