Recycled Material Crafts Continued...

Milk Cartons (Plastic and Cardboard)

Several Milk Carton ideas!
Birdhouse
Birdfeeder
Whale
Ball catcher 2nd from the bottom!
Luminaries Could design them for everyday use too!
Scrubber

Plastic Grocery Bags

Jump rope!
Rug

Enjoy!
Shannon

Happy Mother's Day!

Just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day! We have had a busy week preparing for the weekend's festivities. The whole lot of us will gather Sunday for lunch and the exchange of gifts, 3 Moms! We are getting takeout since none of us really cared to cook for a group on Mother's Day! However, I am making a cool dessert, it is 2 tiered mini cheesecakes. I will try to post about it Monday! (Ya know, if they turn out!)

So anyway, here is what we did for gifts...

button flowers necklaces

Josh and I "strung" buttons on wire to make flowers, jabbed them in plants we had repotted in cute bowls. Andrew and I made the necklaces from material cut from Joshua's old nursing pillow. Ooh, let me post a picture that will totally explain why!

This is how Joshy napped for the first SEVERAL months of his life...the ONLY way he would nap! So we all have many memories of that pillow and I hope that the Grandmother's will share my sentimental feelings (and also not notice my lack of decoupaging experience!)

Have a lovely weekend!

Shannon

Thrifty Thursday!

Hey...look at me...posting on the correct day!

Back to my normal thrift store this week! Yippppeeeeee! I did great too!

I found a wooden tray, great for Montessori tray work ($1), 2 weaving looms for potholders ($.25 total), 2 Pfaltzgraff bowls and 1 plate -new fancy dishes for our cats, desperately needed! ($.25 each), and the following books...

Franklin and the Tooth Fairy by Paulette Bourgeois ($.20) this one!
My First Litle House Books: Dance at Grandpa's by Laura Ingalls Wilder ($.20) linky
Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne ($.20) Lazy link here!
and for me...
The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks ($1.) here It was very good, it is a continuation of The Notebook!

I have been wanting to pick up the weaving looms for a while now but feared that it would be a waste of money from a store since I was unsure if he was ready yet but for $.25 I am thrilled. I searched online and there are tons of things you can do with the looms besides make potholders!

Well, hope you got a good deal this week too! Now if only I could find a good deal on ANOTHER bookshelf...

Shannon

Crafts Made from Recycled Materials

So, here is the thing...

I hate those crafty projects where you print something off, cut it out, and glue it on a TP tube or other assorted craziness. You know, why bother! Where is the child being creative with these types of crafts?

However, I do like the idea of reusing all of those recycled items to do crafty projects. I just want the projects to be real and not busy work. So I am compiling a list of ideas using the different types of items I have collected in a big box in our learning room.

Hope you find an idea here you can use too! (I only linked to the ones with pictures, I am very visual especially with making things!)

PLASTIC BOTTLES

• Bird feeder


• Greenhouse


• Fish mobile for much older kids!


• Bug Catcher more a holder after caught but you get the idea!


• Whirligig


• Piggy Bank


• Earth Bottles


• Noisemaker


• Many bottle Biology ideas


• Discovery Bottles


• More Discovery Bottles

EGG CARTONS

• Several different animals


• insects or maybe more accurately bugs!


• Dump Truck So cute!


• Tulips


• Glider and better picture!


• Bird Feeders

TP roll or Paper towel roll

• Binoculars


• Box guitar


• Kachina Doll


• Rainstick


• Rocket


• Sunflower for little ones!


• Knitting Ned?!

Misc... Materials

• Sit Upons! This could be made with tons of different materials and stuffed with anything including plastic grocery bags. I also saw one that was duct taped instead of "sewn."


• Weaving a basket with yarn and a yogurt container!

My eyes are crossing, there is just soo much out there...so much good but so much junk too.

Shannon

Thrifty Thursday

Okay, seriously, I can not seem to actually post this on Thursday! Oh well, there is always next week!

I actually went to 2 thrift stores this week but bought NOTHING! This NEVER happens. I did not get to my normal store and that is the main reason for a lack of purchase. I never realized how great "my thrift store" is, especially with prices! (local friends who are interested in where I go, leave a comment!)

But all is not lost...I got a great deal to share with you anyway! At the Target Dollar Spot I found FABULOUS Dinosaur cards for $1. I plan to do a basket friday in the beginning of June on Dinos and these cards will be perfect. It is intended to be used as a memory game. There are 16 different dinosaurs pairs and I just love the realistic drawings. I can not wait to come up with activities to use with the cards. Don't you just love a good deal!

Oh, and I did not donate this week because today was our garage sale. We did okay despite the rainy/stormy weather. We will see how tomorrow goes!

Shannon

Getting to Really Know Him!

So I decided to ask Josh a few questions today to see if I could learn anything new. (Thanks Merranda -HT)

1. What is your favorite animal? a dinosaur...Tyrannosaurus Rex.


2. What is your favorite color? Black (No surprise here!)


3. What is your favorite thing to do with Mom? Play the game Cariboo.


4. What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Play with Lego's and video games.


5. What is your favorite book? any of the new Scooby Doo books (I just found several at the thrift store and yard sales in the past few weeks!)


6. What is your favorite number? 80 (???)


7. What is your favorite letter? J (makes sense, J is for Joshua ya know!)


8. What do you want to be when you grow up? a Wampa (That snow creature from Star Wars???????????)


9. What is your favorite video? Star Wars (Yeah he has seen it, Have you read the article in Cookie Mag about the boy obsessed with Star Wars? I think the author must have hidden cameras in my home. I read it aloud to Andrew and we giggled with tears streaming down our faces through the whole thing.)
10. What is your least favorite thing to do? hit someone with a light sabre! (well, that is good!)

About half way through, he started asking me questions too! I am not sure I learned anything I did not already know but I am glad we did it! Nice to make a real effort to check in every now and then!

Shannon

A Monthly Evaluation!

Just thought I would share one way in which I keep track of Joshua's progress. This is from back in my Student Teaching days. All you need is a white sheet of paper split into 1/4's, crayons, and your child(ren). Then you have them....

