This week we began our new special Math Unit, Fractions! Students explore different parts of a whole to understand this new concept. The Montessori Fraction Skittles allow the child to feel 1, ½, ⅓ and ¼ and compare the parts. Our Practical Life shelves integrated the new works of sponge squeezing and the button dressing frame, both are new techniques to strengthen hand-eye coordination, while also preparing hand muscles and fine motor skills. We also enjoyed our next food prep lesson, Grape Plucking. This work allows students to use fine motor skills to independently prepare and enjoy a snack. The mystery number was introduced to the Math shelf, allowing students to discover a secret number through clues and directly aims to build number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, and foundational skills for place value.