My Montessori Journey

Paper Plate Bird Art Project

I like to have art projects that correlate with the science topic we are studying.  A few weeks back, Miss Melissa (one of my three assistants) and I were discussing doing a bird art project.  She wondered if we could come up with something using paper plates.  After thinking about it a little while we came up with this project.  I put it out today (Monday) for the first time and MANY children chose to do it.  Below you can see how I set up this project.  I have the supplies on top of a shelf with the samples attached to the back.  Two children at a time may sit at the white tables to make the project.

I prepared some small paper plates with lines draw in black Sharpie and two holes punched at the bottom.  These were placed into a basket.  Next to that is a tray with crayons and markers.

Then a basket with scissors and a bowl with small pieces of brown and black pipecleaners for the legs.  (These were regular length pipecleaners cut into thirds.)

Attached to the shelf is a plate showing the "beak" already colored in so the children would know which part to color with the marker before coloring the entire plate with a crayon.  I gave a group lesson on this project so the children could see each step being executed.  I also attached a sample of the "cardinal" and "blue jay" to the shelf next to a picture of each bird.  I decided since this pattern results in a bird with a wedge-shaped head we would be more scientifically accurate and call our birds either cardinals or blue jays since they are birds we've learned and they both have a crest of feathers on top of their head.

 

 

To complete this project the child first colors the beak with a marker as described above.  Then they color the entire plate with red or blue crayon.  I captured one little girl "in action" coloring her cardinal.  After coloring they cut the plate on the lines.  They have 4 pieces when finished cutting: one for the body, one for the head, one for the tail and one for the wing.  They bring these pieces to a teacher and the teacher staples the bird together.  Then the child returns to their work area and adds an eye to the bird's head using the black marker.  The final step is to add pipe-cleaner legs.  Even with the holes already punched they needed help from a teacher to attach the legs.

Here are two cardinals that were made this morning.

And a blue jay.  Although I didn't realize this when I first thought of the project, I like how the ridges on the paper plate resemble feathers when colored.

 

I think these turned out pretty cute!  What do you think?
 

Textured egg art project

This week I put out an egg coloring project on my art shelf.  It is similar to the textured turkey we did in November.  I had a large egg pattern and drew some stripes and squiggles with a Sharpie marker.  HERE is a link to a similar sized egg pattern. Then I made a bunch of copies on regular copy paper.  I placed these on a tray next to a tray of textured rubbing plates.  Next to that I placed two baskets of crayon rocks.  You can see the set-up in the photo below.

To do this work the child takes an egg paper along with the tray of rubbing plates and a basket of crayons.  They choose a rubbing plate and place it bumpy-side up on the table.  The egg paper is placed on top and they rub with a crayon to fill in a section of the egg.  They can switch colors and textures as they wish.  Most children are choosing to cut out their eggs when finished.  I love the simplicity of this project.  I love that many children who typically avoid paper projects are drawn to this because they can easily be successful.  The action of rubbing the crayon rocks across a paper with a textured plate under it provides a lot of sensory input and is wonderful for developing finger strength and dexterity.  The large, simple shape of the egg is also great for cutting because it gives functional cutting practice and results in a beautiful finished project.  Here are a few samples from the many that have been going home this week.

 
 

Eggs and baskets

I put together a cute and fun little counting activity recently.  It is perfect to go with our birds theme as well as to tie-in with Easter.  I printed off a set of chicken counting cards from Kidssoup.  I found a set of colorful teeny tiny woven baskets at Hobby Lobby and found some little glittered eggs there as well.  I set it all up on the tray as shown here.

To do this work, the child lays out the chicken cards in numerical order along the top of a rug.  Then s/he gives each chicken a basket.  Finally, s/he counts the corrent number of eggs into the baskets.  The tiny baskets have been a major point of interest for the children.  I put out many variations of counting activities and this one has definitely been one of the most popular.

 

Although this photo came out dark it shows how one of my students has set up the work.

 

Draw a Chick

This week I put out the Draw A Chick activity that I had out around this time last year.  CLICK HERE to see how I have it set up.  It is on my art shelf.  I gave a group lesson to the children at line time.  Here are a few chick drawings that were done the first afternoon I put the work out.  They are turning out SO CUTE!!  I love them!

 

Easter-themed activities

Here are a few Easter-themed activities that are out on my classroom shelves right now.

I found some white plastic eggs at Hobby Lobby and filled them with some little yellow pom-pom chicks.  Taking these eggs apart and putting them back together is great for working on fine motor control.  And.........finding little chicks inside is a major point of interest.

 

These little "bunny" tongs are usually easily found around Easter time....they are often next to the egg dye kits.  They are perfect for transferring small plastic eggs into the depressions on a deviled egg tray.

This is a color sorting activity.  I spring-colored pom-poms (4 different colors) in the white dish.  The children use the tongs to transfer and sort the pom-poms into the divided wooden tray.

This adorable bunny basket (thrifted at a garage sale last summer) is filled with "bunny" beads for bead stringing.

  

 

Pencil Sharpening

I have been wanting to put pencil sharpening out as a Practical Life activity for a long time.  I finally ordered this Brassie pencil sharpener from Montessori Services and it arrived last week.  Here is how I set this up as an independent activity. I only have the one photo, so I'll try to give a detailed description of how to do this work.  I presented it to the whole class at line time.  On the tray from the top left corner: an empty jar for holding sharpened pencils, a small tray with a paintbrush, an empty basket for gathering pencils to sharpen, a broom and dustpan, a bowl with the sharpener, and an empty bowl to collect the shavings.

