itty bitty love

cheers!

2016-05-23T00:04:00.000-06:00

This little video of 7-month-old Freya enjoying a glass of water at the weaning table puts a big smile on my face - I had to share it with my Montessori friends! :)

Here's to a great week!

a little tour: e and f's montessori-inspired bedroom

2015-12-07T22:43:00.000-07:00

Check out the tour of Elise's Montessori-inspired baby nursery here.

A shared space for a big sis and a little sis to

sleep,

snuggle,

read,

relax,

and - of course -

monkey around!

A big, cozy bed is just right for three-year-old Elise, who sleeps through the night

- with the exception of occasionally getting up to use the potty.

A thin mattress on the floor, alongside a large mirror, gives almost-two-month-old (!) Freya a clear view of her environment and encourages movement. She takes one or two lovely 2-3 hour naps here during the day. This is also where she sleeps at night, but not as independently - you'll often find me here, too, nursing, snuggling, and snoozing!

The yellow shelf is home to a basket of finger puppets, a rotating selection of books, cozy blankets, and a few other treasures. Toys and homeschool materials can be found downstairs, where we spend most of our time. While the chair feels big for the space, it is the perfect spot to nurse and read, so - for now - it stays. The "closet" on the left is my favorite part of the room...

It's inspiration came from a Montessori Facebook group - a basic cube shelf with a board across the top. Easy peasy! Elise's baskets are pink and Freya's are green.

Each one is labeled - "shirts" and "pants" for Elise, and "baby clothes" and "diapers" for Freya.

Behind the curtain is a rack for hanging more clothes and a basket for laundry. The top of the shelf is for sweaters.

The room's official closet would be nearly impossible for little people to use - a quirky, old-house feature that's just right for a book nook!

Thanks for coming on the tour,

and happy Monday - hope your week is swell! :)

the thankful "tree"

2015-11-23T21:34:00.002-07:00

Looking for a simple way to get into the spirit

of Thanksgiving with your little one?

Make a thankful tree!

you'll need:

a few branches with lots of good spots to hang "leaves"
a flower pot or vase to hold the branches
strips of construction paper with leaf outlines (I drew these)
scissors and markers/colored pencils
tiny clothespins for hanging the leaves (ours are in the cloth bag - fyi)

I prefaced the activity by asking Elise

what she thought being thankful meant...

Her response?

It's when you REALLY like something!

This year, I'm especially thankful for

my two little daughters.

What are YOU feeling thankful for?

she's here! she's here!

2015-11-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

introducing...

Freya Arden

At one month she enjoys...

lounging on the floor bed,

watching Big Sis, Elise,

and sleeping!

Elise is thrilled to have a little sis to dress up,

create art for,

and play with!

^^^ halloween 2015 ^^^

Of course, we're all adjusting to life with our new little family member,

but so far, so good!

flower tea party

2015-10-23T21:43:00.002-06:00

Things have been a little quite around here lately...

that's because we've spent the past few weeks waiting.

Waiting on a baby!

Which is not an easy thing to do.

She's here now, though - happy and healthy! :)

But. before I introduce her,

I want to share something special Elise and I did together

before the excruciating baby wait began.

A flower tea party!

We made lavender shortbread cookies

topped with lemon glaze and edible flower petals.

Elise kept our cups filled to the brim

with raspberry hibiscus tea.

We chatted and laughed,

ate our cookies and sipped our tea.

Oh - did I say the cookies were all topped with flowers?

Well, some featured cherry tomatoes, too!

We also collected beans from the "Pea Fort" to plant next spring.

Oh my, I love this girl so much!!!!!

This little flower tea party will be a memory I'll always treasure.

Aaahh!!! HORMONES!

Be sure to stop by next week to meet our new little one!

Happy weekend, friends!

introducing the alphabet, Montessori-style

2015-09-24T23:33:00.000-06:00

The ability to isolate a beginning sound of a word is the point of readiness for learning the alphabet letter sounds.

