activitati montessori

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Estimating the circumference ofan apple {apple math}

September 5, 2014 by Katie SGLeave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links at no cost to you. See mydisclosuresfor more information.

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During our apple unit, we of our!e !tu"ie" apple! t#em!elve!$ %ut & al!o wante" to u!eapple! to e'plore ot#er part! of t#e urriulum li(e !iene, literay, an" mat#$ &n t#i! po!t &)m

!#aring an ativity in w#i# we u!e" apple! to pratie t#e mat# !(ill! of e!timation an"

mea!urement$

*!timating t#e irumferene of an apple i! a very ea!y ativity you an "o wit# +u!t a few

ba!i material! an" virtually no prep time$ n" it provi"e! (i"! wit# a fun an" tangible way to

t#in( about !i-e, lengt#, an" potentially #ow to u!e a ruler$

Note: For more apple activities, see my apple unit studypage.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/estimating-the-circumference-of-an-apple-apple-math/#respondhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/estimating-the-circumference-of-an-apple-apple-math/#respondhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/apple-unit-study/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/estimating-the-circumference-of-an-apple-apple-math/#respondhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/apple-unit-study/


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.or t#i! ativity, & gat#ere" t#e following material!/

n apple

pair of (i"frien"ly !i!!or!

arn or !tring t#e yarn in t#e p#oto #a" alrea"y been ut, but to "o t#i! ativity !tart

wit# t#e yarn unut3

.or (i"! w#o (now t#eir number!, you may al!o wi!# to a"" a ruler to t#i! ativity
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& began by plaing t#e apple in front of my (i"!$ e tal(e" about irumferene being t#e

"i!tane aroun" t#e apple$ & let t#em #ol" t#e apple an" feel aroun" it! irumferene to get a!en!e for it! !i-e$

& t#en invite" my (i"! to ut !ome yarn to a lengt# t#at t#ey t#oug#t woul" go aroun" t#e

irumferene of t#e apple$ *a# (i" e!timate" t#e amount of yarn t#ey t#oug#t woul" be

nee"e", an" t#en ma"e t#eir ut$
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ne t#e yarn wa! ut, t#ey trie" wrapping it aroun" t#e apple to !ee #ow lo!e t#e e!timate

wa!$

ne lengt# of t#e yarn wa! too !#ort$


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n" t#e ot#er wa! a ta" too long$
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#ere are !everal way! to e'ten" t#i! ativity/

&f "oing t#i! ativity wit# multiple (i"!, #ave t#em put t#eir !tring! into or"er from

!#orte!t to longe!t$

.or (i"! w#o (now t#eir number!, #ave t#em mea!ure t#eir !tring! u!ing a ruler$

fter #e(ing w#et#er t#eir !tring i! too !#ort or too long or +u!t rig#t73, #ave t#em

ut a !eon" !tring to try to get lo!er to t#e true irumferene of t#e apple$

8!e multiple apple! of "ifferent !i-e!, an" #ave (i"! mea!ure !tring! for ea# of t#e

apple!$

9ow el!e wou

Salt box discoveries

pril 25, 201: by Katie SG2; Comment!


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I have seensalt boxesin several other places around the blogosphere, and I have

been wanting to put one together for QBoy and XGirl. I finally got around to creating

our own salt box one recent evening and we have been using it as a tool for learning

shapes, colors, letters, and numbers. Our salt box was so simple to create, and Ive

really enjoyed watching my kids engage with all the discoveries inside.

I started by creating several pages designed to target skills such as shapes and

colors for XGirl and numbers for QBoy.


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Then I placed one page at the bottom of the salt box, and covered it with enough salt

so that the images were no longer visible.

When it was time to play, I handed XGirl a paintbrush and encouraged her to sweep

the salt to see what she could find. As she came across a shape, she and I talkedabout each one.

When we adopted XGirl a few months before her third birthday, she wassofar behind

insomany skills. In the months she has been with our family, she has learned so

much, although she still has more catching up to do. Nonetheless, when she was

able to successfully identify the triangle, circle, star, and heart, I was one proud

mama jumping with joy!
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QBoy looked on as XGirl worked with the salt box, anxious to get his turn.
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So after XGirl had found all the shapes on her turn, I switched out the page at the

bottom to have QBoy work on identifying the numbers 1 through 5.


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It turned out to be a breeze for him, so next time we play with the salt box Ill be using

the page with numbers 1-10 on it instead.


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Ocean Montessori activities

ugu!t 22, 201: byKatie SG20 Comment!


1K+

If youve been following along, you know that the kids and I recently completed a

preschool ocean unit to learn all about the ocean. As part of our unit, I created a

number of ocean Montessori activities and put them up on our shelves for several

weeks.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/ocean-montessori-trays/#commentshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Salt-box-discoveries-5.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/ocean-montessori-trays/#commentshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/


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I am a big fan of Montessori education and I have read a lot about it in order to bring

more Montessori style activities to my kids. With these Ocean Montessori activities, I

was able to use my kids interest in the ocean to get them to practice a variety of skills

spanning many areas of the curriculum.

Note: For more resources, printables and activities related to the ocean and its

inhabitants, please see myocean unit studypage.

As part of our ocean unit, I created a variety of ocean-themed Montessori trays. I am

definitely a Montessori newbie, so I cant promise all of my trays adhere to strict

Montessori principals. But hopefully youll find some inspiration among the trays I

prepared for my kids.

