A Cutting Work

O and I cut strips of cardstock using my straight cutter. Then I drew lines on the strips for her to cut. She LOVES this work! She is VERY into cutting lately :)

Getting Back into Our Groove

O and I are home after being out of town for more than a week, and we are starting to get back into our routine. We took most of December off from Montessori work, primarily because she wasn't interested, but also because we were so busy with Christmas activities. We both really enjoyed "school" this morning!

Color Matching and Patterns

This is another activity that O hasn't been very interested in yet :( It's simple and easy to make. I cut a strip of cardstock, laminated it, and put stickers on it. The goal is for O to match the corresponding color bear to the dot.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Color Matching with Clips

Since this is supposed to be a Montessori blog, I guess I should post a few activities :) I've thought about this activity for a while, and finally found the time to put it together this week. I was waiting because I didn't think O could manage the clips. Then she started taking them off the refrigerator, telling me "be still, Mama!", and then clipping them to the back of my shirt :) To do this activity, O just matches the clip to the corresponding color dot on the cup. She REALLY liked the activity when I demonstrated it for her, but she wasn't interested in doing it herself :( Maybe next week...

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

A Felt Snoman Activity

IMG_2011 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

This felt snowman activity was also inspired by Itty Bitty Love and Starfall. I actually made the snowman before the turkey, and I really love him :) I've really enjoyed making these felt activities because they are so quick and easy. It's great to be able to start and finish something in the same night! I hope that O is going to have fun playing with him!

Another Oldie but Goodie :)

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O enjoyed putting popsicle sticks in to the slot of an insulated mug today. This was another activity that we haven't done in a while, and she was excited to see it again.

What's Inside?

IMG_1999 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

O has not been very interested in the activities on her Montessori shelf lately, so I decided to spice things up by adding a couple of new work and bringing out a few that she hasn't seen in a while. We first did the activity about a year ago, and it is a lot of fun! To do this activity you need a container that rolls (a small oatmeal container is perfect). We had several objects- shell, golf ball, marble, block, sponge, and we took turns putting in one object at a time while the other person closed her eyes. Then we rolled the container, and we took turns guessing what was inside. Fun and easy!

Felt Turkey Activity in Action

IMG_1993 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

I introduced this activity to O this morning, and she was very excited. I let her choose the picture, and I showed her how to make the turkey match the picture. The turkey's body, face, and legs were already put together on the felt board, so the only parts we added/changed were the feathers and hats. She needed help with this, but I think she'll be more independent next time :) Check back tomorrow for another fun felt activity!

Just in case anyone noticed... yes, O does have a green ball down her shirt! Her daddy gave her the ball when we were at his office yesterday, and she does not like to let it out of her sight. So, obviously the best place to keep it is in her shirt! (it won't fit in her pocket) After we finished the activity, she said the nurse had to take the ball out. Then we played nurse/dr for a while. That's always a popular activity lately!

A Fun Felt Turkey Activity

IMG_1997 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

The idea for this activity came from Itty Bitty Love's jack o'lantern activity. I didn't get around to making that one, so I decided to make a turkey. I couldn't really get a good picture of a turkey in my mind until I saw Laura's turkey, so that turkey was the inspiration. I also got ideas for the feathers and hats from Starfall. To make this activity, I just cut the shapes out from felt, took pictures of the different turkey arrangements, printed the pictures (wallet sized), laminated the pictures, and we were ready to go! I spread all of the pieces out on a bigger felt board, so O could see them easily. To make the small felt board, I just glued a piece of felt to a piece of a cardboard box. I think we are going to have LOTS of fun with this one!

Pouring Water

IMG_1876 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

I found this tiny little teapot and cup at the thrift store for 50 cents and introduced O to pouring water. She LOVES it! She loves anything tiny, so this was perfect for her. She drank all the water, and I had to keep refilling the teapot :)

Multi-age Grouping with an Only Child

IMG_1963 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

How do you do mult-age grouping when you are using Montessori methods to homeschool an only child? With baby dolls, of course! Every time O does her puzzles, she makes sure that Tiny is nearby to watch. Yesterday, she even did hand over hand to teach Tiny how to do the puzzle.

Pipe Cleaner Work

IMG_1950 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

The idea for this activity came from Montessori Mama's blog. We've done something similar using toothpicks, but this was a little more challenging. I cut the pipe cleaners long enough to stick out of the container, so she could pull them out after she finished putting them in. She really enjoyed this work!

Geometric Solids

IMG_1954 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

I introduced the geometric solids to O today. I expected her to like them more than she did. I am following Gettman's instructions as to how to how to introduce them, so today we just felt them and experienced them. She was mainly interested in building a castle :)

The Stairway

IMG_1938 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

This is the last one I promise (for now anyway)! My mom and I hung these counting bird pictures in the stairway at O's level so she can enjoy them and count with them as we walk up and down the stairs. She's actually not very interested in them, but that's ok. I really like them, and they make the stairway much more interesting :)

O's Apron and Chef's Hat

IMG_1932 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

Here are O's apron and chef's hat which are also hanging on a low hook in the kitchen. We also have her bibs hanging on a low hook so that she can get them herself when it's time to eat.

I wish I could put all of these prepared environment photos in one post, but I can only post one picture per post since I'm blogging through flickr :(

O's Coats & Sweaters

IMG_1939 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

We hung low hooks right by the door in our bedroom (which is the door we primarily use since the main door is upstairs, and I don't like to take O down the outside flight of stairs), so that she can easily reach her coat when it's time to go outside. She loves to lay it out on the floor and flip it over her head to put it on "all by self!"

More from O's Prepared Environment

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We hung hooks low on the side of our pantry in the kitchen for O's cleaning tools. She can reach them easily when she feels the need to swift, dust, or vacuum :)

Another Shelf

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Just in case anyone is interested...on this shelf we have O's lentil tray, her broom and dustpan (mainly used to sweep lentils), and her window washing kit. This shelf is right next to a sliding glass door that she enjoys cleaning often. All of the shelves in these recent posts are in the kitchen.

Back to School

IMG_1878 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

O and I had *school* this morning for the first time in a long time, and it was a lot of fun. When I first told her we were going to have school, she said "O not ont (want) to." But when I told her that we had a couple of new activities, she was ready to work :) It was good to get back into our routine, although it was something that I've been dreading. We've been at my mom's for the last week and a half, and I just wasn't sure how I was going to handle being alone with O out in the middle of nowhere again. Fortunately, we've had a great day even though the weather is nasty :) O was excited to see the knobbed cylinders and her puzzles which have been in the trunk (coffee table) for about a month. I put them in there to store when we weren't having school and promptly forgot about them :(

Tracing and Coloring a Pumpkin

IMG_1705 (Large), originally uploaded by omamom16.

The idea to color a pumpkin with washable markers which O could then wash off came from A Bit of This and That. O had a great time tracing her pumpkin and then coloring it. I was sure that she would also love washing the pumpkin. I was wrong! She was proud of her pumpkin, and she refused to even consider washing it off. She said it "made mama feel better." She's constantly doing things and giving me things to make me feel better. I keep telling her that I'm not sick anymore, but she doesn't seem to believe me. I guess she's picking up on my sadness even though I'm trying really hard to put on a happy face :) She's a perceptive little monkey!