1. Write their name (even if they do not know how...this will show progress!) in one 1/4.
2. Draw themselves in the second 1/4.
3. Make a circle, square, triangle, and rectangle in the third 1/4.
4. Draw a tree in the fourth 1/4.

This is so fun to put in the portfolio if you do one every month! You will also be amazed at the maturity they gain each month.

Shannon

New Trays to Share!

I have been hard at work making some new trays for the coming weeks. We need a few fresh new activities to get through until we can start our nature study this summer!

Our "concentration" for May is farms. This will be reflected in several areas; including science and language. Montessori has a wonderful grammar activity using a farm which teaches the different parts of speech. We will probably (?) not get that far this year but will mostly be concentrating on labelling different areas of a farm.

On this tray you find rubber letter stamps, a stamp pad (must be washable!), and cards with words and hand drawn pictures. My intent was for him to see/know the word and pay attention to the letters. All the words are ones he can read but I am more interested in him "getting" spelling right now. He is constantly saying things like "what does dfh spell?". Maybe this will help a bit!

I printed these cards quite a while ago from here and finally presented them last week. This is just a "what does not belong" activity. He puts an x on the item that does not fit with the others. As a bonus PL type activity he also needs to wipe off each x with a small felt cloth.

This is a fun one! In the first bowl are tiny plastic ants that he tweezes and puts in the other bowl. A great PL activity and also goes along with any nature activities! Besides, what boy could resist tweezing ants!

Okay, this is obvious, but it is a big deal for us to have open water and paint activities available for a free choice.

Finally, this is an activity that I saw here at http://www.prekinders.com/art.htm just zoom down to the end of the page! This should give Josh a nice opportunity to do a little lacing/sewing type activity "his way". Which is what he likes best in all of the world! (FYI, I used a plastic yarn needle and big wooden bead)

Need some Maths ideas. Maybe using the farm animals?????

Shannon

Everyone Struggles

First, I want to say that I realize that yesterday was Friday but somehow that did not affect my brain at all about posting for Thrifty Thursday! But I digress...well sort of...

I was just checking out another Momma's blog that I had never read before, and she wrote something that I feel I need to comment on. Please read this and come on back!

Okay, so I do not think I am actually the Mom she is referring to when she says "Reading a blog of one happy mom whose son doesn't seem to give her a moments trouble, they do cool things and she is very creative. " But I also do not want anyone to get that type of impression of our life around here!

Because...believe me, we STRUGGLE. To begin with, I am home alone with Joshy much of the time. My husband works a great deal so that I can be home. (The SAHM catch 22!)
Then there is me...I am a trained Teacher with a concentration in Child development. And I have always excelled in maintaining excellent classroom discipline. I am actually known for it. But apparently, with Joshua, this is my biggest test...and frankly much of the time I feel as if I am failing miserably. Joshua's part in all this...he is an incredibly bright, funny, active boy. Who can also be sassy, hyper, defiant, and cruel. Just a few days ago he told me that I was not as smart as Daddy. Why, you might ask? Because I was turning into a different driveway at the mall then Daddy takes. And...because the sun rises and sets with his Daddy.

I am not sharing all this because I in anyway want you all to know but because I do not want anyone to read my stuff and go away feeling bad about themselves. I have a degree in how to do all this homeschooling stuff, it is easy for me and I enjoy it. Also, Josh is easy to teach. When I began this blog I chose to mostly share our homeschooling experience. But that is only one side.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Shannon

Thrifty Thursday

I am joining Melissa at Chasing Cheerios in blogging every Thursday about my weekly finds at the thrift store! Hopefully, it will inspire others to buy gently used instead of buying new! And, like Melissa, it just makes me happy to find such great treasures!

This week, I go on Monday, I found a farm themed tray for $.50. Which is a timely find since we will start the Montessori farm activities in May!

I also bought several books including Pippi Longstockings, Romeo & Juliet, and assorted kids stories all for $.20 a piece.

Finally, I bought a travel mug for my Mom that says Grandma all over it, seemed new, & a large water type bottle for me. Maybe $2.00 for both.

All in all, pretty successful. I did not donate anything, since we are having a yard sale in a week. But I am sure I will have a ton to donate after that. I am also a member of freecycle.com so I can also post things that I do not sell.

Have a great weekend, they are predicting snow for us on Monday, so I am sure I will be posting about the weather soon!

Shannon

Our Nature Wand!

I had fun making this but I am not so sure Josh would say the same. He was not real into it! I do not feel as if it was a complete waste of time though becuase he was happy to come and see anything I found he just did not really care to search himself.

It turned out pretty nice! Here are a couple of pictures, don't mind the blur in one and the camera strap in the other! I am NO professional!
Front Back

Happy Earth Day!

Your Life is 76% Green

You live a very green life, and you're aware of how your actions help the earth. Of course, it's hard to be totally green. But when you make a tradeoff, you know why you're making it.

How Green Is Your Life?

Not sure about the whole trade off thing! Mostly I did not score higher because I am lazy! We always take the car, I never make it to farmer's markets, I always use the dryer, and I can not seem to remember to unplug appliances not in use!

Nice to have a reminder of what more I could be doing! Have a wonderful Earth Day! If the weather is cooperating, spend some time outside using NO electricity today! Maybe you could even give this a try!

That's my plan!

Shannon

Nature Study Books

Remember these 3 books
Nature for the Very Young
Nature in a Nutshell...
Kid's Nature Book... ?

Well, I thought I would give a quick review in case anyone is interested in finding resources for a nature study.

1. 
   Nature for the Very Young - This one is actually a great book but not quite what I was looking for this summer. This would be great for a daycare provider who is looking for a lovely nature inspired curriculum for the year. It has a lot of ideas to help teach basic concepts - colors, body awareness, etc... but Josh has basic skill down. I want him to learn more about nature to help build some respect for it.
2. 
   Nature in a Nutshell... - First off, this book is intended for use with children ages 8-12. I had missed that when I requested it. It is definitely too old for use with Joshua this summer. However, if you have an upper elementary child interested in doing nature inspired science "experiments" this book is exactly what you are looking for!
3. 
   Kid's Nature Book... - I like the concept of this book a lot. It is just 365 different ideas that you can do relating to nature with your children. It actually assigns a date to each activity so you could literally do one a day for an entire year. My only problem with this one was that I felt like I needed a ton more information to do many of the activities. I think this book would be excellent to use with an older child that is being unschooled and likes to do research.