Ocean Montessori tray: Match the initial sounds

With this tray, QBoy would lay out the letters and then try to match them to animals

whose names begin with the same sound. For example, the S might be matched

with sea lion. The animals came from ourSafari Ltd Ocean Tooband from a set I

bought fromOriental Trading Company.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/unit-study-ocean/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BNC9EQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000BNC9EQ&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.orientaltrading.com/sea-life-creatures-a2-58_37-12-1.fltr?Ntt=sea%20animalshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-Gift-of-Curiosity.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/unit-study-ocean/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BNC9EQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000BNC9EQ&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.orientaltrading.com/sea-life-creatures-a2-58_37-12-1.fltr?Ntt=sea%20animals


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Ocean Montessori tray: Go Fishing Puzzle

I placed ourMelissa & Doug Deluxe 10-Piece Magnetic Fishing Gameon a tray. The

kids used the magnetic wand to fish the animals. As they worked, we were able to

discuss the names of the various animals.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KMHBFA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000KMHBFA&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-2.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-1.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KMHBFA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000KMHBFA&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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Ocean Montessori tray: Sea life math puzzle

I bought this greatsea life-themed number sequencing puzzlefrom Lakeshore

Learning. Kids can put together the puzzle using the numbers at the bottom or

referring to the image.

Ocean Montessori tray: Shell sequencing

I printed this cute little shell sequencing activity from another blog. Unfortunately, I

cant recall which blog it comes from, and the printable itself doesnt have the name

of the blog anywhere. If anyone knows where this printable is from, please let me

know so I can credit the creator! There are several shell patterns, and the kids use

the cards on the right to complete the patterns.
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C917%2C742&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1376005034249http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-3.jpghttp://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C917%2C742&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1376005034249


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Ocean Montessori tray: Count and clip

I printed this ocean-themed count and clip game from2 Teaching Mommies. The kids

counted the number of animals on each card and then used the clothespin to clip thecorresponding number.
http://www.2teachingmommies.com/2011/08/oceans-updated.htmlhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-4.jpghttp://www.2teachingmommies.com/2011/08/oceans-updated.html


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Ocean Montessori tray: Pattern block sh

I printed this fish pattern block template fromPreKinders. The kids used ourwooden

pattern blocksto re-create the image on the tray.
http://www.prekinders.com/pattern-blocks/http://www.prekinders.com/pattern-blocks/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F8T8U0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000F8T8U0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F8T8U0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000F8T8U0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-6.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-5.jpghttp://www.prekinders.com/pattern-blocks/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F8T8U0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000F8T8U0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F8T8U0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000F8T8U0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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Ocean Montessori tray: Shape matching

I created this tray with XGirl in mind. Inside each shell on the worksheet, I drew a

different shape. Then I drew those same shapes on cards. Her task was to draw a

card, then place a rock on the matching shape on her tray.

Ocean Montessori tray: !ppercase and lo"ercase lettermatching

I created this tray with QBoy in mind. Inside each fish on the worksheet, I drew a

different uppercase letter. I then created cards with the corresponding lowercase

letters. As he drew the cards, his task was to place a rock on the matching uppercase

letter on his tray.
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Ocean Montessori tray: Fun "ith sea glass and #ubber

This was a simple sensory tray. In the bowl on the left I placed a bunch of sea glass,

and I filled the bowl on the right with flubber. The kids were free to use these

materials as they wished.

Ocean Montessori tray: Sound matching clip acti$ity

I downloaded this printable fromHomeschool Creations. I put clothespins inside the

Chinese takeout-style box, and I laid the picture cards on the right. The kids task was

to identify the initial sound of the animals name, and then clip the letter

corresponding to that sound.
http://homeschoolcreations.com/oceanpreschoolpack.htmlhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-18.jpghttp://homeschoolcreations.com/oceanpreschoolpack.html


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http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-11.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-10.jpg


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Ocean Montessori tray: Ocean%themed stencils

This activity was far and away XGirls favorite. On more than one occasion she spent

the whole of our Montessori time with this tray.

In the basket on the left, I included ourocean-themed stencils(see picture below for

better look at the stencils). Also on the tray were some markers and some paper cut

to the size of the stencils. The task was to place a stencil on the paper and use the

markers to trace the image in the stencil. This was a great opportunity to work on fine

motor development and pencil grip.
http://www.orientaltrading.com/under-the-sea-stencils-a2-56_6044-12-1.fltr?Ntt=oceanhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-12.jpghttp://www.orientaltrading.com/under-the-sea-stencils-a2-56_6044-12-1.fltr?Ntt=ocean


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Ocean Montessori tray: Feed the sh

This tray was a simple practical life exercise the required the kids to use the small

spoon to scoop fish food from the bowl on the left to feed to each of the fish on the

right.


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Ocean Montessori tray: Sift the sea glass

The kids task was to use the slotted spoon on the left to sift the sea glass from the

bin and then place it in the small container on the right.


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Ocean Montessori tray: Counting sea glass

I placed 55 pieces of sea glass in a small container. Next to this I placed

oursandpaper numerals. The task was to lay out the numbers in order, and then

count out a corresponding number of sea glass pieces to place under each number.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DG50FY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002DG50FY&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ocean-Montessori-trays-15.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DG50FY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002DG50FY&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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Ocean Montessori tray: Sea animal or land animal&

On this tray I printed out pictures of both sea animals and land animals. The kids

task was to sort the pictures into two piles depending on whether the animals were

sea or land animals.
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I hope you found some inspiring ideas from our trays!

For more resources, printables and activities related to t

Farm Montessori trays

September 24, 201: by Katie SG11 Comment!


1K+
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TheOriental Trading Companyitems featured in this post were provided to me in

exchange for an honest review.All activities using these materials were planned by me and all opinions are my

own. See mydisclosuresfor more information.

