Here is O's Montessori shelf! It was surprisingly easy to build, and Elliott and I are very proud of it :) It's on casters so that we can turn it around when it's not in use. The back is pegboard, and I'll show the other side in another post (I can only post one photo per post when blogging through flickr). On the top shelf we have a number puzzle, shape sorting blocks, and phonics pouches. On the 2nd shelf we have the mystery bag, sound cylinders, toothpick sorting (this is O's current favorite!), and my mini version of the red rods. On the 3rd shelf we have jars & lids, mini animal match, latches board, and water transfer with a sponge. On the bottom shelf we have dry pouring with lentils, 2d/3d farm animal match, cats match, and stringing beads. We have LOTS of activities that are not on the shelves, and I'm not sure how often I should add and take away activities. She's very uninterested in the red rods and dry pouring, so I think I may switch these out fairly soon. Any suggestions from other Montessori mamas or teachers are welcome :)
I love it!! Now that I am doing some Montessori stuff with my 2 year old, I need a new shelf that can be turned around. Right now I put everything away in a cabinet every night before we have school (we don't do it everyday).
ReplyDeleteWhat a great shelf! Will you do a post about how you made it?
ReplyDeleteI LOVE reading about all that you're doing with your daughter! It's SO inspiring. :) As someone else already asked, I would also be VERY interested to know HOW you made the shelving unit. It's very neat...and functional!
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing! It's so much more 'normal' than I was expecting :-)
ReplyDeleteI like the turn around feature, too!
I really like your shelf!
ReplyDeleteI've been swapping out activities after about 2 weeks of my son showing no interest and then reintroducing them a few weeks later.
Please blog about how you made it!!!
ReplyDeleteO's Montessori shelf is beautiful! As she grows older and becomes more interested in math and language, you could dedicate a shelf to each of these subjects, as-well-as one for sensorial and one for practical life. In my classroom, I switch the lessons around all the time! Even on a daily/weekly basis, I'll switch trays, bowls, transferring materials, etc. Once a month, our whole school does a complete change of theme. For example, the October focus is Health and the Human Body. So, on our cultural shelf, we have a food guide pyramid lesson, a living/nonliving lesson, a stethoscope lesson, parts of the body puzzles, etc. We change the books in the book corner and hang up x-ray pictures on the walls. Otherwise, the rest of the classroom stays pretty much the same - we do have a tooth-brushing lesson in p.l. :) Anyway, I guess my point is that maybe you could rotate in some of your extra activities by theme... btw - where did your mom find those perfect clips?
ReplyDeleteAt nursery we change every half term in a grand way and as part of the short term planning we have to do in the UK we put out things that individual children have expressed an interest in - for example, if O expressed an interest in sorting we'd do sorting in a new way as well as keeping the old version out. Not necessarily to extend but to add variety and extend "sideways". She could sort leaves she'd gathered or pinecones into sizes or shoes into pairs or shoes into who they belong to. We try to have a mix of "classic montessori" and "real life".
ReplyDeleteLove it! Especially the peg board idea on back. I'm inspired!!
ReplyDeleteOkay I'm new to the blog and I've been trying to figure it out but I'm finally going to ask... what is Montessori?
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great idea! I love it! I love the pink frame on the pegboard side. Where did you get the frame? Do you just go to Home Depot or something?
ReplyDeleteThis is so helpful because i am just trying to figure out how to sort and what to put on a shelf. Great ideas. Hope all is well or turns out okay and that you are back soon.
ReplyDeletei am so glad you posted this & i found it. my dad & i are about to build a shelf for our materials this weekend (my son is 3, daughter 1) & we have just started homeschool/montessori activities. we have a tiny house, so will be in the dining room. i was unsure of how to "close" school so that our school materials did not get played with inappropriately (i.e. little sister while i am cooking dinner-ha!) the rotating idea is just perfect!!!!! i can't thank you enough for coming up with it & sharing! laura
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