Tag: montessori method

Montessori Inspired Bird Unit for Preschool

One of the best part about spring is the significant presence of different kinds of birds flying around and singing at the garden. This is the perfect time to let children explore and discover more about birds.

Here quite few of the activities we have at home for my 3 year old daughter. She had fun matching all the different kinds of birds with the three part cards.

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A yellow warbler matching card with object and bird puzzle

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This is our Bird unit shelf

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I gave her a basket with shredded manila paper as a birds nest

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She curiously matched all the birds with the bird cards

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She lay all the birds three part cards on our coffee table while getting the birds from the nest one at a time

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“Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and the strength, use it to create.”

-Maria Montessori

Montessori Inspired Birthday Gifts For Preschool

I am sharing with you today the wonderful Montessori inspired gifts that my daughter Audrey had received last Wednesday for her birthday. My family and close friends are very well informed of the type of gifts a three year old would love. I will definitely recommend this educational gifts to all the parents who’s main goal is to instill the love for learning to their child or children. Here’s the photos of what Audrey receives for her third birthday party.

This is the unwrapped birthday gifts that I put together.

Geography

Interactive world map with landmarks, local dialects, country flags and more!

Practical Life

Melissa & Doug 6 Pieces Cleaning Set

Geography & Zoology

Felt Seven Continents and Animals

Language

Solar System by Safari Ltd.

Practical Life

Felt picnic bag from target dollar spot

Botany, Zoology, Physical Science & Language

Safari Toob Sets: Flowers, Backyard Birds, Human Organ and Community Helpers

Botany & Zoology

Mommy’s gift: A set of Zoology and Botany Puzzles with cabinet

Language

Dinosaur sticker pads, solar system fact book, dinosaur felt book and 50 states fact book.

Fine Motor Activity

Modo non toxic learning dough with wooden spoon

Sensorial & Imaginative Play

Brain Flakes Interlocking Disks helps sparks imagination to create and build tons of objects like ball, dog, flower and more!

Music & Movement, Gross Motor

Bose Soundlink Color II- She love to dance and this Bluetooth capable speaker sounds like a huge one in an amazingly small size which is perfect for a child to hold. Perfect for any music and movement activities!

As you can see, some of my gift wraps are recycled paper bags. From my last post “Audrey Turns Three” we use mostly recycled gift bags and brown paper bags that I decorated with doily, dot paint, acrylic paints and water color paints. We practice recycling and repurposing things around the house. This is a great way to teach a child how to be creative and green at the same time. 

What are your favorite Montessori inspired toys for your kids?

15 Effective Fine Motor Activities For Toddler

 

In this blog, my daughter was 33 months. It’s just like only yesterday when we celebrated her first birthday. Her milestones continue to progress that I needed to catch up and do a quick review on my observational skills.

I gather a compilation of activities that enhances the refinement of muscles or fine motor skills as well as hand eye coordination. Being a mother and a teacher plays a big role to deeply involved with every developmental milestones she’s into. Preparing a variety of fine motor activities each week is a must for a very active toddler.

At home you can always find materials you need to strengthen your child’s hand muscles. You can also check tons of ideas at pinterest and instagram. Here are my collections of activities at home that helps my child a lot with her fine motor.

Some of the links in my post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

1. Water Ball Play- This is one of her favorite activities at home. Something stretchy, gewey, sticky and wet put a spark on her eyes and get totally engaged with this.
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She’s about 15 months here and so fascinated with activities like this

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2. Watercolor Painting- Great for hand-eye coordination. She still working on mixing water with the color palettes. I love the glow on her face when she discovers different shades from mixing with variety of colors.

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3. Pegboard Activity- Putting pegs into a hole develops grasps and release, refined pinches and eye hand coordination.

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4. Color Sorting Cylinder- Master eye hand coordination, refined pinches and develops pincer grasps.

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5. Name Puzzle Tracing– In here I use small colored beads (choking hazard). She uses beads to trace each letters of her name. This is a great way to teach a child in preparation of using a pencil for writing.

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6. Molding Kinetic Sand- Instead of using play dough, I choose this plain colored kinetic sand and a set of 5 cutting tools. This activity strengthens her hand muscles.

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Below shows the five different play dough cutters. She loves to create different shapes and designs out of it.

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7. Foam Stickers– Stickers are always a big hit at home. It’s also another great fine motor activities that are easily available at home and a good calm down activity for toddlers.

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8. Coloring- Young children can grasp easily when they use a bigger or thicker crayons and markers. It is also advisable to use non toxic and washable crayons for safety.

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9. Block Stacking- Babies and toddlers loves to stack objects. It strengthens the whole hand by using all the fingers. This activity also enhances the hand-eye coordination.

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10. Letter Tracing- A good activity to efficiently use pincer grip.

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11. Dot Painting- The thickness of this dot paint fits well to a toddlers tiny hands.

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12. Cutting- This activity takes a lot of practice and observation. A close supervision will be needed. There are a lot of toddler friendly scissor that you can buy for your child. I got this pair of scissor at Dollar Store (teacher’s corner).

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13. Water Pouring- This is her favorite activity during spring and summer. She spends a couple of hours outdoor doing this fun activity.

