Color Matching with Art

I printed out these art cards through http:///www.montessoriforeveryone.com
and laminated them. I also used some paint samples that I've collected from various home stores. You can have a matching game with just the printed pictures or search for a particular color using the paint sample cards. You can then extend the activity to providing some art history. :)

Sensory Activity-Grinding Coffee Beans

My kids love the aroma of fresh whole coffee beans so I came up with idea of purchasing an old vintage coffee grinder for them to use. I really think the grinding is a great sensory activity providing some exercise for the upper body by using some good old "muscles" and coordination and the aroma of the beans provide a sense of comfort and a refreshing feeling. Holding the knob correctly helps with those fine motor skills.

Montessori Quote

“Little children, from the moment they are weaned, are making their way toward independence.”
- Maria Montessori

Arsenic in Apple Juice?

Really! As a stay-at-home homeschool mom I'm appalled at reading about this latest information regarding possible arsenic in apple juice..with a specific brand such as Motts Apple Juice.
Please see link below of the facts:

There's Arsenic in Apple Juice

I really can't imagine the health effects from long term consumption of apple juice especially for the growing bodies of toddlers and children. Please research more and stay up to date on the latest findings.

A great show on Dr. Oz and he has reports also:

Dr. Oz reports

Butterfly Spring

Well as this spring is well over and summer is full force I thought I'd finally get around to posting about our annual butterfly project. Every year our kids look forward to receiving caterpillar larvae from Insect Lore to watch them become full grown caterpillars then change to the pupa form (chrysallis) and become a beautiful monarch butterfly.
I love to supplement this hands on activity with a great classic book like The Very Hungry Caterpillar 
by Eric Carle. I also love to provide worksheets on labeling the body parts of the caterpillar as well as the buttefly.  This is a great activity from ages 3 and up! You can go more in depth with older children. They can do a science project (observing) along with this activity.

Natural Sea Sponge Painting

Materials: Natural Sea Sponge, Watercolor paper, Watercolor paint

Use natural sea sponge to make these fall or spring trees!

Quote-Maria Montessori

“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.” - Maria Montessori

Summer Activity- Ice Block full of toys

A great idea for a hot summer day! Take a large plastic bowl and fill with small toys and water. Let freeze overnight and dump out the block of ice on your driveway or porch. You can let those little curious fingers chisel the ice with their plastic tools to search for their treasures. Another idea would be to let the children poor water over the ice to see the ice become smooth and glossy.

Colored Water Fun

What an easy and fun activity for preschool and Kindergarten aged children. You just need 4 glasses of water, food coloring, dropper and some paper/crayons to extend your activity to a mixing color lesson.

Botany

Here is a great link to have a botany scavenger hunt, keeping in the theme of discovering botany and investigating nature! Spring is an awesome opportunity to introduce this.

Botany Scavenger Hunt

Dissecting a Flower

Dissection of an Iris

This is a wonderful activity for spring! Walking into the local grocery store I became overwhelmed with the beauty of the colors in the floral department. I decided I could not pass by this colorful display without purchasing a bundle of flowers. I realized I could enjoy these blooms and also create a lesson in botany for my kids. I found some wonderful worksheets on Enchanted Learning. I printed a flower anatomy chart and a label the flower worksheet for my 9 year old to use as reference.

She carefully pulled apart the flower with tweezers or her fingers and placed them onto a prelabeled paper provided for her, using the flower part diagram as reference.

The only tools I provided her with were some tweezers, tape, scissors and magniflying glass. She neatly taped the flower parts onto a large white piece of paper. The completed project looks like a piece of art!

Importance of Art Education

Wright's Stained Glass Art Activity

Stained Glass Art Activity

Materials: Self Adhesive Laminating Sheets (or contact paper), variety colors of tissue paper, scissors, black permanent marker

Instructions:

Cut out tissue paper into geometric shapes. Then cut one sheet of self adhesive laminating sheets in half (before removing backing) then I removed one backing on one half and laid out the different shapes into a unique pattern on the sticky side. Then I removed the backing of the other sheet and attached it (careful not to create bubbles) to the other sheet, enclosing the shapes within the clear sheets. Lastly, outline the shapes with the black permanent marker. Your faux stained glass sheet is ready to hang on a window with some transparent tape!

This art activity is based on Frank Lloyd Wright's famous stained glass. See samples of his work down below.

Montessori Penny Polishing Activity/ Dollar Bill Lesson

Montessori Practical Life and Science Experiment

Penny Polishing

President’s Day is a great time to introduce the Presidents to young children in a way that is sparks their curiosity. This hands-on experiment is wonderful for their development of a child’s fine motor skills. The photo shows the Montessori inspired experiment pennies, lemon juice, dropper, 1/8 teaspoon measuring spoon, salt and a cloth for polishing.

You can present this to the child by placing one penny in an empty flat dish and then spoon 1/8 teaspoon of salt onto the surface of the penny. Then squeeze 2 drops of lemon juice on top of the salt. The acidity of the lemon juice combined with the abrasiveness of the salt will naturally clean the penny’s surface. Then, using the cloth, show the child how to wipe off the polish.

This is a great Montessori practical life and science experiment. Have a good supply of pennies because young children will enjoy repeating this activity over and over again.

For the “Dollar Bill Activity,” you just need a tray containing a dollar bill and a magnifying glass. Have a small bowl with a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and half dollar. Your child can study

the money with a magnifying glass and you can discuss which President's are on the currency.



NAMC-Montessori Homeschool Program

Great Montessori Homeschool Program: Check out link below.

NAMC HOMESCHOOL Program

Modeling Beeswax !

Modeling Beeswax

Wonderful modeling beeswax for little fingers. Helps develop child's finger strength and use their imagination. This kit of beeswax (see link above) has the simplest instructions included and comes in a nice little canvas bag. My kids love it.



Simple Name Practice

This is so simple!! You can cut out some pieces of paper (almost like the shape of the letters of the name you will use) or card stock. I added some green lines (keeping it nice and neat) at the bottom of each letter and told my child to pretend the letters are sitting on grass (to help prevent upside down letters)! This is great little puzzle to help your toddler to recognize and spell his/her name.