Notes From a Small Town

a gift for his teacher

This year Ronan was enrolled in a local Montessori preschool. He went five mornings a week from 9-12, as part of Florida's Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program. He had a great experience - he enjoyed being there and it jumpstarted him with regards to combining letters to form words (CVC, for those Montessorians). It also allowed me some alone time with just Calum. It was wonderful to be able to give this time to Calum like I had given it to Ronan at that age. While I think there are some things that could use improvement (stricter adherence to the "snack" protocol and more Montessori materials), one of the things that we felt made his year a success was his teacher. She is patient and kind, but firm. She's always available to talk about concerns and she's genuinely excited about learning and that translates to the children. In short, I think she was a major contributor to his success this year. So, of course, we wanted to find a proper way to thank her.

So, we made her a "thank you" book. While I would love to take credit for this lovely idea, I was merely the recipient of such a wonderfully crafted book when I was a Montessori teacher.  It made such a lasting impression on me, that three years later, I thought it would be the perfect gift to give to a wonderful teacher. A way to say thank you - in homemade fashion.

Ronan and I both contributed to this book. I wanted to make sure she understood how important we felt her role was in Ronan's past year. It could have been a bad experience, but he excelled and enjoyed himself. (Plus, we tucked in some gift cards for good measure)!

All of the artwork was done by Ronan (or me). We used sheets of cardboard (from the back of the construction paper collection) for the front and back pieces, which were then painted by Ronan. It was a quick project that we hope had a lasting impression.

 

our work

this morning...

 

...an impulse purchase from IKEA. Perhaps you noticed that they're plastic? The very thing I'm trying to avoid. But, the justification?  Oh, it's good.  We've come across this activity twice in the last few weeks. A number of friends have remarked on the hand strengthening that it produces, not to mention the concentration required to create a piece. It's quite in-line with Montessori principles and I have been looking for additional fine motor activities to help Ronan strengthen his hands in preparation for writing. This is a fun start. And, I figured that if we don't melt too many "masterpieces" then we can pass them along and they'll get reused. Right?

...and my curious wee one...

...in motion and into everything. He's been mobile for a long time, but his balance and reach are getting quite high. He still prefers to crawl most places, but he's mastering the art of stopping while walking to regain his balance in order to continue in an upright position. He'll walk across the room now - if he wants to. Of course, he'll walk anywhere in order to get that piece of paper that was just out of reach only a few weeks ago. 

...and a Montessori wrap-up (hopefully)...

...I'm finishing up my geography/history/science albums and the language portfolio. It's been fun to work on these "loose" ends of mine. And, I've thoroughly enjoyed using my teaching brain and getting excited about some new activities and materials to show Ronan. Though, if I see one more phonogram booklet, I really might scream. 

In the end, we're quite happy to be able to do our work on this day. A happy and productive way to boost our brainpower and increase our knowledge. Beautiful.

ABCs

There's something about observing your child and watching for interest changes and ah-ha moments, well, it just makes this whole parent thing pretty darn good. A month or two ago, Ronan decided that he wanted to get books about letters from the library.

Me: "We're going to the library tomorrow. What would you like to study or learn about this week?"

Ronan: "Letters. I'd like to get books about letters."

Me: "Okay, sounds good."

Wait...until he leaves the room and jump up and down in anticipation. Now, it would be disingenuous to suggest that I haven't introduced letters to him before. (We started with sounds - Montessori-style). But, I have presented letters numerous times and he knew some, but for the most part they just haven't "stuck." He seemed interested in them, loved to trace them as a 3-year-old, but the lowercase sandpaper letters that I made him - they didn't really hold his interest. So, I waited. (Not something my natural Type-A personality likes to do). And, I thought about it.

I decided to go against my Montessori training and introduce both uppercase and lowercase ones at the same time. Alphabet books are in uppercase. So, rather than try to work against the system, maybe he would retain them if he knew the uppercase first. And, after a few weeks of reading these books - and discussing - and a few more repeat episodes of The Letter Factory (egads - it is TV cartoon, but a really, really useful one), and he knows almost all of them.

And what does a frugal, fun-loving mama-teacher do when we need to go to the next level? Cobble together an idea from a variety of sources (friends, family and traditional education) and a homemade alphabet book is born.

A re-purposed binder, some printer paper, lots of stickers, and a collection of grocery store flyers - the perfect tools for a homemade book. We've started with Aa - a nice way to put that pesky alphabet song to good use. (In Montessori, we isolate the vowels in red and consonants in blue - whenever we write - at least for the first year. The rationale being that the vowels are much trickier to hear and notice when breaking down the letters in a word).

And, if you have no stickers or cutouts for your letter? What does your creative child do when you go to check on his younger brother?

