ABC Box

Hands-on learning for beginning sounds are found inside “My ABC Box!” Children can practice... letter identification of both uppercase and lowercase letters... sound identification... and matching letters to their correct corresponding realistic item.


All 26 items are sized for small hands and chosen based on ease of identification.This activity is Montessori inspired. My children helped me make this ABC box, it’s a wonderful tactile way of understanding how letters and sounds work.

Recommended for preschool and kindergarten children. My older daughters' enjoyed helping their brother with this activity!

Faux Fossils

We were talking about fossils for the lesson of the day and decided to make our own fossils using some moist clay that hardens in the air (about 3 days to dry completely). Here is a good link to buy this clay that will last a very long time for many projects - Modeling Clay.

We used some plastic toy insects and beach shells that we had from previous vacations. Just press the object down into a flattened piece of clay and slowly lift it to reveal a "fossil".

Dried Bean Mosaic-Fall Trees

Dried Bean Mosaic Tree

Just grab a bag of colorful dried beans and draw out an outline of a tree on some cardstock...use some glue and you have a beautiful craft that will keep your kids fingers busy for quite a while. Use some tongues for the little ones to help with their fine motor skills (beginner writers). Great for all ages!

About Maria Montessori- A Tidbit of History (#2)

• There are two main concepts which Dr. Maria Montessori developed with regard to the child's development and growth.
• These are the concepts of the absorbent mind and the sensitive periods.

About Maria Montessori- A Tidbit of History! (#1)

• Dr. Maria Montessori founded her first “Casa Dei Bambini” in Rome, Italy in January 1907. 
• She applied the diligent observational skills and ceaseless quest for truth that she had learned in her scientific training to her interest in children.
•  Dr. Montessori traveled the globe, studying children of all cultures and social strata and developed a universal education, today known as the Montessori Method.
  

Iridescence

An opitcal phenomenon! The color of the surface changes if it is viewed at a different angle. Try this fun ice cube experiment.

Materials: Ice cubes, salt, food coloring (including RED), bowl

Pour ice cubes into large bowl and then sprinkle salt over the cubes. Add one color of food coloring at a time and see if you see the shimmer? Iridescent color!  Some great links below for information on what is happening during experiment.

Explore Properties of Light

Iridescence



Constellations Kids Project

Here is a great idea for kids to learn the names and patterns of the constellations.
I used some cardstock and printed out some star charts/constellation maps. My daughter copied the dotted pattern onto a piece of cardstock and connected the dots with a silver pen. Then I helped her to poke holes using push pins (I put a thick cloth/towel or cloth place mat under her card stock paper so that she could make a hole with the push pin in the middle of each dot). We then hung the finished picture up against our wood shutters so that the sun could shine through the holes to give the appearance of stars! They came out so magical looking!