- Randall Klein, Montessori teacher and early reading specialist

For the past several months,

I have been gradually introducing Elise

to the letters of the alphabet.

Before that, we played LOTS of language games

- and still do! -

like "I spy," the blending game, and matching.

How did I know Elise was ready to make the leap to letters?

First, I noticed that her phonemic awareness was growing,

and that she was able to identify the beginning sounds of most words.

Second, I couldn't deny her curiosity about letters any longer!

I had already casually told her the sounds of a few letters,

and she soaked them up like a sponge.

I really wanted her to learn the letter sounds,

and I realized that if I didn't act quickly,

the rest of the world was going to teach her the names first!

Once I decided to go for it,
the first thing I did was make an Alphabet Story for us to point and sing to
that corresponded with Randall Klein's Stand Up Alphabet Cards.

(sing the letter sounds to the tune of "Up on a House Top")

a-a-apple, b-b-bird. c-c-cat, d-d-duck,

e-e-elephant, f-f-fish, g-g-goat, h-h-house,

i-i-igloo, j-j-jet. k-k-kite, lll-lion,

m-m-moon, n-n-nest, o-o-octopus, p-p-pear,

q-q-queen, rrr-rooster, s-s-sun, t-t-turtle,

u-u-umbrella, v-violin, w-w-whale, x-as in x-ray,

y-y-yarn so much fun, z-z-zebra really can run,

we just sang our alphabet song, and everybody sang along!

Here's a close-up of our pointer, if you're curious. ;)

It's a big hit!

We use it for our calendar, too.

Teach the alphabetic principle before you teach the alphabet.

- Randall Klein

When I present a new letter to Elise,

I put together a little tray like the one pictured above.

First, we look at the Alphabet Object, and talk about its beginning sound.

A queen! What sound does queen start with?

Yes! /q/queen - queen starts with /q/.

Then, I'll associate the sound with the Sandpaper Letter.

This letter makes the sound /q/, just like /q/queen.

Elise and I take a few turns tracing the Sandpaper Letter with our finger

and making the letter's sound.

q-q-q

(Sandpaper Letters from Pollywog Learning Products on Esty.)

Next, we'll "read" the new Stand Up Alphabet Card together.

This is what the materials look like on Elise's language shelf.

- New Letter Tray, Sandpaper Letters and Alphabet Objects, and Stand Up Alphabet Cards -

If you're wondering, I have been introducing the letters in no particular order

other than what Elise is interested in

and what Alphabet Objects I've been able to make or scrounge up!

Randall Klein recommends the following clusters:

a g h m s,

c d l o t,

f i p r u,

e j k n w,

b v y z q x.

Sometimes we set up several Stand-Up Alphabet Cards on a rug,

and I'll challenge Elise to find certain letters for me.

Can you please bring me /a/apple?

If she brings back a different card than the one I've asked for,

I simply say, Let's see what you brought. You found /b/bird!

Once I know that Elise knows a letter,

I usually ask for it just by sound.

Can you find /e/?

Sometimes Elise and I will switch roles,

and she'll ask ME to bring HER letters.

This is a really great way to discover what she knows!

OK, now for those sandpaper letters and objects...

We play a lot of simple matching games with these materials.

We also take turns flipping the letters over and knocking to see "who's there."

When it comes to these kinds of games,

repetition is key,

and it has to be quick and fun!

Our all-time favorite thing to do with the Alphabet Objects?

Put them on the Alphabet Quilt!

My awesome mom made Elise this quilt just for this very purpose,

and it is so much fun!

We set it up right underneath the Alphabet Story on the wall,

so Elise can check her work and sing.

/e/elephant is always a favorite! :)

As you've probably noticed, for continuity in the beginning,

we've been associating the same objects/pictures with the same letters.

- For example, /a/ is always an apple. -

As Elise becomes familiar with a letter,

she easily associates it with other things that begin with the same sound.

Montessori flower arranging: flower study part 4

2015-09-08T23:17:00.000-06:00

Check out part 1, part 2, and part 3 of our Montessori-inspired flower study!