To do this work the child first carries the entire tray to their table.  Then they remove the white basket and find 2 pencils in the environment that need sharpening.  When I presented this I chose two pencils, one sharp and one dull.  I walked around the line and had each child point to the "dull" pencil after explaining that "dull" is the opposite of sharp.  I told the children that when selecting pencils to sharpen they must choose dull pencils, not sharp ones.

Once the child has chosen their pencils to sharpen s/he returns to the work area.  The child removes the empty bowl from the tray and places it on the table in front of him/herself.  Then, the child grasps the sharpener in his non-dominant hand and a pencil in his dominant hand.  I pointed out that the blade side of the sharpener must face TOWARDS the bowl so the shavings fall into the bowl.  The child twists the pencil until it has been sharpened.  (These sharpeners work GREAT........even better than the electric sharpener we've been using.)  When the pencil is sharpened it is placed in the empty jar.  Then, the paintbrush is used to gently brush off any remaining shavings from the sharpener. This process is repeated with the second pencil.  When finished sharpening, the pencils are returned to their place in the classroom environment, transported in the jar.  Then the child uses the broom and dustpan to sweep up any shavings that may have fallen onto the table or tray.  The swept shavings are placed in the bowl.  Finally, the child carries the bowl to a trash can, empties its contents, and places the bowl back on the tray before returning the entire activity to the shelf.
 

Sifting "Leprechaun" treasure

A fun St. Patrick's Day activity that I've had out recently is sifting "leprechaun treasure" out of a bowl of cornmeal.  I originally wanted to use a true strainer, but the cornmeal wouldn't sift through it.  Fortunately I had one of THESE sifters from Montessori Services.  It has much larger holes and was perfect for sifting treasure.  I put some shamrock erasers and some green and gold beads into the cornmeal for the children to scoop out.

Here is how I set this up on our stationary work station.  The child uses the strainer to scoop out treasure.  When demonstrating this work I showed them how to gently shake the strainer over the bowl to allow all the cornmeal to fall through.  Then they pour the treausre into the green bucket.  When all the treasure is removed from the bowl, they may pour it back into the bowl and use the strainer to "hide" it again.  One suggestion I have after putting this out in my classroom is to add a small broom and dustpan for sweeping up spills. Even though my students were asked NOT to put their hands into the cornmeal, we still had lots of spilled cornmeal that I or my assistants cleaned up at the end of each session.  In hindsight the addition of a set like THIS ONE from Montessori Services would have been perfect!

Here is a close-up of the strainer.  LOVE IT!  I am thinking it will be fun with lots of other straining activities.

Close-up of the treasure.

 

 

Pot of Gold Game

A little game that has been getting a lot of play time in my classroom is the "Pot of Gold" game.  I posted about it last year and you can CLICK HERE to read that post.  This is a really fun game for two friends to play.  It promotes turn-taking and counting concepts.  It would be very easy to make for your little ones in the classroom or at home.........just in time for St. Patrick's Day next week.

My Bird Book

We have recently begun our study of birds in the classroom.  I would like the children to learn the names of common birds in our area.  I have a bird matching activity that is out in the classroom.  I'll have to remember to snap some photos and post about it.  I made it using a birds bulletin board set that I bought many years ago.  I just spent WAY too long trying to find a similar set online so I could provide a link.  However, I had no luck! It appears there are not any sets like that available for purchase.)  

Anyway.......to further reinforce our understanding and identification of common birds, I put together some little "bird books" for the children to color.  I do not have a link for the bird outline pictures I used since they are from work I created about 11 years ago.  I have this work set up at the two tables right inside the door to my classroom.  I have attached colored cards for each type of bird to the back of the facing shelf as shown.  The cards are placed in the same order as the pages in the little books.

Here's a close-up of the cardinal and blue jay cards.

A basket holds the "blank" (uncolored) booklets.

And a wooden tray holds the colored pencils needed for the books.

Here is a book that was completed by my son, who is a 2nd year student in my classroom.  He drew his own little bird on the front cover.

And on his own he decided to draw boxes on the pages so he could "check off" when he sees a certain bird.  It looks like he has recently seen and recorded a cardinal.

Here's one more page from the book.

 

I have been so pleased with how nicely my students are completing their booklets.  It is wonderful how much care and concentration they are giving to this work.
 
 
 

Developing Phonemic Awareness using Names: Part 4

Sorry for the lapse in getting this posted.  I had actually written this post with the others but it disappeared from Typepad before I could save and publish it.

I recently added 3-part name cards to my classroom shelves.  I used a template that I found somewhere online a while back but I can't remember where I downloaded it from.  A search to find the source didn't turn up anything.  So.........if you have a link to where this template originated please let me know so I can add it to this post.  Here is a link to download the template:

Download 3 Part Cards - Template

Using the template, I made a 3-part card for each child in my classroom.  For each session, I place the cards for all the children attending that session into a divided tray that I found at Dollar General last summer.  You can see how it's set up from the photo below. 

 

To do this work, the child(ren) get a rug and place all the cards with names and photos out, leaving a space next to each one.  Then they match the photo cards and finally the name cards.  A more challenging variation with my older students is to have them match the photo and name cards, then use the photo/name cards to check their work.  I hope that makes sense.  My students have enjoyed doing this work and matching their friends' names and faces.