Montessori Madness ~ What is a Light Table?

Posted on 03/11/2014 by Momma Jo

What is a light table? A light table is an illuminated table, panel, or box. They are used for learning and exploring different educational toys and materials, as therapy for autistic, sight impaired and other special needs children, for artists to draw and trace on, for Doctors to view X-Rays, and widely used as an educational staple in Reggio Emilia based schools.
~ Kristen from Caution! Twins at Play

How to Build an Easy DIY Light Table from Tinkerlab

Have you ever wanted a light table, and wondered if there was an easy way to build a DIY light table yourself? Well, this easy DIY light table could be your answer! Once I figured out which materials to use, the whole thing took about 10 minutes to assemble.

Light Tables 101 (featuring 101 ways to use a light table) from Caution! Twins at Play

An Atmosphere for Creativity from Casa Maria’s Creative Learning Zone

In a mentally playful environment, loose parts are the key for creative play. With them, children learn to construct, take turns, knock down, plan and start all over again.

Colour fun with our DIY lightbox from Filth Wizardry

I’ve seen light tables with coloured transparent perspex shapes at a couple of children’s museums in the past, and the kids have had a great deal of fun with them, so I thought it would be nice to see if we could have a cheap home version.

Decorative gels windows … and boxes and light tables! from De Tout Et De Rein

Here is another good example of material that I love: decorative gels for windows. You can find them in dollar stores, drug stores, and large shopping areas: They are everywhere! Cheap, they create wonderful sets to play with, tell stories, make mathematical series with the light table. The touch, the texture is fun to handle.

Bingo Play from Mom at Play LLC

Here is a simple yet fun invitation we set up the other day.

To see more wonderful light table ideas, click on my board below

Montessori Madness ~ Play Dough Trays

Posted on 26/10/2014 by Momma Jo

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Pixie struggles terribly with insomnia and its not unheard of for her to be up till 2 in the morning. She shares a bedroom with Fifi and to keep her from waking her during a bad sleeping period (which can last up to a month) I keep her with me in the living room. A few weeks ago, we decided to start her on a regimen of homeopathic remedies to help her sleep, its slow going, but she slept through for 2 nights in a row! I digress, I’ll post more on our (both Pixie and I struggle) battle with insomnia at a later stage. I saw this great post on Racheous Lovable Learning and just had to make a playdough tray for Pixie for bad nights.

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I added the following to her tray: Scented Playdough Cookie cutters Rolling pin Roller cutter Butter ball maker Bottle tops Later on that night I added: Metal tweezer tool (this is Papa’s, shhhhh, don’t tell 😉 ) Gem stones from the local gem stone mine’s scratch patch

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The Montessori tray method is working like a charm with her and this just kept her occupied till she was ready to lie down and fall asleep.

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Her excitement at discovering the bottle tops was palpable. It was amazing to watch her play quietly and contently for so long, uninterrupted. The playdough tray now features weekly in her activities.

Below you’ll find some of my favourite online playdough tray finds.

DIY Montessori Fine Motor Activities | Low to No Cost from Racheous

Playdough is a cheap (with the myriad of incredible DIY recipes on the web, like this no-cook play dough) and the ultimate material for fine motor development. Think cutting, pinching, rolling, molding, poking, etc.

Playdough Playtrays for Playdates from Creative Playhouse

Play trays are great, whether they are sensory, play based, creative or even a reading tray. It clearly shows what is available to play with; aiding focus, and helps contain any materials used.

Simple Alphabet Play Dough Activity Tray from Little Bins for Little Hands

Finding fun, simple and practical ways to play with letters is a must for us. I love including sensory play and fine motor skills into all our activities whether it’s crafts, bins or learning activities like this play dough alphabet tray. Play dough is an awesome tool for all of these! I simply provided different materials for him to explore letters all using play dough as a base.

Play Dough Creation Station from Melissa & Dough

This play dough creation station is super easy to set up and provides so many different play possibilities!

Play Dough Snow Bots from Stir the Wonder

Inspiration stuck while Caden and I were watching our favorite show, Transformers Rescue Bots! In one episode it snows and the Rescue Bots have fun playing in the snow and Blades a Rescue Bot builds a snow bot! That is when I thought Caden would enjoy building his own snow bot using play dough!

Shell Activities for Kids from Fantastic Fun and Learning

…we set up an invitation to play with coconut scented play dough, shells, glass beads, and small pieces of drift wood.

To see more play dough tray ideas, click on my board below Follow Momma Jo’s board Playdough Trays on Pinterest.

