Teachers tip: In A montessori classroom we never do for a child what they can do for themselves. Take the time to evaluate what practical life skills you would like your child to master. Putting on her own shoes? Making herself a bowl of cereal? Making her bed?Doing her own laundry and putting it away?
Focus on one skill at a time and make it easy for her to do by having all items accessible and organized. Give a good lesson and hold the expectation consistently and the mastery of a new skill will manifest.
Materials:
Coffee filters
Washable markers
Squirt/spray bottle
Paper towels
Black construction paper
Scissors
Double sided tape or glue
Activity:
Color coffee filter with markers. Make sure most of the filter is colored. Place on several paper towels (to reduce mess). Using the squirt bottle spray the coffee filter, the colors will start to spread. Let coffee filter dry. Make a frame, example a tulip. Fold a piece of black construction in half. Cut the shape of half a tulip. Then cut the same shape again leaving 1/4 inch or so of paper around the edge. When you unfold the paper you will have the outline of a tulip. Use a small piece of tape and tape the tulip frame to the coffee filter. Trim the excess filter. Hang in a sunny window.
Tuesday
Aluminum boats
Materials:
- Aluminum foil
- Coins (pennies or dimes recommended)
- A bowl filled with water
Instructions:
Make a boat out of your foil! This boat can look however you want but remember that you want it to be strong enough to hold some coins.
You can test your boat before you put coins in it to make sure it floats on its own and if you are confident in your boat you can add your coins in one at a time!
Questions:
- How many coins do you think your boat will hold?
- If you make more than one boat of different sizes, which size did better?
- Is there another object you think your boat can hold? Try it out after your coins!
Wednesday
Plant Dusting
Supplies
Cotton balls
Eye dropper bottle w/ water inside
Optional small dish
Directions
Children love to care for the plants in the classroom and plant dusting is a preferred activity. Show your child how to use the dropper bottle to drop the water in to the dish or directly on to the cotton ball.
Gently hold the leaf in your hand and wipe the dust of of the leaf.
Discard the cotton ball in the trash and repeat.
Thursday
Playdough from Scratch!
This recipe will make one ball of play dough, it has to no Cream of Tartar, and it lasts about seven days when it it sealed up tight.
Here is what you will need: 2 1/4cupswhite all-purpose flour 1cup salt1 1/4 cups hot water
2TB olive or avocado oilFood coloring *
How to make our play dough:In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the hot water and oil to the flour and salt mixture. If you're using a dye to color the dough, add it to the bowl (the amount you use will depend on your personal preference). Stir the dough until it forms a bowl. Once the dough begins to form a ball, knead the dough with your hands, adding more flour if it's needed. I usually end up adding 2 tablespoons of extra flour to reach my desired consistency.
Fun things you can do with your play dough:
Go outside to find leaves, twigs, and flowers to press into the dough. Your child can admire the different patterns and designs they can make.
Your child can work on their letters. They can do this by using stamps (if you have them), or shaping the play dough into the letters.
Speaking of stamps any shapes could be fun to print into the dough.
How tall of a tower can they build using spaghetti noodles, cheerios and beads?
Toothpicks can make sculptures. You can also use spaghetti like above.
A House:
A Garage:
