tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30807819887919995892024-03-13T04:50:48.058-05:00Montessori For LearningAffordable, quality, printable Montessori and Montessori-inspired lessons and activities for Montessori schools, homeschool, unschooling, ESL, tutoriing, and more!Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-70597767571371178272024-01-23T14:32:00.011-06:002024-01-23T14:34:26.159-06:00Red Level C-V-C Rhyming Word Language Set: Using Phonetically Spelled Words<p><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"" style="color: #374151; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rhyming words contribute to the development of reading fluency, allowing young readers to navigate texts with ease. The repetitive nature of rhymes fosters a sense of predictability, empowering children to anticipate words and phrases. This predictability is a valuable tool that aids in the smooth flow of reading, fostering confidence and a sense of accomplishment.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"" style="color: #374151; font-size: 16px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mastering the skill of identifying rhyming word pairs plays a key role in cultivating predictive reading abilities. When a child can identify a rhyming pattern, it empowers them to predict words with similar sounds, foster confidence in their reading ability</span><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"" style="color: #374151; font-size: 16px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. </span></span></p><p><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Below are our set of Red Level C-V-C Rhyming Word Language cards that are already prepared and can be accessed instantly to further your child's reading and language skills.</span></span></p><p><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b><a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/products/red-level-c-v-c-pattern-rhyming-word-set">Click here to access the Rhyming Word Card Sets</a>
</b></span></span></h2><p><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/products/red-level-c-v-c-pattern-rhyming-word-set" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Montessori Red Level Language, Pink Language Series, homeschool, kindergarten, print, rhyming words, lesson, activity, shop, beginning reading skills, ESL language and reading activity" border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJM_dcOhRCp11g3zNXp2RgDhiZoMmaCcB48zSzxPopTRYJwloROg4V8VAWgsuQBbZr0s2NeBvl8QNCjjuw7qP7C3C41sCWyUgk6JkjpSVCUttxrIXwf8z5QxhpSeTlMgVLNeGpEaAwmMtGOfC07iA844mJwvaXqCvrZwuGU5ThfmYjYPWZ7G5Q7k13FkNN/w377-h377/22.png" width="377" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><br /></span></div><p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><br /><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-55795700000967443192024-01-22T14:03:00.003-06:002024-01-22T14:03:48.267-06:00Four Planes of Human Development - Maria Montessori<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Finsightfulbrain%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0dsxL4mskmufMcVM1PNu6a47NoV7HTi8TEfVMSGJiCPyjLFf7g5WM6wH39cdWma5Yl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="383" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-35390384341141711012024-01-20T12:33:00.002-06:002024-01-20T22:17:39.687-06:00Building a Sense of Purpose and Responsibility Making Bread<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Finsightfulbrain%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0oFiAk9nKcKyxMJzgFqKP7jQSBAc1D1M5v4Cj5spSB9ehCUPhzGa9SLteDHspHcKSl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="481" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-82854432099638077582024-01-19T09:18:00.000-06:002024-01-19T09:18:21.060-06:00Practice Reading Skills While Learning New Concepts<p> </p><p>Children absorb so much information during their early years. Many times, you can easily teach and reinforce more than one concept at the same time. </p><p>Three year-olds can easily grasp the concept of singular and plural when it is approached in the correct manner. You don't have to buy fancy manipulatives either!</p><p>Example using household items:</p><p>Gather several of the exact same object. Try to ensure there is no difference in the objects. For instance, 11 red buttons that are exactly the same, 14 pencils that are exactly the same, 15 orange skittles, etc.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Place 1 of the items on the workspace in front of the child and announce "singular".</li><li>Have the child repeat.</li><li>Remove the item from the workspace and place several of the objects in front of the child and say "plural" and have the child repeat.</li><li>Repeat this 2-3 times.</li><li>Now, place 1 item on the workspace, then place a group of objects spaced away from the 1 object. Point to the 1 item and state "singular' and have the child repeat. Then, point at the <br />group of the objects and state "plural" and have the child repeat.</li><li>Repeat this 2-3 times.</li></ul><p></p><p>To extend the lesson:</p><p>You can make a "singular/plural" lesson with items such as cheerios, buttons, etc. around your house and create a label that says "singular" and "plural" and show your child how to label the singular and plural group.</p><p>If you have a beginning reader, you might be interested in the following singular and plural activity cards that reinforce early reading skills while learning the concept of singular and plural words. </p><p>There is no need to wait until a child reads at a more advanced level to teach this skill when they can learn it at this period in time where their mind absorbs information at such a fast rate.</p><p>To teach this lesson, show your child how to place the singular and plural heading cards on their workspace. </p><p>Then, pull the cards out and shuffle them up and place them on the workspace. </p><p>The first set uses picture cards so the child can visually understand the concept of singular and plural.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8h2C-al9p1Qq5zxeI2OlSwSb6iQ2_39_Im8xFWTdQMRT0hl0J80_JQS-__D2ZJvtcoA7UO7YKovRX92BRrE6VaY3O90Rs2dHwW3XKgy-90YwOk0QZKEIqlU6rha9fxnDsvOC6cHFYbyvN3eMGQFcuz_6wuIdeeFzOxTXwYmUzr7zENblozEqlLquOL3W/s2000/SIngular%20Plural.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="preschool language letter sounds picture matching montessori letters preschool literacy homeschool preschool learn to read alphabet printable phonics preschool printable montessori language cabinet beginning sounds red level pink level CVC" border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8h2C-al9p1Qq5zxeI2OlSwSb6iQ2_39_Im8xFWTdQMRT0hl0J80_JQS-__D2ZJvtcoA7UO7YKovRX92BRrE6VaY3O90Rs2dHwW3XKgy-90YwOk0QZKEIqlU6rha9fxnDsvOC6cHFYbyvN3eMGQFcuz_6wuIdeeFzOxTXwYmUzr7zENblozEqlLquOL3W/w320-h320/SIngular%20Plural.png" title="Montessori Grammar Singular and Plural Cards Pink Level Red Level C-V-C" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p><p>The next three sets, expands on this concept by using words that have the C-V-C pattern for beginning readers.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNpJ60Hs8nf7_9xdTT4TkSxApOXEthv4-bNOCu_l2FTkL9W0QQItNbVIyvqfrAjUgt4CwsvLX61oR4wXjTb97EZ_-wVBl3D84V6r35HlPPIV5gjjDnviMHlXBR40ZQv8PBWhOCsF7ZqjmAHpzumNPcXgBrJjEsjBCiHK_aJuo_9IUgGOgeN33jARjszChf/s2000/16.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="preschool language letter sounds picture matching montessori letters preschool literacy homeschool preschool learn to read alphabet printable phonics preschool printable montessori language cabinet beginning sounds red level pink level CVC" border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNpJ60Hs8nf7_9xdTT4TkSxApOXEthv4-bNOCu_l2FTkL9W0QQItNbVIyvqfrAjUgt4CwsvLX61oR4wXjTb97EZ_-wVBl3D84V6r35HlPPIV5gjjDnviMHlXBR40ZQv8PBWhOCsF7ZqjmAHpzumNPcXgBrJjEsjBCiHK_aJuo_9IUgGOgeN33jARjszChf/w320-h320/16.png" title="CVC pink level red level beginning reading" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDa9OFdtXEUOxQJ9y2jrVIE-HfgNnX7AN7-Mtmha4kq5o-_F2WG_BBDOsSK2BRsHlGIHuEn5KV8pKPE9Vfggx8MG6nRRhkSQAG-dHrp-dz8w-tsfDQ2LREFs2ItuBhv7dIT19N8dV8OisHL4iY9KUylBIpLpslKWciSD6pQrYJiWO4B93w_lecIKclp1mF/s2000/17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDa9OFdtXEUOxQJ9y2jrVIE-HfgNnX7AN7-Mtmha4kq5o-_F2WG_BBDOsSK2BRsHlGIHuEn5KV8pKPE9Vfggx8MG6nRRhkSQAG-dHrp-dz8w-tsfDQ2LREFs2ItuBhv7dIT19N8dV8OisHL4iY9KUylBIpLpslKWciSD6pQrYJiWO4B93w_lecIKclp1mF/s320/17.