Montessori Madness ~ Sewing Kits and Trays

Posted on 20/10/2014 by Momma Jo

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I’ve made Fifi a sewing basket with different shapes (the same shapes I used for Pixie’s silly straw threading activity, with a few modifications. I’ve added a homemade pin cushion that I tied to the little basket (my Brother and Sister in law’s wedding invitations came in these, isn’t it adorable?) and added pins, a tapestry needle and Fiberfill.

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I used 6×6 inch quilting squares and pinned the shapes onto 2 pieces and cut them out.

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Heart lacing from Discovery Kidzone

Sewing from Studio Sprout

Sewing is a wonderful fine motor skill craft. It can easily be adapted for all ages. Students 18 months to 4 years worked on burlap which I purchased at our local fabric store. Burlap now comes in a multitude of beautiful colors. I chose white so embroidery thread of any color would show nicely. My older students (5 to 9 years) used curtain fabric I found at a thrift store. This was also a loose weave and easy to poke needles through. We used plastic needles purchased through Discount School Supply. They have a large eye and are easy to thread, very pointy, but not sharp, thus safe for little hands. I pre-threaded all the needles before class to save time since children are eager to keep going when they get to the end of their thread and it takes time to tie off.

Our Toddler Friendly Sewing Basket from Childhood 101

Given that I am regularly playing around with fabric and all manner of notions, Immy is always one step behind me raiding the drawers in my study for things to ‘make’ with. I have read about creating toddler ‘sewing’ baskets on a number of blogs and decided it was time to make Immy her own collection. – See more at: http://childhood101.com/2010/09/our-toddler-friendly-sewing-basket/#sthash.1DqOh725.dpuf

Sewing Drawers from To the Lesson

I’ve really tried to focus on something unrelated to my Montessori life during this Christmas vacation – really, I have. The thing is, I can find something “Montessori” in just about anything! Such was the case when, in an attempt to clear my mind of all things Montessori-related, I revisited my old hobby of counted cross-stitching:

Pumpkin Activity for Preschoolers from Carrots are Orange

Sewing a wonderful early learning activity for children. We recently used felt, yarn, and cotton balls to create a pumpkin. The great part about this activity is that you can adjust it to the age of the child with the type of needle, the type of thread, and how much the child owns the process. Here is how we did our Pumpkin Activity for Preschoolers.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons: A Sewing Activity from Mama Papa Bubba

Throughout the story, anytime Pete would lose a button, she would too – which she thought was pretty hilarious! I wasn’t sure where the missing buttons would get put, but she knew exactly where she wanted them – on my hand so we could easily find them come round two.

Pumpkin Felting and Sewing Basket from Rockabye Butterfly

While I was felting the pumpkin, Butterfly wanted to do some hand work too. So I put together this cute Sewing Basket for her!

Montessori Madness ~ DIY Threading Activities

Posted on 13/10/2014 by Momma Jo

I saw this great threading activity a while ago and decided to make it for Pixie. It is easy to make. This makes a perfect threading activity for Montessori trays.

All you need is a pack of silly straws, different coloured felt (I bought 11 different colours), printouts of different shapes, scissors and sewing pins.

Cut out each shape and pin to the felt

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Cut out each shape, cut a slit into the centre of each shape and store in a tray. Pixie just loves this activity. I gave Pixie all the different types of silly straws and found that the wavy straw is the best and doesn’t damage the shape as it is threaded onto the straw

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Below are more DIY threading activities that are easy to make.

Halloween Bracelets from The Activity Mom

With a pipe cleaner cut in half and a bowl of pony beads, kids can make Halloween bracelets! It’s a great fine motor activity, and as above, you can add in the patterning element if your tot is ready. Plus, kids always love to be able to walk away with a creation!

Pipe Cleaner Activity to Keep Kids Busy from Hands On as We Grow

Pipe cleaner and colander threading

Weaving Board from Journey into Unschooling

You know those lacing toys for preschoolers — the ones with the pre-cut shapes and holes that you weave a shoelace through? We have those in vehicles and animal shapes and Little Sister likes to play with them every now and then. The problem is, it is a tad bit limiting when all you can do is follow the outline. What if you wanted to lace around the edges, over several holes, back into the same hole, in circles, triangles, and parallelograms? Well, you would need a whole lot more holes.

Baby Bracelet Making from Art 4 Little Hands

Pipe cleaners and pony beads to make bracelets

Button Threading from Diapers to Diplomas

Threading coloured buttons onto matching pipe cleaners

Make Your Own Lacing Cards from Totschool

I was inspired by these homemade lacing cards on Sorta Crunchy.

