Knobbed Cylinders for Baby

E is a little young for the knobbed cylinders (16 months), but I knew this was a work that she'd love, so I decided to go ahead and introduce it to her.  (One of the beauties of not being a real Montessori teacher is that I can do things the way I want to!)  E LOVED this work, and I was surprised by how focused she was on this task.

When I was giving her this lesson, I was very methodical, deliberate, and thoughtful with my movements.  I said "hmm" when I was thinking about which knobbed cylinder to put in each place.  When E was completing the work, she kept saying "HUMMM," and now she calls this work "HUMMM."  When I ask her if she wants to do "HUMMM," she excitedly shakes her head "no" which means "yes."  (she's gotten a little confused about the difference between shaking and nodding her head this week...so cute).
 



Here is a video of E working with the knobbed cylinders.  I could watch this video over and over again.  I love watching the way her mind works.  The mind of a child is an amazing thing.




She didn't finish the knobbed cylinder, but we left it out and finished it later.

Bride and Groom Paper Dolls

I printed this bride and groom paper doll set (Prince William and Kate) for O and E's January Box of Fun.  O was thrilled to have a bride paper doll since she loves to dress-up as a bride, and we put the wedding dress on her O paper doll, too. 

Learning to Play Chess

I've wanted to learn to play chess for years (so I could teach O how to play), and I finally learned WITH O!  We had a great time learning and playing together!




O's grandparents gave her this Once A Pawn A Time book and chess set for Christmas, and it's a great way to learn to play the game.  O and I went through book 1 in a couple of hours (after we finished I read the back of the box which said that the book is not meant to be finished in one sitting...oops!), and then played our first game.  O was totally focused on this activity the entire time, so I'm glad that I didn't know that the recommendation was to only work on it for 20 minutes at a time. 




After completing the first book, we know the basics of playing chess, and we've played several games.  We are going to play with our basic knowledge for a while before reading the 2nd book and learning the more complicated rules of the game.
Elliott was amazed when he watched us play and listened to O explain the game to him.  I highly recommend this game and books set to anyone who wants to learn to play chess!

The recommended age range for this set is 7 to 15 years, but it worked well for O at 4 and a half years old.  I didn't make any adaptions to the instructions, and she understood perfectly.  It's also great for grown-ups who've always been confused by the seemingly complicated rules (after reading this book, it seems so simple) of chess!

Arts & Crafts Shadowbox

I love to make shadowboxes with pictures of the girls and things they have made.  I recently put O's egg carton art in a shadowbox.  I love how it looks...now I just need to find a place to hang it. 

See our other shadowboxes here (O's ballet shoes) and here (handprint lillies).  I buy most of my shadowboxes from IKEA since their prices can't be beat!

Handprint Heart Shirts

The girls, my mom, and I recently made handprint heart shirts for Valentine's Day.  I painted their hands using craft paint (mixed with textile medium).  We pressed their hands onto the prewashed shirts to form a heart.


O wanted to fill in between her fingers with paint, but I explained that I wanted to be able to see her handprint.  She wasn't happy about it, but she agreed to not add more paint.


E's heart didn't turn out quite as well as O's, but it's still precious.  E LOVED it when I painted her hands, and I was glad that my mom was here to assist in this process so it wasn't quite as messy as it could have been :)

Matching Picture Cards to A Book...Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

I introduced this Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? matching activity (that I made for O almost 3 years ago...time flies!) to E this week.  She LOVED it!




To make the activity, I took a picture of each page of the book.  I printed the pictures (wallet size) and laminated them. 




To do the activity, I read the book to E and I asked her to find the picture of each animal before I turned the page (while I was reading the 2nd page telling the animal that she would see next).  After I turned the page, she matched the picture to the animal on the page.  She LOVED this activity...until she was distracted by a pair of fancy high heeled "toos" (you can see them in the background of the 2nd picture).  I think this is an activity that my little animal lover is going to enjoy for a while, and I love that I have so many activities already made and ready for her!

Our Poetry Basket

We recently started a poetry basket, and both girls LOVE it!  When I read about poetry baskets on My Montessori Journey, I knew it was something I wanted to try because it's something I could do with both girls.  I had no idea they would love it as much as they did!



