Footprints on the Fridge

Wordless Wednesday: A is for Apple

 

 

 

Get Your Passports Ready

Can I tell you how excited I am to take off on our trip around the world at Serendipity?  I love the collaborative process of working with such gifted women and I am thrilled with the results.  Our school year is going to be so rich!  I can't wait to unpack the African treasure chest together and see what we find.  I hope you all will join us. 

For those of you beginning to flesh out the details and trying to get a vision for how this could work in your home, you can see my first attempt at laying out a week in my Google calendar in .pdf form here: Download Calendar_2009-05-10_2009-05-17.  There are already some things I want need to work on to get this plan exactly where I need it to be, but it's a good start.

I'm beginning to put together our continent boxes too.  I'm using black photo boxes like these for this project.  I'll back on outline map of the continent in colored card stock and decoupage it to the top, then slide a same-colored label on the front of the box.   The montessori downloads for that continent will get backed in the same color card stock before laminating and then placed in index card files.  I'm going to have to gather all my other items before I decide how exactly I'll keep them in the box and color code, so I'll give you a more detailed run down when the Africa box is ready to go.  If you need ideas for how this concept works, there is years worth of conversation and ideas logged at 4Real plus lots of links to really great examples.

This little table that I showed you in another post will become the montessori geography center.  I'm going to hang some art and photos low on the walls just above the table, then place a globe and the box for the continent that we are studying on top.  The small drawer will hold the appropriate puzzle map.  On the shelf underneath, I will place work trays similar to these with the  push pin tools and  a three part card tray.   During the montessori work block I have scheduled in the week, I'll have one child take the three part card work from the continent and the tray and bring it to the big table to work.  Another child will stay stationed here at the small table where to do map work.  A third child can take the rest of the contents of the box and the work tray to the large table and explore freely.  And finally, there'll be the option of geography computer games for yet another option.  As each child finished his work in one area, he can swap stations with someone else or move on to the open station at the time.  Our beeswax, wooden figures, and play silks will be available for anyone who is waiting for an open station.  Those can be used to sculpt the animals in the box, to imitate cultural dress styles, and to be painted or decorated like children from the continent we are studying.  Little ones will be allowed to explore the continent box and puzzle maps when older kids are done and to use the art supplies with the help of an older brother.  In addition, they will be encouraged to complete the work in their own montessori baskets during this time. 

I hope that gives you an idea of how one component of this study can look in your home.  I hope to add posts that detail some of our other learning blocks too, but they'll probably have to wait a while...the baby clock is in its final hours!

 

 

A Fresh Perspective for the Learning Room

A few weeks ago, Elizabeth and I were both feeling the need to get re-inspired in our learning rooms.  We were thrilled with the history trails we had mapped out at Serendipity , and were both clicking along quite nicely through them.  But we had both been in survival mode for too long--she since her weeks on bed rest and Sarah's birth and I since the early stages of this pregnancy--and were ready for a fresh approach.  We were both ready to take the good we already had and enrich it with a bit of beauty, and make our learning environments full of productive activity for all the age ranges our families represent. 

We made a deal that I would come up with a plan for our Native American unit  at Serendipity that would give it the artsy, warm feel we were both missing and she would scour her Montessori resources and this awesome blog for ideas on making our learning rooms a little bit richer.  Of course, in our collaboration, the lines blurred and we both brainstormed and worked through both plans.  We e-mailed and talked and within a week, I was at Michael's, list in hand, gathering main lesson book and activity materials for a beautiful Native American unit and head full of ideas for engaging activities for my little ones.  I wanted to get started that afternoon.  However, I took one look at my house and saw that the disorder in which it lay would be a total drain to the creative feel I wanted to instill anew.  So for the past two days, I've left my boys to the joys of backyard bug hunting  and imaginative play while I picked up, moved around, dusted, and mopped all sorts of surfaces in my house.  Then I spent last evening readying the learning room.  I'm thrilled with the results and think the boys are too since they've been exploring baskets and gathering around the table since about 7:15 this morning.

