Exploring the 5 Senses

Hassana and I had fun learning about the 5 senses. We made it interactive by arranging hearing, seeing, smelling, touching and lastly, tasting tests. Above you see our taste test with nachos, a pickle, sunflower butter, mustard, and soy sauce. Sana loooovvveddd this! She even replicated it for her Daddy when he got home, blindfold and all.

Montessori Monday: Big to Small, Small to Big!

This was a cute way to learn gradualism in size for Hassana. You could also combine texture with this exercise by making each circle out of a different type of fabric. It's a nice opportunity to talk about pattern as well.

Montessori Monday~Shape Pizza

With colors down pat, Sana and I are working on shape recognition. This was fun activity (pretty self explanatory) that she enjoyed. After it dried I used the pizza slices to review fractions with the Twins. Talk about double duty!

Our New Favorite Author

My newest big girl and I have discovered an author we really enjoy, Rachel Isdora! We started with her African rewrite of Rapunzel. I could hear Sana around the house saying, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

Then The Ugly Duckling has never been so cute! Her illustrations are simply amazing and so eye catching for little people and big folks alike.

Of course, we could not pass on a book that has As Salaam Alaikum on the front.

 
















Ms. Isdora has written and retold many more and we plan to read them all. In our house, she's the new Eric Carle! 

Montessori Monday ~ Walking the Line

We easily recreated this Montessori classic with tape and yarn. She was really challenged by this activity, trying to keep those tiny feet on an even tinier piece of yarn was pretty tough! 

Montessori Monday ~ Fun with Baking Soda and Vinegar

Adding baking soda to a bowl of colored vinegar is fun way to teach cause and effect to little ones. They get a kick out of the fizz!

Montessori Monday: Sensory Activities

Water is known as the universal solvent. So if you have a cranky child, give her a pot of water and problem solved! All of my children love water play, always have. It is a great, easy sensory activity for toddlers and preschoolers. Of course, watch the little ones closer around all water. Final tip, do this activity on days when you're going to mop the floor!

Montessori Monday: Sensory Activities

Sensory Activities have always been a big hit in my house from the time my oldest were very young. I really just keep recycling the same activities over and over again and I plan to share them over the next few weeks. I put this one together a couple weeks ago using various types of beans. I hate to waste food, so I use beans that we don't eat. LOL. The tools are just various kitchen items. Clean up can also provide an opportunity for sweeping practice.

I know My Name!

Babygirl is learning to recognize her name. I got these cards from the dollar store and simply wrote different names on them. Hassana's job is pick out her name in the line up. She gets it about 3 out of 4 times. Next I'll add in her middle name then the last name.

Montessori Monday: Learning to Read!

Hassana and I are learning letter sounds and early literacy skills. She loves books and can "read" to you all afternoon. So since nothing else seems to challenge this child, I decided to start working on the universal gateway skill, reading. She enjoys it and asks for her "work" everyday. Here's what we're using right now . . .I'm a Leapfrog fan! The Letter Factory video taught Amir and Yasina all their sounds.
3 part puzzles--We go over the sounds, she mimics me as I blend them together and say them fast to make a word.
2 piece letter puzzles--Reinforces each sound

More 3 part puzzles--These are her favorite.

Montessori Monday: Sorting and Counting

Sorting popsicle sticks by color while naming the colors

Counting the pompoms and putting the sticks in order by number. This is 1-5.

Montessori Monday: Colors and Sorting

This is my answer to the traditional Montessori color boxes. I brought two foam puzzles from Wal-Mart a year ago for a $1 each. Can't beat that.

Hassana's sorting seashells we collected in Charleston into small, medium, and large piles. She referred to the large ones as the Daddies, the mediums were the Mommies and of course, the babies were the little bits. I was amazed that she made that connection all by herself. Go, Sana!

Montessori Monday: More Transfer Work

This work is creating a bead and pipe cleaner sculpture with the help of a toothbrush holder. Sana really, really liked this one. Threading the beads was a lot easier than I thought it would be for her. She caught right on. This idea was courtesy of The Montessori Journey.

Here she transferred feathers with a large pair of tweezers. Thanks again, The Montessori Journey.

Lastly, she worked with those "purty" marbles again and moving them with a spoon, one in each swan. This exercise was great for reinforcing one to one correspondence.

Montessori Monday: Transfer Work

The Practical Life component of Montessori is what initially attracted me to the learning style. Children are taught at an early age to do for themselves all the tasks they are capable of performing. It promotes self confidence, independence, and concentration. Not to mention, it's the funnest part!
Babygirl transfered cottonballs into an ice tray with tweezers. Finally, something that truly challenged her! Using the tweezers was tough.

Here she fills an egg carton with some "purty" glass beads using a spoon. We just finished painting, so excuse the white dots.

Lastly, she transfers pompoms from one bowl to another with a large pair of tweezers.