Montessori Materials Night

Last Thursday night I "hosted" a Materials Making night at my school.  It was a great way to kill two birds with one stone so to speak.  I wanted an informal event to allow parents to get to know each other.  Additionally, I wanted parents to have a way to feel directly involved with what we do in the classroom.  And I was also able to get a bunch of materials prepped for the school year.  I asked the parents to bring a snack to share.  Below you can see the sign I posted on the door.

My school is housed in a Catholic church which has a really great fellowship hall.  I had pre-prepped a bunch of materials so that parents could come in and help assemble things for our classroom.  This took a LOT of pre-planning and preparation, but it was so worth it because now I have so many things done that I would normally do on the weekends during the school year.

This photo shows how I set up a station to prepare the sound books we use with our sandpaper letters.  I had everything laid out with a little note telling what needed to be done.  A close-up of the note is in the second photo.

 
 

To prepare for Materials night, I had done a lot of planning this summer.  This year we are going to study an artist each month.  I have planned an art activity to go with each artist study.  Also, I have seasonal art projects that I put out throughout the year.  I created a planning sheet (which you can download below) to help me visualize the projects for the year along with what materials needed to be prepped for each activity.  As I (or the parent helpers) prepped the different items I highlighted them with a yellow marker so I can easily see what still needs to be done for each month's projects. 

Download Art planning sheet

Here's a close-up so you can see what I am trying to describe.  This was a pretty nifty little process and I am thrilled to have so many things highlighted before school even starts!  Maybe I'll get to spend most weekends home with my family this year! 

 

Comments

[kevin kirkwood]

Brilliant post. Very inspiring and helpful. Thank you.

[Laura]

Hi, Shevonne. I dont have a very exact answer for you. However, I just cut white copy paper into 4X4 inch pieces for the inside pages. I dont have a digital copy of the covers, but I have a master that has 4 covers. Then I copy this on colored paper and trim it into 4X4 inch covers.Hope that helps! I would send you a digital file if I had one, but I made the masters about 14 years ago. Sorry!
Laura

To: directress@live.com

[Shevonne Khaz]

Your amazing! Truly inspiring and your creativity shines! I teach in a 3-6 Montessori classroom and I love the idea of sound and number books! I am trying to duplicate the ones you have made; however, mine are not coming out as nice as yours. I have tried using text boxes as well as hand writing it into the document. How do you get them to all be the same size in word? Any suggestions on how I can make mine all the same size across the board with all the books I start implementing into the classroom (color book, numbers, where I am from, sounds and so forth)?

Thanks so much! I love your site and check it daily!! Keep up the amazing work and thank you for all your help!!

[Tina Davidson]

I just found your blog and I can tell we have a lot in common! I too am always searching for ways to involve my parent community. As you commented, so many parents ask what they can do to help. So I started "helping hands". At the beginning of the year I host a material making "party" (runs just like yours) and but I ask for helping hands throughout the year as well. I post a "helping hands" sign in my classroom window whenever I have something that needs to be done - preparing string for beading, paper cutting, etc. I keep the materials that need to be prepared in a basket in my observation room. When parents see the sign, they can come in and choose a material to either work on in the lobby or take home. I've found that parents are excited to be a part of classroom in any way and I get a HUGE helping hand!

[pia]

Planning ahead really saves a lot of time. Thanks for sharing!

[becky]

It's great to have you back with all your inspiring ideas. I have been working this summer to try to have an artist study and related art projects throughout the year. Cant wait to see what you come up with.

I love the way you get parents involved. I think it gives parents a chance to feel invested in their child's education (and helps you out!!!)
Thanks and Welcome back
Becky

[JDaniel4's Mom]

Wow! What a great way to get the families involved.

[Bridgett]

Awesome Idea! W/great benefits for you and the parents. Thanks for the download too. I made my art supply list way complicated. LoL.

[Welcome to Our wonderland]

what a wonderful way to get parents involved!! :) I couldn't get the art page to open for me could you send it to me if it isn't to much trouble??

can't wait to see what all you do this year :)

[Mari-Ann]

What a wonderful way to get every aquainted and to get a bit of help, too!

LOVE your ideas for incorporating art into the program. I spent a fair amount of time last night researching and planning for the start of our upcoming homeschool year and I wondered how to integrate art into our year - thank you for sharing your plans!

Warmly,
Mari-Ann
Counting Coconuts

[rm (rainbowmummy)]

WELCOME BACK!!!! You've been missed!

xx