I recently completed a preschool farm unit with my two kids, 4-year-old QBoy and 3-

year-old XGirl. This is the 7th of eight posts sharing the activities we did during this

unit, which included the following topics:

1.Fun on the farm by Oriental Trading Company

2.Farm Printable Pack

3.Learning about farm animals

4.12 books about farm animals

5.Fall on the farm sensory bin

6.Farm grid games to support basic math skills

7.Farm Montessori trays

8.Farm animal do-a-dot printables
http://www.orientaltrading.com/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/fun-on-the-farm-by-oriental-trading-company-giveawayhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/farm-printable-packhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/learning-about-farm-animalshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/12-books-about-farm-animalshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/fall-on-the-farm-sensory-binhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/farm-grid-gameshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/farm-animal-do-a-dot-printables/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Farm-Montessori-trays-Gift-of-Curiosity.jpghttp://www.orientaltrading.com/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/fun-on-the-farm-by-oriental-trading-company-giveawayhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/farm-printable-packhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/learning-about-farm-animalshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/12-books-about-farm-animalshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/fall-on-the-farm-sensory-binhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/farm-grid-gameshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/farm-animal-do-a-dot-printables/


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As part of our ocean unit, I created a variety of farm-themed Montessori trays. I am

still a Montessori newbie, so I cant promise that my trays adhere to strict Montessori

principals. But hopefully youll find some inspiration here for activities to do with your

own kids.

Farm Montessori tray: Create a farm animal book

This tray includes items for the kids to make their own farm animal books. In the

orange basket I have a variety offoam farm animal stickersfrom Oriental Trading

Company. In the green basket I created some sample pages with an animal sticker

and the name of the animal written using ourlowercase alphabet stamps. In the pink

basket were blank books for the kids. XGirl absolutely adored this activity.

Farm Montessori tray: Counting farm animals

For this tray I included 55foam farm animal stickersfrom Oriental Trading Company

and oursandpaper numerals. The kids laid out the numbers in order, and then under

each number laid out a corresponding number of farm animals.
http://www.orientaltrading.com/fabulous-foam-self-adhesive-farm-shapes-a2-57_2291-12-1.fltr?Ntt=farmhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005NN5I/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00005NN5I&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.orientaltrading.com/fabulous-foam-self-adhesive-farm-shapes-a2-57_2291-12-1.fltr?Ntt=farmhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DG50FY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002DG50FY&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Farm-Montessory-trays-1.jpghttp://www.orientaltrading.com/fabulous-foam-self-adhesive-farm-shapes-a2-57_2291-12-1.fltr?Ntt=farmhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005NN5I/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00005NN5I&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.orientaltrading.com/fabulous-foam-self-adhesive-farm-shapes-a2-57_2291-12-1.fltr?Ntt=farmhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DG50FY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002DG50FY&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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Farm Montessori tray: 'uild a fence around the dog

This tray was simple using onlycraft sticksand the dog from ourSafari Ltd Down

on the Farm Toob.

The idea was for the kids to build a fence around the dog.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00342VDG6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00342VDG6&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BNENJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000BNENJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BNENJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000BNENJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Farm-Montessory-trays-5.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Farm-Montessory-trays-4.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00342VDG6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00342VDG6&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BNENJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000BNENJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BNENJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000BNENJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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Farm Montessori tray: Scissors practice

This tray included a pair of scissors and some cutting practice strips from myFarm

Printable Pack.

Farm Montessori tray: Farm animal families

The farm animal family printable used for this tray comes fromMontessori MOMents.

We used this to learn the names for the father, mother, and baby animals in each

animal family.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-farm-printable-pack/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-farm-printable-pack/http://mymontessorimoments.com/2011/01/28/farm-animal-families/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Farm-Montessory-trays-6.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-farm-printable-pack/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-farm-printable-pack/http://mymontessorimoments.com/2011/01/28/farm-animal-families/


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Farm Montessori tray: Making farm animals "ith patternblocks

I got this and a couple of other farm animal pattern block templates atPreKinders.

The kids use the pattern blocks on the left to complete the duck pattern on the right.
http://www.prekinders.com/pattern-blocks/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Farm-Montessory-trays-7.jpghttp://www.prekinders.com/pattern-blocks/


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Farm Montessori tray: Flip an egg

Im currently taking an online Montessori training. We recently finished studying the

practical life manual, which included a section on wrist turning activities. I decided to

create an egg by adding a yellow spot to the middle of a yogurt container lid. I made

a burner by taping a blue circle on the tray. Then I provided the kids with a spatula

so they could flip their own eggs.
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Farm Montessori tray: Put the "ool on the sheep

For this tray I put out some whitetissue paper squares, some glue, and thesheep

do-a-dot sheetfrom Oriental Trading Company. The kids practiced one-to-one

correspondence and fine motor skills by crumpling up the tissue paper squares andgluing them to each circle on the sheep.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044S59FA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0044S59FA&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.orientaltrading.com/api/search?Ntt=50+Farm+Animal+Dot+Marker+Activity+Sheetshttp://www.orientaltrading.com/api/search?Ntt=50+Farm+Animal+Dot+Marker+Activity+Sheetshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Farm-Montessory-trays-9.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044S59FA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0044S59FA&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.orientaltrading.com/api/search?Ntt=50+Farm+Animal+Dot+Marker+Activity+Sheetshttp://www.orientaltrading.com/api/search?Ntt=50+Farm+Animal+Dot+Marker+Activity+Sheets


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Farm Montessori tray: (dentify the rst sound of each"ord

I placed four small stones in the container on the left. In each panel of the paper on

the right, I placed afoam farm animal stickerfrom Oriental Trading Company and Iwrote two letters one of which corresponded to the first sound of the image. The

kids placed the small stones on the correct letter.

Farm Montessori tray: Farm )ide and Seek

Developmentally, the kids are above thisMelissa & Doug Magnetic Farm Hide and

Seekactivity already. Nonetheless, they still enjoy playing with it from time to time.

And since it fit with our farm theme, I put out on our shelves during the unit to bring

their attention to it.
http://www.orientaltrading.com/fabulous-foam-self-adhesive-farm-shapes-a2-57_2291-12-1.fltr?Ntt=farmhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001R674GE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001R674GE&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001R674GE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001R674GE&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001R674GE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001R674GE&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Farm-Montessory-trays-12.jpghttp://www.orientaltrading.com/fabulous-foam-self-adhesive-farm-shapes-a2-57_2291-12-1.fltr?Ntt=farmhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001R674GE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001R674GE&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001R674GE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001R674GE&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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Montessori time: Currently on

our shelves


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Im a Montessori newbie. I love the theory and the goals behind Montessori and Im

learning more every day. But some days my knowledge still feels really inadequate. Iwould *love* to be a fly on the wall in the homes of some homeschooling moms who

use a Montessori approach. But since Im not in peoples homes, I get lots of ideas

from others blogs showing what activities they are doing with their kids.

