black light fun

It was pretty much like a Montessori
RAVE
in the cubby room this morning.

I covered up the windows and replaced the regular light bulbs
with black compact fluorescents.
{purchased at Home Depot after searching all over town}

What better way to start a Monday morning
than drawing with highlighters under a black light!

Our clothes were glowing, the paper was glowing,
and the fluorescent markers were nearly electric.

After everyone had a turn to draw,
we busted out the Putumayo World Music
and danced with silky neon scarves.

It was awesome.

I think fluorescent play dough would be REALLY fun under a black light.
{Next time!}

fabric lacing

The idea for this lacing activity came from Montessori Mama.


A small group of children laced squares
of upholstery fabric onto ribbons.
Some ribbons were threaded with needles, some with buttons.

The work was so satisfying,
I couldn't prep the fabric fast enough!
{I was cutting upholstery samples into small squares,
then cutting a slit in the middle.}

Here are some of the uses the children came up with for their creations:

cat toy
fishing line
necklace
snake

lunch...

...according to the Food Guide Pyramid.

The children have really enjoyed using the Food Guide Pyramid to sort the items in their lunchboxes during the morning work period.

The rug is just a regular working rug with the outline of the Food Guide Pyramid taped on with colored tape.

I just realized that we're using an outdated version of the pyramid!
Check out the new one here.

Oh well, the children haven't really been concerned about the number of servings...

They're more excited to find out if they have something in their lunch from each of the food groups...
and that applesauce comes from apples and apples are fruit...
and that dessert is O.K., it just goes last!

yeah, snack!

After hemming and hawing
{for the past several months}
I finally gave our snack area an upgrade.

Check out the before photos here.

after...

This morning, in addition to the snack, I set out 3 tubs...
{one for washing, one for rinsing, and one for drying}

The children have always been able
to help themselves to a snack during the work period
{the numeral cards tell them how much to take}

and now, they're able to wash their own dishes, too!
{How independent!}

Finally! A real purpose for the soap suds!
{This lesson was off the hook today, by the way.}

sweet and scary

The idea for these scary {and sweet} spiders
came from Jennifer at Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.
She is one busy, crafty lady!

Each child painted a section of an egg carton.
{We used brown, purple, and black paint.}

The children selected googly eyes
and glued them onto their spiders.

Then came the tricky part,
we had to WAIT for the paint to dry.

Whew! It was intense!
Have you ever watched paint dry?!!!

When the paint was almost dry,
I poked 8 holes in each spider with a corn cob skewer.
Then, the children counted-out 8 pipe cleaner legs
and pushed them through the tiny holes.

Aren't they spook-tabulous?
I love the way the indentations on the bottom of the
egg carton make the spiders look like they're smiling. :)

FYI: I did this as an afternoon project with a group of five 3-4 year olds.