Animal Families

I also downloaded these animal families cards from Montessori for Everyone. To introduce this activity to O, I put one card from each animal family out and had her sort the rest of the cards to the correct animal family. There are stickers on the backs of the cards for self checking. This was a really easy activity for her, and I wish I'd introduced it to her sooner.

What Doesn't Belong?

I downloaded these cards from Montessori for Everyone and introduced them to O this morning. She marks the picture (with a wipe-off marker...the pictures are laminated) that does not belong. She zoomed through this activity and seemed to really enjoy it. I included a little piece of felt in the bowl for erasing the marks on the pictures.

Open/Close Activity

We haven't had the open/close basket out for a while, but I found a few new objects when I was organizing this weekend and decided to give them a try.



I expected O to have some difficulty with this jar, and she did. I encouraged her to try again (to close it), and she was SO proud when she was succesful by herself.

The Sand Tray

I introduced the sand tray to O on Tuesday, and she LOVED it. I'd originally planned to use salt in the tray, but when I saw this blue sand at Hobby Lobby (for only 1.50), I knew it would be perfect. O loves all things blue!



After spending some time writing letters in the sand, we tried the animal tracks activity that I saw on The Wonder Years. We took turns closing our eyes while one of us made tracks with an animal. Then we had to guess which animal made the tracks. This was so much fun!

Bead Sequencing Set

O had fun with her Melissa and Doug Bead Sequencing Set this week. To do this activity, you put the pattern board in the holder (this is not easy to do!) and match the beads to the pattern board. This was a fun way to practice patterning skills!

Spring Matching Cards

I downloaded and printed these Spring matching cards from Montessori for Everyone last Spring when O was obsessed with matching. She's not as interested in matching lately, but we enjoyed discussing the different objects in the pictures. The cards are beautiful and definitely worth printing. I really love all of the free printables at Montessori for Everyone!

Tuesday Morning at "School"

Since it was too cold to play on the beach this morning, I asked O if she wanted to do some shelf work. She enthusiastically replied "yes!" She said "Let's pretend this is school, and you are the teacher. You're name is Miss Linda!" So that's what we did, and we had lots of fun :)

We haven't transferred rice with a spoon in a LONG time, so I added that back to the shelf. O was interested at first, but then decided she wanted to pour the rice. She wasn't thrilled when I explained that the purpose was to practice transferring with a spoon. I told her that transferring with a spoon would help strengthen her hand muscles to help her with writing. She quickly assured me that she could write, and she wanted to show me right then!




O loves the sandpaper letters! She is REALLY into letters and sounds now, so we are having a lot of fun with these :)




She also enjoyed the squeeze and match balloon activity and pouring water. We spent the majority of our time on the letters.

Sequencing Cards

I downloaded these sequencing cards from Montessori for Everyone and introduced this activity to O last week. She had difficulty with the basil cards, but did well with the other 2 sets. There are so many great free printables at Montessori for Everyone. You should definitely check them out!

Flower Button Board

I recently made this flower button board, so O can have fun practicing her buttoning skills. It was fun and easy to put together.
To make the board, you need: felt in various colors (I used ecospun felt), fabric, foam core board cut to size,buttons, thread, fabric glue, and hot glue.
I glued the stems and leaves to the fabric using fabric glue and then sewed the buttons at the top of the stems. I used hot glue to attach the fabric to the foam core board. Then I cut out various flower shapes from felt and cut button holes in the centers. Now O can make her own beautiful flower garden!
(It was nice to finally have an original idea instead of just copying ideas from other blogs :)

Where does it come from?

 
I introduced these "Where does it come from?" puzzle cards to O last week, and we really enjoyed doing this activity together. The cards include many things that she would not have a clue about (gum comes from trees, newspaper comes from trees, etc.), so I didn't have any expectation of her doing this activity independently. It was fun to discuss the pictures and teach her about where things come from. I'm looking forward to doing this activity with her again soon :)
I printed and laminated these cards close to a year ago, and I have no idea where they came from! If anyone knows, let me know.

Another Color Match with Clothespins

To make this activity, I put color dot stickers around a bowl and matching color dot stickers on the clothes pins. O matches the clothes pin with the correct color dot to the dot on the bowl.






This activity was very difficult for O at first because she was using her left hand, and it is not as strong as her right hand. I suggested that she try her right hand, and she was able to complete the task. She was VERY proud because she had planned to give up after the first try. I was proud of her for persisting until she finished :)






This activity is great for improving fine motor skills, hand-eye cooordination, and concentration. Enjoy!

Stergonostic Bag

To do this activity you need a bag with matching geometric pairs. I have a bin of wooden items that I ordered from Casey's Wood Supply, and they seemed perfect for this activity. The child wears a blindfold and uses her sense of touch to find matching objects.


 
I introduced the stergonostic bag to O on Sunday afternoon. She seemed to enjoy it and did fairly well. On Monday, she had more difficulty and didn't want to wear the blindfold.





 
The Tinies often join in on our Montessori fun!