My Montessori Journey

A little break

I'm just checking in to say that I'll be taking a little blog break for a week or so.  This Friday I have 21 parent-teacher conferences to prepare for and then another 16 each night on the 19th and 20th.  That's 53 in all.  Yep, that's a lot.  So that's what I'll be focusing on.  In the meantime, thanks so much for reading my little postings over here.  I don't obsessively check my stats like I did when I started the blog, but with the new Typepad set-up I can easily check them at a glance every time I sign on.  It's amazing to me that this little blog averages nearly 1000 page views per day.  That's a lot.  So thanks for writing to me and for reading.  I truly do appreciate it.  I'll be back soon!  Until then, take care........

Textured Turkey Art Project

This week I put out a seasonal art project on my art shelf.  I had purchased these texture rubbing plates from Let's Explore over a year ago but had yet to use them in the classroom.  I found a printed turkey that was fairly simple and made several copies of it.  I placed the copies on a tray on the art shelf.  Right next to the tray of turkey papers I placed the tray you see below which holds four of the texture plates and a box of crayons.  To do this project the child takes one turkey paper and the red tray to a table.  They place the texture plate with the textured side up and then place the turkey outline on top.  Using a crayon they fill in an area of the turkey with color.  This work is so good for strengthening the little muscles in the fingers.  Rubbing a crayon across a textured surface creates more resistance or "drag" than just drawing on a piece of paper on a smooth surface.  This makes it an excellent activity for developing fine motor skills.  I have been so pleased with how popular this work has been in the classroom.  It has been chosen by some of my younger children who typically do not choose this type of work.  In addition to improving fine motor skills, this activity requires sustained concentration and attention to detail.

Here is just one of many examples of the turkeys that have been created this week.

 

Salt Shaker Sculptures

This week I've put out a fall variation of an activity that I first saw on Anne's Itty Bitty Love blog last year.  This is very simple to set up and very appealing to young children.  I used a dollar store salt shaker, a glass butter dish with brown pipe cleaners cut in half, and a little glass dish of fall colored faceted beads. 

To do this work the child pokes the pipe cleaners into the salt shaker holes and then slides the beads onto them.  I told the children we could think of the brown pipe cleaners as tree trunks and the beads as fall leaves on the branches.  We've been talking a lot about leaves this past month or so and singing some songs about leaves, so this seemed like a good analogy.  Here is the sculpture my own little boy (almost 4 1/2) put together when we were working in the classroom together on Sunday afternoon.

 

Turkey feather activities

I spent quite a bit of time at school this weekend (as usual!) and have many new activities on the shelves.  However, I keep forgetting to take photos of them.  So.........in this lazy girl post I am going to link back to two turkey materials I made last year that are out on the shelves again this week.  It was fun to hear my second year students say, "Hey!  I remember that!"  It was also reassuring to realize that they are still enthusiastic about materials they worked with last year.  Kind of like seeing an old friend after a long absence I guess!  Here is a link to a felt turkey with removable feathers that I sewed about a year ago.  The children button the feathers onto the turkey's back.  And here is a link to another turkey with feathers that attach with clothespins.  This is great for strengthening little fingers as it takes quite a bit of squeezing to open the clothespins and good coordination to clip them onto the foam turkey body.

Love Lights

This week I have presented a lesson on "love lights" to the students in my classroom.  I was going to write a whole post about it but realized I had written one last year.  So I decided to just link to that post.  You can read it by clicking here.  I particularly wanted to teach this lesson during the week before Halloween because I like to compare our love lights to the light inside a jack-o-lantern.  While I allow my own children to trick-or-treat and dress up for Halloween each year, I am not a fan of the evil, scary and dark aspects of this holiday.  They especially bother me when young children are exposed to images that they are not equipped to understand or process.  I can remember being upset and disturbed by some aspects of Halloween when I was little.  And I think many of the costumes and decorations that are available nowadays are even more yucky and gross than when I was young.  So.........since I teach in a Christian-based Montessori preschool I am blessed to be able to present the students in my classes with a more uplifting message about Halloween.  In addition to the love light lesson, I read them the book The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs.  This is a great book with a strong Christian message that can be shared with children for Halloween.  Last night I also came across some more Christian Halloween resources that you may want to check out if you are a Christian parent, homeschooler, or if you teach in a Christian setting.  Carisa over at 1+1+1=1 has a nice post about Halloween with some links at the bottom.  I liked the Christian jack-o-lantern project and poem she did with her sons.  It would be a fun one to do at home with your little (and bigger) ones.

