My Montessori Journey

Build a Flower Garden

This activity was born out of my imagination this past weekend.  To be honest, during the time I was taking a break from the blog I was kind of going through Montessori block......like writer's block, you know?  I knew I needed to get some new things on the shelves, but Easter had passed and I was kind of blank about what to pull together.  The way I usually come up with new activities is by browsing through the stash of materials in my classroom (and I am blessed to have inherited a lot of materials), browsing dollar stores, and browsing thrift stores.  I had seen a fun flower button board over at Chasing Cheerios and that idea was going through my head as I browsed my stash this weekend.  I'd still like to make Melissa's version sometime, but the following activity is what I came up with using the items I had on hand.  First, I found a piece of the florist foam I used for my rainbow work.  Then I remembered the wooden sticks I'd found in the dollar section of my local discount store last fall.  My lightbulb moment occurred when I realized that if I found the right beads I could set this up as a flower making work.  Then I realized that I had the perfect beads........these foam beads from Discount School Supply were sitting in the bottom of my art cupboard patiently waiting to be utilized in an activity.

So........I placed the chunk of floral foam on the tray with 6 green wooden sticks pushed in, all the way down.  (When I present this work I will tell the children that the "stems" are to stay in the foam and should not be removed.)  I added a pretty box I bought a while back at Hobby Lobby on clearance.  I've been waiting for the right activity to use it.  The foam beads are inside the box.

 

Here's a close-up of the details on the box.  It is so pretty and will be such a great point of interest for the children.

 

Here are the beads nestled inside the box.  I only put in the star shaped ones and round ones as I thought they would be the most flower-like.

 

To build a flower, the child pushes the foam beads onto the green "stem".  The foam beads are perfect because they stay on the stick without sliding down.

Flower Tree

I spent a LOT of time at school this weekend putting out new activities on the shelves.  I am really excited about a few new things I've dreamed up and can't wait to post about them here.  It was hard to decide which to post about tonight.  I decided to show you how I repurposed an activity we've had out for about a month that my students have really enjoyed.  The "flower tree" shown in the following posts is my Easter tree that has been recycled into a new activity.  The children loved hanging the Easter ornaments on this tree and as I was packing up Easter things I thought, "I wonder if we could slide beads onto the branches for a spring tree decorating activity?"  And sure enough, it worked!  Below you can see how I've set it up.  I found the cutest flower plate at my local Dollar General store.  They have a TON of really cute entertaining stuff and I bought a bunch and have several really cute activities to show you over the next week that I made using things I bought there.  The white glass basket holds the flower beads I used for this work.  Unfortunately, I don't know where the flower beads came from.  They were already in the classroom when I arrived.  Colored pony beads would work fine too and would be really pretty and colorful.

 

Here's a close-up of the flower beads. 

 

Here is the tree with all the flower beads on the branches.  Doesn't it look so springy and pretty?  I like how adding the beads to the branches requires more concentration and fine motor control than just hanging ornaments on a string.  That makes this variation a more challenging one for the students and I think they will enjoy the challenge.  I put out exactly enough beads for them to hang one on each branch.

  

Tapestree Table

Yay!  I am SO excited that the Tapestree Table I purchased for my classroom is here and set up!  At the beginning of March, we had a small fundraiser and raised just under $250.  I immediately knew that I wanted to buy a Tapestree Table from Blueberry Forest Toys.  I had seen this on another blog and thought it would be so awesome to have in my classroom.  I can't wait to see how the children enjoy using it.  This past weekend my own two boys tried their hand at it and both really loved it.  Maybe we should get one for home.  I could seriously see myself sitting down to sew on it quite often. 

I love so many things about this table.  First, I personally love to sew, so I think it's great to introduce this type of handwork to young children.  Second, I love that I bought the larger size so three students can stitch at the same time, reminiscent of quilting circles from ages past.  Finally, I love that the children can collectively create something beautiful.  I am planning to turn their tapestry into a wall-hanging that can be displayed in our classroom.

In the photo below you can see the table all set up.  I have pre-threaded three needles (they are the blunt tapestry needles) by tying the thread to each needle and starting the sewing with a knot in the end, pulled up from the bottom so the knot doesn't show on top.  My plan is to just tie on another piece when a child gets to the end of a thread.  You can see in the photo that I've kind of strategically arranged the different threads and needles along the three sides of the table.

 

Here is a close-up view of some stitches done by my 7 year old.

 

I added a little wooden bowl with a pair of scissors and some more lengths of thread wound into bundles and secured with hair clips or clothespins.  That way my assitants and I can quickly and easily get another thread started when one runs out.

 

Thrifting-inspired Practical Life activity

This past weekend I made a little trip to my favorite local thrift store and scored some great items.  You can read more about that in this post on my other blog.  I was itching to use my bunny basket and my little ice cube tray and the photo below shows what I came up with.  I have to say right up front that a red tray would be just about my last choice for this work from an aesthetic standpoint, but it was the only one not already in use that would hold all the items. 

 

To do this work the child uses the tweezers to place the little pom-poms into the compartments of the tray.  There are 90 little squares so I placed 15 pom-poms of 6 different colors into the bunny basket.  That way the children could sort the colors into rows.

 

 

I was not sure when I set this up if many children would have the concentration necessary to place 90 pom-poms into the tray.  However, on the first morning it was out, two different children finished the entire work.  You can see evidence of that below.