How to make Foam Lacing Shapes from Powerful Mothering

Lacing provides a great opportunity for fine motor skills and makes for a wonderful busy bag. I recently saw a pack in the toy store in the city and thought my 4 year old would love to give that a try. Unfortunately as an imported toy (we live in Ecuador) the price was a bit too much for my liking. So we made our own!

Fine Motor Pincer Grasp Color Match from Sugar Aunts

This was a fun play time activity for the little ones in our house. We had fun with fine motor play while working on colors, matching, and fine motor skills.

Math Activity from Kids Matter

We have been trying to work on our counting skills at my house so I whipped up a little activity for him to work with.

Montessori Madness ~ Astronomy Resources

Posted on 06/10/2014 by Momma Jo

Koko wants to be an ASTROPHYSICIST when he grows up and has shown tremendous interest in Astronomy. At first I didn’t know what resources to provide him since he is only 7, but he has read his Space Fact book from cover to cover numerous times. His favourite TV series to watch at the moment is Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey and continuously checks to see if his book is correct or if he needs to research a particular fact. Neil deGrasse Tyson is his hero and will watch anything he appears in. However, I digress…

Since we have been following the Montessori for the entire duration of his schooling, I have decided that we’ll be adding an astronomy subject to his schooling next year. I thought that I would struggle to find Montessori material to go with this, but have been pleasantly surprised at the amount of resources (both free and $$$) that area available to us.

Astronomy Resources for the Montessori Classroom on Montessori Nature

Space, Planets, Stars, Constellations, Spacecrafts and Astronauts you can download for free. These perfectly suit the Montessori Classroom purposes.

Montessori-Inspired Astronomy Units on Living Montessori Now

The Planet Hue by Primary Grafiti on Teacher Pay Teachers

This adorable adventure called The Planet Hue will take students on a magical journey through a world that transforms from a dull and drab planet to a colorful vibrant place to live!

Corkey Hay DeSimone, author of Cherry Blossom Friends, has a unique perspective in celebrating diversity while using three primary colors to help teach the message.

Included in the unit:
Book Introduction
Vocabulary
Think Maps
Solar System
Planet Classification
Planet Flashcards/Basic Facts
Solar System Craft/Model
Celebrating Diversity
Color Wheel
Complimentary Color Art
Ordering Hues Center(ABC order)
Rhyming Center (using book vocabulary)
Out of this World Center (Time)
(Time to the Hour-K/1 Time to Quarter Hour-1/2)
Planet 8 Center (Number Stings)
(Match to Correct Sum-K/1)
(Match to Related Multiplication Fact- 2nd)
Planet Hue’s Candy Castle (Fractions)
Acknowledgments

Solar System Trading Cards, Jr. Edition by Amazing Space

This collection of cards depicts solar system objects such as planets, comets, asteroids, the Moon, and the Sun. Also included are cards with common misconceptions, Hubble trivia, online resources, and instructions for a game.

Comets and Asteroids on Education.com

What is the difference between comets and asteroids? Find out with this stellar space science worksheet! Read up on what makes a comet a comet, and then take a quick comprehension quiz on page 2.

Space {Expanded} on a Teaching Mommy

Here are some of the printables that MAY BE included in this unit:
Patterns (ABAB and AABB)
Planets Graph
Letter Sort
Writing Maze
Beginning Writing/Cutting Practice
Size Sort
Number Order Puzzle (1-10 and 11-20)
Spelling Book and Puzzle
Count & Clip

Tot Pack
Planet Match
Sun Shapes
Count the Stars
Rocket Colors (mini book)
Size Sequencing
Astronaut Picture Puzzle

Space Centers on a Teaching Mommy

Preschool Lesson: Space on Mrs Home Economist

Wonderful Do It Yourself Ideas for a Solar System Unit on Montessori Print Shop

A fantastic idea for a DIY solar system mat that was shared at the “Let It Be Montessori” blog. Learn how to make this brilliant solar system mat as you’re taken step-by-step through the process of making it (with pictures too) – which makes it so much easier to follow along! A fantastic addition to your culture area. Go take a look.

Making Moon Craters on Fumbling Through Parenthood

Space Lapbook on Fumbling Through Parenthood

Planet Positions on Jump Start

Teach kids about the solar system with our ‘Planet Positions’ science worksheet! This science worksheet has a picture of the solar system and a list of instructions given below. Kids need to follow the instructions and color the planets accordingly. This worksheet will not only give the kids more information on the positions of different planets but will also teach them ordinal numbers.

