giveaway

Winner Winner!!!!!

Ok….it should be winner winner winner! 😉 Our three lucky winners are Andre, Emily, and Samantha! Congratulations! I really am so glad to see how many of you entered! I really wish that I could offer each one of you a free bundle. I read each comment you wrote and they made me wish I could help you all. I know that I cant give you all a book, but I can do you a small favor! Right now, you can get your own copy of Montessori at Home! for only $8.95! What a great deal! Its less then a pizza! 😉 So I hope that you take a moment to check it out as you move along your Montessori Journey! Happy Schooling to you all!

A Bit of Montessori for You!

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I have exciting news here today! John Bowman, the amazing author of Montessori at Home! has offered to giveaway his bundle of awesome resources to THREE of you wonderful readers! I for one love this book! It is the perfect starting point for anyone who wants to do some Montessori work at home! Whether you are a wanting to add a little bit or if you want to start homeschooling full time, this is the best book to start with! Here is what John has written about his book:

The 2013 Third Edition of Montessori At Home!, gives you everything you need to be successful doing early learning activities with your 3-6 year old, including:

  • Clear, organized, thorough chapters on Maria Montessori, Early Childhood Education, Using Montessori Principles in Parenting, The Neuroscience of early childhood development, and a Parent’s Guide to Using Learning Materials at Home. With this information, you will be confident in your ability to provide your child with quality early learning experiences.
  • A Quick Start Guide, Ages & Activities Chart, and Suggested First Activities to get your activities off to a great start.
  • Links to sites, blogs, and videos expanding on the information in the book are found on almost every page – hundreds in total. The result is a virtual college course on understanding how your preschooler is developing and how to help her reach more of her true potential.
  • Over 300 activities in the areas of Practical Life, Sensorial, Art & Music, Science, Digital Life, Mathematics, Reading, and Writing. The activities are sequence from the easiest to the more difficult, to make finding appropriate activities for your child easier.
  • Recommendations throughout the book for over 225 educational apps for preschoolers, and a Digital Life chapter with many ideas on safely introducing preschoolers to digital media.
  • 56 Pages of free printables to accompany many of the activities.
  • A free copy of the eBook: Mom Bloggers Talk Montessori – Favorite Activities & Ideas. This wonderful collection of the shared experiences of many Moms doing Montessori at home will help you get started and guide you along your way.

You could spend months and untold hours searching hundreds of blogs and reading books by Montessori and other educators to try to put together a coherent early learning program for your child. Or, you can buy Montessori At Home! for only $10.95 and get started in a few days. With Montessori At Home! on your computer or iPad, you are ready to start doing activities, and seeing results, right away.

Montessori At Home! is literally the only reference resource you need to create an effective home early learning program. The first two editions of Montessori At Home! have been downloaded by over 4000 parents, and many teachers, all over the world. The Third Edition is greatly expanded based on feedback from many parents. It has everything you need to do a complete Montessori early learning program right at home.

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So now you want to know what you want to do to win one, right? Well here is what you need to do! Just look below here for the Rafflecopter Widget and follow the directions! Simple! Now this is a fast one, so be sure to enter NOW! Plus share it with your friends….or at least tell them how cool this book is! Now, if you are like me, you are feeling a little like you don’t want to wait for 5 days! You want the book TODAY! So…..I have good news: Instead of the regular $10.95, you can get it for just $8.95 for a limited time! That is SO inexpensive for what it is (really its less then a pizza)! So Click here to order it today! So show some love, enter to win, and Good Luck to you all!
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Timeline of Life and AN ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!!!!!

