I promised I’d post some more ideas today, so here are a few. I am running a little behind (we have been busy with all this fun stuff!!!) but I’ll have the rest up tomorrow, hopefully.
These are pretty simple today. Just a few ideas I gathered from things I’ve seen around the internets:
This is a very simple art center I set up with some watercolor pencils, paper, brushes and a few fine art cards. I put up three cards of very different styles so the kiddos can choose whatever suits their mood and try their hand at imitating it. I put out watercolor pencils because of their versatility, but the kids know that in the bright red cabinet beneath there is a wide assortment of other media they could use if they choose-paints, markers, colored pencils, pastels, etc. I think I originally saw this set-up by Lori over at Montessori […]
Original post by lapazfarm
Are your well-layed out shelves collecting dust? Are cobwebs growing on your manipulatives for lack of, well…manipulation? Are you tempted to describe your school as
“Montes-snore-i” ???
Time for a shake-up, I say!
In an effort to fight the ho-hums around here, this morning I temporarily stashed away some of our stand-by’s and put together some trays that are certain to inspire the kiddos to get those creative juices flowing! And guess what…it’s already working! Tee hee!
Wanna see?
Ok, but only a few at a time. I’ve got to dole these things out slowly, ya know, to keep you coming back to my humble little blog!LOL!
Ok, here is the first tray. I call it (did you know I name my trays? Weird, I know)…
The Dr Seuss creature creator:
Start with a copy of a Dr Seuss book (any one will do, really) for inspiration, add some neon colored play-doh, cut-up chenille stems, some colored feathers […]
Original post by lapazfarm
I should explain. This is a homeschool blog, right? So, why have I been so stingy with the school-related postings lately??? It’s not as if we haven’t been doing it, because we have. I just have not been taking many pictures or been inspired to blog about it much lately. So many other things on my mind, you know??? Getting to know Alaska, winter coming on, elections coming up. Makes our schooling seem so tame and ordinary in comparison. Who wants to read about JBug’s attempts to master the silent e (or as she calls it, the bossy e), or Superboy’s battles with factoring trinomials when you could be reading about the relative merits of lipstick on pit bulls versus pigs?
But, for those who are interested, I’ll indulge in a little homeschool talk. I’ll try to stay awake if you will, ok?
I’ll start with JBug for this post, and then […]
Original post by lapazfarm
One thing I love about Montessori methods is that they encourage children to be independent and to do real, meaningful work. I find that my children love to feel like they are useful contributors to the household, and I try to give them real work to do whenever possible. Here is just one example of how a six-year-old can contribute in a meaningful way to homelife.
In this post JBug will show you how she makes ( all by herself!) a super-easy yummy dessert that we all love: Banana Pudding!
So…here’s JBug!
First, you cover the bottom and sides of a pie plate with vanilla wafer cookies. Try not to eat too many or you won’t have enough to cover the bottom:
Then you mix up a batch of vanilla pudding using the directions on the box–just add milk and stir! Get out all the lumps!
(Mom’s note:We use two small or one large box […]
Original post by lapazfarm
We’ve had a blast with our spring Montessori trays! And thanks to a fun discussion at the 4Real boards, I’ve been brainstorming some ideas for more garden-themed nature trays for the littles. We will certainly be giving these a try in the next few weeks! And as soon as I do, I will put up pictures for you visual folks (like me!) too!
Here are the trays I’ve come up with so far:
Soil pH would be an easy test for the littles to do: get some pH strips (or litmus papers), some different soil samples in bowls, a jar or dropper bottle of water, some small jars or vials with lids, water dropper. Child takes a pinch of soil, puts it into a vial, adds some water, puts on lid and shakes. Then tests pH by dipping strip into mixture or dripping a drop onto litmus paper. Check color against […]
Original post by lapazfarm
We are having so much fun with our botany and gardening! The littles like it so much I decided to put together a few trays for them to continue the work on their own. I can’t wait to introduce them tomorrow!
The first tray is for painting clay pots:
There are clay pots, some tubes of paint and a tray for mixing colors, some paint brushes, a pitcher of water, and a jar for washing brushes. Very simple!
The next activity, planting seeds, takes two trays.
The first is choosing seeds and labeling:
This first tray contains an assortment of seeds to choose from, some clay pots, and some metal garden tags and a stylus to write the name of the plant on the tag. They can copy the name from the seed packet onto the tag.
Here is the second half of the activity–planting the seeds!
This tray contains a bucket of potting soil and scoop, […]
Original post by lapazfarm
But we ARE keeping busy.
Superboy is having fun with his art unit and writing more poetry. We also begin our botany unit this week. Hooray for spring!
JBug learned the addition stamp game today and enjoyed it very much, once she figured out just exactly was going on.
She likes the fact that the more materials she learns how to use, the more options she has for things to do during school hours.
Here is Squirt, who really does like building with blocks. No fooling!
And Jack Jack just keeps on being two, with all of the charm that goes along with the age. Ahem.
Anyway, that’s our REAL update, and thanks for indulging me in a little bit of fantasy yesterday. We just have to laugh at ourselves now and then, right?
