Kids love surprises. This is one of Little Angel's favorite works. It is also one of mine as I love watching her expression and listening to her dramatic gasp as she pulls each word card out of the "mystery bag" and unfolds it revealing the "surprise." This is one of the great things about Montessori -- the children get to practice the same skill over and over, but in a variety of interesting ways.
I created my "Mystery Bag" out of an old placemat and secured velcro to the top. I made "mystery word" cards out of two and three letter phonetic words(and longer phonetic words for the blue series) and folded them up and slipped them into the bag.
She opens the bag and reaches in and pulls out a folded piece of paper, then opens it and reads each word (like it is a most-asked-for Christmas present!).
I have created some pre-made mystery cards and have them available on my website for the pink, blue series (and I have a set of charade cards for the green series that I have been known to use in this bag.
I love this idea. I think I will be making a "mystery bag" today. My second oldest has a bad learning disability and is really bummed about repeating second grade, but his reading just isn't up to par no matter what we do or how long we work. This would help put some fun back into word recognition time.
ReplyDeleteKathleen
It did for my daughter and the great thing is, you can make it with supplies around the house... my mystery bag is a "what can I make a bag out of in 5 min" creation and the word cards can be created as you go along. Thanks for the positive words!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you, also, for stopping by my blog! I am now following you!
-Jessica a.k.a Nya's mom
What a great idea! I love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the follow, I am returning it now! Debra- http://www.housewifeeclectic.com
Another excellent post! I love all of your ideas. I am a teacher, but have been out of the loop for a bit, so it is so nice to see your great ideas. I have to try this with my daughter. Thank you for your nice comment about empathy. It is sad, but not a lot of people display this on a daily basis. I want my daughter to learn to be aware of how others may be feeling. I hope you have a great day!
ReplyDeleteMama Hen
Do you have a button? I would like to add it to my blog love! :)
ReplyDeleteMama Hen
Whew! I finally have a button... I thought my eyeballs were going to pop I was staring at the screen so long... my image wasn't coming through :).
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea. I'll have to try this! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'll be following to see more of your ideas for learning!
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Laura