We are frugal flower pickers around here, so when I introduced this flower arranging lesson to Elise, I kind of expected her to go wild with the scissors in the garden. Instead, she sniped just a few of her favorite herbs - parsley and mint - for an edible bouquet. When I suggested she pick one of the "showier" flowers, she halfheartedly agreed, insisting that we leave the rest for the bees!

If you feel like the bees in your garden are adequately supplied with nectar and pollen, and you have a flower or two to spare, try this flower arranging lesson! You'll build control and coordination of movement, as-well-as decision making skills. Plus, nothing brings the beauty of nature indoors like a bouquet of cheerful, fresh flowers!

You'll need:

a basket for gathering flowers
scissors
a selection of small vases
a pitcher with water
a funnel
newspaper or other scrap paper for collecting leaf and stem trimmings
a drying cloth
coasters or doilies to place under the finished bouquets

First, bring your basket and scissors to the garden and select a variety of blooms (or herbs!) to pick.

Elise filled her basket with oregano and chive blossoms, parsley, echinacea, and gaillardia.

Once you're back inside with the flowers, choose a vase to fill with fresh water. If the vase has a narrow opening, use the funnel.

Spilled some water? No big deal! Use your drying cloth to wipe it up!

Select a bloom or two to arrange in the vase. Trim the stems, and remove any leaves that are in the water. These can go in the compost or trash at the end of the lesson.

Keep in mind the aesthetics of the bouquet, and don't overcrowd your vase with too many flowers! Set the finished bouquets in a safe spot while you clean up your supplies.

Finally, place the bouquets on coasters or doilies around the house. Enjoy!

favorite flower reads: flower study part 3

2015-09-04T07:00:00.001-06:00

...my mother's garden is very nice, but if I had a garden there would be no weeds, and the flowers would keep blooming and blooming and never die.

- Kevin Henkes (from My Garden)

As fall nears, our flowers are slowly fading, but Elise and I have enjoyed observing the next phase of the plant life cycle - seeds! Here are a few books that have inspired out flower study these past few weeks:

Flowers by Rene Mettler
Alison's Zinnia by Anita Lobel
A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
My Garden by Kevin Henkes
The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller

Check out part 1 of our flower study here and part 2 here.

Happy weekend, friends!!!

sunflowers: flower study part 2

2015-08-27T22:39:00.000-06:00

Elise and I have spent the past few weeks doing a "flower study." Read part 1 here!

I've decided to try dedicating a little space in our classroom

each month to a special song or poem.

(Yes! Elise has her own classroom now - I'll share more soon!)

From the classroom window, we are able to see dozens of sunflowers

and watch goldfinches and chickadees feasting on their seeds.

A sunflower song seemed like the perfect first choice...

Sunflower by Sanford Jones

Sunflower, sunflower yellow and round.

You are the prettiest flower I've found.

Tall, straight, full of grace...

I love the light in your bright yellow face!

This song can also be played on the Montessori bells.

Here's a cute little YouTube video if you want to hear the tune!

We are using this homemade sunflower puzzle

to learn the names of the parts of the sunflower plant:

roots, stem, leaves, and flower.

(An older child may enjoy labeling the parts or matching 3 part cards like these.)

The puzzle pieces all button together,

which is great because Elise is in a sensitive period for buttoning!

One morning, after buttoning the petals to the seed part of the flower,

we decided to go investigate some real sunflower seeds...

See? We've even got sunflowers growing out of the sidewalk!

We watched bees drinking nectar and gathering pollen...

And observed that some of the flowers were missing seeds

- could it be the goldfinches?!

We chose a few flowers that were done blooming to cut and bring inside.

We spent the afternoon pretending to be birds,

using tweezers to pull out seeds!

