Montessori Mom

I remember playing Kick the Can, Spud and other great outdoor games as a child. The long summer days were perfect for hours of fun with my friends. Sometimes outdoor games can get a little rough, so I would have adults play too.

Here are some links that may give you some ideas for outdoor games:
Kids Games
Racing Games
Inside and Outside Games
Relay Games
More Relay Games

Keep in mind the ages of the children participating, their skill level and most of all, consider safety first.
Happy playing!

Chris Dunmire has a 10 step plan to get your child ready to create beautiful sidewalk art. You can find a recipe for sidewalk chalk here.

In Montessori classrooms you introduce everything to your students. We introduced playdough to the children very similar to this. Grab some playdough, roll it into a snake. Coil the snake into a circle. Make a pancake. It’s great therapy!

I wish I could make this furniture for myself! How to Make Styrofoam Egg Carton Doll Furniture has great directions and photos for this fun doll furniture.

Egg Carton Critters has some cute ideas for your recycled egg cartons.
Here are some more links-
Egg Carton Animals
Egg Carton Animal Disguises
Crazy Crawlers
Egg Carton Lady Bugs (Lady Birds)
Egg Carton Crab
Egg Carton Snake
Egg Carton Allegator
Egg Carton Ant
Egg Carton Tulips
Egg Carton Flower Wreath
Egg Carton Daffodil
Egg Carton Flowers

These are some fun summer projects and games for your children.

I’m back from California. The weather was beautiful and the Pacific Ocean was a spectacular sight for a land-locked person! We went to Santa Barbara for my niece’s graduation and celebrated my mother’s 83rd birthday. Life is good.

Anytime is a great time to observe the phases of the moon. Here are some free Montessori reading cards of the moon phases.

Colorado Springs is a great place to find free concerts. Here is a list of local, free concerts for the summer of 2009.
Check out your local message board or paper to find free concerts for a summer of musical joy.
(I love outdoor concerts because you can bring your kids and dog!)

These free Montessori nomenclature cards have beautiful graphics of our 8 major planets.

Using a tackle box with lots of Montessori materials is the way to go. It’s compact and so easy to use.
Check out Teaching from a Tackle Box for a great deal.

Here is another newsletter with printouts for fraction fun the Montessori way!

I love to drink herbal and green tea. Sipping tea all day keeps my energy level up. I found this article about Dr. Braverman’s research interesting. Herbs, spices and tea help keep you slim, young and your brain and body functioning. I don’t use salt, but spices when I cook. Garlic, onion and a small pinch of cayenne makes your food very tasty.
Cheers!

You can make a hands-on fraction wall using box shaped containers. Tape together the sections before covering them with paper. Make the sections proportional to the amount of fractions you are using. The whole number will be the largest section. Here is a lesson about the fraction wall. There is a picture of the wall made from paper.

Montessori uses the pink tower to teach vocabulary about size. Here is a free printout to help your child learn about size.

Astro Mike is twittering about his mission in space. Check out his daily updates. It’s the next best thing to being there.

One of the virtues of Montessori education is the development of self-control. The “marshmallow” experiment of the late 60’s found some interesting facts about self control.
1. Children who had good environments had better self-control.
2. Later in life, self-control aided with success in school more than I.Q.
3. Self-control can be taught to preschool children.
Read more at Don’t the secret of self-control.

If you want to hear what sounds different animals actually make, there are samples available at Cornell’s Macauley Library. I have been listening to house finches, raccoons, mourning doves and robins. It’s a great way to listen to nature with your children and recognized the call of wildlife around you.

Happy Mother’s Day! It doesn’t matter if you have children or not, we all have a Mom inside of us.

Here is a free printout for Montessori nomenclature and 3 part cards teaching concepts of size. Use the 3 period lesson to teach new concepts.