My Montessori Journey

Shape Pattern Work

The work I'm posting about is no longer on our shelves, but I realized I hadn't written about it yet.  This year is the first time I've put it out, so you won't find it in the archives either.  Below you can see how I had it set up on my stationary shelf. 

From left:  a basket of various colors of construction paper, a basket with strips of plain white cardstock, a basket with a gluestick, a basket with the pattern cards, a tray with three shape punches, and in the center of the green placemat, a Punch-Aid.

 

To do this work, the child selects a pattern card.  (I made these by punching the shapes from black construction paper, gluing them into various patterns, and laminating the cards.)  Then they choose a color (or two colors) of construction paper and use the Punch-Aid and punches to punch out the shapes they need.  For the card shown below, they would punch 4 squares and 2 circles.  Next, they get a strip of white cardstock and glue the shapes to it, following the pattern on the card.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a "finished" photo, but I am pretty sure you get the idea!!  This was a very popular activity during the two weeks I had it out.  If you have seasonal punches, this would be fun to put out with various seasonal variations.

 

Snowflake Cut and Paste booklets

As I mentioned in this post, I decided to make some cut and paste snowflake booklets for the children using the snowflake photos I found.  Below you can see how I've set this up.  The wooden holder holds the snowflake booklets and the tray holds the matching pictures to be cut apart.

 

A little bottle holds a pencil for writing names on booklets and a basket holds scissors, glue sticks and gluing mats (these are just vinyl placemats cut into smaller pieces).

 

Here is the cover of one of the booklets.

And here is an inside page.  After the child cuts apart all the snowflake pictures, they glue the matching pictures into the booklets.  There are 9 pages in all. 

 

Felt Snowflake Building

Another new activity on the shelves this month is "snowflake building".  I love this activity so much.  Below is a photo of a snowflake built by one of my students this week.  CLICK HERE to read my original post about this work.  It includes a link to where you can download and print the snowflake cards.

 

Garden Playdough Work

I haven't had play dough out for a while although I've had this activity in my mind for a while.  I finally mixed up a batch of chocolate playdough yesterday and put this out in the classroom this morning.  As I predicted, the children really enjoyed this work and it reinforces what we've been learning in our plants unit.

I usually set the playdough up on a table instead of having it set up for children to carry from the shelf.  I have been adding a bottle of hand sanitizer for them to use before handling the dough.  In the photo below from the top and going clockwise are:  a container with the "dirt" dough (I only put about half of the batch of homemade playdough in the container), a box with a rolling pin, flower pots, and a spoon for "digging" the dirt out of the pots, a bucket with carrots to plant, a basket with flowers to plant, and the bottle of hand sanitizer.

The flowers are flower picks which I bought in the floral/wedding section of Michael's.  I know they have these at Hobby Lobby too.  They are perfect for this work because they are very lightweight, but the wire stems are sturdy enough for them to stay upright in the dough without falling over.

I found the teeny terra cotta flower pots in the floral section of Michael's.  HobLob has similar ones.  Today we found that the dough really sticks to the inside so I added a spoon to help scoop out the dough.

I've had these wooden carrots forever and can't tell you a source.  They were originally on a jute rope and I think were part of an Easter swag decoration.  I cut them off the rope for this activity.  You can see the little bumps of rope on the sides.

Here is a flower garden that was planted in our classroom this morning.

   
 

Make a Flower

My students have enjoyed making little flowers to take home with this art project that I set up for them.  On the shelf from left are: 2 baskets for carrying materials to a table, a basket of flowers copied onto white cardstock (flower pattern printable was from Kidssoup), a bowl of craft sticks for the stems, 2 mugs of markers with a pencil in each, a basket with scissors, a bowl with small green construction paper rectangles, and a yellow tray with 2 cardboard leaf stencils.

To do this work the child grabs a white basket and places into it a flower shape, craft stick, mug of markers, pair of scissors, 1 or 2 pieces of green paper and 1 leaf stencil.  They carry these materials to their table in the basket.  They construct their flower following these steps:  color flower with markers, cut out flower, color craft stick green for the stem if desired, trace leaf stencil onto green paper using a pencil, cut out leaf, bring stem, flower and leaves to teacher to be stapled together.  Voila!

