oh tannenbaum...

This is absolutely my favorite Christmas-y lesson!
There's something so magical
about decorating a miniature tree
with teeny tiny ornaments...
it brings out my inner 3-year-old! :)

I think this is such a fun, inexpensive way to give your little one his or her own tree to decorate! Plus, it satisfies that insatiable love of itty bitty things that small children have and provides yet another way to strengthen fine motor control.

I actually set up a cuter version of this lesson for my nieces two Christmases ago. I bought the tree at Michael's, but I think you can find them at most craft stores. Michael's actually had miniature ornaments, tiny tree toppers, and bitsy strings of lights. I put all these decorations in a fancy box, and the girls decorated their tiny tree over and over again. It would also be fun to make your own wee decorations, and, as you can see in the photos, the mini tree in my classroom is set up with mostly regular-sized ornaments, but it is still a blast to decorate!

glitzity glitz

The children have been loving this ornament-making lesson! It's slightly more challenging then the orange pomander lesson, but they are thrilled about taking home sparkling balls to hang on their trees.

What you'll need:

** Styrofoam balls (those green florist balls
would work, too... maybe even better!)
** Pins - both regular and beautiful
** Sequins

How you do it:
Pick out a sequin and a pin. Push the pin through the hole in the sequin into the styrofoam. Repeat over and over until the ball is covered. We've been attaching nylon loops (like from those potholder kits that were all the rage in the "80s) to the balls with pins to use as hangers.

I haven't actually decorated a whole ball myself, but I think a few in a bowl would make a lovely decoration - especially if the sequins were all the same shade of olive green and the pins all had pearly heads. Several smaller decorated balls would make a pretty mobile, too. If only there were a few more hours in the day! Oh, if only!

It's snowing! Finally!

This afternoon, the playground was transformed
into a winter wonderland...

yeeee haw!

orange pomanders

This is one of my favorite seasonal lessons
to do with the children.

Orange pomanders smell divine
AND
require fine motor control.

In a room full of 3-year-olds, what more could you ask for?

First, the child pokes a hole.

Montessori-in-Such makes a classy puncher.
Check it out here.

We prefer to use corn cob holders
with one prong broken off
around here. :)

A push pin or a toothpick would work, too.

The child then pushes a clove
into the hole in the orange.

Repeat as necessary.

I eavesdropped in on X-tine and this particular little one working on the orange pomander in our classroom. The little one asked, "Can I do another one?" X-tine, "Yes." Poke. Push. "Can I do another one?" X-tine, "Yes." Poke. Push. "Can I do anther one?" X-tine, " You can do as many as you'd like!"
And, she did. :)

shop 'til ya drop!

I was just reading my new Domino magazine, and they had an article about mom/architect/toy designer, Lisa Mahar. Read about her at Cookie here. Not to forever be into shopping, but I went to her online store kidonyc.com and was quite impressed with her stuff.




I'm especially into this color-grading puzzle. Check it out here.



















She also has some nice math activities. I liked these counting disks. Check them out here.







Aren't these radishes adorable? Check them out here.














Anyway, I am in no way endorsing Lisa's products - I've never bought anything from her store, but I definitely got a few good ideas from her site. I also liked what she told Domino magazine:

"Children can do a lot more
than we give them credit for.
I respect their ability
to discern craftsmanship and beauty."

True that!