Stella students learn from their work

Lewiston Porter Sentinel, October 7, 2006

Donna Bennett works with several Montessori students in building the pink tower.

Students enrolled in the Montessori Program at Stella Niagara Education Park learn a great deal when building the “pink tower.” This is a set of 10 wooden cubes in equally incremental size, from 1 cm cubed to 1,000 cm cubed.

The pink tower is one of the classic Montessori materials for introducing children to concepts of three-dimensional size variance, weight differential and intricate stacking.

The pink tower activity allows students to explore an area of learning through a concrete, sensory-driven experience. The pink tower involves a combination of senses, especially muscular-tactile and visual. “Through this work, children are developing fine motor coordination as well as their ability to focus and concentrate,” said Stella’s Montessori instructor, Donna Bennett.