Sunflower is a Montessori School in Twickenham, London, which encourages child development by providing a comprehensive Montessori education. Sunflower introduced Cubetto to small groups of 4 year old students last summer, and this is how they got on…
Institution: Sunflower Montessori School
Location: UK
Age group: 3 to 5
Group size: 4 to 6 children
Session leader: Melissa Stockdale, Montessori school owner & director
“To see the children totally absorbed, and intrinsically motivated whilst manipulating Cubetto was a very special Montessori moment indeed!”
How did Sunflower Montessori School incorporate the Cubetto Playset into their program?
Following the first lesson plan provided by Primo Toys, we had a group discussion on the concept of programming. The children then manipulated objects like talking puppets, egg timers, torches and wind-up toys before being introduced to Cubetto. Working on the floor in the classroom, they took it in turns to program Cubetto and navigate him around toys that they placed in various positions on the workspace.
What particular aspect of Cubetto worked well for this activity?
The children were all able to operate Cubetto successfully. Working with Cubetto encouraged positive cooperative play and the children began to problem solve through discussion about spacial awareness. They also planned different sequences together and experimented with Cubetto.
“One four-year old child was able to complete several very complicated procedures, and after working with Cubetto for nearly an hour excitedly exclaimed: ‘Wow, this is fun!’”
How did students respond?
The children were fully absorbed in the task and concentrated happily for 40 minutes. They supported each other with positive comments and showed an interest whilst others were playing. They all understood how to program Cubetto.
How did staff members respond?
The adults were surprised with;
1. How Cubetto encouraged cooperative play and constructive discussions between the children.
2. How long the children concentrated on the task.
3. How little support was required from the adults.
4. How keen the children were to repeat the activity.
What were the main outcomes?
All children were successful in programming Cubetto to go from one object to another, and were able to explain what programming was at the end of the session. They enjoyed the session and talked about what they had done afterwards.