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14. Sticker Peeling- I found this at school supplies section at our local store. I use this for her to follow the shape or pattern of an object. As long as you have a bunch of this at home or school your child will love sticking. A great activity to promote concentration, hand eye coordination and pincer grip exercises.

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15. Washing- There’s a vast washing activity for toddlers like baby doll washing, toy washing, play kitchen utensil washing, clothes washing, fruits & vegetables washing and a lot more things to wash.

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What are your kids favorite fine motor activities here? Please share this very helpful fine motor article that your friends and family will enjoy. Follow me for more fun and educational ideas and tips.

Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius

The Future Of Creative Learners

 

Preparing your child in a Montessori environment takes time and research. Their future depends upon the method of learning applied to them starting from birth to six years or the first plane of development. 

To get the best education for them, we do our research first by reading, asking questions, do our school visit and observe the method. It takes a lot of effort, experience and experimentation to fully adapt to this kind of learning approach. At first, you find it overwhelming and confusing. The sweet thing is, your effort will surely reap a rewarding future for your child. Your not only investing for their education, but You as a parent also contributed to our societies future by preparing your little one’s to fulfilling the next generation of leaders. Everything is possible. The best ingredient is patience, determination, and allow your self to continue to learn every possible day.

The question is: How am I going to do this?

  • Take a moment to have a school visit: Most Montessori schools are open for parents doing their school visit or observation during active class. Let them know first by calling or sending an email. Director and administrators welcome your questions so make sure your list of things to clarify are ready. Don’t be shy if you think your asking too much questions. They love to know your concern and they are ready to give you informations about the method.
  • Read, read and read: You had your recent class observation but there are still in your mind that needed enlightenment. Do your readings. Choose books that you know will be helpful and clearly lead you all the way to fulfilling your goals. There are several books written by Dr. Montessori and some authors that have a vast experience of the method. They truly speak from the heart.
  • Online courses: There are a lot of online course offering Montessori training that fits your schedule. Here are some list of online schools to walk you through Montessori method of learning.

http://www.montessoritraining.net, http://ageofmontessori.org, http://www.guidedstudies.com, http://www.montessorilive.org

Disclaimer: This post have an affiliate links that have no cost to the reader. I only share informations which I know would be helpful and beneficial.

Here are my top list of recommended books to read if your a new parent and wanted to practice Montessori method for your child or children at home. This books are also the reference of student teachers practicing Montessori method. These are not just a book but rather Life Changing Books.

  1. The Absorbent Mind– by Dr. Maria Montessori. This book is about her personal insights and observation from her students. This theoretical book explains the education from birth or the sensitive periods of life. 

  2. Honoring The Light Of The Child: Activities to Nurture Peaceful Living Skills in Young Children– One of the important part of Montessori method is teaching peace. This book have a lot of activities to nurture peace in your child’s environment. Young children will have understanding about feelings and respect.

  3. Discovery of the Child– Dr. Montessori, as keen observer describes the nature of the child and her method of working fully with the child’s inner urge to learn. This is a book with her observations base upon closely working with children. It also explains why OCCI was highly implemented in a prepared environment. Order, Concentration, Coordination, Independence. The science behind each activities.

  4. Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three– Helpful book specially if your a first time mom and wanted to implement Montessori at home.

  5. The Montessori Method-The scientific pedagogy applied by Dr. Montessori in the children’s house.

  6. Montessori Inspired Activities For Pre-Schoolers: Home based projects for 2-6 year olds (Volume 1)– This book is a good starter readings if you choose to practice the method at home or home schooling your child.

  7. Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook-by Dr. Maria Montessori

 

 

Montessori Activities From Daiso Items

I created some fun Montessori activities that can incorporate with other practical life activities. From my previous blog, I showed photos of my Daiso shop finds. I came up with some cute activities that your kids or students will love. The photos above are some of the activities I made.

IMG_6459Picture to Object Matching– This miniature wild animals are a perfect match for Picture to Object matching activity. You can do object to object matching, three part card with objects, safari theme sensory bin, or make a story line with these lovely animals.

 

IMG_6447Clothes hanging– I use the wooden box with wire on it then cut out mini clothes pattern from the felt material with the smallest clothespin to hang the clothes.

 

Pom Pom Sorting– I have this cute training chopsticks for kid which I also bought at Daiso last year. This is a great exercises for fine muscles for young ones. I pick three different colors of pom poms for sorting

 

 

Pipe cleaner threading into a golf ball- This activity helps to enhance and develop fine motor in early years of life. 

 

Felt Flower Sorting– Three colors of felt flower for sorting activity. You can add a matching colored felt pads for each cubes for the child to match the colors.

 

 

 DIY Smelling Bottles- These smelling bottles are my favorite. They are actually a pepper shaker. What I like about these bottles are just a right size for a child’s hand and another thing is it’s clear! You can also create a sound bottles from these. 

 

http://amzn.to/1NwgWKE

 Quiet Book– I’m still in the process of finishing this quiet book made of felt for my little girl. The felts are also from Daiso and the felt stickers are bought from Michael’s. For now I have five pages of animals, flowers and cupcakes felt pages. I wanted to add more like shapes and colors. This is my very first time to make a quiet book for my daughter. Im starting with a simple pattern and basically a no sew quiet book. This activity is perfect for our long drive this month. 

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