So...what it comes down to is that I am still looking for good books to use. Which leaves me off to the library (via the Internet!).

Shannon

Butterflies and Sunshine!

What a lovely day! 70's and beautiful! We really lucked out because today was our annual visit to the butterfly garden. http://www.meijergardens.org/index.php

We had a ton of fun. And...I would like to share our day with you so...

Here is the enclosure that they keep the chrysalis in until the butterflies hatch. If you look close you can see several butterflies inside drying their wings.

My favorite Blue Morpho butterfly!

Outside of the building is a rather large children's garden. Which includes a beaver dam area (see pic of Josh hugging the Beaver on the left, Josh's Fave of the day!) Then on the right we have Joshy dancing around in the raised sand box, which is right next to a large sand area.

The garden also includes a climbing structure, a game cabin, many trails, a Great Lakes water play area, and the giant Trojan horse statue. So fun! We are thinking of purchasing a membership but are trying to decide if we will use it enough to warrant the price.

All in all, a great day! Hope your enjoying your spring as well!

Shannon

Cool Butterfly Book

I am working on Basket Friday for this week, the theme is butterflies. We are heading to a butterfly garden tomorrow with Grandma and Great Grandma. Should be fun and definitely a nice way to ease into spring!

But anyway, I thought some of you might be interested in a cool butterfly book I just printed out! It is an ABC book with a different butterfly for each letter of the alphabet. It has lovely pictures and could be used for other activities as well as a book. http://makinglearningfun.com/themepages/ButterflyABC-Book.htm

I am planning on having Josh put it in order. Then we can make the book, read through it and talk about all the different names.

If anyone needs more butterfly activities please let me know I would be happy to share. I found several fun ideas to use.

Happy Spring!
Shannon

A day in Review

We finally did color mixing today! It was a ton of fun! I grabbed a 6 sectioned sorting tray and put red, yellow & blue in every other section. Then I asked Josh want color he thought the two colors would make when mixed. And oddly enough he knew all of them already but red and blue making purple???

But anyway, after he guessed I squeezed the 2 colors in a section and he mixed them together! Which delighted him to no end.

When we finished I gave him several medium sized sheets of paper and let him go to it for about 45 minutes while I got busy cleaning the learning room. He then proceeded to remix all the colors on his papers. Guess he has been waiting for this lesson a bit too long huh?

We also have been spending quite a bit of time outside now that SPRING has finally sprung! Josh is obsessed with shoveling dirt so maybe I need to just bite the bullet and do a garden. But friends...seriously...that fills me with such horror! I can not make things grow! I even kill cactus plants!

Shannon

Collage Making

We love to make collages! Generally, Joshua just makes his own creative collage from the "scrap box" I keep stocked for him. In it you would find bits of paper- colored, patterned, white, shiny etc..., small pieces of fun foam (leftover from projects), peas, beans, buttons, yarn bits, pretty much anything he can glue on to paper! The box is kept on his "art table" in the living room along with scissors, glue, a glue stick, markers, crayons, and a pencil.

However, (you knew there must be a point right?) I really wanted him to get some more practice with scissors. Not just cutting willy-nilly though, but real, thoughtful cutting. So I went through parenting magazines (actually digging them out of the recycling) and cut out a ton of different things he might be interested in. The twist was...I did not cut them out neatly, I cut them into long thin strips so he would be required to cut them down into smaller pictures. He still only needed to cut a bit on each side so it was still completely do-able, but was challenged by having to look at each one and decide where and how much to cut off!


I was really impressed with the job he did and the effort he put into it! He actually filled the entire paper up which I am not sure had ever occurred to him before.

Afterward, I added a teacher's catalog to his art table. Explaining that he can use that to cut and glue whenever he wants. He has not used it yet but I am sure looking forward to watching his cutting and creativity blossom!

Edit - Oh yeah...and...I cut out the numbers in the picture on the right. Don't want you to think he is some scissor virtuoso or anything ;)

Shannon

A little Summer Planning

We are schooling year round but I am putting a different spin on summertime. I plan to just do a big Nature Study "unit" . I want to include Montessori items, lots of outdoor time, possibly a teeny, tiny garden, etc...

So anyway...I am going to just dump a bunch of links and ideas into this post. Check them out if you want! And please...if you find something or have something great, SHARE!

IDEAS

• Montessori Botany and Anatomy Puzzles
• Wildflower 3-part cards
• Insect cards and study
• leaf cards
• Teeny tiny garden...possibly planting potatoes
• Tons of Nature books (to be determined...)
• 2-liter terrarium
• Senses Nature walk http://heartsandtrees.blogspot.com/
• Nature art???
• Tree rubbings
• grass painting... as in painting with grass
• Utilize our "Your Big Backyard" subscription, not sure how yet.
• http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/ check out plant parts section, etc...
• Plant lifecycles http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=lcycles5b
• Silhouette matching http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/community/MyCommunityActivity.aspx?ActivityId=275937&es=42342LIAME&
• http://www.enature.com/home/ might have something useful!
• more leaf/tree info http://www.schoolsliaison.org.uk/woodgate/leaves/leaves01.html
• and more http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/201Manhart/veg/leaf.shapes/leafshapes.html
• http://www.fi.edu/tfi/units/life/ Living Things site
• http://www.mbgnet.net/ Biomes
• http://www.sciencewithme.com/index.php Click on links, many worksheets??
• http://www.sciencespot.net/Pages/classroom.html
• http://www.nwf.org/kidzone/kzPage.cfm?siteId=1&departmentId=161&articleId=387 Color pages for preschoolers!
• Cool ideas! http://www.macbethsopinion.com/backyard_nature.htm
• Craft/Art idea http://www.geocities.com/kraftproject/Instructional/botanicalbookmarks.html
• http://kidscraftweekly.com/outdoors_issue.html Fun, age appropriate ideas!
• http://kidscraftweekly.com/leaves_issue.html Same as above but leaves!
• http://pinewoodcastle.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/pressed-flower-.html We have a flower press still in the box!
• http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/kindergarden/Child/school/sgintro.htm Might help with the "scary to me" garden!
• https://www.littlecitykids.com/lessonplans/index.php?category_id=3033 Save the Earth lesson plans but might have good ideas!