You draw a dinosaur, of course.

letter recognition

Between the scorching heat and the thunderstorms, we've been spending a lot more time indoors lately. I hadn't realized how much time we were spending outside until I found myself scrambling for indoor activities. Thankfully, my brain has decided to start functioning again and I find myself with a wee bit of time in the evenings that wasn't there a few weeks ago. I've been knitting - yay! - and brainstorming new activities for Ronan.  I felt that some painting was in order. So, we broke out the easy watercolors -  because I don't have that much time - and got down to business.

I made a rubbing from the sandpaper letters that I had made previously and then traced them and eventually made a nice set for copying. I love that he is doing something fun - and I get to join him. We also talked about how to hold a paintbrush, all while calling the letters by their sounds. We are finishing up with this group of sandpaper letters and this is just repetition - another way to present the letters and "set" them in the brain. In Montessori's method, she recommended starting out with lowercase letters since most of the words in books are lowercase. (Traditionally, they start with cursive letters as well, but most of the American Montessori schools begin with print - again, the theory being that books are printed in manuscript).

A fun activity with a little bit of 'traditional' learning snuck in...not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

for the weekend

On the docket for this weekend: out-of-town friends, a zoo visit, and some mama-crafting! Heck, the house is already (mostly) clean, I may just party all weekend.

Well, except for the laundry. But, that doesn't count.

Here's a little preview:

Have a wonderful weekend.

Object to object matching

I've got Montessori on the brain...especially preparation for learning the written word. Maybe it has something to do with finishing up my language portfolio for my AMS certification? Perhaps it is due to Ronan's extreme interest in language right now...

(The rug is a hastily thrown together sewing project. It needs some binding. Oh, I know! - it's on the list)

The above picture is an example of one of the first activities a child can do from the language area of the "classroom." Dr. Montessori observed that children, ages 3-6, have an easier time with concrete ideas, so much of her suggestions for materials begin with the concrete and move to the abstract. Object to object matching promotes scanning ability with regards to later being able to tell the differences in letters, etc.

For example, the above rug was laid out by Ronan (without a lesson, I must admit). Immediately, I can tell that he needs more work with left to right orientation. He lined up the animals on the right side of the rug and worked to the left. With English, we read left to right and this activity helps the child to naturally orient themselves to that way of thinking.

I can also tell that he matched a set by color (the brown ones...I think are lions?). I asked him if they were the same and he said yes. I asked him if they were the same size and he giggled and said no. And, then proceeded to go back to his rug. This is what I saw:

Essentially, the language materials are training the eye (and the hand) to prepare for reading, writing and observation. I made a PDF of my written for lesson those who are interested. Remember that most of these lessons are written for use in a classroom. At home, we aren't quite as strict since it doesn't really work for very well for us. As long as he is respectful of the materials, he has some free reign as to how he uses them. The key is to observe his actions and re-present the material that he is not understanding (e.g. left to right orientation).

Have a wonderful and safe holiday!

He can do it himself

This morning, I peeked open one eye as Ronan quietly creeped out of bed and into the kitchen. Usually, he was off to get a bowl of dry Cheerios to enjoy while I slowly awoke to start the day. But, today he decided that he would like a peanut butter and jelly for breakfast - and he said, "I can make it myself," - quite matter-of-factly.

Seeing as how I was still a wee bit groggy, my internal sensors weren't quite up to par and general laziness prevailed (i.e. I didn't offer to make it for him or even consider the potential mess). I opened the jars when needed and extracted the rice cakes from their container and by the time I got out of bed, his sandwich was made - and there was only a little bit of jelly on the counter.

When did my baby get so grown-up?

In keeping with the Montessori philosophy, we have tried to set up the house so that he can do as much of these things "by himself." We do our best to provide child-sized tools that are fully-functional - and the rationale is to provide him with pride in his work and to know that he is learning a life skill (and, allowing me to stay in bed for another 10 minutes is a nice side benefit as well).

Can you tell this is one proud mama?

(His cabinet full of plates, cups, silverware)

Of course, he was helping later in the day with our weekly homemade pizza dinner. I think that he has the best seat in the house - great views of the cardinals and squirrels that have been working outside in the front yard. Just perfect for rolling out dough - and making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

(Table is from Michael's and the child-sized roller is from IKEA).

We are looking forward to a weekend full of laughter, hugs, sand, sun, and squeals of delight since the cousins are coming for a visit. I hope your weekend is just as rowdy as mine will be! See you on Wednesday.