I chose the poem A Chubby Little Snowman for our first poem (found at Can Teach).  I printed the poem and put a dot under each word.  I gathered a snowman, a bunch of carrots, and a rabbit for our basket.  I glued a plastic eyeball to a craft stick, but it fell off the first time we used it (the girls didn't seem to care, but I'll probably glue it back).  I read the poem to the girls while touching each dot under the words and while acting out the poem with the props.  I then read it a second time while they acted it out with the props. 

O was very interested in the poem itself, while E loved acting it out.  I loved watching E make the bunny eat the snowman's nose, and she then pretended like the bunny was eating her nose.  E also liked holding the craft stick and pointing at the words while saying her version of the poem...love it!   I was amazed when O recited the poem after I'd read it to them twice...she was REALLY paying attention.  I expected her to learn it after about a week and had no idea that she'd memorize it immediately.  She has proudly recited the poem each day for her grandparents and daddy.  I guess that shouldn't surprise me since the child has an amazing memory, and I  knew that memorizing a poem would appeal to her since Laura and Mary (from the Little House on the Prairie books) have to recite poems and lessons.  A couple of days after starting this activity, we were reading an American Girl book, and Kirsten had to memorize a poem to recite to her class...that made this activity even more thrilling for O. 

I encourage everyone to do this simple activity with your children.  After seeing how much E has enjoyed this activity at only 16 months old, I wish I'd started doing something like this with O years ago.  I plan to have a new poem and poetry basket for the girls each month, and I'll probably keep a binder of the poems, so we can look back and read and recite them over and over again.



O asked me to make sure her "beautiful ring" was in the picture!

Outside Melody Maker

E loves the Melody Maker that O and I made a few years ago.  It's the first thing that she runs to when we go outside to play.  O and I had fun making it a few years ago, and now we all enjoy it!

Transferring Crayons

While the big girls were making their snowflake and paper chain crafts, E was busy grabbing crayons and scissors and running off with them.  She REALLY needed an activity!  I gave her the container of crayons and an empty container and told her to fill up the empty container with crayons.  She was delighted and got right to work! 



After she worked for a while, I realized that the crayons would fit perfectly in the container that she puts q-tips in.  She loved putting crayons in the container! 




This activity was so thrilling for her because I don't usually let her have crayons...she likes to bite them, and she's sneaky about it.  I watched her closely, and she wasn't putting the crayons anywhere near her mouth.  I looked away, but noticed her sitting quietly with her hands in her lap staring at me with a sweet smirk on her face.  I knew immediately that she must have eaten a crayon...sure enough, there was a little chunk of an orange crayon in her mouth.  I can't take my eyes off of this girl for a second!   However, I LOVE how she looks at me with that sweet little expression and waits for me to realize what she has done.

Snowed/Iced In!

We don't have snow very often, so when we do, we are very excited, but not very prepared.  We took the kids out in empty laundry baskets and with cookie sheets for sledding.



School has been canceled for the past 2 days, so we've just been hanging out at my mom's house.  Today, my niece, O, and my mom had lots of fun cutting snowflakes and decorating doll and snowman paper chains. 









They taped all of their decorations on the front door for everyone to see.  They were very proud!

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Poor O started running a fever shortly after they finished the crafts.  Poor baby.  She feels rotten, but I'm hoping she'll feel much better tomorrow. 

Twig Blocks Activity

Since E loves to fit objects into openings that are just the right size, I thought she'd like having this Twig block activity on her Montessori activity shelf.  She and O both love to play with the Twig blocks, and this activity is a hit with E.  I showed her how to match the colors, but she was not interested in that yet. 

Q-Tips and a Container

E had a great time putting q-tips in a container today.  She loves this type of activity, and I love that it is so simple and keeps her so busy!

O's Book Journal

O started coloring and drawing pictures in a journal as I read to her at night a few months ago.  She LOVES this activity, and I love to see her intense concentration as she draws.  Most of her drawings are quite abstract, and it is fun to listen to her explanations of the different things she draws. 



After I finish reading the book and O finishes drawing, I ask questions about the story.  I write the questions and answers in the journal.  I usually have a sleeping and/or nursing baby in my arms while I am writing, so my handwriting is especially terrible despite my best intentions to write neatly. 



I try to write her answers exactly as she says them.  After reading Little Red Riding Hood, she took the journal and edited my "d."  She insisted that it be a capital D...silly girl.  I love how she said that the story was "too afraidy."