Oh man! That is a lot! I am also waiting for 3 books from Interlibrary loan.

1. Nature for the Very Young
2. Nature in a Nutshell...
3. Kid's Nature Book...

Well at least I have time. I plan to post my actual plans when I have made some decisions. I think I will make up several trays and then plan one cool activity everyday. Put nice extras in a folder for easy grabbing and just follow the child!

Shannon

Check out my new sidebar!

I just added "My shared items" from my googlereader! I plan to add stuff there that I am thinking about. Some will be items I want to do or make and others will be just interesting thoughts that I want to reread.

Feel free to leave me a comment if you see something you want to chat about!

Shannon

Blogs taking up too much of your time?

Okay, I admit it! It takes me away from other stuff I should be doing. Not really the writing of this blog but the reading of other blogs! I generally only write mine at night after Josh goes to bed or when he is napping.

So anyway, I kept seeing stuff about a blog reader that saved people time and energy. But honestly, I had NO idea what they were talking about! Then, yesterday I stumbled upon a new-to-me blog http://montessorifreefall.blogspot.com/ and I was reading along, when at about March 20th (?) I read a little blurb Stephanie added about Google Reader she said, quite simply, "Just go to www.google.com/reader and sign up for a free account. You "subscribe" to the blogs that you visit regularly and Google Reader notifies you whenever that blog is updated. You no longer have to check to see if that blogger has posted!"

So I finally tried it! And let me tell you, I AM IN LOVE with this! It makes everything so much easier. I feel like a complete moron for not just figuring this out on my own but I am so grateful that Stephanie shared it. Hopefully, if you have not tried this yet, you will now. It is SOOOO worth the time it takes to copy and paste your favorites.

Thank you Stephanie!
Shannon

As Promised...

Basket Day this Friday will be Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. Please keep in mind that this is being planned for a 3.5 yo who is a bit advanced in language and math skills. You know the type, I would like to take credit BUT, he would learn if left in an empty room all day!

So anyway...here are our plans so far, broken into subject areas.

Craft - We are going to paint a long brown tree trunk (using an easel!), use green paint on our hands for the palm tree branches, stamp on letters and glue sand on the bottom once dry! http://www.thevirtualvine.com/ccbb.html

Sensorial - I am going to buy coconut and do a 5 senses exploration. http://www.thevirtualvine.com/ccbb.html

Coconut...
looks...
feels...
sounds...
smells...
tastes...

Songs -
I said a boom chicka boom. (REPEAT)
I said a boom chicka boom. (REPEAT)
I said a boom chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka boom. (REPEAT)
Uh huh (REPEAT)
Oh yeah (REPEAT)
One more time! (REPEAT)

Poem from http://www.thevirtualvine.com/ccbb.html

Coconut Warning
Now, here's a little warning
So listen to me
Never sit beneath
A coconut tree
They're great for drinking
They're fine for percussion
But if one hits your head
You'll get a concussion.
-Author Unknown
I will just use this for looking at letters (circle the a's, underline the h's etc...)

Family fun - On http://www.thevirtualvine.com/ccbb.html about half way down is a printable card game called I have...Who has... It looks like a fun letter recognition game the three of us can play Friday evening.

Math - From http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/chicka_chicka_boom_boom.html I printed out the Counting Coconuts booklet and changed the 1,2,3,4,5 to 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. I will have Josh read the number and draw that many or stamp that many coconuts.

I also printed out pattern cards from http://www.geocities.com/pbottoms2001/CCBBMainPage.html to practice making patterns like coconut / tree / tree / coconut / tree / tree

Language - I printed Word tile cards from http://makinglearningfun.com/themepages/chickachicka.htm
These are fun to use with our letter tiles that we use for our movable alphabet!

Tracing - I printed a tracing page of a palm tree from http://makinglearningfun.com/themepages/chickachicka.htm but am not sure if he will be able to do this yet. It is a very light printed tree and he is to trace the lines. If he gets frustrated I will just have him color it!

Sequencing - In the Art section here http://makinglearningfun.com/themepages/chickachicka.htm there is an activity called easel activity. I am goint to use these card for Joshy to put in order and practice sequencing.

Practical - I wanted to have him make some sort of snack. There are a ton of ideas available but most are not right for us in some way. So I am still trying to come up with a nutritious tie in that he can make and he will eat. Any ideas are appreciated! Our issues... No food dye, he hates chocolate, I insist on no junky food. I may just try the celery stick-peanut butter-letter cereal idea if I can find a decent cereal not coated with sugar!

The sources already listed and others you may be interested in...
http://makinglearningfun.com/themepages/chickachicka.htm
http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/chicka_chicka_boom_boom.html
http://www.thevirtualvine.com/ccbb.html
http://www.geocities.com/pbottoms2001/CCBBMainPage.html
http://www.dltk-teach.com/books/chicka/chickapapercraft.htm

There are tons of great activities for this book available, sure hope this helps you to wade through!

Shannon

Holy Cow! It is April Already!

Where in the world did March go??? Anyway, I need to plan for a whole new month of activities etc...

And, apparently, I am already a whole day late! Just to throw down some ideas to brainstorm I am going to make a list and hopefully it may inspire someone else! Or maybe it will just help me get moving...better late than never!

*Saying - April Showers bring May Flowers (HT - Dawn )

*Songs - Rain Rain Go Away!, It's Raining, Its Pouring!, All the Raindrops

*Pouring with water extensions (especially into multiple containers, and I am considering having him do the cats water. He already does their dry food most of the time!)