Astronomy Unit Homework by Science from Murf LLC on Teachers Pay Teachers

This is the 14 Page bundled homework package that chronologically follows my Astronomy Unit that I offer on TpT. This homework bundle includes many short answer questions, draws upon student research, includes fill in the blanks, completes diagrams, games, and more. Also included is the answer key page and generous unit preview.

Mini Unit – Space on Counting Coconuts

Space 3 part cards on Monkeyin’ Around

Solar System Work – An Easy Art / Science Project Great for the Montessori Classroom or Homeschool Environment on Sunrise Learning Lab

Connections Outer Space on Homeschool Share

The Planets Song by KidsTV123 on YouTube

It’s a song to help children remember the order of the planets.
This song was written and performed by A.J. Jenkins. Video by KidsTV123
Copyright 2011 A.J. Jenkins/KidsTV123: All rights reserved.

The Solar System Song by KidsTV123 on YouTube

It’s a song about the Sun and the planets for children of all ages.
This song was written and performed by A.J. Jenkins. Video by KidsTV123
Copyright 2011 A.J. Jenkins/KidsTV123: All rights reserved.

Montessori Madness ~ Montessori Space at Home

Posted on 28/09/2014 by Momma Jo

We live in a small town house. Our school area is in our living room and is tiny and as a result, I’ve had to modify our Montessori space quite significantly. We had a little shoe shelf that I converted into a tray shelf for the girls to share. It was too small so I added a small 2 tier wooden shelf on wheels (it used to stand in our bedroom with a TV on it). Fifi’s trays now stand on the shoe shelf and Pixies trays on the wooden shelf underneath our router and my colour printer. I’ve repurposed a large baby blanket to use as a cover when we are done with lessons and to help minimise dust.

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Here are many examples, with links, from other bloggers who have shared their Montessori spaces.

This is my favourite classroom setup, one day I’ll have the space to do something like this for the kids. Homeschool Room Tour Fall 2014 by 1+1+1=1

Not much has changed since our last homeschool room tour here {which also has a video}. But there are a few changes, and I will focus on those in this post! Our Homeschool room has evolved greatly over the years. Here’s a look back, for those of you who like to see how I got to where we are now.

How to Set Up a Montessori Space at Home by Living Montessori Now

Setting up a Montessori space at home is something any parent can do – because it can be designed to fit any home and any family. A Montessori space is especially helpful for toddlers and preschoolers, but it’s helpful at the elementary level as well.

How to Set Up a Montessori Homeschool Classroom by Living Montessori Now

We loved our Montessori homeschool experience! Just adapt your Montessori classroom to your home situation, and have fun following your child!

My Homeschool Classroom by Montessori for Everyone

I thought I’d start by showing you a picture of my living room – should I say, “former” living room! I explained to my husband when we started homeschooling that whatever is important to you is reflected in your house, so if homeschooling was important to us it was okay to devote our living room to it. (We still have a family room for play & TV.) Somehow he understood my rationale.

Montessori Homeschool Setup in a Small Space by Child Led Life

I am excited to be hosting a 5 part series at Trillium Montessori on our Montessori homeschool setup in a small space. We have lived all over the country and creating new Montessori spaces for our children in all types of homes has been a fun adventure for me. I hope you will join us at Trillium Montessori each Monday in the month of September for a tour of our one bedroom apartment setup.

Our homeschool room! by Barefoot in Suburbia

When we built our house earlier this year, we finished the basement, with the intent on using a quarter of the finished basement as a homeschooling room. The space worked out wonderfully and it is exactly what we needed! We can easily fit our three children in there and they work fairly harmonously, and we can likely fit 1-2 guest children as well (we have a few friends that also want to homeschool using Montessori ideas, and so we’d love to have them over to work too!)

A Montessori Homeschool Classroom by Montessori Mischief

Our Montessori home has changed significantly in the past six years. Not only have the children grown older and changed in terms of their needs, we have lived in four different houses! For example, when we lived in Dallas, I had a kitchen with a lot of space. I could fit a toddler table and chair set inside, and I had an extra cabinet just for kid stuff. When we moved, the new kitchen was a mere sliver. The toddler table and play kitchen lived in the dining room instead, and the play kitchen was converted to a cabinet where we kept the actual kid dishes and utensils. Even though it was not ideal, in my mind, it worked! And while having more space is nice, it didn’t define our Montessori practice.

Montessori at Home: 8 Principles to Know by Simple Homeschool

Montessori education is a philosophy and model created by Maria Montessori, the first woman physician in Italy, in the late 1800s. At its core, Montessori education is designed to promote peace and considers the whole child as well as the environment in its approach.