The Joys of Montessori Homeschooling: Bank Game (Primary)

My son, Bubs (nicknames will be used), was itching to get his hands on the really cool looking golden bead material on his sister's math shelf. However, he hadn't completed or even started the two presentations needed before it. So I told him we have to do this and this first. He was like, "Oh dear!" So I made sure I got those presentations set up and got him moving and grooving on those. I tried to keep encouraging him to get through them so he can reach the "cool" material.

Side note: We started this homeschool journey rather suddenly and did not start with a prepared environment. I am buying and making materials along the way (ok really staying up late the night before to ensure the chart is colored, cards laminated, etc) so the presentation can go smoothly.

Ok back to Bubs. He finally made it to the bank game!! I was super excited to present this to him and made sure I practiced the night before. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this material, it is simply a game of matching the correct amount of beads to the card on the tray. The picture below shows the setup. The bead material on the left rug with the cards on the right. There is a small rug that goes in between to put your answer. The child uses a tray to fetch the beads.

Now the moment of truth. We began the presentation, but things weren't going as smoothly as anticipated. Not sure if I went wrong or if I had misread his readiness signs, but he was not getting it. I could tell he was starting to get discouraged so I quickly moved into cleanup so that hopefully he will choose this from the shelf again.

The next day, he was wandering around the classroom and lo and behold! He pulls out the bank game and asks if I can work with him. (I was doing my happy dance on the inside, but of course had a serious professional teacher face on the outside!) So he got out his work rug and we began. I started slowly and carefully ensuring that he understood and was not getting frustrated. He was very excited to fetch 4 units for me and then 9. Then we worked up to the 10 card. It seemed to click right away this time and so we ventured into the hundred cards. At this point I was doing the choosing of the cards, but he wanted to give it a try. I just made sure he chose one that I was fairly certain he could do so he wouldn't get discouraged.

Another side note: For any of you who are AMI trained or know about Montessori, I am quite aware that the work rugs should indeed be white. However, when you are doing this in your home on a limited budget you will find that blue and green solid rugs work quite well for a reduced price. Maybe one day when all my materials are bought, I might invest in some white work rugs!

Bubs continued to take more cards and matched with the correct amount of beads. His sister, Kui, was working with the checkerboard at the same time and he heard her mention "tens". His face lit up and grabbed a ten bar and ran over to show her that this was "10" too. Those are the moments that make all the hard work worth it. It finally clicked and he is happy to have his little hands on the "cool" material. Now I guess that means this teacher needs to study up on the next presentation in the series.