*Insects, especially butterflies. We live near Frederick Meijer Gardens and they have the most beautiful butterfly garden this time of year!

*Earth Day - April 22!

*Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Basket Day! Landforms basket day!

*Color Mixing - I think I am going to intro this using a 6 section sorting tray, putting the 3 primary colors in every other section. Then have him just mix in the in-between areas.

*New Montessori Tray ideas- Replant classroom plant, some sort of pre-sewing work, the button frame, Bob books?

*Art - Calder (Mobiles and Stabiles) and Picasso (Shape collage)

*He has already read the first 5 Bob books! So...maybe he will finally show some interest in more pink work?? (Honestly, I wish they were not pink...it may be worth remaking for Josh.)

*Something new for Maths would be good but I am unsure what! I might let him check out this new website I stumbled upon though. http://www.rainforestmaths.com/ It looks fun and summery! (Is that a word?) He gets a kick out of that type of thing! But still need a shelf type work! Any ideas??

Well, that is it for now! I beg for suggestions!

Shannon

Water Cycle!

Last Friday' s basket theme was Weather. Josh is pretty in tuned with what weather entails so I wanted to go a bit deeper without making it too complicated...he is still 3. So anyway, we did a really fun lesson about the water cycle. (Along with other weather related activities!)

First, I printed a picture of the water cycle without labels, I can not "refind" my source but they are readily available. We then labeled the picture using simple straightforward terms; sun, rain, ground, puddle, cloud, and evaporate.

Next we did a really great "experiment". About halfway down this page.
All you do is talk about how a cloud is similar to a cotton ball, get the cotton wet and let the rain pour off of it. I could not believe how such a simple activity really drove the point home. He really gets it!

To end the lesson we created water cycle bracelets. Click on the link here! This was a lot of fun and he still remembers each part of the water cycle just by looking at his new bracelet!

I am really thrilled with how the basket Fridays are going! We have started just doing them in my bed. So much more room than the couch and just a bit more cozy! What a great way to end our week!

Shannon

The Future President of the United States of America

Joshua - Daddy, someday I am going to be President!
Daddy - Oh yeah? (sounding stunned and confused!)
Joshua - But right now I am just thinking about it.

....A few minutes later...

Joshua - Ya know Daddy, I do not think I want to be President...because you have to be good allllllll day!

Uncontrollable giggling from Mommy and Daddy!

I am not sure everyone is aware of that. Maybe someone should send out a memo!

Shannon

Easter Memories!

Hope you all had a Happy Easter, no matter how you celebrate, whether the bunny paid you a visit or you celebrated Jesus' sacrifices.

We are sort of a "mixed" family and do a little of everything. It works for us...at least for now. Joshua and I did the Resurrection Eggs and read a great book that goes with them. It is called Benjamin's Box by Melody Carlson. It is a beautiful book that was great to read along while we opened the eggs. Joshua really enjoyed it, as a matter of fact he has spent all week opening empty plastic eggs, putting items in them and asking me what these items remind us of!? Hmmmm, lego's?



Anyway...we had a good Easter, although the after Holiday time for me is always exhausting. I love the planning...but the clean-up - I could do without!



And on that note, I must get the house back in order! Here are some pictures, enjoy!
Joshua thanking Daddy for the Easter gift!

Digging through the loot!

Joshua on his indoor egg hunt! We got MORE snow Friday! Aaaaah!

Shannon

Flower Arrangement Work

Today I thought I would share a "work" we have been meaning to do for quite a while. Since yesterday was the first day of spring and our weather is forcasted to snow today, this seemed like a good activity to demonstrate today! So we finally did flower arranging!



I bought a nice sized bag of fake flowers at the thrift store for about $1. I attempted to find vases but could not find similar sized vases smaller enough but sturdy and just right for Josh to use. So finally, I grabbed some of our saved, cleaned, and delabeled smoothie containers. I put a handful of marbles in each to make them more stable.
First, I had Joshua sort the flowers by color on the floor. We had 3 different colors. He is very good at sorting so this took probably less than a minute!

Next, I had him pick a color and put one flower of that color in each "vase". Repeating until he used up all of that color. I reminded him that this was work that needed to be done gently to take care of our flowers because they are delicate.
Finally, we placed the arrangements on the dining room table. Sure makes for a lovely centerpiece for Easter dinner!

He really enjoyed this work and showed pretty good fine motor and concentration. Josh and I really look forward to using real flowers once spring really arrives!

Shannon

Open Book

I've been tagged by Melissa at Chasing Cheerios to blog on an "Open Book Meme."

These are the instructions:

1. Pick up the nearest book.

2. Open it at page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence/ phrase.

4. Blog the next four sentences/ phrases together with these instructions.

5. Don't you dare dig your shelves for that very special or intellectual book.

6. Pass it forward to six friends

Here it is:

(from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld)

*2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

*1 clove garlic, chopped

*1 tablespoon grated Parmesan

*1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

Not too interesting, but it was the book closest to me! Actually planning to blog about the book/theory later!

I tag: Oh, I do not know! I am going to be a slacker again and just let you do it if you would like! ...sorry about that!

Shannon

A Bit of a Brag

So...Sunday night we were getting Josh ready for bed. Andrew and Josh were in the bathroom and I was getting fresh Jammies from the bedroom. Anyway...Andrew sort of poked his head out and called down the hall, "Did you remember to do the t-r-a-p? (Spelling the word trap) You see, Josh was obssessed with the notion that he was going to catch a leprechaun. He was inspired by a book that we had read Friday about Ireland.

So anyway...I did not here him well and he had to spell the word again. T-r-a-p, in the mean time I am completely confused, not remembering what in the world we may need a trap for when Josh shouts out "hey, that spells trap!" "Momma we forgot to set up our leprechaun trap!"

Well, needless to say, we were stunned! He has known his sounds for a while now but has been very resistant to doing anything more with them. Which is fine...he is only 3.5!

I guess this is the beginning of the end of spelling words in front of him. I thought I would get in a few more years with that handy trick. So here is the question...do you think we could get a way with a bit of pig latin for a while? atWha oda ouya inktha?

