in like a lion...

There are few things I love more than setting up new lessons in the classroom, even if it's just changing a tray or trying out a new pair of tongs. Seriously! It's right up there with chocolate, skiing, and snuggling with Rosie C.W. Here are some of the new practical life lessons I set up for March. Enjoy!

The idea for this rainbow-making lesson came from
My Montessori Journey.
The white half-spheres are just a styrofoam ball cut in half.
The child sticks one end of a pipe cleaner
into the first piece of styrofoam,
pushes on a few pony beads,
and sticks the other end into the second piece of styrofoam. Here it is in action.
The styrofoam almost looks like clouds... almost. :)

We haven't had locks and keys out for awhile,
so the children were eager to see it again.
The keys are in that little green box, btw.
basting
The child fills the bowl with water to the red line...
the red line says, "stop don't go over me!"
She can baste the water back and forth
as many times as she'd like.
This lesson is especially popular with 3-year-olds.

pouring water into a goblet
Once the child has filled the pitcher,
there's enough water to fill the goblet three times.
He carries the goblet to the sink with great care,
fingers around the stem, hand under the base,
and pours the water out.

pouring water into tiny glasses
If you're over thrifting (is that possible?),
you can buy this set here.
This is the first time I've tried this lesson,
so I'll have to tell you how it goes!

spooning
The scoop and the colored beans
add some new flavor to an old favorite.
Like the scoop? Find it here.

tonging
The child uses the tongs to transfer
yellow gems between the two pots.
Find these tongs here.

tweezing sparkly puffs
The child uses the tweezers
to transfer the puffs onto the leaf.

Last, but not least, Rosie C.W.
(Cuddle Wumpkins, if you're wondering),
my little herding friend.
Isn't she precious?!

Oh! Another funny thing:
All my links for materials in this post are to Montessori Services.
Yesterday afternoon, we got a package from them...
the UPS man said, "It's from Mon-tiss-er-ie Services!"
He pronounced Montessori like it rhymed with rotisserie!
I'm still laughing! :)

cinnamon grating

This new lesson has been quite popular in the classroom this week. Not only does it smell good, but it requires a lot of fine motor strength and organization. Plus,the grated cinnamon tastes delicious when sprinkled on apple slices! Yum!

What you'll need:
*a small grater
*cinnamon sticks
*a spoon
*a little pot to store the grated cinnamon
*a cloth and a sponge for clean-up

The child rubs the cinnamon stick against the grater. Show him or her how to hold the stick like a pencil - this will keep the fingers away from the grater and help to strengthen the hand for writing. Next, the child pops the lid off the grater and spoons the cinnamon into the cinnamon pot or jar. He or she uses the sponge to clean up any stray cinnamon bits.

Personally, I was a little disappointed about the quantity of cinnamon produced in this exercise. It takes a lot of work to grate a whole cinnamon stick, and you end up with just a sprinkle or two in the pot. Obviously, this is the perfect example of the child's work being different than our adult work. As an adult, I am more concerned with the product (how much cinnamon is in the pot) rather than the process (grating the cinnamon stick). But, as this lesson has been in constant rotation among the children, they must be finding the process of grating cinnamon sticks to be quite satisfying!

Love grating lessons, too? Read about soap and bread grating here!

ski day #21 & #22

The snow came and went this weekend,
but it was fun while it lasted!

hiking along the ridge with Hubs

I love the view from here!
(Not just Hubs from behind,
but the mountains and valleys, too!)

I can't quite tell if this is a booger shot or not.
Oh well for you if it is! :)

snow!

Yeeeeee haw!
Keep it coming!

reusable mazes!

I'd seen some maze lessons over at My Montessori Journey a few times, so I decided it was high time for us to give them a try! After the initial disappointment of not being able to bring them home, the children concluded they were a fab idea!

Here are the first ones I made.
I printed them from here and here.
Our printer is black and white,
so I cut off any pictures that were on the maze
and used stickers instead.
FYI, the caterpillar is trying to get to spring
and the ladybug is trying to get to the flowers.
After gluing them to construction paper,
I ran them through the laminator.
Reusable mazes! Hooray!

I set them up on a tray with
a dry erase marker and an eraser.
Of course, both were major points of interest!

When I demonstrated the lesson to the children,
I modeled tracing the maze with my finger first.
But, it was awesome for them
to be able to erase and start over!
Isn't it the worst when you make a wrong
turn with ink on a maze (or a crossword puzzle)?!

Here are a few more I made tonight.
Um, yeah, who wouldn't want to spend
their free time making mazes?