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIS6lZsdRgldPh_4HuSHZYzZsS_mYj_eu4f7rf8rcJ9R_TvZwSIL31ZIIy_qF87KLDF69HiueZquMBT-nDr6axVBosaFIYfR3o9AvJhEQP9nIxv-_3vQVfo8IqfnRlVb-27jqISJOGgxM0tbH0WrBJyP8VF12Hb_AU6HF12XwRrpRM_LNBSZAlSOwvvqSR/s2000/18.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIS6lZsdRgldPh_4HuSHZYzZsS_mYj_eu4f7rf8rcJ9R_TvZwSIL31ZIIy_qF87KLDF69HiueZquMBT-nDr6axVBosaFIYfR3o9AvJhEQP9nIxv-_3vQVfo8IqfnRlVb-27jqISJOGgxM0tbH0WrBJyP8VF12Hb_AU6HF12XwRrpRM_LNBSZAlSOwvvqSR/s320/18.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97WnsJ0KxM8dwBO0Hq9J-gVlI3DLQgh0PLnX6Nvpt3EipwLfuzGJWhnNG9Yays4uSu3HnggP-5Ugkf57mVaevJ5fzPRr_ZsXp2pcrqge_MI_Gg_POztuh9Yt7oFeTHrhqydxuA1ytlHpkfAlKq6_6f3VZYErkGG7UfVKdX2FYljSjm8mHip5gV6Ee6FWE/s2000/19.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97WnsJ0KxM8dwBO0Hq9J-gVlI3DLQgh0PLnX6Nvpt3EipwLfuzGJWhnNG9Yays4uSu3HnggP-5Ugkf57mVaevJ5fzPRr_ZsXp2pcrqge_MI_Gg_POztuh9Yt7oFeTHrhqydxuA1ytlHpkfAlKq6_6f3VZYErkGG7UfVKdX2FYljSjm8mHip5gV6Ee6FWE/s320/19.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>This activity is a wonderful extension for your beginning reader!!!<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/products/singular-and-plural-cards" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="777" height="71" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVAxhYN24jsuN07IjDQ_9ScTlnqVDGZa_R7AZs0HOQLLUgCBgfsMATfI5gNA5JGb3lp6-laRwvy496BXJBgy9fLPXyRYSYuvurQJr10EYK7CRTB5AOOhWzJXCieHHxVq9hROJkwnwJVGUxIqy-4BDj-727txgiZ3MPpzWtS47HLO-meUhzCNoVxZGQuA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-3421288861090768292024-01-18T13:00:00.001-06:002024-01-18T13:00:00.130-06:00Unlocking Potential: The Crucial Role of Authentic Toys in Montessori Education<p>Montessori education has long been celebrated for its unique approach to nurturing young minds, emphasizing hands-on learning and individualized exploration and are important for holistic development. I love the way the American Montessori Society describes how beneficial they are in their video series, "Why Authentic Toys Matter":</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://amshq.org/Blog/2023-11-15-Why-Authentic-Toys-Matter-schleich-and-Montessori-Part-1">https://amshq.org/Blog/2023-11-15-Why-Authentic-Toys-Matter-schleich-and-Montessori-Part-1</a></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="312" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5fSggXFQyw8" width="375" youtube-src-id="5fSggXFQyw8"></iframe></div><br /><p>These authentic toys do not have to break the bank. They can be found at garage sales, and thrift and consignment stores.</p>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-3920852836162883122024-01-17T09:30:00.001-06:002024-01-17T09:30:00.128-06:00Snow Science ExperimentWinters in Tennessee are always interesting. One day it is 68 degrees and two days later it is snowing. We usually do not see much accumulation in my geographic location, however, this year we are sitting on 4 inches in my area (I know, I know...for those of you in many areas of the US, this is not much at all -- but for us, this might as well be a blizzard 🤣) <div><br /></div><div>I found this simple and fun science experiment to celebrate this beautiful, infrequent occurrence in our area from The Science Kiddo. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a link to the site and the experiment: </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #211922; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "ヒラギノ角ゴ Pro W3", "Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro", メイリオ, Meiryo, "MS Pゴシック", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a href="https://www.sciencekiddo.com/snow-science/">https://www.sciencekiddo.com/snow-science/</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnY0OatzwMZf4KhPAbhGOy7Uxz_PPwkXV63nJdz-77EU5EuxN3nyutiWCnGAPIxmdhCzuqhZ3Yrz-n4y6MHa0Ark252EP_0TrIOXVatkRlD65wPFR4pq95VRLCLoZbTyJwgVcU0UiBBHWEK_Q2zPf-gwZUKusm-x_OLewipRv6D2e_GUgrSJRzpuHjX5vk/s1000/Bundles%20(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnY0OatzwMZf4KhPAbhGOy7Uxz_PPwkXV63nJdz-77EU5EuxN3nyutiWCnGAPIxmdhCzuqhZ3Yrz-n4y6MHa0Ark252EP_0TrIOXVatkRlD65wPFR4pq95VRLCLoZbTyJwgVcU0UiBBHWEK_Q2zPf-gwZUKusm-x_OLewipRv6D2e_GUgrSJRzpuHjX5vk/s320/Bundles%20(1).png" width="320" /></a></div><p>This is the perfect experiment to explore states of matter, how particles expand, chemical reactions, and more!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div></blockquote>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-43669801297291092572023-11-27T09:30:00.002-06:002023-12-30T23:20:17.703-06:00Practical Life Lessons: Greeting Someone<p><span style="font-family: arial;">The purpose of Montessori education is guiding the child on their journey to independence.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />The foundation of this journey lies in the Montessori practical life curriculum. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Montessori Practical Life engages children with real life experiences using specific lessons to teach them the steps to take, skills needed, and materials to use for the child to be able to "do it myself." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The curriculum is organized into 4 different categories:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Control of Movement</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Care of Environment</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Care of Self</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Grace and Courtesy</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKK0aSbYcRPM0TBbNZaYYe6odTeoDFw1ZqkswnT-KNb_ZjltioEgjNVhqzfakhHeChrcLw1IziqIq0STdtvjAwUQqCqJcZyjuqlzv7KaTN-0mLYtiD7BOZ_iKNdtUI5ZkDcxaih45ICzt6b5_F4SW97xA078jXySYlppmeZpGXJk4qgoUciqxsoG-mUPs/s1500/Untitled%20design%20(10).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="montessori practical life lessons" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKK0aSbYcRPM0TBbNZaYYe6odTeoDFw1ZqkswnT-KNb_ZjltioEgjNVhqzfakhHeChrcLw1IziqIq0STdtvjAwUQqCqJcZyjuqlzv7KaTN-0mLYtiD7BOZ_iKNdtUI5ZkDcxaih45ICzt6b5_F4SW97xA078jXySYlppmeZpGXJk4qgoUciqxsoG-mUPs/w462-h308/Untitled%20design%20(10).png" width="462" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Today, we are going to spotlight a lesson included in the Grace and Courtesy curriculum: Greeting a Guest</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Montessori guide (a..k.a. "teacher") presents the lesson by extending an invitation to the child.</span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Invite the child to learn how to greet a guest, "I would like to show you how to greet someone."</span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Face the child and look them in the eyes (using direct eye contact - in a friendly manner).</span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Say, "Hi (or Hello/Good Morning/Good Afternoon/), how are you?"</span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">4. Ask the child to repeat the words back to you.</span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">5. When the child replies, state "I am very well, thank you."</span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">6. If you have more than one child present, they can practice greeting each other.</span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">7. Have the child/children practice greeting someone daily (or frequently). </span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> Use variations and extensions by providing different scenarios after the child has mastered <br /> the basic greeting. For example:</span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> a. Learn how to greet someone you do not know (how to introduce yourself and ask for their <br /> name)</span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> b. Learn how to greet someone that you cannot remember their name. This would include <br /> how to politely ask for their name again.</span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> c. Learn about formal and informal greetings and when to use them (friends versus adults, <br /> etc.)</span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> d. Learn how to introduce people to each other.</span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/products/subscription-access">**Don't miss out on the 20% off membership deal at www.insightfulbrain.com.** Click here to sign up for unlimited access to over 100+ printable Montessori inspired lessons/activities for $11.99/month (cancel anytime).