Shannon (Oh and by the way...he caught the leprechauns but they must have used their magic to escape. Leaving behind tiny green shamrock bits and teeny tiny skateboards.)

Felt Snake!

Thanks to Montessori Mama, I was inspired to S-t-r-e-t-c-h my

sewing skills and actually sew a button on a ribbon and create this COOL button work cleverly disguised as a snake! (Don't mind the unmade bed and jammies, we have had a tough week!)



Today was basket day, so we had a lovely morning snuggled up reading a book and doing some fun activities about St Patrick's Day, which included the button snake. Josh really loved it and put all the felt squares on!

If you are interested in making your own please check out Montessori Mama's website because she has great instructions and tips!

Shannon

Book Idea!

This is not my original idea, so I take no credit! However, I thought someone might be interested in a fun way to make a book.

All you need to do is grab some press to close bags (I used sandwich size). Staple them together at their bottom, and cover the stapled edge with tape.

My version is a book of colors. There are enough pages for each color. I wrote the color word on a bag sized piece of paper and slid it in a "page". Then, I sent Josh on a scavenger hunt to find one small red item. He then slid a pretend tomato into the correct page. We went on until the pages were all filled. Then he read through the book himself identifying the correct color.

This book idea could easily be adapted for several different types of books. For example, how fun would this be to use on a nature hike to fill with different types (shapes) of leaves. And if it ever gets warm enough to grow any (boohoo) that is just what we will do!

Shannon

Sick again!

I had the flu this past weekend and now Josh does. I would so rather have it myself rather than Andrew or Josh! Honestly, it is easier to be sick then to watch them suffer.

I do not have much time but thought I would share a cute idea from another Montessori Momma at chasing cheerios. So here are Joshua's favorites!

Favorite foods- fish sticks, cheese, meatballs, crackers, fruit leather.
Library book (this week)- I really can not narrow this one! He has tons of books and we read a lot. We are currently reading the Nate the Great Series! So funny!
Clothing- Hats in general but his fave is still his Boston hat!
Toy- Lego's!
Work- stringing beads (he especially likes to make bead snakes)
Drink- water and milk
Rhyme- Josh rhymes everything...ALL THE TIME. So I would say his own silly rhymes are his favorite.
Outside activity- digging in the dirt and/or snow. Mowing the lawn was last years outside activity of choice. It will be interesting to see if it still is!
Nighttime activity- reading stories

Well...I am off to fetch some Pedia-lite and the thermometer. Feel free to share your Children's favorites as well!

Shannon

Art Crisis!

Crisis? Well...maybe just confusion. Because, frankly, I am clueless! So if there is anyone out there who can help PLEASE do!

1. Beeswax - ya know...the clay like material. I can not find it anywhere and honestly am not exactly even sure of what I am searching for! I am trying to find something calming for Josh to do with his hands during circle time. We have not done it in months because it was such a NIGHTMARE! But I really feel like he is missing out on a ton of activities that he could be doing, calendar math, weather, nursery rhymes, etc... So what and where is beeswax????

2. Watercolor paper - Is this necessary and why????????

3. Mixing watercolors - HOW???? Am I using the wrong type? I just have the little dried tray (classroom style!) We are not quite ready for this yet but I want to be when he is!

4. Any art for complete idiot sites you can recommend? I am completely lost with this! (Funny cause I was the craft director at a summer camp for 3 summers!)

Thanks,
Shannon the artless

Okay...But How Do You Do it?

Had an email recently asking how I plan the Basket Mondays and other activities we do. So here it goes...
First, I decide on a subject. I try to focus on something of interest at the time. Or on a book I have wanted to share/focus on.
Next, I check my favorite preschool/kindergarten websites. (If not specified then it is likely a Teachers website where you will be able to download many free items they have created!)
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html Some items members only!
http://www.kindergartentreehouse.com/
http://www.everythingpreschool.com/
Green Gables Kindergarten
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/index.shtml
http://www.littlegiraffes.com/teacherpage.html
http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/
http://www.hummingbirded.com/
http://www.kellyskindergarten.com/
http://www.kinderbykim.com/index.html New favorite!
http://www.kinderprintables.com/dailyprintables.htm Many free items!
http://www.kinderpond.com/
http://www.talentedkidzone.com/
http://www.reagankinderbears.com/index.htm
http://www.preschoolprintables.com/filefolder/filefolder.shtml Many free items
http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/ You won't believe all the great stuff here! Many free items!
http://www.eric-carle.com/
http://www.theschoolbell.com/
http://www.theteachersroom.com/
http://www.jmeacham.com/games.htm
http://www.kinderkorner.com/
http://makinglearningfun.com/index.html Another New Favorite!
http://www.thevirtualvine.com/workstations.html#ABCs
http://janbrett.com/
I know this list is crazy long but you will find so much stuff you will not likely check every site every week!
If I am being crazy and still think something is missing then I just do a google search. This is mainly used when I have something specific in mind that I am not finding. (Google Search - go to http://www.google.com/ put specifically what you want in the box. E.g. Preschool spider craft using paper plates.)

I also try to find activities to span different subject areas. Right now I am working on a Basket for the story Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. So I have found a counting book using a palm tree and coconuts for Math. A cute painting activity for Art. Letter tile cards for Language Arts. ...you get the idea. I will try and find a cultural activity as well.

Hope this helps with planning! Hope you enjoy all those great sites!
Shannon

Friday is Basket Day!

Our cozy Friday has now been named Basket Day. It is fitting for us since I put all of the planned activities in a basket and pull them out on Friday morning.

I thought that someone might be interested in last weeks basket day study of Jan Brett's The Mitten. So here is what my basket contained...

Of course...the book! Which we read through several times that morning.

These cool print outs from Jan Brett's own website. 2 complete sets
*One pair of mittens on colored construction paper and set of animals to reenact the book.
*One pair of mittens used separately! The first I glued to a piece of construction paper for strength and covered with clear contact paper. Hole punched around the edge and Joshy "sewed it" with yarn to practice his lacing skills.
*The other half of the pair I just printed on plain paper and he decorated it as his art activity. I gave him scraps, markers, crayons, glue, scissors and yarn and he was able to do whatever he wanted.
*One more set of animals I colored and glued to cards. I also created 2 sets of labels (badger, rabbit, bear, hedgehog, etc...) and glued one set to the back. The other set he matched to the picture by using the beginning sound as a clue. He really liked this and it was great for him to have to figure out bear vs badger. (Sort of like Montessori 3 part cards!)