Jack-O-Lantern art project

New on my art shelf this week is this simple jack-o-lantern project.  On a tray I have placed a box of orange construction paper squares, a basket with a pencil, black marker, scissors, glue stick and small gluing mat, a tiny basket of brown "stems", and a small silver bowl.

To do this work the child places the silver bowl on the orange paper and traces its circumference with a pencil.  At this point they can choose to cut it with the scissors or to pin-punch it using our pin-punching materials which are found on my art shelf.

Then they use the black marker to draw features on the "face" and the glue stick to add a brown stem.  Done!

Sweeping Beans

This week I decided to put out a little sweeping activity.  Prior to this my students haven't had sweeping out as an activity.  Below you can see how I ended up arranging it on the tray.  I marked off a rectangle on top of the tray with tape, then added a broom and dustpan and a bowl of navy beans.

When setting up this activity it is important to consider the relative size of the vessel used to hold the sweeping material and the width of the dustpan.  I first wanted to put the beans into this cute little pan I found at a thrift store.  Kind of like a little pot of beans. 

However, when I tested the activity I realized that since the dustpan is much wider than the pan the children would have a hard time sliding the swept beans back into the pan without spilling.  (If a 40 year old can't do it without spilling, chances are a 4 year old couldn't do it either!)  This is why it's so important to "test drive" each activity before putting it out.

Below you can see that the width of the dustpan is just about right for the wooden bowl I ended up using.

To do this work the child removes the broom and dustpan and bowl of beans from the tray.  They pour the beans all over the tray as shown.  It's important to have a tray with a somewhat deep rim to prevent the beans from scooting off.

Next, the child uses the broom to sweep the beans into the taped rectangle.

Once the beans are in the rectangle, they are easier to sweep into the dustpan.  The tape provides a built-in control of error for the child.

The final step is to slide the swept beans into the bowl, repeating all the steps until the beans are all in the bowl. 

 

I chose navy beans because they are larger than rice and are therefore better for a beginning sweeping activity.  As the children become more adept at sweeping, I can change the sweeping material by gradually making it smaller and more challenging to sweep up.
 
 
 
 

Halloween Water Transfer

This is an activity that I had out last year as well that I'm reposting.  I have a little clear plastic jack-o-lantern container.  It originally held a bunch of Halloween beads (I think) and was hinged.  I decided it would be perfect for transferring colored water.  So.........I set it up on my stationary work table as shown below.  I placed a Halloween votive holder filled with orange colored water on the left, an eye dropper on a tray, and a sponge on a soap holder. 

To do this work the child uses the eye dropper to fill the "face" areas with colored water as shown below.  One of my 2nd year students did this.  When they are finished they use the eye dropper to transfer the water back into the Halloween votive holder and use the sponge to wipe up any spills.  I love this activity because it really challenges a child's focus and concentration as it takes quite a bit of time as well as motor control to achieve success.  Many students have enjoyed choosing this work.
 

Cookie Cutter tracing

One new project I've put out on my art shelf this past week is cookie cutter tracing.  It is kind of a variation of the metal inset work.  I didn't put this out last year so I wasn't sure how well-received it would be.  Nor did I know whether or not the children would be successful with it.  I am pleased to report that they have LOVED this work and are choosing it every day.  On a tray I set up a basket with small pieces of brown paper, a plastic container of crayons, a basket with two cookie cutters (a maple leaf and a pumpkin) and a pencil.

To do this work the child chooses a cookie cutter and traces it onto the paper.  Then they use the crayons to fill in the shape.  I have been so pleased with the concentration they are demonstrating with this work as well as the attention to detail.  Below is a pumpkin that one child made.  He is 4 1/2 years old.  This work reinforces correct pencil grasp, fine motor control, and concentration.  I am definitely going to put out more seasonal variations of this work throughout the year.

 

Spider Sifting

This fun little spider sifting activity was totally inspired by Anne over at Itty Bitty Love.  Thanks, Anne, for the great ideas!  My students are LOVING this work.