</a></span></span></p><div><br /></div>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-63854885670211306362023-11-25T13:35:00.002-06:002023-11-26T23:22:26.741-06:00Holiday Special: Unlimited Access --Unlimited Downloads! Get 20% Off Subscription<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Get 20% off when you purchase membership access -- <span style="color: #2b00fe;">limited time only</span>! Over 100+ high-quality, engaging printable instant access downloads!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> <a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/"> www.insightfulbrain.com</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Montessori materials" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuuoVvmtvJ55Sd3IA8GbL6iQysj1dcJk221XpGrSErZEWo7TO-az3Wck278KEXrMQe9aOxQNAdC30o_5SmWWMY7y_LQw1NaQ6-WOanRGARSYKHmcLO02HbeUIkQmsV44fjq27gMkYkDyjWGA2qmT28az_hK2mu67-mNZ9bUdwMnLBRCRZFqA7lE1h67eVF/w320-h320/math%20number%20sense%20materials.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; 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color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I'm so excited about my new creation... Exploring Podcasts. I have been tweaking it for the last couple of months to get it just right.</span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have always wanted a place where my children could keep a list of their favorite podcasts and all the great information that they learned from the podcasts. Now they are actually able to <span style="color: #2b00fe;">SEE all the knowledge they have gained --all on their own<b>.</b></span> It is such a confidence builder and creates life-long learners.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #262626;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626;">No more "I'm bored!" These journals promote a growth mindset for kids and give them choices in their learning path. See the sparkle in their eyes and their excitement as they tell you what all they have learned with their choice of podcasts! <br /></span><br />This is <span style="color: #2b00fe;">self-directed work at its finest! </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #262626;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #262626;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626;">It is also an activity that </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">requires little setup from YOU</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #262626;">I have a video below that previews all the pages included in the digital download. The pages provide a place for children to record their favorite podcasts after brainstorming things that interest them, includes a podcast tracker list so they can track which podcasts they have started and finished, podcast listening sheets where children can write down the information that they have learned from the podcast, record new vocabulary words, rate the podcast, provide a justification for their rating (builds strong critical thinking skills), and extra note pages.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #262626;">You can get a copy for your child or students </span><a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/collections/podcast-journals" style="color: #262626;">Podcast Journals-Insightful Brain</a><br /><span style="color: #262626;">Use code BUILDINGLEADERS and get 20% off.</span><br /></span></span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1d8DlKFT8UYeFgsV4IMMrDUTZaHSxxzWkT8lZwDbi-F4aouE9wMF35tVXH8seXeeS1QXenbvQq-9u16x4Zd1UX0Kz8ZeQnncmigTE2ZOmecNDISnBrDXj6J2N3UiaqQRaASf02jdzJdA3w0ASrQnQfXR7YYEtvA56L_Aq5P4cSoE_3widyY1k2NPUg/s2000/BlueJournal.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1d8DlKFT8UYeFgsV4IMMrDUTZaHSxxzWkT8lZwDbi-F4aouE9wMF35tVXH8seXeeS1QXenbvQq-9u16x4Zd1UX0Kz8ZeQnncmigTE2ZOmecNDISnBrDXj6J2N3UiaqQRaASf02jdzJdA3w0ASrQnQfXR7YYEtvA56L_Aq5P4cSoE_3widyY1k2NPUg/w335-h311/BlueJournal.png" width="335" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='315' height='262' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxhDT5m7qM3RLVvqitfKMPA-xkEr6A7YaT3MGe3Zsxz2U4IaMvSEGgr1cMTWfxam6JBD1NgNt7QziCIwmSIsQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; 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text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; vertical-align: baseline;" tabindex="0">#momlife</a><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #262626;"> </span><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl _aa9_ _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/homeschool/" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; 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touch-action: manipulation; vertical-align: baseline;" tabindex="0">#montessoriactivities</a><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #262626;"> </span><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl _aa9_ _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/homeeducation/" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; vertical-align: baseline;" tabindex="0">#homeeducation</a><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #262626;"> </span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #262626;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #262626;"><br /></span></span></div></div>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-73466224718037811682022-04-27T10:15:00.001-05:002022-04-27T10:15:28.356-05:00What's New with Nouns<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Little Angel is a having such a good time identifying nouns, I am having a difficult time coming up with new ideas to practice our skill. We have "gone on a Noun Picnic", we have traveled on a noun scavenger hunt, practiced with our noun cards, written sentences with chosen nouns, found nouns in our storybooks, etc.</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Today, she looks up at me and says "What's new with nouns today?" She has been having so much fun, I tried not to disappoint. So, in my attempt to find a new and different practice, that was also self-correcting, I created a couple of puzzle sheets in which she had to identify nouns.</span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The first one was a "beginner" crossword puzzle. She hasn't actually completed crossword puzzles before, but has seen her older brother and sister having fun with them. I tried to create the puzzle sheet so she will learn what "across" and "down" mean on a crossword puzzle sheet without getting confused with them all being mixed together for her first few attempts.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First, she draws a triangle over each noun as she reads the sentences.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLL6lxgfgS2wP6fbJyJqMjSaUdi8gIX1538HRIYX2ZToeNLaido9LHBBggVIvIV8w8xoBMNWdqmz_44IhNtQ0qYYwTWraRXbgVEMFQHPf6Mr-EsVVwK2PVbH28XZcbDTU59xNc_7z3ylv5kpZJ42LwA5SY79P_TxdjWGyy2DMgY1s0rWgUnxAONe-kw/s200/DoingPinkCrossword1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="200" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLL6lxgfgS2wP6fbJyJqMjSaUdi8gIX1538HRIYX2ZToeNLaido9LHBBggVIvIV8w8xoBMNWdqmz_44IhNtQ0qYYwTWraRXbgVEMFQHPf6Mr-EsVVwK2PVbH28XZcbDTU59xNc_7z3ylv5kpZJ42LwA5SY79P_TxdjWGyy2DMgY1s0rWgUnxAONe-kw/w258-h244/DoingPinkCrossword1.jpg" width="258" /></a><br /><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Next, she fills the "crossword" puzzle in with the nouns she found from the sentences. Big sister is looking on, asking for her own noun puzzle.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Here is my crossword creation: </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Pic to the left is the completed puzzle sheet. Pic to the right is the control.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have written sentences at the bottom of the sheet labeled "across" and "down." She reads each sentence (which gives her extra reading practice) and draws a triangle over each noun. Then, she finds the "1 Across" and then writes the noun from that sentence in the respective box, and so on. She checked her work with the control sheet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The second puzzle sheet was a mini word find. Once again, Little Angel draws a triangle over each noun in the sentences and then finds the nouns in the word searches. She checks her answers with the control sheet.