Silver Polishing (wow, that came in handy!)

Wow, this tea pot was UGLY!  I let it get that way on purpose, so that my girls could have something else to polish.  If you need to get silver looking tarnished for Montessori, wash silver with bubbles and allow it to drip dry a few times. My old vintage hippy jewelry is small and cleans up quick.  This is a great multi-surface to polish, it took a long time!

See the end of the post for the lesson.  Today I used cotton swabs instead of squares.

Silver Polishing

Silver Polishing Tray (be sure they polish on the tray, or else the
tarnish can get on the work surface)

Concentration.  She didn't notice me watching.

Big Sister gives the lesson she remembers from
being at Montessori  :)

NAME OF ACTIVITY:  Metal Polishing

AREA

GENERAL:  Practical Life

SPECIFIC:  Care of Environment

                  

MATERIALS: 

  Mat

  Tray

  Cotton swabs

  Polishing mitt

  Object to polish

AIMS

DIRECT:  Coordination, Concentration, Independence, Order 

INDIRECT:  Learning to polish

PREPARATION:  Mirror polishing, shoe polishing, bead stringing

AGE:  First year Montessori Student

PRESENTATION OF THE LESSON:

  Untwist the polish, or open container

  Dip swab, wipe it on lid

  Apply polish on whole item

  Wipe off polish with cotton square

  Buff until shinny with polishing mitt

  Place cap on polish

  tidy  up

1.      Put square and swab in trash

2.      Get a new cotton square

3.      Get a new polishing mitt

4.      Roll mat, place ring on it

5.      Return to shelf

  

WORK OF THE TEACHER

POINTS OF EMPHASIS:

  Choosing an object to polish

  Get all polish off

  Applying polish

  Tidy up

LANGUAGE:

  Non-verbal first

  Buffing

  Polishing

  Item being polished

 Shinny vs. dull

  Polish mitt

  Cotton swab

POINTS OF INTEREST:

  Item being polished

  Applying/buffing polish

  Seeing residue coming off

WORK OF THE CHILD

POINTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS:

  The more I buff, the shinier it gets

  Awareness of needs to polish

CONTROL OF ERROR: 

  Any polish left on object

  Amount of polish put out

VARIATIONS:  Objects in the classroom, door knob or faucet

EXTENSIONS:  Other polishing activities

SOURCES:     L. SEELEY, N.M.I.

                        Written by Jessica Beerman

NOTE:  Only one polishing work should be out at a time