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I have another amazing product review for you today! As many of you know, at the beginning of the year I had a heck of a time working out how to do elementary Montessori work in a homeschool setting. One of the big things that I had a hard time working out was the timeline of life. It was just SO expensive and I just didnt have the money to do it. So after a bunch of research, I finally made my own timeline using the pictures from the timeline of life that was on the market. I hand drew all the pictures and added the time periods. I of course shared it with you so that you wouldn’t have to do all that work too! 🙂 However, as pretty as it was, Bunny just never really was interested in using it for research! What I found was that we had no real way of finding more information. She might want to know more, but I didnt know where to find more information. This made the timeline pretty much just a pretty picture. Well all this changed when Montessori Services sent me a copy of their Timeline of Life Research Books! They are….AWESOME! Each page has one of the pictures from the timeline and underneath it is a paragraph with information on that picture. Each time period is explained on a page before the pictures from that time. They are very though, interestingly written, and ready to answer those burning questions about things that are on the timeline! What I love is that they are small, and they work perfectly with the timeline I made! I think that if there were something that I would recommend buying it would be these! Even without the timeline, you could easy make the timeline by copying the pictures in the book to add to your own timeline. The information in these make them an invaluable resource for the Great Lessons!
 



Now since I know that you are dying to get your hands on these before the next school year, I have great news! Montessori Services is offering ANOTHER $25 gift card to one of my readers!!!!! That means you have another chance to win another gift card! This is a quick one! It ends Sunday so be sure to enter fast!!!! If you dont even win, stop over there and look around. They have the best prices, and the BEST selection of amazing learning materials. Plus if you want a copy of my timeline of life, you can download it HERE! And to enter for the other giveaway, click here! Good Luck and Happy Schooling!

* Disclaimer: I received these products for free to review for Montessori Services. This is my own, honest opinion. I also am an affiliate of Montessori Services and receive a small percentage of any orders placed from my blog! Your support means the world to me!*
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Montessori Monday~ Botany Trays and A GIVEAWAY!

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Happy Monday everyone! Today I have some new trays to share with you, and a review of the adorable crumbing set from Montessori Services! As you know, I have had a really hard finding some new trays for Pup. She has not really been that interested in any practical life work. But when I saw this adorable crumbing set, I knew it would be a hit! Montessori Service was kind enough to send one to me so I could show it to you in action, and action it will see! I placed it on a tray for right now, but I know we will be using this to sweep up after playdough (you know those little dried up bits), to sweep cracker crumbs, and to sweep…well a million things! 🙂 The little set is made with a such care and perfection! The little broom is wooden with soft bristles, and the pan is metal with a wooden handle. It is really pretty and so useful! Plus, Montessori Services is the only place that carries this set! Believe me, I have searched and searched! Pup really loved it! Even Bunny wanted in on a chance to use this pretty little set!

 
I also thought that you would love to see a few more trays that are a spring/ botany theme! Some of them I made today, and some are older ones! My girls love to have things match what they are learning about!
 
Art Challenge: Make a Leaf

Tracing Leaves
 
 
Flowing arranging
 
Spooning
 
Pouring
 
Sensory Bin
 
Rain Water
(The child shakes the salt shaker of water into the pitcher, then pour it back)
 
The work would be SO much better and prettier with the Montessori Services broom and pan! 🙂
 
It is just the perfect size for little hands! Now I know that you want one too! Well the lovely people at Montessori Services have so generously offered one of my amazing readers a $25 gift card! The entry form is below, so be sure to enter! You can get the crumbing set and something else with that! They have it all! Every practical life things to make millions of trays, pre made trays for those without time, books, rugs, child sized tools for everywhere, and even elementary work! Heck, just stop by and get a little something tot help kick the spring burnout! The prices are great. Good Luck!  Be sure to stop back tomorrow for another giveaway!
 
*Disclaimer: I was given the crumbing set to give my honest review. I am also an affiliate of Montessori Service, so any order you place here, will give me a tiny percentage of your order! Thanks in advance for supporting us here with your order! It helps a ton!  Happy Schooling!
 


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Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty List and Giveaway

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Well everyone its that time of year again! Christmas is coming and its coming really fast! I dont know about you, but I am always looking for a great new toy that is educational and well made! I love to buy toys for my girls and I love it when that toy offers some kind of purpose. One of my go to toy companies is Melissa and Doug! There are so many things that they make that are just perfect for fun and learning all in one! So when they wanted me to share with you a list of their Top 20 Toys I said “Sure”! Not only are they giving you a great list, but they are giving something away off of it for the next 20 days!!!!! All you need to do is sign up at their Facebook Page!
 