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-color: initial; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-style: none; border-top: medium none; border-width: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-color: initial; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-style: none; border-top: medium none; border-width: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I updated the sheets a bit and you can get YOUR copy here....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-color: initial; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-style: none; border-top: medium none; border-width: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RFeXI4KmEs8_9wNGMAx4ikH2eMS5c3GVm9T2uHOmNx5P-nQQI9jeEIuZY1rpiRkzGOgBN4iBSqT7cUQlN1hcQNzARerVmDPzdsslHHgp-pb1HfoLt7tlDqNnRznozmLFAEMWoSfkpitZ89z7DogU5-YWIAyAtH7HgJjtHClrHNh7x_3rYZJvSpBy7A/s1322/RedLevelCrosswordPuzzle200by200Pic1Transp.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Red Level Noun Crossword Puzzles" border="0" data-original-height="935" data-original-width="1322" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RFeXI4KmEs8_9wNGMAx4ikH2eMS5c3GVm9T2uHOmNx5P-nQQI9jeEIuZY1rpiRkzGOgBN4iBSqT7cUQlN1hcQNzARerVmDPzdsslHHgp-pb1HfoLt7tlDqNnRznozmLFAEMWoSfkpitZ89z7DogU5-YWIAyAtH7HgJjtHClrHNh7x_3rYZJvSpBy7A/w320-h226/RedLevelCrosswordPuzzle200by200Pic1Transp.jpg" title="Red Level Noun Crossword Puzzles" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Updated: Red Level Noun Crossword Puzzles</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">She had so much fun that her brother and sister are jealous and are asking for some too!</span><br />
<span><br />You can find the noun puzzles below:<br /><br /><a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/products/beginning-noun-crossword-puzzle-red-level-c-v-c-pattern" target="_blank">--- For Pink Level click here (Pink level uses only 2-3 letter phonetic words)</a><br /><br /></span></span></div>
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</div>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-40102884235414974732022-04-23T00:15:00.003-05:002022-04-23T09:55:19.546-05:00Audio Books<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Times have been a little tight the last few years and we try and save money any way we can. I can pass up the coffees, the fast food, the shoes, and new clothes. What I have a hard time passing by is books. I absolutely love books. I love bookstores. I love reading books. I love buying books. My husband shares my book passion so much that on our honeymoon, we stopped by every bookstore we passed that week.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I want to pass this passion for books and reading onto our children. When I was a child, I loved pulling out my little blue record player off the shelf of our spare bedroom and opening up my storybook record sets. I listened to them for hours. As I browsed our local bookstore, I fondly remembered those times and set out to find the audio book sets. The lowest audio book set price I found was $9.99. With three children, that is impossible. That's when I discovered it was more economical to purchase mp3 players on sale (they don't need high GB storage for their audio books and those run pretty cheap these dates--- especially on sale days) and record my own mp3 files and create my own audio books. I know mp3 players are old-school, but I love them because they don't have all the razzle-dazzle of tablets with screens, etc. so I don't have to limit the use the of mp3 players as much as their tablet time. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I download some files from our library website. We have a link on ours called </span><a href="http://reads.lib.overdrive.com/6AC78017-C157-470B-BF76-C79DFE5B2A08/10/337/en/default.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">READS</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">. You enter your library card number and can download the audio books for a "checkout" period. This is usually a couple of weeks. Check your local library and see if you have this option. It usually has you to download a software audio player to your mp3 and you can listen to the audio books for 2 weeks. Make sure your mp3 is compatible. Some mp3s only take certain formats.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I have also recorded some of my children's books onto their mp3 players. They love it when I do this. In fact, my daughter, who has a bit of separation anxiety, was pleasantly surprised when I read an entire Junie B. Jones book and recorded it on her mp3 for her sleepover at Grandma's. I read to them every night, so this gave her a bit of normalcy to take with her.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">There are also many websites that offer audio books for free. Here is a short list of just a few: </span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://storynory.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">StoryNory</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">: Variety of story types for kids including classics such as Rumplestiltskin, Three Little Pigs, stories from around the world, and original stories.</span></span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://librivox.org/newcatalog/"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">LibriVox</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> : Searchable database of children's classic tales - contains mp3 files and ebook downloads.<br />
Titles include works such as </span><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Alice</span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> in Wonderland, My Life and Work by Henry Ford, Aesop's Fables,<br />
Little Women, Real Mother Goose, Wizard of Oz, Frog Prince, and more</span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://robertmunsch.com/books/"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Robert Munsch</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">: Listen to Robert Munsch narrate book selections such as Love You Forever,Class Clown, and Up, Up, Down.</span></span></li>
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Finding these resources has really saved us a lot of money over the past few years, and will save us even more in the years to come!</span></div>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-36793658458896507142012-12-13T09:07:00.007-06:002012-12-13T09:07:55.468-06:00Another Use for Command Cards!<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I love command cards (and problem cards). They are a wonderful way for a child to think about the knowledge they have learned or practice a skill. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I put particular sets of cards up for a couple of weeks, then I pull them back out one at a time to serve as a review of the subject matter to keep it fresh in their brains. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I place a card in a placecard holder and put it in a spot for a "daily morning review". My children have small notebooks where they record the answer to the command/problem cards each day.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Montessori-For-Learning/125716974127826?sk=app_190322544333196"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you "like" Montessori for Learning on Facebook, you can access my Beginning Word Problem Card Set for FREE! (Click here!)</span></a>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-74704685467551167672012-07-05T13:14:00.003-05:002012-07-05T13:17:49.685-05:00Happy Fourth of July<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Happy Fourth of July! We have been having a sweltering heat wave, so ours was toasty! My husband had to work, so it was up to me and the kiddos to celebrate the 4th together. It was a little more difficult this year due to the heat. Many activities were cancelled. The one community picnic that we found last year was quite smaller this year (also due to the heat). We played 3 of the 5 games they had available and decided to go have lunch together. </div>
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While sitting at lunch at McDonald's (I know the horrible place that has dangerous food- but my philosophy is that we all know it is bad for you, so don't eat there often and make it a treat once every month or two) and keeping watch over the happy meal toys while the kiddos took turns in the restrooms, I thought, "this is pretty skimpy" - I have to do more to make this a memorable day for all of us (we are also under a fireworks ban so we really didn't have anything else "fun" planned for tonight).</div>
