Toddler Tuesday

         The young ones have definetly made some giant leaps they are mastering everything I call "new" on the shelves within work periods. I don't want to overload them and then turn them off so I pulled out some old winner works and replace them with new objects. This kept them busy and happy. They loved showing off their works to everyone that came by their work space. The activities that I photographed were the ones  that kept them repeating over and over. I am kinda scared of what they will do to me if I remove them off the shelves.

Working with shape puzzzle.

Flower arranging .

Stringing flowers to make a bracelet.

Gluing with Kumon pages.

Scooping beans.

Working with cylinder blocks.

The little ones really add the spice to our enviroment. The laughing, the smiles and their own personalities really remind me of how you can have fun learning and how absorbment the mind really is. Now pop over to One Hook Wonder to see more toddler lessons.

                                                           

Montessori Monday

Last week was a very relaxed work week. I allowed the children to have more time outside. We really needed this, the weather was great. Here are a few pictures I managed to take while some children were working.                                              
                                                        Geography

Sorting land, water, air animals. Working with the continent map.

Language

Doing things that go together puzzles. Coloring with a crayon.

Practical Life

Spooning beads. Pouring to a line. Using a strainer to transfer frogs from water.

Art

                              Making stepping stones for Fathers' Day gifts.

                           To see what other children did  last week learning using the montessori method go visit One Hook Wonder.

Happy Fathers' Day!!

                 Lots of times fathers get a really bad deal. When babies are developing in the womb, they are really becoming dependent on their mother from the very beginning. When they are born immediate attachment happens from breast feeding.  No matter how old they are they scream "momma" when they get hurt. How do fathers cope with all this and still stick around?   Well they are given certain talents from God that I have only observed from fathers. When a child falls and hurts themselves, and the father is right there the crying almost stops immediately when their father is there to lift them up. When a child is hungry, the father is able to get the most pickiest eater to eat what is provided with silence. When a childs' discipline is unfavorable, you can witness one of Gods' gift to fathers their voice. They do not have to raise a voice, they do not have to repeat themselves, and they never scream. Being a mother of three these talents that fathers have, have made everything possible for me to be able to continue to be a good mother. When "DJ" falls outside and barely scraps a knee, I get a drama scene when dad comes out to see what happened everything is fine and he is playing again. When "Ken" plays around at the dinner table with her mashed potatoes all daddy has to do is walk in the kitchen and the potatoes are gone. When the oldest decides she wants to be the boss to her siblings all dad has to do is say a few words and mums the word. Sounds simple but its' not at all. Take a moment to think . There are a lot of statistics that show how children without fathers end up  going down the wrong path, failing in schools, ending up in abusive relationships, in prison, the list goes on and on. So to all the men who have stepped up to plate of being fathers I commend you. Fathers have the toughest job on this planet. It is through fathers that we can stop these horrible cycles from continuing. Also fathers have to deal with us (lol). We(moms) never know when to stop making request about anything. I would like to personally thank my husband for being a father to our kids so their chances of failures have decreased. I would like to thank my dad for being there for me and showing me what I should look for in a husband/father. I would like to thank my gramps for raising my father so he would know how to be a father.

                                                Happy Fathers' Day!!

                                                                    From "Michelle"

                                                                  From "DJ"

                                                                    From "Ken"
                                                    
                                                     

Ants

                        Oh just when I thought the kids were losing their interest in learning about insects, the great outdoors have them coming back for more.

The children have been enjoying reading this book. It gives a very good explanation on the names of the different ants, and how they live together.

 Looking at a slide of ant using a microscope.

Making anthills.

Observing a area within a square outside. Looking for ants or other insects.

                                                                        

Found an ant.

Now we are going to be working on building a ant farm so the children can observe close up how the ants work, and live together.

                                                                         

Scholarship

                        My twelve year old daughter came home from school with this on Tuesday her last day of school. An official scholarship certificate. Upon completing her high school diploma she may attend the local community college for two years Tuition Free!!  I am one proud mama. My daughter has always work hard and been self motivated.  By the age ten she had copied the entire Webster Dictionary in one summer. She is a great model for her siblings. According to her test scores and report cards if she continues on this same path she will be attending college classes by tenth grade. I had to post about this because this is a big deal to my family and I know she would love to read this on this blog. By the way my daughter said she plans to attend Harvard for college. Congratulations! 

                                                                      
                                                                 
                                                      

Geometric Solids

 You know sometimes after investing a lot of time and money I shake my head at how some materials really aren't used enough in my opinion. Then something happens! A child reaches their sensitive period for shapes and it starts being used over and over then I have to think "Oh yeah, I am following the child, right"!

 Geometric Soilids was one of those materials that I thought I could of got by without. This was until Andrew found his new interest in shapes. Andrew for the last two weeks has been reciting the names of the various shapes with the metal insets, shape puzzles, and can now tell you the names of all the Geometric Solids. Here are some pictures of him working with the Geometric Solids during one work period.

Matching the shape to the picture.

Using the bases for the solids.

Exploring what is flat, what is round.

Having a private conversation with his friends by name.

                                                                    
Andrew is having a lot of fun on his own totally self motivated shape hunt on a daily basis. The beauty about this is that Andrew's enjoyment of his work with the Geometric Solids is becoming contagious.

Busy, busy, busy!

The toddlers get so excited about their work. Their bodies are constantly moving from works to works. Once they have tried them all they begin to focus and choose favorites that they continue to work with for periods of times with great satisfaction.
                   

                                                                  Practical Life
                                            

Using a pushpin to pinpunch a butterfly.Tonging strawberries. Washing a baby. Using a strainer to transfer frogs.

Mathematics

Counting ladybugs using one to one correspondence. Counting objects.

Sensorial

Working with pink tower and color box #1.

Language

Working with metal insets. Sound puzzles. Naming objects.

Art

Painting with paint brushes.

                                               
                                       Their  bodies and minds are growing so rapidly right now I can see on a daily basis their vocabulary broadening and their attention spans lengthening. For more fun pop over to One Hook Wonder to see other toddlers enjoying life.