cure for spring fever part I

First of all, let me just say that school's out for the summer!!! Yee haw!!!!!

Whew! OK! I did manage to take some pictures of lessons during the last few days of school, although spring fever was running at an all-time high! Even though the energy level in my classroom was through the roof, the children still found concentration in lessons like plant polishing...


The materials laid out from left to right:
*Q-tips
*Plant polish (we used diluted neem oil)
*small dish for polish
*waste container for used Q-tips
*damp sponge in a dish
*dusting cloth

The child wraps the dusting cloth around her first two fingers by folding over the left side, then the right side...

and finally folding down the top. Pretty fancy, huh?!

Wiping off the dusty leaves is satisfying work. The dustier the better! The child knows how fragile the leaves are - she's being very careful!

Next, she squeezes a few drops of polish into the small dish.

She uses a Q-tip to gently apply the polish to the leaf. I'm not sure if neem oil is the best stuff for plant polishing, but it sure does make the leaves shine! The child puts the used Q-tip in the waste container. When she's all done polishing (the child can polish as many leaves as she'd like), she empties the waste container in the trash, puts the dusty polishing cloth in the laundry basket, and wipes the polish dish clean with the sponge.

You're probably thinking, Ooooo... what a strict teacher! Keeping her students cooped-up inside when they're nearly dying of spring fever! Actually, FYI, it was cold and rainy and sometimes even snowy outside. Can you believe it?

Lucky the green dog

Don't you just love him? Lucky is quite possibly the most precious two-legged dog ever. (In my opinion!) The idea for this lesson came from Kathy Barbro's blog, Art Projects for Kids - check her out if you haven't already! Even though many of the projects seem to be designed for older artists, they can easily be tweaked for little ones as well.

Cut, paste, draw! I'm loving this lesson because it's creative, and it requires skills like fine motor control, visual discrimination, and spacial awareness. Plus, the children had a blast cutting up old magazines! Woof!

I've missed you!!!!!!!!!!

Has it really been over 3 months? Really? YIKES! Well, I'm back! And I must admit, I feel both excited AND shy about writing this post. No juicy reasons for my absence (no, I'm not preggers), just a very broken computer, slightly broken camera, and the normal events of day-to-day life.

School is almost over for the summer, but I'm sure I'll still find some Montessori treats to share. I'll probably also post about the humble tasks of my daily summer living, which will include gardening, sleeping in, skiing, and drinking mojitos.

What I really want to do is catch up on what all of YOU have been up to. I feel so out of the loop! And even though I haven't been reading or writing, you've been in my thoughts. I've missed you!

FYI, these photos were taken by my new friend Maddie on a ski adventure we took last weekend.

And yes, there I am, working on an awesome tan line.

Until next time! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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!