 

What's new on the shelves this week

I spent a few hours at school Sunday night.  I could have spent twice as long.  We've been in school now for about 3 weeks and I was feeling the need to change out some of the activities on my shelves.  Here is a glimpse of a few things that are new this week.  If you have a little one in my class try to take a few minutes and show them these photos on the computer after school sometime this week.  There is a very good chance that they've had their little hands on some of this new "work" and seeing it on the computer can be a nice starting point for talking to them about their day.

The work shown below is a spooning activity.  The spooning medium is field corn.......a very easily found item in the rural midwest where I live.  Dry beans would work well for this too.  The wooden spoon I'm using is such a great little spoon.  It's just the right size to hold about 2 kernels of corn for transferring.  I am not sure where the little wooden bowls came from....I just know that they felt right for this work.  The spoon is from Montessori Services.  You can purchase one for yourself here.

 

This is a new variation of dry pouring.  The pouring medium is colored green rice. 

 

And a variation of transferring marbles with tongs.

 

This hammering activity is always VERY popular.  It can also be purchased through Montessori Services by clicking on this link.

 

This wooden shape and color puzzle can be purchased at Callie's Corner.......click here.

 

This is something I set up  that I haven't put out before.  I had this wooden box with 4 hinged lids........I have no idea where I got it but it's really fun.  I pulled out some autumn colored pom-poms in 4 colors and added a pair of tweezers.  This is a combination color sorting and tweezing activity.  The child flips open the lids and sorts the pom-poms by color, using the tweezers to place them into the compartments.

 

Here is the box with the lids flipped open.

Progress Part 2

Now I'll share the other two shelves I put together Tuesday evening.   In addition to my two PL shelves that I showed in my previous post, I have 2 shelves of traditional Montessori Sensorial materials.  The two shelves I'm sharing now are adjacent to the PL shelves and Sensorial shelves.  Throughout the year I rotate the materials on these shelves.  However, I have out Wedgits for the entire year on these shelves as well increasingly difficult variations of bead-stringing.  Other items that I place on these shelves may include (but are not limited to) puzzles, construction/building materials, magnet activities, 2+ person games, pegboards, and other manipulatives.

For our Open House and first few weeks of school, I have each of these shelves "filled".  There are six activities per shelf.  At the beginning of the year, my goal is to have many activities out that are easy for my youngest children to complete successfully.  In the first few weeks they will be busy learning how to choose work, take it from the shelf to a table or the floor, complete the work and return it.  I chose activities that they can complete without much adult help.  This will build their independence and confidence and will allow me and my assistant teachers to spend the bulk of our time helping our new children learn the ground rules those first few weeks.

 

This screwdriver board is SUCH a popular work.  It is available from Montessori Services.  They have a few other variations of this that I would love to have as well.

 

I start the year with this classic pegboard with big chunky pegs.  Even my youngest children can easily succeed with this and it gives them a great feeling of accomplishment to place every peg in a hole.  As the year progresses, I change this out for pegboards with more holes and smaller pegs.  This simple activity continues to hold their interest as the year goes on.

 

This is a horrible photo.........it is one of those magnetic puzzles that you use a "fishing pole" with to fish out the pieces.  You can't tell, but it shows a farm with many types of vehicles driving past.  This will appeal greatly to my little boys.

 

Here are the Wedgits. These are out all year.  An awesome building material...........it is used daily all year long.

 

On the bottom shelf are two inset-type puzzles.  You will notice that I'm putting out several farm-themed materials.  That is because we will be taking a school field trip to a farm in September.  There will be many farm-related activities out as the weeks go by.

 

 

Here is the shelf just to the right of the previous one.

 

These are farm animal lacing cards.  I put out only 3 from a set of 6.  The little metal pail holds the laces.  These are really neat cards as the holes are numbered.  I found these stashed in one of my cupboards.  I didn't even have these out last year because I hadn't ever noticed them!!

 

At the beginning of the year I put out these big chunky wooden beads and the children LOVE making a long string.  The string has a wooden bead attached to the end to prevent the beads from slipping of the end.  Very important for reducing frustration.

 

This is a wooden building material with notched shapes that fit together in various configurations on a wooden base.  I don't know where it's from.........it was here before me :0)

 

This tray has a little lidded container that I filled with colored plastic links.

 

 

I added a 4-space sorting tray so they could sort the links by color and shape.  Then they can link them together into a long chain.  I didn't put this out last year, so I'm anxious to see how they like it.  I think it will be well-received.

 

This is a color matching game for up to 4 players.  All the activities I've shown up until now are for one student at a time.  I like to have a few materials out at all times that 2 or more children can do together.  Many children enjoy playing with a friend.  In a Montessori classroom with so many materials intended for single-use, having games available helps children form friendships.  I cannot tell you how many times these types of activities helped some of my more reserved students begin to interact with others and feel that they belonged in the classroom.  The second photo shows the box the game was originally in.  I simply removed it from the box and placed the gameboards on a tray, the game pieces in a small red tub, and the die in a teeny tiny wooden bowl.

 

 

UGH!  Another horrible photo.  Sorry I didn't check these until I got home and uploaded them.  This is another game (for 2 players).  It is an apple matching game that I printed from Kidssoup.  The tray holds 2 gameboards and a little basket with the cards.

 

This just shows how you would play...........each child gets a gameboard and the cards are placed facedown between.  Children take turns turning over a card and placing it on the matching space until all spaces are filled.  (This would be done on the floor on a rug OR could be done on a table.  I just quickly snapped a photo of it on the floor.)

More progress

I spent another couple of hours working in the classroom tonight.  My goals for tonight were to put away all the spring work that I had just left on the shelves since last May (!), put out the Practical LIfe work that I want out for our Open House on the 20th and for the first week or so of school, and put out the Sensorial/PL activities on another set of 2 shelves that I have.  And I got it all done!  YAY!!

I'm going to write about tonight's work in a few posts so I can really go through my thought processes regarding how I set things up.

Tonight I'll show you my two PL shelves (although I just realized I forgot to take a big photo of the one that is just to the right of the one shown below).  I have photos of all the trays though.  OK........last year I started out with WAY too many activities on the shelves to start.  I think I had 3 trays on each of 3 shelves on 2 shelves...............18 trays of PL to start the year.  I quickly realized that it was way too much for my younger students (and some returning children too since I was a new teacher to them and did things a little differently).  They had a hard time putting things away on the right shelf.  I consulted with a veteran Montessorian from my training center and her suggestion was to have only 1 item per shelf to start.  That's a little hard for me.  It just seems like too little on the shelves......I would love to hear from others of you how you handle this.  Anyway..........I scaled it back after the beginning of the year last year, and I'm starting with fewer trays on the PL shelves this year.  I have 2 trays per shelf and am only using the top two shelves to begin with.  My other shelf is identical and also holds 4 activities.  You will see all of them below.  On the bottom shelf you can see my "parking spots"......pieces of red tape.  I came up with this last year so the children didn't crowd the shelves with 3 or 4 trays.  I teach them to place their tray back on the "parking spot".  Each shelf in my PL and Sensorial/PL area (4 shelves in all) has the same colored spots to help them remember that they got it on the shelf with the "red" parking spots.  As I'm typing this, I am thinking I will remove the tape from the bottom shelf so they won't be confused and replace a tray from the top or middle on the bottom shelf.  That way it will be clear that if there isn't a parking spot, the tray can't go there.  Eventually, I'll add 2 spots on the bottom shelf and increase the number of trays out.

 

This is a basic dry pouring activity.  Dry pouring should come before wet pouring.  I chose 2 wooden vessels (from Goodwill) and a wooden tray.  Vessels without handles are easier for young children than those with handles, so this is the most basic and beginning pouring activity I would put out.  I filled the left vessel with small polished river rocks that I found in the dollar section of a discount store.  I like that it is a natural material and goes well with the wood.  It also makes a very pleasing sound when poured.