If you read this blog regularly, you know thatwe just recently installed some

Montessori shelves in our office. And since I enjoy peeking in on others activities, I

thought Id share what is on our shelves at this moment.

Aside from a few typical Montessori materials such as thepink tower,small

numerical rodsandknobless cylinders, I have created several other trays with

activities for the kids. And in no particular order, here they are!

(ce cream dice game

I printed out theice cream dice gameand paired it with twojumbo foam diceand a

tin filled with glass stones. QBoy plays by rolling the dice, adding up the total, and

placing a glass stone on the number that matches the total. XGirl doesnt yet
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/our-montessori-shelves/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/our-montessori-shelves/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007IS35F4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007IS35F4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KWG91E/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003KWG91E&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KWG91E/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003KWG91E&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00784HJPK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00784HJPK&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-ice-cream-dice-game/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042TQQ8U/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0042TQQ8U&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Montessori-time-Gift-of-Curiosity.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/our-montessori-shelves/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/our-montessori-shelves/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007IS35F4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007IS35F4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KWG91E/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003KWG91E&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KWG91E/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003KWG91E&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00784HJPK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00784HJPK&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-ice-cream-dice-game/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042TQQ8U/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0042TQQ8U&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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recognize her numbers, but she enjoys rolling the dice, counting the dots, and then

placing that many glass stones on the board.

Garlic press acti$ity

For this activity, the kids dip a small sponge into the bowl filled with water on the left.

They then place the sponge into the garlic press and squeeze the water out of the

sponge into the bowl on the right. The used sponge goes into the small blue

container. Ive included a rag to clean up any spills.
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The garlic press activity was one of the first activities the kids were drawn to when I

put the new trays out on the shelves. It provides great fine motor practice and is a

wonderful practical life activity.
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Geoboards

On this tray I set out one of ourdouble-sided geoboardsand a tin full of rubber

bands. The kids can use the rubber bands to make shapes on the geoboards. Since

this is the first time I have set out the geoboards, I am going to just let the kids

explore them. I might then later introduce some control cards with images the kids

can try to reproduce on the geoboards.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QDZY52/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000QDZY52&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Montessori-time-3.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QDZY52/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000QDZY52&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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Making shapes "ith *ikki Sti+

For this tray I printed out ashapes worksheetdesigned to be used with our8 Wikki

Stix.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-wikki-stix-shape-tracing/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GL1DJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000GL1DJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GL1DJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000GL1DJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GL1DJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000GL1DJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Montessori-time-4.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-wikki-stix-shape-tracing/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GL1DJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000GL1DJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GL1DJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000GL1DJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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QBoy has been fascinated withWikki Stixlately, ever since we went to a restaurant

that was handing outWikki Stixto all the kids. So I wasnt surprised when he

gravitated toward this activity and began to trace the shapes. He knows the names of

these basic shapes already, but it was a good opportunity to reinforce their names

and also for him to practice some challenging fine motor skills.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GL1DJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000GL1DJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GL1DJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000GL1DJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Montessori-time-5.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GL1DJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000GL1DJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GL1DJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000GL1DJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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Color graph

For this tray I made a chart by gluing six colors oftissue paper squaresacross the

top of a sheet of paper. I placed additionaltissue paper squaresin the cup along witha glue stick so that XGirl can glue matching colored squares onto the graph.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00686TMDQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00686TMDQ&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00686TMDQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00686TMDQ&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Montessori-time-11.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00686TMDQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00686TMDQ&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00686TMDQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00686TMDQ&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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!se a magnet to get the pipe cleaners out of the bottle

I set this tray out to reinforce aprior lesson on magnets. The kids have to remove the

pipe cleaners from the bottle using the magnetic wand from ourFun with Magnetskit.

They will then place the pipe cleaners into the green container.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/fun-with-magnets/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00076DIX8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00076DIX8&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Montessori-time-6.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/fun-with-magnets/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00076DIX8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00076DIX8&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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Copy the image using (maginets

This wasnt a tray per se. Instead, I placed ourImaginetsset on the shelves for the

kids to pull down and play with. On one side are all the magnetic shapes. On the

other side, they can select one of the cards and then use the shapes to copy the

image on the card.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037Z8DEK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0037Z8DEK&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Montessori-time-8.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Montessori-time-7.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037Z8DEK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0037Z8DEK&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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XGirl worked diligently to create this house. She was so proud of herself when she

finally finished putting it together!

Montessori activities: Currentlyon our shelves

September :0, 201: by Katie SG; Comment!


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A couple of months ago I gave my readers a sneak peak atwhat was on our

Montessori shelves at the time, and today Im back to do it again. Please keep inmind that I am not a certified Montessori teacher. Im just a mom who loves

Montessori and has been doing my best to learn as much as I can about the

philosophy and approach. I hope that by sharing the Montessori activities weve been

doing that this will spark ideas for other parents.