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I browsed the web for some interesting science experiments. It seemed suitable that I search for "exploding" experiments since it was the 4th. I found a few rocket-making sites and an "exploding colors" video. I have actually done these experiments with my Montessori class when I taught at the Montessori school, but my brain seems to draw a blank for ideas when I am out and about for some reason. These sites are the ones I bookmarked to use:</div>
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<a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_2052769_build-rocket.html">http://www.ehow.com/how_2052769_build-rocket.html (great review for discussing chemical reactions)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Baking-Soda-and-Vinegar-Rocket%20">http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Baking-Soda-and-Vinegar-Rocket (also great for chemical reaction review)</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA3Z_HQm8QE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA3Z_HQm8QE</a> (awesome for surface tension!)</div>
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I also thought that it would not be suitable to just go out and play without once again remembering why we celebrate the Fourth of July. I want my children to respect the people of the past and to appreciate what they gave up for us.So, I decided to run to the bookstore (always one of our favorite places) and I found these 2 wonderful books:</div>
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We took them home (after I purchased them of course!), read them, discussed them and I answered as many questions as I could. </div>
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Then, after dinner, it was time for some exploding fun! Our surface tension experiment went off without a hitch... we poured our milk, added our food coloring (red and blue of course!) and then added our drop of food coloring to a toothpick and WAAAALAAA..... the kiddos thought I was so brilliant to be able to do this! Then I explained surface tension and then I got bumped down to pretty smart....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwELWPq9T5Cfijj4Gc6Fhno8ymJJ3G9g5sDrYIcumbrWsgIz4FWkj6NZy2RGeyQtj3mZyO20rYP6bTcyA3zoaxGSlc7ak20Qt9bAdHCBUIu3_CsFF8ZHMLdQZRUH4W1plG0XtsDsYjnwjI/s1600/exp1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwELWPq9T5Cfijj4Gc6Fhno8ymJJ3G9g5sDrYIcumbrWsgIz4FWkj6NZy2RGeyQtj3mZyO20rYP6bTcyA3zoaxGSlc7ak20Qt9bAdHCBUIu3_CsFF8ZHMLdQZRUH4W1plG0XtsDsYjnwjI/s200/exp1.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErMoVWcDEVvFuMXI8QkJsGP9UyCU2Ez8TXYW_BEnCQioZmWeE2LOlomTteofOnKVns7O-mdm4yhFp0wMeDVNcYLAy8qLVOjUxwrepJf_7ZbQhEiLsAIvNtHHA29g2fC6vkH8gdoEXKklu/s1600/exp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErMoVWcDEVvFuMXI8QkJsGP9UyCU2Ez8TXYW_BEnCQioZmWeE2LOlomTteofOnKVns7O-mdm4yhFp0wMeDVNcYLAy8qLVOjUxwrepJf_7ZbQhEiLsAIvNtHHA29g2fC6vkH8gdoEXKklu/s200/exp2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I'm afraid I do not have pictures of us actually setting off our bottle rockets, just the initial photo of our materials. Since it was exploding, I was the main one "setting it off" so there was no one left to snap the photos.</div>
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It took a few tries to get the baking soda and vinegar mixture just right, it wasn't perfect by any means - but I do think we created some fun memories!</div>
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</div>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-21494312013483872072012-06-21T14:13:00.001-05:002012-06-21T14:17:36.938-05:00Story Cubes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I love summertime. I love the extra flexible time to spend with the kiddos. We take extra trips to different parks, play in the sprinkler, and take time to catch the early "kidsfest" movies once a week at a discounted price. They are older movies that are out on DVD, but we like to go eat some popcorn and have the theater experience. </span></div>
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Although it is a more relaxed time of the year, I still like to do things that keep our brains active. One of my favorites is playing Story Cubes.</div>
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It is a game where you roll a set of dice and you create an original story with the pictures that are displayed on the dice. You could make a cheap version by cutting pictures out of the newspaper or magazine, or even writing words on a slip of paper and draw a few out of a bag and create a story with those words.</div>
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I like this one because it was easy and it does have pictures if you have a non-reader, or beginning reader. It includes all age groups. I also liked it because it was only about $7 at our local bookstore and I had a coupon and a gift card for that store :). That means it was a brain-game ready-to-go ----- no preparation necessary!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have had some pretty interesting stories and great laughs so far with this game. It is small and very portable so you can take it with you to doctor's appointments or anywhere you are going to have a wait. It is so much better than having the kiddos on electronic games and is a real bonding experience for the family. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Do you have any favorite family games that you like playing in the summer to keep the brains active? </span></div>
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<br />Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-23516761216195263912012-06-13T19:53:00.003-05:002012-06-13T19:54:41.287-05:00What is that used for? Practical Life and First Aid<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have been looking for a way to organize our first-aid supplies for a while. I wanted a place where we could access it anytime. My first choice was one of the bathrooms, but with so many of us in the house, it seems as if they are occupied just when we need to access the supplies. I tried to place them under the kitchen cabinet in a tub, but the kids had to dig through items to get to a band-aid when needed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I finally settled on mounting a pocket organizer in the laundry room where everyone could access it. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Every time I did laundry for the next few days, I patted myself on the back for finally solving my problem.</span><br />
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Everything was in plain sight and easily accessible.This was a positive, but I also saw how it could cause some issues too. It hadn't occurred to me until this moment that so many supplies looked so similar. I saw an opportunity for a practical life lesson. </div>
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I placed all the topical application items on the table. I called each child individually to study the items more closely. I had each of them read the words on the label (great for expanding the vocabulary). We discussed what each of the words meant (i.e. antiseptic, antibiotic, etc). We discussed the proper use of each item - for cuts, burns, stings, washing small wounds, etc.)</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We used a rendition of the "three-period" lesson method. I pointed to each of the item and they told me the use of each item. I mixed the arrangement of the items and then asked the use of each item again. I then posed questions to my children, "if I am stung by a bee, which would I use", "if my nose is stuffy, which would I use", etc. </span><br />
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I also reiterated and stressed very firmly that they are not to use any of the items without informing me first. We discussed that although these items are in our first aid kit to help us, they can still be dangerous if not used properly. We flipped each of the tubes over and looked at the warning signs and also discussed how misuse could be dangerous.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have to admit that these type of lessons are my favorites - they are practical, require no preparation, and I know that they are gaining knowledge that they will use throughout their adulthood.</span><br />