 

Here you can see the rock closer-up.

 

Next is another dry pouring activity.  This time I used a small heavy glass creamer with a handle.  I filled it with popcorn kernels.  I had a matching creamer that broke last year.  I may try to find another thrifted one before school starts.  For now I have a glass votive holder for my second vessel.

 

I put out this exact tong activity last year at the start of the year.  It was very popular with my youngest students.  The tongs are slightly concave instead of flat which makes them perfect for grasping the spherical marbles.

 

I also used this exact spooning work at the beginning of last year.  This photo does not do justice to the gorgeous purple metal bowls.  I don't know where you would get these.  They were already here when I inherited the classroom.  They remind me of the jewel-toned metal glasses my grandma had when I was a little girl.  The flat glass marbles are perfect when paired with these bowls on a silver tray.  Very inviting and blingy!  The glass makes a great "plinky" sound when spooned into the metal bowls.

 

The next four activities are on my second PL shelf.  First is jars and lids.  I snapped this photo quickly, but the materials are 5 containers with lids and a folded piece of felt.  To do the work the child places the felt on the table and lines up the jars along the top.  Each lid is removed and then replaced on the correct jar.  This is a great activity to encourage children to use their hands together.  It also forces hand dominance as they are required to make one hand the working hand and one the helping hand.  Many young children still have not determined hand dominance, so it's really interesting to watch how they approach this task from the perspective of hand dominance.

 

The next activity is similar to jars and lids.  These are a set of wooden nuts and bolts.  They can be screwed together just like regular nuts and bolts, but are really chunky and sized perfectly for little hands.  I searched but couldn't find a source for these.  I've had them for many years. 

 

This is a nesting doll.  I always place this on the shelf with a rolled piece of felt so the children have a mat on which to place their pieces as they work with the dolls.

 

And last, this seasonal variation of a tweezers activity.  Six little apples (with long stems) to be transferred with tweezers into the small paint tray.  This is challenging in that the children must grasp the stems with the tweezers in order to successfully transfer the apples.  It forces concentration and improves finger strength, yet it is not so difficult as to be frustrating.

Rainbow with colored chips

This little color activity is on my shelves for March.  I printed the rainbow from Kidssoup.  It was intended to be used with colored Froot Loops cereal.  I cut around it an glued it to green construction paper and laminated it.  Then I added a little bowl of colored chips.  Below you can see a blurry photo of how I have it on the tray.

 

Below is what the completed rainbow looks like.  The children have enjoyed placing the circles onto the arches to make a beautiful rainbow.

 

I'm Back, Baby!! (and a Chocolate Playdoh recipe)

I finally have internet service again.  It is the best Valentine's Day present ever!  I'm serious.  Our service went down on Friday, February 6th and I have been WRECKED without it.  I had so much Valentine's stuff to post BEFORE today, but I wasn't able to.  UGH!  Anyway, I'm back and not going anywhere anytime soon.  Yippee!!

I wanted to share the chocolate playdoh recipe that I've had out in the classroom this week.  This playdoh smells SO good.  It has been lots of fun.  You should whip up a batch of it right now.  It would make a great last minute Valentine's gift, especially paired with a heart cookie cutter.

Chocolate Playdoh Recipe

Mix together:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

Make sure you combine these ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed together.  Then add 1 1/2 T. cooking oil and 1 cup boiling water.  Mix and knead until you have a nice smooth ball of dough.

This is what the dough looks like when it's done.  I realized when I inserted it that it actually looks like something yucky and unmentionable on a respectable blog like this.  However, trust me when I assure you that it smells DIVINE.  Just like dark chocolate, my favorite!

This is how I set up the playdoh in my classroom.  I printed the heart mat  and laminated it.  I cannot remember where I found it.  If I find the link, I'll come back and add it to this post. I also had a cardboard heart-shaped box that chocolate candy comes in out so the children could roll chocolates and place them in the box.  However, the box quickly fell apart.  It would still be a fun addition to the work, however.