Montessori Print Shop Giveaway

This site is offering a wonderful giveaway of Montessori nomenclature cards. The contest ends tomorrow, so head on over there & enter. I did & I'm really hoping to win! I could definitely use these with Baby Girl & even with Doodles & Bug. What a fantastic contest!

Montessori inspired activities

Well, on the downside of things, Baby Girl is still not feeling quite herself...three weeks after her tonsillectomy & she's still having some trouble. We go to the doctor tomorrow, so we're praying that things will get better soon. She's napping now, so I thought I'd share some pictures (thanks to my dear friend for giving me her old camera) of some of the materials I'm working on for Baby Girl's schooling. Now if she can just get well, we can really start working with these materials!

Water pouring activity-I just rinsed an old body wash bottle and an ice cream container. Eventually Baby Girl will "graduate" to dropper activities and pouring water from pitcher to cup





Sandpaper letters, numbers, shapes, and symbols--I made these myself!
Counting bears

Dry erase board placed at Baby Girl's eye level
(We worked on drawing circles--hand over hand)

Alpha dough language kit
Magnetic letters and magnet board

Dress-up basket

Stamp pads with letter and number stamps
Foam blocks

Fabulous Find

Currently, at Curr Click they're offering a free moveable alphabet download, so I grabbed that up today. I can't wait to make this for Baby Girl. This learning adventure is really exciting!

Great Preschool Site

This site has some wonderful preschool theme ideas. When Baby Girl & I finish our Letter of the week study, I'll be using this site as a springboard for our Montessori & Charlotte Mason inspired preschool. Using a thematic approach will allow me to pick & choose activities that go with my teaching philosophy & also fit Baby Girl's learning style.

Educating Myself on Montessori

 This is the book I'm currently reading, and I have six more to read as well. I'll post about them as I go. I've just gotten started on this book, but already a few things have spoken to me:

1. "Education is not something which the teacher does, but...it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being."
2. "The teacher's task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child."

Homeschool Bargains

Wow, I found some great things for Baby Girl's schooling at Target today...most of which came from the dollar section! The only items that did not come from the dollar section were the miniature pink broom & dustpan, but they were only around $5 total. The dollar items I found were: foam blocks, alphabet & number stamps & colored ink pads, magnetic letters & numbers, and a squishy ball. I'd love to post pictures, but my camera is broken. Now I'm on the hunt to find a bargain on digital cameras!

More Thoughts on "Baby Girl's" Homeschool Style

Wow, she worked so hard during school that she's exhausted!

I'm now planning to use a combination of Charlotte Mason & Montessori for Baby Girl's preschool. The more I read about the Montessori method, the more I think it will be a great fit for Baby Girl, especially considering her vision impairment and developmental delays. I've been reading several blogs and sites about Montessori homeschooling, and I'm going shopping today for a few Montessori-inspired items for Baby Girl's schooling. Also, I've got some books on this teaching method on the way. I'm looking forward to getting started on this new adventure!

Poetry is Fun

 "Doodles" & "Bug" are enjoying this book, as am I. It's part of Sonlight's Core D+E package that we're using this year. It starts with poetry written by anonymous Native Americans and continues through modern day poets.                                                                                                                                                    










 "Baby Girl" is listening to these poems while she eats one of her favorite snacks: Cheese Puffs. We call it "Puffs and Poetry." This idea was inspired by a pre-school schedule I saw on this blog: The Attached Mama. It is an excellent site with wonderful ideas and resources.