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<br />Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-16682207974065278672011-04-11T21:30:00.003-05:002012-05-04T13:42:19.297-05:00Place Value Mission<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Practicing place value can get a little tiresome, but it is important to keep it fresh in their minds. We try to jazz it up a little bit by pretending we are on a "mission."</span></div>
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We play the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Mission Impossible Theme</a> during this work and see if we can complete the work before the song is over. It adds interest and fun to our learning when we do it this way.</div>
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For the lesson, I created the following<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1555808117"> </a><a href="http://www.montessoriforlearning.com/FreeDownloadIndex.html">Montessori materials</a><a href="http://www.montessoriforlearning.com/FreeDownloadIndex.html"> </a>(free download):</div>
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<li>4 place value charts</li>
<li>digit cards (i.e. 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9)</li>
<li>'mystery cards'</li>
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<li>mystery card set one is in blue and has the following numerals: 7000, 500,30, 1</li>
<li>mystery card set two is in orange and has the following numerals: 4000, 700,80,2</li>
<li>mystery cards set three is in purple and has the following numerals: 2000,800,40,3</li>
<li>mystery card set four is in lavender and has the following numerals: 8000, 900,60,5</li>
<li>and 2 more mystery card sets</li>
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Sunshine placed the place value charts in the middle of the workspace. The mystery cards were separated into piles according to their respective colors on the side of the workspace (shuffled), and digit card were placed in piles according to their respective colors. (my montessori material download has a picture of the work in its place)</div>
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After all the work is in its place, we start the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=mission+impossible&x=0&y=0">Mission Impossible Theme</a>. I downloaded mine from Amazon.Com. She picks a numeral card from the mystery pile (i.e.500), then she chooses the '5' digit card and then places it in the hundreds spot on the place value chart. From the same pile, she chooses another mystery card (i.e. 30). She then picks up a '3' digit card and places it in the tens place on the same place value chart. She repeats it until she creates the 4 digit number. We then lay out the mystery cards under the place value chart in order of place value and then say the number we created.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is helping with transferring concrete knowledge to abstract - and it's fun too! I am going to find other ways to use our "detective" approach. They think it's a blast!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Place Value </span><a href="http://www.montessoriforlearning.com/FreeDownloadIndex.html" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Montessori materials</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.montessoriforlearning.com/FreeDownloadIndex.html"> </a>can be downloaded here free.</span><br />
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<center><a href="http://onehookwonder.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj305/spaceopera2/MondayButton150.jpg" /></a></center>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-64801577661469224042011-03-28T08:46:00.000-05:002011-03-28T08:46:12.190-05:00Subtracting Money: Real-Life Experiences<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My husband and I have worked opposite work schedules for years so one of us would be at home at all times to care for the children. While this has been a blessing, it was not always easy. Errands were always a bit challenging when alone, doing the shopping, with three children (that were not quite 4 years apart). I had to set some boundaries. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the things that worked well is that I designated some errands as "getting only needed items" errands. When we were on these errands, the kids knew that we were not going to look at toys/candy, etc. However, from time-to-time I would designate an errand as a "toy-looking" errand. This really helped the stress level and allowed me to totally relax and allow the kids to leisurely browse the toys without rushing them. During this time, we do not buy toys, but the children are allowed to write things on a "wish list" for their birthdays, Christmas, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">While I was at the bank this weekend (we have a branch inside our grocery store and it is sooo nice to be able to take care of business on Saturday/Sunday!), I spotted these debit card recording booklets. They were so cute - I asked the guy if I could have a few.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We took these booklets and created a different twist to our "toy-looking" day. I told the older two children to pretend they had $100.00 saved in their account. Then, they were to "shop" for items and spend the money. They had to record the date/description and subtract the amount from their balance.We also rounded to the nearest quarter to make the subtraction simpler (and it also helped us practice our rounding skills!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">They had so much fun "fake-shopping." I also liked the fact that it doubled as an introductory teaching experience on how to balance your checkbook. I allowed them to check their work in the concession area after we were done as we enjoyed an Icee (my favorite drink of all time!)</span>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-19219497860498057842011-03-27T22:52:00.000-05:002011-03-27T22:52:56.926-05:00Mindfulness Lesson 1: Lessons of Grace and Courtesy - Table Manners<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This week, our mindfulness goal is table manners. It was very tempting to try to correct everything in one sitting, however, I tried my best to just stick to one new goal each day and then add on another goal the next morning. It was hard and I had to bite my tongue a few times, but hopefully, the knowledge become more ingrained this way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">First, we reviewed how to set the table. We had this work before and the children had explored it till they tired of it, but now seemed to be a wonderful time to review it. This time, we talked about the placement of the plates and glasses and I had them to brainstorm why the placement of the dishes matter. I asked questions such as:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">"Why should we wipe the table before setting the dishes on it?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">"Why do we place the plate closest to us and the glass on the other side of the plate- why not put the glass in front of us and the plate farther away?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">"What is helpful about our placement of the silverware?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">"Why do we need napkins - why don't we just lick our fingers or wipe them on our clothes?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The responses were funny at times.... I received everything from "cause you told us to" <br />
to "I put the fork close to my plate so no one else licks it" ... to finally we came to more realistic conclusions as to why we do things this way. </span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The mindfulness aspect really came into play as we placed each piece down on the table slowly, and with purpose... and taking the time to step back and reflect on our work. Too many times, I have rushed myself, or them to get the plates on the table quickly so we can rush and do the next thing....without stopping to appreciate the work we have done.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you need the initial place setting lesson, <a href="http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/2010/11/table-setting.html">My Montessori Journey</a> has a beautiful post on this topic. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you have any mindfulness activities that you do with your children at school or in your home, please feel free to link up to this post! </span></span></div><br />