A Montessori Bean Bag Toss

The classic bean bag toss is not a new concept, but I've found a way to apply it to some Montessori principles. These shapes can be made from the metal insets and glued on to a larger sheet of construction paper. I made these, but an older child could create this on their own. The bean bags are old jeans that I cut up and sewed together and Ronan stuffed them with dried lima beans. When I asked him why they were called bean bags, he looked at me with a "duh" look and said very slowly, "...because they have beans in them." Oh, I guess you made that connection, huh?

And, while I would have preferred the metal insets, I bought these for Ronan to work on strengthening his hand muscles and learning pencil control. (Ours are actually pink and blue like the traditional insets).

The idea behind this toss is to assist the child with a new way of memorizing the names of the shapes. So often we have to memorize certain details (puzzle words, times tables, etc.), but this is a new way to apply it those kinesthetic learners (definitely my strongest learning type...I'm also a bit of a visual learner). Also great for boys - who need to express lots of movement throughout the day.

If using the Montessori Method and presenting this to a child, be sure and introduce the metal insets first, so they are familiar with some of the shapes. Then, discuss the shapes by name and discover which ones he knows and only introduce one new one at a time. That's part of why I included a star in the above lesson. A star is not found in the Montessori metal insets, but most children will know what it is, therefore, it frees up some brain space to talk about the trapezoid.

Now, in a Montessori classroom, you would do a three-period lesson, but for Ronan and I at home, this isn't much fun and he resists, so I usually don't do it in the traditional way. I have found another way - incorporating these new ideas into fun games. This is best played with two people and when you land on a shape, call out the name. Or, call out the shape first and see if you can land on it (a bit difficult for three.) But, when your child misses, you say, "Oh, you landed on the circle. I'm going to try for the trapezoid."

This is one of my Language album "original" lessons, but I've seen the bean bag toss used for vocabulary building and hand-eye coordination for lots of different activities. Ronan's music class used it to discuss the different types of street vendors in a city (they're studying cities this semester) and it's a great game to play with toddlers on a rainy day when all you want to do is rip your hair out!

Have a wonderful and safe Easter. I hope you all have time to reflect on the holiday (if you celebrate) and enjoy being with family.

A Sandpaper Name

There are not enough words to describe how much I love the age of three. Needless to say, every six months or so, I make this proclamation.

"This is the best age ever."

Only on very tiring days, I wonder when I will stop saying this with my eldest child. For the most part, I am content to sit back and enjoy his growth and do my best to keep up with him, both intellectually and physically.

So, it really shouldn't surprise me that his ideas are becoming much more concrete and well, actually smart and useful (in an adult-sense).

 
A few weeks ago, I noticed that my child was tracing everything, everywhere we went. I knew it was time to introduce the sandpaper letters. This was slightly impeded by the fact that I did not own any sandpaper letters and the ones I wanted (pink vowels) were expensive and hard to come by.

A posting, on one of the Montessori lists I subscribe to, suggested using an Ellison die-cut machine from a school. (My previous attempts at sandpaper letters have been cut by hand). Thankfully, I am the daughter of an elementary school librarian.

I bought some sheets of sandpaper and cut them out. While I was pressing out letters, Ronan came up to me and mentioned that he wanted one of his name. His name? Hmmm...

So, I cut out his letters and a few days later, I gave them to him and had him choose some construction paper (no, orange would not have been my first choice). He arranged the letters - in order - and we glued them together.

Now, he has his own way to practice the way his name feels beneath his fingers, and I have an original lesson for my soon-to-be-completed language album. Like I said, "this is the best age ever."

Learning numerals 1-5, Montessori-style

I had every intention of posting about some of the very cool books I have been reading lately, but I've got Montessori on the brain (I'm finishing up my 3-6 Language album). I've been skimming my pictures as I write and I came across these two:

(Sea-Life matching)
These are two activities I came up with for my Montessori math album originals. Since I am not teaching this year, these two activities were created specifically for my son, who turned three in November. I don't have the sandpaper numerals and they were never a big hit in my classroom with the younger kids. So, I was trying to think of a way to continue to expose him to the numerals 1-5 and their associated quantities. Ta-da!

(Play-doh numeral shapes)
This activity was based on a reverse of another I saw at the training. I was hoping to get him to notice the shapes of the numerals by filling them in with play-doh (or salt-dough). Unfortunately, in September, when I tested these on him, this was a little too advanced. But, I am happy to say that he is now making a few of the numerals - and I see him trace them with his finger. Ooh - I am so making some sandpaper numerals (or salt dough numerals) for him this weekend. Plus, he expanded this work and we started to make little balls to fill in the black dots.

He has outgrown the Sea-Life Matching and has 1-5 and their corresponding quantities down pat. I am brainstorming a new activity that will address numerals 6-10 in the same manner.