Well we are going to be getting back to a bit of schooling this year! I have my trays ready for the week and I think we are going to go back to trying out a month long theme. I know that I got away from this at the beginning of the year when I tried the ABC thing (It didn’t work out so well) ans we were changing things weekly. Well as much as I like making trays, I think that things are really moving just a little too fast! SO…we are going to slow down and do a monthly theme. I will put out a new tray each week (to add some interest) and we will learn about the theme in different aspects. So this January we are going to be talking about winter and snow! I want to talk about how a snowflake forms, what an avalanche is, the states of matter (liquid, solid, and gas), what animals do in the cold, ice and freezing, temperature, symmetry, etc. There are alot of things we can do with this theme. I think another thing I love about this theme is that we can get out and play in the snow and it still qualifies as school work! 😉 I am excited and so are the girls. Now if we could just get some snow here we could really get studying! But until then, here are the trays I made today! I also have a few pictures of the girls who got to work before I even finished putting things together!
Flipping Snowflakes
(There is a colored sticker on one side to see that you flipped it correctly)
Water Drop Transfer
(I just thought that the kids would have fun. We always need at least one water work. Bunny said that if we froze the tray with water in it, the holes would look like igloos! So I guess it fits the theme after all!)
Dressing Basket
(This idea is from last year, but it so great for kids to practice getting into winter gear!)
Inside our Basket:
~ Coat with Toggle Buttons
~ Mittens
~ Gloves
~ Hat
~Scarf
~ Boots (they tie)
Packing Peanut Sculptures
(These are those biodegradable corn starch packing peanuts that came in some of my Christmas gift packages this year. We have a TON of them. So I put them on a tray with a damp sponge. All they need to do is dampen the end of the peanut and it will stick to another one! Too much fun!)
Winter sorting!
More cookies cutter tracing!
(these are Arctic animal cookie cutters! They seemed like fun and the girls really liked tracing the Christmas ones)
Here is a new thing this month that we are going to try. This is a list of the work that Bunny needs to do this week. I want to be sure that we cover a bit of everything! We are going to pick out a picture in the continent boxes, then we will learn about that picture! I hope that this will help us utilize our continent boxes and learn about the world! We are also needed to really hit the sandpaper letters! So I am assigning a few letters a week! I also have made a booklet of math problems for Bunny to do. She has a number of them to do a week. I think that will work and help Bunny to have a goal. We’ll see how it goes!
Here is Bunny working on some math problems in her booklet. She did the three that I wanted her to do today! I told her that she could have a ticker when her work was completed and she loved the idea! Hey I can give stickers! 🙂
Pup really thought this was fun and couldn’t wait for Bunny to finish!
We played High Ho Cherrio today for our after lunch play time!
Bunny and Pup fell in love with Figure Skating on TV over the weekend. Here is Bunny putting on a show for Pup and I. I love that she made it look like an ice rink with the lighting! 😉
The girls also put on a puppet show for me the other day! I loved it! Bunny made the puppets herself with paper and tape! They did a great job!
So there we have it! We are kicking off this week with alot of fun and I cant wait to see what we do this year!I’m sure its gonna be fun! If you want to see more awesome Montessori fun, be sure to check out Living Montessori Now! Happy Schooling!
I pinned the snowflake flipping activity to do when we do our snow-themed trays! Such a great fine-motor idea! I am also a new follower (even though I have had your blog on my google reader for awhile now) and hope you will follow me back 🙂
Awesome activities, Stephanie! I think your monthly theme is a great idea … easier for you and allows plenty of opportunities for repetition. Thanks so much for linking up with Montessori Monday. I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow
Thanks so very much Deb! I think that the monthly theme will work out great. We did it last school year, but I thought that doing a weekly letter theme wouldbe better, but live and learn! 🙂 Thanks for sharing this on FB!
January 3, 2012 @ 8:53 am
Me Too LOVES Hi Ho Cheerio…he keeps his under his bed.
January 4, 2012 @ 2:37 am
Awww! Bunny loves it too, but Pup is still working out the rules! 😉 We’ll see if she can get it. Bunny really wants her to follow all the rules!
January 4, 2012 @ 1:28 pm
I pinned the snowflake flipping activity to do when we do our snow-themed trays! Such a great fine-motor idea! I am also a new follower (even though I have had your blog on my google reader for awhile now) and hope you will follow me back 🙂
January 4, 2012 @ 10:06 pm
Oh, I also wanted to let you know that I am starting a linky party featuring trays. I hope you will come and share this post!
http://his4homeschooling.blogspot.com/2012/01/whats-on-tray-wednesday-linky-party-1.html
January 6, 2012 @ 1:21 pm
Awesome activities, Stephanie! I think your monthly theme is a great idea … easier for you and allows plenty of opportunities for repetition. Thanks so much for linking up with Montessori Monday. I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow
January 7, 2012 @ 3:02 am
Thanks so very much Deb! I think that the monthly theme will work out great. We did it last school year, but I thought that doing a weekly letter theme wouldbe better, but live and learn! 🙂 Thanks for sharing this on FB!
January 9, 2012 @ 12:04 pm
I just featured your flipping snowflakes photo and your post in my Montessori-Inspired Winter Activities at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/01/09/montessori-monday-montessori-inspired-winter-activities/
January 12, 2012 @ 3:19 am
Thanks so much Deb! You are the best and I loved all the other winter posts you have! Thanks for sharing!