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</script>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-40722491277583328952011-03-21T21:33:00.001-05:002011-03-22T10:23:21.259-05:00The Importance of Mindfulness<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The early years of my children's lives cannot be described as "peaceful." I had three children less than four years apart, while my husband and I worked opposite shifts. We wanted to be the ones who cared for our children - not strangers - that came with a price as all sacrifices do. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I have never been the most organized person and have a tendency to run "right to the minute." With three children, this can be quite stressful. I drove 40 miles away (which equated to 1 to 1 1/2 hour commute with traffic) with two small children while our baby stayed home with my husband - he worked nights. I would have to rush around in the morning, dress them while they nodded in and out of consciousness on the potty), and pack their breakfast in baggies so we could get to school by 7:00am. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I loved the Montessori method. I loved the works. I loved teaching at the school. I loved the freedom to explore interesting ideas, research them and share them with the class. Everything was important from the atomic theory to learning how to call a store and ask for product information. Every life skill was celebrated with equal importance. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The drive, the commute, the having to rush in the mornings to get to school and the afternoons to get home so my husband could get to work was effecting the children. I could see it. My oldest rushed through everything - just as I did and have a tendency to do. He is more high strung and anxious...traits of not being peaceful. Like many people, I wish I could turn back time and change pieces of the past - but that is impossible. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> What did I do? I resigned from the Montessori school and although it is not a perfect situation, I am using the Montessori materials I create on my website in my home. I had to </span><span style="font-size: small;">forgive myself for not offering a peaceful environment those few years and know I did the best I could. I cannot change the past, but I can change my attitude now - today. I missed the mindfulness then, however, he is still young enough to accept the teachings with an open mind today. I am going to try not to miss my second chance.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Over the next few weeks, I am going to bring back some of the traditional Montessori methods of mindfulness to our home. Some of these are going to include:</span></div><ul><li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Walking the line</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Smelling Exercises</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sound Exercises</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lessons of Grace and Courtesy</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tasting Exercises</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Entering a room without disturbing others</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And more (I have pulled out my Montessori books and training manuals and are going back through them - it is like Christmas again seeing all the wonderful lessons! </span></span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have also found a yoga for kids website that I am going to start with my children. It is called <a href="http://yogainmyschool.com/">Yoga in My School</a>. I am going to start small, so I do not get overwhelmed and quit - which is what tends to happen cause I want to do it all perfectly from the get-go and then get in over my head. I have to view it as a journey, not a race. I just keep repeating the quote from Maria Montessori: <b style="font-weight: normal;">"Of All Things Love is the Most Potent." I may not have provided the perfect peaceful environment during their early years - but I provided love.<b></b></b></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you have any mindfulness activities that you do with your children at school or in your home, please feel free to link up to this post! </span></span><br />
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</script>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-63569644438554218342011-03-08T20:22:00.004-06:002022-03-20T01:10:54.459-05:00Elements of Geometry<div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have been studyiing the history of geometry. I have to admit that I forgot how facinating it all is. My husband thinks I am a little crazy, but I find it very interesting and thankfully so do the kids.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />We researched the ancient methods of surveying and measuring and talked about how they did not have the modern tools that we have today. I also download Euclid's book Elements and we looked at his definitions and principles and compared them to what we use today. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />I found some awesome resources online to add to our geometry study. <a href="http://www.korthalsaltes.com/" target="_blank">http://www.korthalsaltes.com/</a> had templates for Platonic solids, Archimedean Solids, polyhedra, pyramids, prisms, and more.</span></div>
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<span><span>Here is a picture of a couple of our creations:</span></span><br />
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<span><span>Yesterday, we also practiced polygon sorting. I created <a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/collections/geometry">montessori materials</a> for this activity that are available for download.</span></span><br />
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<span><span>We also had to do a few errands, so I made a polygon scavenger hunt. We had loads of fun and it was interesting how they realized how important "shapes" and geometry are in our lives, especially since we found most of them in building structures and shelving structures -we realized just how important complementary triangles and rectangles were important to the stability of it all.</span></span><br />
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<span><span>Click<a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/collections/free-downloads"> free montessori materials </a>to download the polygon scavenger hunt.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/products/shape-and-sight-word-scavenger-hunt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="montessori shape and sight word scavenger hunt" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4v1tSGQvt4dQZv-EmU1igz7p0TAWqKEhui1FvRy6qgjl7YPt_H5O76yz993STb59qO7Mpc7_9S3888rk2Ji73xKtft_b-y1ZuUkfMs9qpOzGXFhAZhQbcI12zB1Md1Jfkw-F5WHQXb33/s16000/polygonscavengerhunt.png" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><span>We also incorporated writing and history into our study of platonic solids. We researched famous presidents and </span></span><br />
<span><span>created a bio-cube on <a href="http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/cube-30057.html">ReadWriteThink</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span><span> Whew! It's been a busy week!</span></span></span>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-15608908280735586772011-02-22T19:55:00.000-06:002012-05-04T13:50:13.732-05:00Fun with Coupons<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
I have attempted "couponing" on and off my entire married life. I have cut many out, left many more at home, and wound up using few of them after my hours of hard work. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After being reminded once again how much "couponing" </span>can save (and paying for the countless number of car repairs, home repairs, etc.), I have vowed once again to coupon once more.</div>
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As I was searching through the paper and cutting out my "two for ones," I quickly realized the interest my kids had in coupons. I decided that making it more of a family activity would encourage me to be more adamant about using the coupons and also teach my children valuable practical life skills about budgeting, saving, and decision-making.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We also had quite a bit of fun with the coupons:</span><br />