,umber chains

This tray focuses on number recognition, counting, and fine motor skills. The kids

create chains of different lengths using ourjumbo chain links.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/montessori-time-currently-on-our-shelves/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/montessori-time-currently-on-our-shelves/http://www.orientaltrading.com/jumbo-counting-links-a2-60_6501-12-1.fltr?Ntt=chain%20linkshttp://www.orientaltrading.com/jumbo-counting-links-a2-60_6501-12-1.fltr?Ntt=chain%20linkshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/On-our-shelves-Gift-of-Curiosity.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/montessori-time-currently-on-our-shelves/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/montessori-time-currently-on-our-shelves/http://www.orientaltrading.com/jumbo-counting-links-a2-60_6501-12-1.fltr?Ntt=chain%20links


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*riting numbers in the salt tray

I prepared a simple salt tray by pouring salt into a shallow food storage container. The

kids select a number from oursandpaper numerals, trace the sandpaper number

with their fingers, and then write that number in the salt tray.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DG50FY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002DG50FY&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/On-our-shelves-2.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/On-our-shelves-1.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DG50FY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002DG50FY&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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-gg carton math to "ork on subitizing and counting

I took an empty egg carton and drew either one, two, or three dots in the bottom of

each well. I then provided a number of glass gems. The kids look at the number of

dots in each well and then add that number of glass gems to the well. The kids can

count the dots, but my goal is for them to start subitizing subitizing is the art of

looking at a group of objects and knowing how many they are without needing to

count them.

Memory

I pulled out our game ofOriginal Memoryfor the kids to work on matching up pairs of

cards. The matching part isnt difficult for them, but they like the memory challenge

involved in the game.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G1I21Q/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001G1I21Q&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/On-our-shelves-3.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G1I21Q/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001G1I21Q&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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(ce Cream Scoop Counting .cti$ity

I am not yet willing to let go of summer :-), so I pulled out ourIce Cream Scoop

Counting Activity. The kids lay out the cones in numerical order and then place the

indicated number of scoops on top of each cone.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-ice-cream-scoop-counting-math-activity/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-ice-cream-scoop-counting-math-activity/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/On-our-shelves-4.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-ice-cream-scoop-counting-math-activity/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-ice-cream-scoop-counting-math-activity/


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Pattern matching bead stringing

This activity works on patterning, following directions, and fine motor skills. The idea

is for the kids to string the beads onto the pipe cleaner to match the pattern on the

card. To get a copy of the entire control card printable that this activity comes

from,click here.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-bead-stringing-control-cards/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/On-our-shelves-5.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-bead-stringing-control-cards/


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Count and clip

I have two versions of this tray. In this version, the plate is divided in to five sections

with 1 to 5 dots in each section. The kids count the number of dots, find the

clothespin with the corresponding numeral, and then clip the clothespin to the

appropriate section of the plate.
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This is the same activity, except this plate has 10 sections with 1-10 dots.
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/racing shapes on sandpaper using yarn

For this activity I used a crayon to draw four shapes on a piece of sandpaper. The

kids use the cut pieces of yarn which tend to stick to the rough sandpaper to trace

each of the shapes.

Sense of taste: Fun ith tastingbottles


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I recently introduced my kids to the topic of ourfive basic senses. After doing an

overview of the five senses, we are spending some time exploring each of the senses

in more depth. Today I am sharing asense of taste activity for kids.

Taste is a very important sense due to its role in helping us determine the flavors of

foods and other substances. In fact, our ability to taste has historically been linked to

our survival, as our sense of taste gives us an indication of whether a food is safe to

eat or is likely to be poisonous.

In Montessori education, tasting bottles are commonly found in the sensorial area of

the classroom. The typical presentation involves giving kids two sets of bottles with

matching tastes. Children are then asked to taste the liquids in the bottles in order to

match up the tastes from each set. I recently created some tasting bottles for my kids,

although we used the bottles in a different way.

Note: For more activities and printables on each of the five senses, see myFive

Senses Unit Studypage.
https://www.giftofcuriosity.com/five-senses-activities-for-preschoolers/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/unit-study-the-five-senses/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/unit-study-the-five-senses/https://www.giftofcuriosity.com/five-senses-activities-for-preschoolers/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/unit-study-the-five-senses/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/unit-study-the-five-senses/


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The sense of taste, also calledgustation, is possible due to taste receptor cells

located on taste buds in our mouths. Most taste buds are on the tongue, but they are

also found in other parts of the mouth. Humans have approximately 10,000 taste

buds, each of which has between 50 and 150 receptor cells. However, children have

about twice as many taste receptors as adults, which may account for why children

are often much pickier eaters than adults.

There are five primary taste sensations:

sweet
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salty

sour

bitter

umami

(I will confess that I did not know what umami was and had to look it up. I learned that

umami is the response to glutamic acid salts found in foods like MSG and processed

meats and cheeses. Apparently it was discovered only recently, while sweet, salty,

sour, and bitter have been known for quite some time. Because I was unfamiliar with

umami and because we did not have any MSG or processed meats or cheeses in

our home I did not include this taste in our activity.)

If you are looking for a good book to help explain the science behind taste to your

kids, I recommendThe Magic School Bus Explores the Sensesby Joanna Cole.

However, the science in The Magic School Bus book was too advanced for my kids at

this age. Instead, we readThe Five Senses: Tasteby Maria Rius, which uses very

simple text.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0590446983/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0590446983&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20&linkId=UFEGUJBORO3LCWSDhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812035666/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0812035666&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20&linkId=ZAQSYTA3BONZC2GShttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0590446983/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0590446983&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20&linkId=Z7GFFQPLPM2U7IEChttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0590446983/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0590446983&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20&linkId=UFEGUJBORO3LCWSDhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812035666/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0812035666&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20&linkId=ZAQSYTA3BONZC2GS


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Bitter (plain cocoa dissolved in water)

I began by laying out four cards labeled sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.

Next, I invited my kids to take turns tasting the liquid in each bottle to determine which

of the four tastes was represented.

They suctioned up some of the liquid and dropped it in their mouths.
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(dentifying foods for each of the four main tastes

After doing the tasting bottles, I asked them find foods in our kitchen representing

each of the four main tastes. They did a really good job with this.

For sweet, they found honey, an apple, a mango, and a banana.

For sour, they found a lemon.

For salty, they found the salt and some salty pistachios.

For bitter, they found our unsweetened cocoa and some Brussels sprouts. (Im not

sure how bitter Brussels sprouts really are, but knowing that some vegetables taste

bitter to kids it was the best one we could come up with in our kitchen at the time.)


