Planting Paperwhite Narcissus Bulbs

The girls and I planted bulbs which grew into these beautiful flowers as an activity from our January box of fun.  I  bought the set including 4 bulbs, a pot, and soil at WM for a little more than a dollar in the after Christmas clearance section.  The girls had fun measuring the water to add to the soil to rehydrate it.  We then planted the bulbs and waited for them to grow and bloom.  They are both very proud of these beautiful flowers.

Chasing Cheerios...The Book!

I turned my blog into a book using blog2print!  This is the first year of Chasing Cheerios, which I started when O was about 16 months old.  Now that E is 16 months old, I can easily find activities for her in the book (I'd much rather read a book than a computer screen).  I plan to make a book for each year of both of my blogs.  O has already said that she is going to use this book to find fun activities when she has children of her own!

Determination and Concentration

E was very focused and determined to get the q-tips into this bear container.  This was not an easy task, but she stuck with it.  I love to watch her when she is so focused on a task!



It is so hard to not jump in and help her, but it is so rewarding for her when she is able to do it by herself.  Her determination, persistence, and ability to concentrate AMAZES me!

Half Birthday Treats

O recently celebrated her 4 and a half birthday.  We always have a small celebration for half birthdays, and this year she got to celebrate at school!  Since O has a summer birthday, she was able to walk around the sun (a candle) holding the globe with her baby pictures for her half birthday.  She was so excited and proud, and so were we!

Here are a few of the half birthday surprises that her grandparents gave her.

Freezer Paper Stenciling

O and I recently freezer paper stenciled a few shirts and a nature bag.  I traced and cut the stencils out of freezer paper and ironed it on the shirts and bag.




I mixed craft paint with textile medium, and O and I painted the shirts.  (you can find the textile medium is in the craft section of WM near the acrylic craft paint).



Since I bought dark shirts (aqua and purple), it required a lot more paint to cover the area than it usually does.  Next time I'll only buy white shirts for this project.















The girls are excited about their finished shirts!

Artist Study...Van Gogh

O and I have started studying an artist a month (this is another great idea from My Montessori Journey).  The first artist that we have studied is Van Gogh.  We looked at Van Gogh's art on the ipad (I downloaded Van Gogh hd, which is a great, inexpensive app), read several books about Van Gogh, and then did a few activities based on one of his paintings.

This great magnetic activity using the painting, Bedroom in Arles, came from the blog, little acorns.  I printed the activity on magnetic paper, and O arranged the pieces to match the painting. 








After O completed the magnetic activity, we had fun coloring a picture of Bedroom in Arles.  It's so much fun to color together!


This week we'll focus on The Starry Night.   

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!