This was always a popular lesson in my classroom

- check it out here -

and it has been so much fun sharing it with Elise,

who eats all the seeds on the spot, of course!

flower walk: a flower study intro

2015-08-18T23:06:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite things about summer is the all the flowers. I often find myself completely lost in thought over a sunflower - seriously, Hubs thinks I'm crazy! It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how long or cold the winter, those plants wait patiently to burst into bloom for a month or two of summer - just the blink of an eye, you know?

Elise seems equally intrigued, so I decided to engage her in a little deeper exploration of our colorful environment. We kicked off our flower study with a simple, sensory experience - a flower walk around the neighborhood. After filling a bag with snacks and supplies, we hit the sidewalk!

flower walk supplies:

field guides
notepad
magnifying glass
string for measuring plants and scissors for cutting the string
an assortment of markers, pens, and pencils

Of course, we ended up using our senses the most! We smelled, touched (gently!), and delighted in all the different colors and shapes we observed. Bees buzzed around us, and we pondered the orange powder coating their legs. Could it be the same stuff sprinkled on the inside of those blossoms?

As we neared home, we stopped to suck the nectar out of few climbing honeysuckle blooms. While we would never pick flowers from someone else's yard - gasp! - these are growing on a power line in an alley. Totally okay, right? Anyway, we'd done this once before, but this time we were shocked to find that the flowers were empty!!! Not even a tiny drop of nectar to be had! We pulled out the Rocky Mountain Gardener's Guide and began to read about climbing honeysuckle. Just as we got to the part about hummingbirds drinking the nectar, we heard a buzzing sound, and there was a hummingbird sipping from a flower right above our heads! Oh, I so love moments like this!

Stay tuned for more flower adventures...

busy hands - toddler edition

2015-08-05T22:17:00.001-06:00

opening and closing

matryoshka

piecing together the layers

of a much loved human body puzzle

(Hape)

matching

young and adult animal cards

(Montessori Print Shop)

putting together the pieces

of a floor puzzle

(Melissa and Doug)

red - the beginning of a scavenger hunt

inspired by Color Box 2

searching for green items around the house

- dressed in green, of course!

the epic results

of the Color Box 2 scavenger hunt

observing dairy calves

at the county fair

going on camping adventures

lots and lots of camping adventures...

washing dishes,

writing on a rainy afternoon

(making "E" for Elise for the very first time!),

hitting the trail

with the whole fam,

and filling her heart

with the wonders of nature!

^^ photo credit to Elise! ^^

... speaking of full hearts - SUPRISE!!!
Another little person will be joining our family in a couple months!

We are beside ourselves with excitement!!! :)

matching pictures to pictures

2015-07-22T22:27:00.002-06:00

As you may remember, we do A LOT of matching around here...

Elise first matched objects to objects,

then objects to pictures,

and now she's been busy matching pictures to pictures.

Just the thing for strengthening the visual discrimination

of a little person who's becoming more and more curious about letters and numbers!

Matching picture activities are pretty straightforward to put together -

all you need are six (ish!) pairs of identical images (less pairs for beginners, more for those wanting a challenge).

Montessori Printshop and Montessori for Everyone offer many free or inexpensive sets of cards to download and print. Postcards, concentration/memory game cards, and photographs are also good options.

OK, ready for our favorite matching picture activity?

Calendars!

Please tell me you hoard old calendars, too, right?!

Some are just so lovely, they're hard to recycle at the end of the year...

Anyway, now you can put those old calendars to use! Cut out and laminate the sample images from the back of a calendar to create little cards. Attach small pieces of sticky back velcro, and put the little cards in a basket.

Next, cut apart the main calendar pages and attach the opposite pieces of sticky back velcro to the lower, right corners. Hang the calendar pages all around the classroom/house/wherever.

Ready, set, match!!!

Elise loves running around the house, looking for matches -

it's kind of like a scavenger hunt. :)

Want to see a blast from the past?

This was a popular activity back in my teaching days - check it out here!

Happy summer, friends!

making tracks: a plaster cast tutorial

2015-03-17T16:04:00.000-06:00

One of our favorite things to do on walks is look for tracks. Since most wild animals are active during the early morning or evening - times when we're usually cozy at home - tracks are one of the best ways to observe who's been there and what they've been up to.