Here’s hoping your days are filled with fun and laughter!
Original post by lapazfarm
Just trying to keep things interesting around here.
There must be a million ways to make learning to spell fun. Instead of writing out words or using the moveable alphabet, why not change it up and try making words using…
wikki sticks
beans glued on cardstock
toothpicks
glue and glitter
salt dough
play dough
finger paint
glass jewels
sea shells
chenille stems
dry erase markers
magna doodle
refrigerator magnets
legos
k-nex
sticks and acorns
yarn
do-a-dots
water on a hot sidewalk
water on a chalk board
soap on a window
Or your child could
sew them
paint them
punch them
stamp them
Or how about in a tray of…
rice
flour
cornstarch
cornmeal
sand
cornstarch and water
lentils
chocolate pudding
birdseed
shaving cream
hair gel
Any more ideas? Lay ‘em on me!
Original post by lapazfarm
This picture isn’t anything special, really. Slightly out of focus, bad lighting, not at all well composed. But I love it just the same. Wanna know why? Because of what it says about our homeschool. Let me explain.
Today I placed a piece of paper and a watercolor set on the shelf next to JBug’s parts of a horse puzzle. She saw it and was immediately drawn to the work. And she knew (without me saying a word) exactly what she wanted to do with it. She used the puzzle pieces to trace the horse onto the paper. Then she painted the horse. Then she found her “parts of a horse” cards and she used them to correctly label her painting with all of the parts, carefully checking her spelling with the words on the cards. She did it all with complete independence, totally self-directed, and humming a happy tune the […]
Original post by lapazfarm
The focus of our science studies for the next few weeks will be mammals. So far it has been fun. We are reading books about mammals, watching DVD’s, and doing fun activities.
Here are just a few:
Our mammal library, a muskrat pelt from Alaska, and some mammals/not mammals sorting cards.
A fur matching activity, and some fur-bearing animal 3-part cards.
The horse center with horse books, parts of a horse puzzle and cards, and a parts of the horse booklet to make.
Animal tracks activity tray, some bones to look at, and a microscope with a prepared slide of skin with hair follicles, and slides for looking at and comparing our own hair and the hair of other animals.
Simple mammal words for JBug to read.
We will be having a great time with all of this stuff and more! We have been sketching mammals in our nature journals, trying to learn all of the mammal […]
Original post by lapazfarm
Today I presented to JBug adding with the golden beads. I have been meaning to do this with her for awhile now, but have been putting it off because it is such a large work, taking up two tables. And with the little guy around, I had to time it to when I thought we could do it without him getting into it all. But JBug was ready, so today was the day, no more excuses!
Here you can see how large it is when all laid out, with JBug going from one table to the other while working(the floor is just not an option with JackJack on the loose!).
One table has two sets of the small numeral cards laid out(ignore the missing numbers, please, she was using them when I took the picture)
Anyway, I give JBug a slip of paper with an addition problem on it. She goes and collects […]
Original post by lapazfarm
Right, so posting frequency is down a bit, I know. But thats just because we’ve been so dadgum busy and productive around here.
It’s as if a fire has been lit under us all! Even me! My decluttering is going gangbusters. I am keeping to my decluttering schedule (see sidebar) plus using this decluttering calendar. I am loving it. Every trinket I toss, every load I take to charity, means we are that much closer to being a whole family again. Talk about motivation!LOL!
On the school front things are also cooking. I am thrilled because it looks like once again we will be beating the february blues that seem so common in the homeschooling world. Last year we managed to escape them and I don’t want to count my chickens, but things are looking really good for our North America/Alaska/Iditarod unit keeping things sizzling for the rest of this month and […]
Original post by lapazfarm
I put this post together for the kids craft-of-the-week club at 4Real learning, but I hope it will be of interest to anyone who likes to do crafts with kids.
Today, we are making a spicy winter sachet! It’s a little evergreen and orange-spice pocket of sunshine to perk up those drab winter days!
Here is what you need:
Some scrap pieces of cloth cut into circles. (I used a salad plate as my guide).
some ribbon cut into approx 6 inch lengths
a clothes pin
A tray with:
assorted whole spices (I used allspice and cloves)
some orange peel
Cinnamon sticks
(some alternatives might be various dried loose teas, dried mint leaves or lemon balm, sassafrass bark, birch bark, dried flower petals, or any other fragrant items.)
A tray with:
some evergreen sprays (I used white pine because it is so soft and pleasant, and growing in our yard, but any fragrant evergreen will do. Let the kids […]
Original post by lapazfarm
I often get asked what a “typical day” is like here at LaPaz. And while some days I might answer that every day is different, and other days I may feel like every day is the same, the truth lies somewhere in between. Though we have no rigid schedule, we do have a sort of rhythm to our days that keeps us moving forward and helps keep us sane. And though that rhythm often changes with the seasons or our moods, I thought I’d share what that looks like lately:
Mornings are our busiest time and the time when I am most actively involved in schooling. This is the time for language arts, math, read-alouds, geography, and all of the more “schoolish” stuff we do.
