More March Montessori-Inspired Fun

It's March again here at Seedlings and it's time to share a few more fun activities we have lined up for the month.

Here is a look at the invitations that were offered to the children last year.

I've brought back a few of last year's activities, with a few small changes and additions:

Our book selections include a few Dr. Seuss favorites as well as some theme-related choices.

The shamrock and penny counting activity is back - this was a huge hit last year!

Our Peter Rabbit floor puzzle is also back, along with a fun rainbow puzzle donated by a parent earlier this year.

Our Montessori-Inspired Sound Bottles are also making a comeback.  Monkey was thrilled to see these returned to the classroom and he immediately taught Bear how to use them!

Bear is finally old enough to understand when I ask him not to put everything in his mouth (though he still tries), so I've added a fun St. Patrick's Day transfer activity to the classroom.  I found a few shamrock necklaces at the Dollar Tree and cut them apart so the tiny shamrocks could be transferred from bowl to bowl with either the tiny spoon or the tweezers.  The mirror trays in the room help to add some variety and, if we're lucky, some reflections that may even lead us into discussions and activities on light and rainbows!

Last, but not least, I've added these little color-mixing gnome families to our block area.  I'm interested to see how these are used over the next few weeks.

March happens to be my favorite month for lesson-planning.  Something about shamrocks and rainbows and fairies and St. Patrick's Day fun brings out the kid in me.  Incidentally, March will also be my last month teaching before my new little Seedling arrives and I take a few weeks off to recover and get to know the little one.

More spring and summer activities coming soon!

What We're Up to in December

The classroom is ready for my students to return on Monday.  Here's a look at the new activities for the month.

Our new selection of seasonal books.  

Yes, I love Jan Brett, her artwork is just breathtaking and the stories are simple and joyful.

Magnetic bows inspired by one of my very favorite blogs, Teach Preschool.  Just cover a cookie sheet with wrapping paper, stick some magnets on the back of the bows and voila!

This activity is also wonderful for toddlers.

Christmas sensory bin.  Colored rice and some tidbits picked up at the Dollar Tree.

Felt gingerbread man to decorate.

Pom Pom tweezing and color sorting activity.

Water transfer activity with some added holiday cheer!

Christmas tree decorating in our outdoor rice bin.  The ornaments are hand made with some mini clothespins and some random items such as pipe cleaners, foam shapes, ribbons, etc.

Happy Holidays!

Fine Motor Practice: Hanging Bird Feeder

Each month, we get our delivery of the Scholastic publication My Big World.  This mini-magazine is the only 'worksheet' we do at Seedlings, but I absolutely love it and so do the kiddos.

This month, we are talking about Autumn Animals and we used our issue of My Big World to start a discussion about how animals survive the long winter without much food.

After reading the issue and doing the activity on the back page, we decided to make some bird feeders to help out our little feathered friends more easily find a food source.




 


This hanging bird feeder is probably the easiest bird feeder you can make.  It requires yarn, a small jingle bell and O-shaped cereal of some sort.

Tie the bell around one end of a length of yarn, and wrap a bit of tape around the other end to create a 'needle' for the children to thread the cereal more easily and start stringing!

Apparently, Bear thought we were making a Bear feeder and not a bird feeder.

Depending on the patience of the children making the feeders, they can end up a variety of lengths.  Make a loop at the end of the string (I removed the tape) for easier hanging.

All that's left is to find the perfect branch for your bird feeder and wait for your feathered friends to arrive!

Baby Fine Motor Play: Block Drop

When you travel about 2500 miles for a vacation at the beach, you have to pack wisely or get bogged down with every possible thing you might end up needing while spending a week in a non-baby-proofed house with a very curious baby.

You may find yourself getting creative keeping that curious baby away from dangerous and breakable objects, which is exactly how I found myself during our recent trip to N. Cape May, NJ to visit my Mom.

Bear had little interest in the blocks, stuffed animals and trucks we leave at my Mom's place specifically for our visits and was crawling at lightning speed to anything he could find that might feel, taste or sound new.  We don't want to discourage our little guy's exploratory nature, so we had to look around for things that weren't his typical playthings, but wouldn't end up shattered into a million pieces.

Fortunately, Mom orders water that comes in handy baby-friendly 3 gallon jugs.  When Bear showed interest in the extra bottles on the floor near the dispenser, I grabbed an empty jug and showed him a brand new (made up on the fly) game: Block Drop!

At just over 9 months old, Bear is showing an interest in cause and effect activities and has the dexterity to plop a block through the top of a water jug, and he was off!

This game actually required quite a bit of skill and patience.  If the block went into the jug just a little bit crooked, it would get caught and he'd have to start again.  He stuck with it, though, and was very proud when he got the block into the jug.

Yeah, Bear, you did it!

After a few days, though, things needed to be spiced up and I happened to pass a display of ping-pong balls at the local grocery store.  And so the game became Ball Drop!

 

    PLOP!