A few weeks ago, we discovered several sets of deer tracks on the sidewalk outside our house. We had so much fun following the tracks, imagining the family of deer that walked by while the neighborhood slept!

I decided to build on this interest by making plaster casts of a few tracks with Elise that we could bring home. Something to actually hold in our hands and study!

Here's how we did it:

What you'll need:

plaster of paris - we made 4 tracks and used about 2 pounds
water - we used less than our 32 oz bottle held
long strips of poster board - ours were about 3 x 18 inches
paper clips - for fastening the poster board strips around the tracks
disposable bowls - for mixing the plaster
spoons - also for mixing the plaster
not pictured: paper towels (this project is NOT as clean as I've made it look!!!) and bags for cushioning and transporting the finished casts

^^ Find a track - the deeper and more well-defined the better! ^^

^^ Bend a strip of poster board into a ring slightly larger than the track, secure with a paper clip, and push securely into the ground. ^^

^^ Use a spoon to measure the plaster of paris into a bowl - we weren't too exact! ;) ^^

^^ Add water and mix well - the ratio should be about 2 parts plaster of paris to 1 part water. ^^

^^ Gently pour the mixture over the track - an inch or so will do. ^^

^^ Have a snack - the plaster of paris will take about a half an hour to set. ^^

^^ We had hoped to make a Rosie track, but she was not cooperative - imagine that! ^^

^^ Use the trowel to loosen the soil around the track, and lift it out - wow! ^^

^^ We let our casts set completely overnight before giving them a good scrub! ^^

^^ Guess that track! We've been using our field guides to identify the tracks and read about the animals who made them. I haven't done it yet, but I've been thinking about making a set of animal cards to match with the tracks... I'll be sure to share them if I do! ^^

busy hands - toddler edition

2015-03-12T15:38:00.000-06:00

slicing strawberries

to top our morning oatmeal

dressing a doll

- doll clothes are a great way to practice buttoning, zipping, and snapping!

whoo hooo!!! listening for owls

- inspired by Jane Yolen's Owl Moon.

scavenging around the house

for circles, squares, and triangles

filling a spool rack with beads

- a fun idea I'd seen floating around the Montessori facebook groups!

the completed project

Elise ran out of beads, so she finished filling all the posts with - surprise! - spools!

exploring our winter nature table

- Usually our nature table is filled with items found in nature,

but this little variation inspired lots of play

when the outdoor world was covered in snow!

Oh! I'm in this one, too! ;)

hanging peanut butter pine cones

- a wintry treat for all our bird friends in the park!

MT beach weather

2015-03-06T15:39:00.000-07:00

The spring-like weather took us out on a little adventure this morning.

Instead of our usual loop through the park, we went a little further,

and explored a sandbar along the Yellowstone River.

Rosie went swimming!

Wild dog - do you see the size of her stick?

Elise joyfully dug into the sand,

warm on top, cold underneath.

She told me she was "looking for creatures."

And me?

I sat back and soaked up the sunshine.

A perfect Friday activity. :)

After our walk, I put together this invitation to create

with a few of the treasures we collected by the river,

and a ball of fresh play dough.

You may not know, but we have recently switched to - gasp! - cooked play dough!

Yes, we ran out of cream of tarter one day, so we made a "no cream of tarter needed" recipe found on pinterest.

The texture is comparable to the gooey Play Doh from the store.

Here's a link to the recipe we've been using: Homemade Playdough (To the Moon and Back).

Anyway, I really want to put together more open ended art activities like this for Elise

- who has been creating like crazy lately!

This particular activity was inspired by this post from Happiness is here.

Do you read this blog? I just discovered it a few days ago, and I can't get enough.

Check it out!

Happy weekend, friends!

a little tour: our calendar routine

2015-03-03T15:17:00.003-07:00

March marks our sixth month of incorporating calendar activities into our daily routine, so I thought it was high time I shared a little about it with all of you here on itty bitty love!