More Easter activities

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my local thrift store?  It is seriously a huge source of inspiration for me.  I always love going there to find cool little quirky things that catch my eye.  Even more, I love putting those things together in new ways to use in the classroom.  I was very stoked to find this unopened magnetic dress-up set with an Easter bunny.  You can see it in the photo below just the way I bought it.  I feel the need to say this, though it may be unnecessary.  Some Montessori teachers wouldn't feel comfortable putting this out since it portrays an animal in an unrealistic way.  I, however, am comfortable with it in my classroom.......obviously.  When I showed this activity I did point out to the students that even though they would be dressing the rabbit in clothing, real rabbits, of course, wouldn't wear clothes.  I have full confidence that they understand the difference and that's why I am okay with including this as a seasonal activity.

 

I had a blank white magnet board that I used to hold all the pieces after I pulled them apart.  You can see that below.

 

Below you can see the fantasy bunny in his skivvies.....I guess I should have dressed him before photographing him.  How rude of me!!

 

The photo below shows our new bead-stringing work for Easter.  The little container and the gold basket were both found at..............my local thrift store. 

 

Inside the very inviting mother-of-pearl inlaid box are........bunny beads for bead-stringing.  How fun is that?

O Easter Tree

I found the greatest little wire Easter tree on a thrifting outing last month.  AND I found a bunch of great little wooden ornaments to decorate it.  The Christmas tree decorating work was very popular in December, so I thought the children would enjoy decorating a little tree for spring as well.  Below you can see how I set up this activity on my stationary shelf that I LOVE!

 

Aren't these ornaments the greatest?  So cute and vintage at the same time!!

 

Terry, my local thrift store owner who sells me half of what you see on the Practical Life shelves, suggested that I bend the ends of the wire branches so the ornaments don't slip down to the trunk of the tree.  A very good suggestion!!  Below you can see one of my students making the tree look lovely and special.

Water anyone? Oh yeah!!

I recently put out a few new water pouring activities on the Practical Life shelves.  Young children are attracted to anything involving water like flies to honey.  The activity below has a little story behind it.  I have been admiring the little "moon" pitcher at my local thrift store since last summer.  For some silly reason I had never bought it.  It's really small.........only about 3 inches tall........and it was priced at $2.  I guess I didn't want to pay $2 for something so tiny.  A while back I noticed that it was on sale for 50% off.......so I snatched it up along with another even smaller pitcher I'd been longing for.  It is a great point of interest for this activity.  Who could resist trying to pour out of a teeny tiny pitcher that looks like the man in the moon?  Not me!  When I presented this activity, I modelled holding the pitcher by the handle with one hand and using my index and middle fingers of my other hand to "brace" the pitcher as I poured.  This allows much better control when pouring.  The children pour half of the water into each teeny tiny glass (also found at the local thrift store).  There is a sponge on the tray to mop up spills.  I also like using a piece of vinyl shelf liner on the tray to prevent the glass items from slipping while the child carries the tray.

 

 Isn't he adorable?

 

This activity has an obvious point of interest too.........the funnel.  To do this work the child places the funnel into the glass bottle (as shown in the bottom photo) and carefully pours the water from the creamer into the funnel.  After the water is poured, they remove the funnel and carefully pour the water back into the creamer.  Again, a sponge is provided to wipe up spills.

 

Sort and Count the Eggs

This is a little sorting and counting activity similar to some others that I've had out on the Practical Life shelves this year.  To do this activity, the child uses the scoop to sort the speckled eggs (found at Hobby Lobby) by color into the smaller nests. (I think you could find the nests at most craft stores as well; I've had mine for a long time and don't remember exactly where I bought them.)  Then, the child counts how many of each color and places the correct numeral card in the nest.  The final step is to find a teacher to check their work.  I have found that this type of activity often encourages and provides the impetus for children to practice their counting.  It also allows me to informally assess a child's number concepts as I check their work.  It is easy to determine which children can count quantities and which can recognize numerals through an activity like this.

 

Little Laundry Activity

Before I describe this activity, I want to tell everyone that I am WAY behind on replying to the comments and emails for this blog.  I have 58 conferences between this Thursday and Friday, April 3 which (needless to say) is a LOT to prepare for.  Some of you have written asking about how I prepare for conferences and I will TRY to get a post in about that sometime in the future.  Suffice it to say that I haven't forgotten anyone, but I ask for your patience.  I will work on replying to everyone as I have time.  Now.........on to the post.

I have long admired the Piccobello Laundry Game both for school use and to have at home.  However, I haven't ever felt that I could justify the cost.  When putting together new work for the Practical Life shelves this week, I decided to make a variation of it.  Please note that this activity is not a game and was intended for only one child at a time to use.  The materials I used were a wire "shelf" (I think this is available in the housewares department of stores like Wal-Mart or Target; it is intended to put in a cabinet to add an additional shelf), a container of felt clothing, and a container with wooden clothespins.  To do this work, the child simply uses the clothespins to hang all the clothing on the wires.

 

I just used plain old craft felt that I had on hand and free-hand cut out the little shirts/dresses and pants.  No pattern, I just eye-balled it. 

 

 

The photo below is blurry, but shows this work after a child hung up a few pieces of clothing.

New Practical Life for Spring

I'm back!  I had a fun weekend getaway with my good friend, Beth.  You can read more details about it at my other blog if you're interested.  I got home around 3:00 p.m. on Sunday and the boys and I went up to school from about 5-7 p.m. so I could pull together some new activities for spring and Daddy could have a break!