I also printed out a snowflake matching worksheet from half way down this page. I was shocked at how easy this was for him. He did the 1-10 match and counted those snowflakes right up and drew lines directly to the numbers.

The next activity we did was a sheet from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/. I chose the circle the starting sound of words from the mitten story page but it is members only. However there are several choices for non-members, so check here!

Our final work was matching Uppercase letters to Lowercase. I used these mitten letters but any would do!

All this work took about and hour and a half so we snuggles up on the couch and watched Little Bear Winter Tales a movie I have been saving for a "snowy day". All in all, we had a great morning. We both had fun and got to spend time being sweet and cozy but it was still active enough that he was kept involved. Which can be a feat with those active boys, ya know?!

Shannon

An Evening Schedule?

This really may not work but...I believe it is worth a try! Andrew works LONG hours and often Saturdays and lately a bit on Sunday too. Which means not a lot of time with Joshua. So, when he gets home from work we have less than 2 hours before Josh goes to bed. So clearly we need to go for a bit of quality because quantity is out of the question.

Now lately, because Andrew is exhausted and Josh is...well...a typical boy, they tend to either sit together and play Momma approved video games or just Andrew sit and watches TV while J plays with trains or something. Both are fine but I thought it might be a little better and maybe even more fun if I actually provide something for them to do that is REALLY easy for my exhausted husband while still fun for the little man!

So here is the trial nightly schedule that we will begin Monday Evening. (Edit - I just read through this again and would like to clarify that we will be doing all of these activities as a family. I unintentionally made it sound as if they were on their own!)

Monday - Movie night (Andrew's most tired evening). They can just snuggle up on the couch and watch a movie. May include popcorn or other treat.

Tuesday - Game night. This is a great open option because it could include time on the Wii or a board game.

Wednesday - Play in Josh's bedroom. This is the most "painful" for the adults but Josh just loves to play with his guys with Daddy. Mostly because I am just awful at it! I know I am but I just do not know how and am always making them be nice to each other when all they are supposed to be doing is fighting etc... I so do not know why boys are like that...

Thursday - Free play night. This evening Joshua just needs to find something to do by himself. I think this is important to include. He does need to learn to entertain himself. This is also an evening in which we could include and extra special activity for a great week. (We are currently trying out a marble system in which he can buy items/activities with marbles he has earned for good behavior).

Friday - Craft night. This will most likely be an activity that goes with our daytime theme. Daddy does not get to do much preschool stuff so this is a nice opportunity for him to do an easy, fun craft with Josh.

I left Saturday and Sunday open. And I plan to be pretty flexible with the other days too. If Andrew is just too tired than I can pick up slack. And hopefully, eventually, he will get a weekend off to rest up!

We shall see!

Shannon

Another Schedule Change!

Our schedule is just not working. Josh is mostly a laid back kid and could care less what we do what day, as long as we include playtime. However, I am not at all laid back! I have been just "going with the flow" but it truly makes me crazy. So I am revamping, or rather, have been revamping and here are my latest results.

Preschool Schedule
Monday - Enchanted Forest - Josh's 2 hour drop off playgroup (better known as my sanity restorer!)

Tuesday - Training Tuesday - Way to focus on a small skill (for example, yesterday we worked on learning to sort laundry). I am borrowing this idea from another Mom's blog!

Wednesday - Montessori Learning

Thursday - Montessori Learning

Friday - A day filled with possibilities! For example a few weeks ago, Josh was OBSESSED with Spiders so we spent a day learning about them, and had a great time. This Friday I am planning to spend the day snuggled up on the couch reading The Mitten by Jan Brett and doing some fun activities based on the story. (I tried including these activities in our classroom but in Montessori he gets to decide what to choose and often he left stuff until weeks after the story and that made for a crazy disjointed activity. And honestly, I am not willing to just give up on these sweet moments!)

We also started a new phonics program today and I am THRILLED so far! It is Get Ready for the Code which comes before the popular Explode the Code. Josh just loved it today! We really had a ton of fun with it.

The reason I liked it so much is that I have been struggling with what to do with him. He already knows all the sounds but does not really seem ready for reading. He never really wants to write with the movable letters so we are going to incorporate this into the Montessori phonics program.

Today with Ff this looked like...We began working on the pages- so after he traced it in the book, I had him trace it on the sandpaper letter and on the sand tray. We will do that again tomorrow and use the Montessori Sound card etc. to reinforce /f/. And ya know what...do not tell...but Josh likes worksheets. We do not do many so using this workbook is a treat for him and he really enjoys it!

I am also working on an evening schedule and will post more about that tomorrow!

Shannon

This Weeks Menu

...only a few days late.

Monday - Grilled Cheese with Provolone cheese, a bit of garlic sprinkled on top with s. sauce to dunk it in. Yummy!

Tuesday - Turkey Hotdogs (needed a quick and easy!) Andrew just loves hotdogs so this is always a possibility here for a quick meal. We try to "healthy" it up a bit.

Wednesday - Chili cheese Empanadas. A big fave here! this is close! We add tomatoes with peppers (like Rotel), and of course use ground turkey instead!

Thursday - Lasagna. I make it WITHOUT boiling the noodles first. Always turns out excellent.

Friday - Shrimp and some sort of potato. Corn with peppers too!

Saturday - Go out!

Sunday - Stromboli Club Sandwich. Just bread dough flattened, sprinkle with shredded cheese, add turkey and ham then roll the whole thing up. Bake and slice. So easy and soo good!

Lunches this week are leftovers ( as usual!) Baked Potatoes, salad etc...

Shannon

Well...I am IT!

I was tagged for the Four Things Meme so here you have it...