A calendar can be useful for...

supporting an understanding of the passage of time;
introducing vocabulary like days of the week, phases of the moon, etc;
encouraging an appreciation of seasons;
making scientific observations of things like moon cycles and weather patterns;
providing the opportunity to count, everyday!

Nuts & bolts:

I found a lot of inspiration for our calendar on the Counting Coconuts blog - please check out Mari-Ann's calender post if you haven't already. She also shares several free date card sets to download and print.
Our calendar is attached to a cork board with push pins. The background for the date cards and days of the week is a piece of poster board. I used a black marker to draw a grid of 2" x 2" squares, leaving a little room at the top for the days of the week.
The month, days of the week, year, and season cards are color coded by season - winter is blue, spring is green, summer is yellow, and fall is red. When the season changes, I change these cards.
Each month, Elise and I make a new set of date cards. Since our squares are small, I've found that a lot of the downloadable cards are too big. Instead, I cut them from card stock, write the number in the corner with a marker, and give Elise a sheet of seasonal stickers for decorating. This month, she adorned them with dabs of paint!
We mark the date by hanging a little necklace charm (a bird on one side, a bee on the other - my good luck charm while pregnant with Elise!) on that day's push pin.
The phases of the moon cards are from Montessori Print Shop.*
The weather cards are from learn create love.*
The cards that aren't in use are held together with metal rings, and hang from hooks attached to the bottom of the cork board. They're almost like little books, and I love that they're available for Elise to look at whenever she wants!

* In case you're wondering, I don't have a color printer. Instead, I uploaded the phases of the moon and weather cards to a local print shop, and then picked them up the next day - easy peasy!

Our routine:

We generally do our calendar routine around breakfast time, when we're talking about our day and the upcoming week. If we miss doing the calendar together for some reason, I don't sweat it, but instead try to keep it up-to-date on my own since it's part of our environment.

First, we point and sing to the days of the week - in Spanish or in English - to the tune of "Oh, My Darling Clementine." When we get to whatever day of the week it is, we pause, then jump up and down, waving our arms around, saying the name of the day. ~ Sunday, Monday, Tuesday - Tuesday? Today is Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday!, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday (repeat 2x)
Next, we point and count the date cards - in Spanish or in English - moving the charm over one space to the new day. At this point, I say the whole date, pointing to the calendar, and Elise chimes in here and there. ~ Today is Tuesday, the third day of March, and the year is 2015. ~
Then, we chitchat about the season, the weather, and the moon. We change the weather cards throughout the day. For example, we might hang the sunny card in the morning, and then later add the windy card after returning home from a breezy walk. We also change the moon cards as we observe the current phase of the moon - we try to check at night before bedtime. The first quarter moon is easy to spot because it rises at noon! Another little trick we've learned is that if you can "hold" the moon in your right hand, it's getting bigger (waxing); if you can "hold" it in your left hand, it's getting smaller (waning).

Elise participates in all calendar duties, including taking down the old date cards and hanging up the new ones. I really enjoy watching her concept of the passage of time develop. Last month we had a birthday party to look forward to, and Elise eagerly ran to her calendar each morning to count down the days.

In the beginning, I wasn't sure about incorporating the phases of the moon and the weather, but Elise enjoys these two calendar features immensely - and they have really sharpened her observational skills. One of my favorite moments was on a family bike ride last fall. We were cruising along when suddenly Elise exclaimed, "Look! A waxing gibbous!" Hubs turned to me and said, "Did she just say waxing gibbous?" As we watched Elise reach up to cup the outline of the moon in her right hand, I replied, "Yes, and it looks like she knows what she's talking about!"

our favorite winter reads

2015-02-27T15:27:00.001-07:00

We'd been waiting for a really big snow, saving good stuff in a sack. Finally it was a perfect snowball day.