We typically start with our morning read-aloud. Then while Superboy gets his math out of the way, JBug will spend some time reading with me, and then […]
Original post by lapazfarm
That isn’t a phrase we tend to expect to hear coming out of our kids’ mouths. But this morning I heard it from JBug.
Yesterday I presented the addition strips board and she took to it like a duck to water.
After finishing up the “twos” fact card I started her on, she asked me if she could do more. “Of course,” I said. “You can do as many as you like.” (What can I say, I’m generous like that. )
And at this she shouted out “Woo hoo!” and gave me a big hug. And then she proceeded to do three more fact cards before putting it away.She was completely absorbed and loving every minute.
And this morning immediately after breakfast the first thing she asked me was if she could “do her math now, please. “
And who am I to deny her such pleasure?
Original post by lapazfarm
Matching Colors for Recognition- I went to a local home supply store and picked up paint color samples, (2 of each sample), so Emma could work on her color recognition. She basically played it like a memory game, so she received lessons in both memorization practice and color sorting and recognition.
Emma started with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple
Then we added brown, black, pink, and grey
Then we added the varying shades of each color
Original post by hyattkids
Emma sorting buttons into the proper color coded container. She had a blast doing this and asked to do it over and over again. She even cleaned up after she was done.
Original post by hyattkids
I’d like to introduce you to Isaiah and Micah.
Now that these two prophets of old have joined us, I am finally ready to begin the Advent presentations from Moira Farrell’s Home Catechesis 3-6 albums. I know I am a bit late, but you know what they say: better late than never. It’s not a perfect motto, but one I strive to uphold.
These guys were pretty fun to make. I used some silk pieces (from a fabric sample book I picked up at a yard sale) because I wanted them to stand out a bit from the Apostles I made last year, who are all dressed in earth-toned felt. I admit, though I have no idea what they should look like to be “authentic.” What exactly DOES the well-dressed prophet of God wear? I took a chance on the beards as well, but for all I know they could have been […]
Original post by lapazfarm
well…you know!
At least it is around the LaPaz arts and crafts center!
This weekend marks the official beginning of Advent, and so the beginning of Christmas preparation. Inspired by the always-inspiring Meg at Montessori By Hand, I decided to spruce up the art center and replace all of the usual arts and crafts trays with some Christmas-themed activities for the littles, Montessori-style!
In place of the usual paper-cutting tray:
Here Santa holds some pre-marked Christmas tree garlands to cut!
And Frosty offers pre-folded snowflake-making materials!
Paper garland making should be fun and easy with a child-sized stapler!
And in place of the regular collage materials, who can resist a “build-a-Santa” kit?!
Of course the water colors are always out and ready to use, but now red and green take center stage for making Christmas cards and gift tags from pre-cut and folded watercolor paper.
Not shown is that the regular play-doh activity has been replaced by salt-dough, a […]
Original post by lapazfarm
well…you know!
At least it is around the LaPaz arts and crafts center!
This weekend marks the official beginning of Advent, and so the beginning of Christmas preparation. Inspired by the always-inspiring Meg at Montessori By Hand, I decided to spruce up the art center and replace all of the usual arts and crafts trays with some Christmas-themed activities for the littles, Montessori-style!
In place of the usual paper-cutting tray:
Here Santa holds some pre-marked Christmas tree garlands to cut!
And Frosty offers pre-folded snowflake-making materials!
Paper garland making should be fun and easy with a child-sized stapler!
And in place of the regular collage materials, who can resist a “build-a-Santa” kit?!
Of course the water colors are always out and ready to use, but now red and green take center stage for making Christmas cards and gift tags from pre-cut and folded watercolor paper.
Not shown is that the regular play-doh activity has been replaced by salt-dough, a […]
Original post by lapazfarm
Its a great feeling when you work hard and you get it right!
This week…
Jack Jack learned to string beads…
Squirt learned to trace the metal insets…
JBug learned to tie a bow…
Superboy learned all about veterans…
and I learned to sew a pair of fleece pants!
We are all feeling pretty proud of ourselves around here!
Original post by lapazfarm
Emma is using a plastic needle and yarn to thread ABC beads
Look at her determination
She is so proud
Original post by hyattkids
Kailey sorted the animal crackers by breed (Lions, Hippo’s, Elephants, etc…)
Who could resist just one bite : )
Oops! She caught me catching her ; )
Original post by hyattkids
Emma is learning her colors, shapes, and matching.
The goal- collect all the ingredients for your cookie recipe. Promotes matching awareness and fun.
Original post by hyattkids
I wont bore you with pictures of all of them, but if you are interested, follow this link to see a quick slideshow of the practical life trays I’ve prepared for the kiddos for next week. (Not pictured is this week’s collage tray which, in addition to the usual paper scraps, has google-eyes and pom-poms. Fun stuff! )
Judging from the way they went through last week’s trays though, I don’t think it is enough to keep them busy. But it’s all the room I have for them, so I will most likely need to re-do them more often than weekly. It really doesn’t take long to get them set up and it keeps them going happily for a few days, so the cost benefit ratio to these things is fairly high. JackJack already got into the one pictured above and it really held his attention, working intently […]
Original post by lapazfarm
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