Workshop Wednesday

Today will be the last post for 2010. Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas Trees
Materials: red construction paper (full sheets cut in half), tray with green strips cut into graduated lengths (1 inch wide strips in lengths ranging from 1 to 5 inches), basket of brown "trunks", basket of yellow stars and glue

Directions: Have children take a red piece of paper and one of each of the green strips. Have them arrange their green strips on the red paper (oriented vertically by length) and have an adult check before they glue.  Add the tree trunk and star.  You can have the children add sequins or other shiny materials for ornaments or draw their own. Beautiful trees!

Transition Tuesday

 Each Mitten Has a Mate…

(Tune: If You’re Happy and You Know It)

Each mitten has a mate, has a mate.

 Each mitten has a mate, has a mate.

Can (child’s name) find the pair?

(He/She) is looking here and there.

Can (child’s name) find the mate?

Find the mate?

Use real mittens or mitten cutouts. Give each child a mitten.

Pairs can transition together to the next activity.

Make & Take Monday

Snowflake Counting

Materials: 10 felt mittens numbers 1-10 using fabric paint and a silver bowl with 55 plastic snowflakes (iridescent snowflakes are the best!); "snowflake-like" beads can be used as a substitute.

Directions: Place the mittens in order from 1 - 10. Then count the correct number of snowflakes on each mitten.



Taken from My Montessori Journey



Feature Friday

Thoughtful Thursday

Navigating the holidays can be tricky in this diverse society we live in.  As teachers we need to make sure we are very careful to be inclusive instead of exclusive as we celebrate the holidays in our classrooms. Consider how you can include all of your children. For example, sparkly snowflakes as gifts for the parents can be used as ornaments on the trees for families who celebrate Christmas, and as refrigerator magnets for holding papers for those who do not celebrate.  By simply adding a magnet to the back of the snowflake you have ensured ALL parents can use the gift. We need to embrace the beliefs and traditions of all the students in our classroom.  Ask yourself, "How can I make this activity or idea meet the needs of all of my children - not only developmental but cultural as well." 

What are some things you do during the month of December to include all of your children?

Workshop Wednesday

Christmas Sort and Count

This is a simple counting activity with some Christmas erasers. 

Materials: a sorting tray (muffin tins make great sorting trays), a basket of number cards, tongs, and a bowl of erasers. 

Directions: To do this work the child uses the tongs (strawberry huller) to sort the objects into the compartments.  Once they are sorted the child counts them and places the appropriate number card next to the set.  Then they have a teacher check their work before putting it away.

This is what it looks like when finished.

Taken from My Montessori Journey

Transition Tuesday

Christmas Bow Partners

Materials: variety of Christmas bows (colors, textures, etc.) and a basket or bag to hold the bows

Directions: Pass the bag or basket and have each child take a bow. Choose a child and have him come to the font of the group. Have him show his bow. Ask the person who has the matching bow to come join his partner. Once the matching bows are found, the partners may go to the next activity (line up, centers, wash hands, etc.).  Continue until all children have found a partner. If you do not have enough children for every child to have a partner, you or the assistant can join in the fun. Not only is this a great visual discrimination activity but also a great friendship activity.

Make & Take Monday

Recycled Ornaments

This past weekend I went to the Christmas tree lighting at Marion Square in downtown Charleston. There were many, many trees decorated by schools and businesses. I kept going back to this one tree decorated  by the Montessori School in Charleston. They decorated their tree with recycled plastic bottles and cans. AMAZING! What a neat way to involve children in making ornaments as well as  teaching them about recycling.

Lids: Use lids (plastic, metal, Mason Jars) from various containers and decorate with glitter, foam shapes, sparkles, etc.

Bottle Caps: Collect bottle caps (various sizes and colors). Drill a hole in the bottle cap and string on yarn for perfect garland.

Plastic bottles: Cut the plastic bottle and make swirls for the tree. Or use the bottom of the bottle and decorate using glitter for an ornament. Cut the neck and top off the bottle. Cut 1/2 inch strips.



Workshop Wednesday

Bow Matching

Try this simple, inexpensive activity during centers or in small groups.

Materials: Variety of Christmas bows; container to hold bows (will need more than one if using for small group); sorting mats or containers (if using a sorting activity)

Directions: Provide a container of Christmas bows and have the children find the 2 bows that match. (If you use a variety of bows they will need to look closely at the shade and texture.) You could extend this activity by having the children sort the bows and then tell you how they sorted them. They could count the bows (number of matches, number of red bows, number of small bows, etc.) You could provide different sizes and they could match or sort by size. There is so much to do with bows. Your kids will LOVE this activity!