- Lois Ehlert (from Snowballs)

Here are a few of our favorite books to snuggle up with on a snowy afternoon. With the exception of the talking animals in Stranger in the Woods, all of these books are based in reality. Which is just right for 2.5 year-old Elise - too much fantasy leaves her confused and concerned!

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
In the Snow: Who's Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George
Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
What Can You Do in the Snow? by Anna Grossnickle Hines

What do you plan on reading this weekend?

the gift of play dough

2014-12-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

Homemade play dough has become our

go-to gift for friends.

It's inexpensive and easy to make.

The recipient will have a ball

while strengthening his or her fine motor skills.

(Sorry - once a Montessori teacher, always a Montessori teacher!)

Ultimately, it can be composted or thrown away, the container recycled.

Plus, nothing beats giving a gift that

you made with your very own hands, right?!!

(Just ask Elise - she was nearly bursting with pride

watching her friend unwrap the snowman on the left

- she made the one on the right for herself, of course!)

To make the snowman play dough,

we followed the Imagination Tree's 4 Minute Play Dough Recipe,

and kneaded in some silver glitter and a splash of peppermint extract at the end.

In addition to the sparkly dough, we put together a few snowman supplies:

buttons,

googly eyes,

twig arms,

felt scarves,

and carrot noses (cut golf tees and toothpicks).

Of course, we had to put the snowman play dough in snowman jars

- thank you Eltern vom Mars!

In the photo at the top of the post, the jars are wearing knitted hats,

but if you're not a knitter - or you just don't want to spend your precious time knitting hats for jars -

try cutting off the toe of a single sock and gluing a pom pom to the top.

(The sock hat pictured above came off an extremely cute, child-made sock snowman

we purchased at a craft fair this weekend.)

Happy gifting!

looking back at summer: the pea fort

2014-11-26T15:07:00.002-07:00

^^ The Pea Fort - July 2014 ^^

I took a little blogging break over the summer,

and I know there are A LOT of readers wondering

What ever happened with The Pea Fort?

For those of you who just started reading itty bitty love,

The Pea Fort is a trellis-like structure we built

and planted pea and bean seeds around

- in hopes of creating an edible playhouse for Elise.

You can read more about it here and here.

^^ Elise feasted on peas and beans all summer! ^^

I had plans of picking some to freeze and enjoy over the winter,

but all were consumed immediately upon being picked,

either inside or just outside of The Pea Fort. :)

That makes more sense anyway,

don't you think?

^^ ~~The Pea Fort~~ The Snow Cave - November 2014 ^^

What will we plant next year?

Maybe more beans and a few less peas.

(The pea plants died-back once the weather got hot,

and it was tricky pulling them out from around the bean plants.)

I'd also like to try a climbing flower or two.

Morning glories? Sweet peas? Hmmmm...

We have all winter to dream!

favorite veggie reads

2014-11-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

- Michael Pollan (In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto)

A few books that have inspired our growing love of vegetables!

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
Vegetables, Vegetables! by Fay Robinson
Vegetables in the Garden by Pascale De Bourgoing
The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons
Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop
Food For Thought by Saxton Freymann

vegetable taste test

2014-11-19T14:51:00.002-07:00

Did you know that when you're eating vegetables, sometimes you're eating leaves? And stems?! And flowers?!!!

I'm sure you knew that, and I guess I did, too - I just hadn't really thought of it that way before. Elise, on the other hand, apparently thinks about it a lot. A few mornings ago, before she even rolled out of bed, she exclaimed, "Mama! I eat leaves!!!" Surprised, I responded, "You do?!" To which she replied, "Yes, salad!"

Anyway, this early-morning conversation about the parts of plants that we eat inspired this vegetable taste test. It was so much fun, we actually put it together again to go along with our lunch! ;)

root - carrot

bulb - scallion

stem - celery

leaves - spinach

flowers - broccoli

fruit - cucumber

seeds - peas

(We didn't have one of these prepared, but for bonus points, eat a tuber - potato!)