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Grading tastes by s"eetness

For the last activity, I created four tasting bottles with different levels of sweetness by

adding different amounts of sugar to the same amount of water. I labeled the bottom

of the bottles 1 through 4 to show which had the least sugar and which had the most.

I invited the kids to taste the liquid in each bottle.


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I then asked them to put the bottles in order from least sweet to most sweet.

The sweet water was a big hit with both kids, not surprisingly. In fact, all of our tasting

activities went over quite well, the taste of the bitter water not withstanding. :-)

So, which of these sense of taste activity for kids was your favorite? Let me know in

the comments?

!ntroduction to living andnonliving

ugu!t 1, 2014 byKatie SG2 Comment!


307
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Note that the picture below should include a Living label for the tray itself.

After discussing this tray at length, we went outside for a walk in our backyard and

around the block to look for living things. Even though I had not yet introduced

nonliving things, my kids already made the connection and pointed out both living and

nonliving things on our walk.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Intro-to-living-and-nonliving-1.jpg


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On another day, I created two bowls with mini figures representing both living and

nonliving things.

The living bowl included:

tree

baby

koala

panda bear

panther

tiger

rabbit

ladybug


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The nonliving bowl included:

umbrella

wagon

bag of salt

vase

playing card

notepad

frying pan

broom


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I have also found other great living and nonliving printables from:

The Helpful Garden(free)

Montessori Print Shop($$)

!ntroduction to once living

ugu!t :, 2014 byKatie SG1 Comment


3

In a previous post I shared some hands-on activities and links to free printables for

giving kids anintroduction to living and nonlivingobjects. Once my kids understood

the characteristics of living and nonliving things, I introduced the concept ofonce

living. Once living things are objects that used to be alive, but now are not. Forexample, dried flowers, a dead insect, and a fossil would all be examples of once

living objects.

Note: Looking for more Montessori inspired science activities? See myscience

activities for kidspage and myMontessori activitiespage.
http://thehelpfulgarden.blogspot.com/2011/09/livingnon-living.html#_a5y_p=1823300http://www.shop.montessoriprintshop.com/Living-and-Non-Living-Things-SCF-7.htmhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/introduction-to-once-living/#commentshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/introduction-to-living-and-nonliving/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/science-activities-for-kids-page/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/science-activities-for-kids-page/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/montessori-activities-page/http://thehelpfulgarden.blogspot.com/2011/09/livingnon-living.html#_a5y_p=1823300http://www.shop.montessoriprintshop.com/Living-and-Non-Living-Things-SCF-7.htmhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/introduction-to-once-living/#commentshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/introduction-to-living-and-nonliving/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/science-activities-for-kids-page/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/science-activities-for-kids-page/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/montessori-activities-page/


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This unit turned out to be a bit tricker than I would have thought. As I shared these

activities with my husband and mom, we got into some really interesting discussions

about the difference between living, nonliving, and once living. For example, my kids

would look at a t-shirt and categorize it as nonliving. But if the shirt it made from

cotton, that cotton was once alive on a cotton plant, meaning that the shirt is

technically once living.

Even something like plastic could be considered once living, since plastic is made

from petrochemicals that come from carbon life forms that died hundreds of

thousands of years ago. See how tricky this can get?!? :-)
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Introduction-to-once-living-Gift-of-Curiosity.jpg


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Needless to say, I kept it more simple and concrete for my kids. We started our

introduction to once living things with this once living tray that included the following

once living objects:

an avocado

a green leaf

a brown leaf

a shark tooth

two fossils

For each object on the tray, we talked about how it had come from a living thing that

needed food, water, air, and that could reproduce. (See ourintroduction to living and

nonlivingwhere I discuss these four characteristics.) But we also talked about how

each of these objects was no longer living and thus no longer needed food, air, water,

and could no longer reproduce.

Over the course of the unit, we also read manygreat books about living and

nonliving.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/introduction-to-living-and-nonliving/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/introduction-to-living-and-nonliving/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/books-about-living-and-nonliving/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/books-about-living-and-nonliving/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Intro-to-once-living-1.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/introduction-to-living-and-nonliving/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/introduction-to-living-and-nonliving/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/books-about-living-and-nonliving/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/books-about-living-and-nonliving/


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To help drive home the differences between living, nonliving, and once living, I invited

the kids to create their own Living / Nonliving / Once Living books.

I gave them three sheets of paper each, with one labeled Living, one labeled

Nonliving, and one labeled Once Living. They searched through the pages of

various magazines and catalogs to find images for each page.

After they found an image they liked, they cut it out and glued it on to the appropriate

page.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Intro-to-once-living-2.jpg


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Once they completed their books, we punched holes in them and bound them using

our1/2 inch booklet ringsfromMontessori Services.

Here are their completed Living pages. As you can see from XGirls work on the right,

she was really into cutting and pasting images. And as you can tell from QBoys work

on the left. . . he wasnotas enthusiastic about this activity.
http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=772509&b=402172&m=42762&afftrack=&urllink=www.montessoriservices.com%2Fhalf-inch-booklet-ringshttp://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=772509&b=402172&m=42762&afftrack=&urllink=www.montessoriservices.comhttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Intro-to-once-living-3.jpghttp://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=772509&b=402172&m=42762&afftrack=&urllink=www.montessoriservices.com%2Fhalf-inch-booklet-ringshttp://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?u=772509&b=402172&m=42762&afftrack=&urllink=www.montessoriservices.com


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Here are their completed Nonliving pages.

Here are their completed Once Living pages.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Intro-to-once-living-5.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Intro-to-once-living-4.jpg


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Finally, I created some living / nonliving / once living pictures cards for the kids to

sort. I handed them to the kids in a pile along with a three-part tray. The three

sections of the tray were labeled Living, Nonliving, and Once Living.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Intro-to-once-living-7.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Intro-to-once-living-6.jpg


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As the kids sorted the pictures, we discussed why each item was categorized as

living, nonliving, or once living.