Doorbell House
 
Plus, they are giving away the Doorbell House to one of my lucky readers! I for one, have wanted to buy this for a while now because, what’s not to love about keys and locks! Every kid will love to unlock the doors to find out what is inside and hide their own things in it too! Plus, there are working door bells! This is truly a Montessori Toy. Learning and fun all wrapped in on perfect little gift! All you need to do is leave me a comment and tell me your favorite holiday gift idea! Do you want another chance to win? Then follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google Friend Connect, or Pintrest and leave me a comment to let me know! I will choose a winner on November 13! Good Luck and Happy Shopping!
 
And the winner is:
SolDucky!
Congratulations!!!!! Please send me your contact information ASAP! 🙂

AWESOME Giveaway!

missrhondafeature Leap into Summer Reading with the Extraordinary Miss Rhondas Readers {Giveaway}

As many of you know, Bunny is still learning to read. As we have been learning, I have had the delight to find, Miss Rhonda’s Readers! They are amazing! We have set one, and these are the books that have been the best for Bunny as she gains confidence to read bigger books! I love them and Carrots are Orange is giving away a complete set of all of the Miss Rhonda’s readers!!!!! I am so excited and hope I win, but I wish you luck too! Stop by and enter!

Montessori Monday~ Seed Collecting and Giveaway Winners!!!!!

Well today we went out on a seed hunt! This is one of the awesome ideas from the waseca study and I really wanted to do it. We didn’t get to it last week, so I thought we would extend our plant study a week! Bunny has been really interested, so I thought we would keep going with the plant learning and get into the plant classifications and stuff like that while we are on the subject! So after a bit of work here at home, we headed to the park to see how many different kinds of seed we could find. Before we left I found a chart online about the different ways seeds are spread and we took that with us so we could compare it to what we found. We found several different grasses, but since it is spring, there really wasn’t too many types of seed that were out there to see. But it was fun to look!

Another amazing thing that happened here today was that I finally took Bunny’s training wheels off her bike! Yes, I know, it is rather late. She really was ready, but I just hadn’t taken the time. Bad mommy! 🙂 But today was the day and guess what, she only needed me to hold the bike once! She just took off and rode! No kidding! I have never seen a kid just ride! She fell once, but that was because I tried to catch her and the bike slipped from underneath her! She was more then ready! She is so proud of herself and so an I!!!!

Now she is all big!!!!
Now on to the part you all really want to know….who are my two winners of the Montessori At Home Bundle!!!!! Drum Roll please……the winners are:
Comment 91:
 Ajar who said: We would like it as a shared gift between my friend (who is still rather skeptical about homeschooling) and myself.
AND
Comment 106:
Tanya M. who said: Thank you for the giveaway! Would really love to win!
Congratulations both of you!!!! You will both win:
The Montessori At Home! Second Edition eBook from John Bowman



The Montessori At Home! bundle of 21 printable materials from Montessori Print Shop.

A free copy of the eBook: Mom Bloggers Talk Montessori by Deb Chitwood and John Bowman

AND at $20 gift certificate to a Montessori Supplier!!!!

All I need from you is your email address.
You can contact me at hopeleader{at}gmail{dot}com
The sooner I hear from you the sooner you will get your prize! (I need to hear from you by Wednesday or I will have to pick a new winner)
 Congratulations!!!!!
Now I really wish I could give each and everyone of you a bundle, but I really cant. 🙁 I can however give you all a discount on buying this amazing book! I REALLY cannot recommend this book enough! It is an AWESOME resource for anyone who is trying to start or is using Montessori in their home! Plus its affordable, especially since John Bowman is giving it to my readers for the next week for $7.95!!!! What a deal!!! You can buy the book (or the bundle) here! I hope you will all go and check it out! Happy Schooling Everyone!!!!

A Giveaway that is not to miss!!!!!

My Boy’s Teacher over at What DID we do all day? is hosting a giveaway of the Montessori Print Shop Zoology Materials Bundle!!!!! This set has all the nomenclature booklets that are just perfect for all the summer studies that we are planning (Hey we study while the weather allows)! If you head over there, you can enter to win all of it!!!!! I am really excited about this one! Animals are always an amazing hit and I think these booklets are going to inspire some serious learning!!!!!