Please check back on Friday for a list of our favorite vegetable books!

matching objects to pictures

2014-11-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

One of the principles of Montessori education is to move from concrete to abstract. First, Elise matched objects to objects, now she's matching objects to pictures, and soon she'll be matching pictures to pictures...

Why matching?

Matching supports the development of visual discrimination,

which is an important reading skill.

Matching can also enrich vocabulary,

especially if the items being matched are related.

Matching provides experience in 1-1 correspondence,

which is a critical math skill.

Matching also requires problem solving;

the visual disharmony of mismatched items provides a control of error.

Oh, and there's just something so interesting

about seeing two items that are exactly the same, right?

Whew! Ready to match objects to pictures?

Here we go!

^^ "Hey! I have that!" - matching familiar items to catalog photos ^^

^^ matching Rosie to photos of Australian Cattle Dogs in The Ultimate Dog Book

- Elise finds this mach a lot! ^^

^^ real-life matching - We bring field guides on all our walks. ^^

^^ matching vintage fake fruit to fruit cards from Montessori Print Shop

- The fruit was leftover from a Carmen Miranda costume, but real fruit would work, too! ^^

^^ matching familiar items to laminated photos ^^

^^ matching farm animal figurines to Moo ^^

^^ matching North American mammal figurines to postcards ^^

^^ story props - matching percussion instruments to My Family Plays Music ^^

^^ matching rings to their color-coordinated silhouettes

- I made the cards by tracing each ring on paper and filling in the outlines with colored pencil ^^

^^matching dishes and utensils to a Montessori-inspired placemat

- I made the placemat by tracing Elise's dishes and utensils on construction paper and aluminum foil. After cutting them out, I glued them to poster board and attached contact paper. ^^

^^ matching miscellaneous items to the silhouettes in Black & White ^^

^^ Black & White is an accordion-style book, so after matching the first side, Elise flipped it over and scavenged around the house for items to match the other side! ^^

^^ matching the pieces of a shape puzzle to their color-coordinated outlines ^^

^^ matching cooking utensils to their outlines ^^

^^ Elise found this matching activity on her Language shelf before I had the chance to present it to her,

but she knew exactly what to do! :) ^^

Still looking for more matching objects to pictures inspiration???

This was one of my favorite diy materials from my teaching days: a matching objects to pictures collage!
I think this matching objects to pictures idea from Chasing Cheerios is really clever: Black Bean Bowl of "B" Objects.
If you are handy with a camera and printer, How we Montessori has a great tutorial for making your own cards: Matching with more and DIY cards.

a montessori-inspired placemat

2014-11-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

A place for my plate

my napkin,

my glass,

and my fork, knife and spoon?!

Brilliant!

Yes, Elise, my little love, I think so, too...

Not only does this placemat appeal to your sense of order,

it reinforces your vocabulary as you name each item,

it provides a control of error as you set your place at the table,

and it offers you an opportunity to match objects to pictures -

which is helping you to develop visual discrimination.

Wow. :)

For more matching objects to pictures,

come back on Tuesday!

We're matching the whole dang house!!!!

(Well, not really, but almost.)

sssssssssssssssssssss........

2014-11-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

For a little Friday afternoon fun, I thought I'd share a few photos of our diy Halloween decor this year - giant snakes!!! I know, I know! Halloween was a week ago, but - gah! I can't get enough of these two slithery fellows...

I made them from flat, twin-sized sheets I found at the thrift store. Elise and I stuffed them with leaves, and the rest is history! Well, it was actually a lot more work than that, but they did come together in the end - and they were a huge hit with all our trick-or-treaters! ;)

Happy weekend, friends!

busy hands - toddler edition

2014-11-05T14:41:00.001-07:00

A quick glimpse at all the fun things Elise has been up to the past couple months...

posting coins

building bears

investigating a bear trunk

stacking blocks

reading with G-Bob

crafting with friends

spraying rocks

swinging on the big swings

pasting pictures

experimenting with cornstarch and water

slicing cheese with a knife

dreaming about winter