My goal was to create a system where I could think through all the types of activities I wanted to offer my kids on a regular basis and streamline the planning and gathering of materials to a once-a-month planning block.  Elizabeth, inspired by this concept , explored a bit further and found this idea , which seemed a perfect fit for what I was trying to accomplish.  I could easily tweak it to suit my needs.  My other stipulation was that this had to be a use-what-you-have project as there was just no room in the budget for a new piece of furniture or a fresh batch of baskets.  Luckily, I had just the thing hanging out in the playroom that I could reclaim.  So yesterday, we brought this lovely piece down and got our baskets ready for filling:

The three baskets sitting on top are each of the school-aged boys' book baskets.  They contain their assignment planners and core subject books.  The baskets in the shelf contain materials for a wide variety of hands-on learning.  Of course, I was thrilled to find note cards and ribbon in the $1 bin at Michael's that just happened to match the darling file folders, binder and journal that recently replaced the plain Jane ones on my desk:

And here's the purpose of all those baskets--

Faith and Living the Liturgy:  Since today's feast of the Annunciation is the last we'll celebrate this month, that basket sits empty, waiting for its April refill, with activities to celebrate Holy Week, Easter, Mercy Sunday, and the feasts of Sts. Catherine of Siena and Louis de Montfort.  We'll also remind ourselves next month that we are still celebrating the Pauline year.

Seasons and Nature:  Today we'll finish up our last March nature activity with a Spring Scavenger hunt in the backyard and a learning block and tea time focused on bird's nests and egg identification.   The materials for all the days activities have been loaded into the basket.

Thinking Challenges: This basket will be loaded with materials to complete the challenge ideas from this great blog .  In addition, there will be a few writing prompts and some math drill ideas.  This basket is mainly for the older boys use.

Unit Study and Main Lesson Book Supplies:  This basket is being filled for our Native American main lesson books and activities from More Than Moccasins .  Right now it contains new sketch books and fresh colored pencils, as well as D is for Drum, which will serve as the spine of our unit.  We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our copy of More than Moccasins so we can add the supplies for those activities as well.

Little Ones Unit Study Activities:  This basket contains activities for the little ones that tie in to whatever we are studying.  Right now, there is a small basket full of Native American, Wild West and horse figures for play and a bag full of feathers, beads, leather scraps and other items for the little guys to make Modge Podge Native American collages while the older boys are working main lesson book pages.

 

Basic Skills Work:  The initial tag I penned for this basket was titled "Kindergarten Work."  Its primary purpose was to hold hands-on activities for Brendan, my current kindergartner.  However, I wanted to make sure Gabriel also had some access to those manipulatives to reinforce his core subject work and I knew he would bristle at his work being in the kindergarten basket, thus the name change.  Current activities in this basket include an alphabet matching activity:

A fine motor and sorting activity in which a collection of stamps is placed in the individual compartments of an embroidery floss tray using tweezers.  Once this practice is mastered, the stamps can be placed according to style--flags in one row, flowers in another, etc...An older child can sort by price, using coins to match the amount, or create patterns.  It tried to brainstorm three or four extensions for each activity so it would hold interest over the course of a month.  I'm sure it'll take some testing and tweaking to get it just right.

 

Lastly, there is an activity to reinforce the mathematical concept of number bonds.  This small box contains some number cards and beans.  The bottom of the box is divided in half with a paint pen.  A number card is placed in the top half of the box and the beans are divided into two groups that add up to that number.  The goal is to make as many combinations as possible. 

 

Little Ones Creative Exploration Basket:  This basket will contain basic preschool fun.  Right now, it is stocked with a tray for clay play, molds and cutters, and some leftover Valentine toothpick flags for sticking.  As you can see, the little guys are enjoying it:

 

Little Ones Helping Hands Basket:  This is my own take on Montessori practical life skills and other habit and life skills I would like the younger crowd to work on.  Right now this basket is stuffed with a bunch of cloth diapers for our wee one.  They can be stuffed with inserts, folded, and snapped for motor skill activity.  It also provides a way for my little ones to bond with and share in the joy of expecting their new baby brother.  When the diapers lose their appeal, their are Easter shirts to be buttoned, dress shoes to be tied, and pool bags to be zipped, and sandals to be buckled--all hinting at important events in the coming month.

 

Little Ones Work Trays:  This basket includes some specific Montessori activities that can be adapted across a variety of my kids ages.  I am adapting from Barbara Curtis' books , Montessori for Everyone and the blog linked earlier, as well as the wealth of ideas in this archive .  The first activity in the basket now involves placing gem stones into each square made by the pegs of our geoboard.  Little ones can later be encouraged to line the gems up by color, to count gems, and make simple patterns and form shapes.  Older kids can make more complex patterns and even try pictures.  You could also set up a multiplication problem and encourage them to map it out this way.

The other activity in this basket involves using a spoon to plant "seeds" (small wooden balls) in small terra cotta pots, then using a scoop to bury them (in grains of rice).  Later, I'll add a handful of grains that are dyed green to represent weeds, which can be plucked from the pots with tweezers.  Other extensions include placing stickers on the seeds and pots so it becomes a matching task, inviting the child to see how many seeds will fit in a pot without spilling, and flipping the pots over to play "find the seed".  The skills learned this month will be used with real wild flower seeds and soil next month.

The last little change in the room was that I set up this small corner table with slate boards and chalk, wipe erase board and markers for a focus on letter formation this month.  In the little drawer is our wooden US map puzzle, which is a great activity for the younger crowd while the olders are doing map work in their main lesson book for this unit.  I hope to rotate the focus of this area a few months at a time.

 

Well, there it is, a renewed, refreshed, enriched learning environment that I hope will keep us inspired in the weeks until we welcome our wee one, and give us the motivation to jump back in after he arrives.  I hope you too are finding a fresh outlook for learning this spring!

 

 

Terrific Twos: Spring Exploration

I have started a new category here where I'll share ideas on how to keep those inquisitive little ones engaged during learning times.  Often times Evan is right there by my side, and he loves to be a part of my work, so I  try to keep him by my side as I make beds or sweep floors.  But when we are gathered at the table for work or on the sofa for reading, it can seem that he is intent on making it a miserable experience for everyone involved.  Evan's disposition is the most content ad docile I've ever witnessed, but even he can't resist the panic he can create when he climbs on the dining room table and reaches for the tube of watercolor paint.  So we have to find ways to keep him constructively engaged throughout the day.

At two, he explores and learns with his senses.  The more his senses are engaged in a task, the longer it will hold his interest and the more he will learn from it.  With the weather warming, there are all sorts of fun things he can do on the deck, just outside the open door, that will engage his mind and body and give him a chance to learn about the world around him.  It also gives me some time to stay on task with the older boys long enough to explain something well or really engage in their art work.

Here are some fun hands-on ideas for warming weather fun:

• Freeze grapes or berries in ice cubes, put the cubes on a cookie sheet and let your toddler play with them as they melt.  Then he can eat the treats inside.
• Fill your kitchen sink with warm sudsy water and plastic dishes, put an apron on your little one, and let him stand on a chair and wash dishes.  If your sink is two-sided, fill the other side with clear cold water for a sensory contrast. (Experiential wisdom: cover the floor with something absorbent so retrieving said toddler doesn't involve careening through soap suds into the refrigerator.)
• Put colored Kool-Aid mix into bowls of plain yogurt, and let him finger paint with it. (If you're not a fan of the effects of permanent die on your child's digestive system, you can use blueberries and cherries to create a nice natural version--organic finger paint, if you will.)
• Send an older child to the bathroom with something to read and let him keep an eye on your toddler in the tub with a small amount of water and soap crayons.
• Sand play:  I have given up on the idea of sand boxes all together; they are neighborhood litter boxes, flea pits, and puddle collectors, keeping them covered in nearly impossible and totally frustrating, for me anyway.  So I am going to fill a plastic, underbed storage container with a relatively small amount of sand, seashells, gem stones, and other fun treasures, some small sifters and measuring cups and spoons, and give it to the little ones for an Easter gift.  I can put it out on the deck for them to play, then pack it up and slide it on a shelf until next time.  I can easily add sand when needed and clean up is a breeze.  (Don't forget, baby powder removes sand from pudgy toddler crevices in a snap!)

Lastly, I have become less mission-oriented (it's no longer about getting him to sleep in the most efficient way possible) and started to make nap time a fun time of day for Evan and I.  After lunch, while the older boys enjoy some outside play and the baby is already settled in for his nap, Evan and I gather in my bed to read board books, sing songs and do finger plays, and otherwise romp and tumble until he settles in for quiet singing and drifts off.  It works quite easily with him because he is pretty compliant on the whole napping idea but I think even a child less agreeable to naps might be persuaded by this idea.