DIY Apron

Children’s aprons are really one of the most used tools in our classroom, together with the mats!! We use them every time we work on art, science, or practical life activities that require protecting our clothes. 

So I though it would be a good idea to share with you my very favourite DIY Montessori apron out there. It is from Sew liberated  (photo below)

The main characteristic of this apron (apart from the cuteness factor!) is that it is designed in a way that allows the children to put it on and fasten it by themselves, without adult help. 

Happy sewing!!

 

Pattern blocks

We have been using the Melissa and Doug Pattern blocks for years now, and we love them! But any good quality pattern block set will prove to be a very versatile tool for learning. 

This material is not specifically a Montessori one, but it certainly shares a lot of the Montessorian "spirit". My six year old loves it, and he has moved away from the pre-made puzzles he cherished at 4, to create designs of his own.

He calls them "my art project", and since they are non-permanent by nature, we take pictures of them before restoring the material. Here is one example:

                                         "The precious stone catcher"

I also use it for my 4 year old (and the 2 year old tags along) as a means to learn the name of the shapes and the colours. 

Creating your own stories (with some grammar practice)

Extension activity for introduction to noun phrase

I found a great activity for practicing the concepts of these three parts of speech, which could be done after presenting the concepts and symbols for article - adjective - noun. It combines grammar with the joy of story telling and imagination.

Age group: 6-9

Materials

• three small baskets, each containing the same amount of paper strips (anything from 5 to 25 strips). The boxes should be labeled "article","noun" and "adjective", with each symbol on the label.

•  5 to 25 index cards (the same amount you chose to put in each basket)
• pencils

Introduce the baskets to the child(ren). Encourage him (them) to write any nouns they can think of in the strips of paper belonging to the noun basket, being careful not to repeat any.

 Do likewise with the adjectives.

 When the articles strips need to be done, let them struggle with the task of coming with no repetitions and then remind them (if they do not bring it up by themselves) that we only have three pronouns in English and they will have to be repeated.

Children will then take turns to take one strip from each basket and make a noun phrase with it, which should be then copied on the index card. Some will be quite striking or non-sensical, but it adds to the joy of making them fit in a cohesive story.

Proceed until every index card is completed.

Shuffle the cards and pick 3 or 4. Explain to the children that you are going to make up a story with them The only rule is that you should use all the cards you picked in it, in the order you got them.

When you are done, ask a child to make its own story.

DIY THE SOUND BOXES

I got the papier mache box set at Joann's for $1.99 each. Each one of this boxes cointains six cilinder shaped boxes inside. So I just fill them up with different materials (garbanzo beans, lentils, rice, sugar, one bead and pieces of paper), glue the tops, and cut circles in a brilliant photo quality paper to color code them. Both my 4 1/2 yo and my 2 1/2 loved them. The 2 1/2 even worked with them independently and put the away. AMAZING!! :)

Thanks to a fellow blogger, I decided to try the "felt puzzle" for the botany cabinet. It works great, the kids loved it and it folds neatly into a small pouch I made for it. It is a great idea, it can be done in half an hour, and is especially appealing if you do not have much space in your "classroom".

I adapted mine for my 4 year old, using a basic 3-6 puzzle, but I added the flower, fruit and seeds since we have seen that before with the classification cards.

I completed the set with a hand made card as a control chart for labeling.

Language work - the object basket

Object basket

Materials:

* a beautiful basket, filled with around 20 miscellaneous small objects from around the house. Miniatures of any kind are always a very welcome addition. Try to avoid plastic if you can... you can also use stuff collected during walks - a nice rock, a feather, a shell, a pine cone, you get the idea... Objects should be rotated periodically, to keep interest in the material.

* a mat

* (for + 4) strips of paper, a pencil

Activity for + 3:
Take one object at the time, and ask the child to name it. You can do a 3 period lesson with any object your child cannot name. Arrange it on the mat tidily.
To make it a game, you can place the objects he/she can name on a column on the right of the mat, and the ones he cannot on the left. (after naming them yourself). Then you can count how many he got, and placed them all back in the basket to start again. This helps them try to learn the new names, and it's fun! Go on as long as the child is interested.

Activity for +4. (language + reading and writing activity)
Arrange the first row of your objects, and ask the child to set the rest on the mat. Then, ask him to name them. When he can do all the objects confidently, then you can add a writing activity.
Tell him you are going to write down the name of an object you are thinking of. That will be his clue. Then he can tell you what it is. Write down the object's name in a piece of paper, let him study it and tell you what it is, by placing it under the object.

You can take turns, so that next time he has to write. (This is particularly useful for children, like my own, that do not necessarily enjoy writing for practice's sake. )

This blog will be changing, although creative powers ar4e going to be still the main force behind it. This time, I will be documenting our homeschool adventure trying to adapt the Montessori system to my little ones. (plus throwing in some good stuff from other approaches, too)
J is almost 5, and R is almost 3, so we oficially started school this month of October, 2010.

There are SO many resources for Montessori homeschooling out there that is both encouraging and overwhelming at the same time :)

I'll share my ideas and material making and activities with you all, and I hope I can contribute my little share to make this a better world.

Peace starts at home.