I have noticed that generally children get interested in clocks early on - before they are old enough to be able to read the analog clock all on their own. In order for children to be able to tell time with analog clocks they need to : be able to recognise numbers 0-60 know fractions be familiar with definition of past and present, a.m, pm., afternoon, noon Usually preschool children do not have knowledge of these math concepts, however, schedules and time is something that often … [Read more...]
Hands – On Montessori Homeschool Activities For A 4 Year Old
The goal of early childhood education should be to activate the child's own natural desire to learn. Maria Montessori I decided that it is time for us to share activities that our Montessori preschool home classroom is buzzing with. Talking homeschooling journey has been a very interesting and strange adventure for me. I had to adapt and change my approach from what I used to do teaching in a classroom. Creating and running homeschooling routine with a baby on board is more of a challenge than … [Read more...]
Homeschooling Preschooler The Montessori Way
Our homeschooling journey is something that consumes my heart and mind these days. I guess because it is unknown territory that we are walking into. So far it brought great fruit and I feel that our everyday life is bursting in colours like never before. My daughter's "whys" have got completely new dimension, and I love, love, love how excited she got from receiving a magnifying glass by mail the other day. I would like to share what happened when we emerged into our Montessori work 3 - hour … [Read more...]
DIY Montessori Inspired Activities and Games for 3 – 5 year olds.
Montessori method offers such a wide range of amazing experiences for children. Child's work is their play. Generally children do not need stimulation or encouragement, they naturally gravitate to activities that reflect their interest and enrich passion for learning. Senses play such a huge role in their learning. All materials and activities that are presented below have a goal to make learning hands - on, connect hand and brain, provide opportunity for discovery. Our … [Read more...]
Montessori Inspired Art Appreciation Activities.
Without much preparation, planning or intention, Art as we know it, feel it, experience it, experiment with it took a huge part of our everyday life. We started 30 Days of Creativity and Art to help navigate our homeschooling towards creative side of learning and I do not think we will ever stop. Whatever it is - learning poems, listening to classical music, creating mosaics with leaves outside, looking for funny cloud shapes in the sky, painting on a mirror - it all provided a new perspective, … [Read more...]
Montessori Inspired Activities and Games For 3-year-olds.
Montessori method presents such an incredible amount of learning experiences for a child. These experiences are born from child's natural desire to explore, curiosity and passion for the world. I am very pleased to share with you what has been happening during our Montessori cycle at home - a classroom I set up for my three year old preschooler - A. May I just say that I have never felt so strong about the benefits of the Montessori method until I started to implement it with my own child at … [Read more...]
MONTESSORI FINE MOTOR ACTIVITIES AND FREE PRINTABLES
Fine motor skills are so important for the child to learn to write. Maria Montessori also pointed out that development of fine motor is directly connected to development of the brain. Many fine motor activities are practical and represent work that is usually done in real life. This is the reason why it is quite simple for parents and teachers to create practical fine motor learning experiences - most of the time they use objects and things found at home and everyday items. Fine Motor … [Read more...]
DIY PUZZLES AND FREE PRINTABLES
Every Montessorian has a special attachment to DIY handmade materials. We love creating our own when we get inspired to bring new opportunities to explore and discover for children, make something unique that sparks their interest and curiosity. Puzzles make such an important part of child's learning environment. Oh, and kids can spend countless hours doing puzzles. It is activity that they have complete control over and requires a great deal of concentration. Let's have a look together at some … [Read more...]
15+ Montessori Inspired Explorations for Three Year Olds
Our Montessori days become more and more filled with learning and exploration. I aim to dedicate at least one hour each day to supporting my daughter in working with activities from our learning shelves. She recently turned three and her inquisitive mind draws her naturally to it. I always try to respect her choices in activities, sometimes, I take her by the hand, we walk to the shelf and I offer her a choice of two activities she hasn't chose on her own. My goal is to work with her on each … [Read more...]
Montessori Inspired Bible Activities for Kids.
Bible centered Montessori inspired activities are a great way to reinforce and support our lifestyle and build faith that our family pursues. In my understanding Montessori method is all about adopting and modeling environment according to child's needs and interests. It feels amazing to be able to bring our faith into our learning environment which helps to bring so much more meaning into it. One wonderful side of the activities is that they also present some parts of history and culture along … [Read more...]
Handmade Montessori Materials and DIY Inspiration
Montessori is gaining more and more speed spreading it's popularity among not just schools, but many homeschooling families. It is also attracting many talented people who create educational toys and materials for children with inclination towards Montessori principals and ideas. I am personally very honoured to have a chance to support these small family businesses and help spread the word about their talented work. I invite you to browse through these beautifully crafted, handmade, … [Read more...]
Montessori Inspired Quiet Activities for Toddlers.
It's time to share our DIY Montessori Inspired activity set up for miss A - 2,8 year-old toddler. Life gets so packed with other exciting and fun things to do, especially in summer, but there is always time for quiet time spent in concentration and in sharpening fine motor skills and language. Every single exercise is designed with my daughter's interests in mind. This is where I get my inspiration from. As I mentioned above time and life does not allow me to rearrange her shelves as often as I … [Read more...]
Montessori Inspired Winter Play for Kids
Themed Montessori inspired and fun activities for young kids are great to make important events, like Christmas and Winter Holidays, very memorable and special. When it comes to entertaining my toddler girl I enjoy preparing activities that help her develop skills that are essential for her learning and growing, such as concentration, fine motor skills {let those little fingers work}, creativity. Sensory activities draw her attention more than anything else at this stage. Even … [Read more...]