Mathematics

Science

Life Cycle of Corn Specimen, Resin Embedded
Educational Toys Online Store

Insects Magnification Cup Amplifier Tank
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Twin Live Steam Engine Model Kit
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Language Arts

100Pcs Set Wooden Scrabble Tiles
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Alphabet Wooden Puzzle
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Literacy Fun Game
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Digital Alphabet Letters A~Z Alphabetical & 0~9 Numerical Soft EVA Foam Mats
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12 Months of Montessori Learning ~ May: Sensorial

Posted on 01/06/2015 by Momma Jo

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Sensorial activities are by far my favourite tupe of activity to plan for the children. Koko, in particular, has always enjoyed these activities the most. He is a kinesthetic and tactile learner.

Sensory activities are not just limited to sensory boxes, but is something your child is constantly doing.

Simple activities like baking or cooking are perfect for little ones. Who doesn’t love making cookies with momma?

Messy play is a HUGE favourite here, the kidlets are always dirty, LOL.

Goop, edible finger paint, finger painting, play dough, stamping and exploring are some of the things the kids do regularly.

Sensory boxes are fairly simple to put together. Coloured rice and pasta, lentils and toys are what we generally use for our sensory boxes. I also use sandpit sand and water beads to mix things up a little. Beading boxes are something we have available for the kidlets to explore daily. I have a few different boxes that I swap out regularly to keep things “new” and different. You can find recipes for making your own coloured rice or pasta in my Pinterest boards below.

I made Pixie an eye spy box with rice and different shaped beads. I should have used a bottle instead, it didn’t last as long as it could have.

We made the kidlets a simple light table with a clear rectangular container and white Christmas lights. This is a great activity for dark, miserable, rainy days.

Science experiements are also great sensory activities. A few years ago, Noo did a water erosion experiment which is a perfect example of a sensory experiment.

Follow Momma Jo’s board Sensory on Pinterest.

Follow Momma Jo’s board Arts/Crafts/Sensory recipes on Pinterest.

12 Months of Montessori Learning Posts:
January: Practical Life
February: Geography
March: Language Arts
April: Botany

Montessori Madness ~ What is a Light Table?

Posted on 03/11/2014 by Momma Jo

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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

Tot School – Sensory Boxes

Posted on 15/05/2011 by Momma Jo

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I had never heard of Sensory Boxes before, that is until I read Carisa from 1+1+1=1 posts about her sensory bins. I found this quite interesting and decided to start putting some goodies together for Fifi (and Koko if he wished). This weekend Fifi “helped” me make the non-toxic edible coloured rice (we have 5 different colours) and sort my old scrap-booking goodies into the correct box. I wouldn’t recommend using small things for younger children who still put things into their mouths. Fifi enjoyed sorting the different gems, buttons, pompoms and embellishments into the different colours (though at some point she decided everything needed to be in the yellow box, LOL).

Here is a pic of each box. Because I have just started, I decided to use medium sized foil baking dishes (with cardboard “lids”), as our stash grows, our storage will change.

Red:

Yellow: I added gold and light orange to this box, to show her contrast

Blue:

Pink:

Green:

Multicoloured: All the items that don’t go in the boxes above are currently in this “miscellaneous” box. I took two handfuls of each coloured rice and put them in here, this box will be out when we aren’t busy working on colours.

Ready for storage:

I want to make another two batches, or so, of each colour and add a few more colours like brown, purple, white (not sure how I’m going to get the rice white without using chemicals) and black.

The recipe for dying your rice can be found here. I use vinegar and food colouring.

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