Four Jobs I Have Had in my Lifetime...
Camp Counselor (where I met my husband!)
Toddler Teacher
Infant Teacher
Kindergarten Teacher
hmmm... do you see a theme?

Four Places I Have Lived...
Muskegon MI USA
Mt Pleasant MI USA
Big Rapids MI USA
Grand Rapids MI USA (in the 'burbs)

Four Places I have been on Vacation...
Aruba
Jamaica (we were married in Jamaica)
Florida Keys
Michigan's Upper Penninsula (UP)

Four of my Favorite Foods...
Chocolate (only since having Josh!)
Fries with Mayo
Taco Salad (no meat)
Spicy Garlic Boneless Chicken Wings from Buffalo Wild Wing
(Now there is a healthy list!)

Four Places I Would Rather be Right Now...
Aruba (or anywhere warm, without all this crazy snow)
Snuggled up in bed with Andrew watching a movie.
Visiting old friends I miss!
Just anywhere on vacation!

I am supposed to tag four people now but since I already tagged people for the blogger award I am going to just leave this open to anyone who needs an easy blog idea for the day!

Thanks Jo, this was fun!

Shannon

My First Award!

Wow...honestly, I did not even think anyone was reading my blog! I have only told a few people I actually know. Thank you so much Tracy I appreciate it!

Now to nominate other bloggers who have not already received this award...

Crunchy Chicken Great Earth loving Mama!
Boomama Just went on an incredible trip to Africa!
Melissa Another inspiring homeschooler using Montessori!
CGS Moms Great group of Mamas using Montessori here!
Susan Montessori Teacher's Blog!

Blogging With Purpose Award Rules:
1. Awarded parties must nominate five people who have not received the award.
2. The blogs that receive the award must serve some purpose.
3. In their post about the award they need to link back to this entry.
4. Awarded parties must post the award banner on their site.

Thanks Again!
Shannon

I cannot believe I forgot!

I promised to post pictures of all the cool new Montessori items I ordered. I took pictures about 2 weeks ago and forgot about posting them. Well...here they are!

The first pic is of a cool magnet kit. It is great for experimenting with magnets and making geometric shapes.

The second is the addition strip board that allows the child to see how the numbers "add up".

The third is from the SET of botany puzzles which are great for teaching the parts of trees, leaves, and flowers. Also great for tracing (fine motor).

Here we have the hundreds board. Josh puts the tiles in order 1-100. As it is in the picture he is just finding the missing tiles.

The beautiful bead set is the addition snake game. Which adds in learning to add, also making 10's.

The colorful cylinders are called the knobless cylinders and are great for learning to put in order by size.

This beautiful fish puzzle is from the SET of 5 anatomy puzzles. Same uses as botany puzzles.

Finally this is a game called The Bricklaying game, where the players take turns rolling a die and putting the correct piece in.

Any questions...just leave a comment!

Shannon

This Week's Menu

Thought I would share this weeks menu with you since I am sitting at the desk working on it and the grocery list! I will add directions when needed. If you need a more specific recipe leave a comment.

Monday - Corndog Muffins
Mix cornbread, throw in can of drained corn and 2 TBS brown sugar. Add chopped up Turkey hotdogs. Pour evenly into muffin cups and bake 15-18 minutes.

Tuesday - Thanksgiving Dinner

Wednesday - Enchilada Casserole
This is similar! We do not add the tomato sauce but I may actually try it this time...a bit more veggie action... ya know!

Thursday - BLT's (maybe with leftover chips?)

Friday - Jambalaya (for Andrew) Fishsticks & Fries (for Me & Josh)

Saturday - Chicken Dinosaurs & Twice baked potatoes
The potatoes are pretty easy...just bake them and cut them in half. Allow them to cool for a few. Use a spoon to scoop out the potato pulp. Throw it in a big bowl, add milk, and egg; then mash. Throw in cheese, bacon, sour cream, whatever you like! Put back in skins and reheat for a few until cheese is melty! Enjoy. (I save what won't fit in for Josh. He will eat mashed but not if it is back in potato. KIDS!?)

Sunday - No plan here...I will probably just make Andrew think he wanted to go out for dinner Sunday. Tee Hee!

As far as lunches go, Josh and I generally eat leftovers during the week. And, Andrew usually wants Tuna for lunch one weekend day. For weekdays, Andrew has varying purchased lunches that we buy every week. He likes a quick hot sandwich thing that he can eat while he reads.

Hope you have a yummy week!
Shannon

Silly Boys!

We check on Joshua every night before we go to bed. You know...re-cover him and remove the 20 books from his bed. Well a few nights ago I was watching TV in bed and so Andrew went to check on Joshy alone. He comes back with a strange look on his face.

The following conversation takes place...
ME: What now?
HE: What color sock was he wearing today?
ME: Uuhh...Blue...I think...WHY?
HE: Well...he is now wearing blue socks on his hands.
ME: Ugh...Did you take them off?
HE: No
ME: Well...did you at least take a picture of it?
HE: (Crawling into bed...) Did you really want me too? (Switching off lights)
ME: YES!!!
Followed by sounds of him sleeping and me sighing!

Silly boys!

Shannon

Life sure is crazy!

So...I was taking a bath this afternoon (yep, I did say afternoon!) right after I put Josh down for a nap (ah-ha). Anyway, I was thinking of how crazy life is...

When Andrew and I were first married we lived in this TINY little bitty shoebox of an apartment. The bathtub was easily the smallest I have ever seen. (And I AM a bath person!) Then, Andrew graduated and we moved from married housing to our first real chosen by us apartment. The bathtub was very normal and we really loved most everything about that apartment except the fact that it was an apartment!

Now we are living in our first house. It is actually going on 6 years here. We have a fabulous bathtub. It is a Jacuzzi brand, very deep, with jets. And I LOVE it.

But now, I am so completely "all about" not leaving this planet worse than I entered it, that I pretty much refuse to fill it up. Which means that we never use the jets and might as well have that first tub back. You know the one, Me 5' tall Shannon, could not even really fit in.

Which leads me back to the thought...Life sure is crazy! And, I am afraid that this is what it means to really be a grown up!

Shannon