Winter Fun!

We did a fun and messy activity today with snow.

Take some snow from outside and place it in a bowl. Have your child add a few drops of food coloring (put newspaper on the table first). Let the child add another color of food coloring. Mix it up to reveal what the 2 mixes colors make! Be sure to use old gloves or plastic bags to mix the colors together.

Setting up you a Montessori Home Environment

Setting up a Montessori area in your home for can seem like a daunting task at first. There are so many wonderful Montessori materials, how do you choose the best ones for your 3-6 year old? Here is a list to help you set up a Montessori area with the essentials:

Setting up the room/area:
* Lots of shelves
* Child sized table and chairs
* Display art work at child's eye level (change frequently)
* A pet to care for
*Live plants
*Art easel with paint and smock all out and available for your child as he/she wishes

Language area:
*Age appropriate Books
*Sand Paper Letters
*Movable Alphabet

Math:
*Baskets with objects to sort and classify and count
*Sand Paper Numbers
*Spindle Boxes

Sensorial:
*Smell Jars
*Color tablets
*Pink Tower
*Feely bags (different textures in a bag)


Practical Life:
*Child sized duster, broom, sponge
*pouring work

Why Montessori

Once my daughter turned 3 years old I decided to start introducing preschool learning activities on a regular basis. I read up on all the different methods of homeschooling a preschooler. I read about Charlotte Mason, Classical, etc..but when I read about the Montessori methods, I knew this was the approach I wanted to take with teaching my child.

Dr. Maria Montessori believes that children learn and experience their world though their senses, by seeing, touching, hearing and smelling. Hands on learning is encouraged and this is why I chose a Montessori education for my daughter.