matching pictures

Have you noticed how into matching I am lately?

The children LOVE matching lessons.

Especially this one...

I cut apart a calendar that I discovered last weekend...

hidden at the bottom of a box full of random treasures.
Is it strange to save calendars for multiple years past their expiration date?

I think not! Look at what a perfect use I finally found for it!

How to make it:

1. Cut apart all the mini pictures from the back of the calendar.

2. Cut apart the main pages of the calendar.
3. Laminate the whole lot of it.
4. Stick a square of velcro (rought side) to one corner of each big picture.
5. Stick a smaller square (soft side) to the center of each mini picture.
6. Hang the big pictures everywhere and put the mini pictures in a
a basket that's fun to carry.
7. Watch the children carry the basket...

all over the classroom
matching pictures
all morning long!

* You might want to check cubbies before the children go home for the day - the mini pictures proved to be quite swipe-able! :)

I love my home...

I'm in a foggy, groggy, stuffy-nosed funk...

Our school celebrated its own Native American Day...

I was in charge of the buffalo taco bar.







I didn't have the heart to tell the children that in my foggy, groggy, stuffy-nosed state-of-mind,

I had bought beef,

not buffalo.










They proclaimed that the language area of the classroom should always be a taco bar. I would no longer be their teacher, but their waitress.

Eeek!



I finally made it home, after a white-knuckle, snow-storm drive in the dark.

Daylight savings time isn't always that incredible.

Now, I'm curled-up on the couch, with my darling husband taking care of me, reading a book about vampires.

home = love

turkey art

There are so many adorable turkey art projects out there - it was tough deciding which ones would work best on the art shelf! We teachers strive to set up an environment where the children can do things independently, and this little gobbler from Ramblings of a Crazy Woman fit the bill. I didn't set this lesson up, but Beth, one of my fab co-teachers, did. Yea, Beth! :)

First the child chooses a cup. When Beth preped the lesson, she drew three lines down the inside of the cup and cut a chunk out. The child cuts along each of the lines and then folds the sections back. Now he can decorate the "feathers" with markers. Next, the child chooses a pompom, googly eyes, beak and legs (made from pipe cleaners) and glues them to the center of the cup.



Here's our second turkey art project. I'm not sure who set this one up... possibly X-tine. It has been supremely popular since it made its art shelf debut on November 3. :)


The children also are able to do this lesson independently. First, the child traces his hand on a piece of construction paper. This is the challenging part: the child must cut this hand out. After it's been cut out, the child glues it to another piece of construction paper. I love seeing their little hands awkwardly traced and cut out. :) The older ones love helping the younger ones with this part of the project. Lastly, the child chooses feathers to glue to his fingers and a googly eye to glue on his thumb.

gobble, gobble, gobble!

matching objects to pictures... turkeys!

Last month, I made an object/picture matching lesson where the children made jack-o-lantern faces on a felt board. It went over HUGE in my classroom! I really wanted to make another one with turkeys for Thanksgiving... but I couldn't think of a good way to make the cards. The cards I had made last time were sort of construction paper collages. That was easy for jack-o-lanterns, but turkeys? It seemed like too daunting of a project. Just when I was about to throw in the towel, I saw that Melissa at Chasing Cheerios had come up with the perfect solution: wallet-sized photos!

I set my turkey up on the felt board and took pictures of him with different combinations of feathers, eyes, wattles, etc. His feet, head, and beak are sewn on, so that part never changes. Then, I got the photos developed in the wallet-size and laminated them. I'm slightly disappointed with my laminating - it's really foggy. The photos are a little dark, so the funky laminating doesn't help. Does anyone know what makes that happen?

Here's how I have everything set up in the basket - cards and corresponding felt shapes. I sewed sequins on the eyes, hat, and some of the feathers just to add a little turkey-pizazz. :)
















This is how I will present the lesson to the children. I'll set up the turkey and all its possible accessories. Then, I will choose a card and put together a matching turkey.





This last turkey is kind of a side-note. Lately, I've been slightly obsessed with why the Pink Tower is pink. Does anyone know why that is? I know it's not pink in all schools; some are natural wood. But, why can't you buy a Green Tower or a Blue Tower? When Maria Montessori was alive, her ideas and methods were always changing and evolving. She would totally switch things up in her lectures, just so people wouldn't become consumed with the belief that her materials and methods always had to be a certain way. I mean, you should always make sure that the work you provide for the child is meaningful and that your movements are purposeful, but does a tower of cubes have to be pink? Sometimes I wonder if boys would work with the Pink Tower more if it weren't pink. But, then I think, why should that matter? Anyway, point being, I feel bad about knocking pink all the time, so I made some very glam, pink feathers for the turkey. :) Sorry for the crazy rant!

sunsets in Montana....

... are always incredible. I thought tonight's was especially grand. I spent the afternoon at my mom's house, drinking coffee, reading the newspaper, and sewing - I'll have a few little language projects to share this week. Anyway, I got to enjoy this view for most of the drive home. I'm feeling very peaceful tonight. :)