Want to use my living / nonliving / once living picture cards? You can purchase the

same cards pictured above for just $.99. Your purchase will include:

Sixlivingpicture cards

Elephant

Bee

Crab

Daffodils

Apple tree

Bird

Sixnonlivingpicture cards

School bus

Hot air balloon

Snow gloves Boat
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Intro-to-once-living-8.jpg


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Shoe

Blocks

Sixonce livingpicture cards

Apple core

Dried flowers

Coconut

Dolphin skeletons

Dried peppers

Hollow tree trunk

Here is a sample of what is included in the download.

Matching and ordering by si"e{free printable}

.ebruary 10, 2014 by Katie SG5 Comment!


129

As I learn more about the methods of Dr. Maria Montessori, I am understanding the

great deal of importance she placed on children being able to discriminate between

items using their senses. A while back I created a simple Montessori-inspired

printable to help my kids work on matching and ordering items by size. My kids are

beyond this activity by now, but I wanted to share it for my readers with younger kids

who may benefit from this simplematching and ordering by size activity.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/matching-ordering-by-size/#commentshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/matching-ordering-by-size/#commentshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/matching-ordering-by-size/#commentshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/


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After she completed this task, we talked about which was shortest and which was

longest.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Matching-and-ordering-by-size-2.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Matching-and-ordering-by-size-1.jpg


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An extension to this activity would be to have your child re-do the ordering part of the

activity without using the printable.

If you dont have straws, this activity can be done using string, paper strips, or any

other material that you can cut into short segments.

Click here to downlo

#th of $uly Montessori activities


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Star%/hemed Shades of Color 0th of 1uly Montessori

acti$ity

I created a printable (that you can downloadhere) to work on distinguishing shades

of color from light to dark, which is a Montessori sensorial activity. The use of stars, of

course, was inspired by the 4th of July theme for this month, but could be used at any

time.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/star-themed-shades-color/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/star-themed-shades-color/


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Spooning "ater beads

I found this nifty set of metal cups at Goodwill, and it has been perfect for practical life

spooning exercises. For this month, I filled one cup withwater beadsthat I hydrated

with water dyed blue.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050ZNWYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050ZNWYG&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-0.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050ZNWYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050ZNWYG&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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XGirl loves this kind of practical life activity, and I love watching her take so much

care with her work.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-2.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-1.jpg


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Flag patterns 0th of 1uly Montessori acti$ity

I created a series of images that show four flags in a variety of patterns (you can

download themhere). I laminated the images and put them on a tray with four flags.

The idea is that the kids need to select an image and use the flags to recreate the

image. In doing so, they work on spatial awareness skills.

QBoy was fascinated by this work, and impressed me with how well he was able tocopy the images. (I happen to be very spatially challenged, so this kind of work would

have been very challenging for me at his age.)
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-flag-patterns-images/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-3.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-flag-patterns-images/


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Put the "ater beads on the golf tees

This tray has three parts a star container stuffed with our gluten-free play dough, a

jar withwater beads, and a tin with red and whitegolf tees.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050ZNWYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050ZNWYG&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LFV8W4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004LFV8W4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-4.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050ZNWYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050ZNWYG&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LFV8W4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004LFV8W4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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There are so many wonderful fine motor challenges involved with this activity,

including opening the jar ofwater beads, opening the tin ofgolf tees, sticking thegolf

teesin the play dough, and balancing thewater beadson top.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050ZNWYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050ZNWYG&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050ZNWYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050ZNWYG&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LFV8W4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004LFV8W4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LFV8W4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004LFV8W4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LFV8W4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004LFV8W4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050ZNWYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050ZNWYG&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050ZNWYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050ZNWYG&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-5.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050ZNWYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050ZNWYG&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LFV8W4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004LFV8W4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LFV8W4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004LFV8W4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LFV8W4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004LFV8W4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050ZNWYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050ZNWYG&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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XGirl spent a very long time with this tray and was so determined to get all the water

beads to balance on the golf tees.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-6.jpg


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Shado" matching 0th of 1uly Montessori acti$ity

This shadow matching activity comes from my4th of July Printable Pack.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-4th-of-july-printable-pack/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-16.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-4th-of-july-printable-pack/


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*ater pouring 0th of 1uly Montessori acti$ity

This water pouring activity works on practical life and fine motor skills. The kids have

to carefully pour the water from the pitcher into the two tea cups, and then pour the

water back into the pitcher. I dyed the water blue in honor of the 4th of July, although I

first made sure that I would be able to get the color out of my carpet if the kids should

spill.

If they spill on the tray (which is to be expected), I have provided a cloth for them to

clean up their spills.


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Plant a #ag 0th of 1uly Montessori acti$ity

This practical life and fine motor activity requires the kids to stick about 50Americanflag toothpicksinto some floral foam.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054TQK10/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0054TQK10&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054TQK10/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0054TQK10&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-8.jpghttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054TQK10/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0054TQK10&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054TQK10/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0054TQK10&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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QBoy really enjoyed this activity, and worked meticulously to put all 50 flags into the

block.


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As he worked, he kept remarking on how many there were! And when he finished, he

asked me to count each of the flags as he put them back into the bowl. I happily

obliged, of course.


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,umber matching to ob2ects

This activity from my4th of July Printable Packrequires the kids to match each

number card with the card showing the same number of stars.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-4th-of-july-printable-pack/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-4th-of-july-printable-pack/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-11.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-4th-of-july-printable-pack/


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Scissors skills

On this tray I put several items for the kids to practice cutting. The little kids come

from my4th of July Printable Pack, while the stars are from myStar-Themed Shades

of Color Activity.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-4th-of-july-printable-pack/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/star-themed-shades-color/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/star-themed-shades-color/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-12.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-4th-of-july-printable-pack/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/star-themed-shades-color/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/star-themed-shades-color/


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XGirl spent a lot of time with this tray the first time it was out. She kept cutting and

cutting, all the while announcing over and over that she was working on my motor

skills.


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Patriotic shapes matching 0th of 1uly Montessori acti$ity

This is a simple shapes matching activity from my4th of July Printable Pack.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-4th-of-july-printable-pack/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-15.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4th-of-July-Montessori-trays-14.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/printables/download-4th-of-july-printable-pack/


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For lots of other great Montessori-inspired 4th of July learning, I recommendthis post

from Living Montessori Now.

Christmas Montessori activitiesDeember >, 201: by Katie SG= Comment!


434

Today Im sharing a number of Montessori Christmas activities for kids you can try

out with your little ones.

One thing I have really come to enjoy about homeschooling my preschoolers is

coming up with activities related to each of our themes. A lot of the activities I plan

are inspired by the Montessori method. I have so much respect for the way MariaMontessori viewed young children and their potential, and I love the Montessori

philosophy of following the lead of the child. That being said, I am not a certified

Montessori teacher, and not everything we do is Montessori-based. Nonetheless, I

hope youll find some inspiration in the ideas I share below. I also have lots of other

(non-Montessori) Christmas ideas on myChristmas activities for kidspage.
http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/06/25/montessori-monday-montessori-inspired-4th-of-july-activities/http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/06/25/montessori-monday-montessori-inspired-4th-of-july-activities/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/montessori-christmas-activities/#commentshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/montessori-christmas-activities/#commentshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/christmas-activities-kids/http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/06/25/montessori-monday-montessori-inspired-4th-of-july-activities/http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/06/25/montessori-monday-montessori-inspired-4th-of-july-activities/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/author/katieadmin/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/montessori-christmas-activities/#commentshttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/disclosures/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/christmas-activities-kids/


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Put the bells on Santa

For this activity, I printed out the Santa do-a-dot printable from myChristmas do-a-dot

printables pack. I included a pair ofeasy grip tweezersand a small bowl of bells.

Kids use the tweezers to place one bell in each of the dots on Santa.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/christmas-dot-printables/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/christmas-dot-printables/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00361NV88/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00361NV88&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Christmas-Montessori-activities-Gift-of-Curiosity.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/christmas-dot-printables/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/christmas-dot-printables/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00361NV88/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00361NV88&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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Decorate the Christmas Tree with pom poms

For this activity, I printed out the Christmas tree do-a-dot page from myChristmas do-a-dot printables pack. I included some glue and a small bowl of redpom poms. Kids

dab a spot of glue in each dot on the tree and then stick a red pom pom on the tree to
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decorate it.

Christmas stocking lacing activity

For this activity I printed the Christmas stocking lacing activity from myChristmasPrintable Packon to card stock. I included a length of yarn as well. (I wrapped tape

around one end of the yarn to make it easy to thread through the holes in the stocking
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a shoe lace might be a good substitute.)

Kids then lace the yarn all the way around the stocking. When I showed this activity to

QBoy he had a very difficult time remembering to keep the thread in his right hand.He also got easily confused about whether to put the thread through the top of each

hole or the bottom. So this is definitely a skill we need to keep working on!
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Golf tee ne motor activity

For this activity I printed off another copy of the Santa do-a-dot printable from

myChristmas do-a-dot printables pack. In the bowl, I placed redgolf tees.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/christmas-dot-printables/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LFV8R4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004LFV8R4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Christmas-Montessori-activities-4.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/christmas-dot-printables/http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LFV8R4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004LFV8R4&linkCode=as2&tag=giftofcuri-20


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Christmas scissors practice

This activity is from myChristmas Printable Pack. I provided two different cutting

patterns and a pair of scissors for my kids to practice their scissors skills.
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Christmas sorting activity

This is another activity from myChristmas Printable Pack. On the tray I placed a

sheet with two boxes, one labeled presents and one labeled ornaments. In the

bowl on the left I put pictures of presents and ornaments.
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uild a Christmas tree

This activity works on childrens understanding of length. I placed a blank sheet of

paper on the right. On the left I included a little basket with a glue stick, strips of

green paper, and a small strip of brown paper.


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For younger kids, I would suggest giving them fewer strips and grading them in 1

increments rather than 1/2 increments.
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Decorate the Christmas tree

For this activity I printed an outline of a Christmas tree from myChristmas Tree

Outlinesprintable. I provided some glue as well astissue paper squares. Kids

crumple up the green tissue paper squares and glue them on to the tree. For added

fun, I included someadhesive back jewelsthat kids can use to decorate their trees.

Mini Christmas lights ne motor activity

For this activity I provided a muffin tin, a small measuring spoon, and a bowl of mini

Christmas lights. Kids use the measuring spoon to scoop the lights one-by-one out of

the bowl and place them individually into the muffin tin cups. This activity provides

kids with both fine motor practice as well as practice with one-to-one

correspondence. I teach my kids to place the lights into the muffin tin by filling the

holes from top to bottom and from left to right, just like we read in English.
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!ibbon tying e"ercise

QBoy has been really interested in tying his own shoes lately, so I thought this would

be a fun activity to give him some additional tying practice. I cut out some lengths of

red ribbon and put them in a bowl. I also provided a stick. The kids have to tie the

ribbons on to the stick. I dont anticipate that XGirl will do this work as it is above her

level, but it is perfect for QBoy at this time.


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Christmas Gift Si#e Sorting

This activity comes straight out of myChristmas Printable Pack. The goal is for kids

to put the presents in order from smallest to largest.
http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/christmas-printable-pack/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/christmas-printable-pack/http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Christmas-Montessori-activities-18.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Christmas-Montessori-activities-17.jpghttp://www.giftofcuriosity.com/christmas-printable-pack/


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Christmas sensory bin

I dont think thatsensory binsare strictly Montessori. Nonetheless, when kids play

with sensory bins they engage in many of the practical life skills that are part of the

common Montessori curriculum, like pouring, scooping, etc. Plus, my kids just love

sensory bins! So I couldnt resist putting together this very simple bin using rice left

over from last yearsChristmas sensory binalong with several inexpensive Christmas-

themed dolls and toys.

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