Exploring the Montessori Roman Arch: A Fun and Educational Tool for All Ages (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Hi everyone. In this video I want to have a look at a classic Montessori material which is this model of a Roman arch. So have fun. This model is based on the Roman arch which dates back to Rome in the antique. Let's have a look inside. It's a plastic bag which could have been a paper bag because it's more eco-friendly. There we have the frame. Let's have a closer look to the inside of the bag. We have this contraption which is of greater importance as you will see later. Nine of these trapezoids. A pair of slopes with a steep angle. Another pair of slopes with a decreased angle. And a pair of slopes with a low angle. A pair of those. And this single brick which is a bit broader than the other small bricks. Now let's get everything sorted. I always arrange the bricks from left to right in the order that I will need them later. The bricks are very well manufactured and I love how they feel in my hand. It's very haptic. This is a material for children of three years of age and above. But it's also interesting for grown-ups due to the fact that they are building an arch or a bridge without the help of nails or glue or any other thing but gravity itself. This is where this contraption comes into play. This is how you set it up. And then comes in the middle of the aiding frame that we have seen before. For the build I have set up the camera in a steady angle so you can see how it would look like when an introduction or lesson is given to one of the children. So here we go. You might be surprised by how calm and concentrated a child can be when this lesson is given. Even me, the one who is giving the lesson, is feeling more relaxed while working with the arch. After the lesson the children of course will get to work with the arch by themselves. And it's amazing to see how focused and enthusiastic they can get when they are working with it. They will want to do it over and over again. And now for the moment of truth. Will it hold? Oh yes it worked. This is so cool. And imagine what it takes for a child to get to this point. It will have to take the bricks between its index fingers and its thumb and steadily put one brick on top of the other while remembering the correct order. And if they aren't wowed enough yet I will show them this. On the box it's written Roman arch in various languages except for German where it's called a bridge. Now let me show you why. Because it also makes for a great bridge. And now I've set it up for another round or maybe someone else to work with it. I hope you enjoyed the video. If so please give it a like. Thanks for watching.