A Winner and a Gift for All!!!!

Well today is the day! I am here to announce the winner of the Worldwide Montessori Course! I was very delighted by all the response and I wish that I could give all of you a seat in the course, but I just cant! So I have entered all the numbers into the random number generator and the winner is number 18~ Kimberly!

Kimberly said:
“I would LOVE to win this course! I think it will really help me in teaching not only my own children, but also the ones I teach on Sundays! (I just wish it was available years ago when my oldest was this age!!)”

Congratulations Kimberly!!!!! Please send my your contact info. within the next 24 hours so I can get you the information you need! If I don’t hear from you, I will have to choose another winner! I cant wait to hear from you!

And for all the rest of you I have a special little gift from Karen! She is offering all of my readers her Geography album for FREE!!!! The whole and complete album for all of you!

I really hope that you enjoy this! I love how she brings the geography to a personal level for the children! And if you really like this, be sure to stop by visit Karen at Worldwide Montessori to check out her course! She has a new starting on March 1!!! It really is worth it all! 🙂 I have been doing a lot of thinking and prep work for our classroom the last few days. I am hoping that it really makes our work time longer and more productive! We are continuing our Body theme and I am really working on getting things in gear! So stop by tomorrow for Montessori Monday and I will have all my new things ready for you to see! Happy Schooling!

Montessori Monday~ Body Week 2

Well I decided to take this week and focus on the senses! I really do have plans to talk about one a day, but I’m not sure that it will happen. We will see! I will be pulling out the different Montessori materials that work with the each sense at some point this week! Today we talked about the different senses and the girls were really interested. I did have a book to read and a work to go with the presentation. I made some picture labels of each sense and then found two objects for each sense. After I read the book the girls and I sorted them out! They really liked it alot! I put it out on the shelves so that they can do some more independent work! Another new tray that we have out, is a mirror and some paper. I had Bunny use the mirror to observe her sense organs and draw them. She did an amazing job and really used a lot of detail! I think later this week I will suggest a self portrait! We did get quite a bit of good work in! Bunny and I did some more letter sounds and she seemed to remember two out of three! Yeah! Thats better! I added one more. I think that this is going to work, if I just keep moving slow! I really appreciate all of your help!!!! Anyway, here are the pictures from out work time!!!

Sense Sorting Basket

Observing Your Senses

Bunny’s Plan for the week!

Bunny was very proud that she was able to match the objects to the sound! After that we wrote some words! I gave the choice of using the moveable alphabet or paper. She chose to use the alphabet because she didnt want to erase if she made a mistake. Here are her words (the sound above is the one she was using).

Another thing that we did was make some cookies! We are having a Valentines craft day tomorrow and I needed a pretty snack.So I thought that the girls would like to help bake! And they did! I gave each girl a job! They all helped cut them out! 🙂 Plus it was a great way to talk about all of our senses! We touched the dough, heard the timer and the mixer, smelled the baking cookies, saw the cookie cutters cut the dough, and of course tasted the cookies! 😉 Fun learning!

I told Bunny that she had to do the subtraction snake game again (even if “its not fair that she cant keep all the golden beads”!) She did a great job, and then as a reward for giving up her golden beads, I let her do the addition game! 🙂

Here is Bunny working on pictures of her sense organs! I think that she did an amazing job! I loved that she added alot of detail! I think that having a mirror added a way for her to see what to draw! I am really proud of her.

Here is her cover of the book
(As you can see, she has learned the sound “ie” She wrote “my” as “mie”! Yeah!!!!!)

Hearing

Touch
(can you see the had creases she added?)

Smell

Taste
(she even added taste buds!)

Sight
So that is what we were up to! I think that we are beginning a great week! I hope that you really hope that you are having a wonderful start to your week too! I am linking up with Deb’s linky party, Montessori Monday, so stop by there and check out some wonderful Montessori work! And also dont forget to enter my giveaway for Karen Tyler’s Worldwide Montessori Course!!!!! You can find that link here!!!!!!