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<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">sorting coupons into food categories</li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ordering coupons from least to greatest and greatest/least (respective to the amount saved on coupon)</li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">alphabetizing products on coupons</li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ordering coupons by expiration dates</li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I also created a Coupon Math Activity where the child chooses and reads a problem card that tells how much a grocery product is. Then, the child finds the corresponding coupon and subtracts the amount from the initial product cost. It was a hit (and a great review of subtracting money/decimals). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Click <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1555808140">montessori materials</a><a href="http://www.montessoriforlearning.com/MoneyPreview.html"> </a>to find this activity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My daughter was so inspired that she even created a home-made coupon holder.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrE1MPvMCjLApxotU9nKw0FcdyIXvYV9DE_dohwjUXiJkyHxOJ_I9TFFLnzHle7Grnv5Fvv61mNM1WXlGNORzgMX1Y4964oXH6w0omBc_0uk6_3YjhXb8STppEMXogYXZDMT3OSLzLDujH/s1600/couponholder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrE1MPvMCjLApxotU9nKw0FcdyIXvYV9DE_dohwjUXiJkyHxOJ_I9TFFLnzHle7Grnv5Fvv61mNM1WXlGNORzgMX1Y4964oXH6w0omBc_0uk6_3YjhXb8STppEMXogYXZDMT3OSLzLDujH/s200/couponholder.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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</span>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-48200680839996224312011-01-31T21:02:00.003-06:002022-03-17T13:07:38.162-05:00Creative Writing - With Stickers<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
I picked up some free calendars at the local library. They were donated by the Nintendo Corporation and had the video game characters sprinkled inbetween the months of the year. I thought I might be able to make some kind of work out of them, but my daughter beat me to it.</div>
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Although I had calendar work in mind, she found a more creative use for the artwork.</div>
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She thought it would be funny to cut out the characters and then write what they might be thinking in cartoon bubbles.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjv5sWkjzSqKtnd9Bd4bP4dutsbRSYCSR83uqPujQTeQcs06qXXYosQQkCp7MNG9BrWZxWF06vdgk-5R9K0hLeiCkZOAeKJ_QAaI5woE13FJ_lt1RbswEDIvmL527Dh1IZ6472vxxzFe7v9pZM9grOXdzWsslJYEltjlAdNZJCY_P8-t1qcsHyk8XmRwg=s200" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="162" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjv5sWkjzSqKtnd9Bd4bP4dutsbRSYCSR83uqPujQTeQcs06qXXYosQQkCp7MNG9BrWZxWF06vdgk-5R9K0hLeiCkZOAeKJ_QAaI5woE13FJ_lt1RbswEDIvmL527Dh1IZ6472vxxzFe7v9pZM9grOXdzWsslJYEltjlAdNZJCY_P8-t1qcsHyk8XmRwg=w237-h293" width="237" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div>
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This gave me an idea for some creative writing work. I cut out those same characters from another copy of the same calendar (they had thousands, so I helped myself to a few!). I attached them and other stickers I found to index cards.</div>
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I then stacked them up and placed them in a container. </div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></div>
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I had each child pick a card and asked them to think of something the character would say and write it on the card, like a cartoon. Since I wanted to review interjections, they were asked to use at least one interjection in their writing.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSm_sgxwxIYGCvq9HFadDcTcJAp4I5HTc81j58yr5K_OCabaSN2ojHXiNtfk2kV09wVFM9_BdyrdoaJ3LwtwMi4jbFosjE5D3lhtApf9wHSl_M8imBFcj7JC2Oam_TMrgc9dfg2-Yx1BGI5s-EbPcpmbHh0Plq_oiwwqZUEkrjIG1SbXXaMMJvi0wQTg=s200" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="127" data-original-width="200" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSm_sgxwxIYGCvq9HFadDcTcJAp4I5HTc81j58yr5K_OCabaSN2ojHXiNtfk2kV09wVFM9_BdyrdoaJ3LwtwMi4jbFosjE5D3lhtApf9wHSl_M8imBFcj7JC2Oam_TMrgc9dfg2-Yx1BGI5s-EbPcpmbHh0Plq_oiwwqZUEkrjIG1SbXXaMMJvi0wQTg=w307-h195" width="307" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></div>
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The great thing about this work is that the ideas are limitless - you can use comparative adjectives, current vocabulary/word studies, etc. You can even laminate the cards and have the kids write on them with wipe-off markers (mine have gone AWOL at this time, so I haven't gotten a chance to do this just yet).</div>
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The best thing about this work is seeing my child smile at the work when she realized that I got the idea from her - that was priceless. </div>
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As an extension and for some added fun and practice speaking aloud, we are going to choose a card when we have completed the stack and act them out and see if we can guess what character is on the card.</div>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-12935308454454754432011-01-12T16:28:00.001-06:002011-02-11T17:01:50.803-06:00Snow Days<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have been blessed with beautiful white snow this week....more than I expected and just the right amount to have loads of fun. </div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I first heard of the snow, I ran to my computer and "googled" like crazy 'snow lessons, snow experiments, snow day fun.' If it had the word snow in it, I probably "googled" it. After the first hour went by, I thought, "this is crazy... I have to just pick some stuff and do it." After the second hour went by, I decided I would just have to choose three things and that was that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the things I looked up was some information about Inuit's and how they built igloos to shelter themselves from the snow. I was amazed to learn about the insulating properties of igloos and thought it would be fun to build our own and then test the temperature outside and inside and compare. We did really well the first hour.... we were able to build half the igloo structure. However, hands were getting cold so I thought it would be best to go inside, have some hot cocoa, and dry our snow clothes. When we went back outside to complete our igloo, the consistency of the snow seemed to have changed... our packable snow that made great snow bricks turned into a white powdery snow that just would not form into blocks, so our aspirations of an igloo turned into a really cool fort that became the base during our snowball fights.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fN39KkGFcRHMLKPBeOVWLyl4ye1vhacezpNmPO8ziv2STZQceRjXwYgy6zb6hF5zELLc571UQG3ZGxU90pO3JJnBq4HyLZ16dV5fkmZaqhbrtU0q-ZzWNWCweo-o-L4-PHL0NbsaGqWI/s1600/igloo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fN39KkGFcRHMLKPBeOVWLyl4ye1vhacezpNmPO8ziv2STZQceRjXwYgy6zb6hF5zELLc571UQG3ZGxU90pO3JJnBq4HyLZ16dV5fkmZaqhbrtU0q-ZzWNWCweo-o-L4-PHL0NbsaGqWI/s200/igloo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One positive aspect about the snow turning all powdery is that it made great-tasting snow cream. We had a lot of fun making and eating our snow cream and I was able to create a couple of free downloads to go along with this activity:</span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first download is a snow cream recipe sequencing set. The set allows the child to recreate the recipe in the proper sequence and then check himself/herself with a control card. I also created snow cream ingredient nomenclature cards to practice our vocabulary skills. Both sets are available for<a href="http://www.montessoriforlearning.com/FreeDownloadIndex.html"> free on my Free Download</a> page (scroll to bottom of page) at <a href="http://www.montessoriforlearning.com/">Montessori For Learning.</a></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWWds9pzfmyqgyOS4mHmVs64utxlyBKWmUGXmK62oceUuAO9iRKD58mTVQmnY5D2MFhgdCon4FCeBIKNGl-BOLWZ6aOSzqls_Mbom9q_b5YWZgFM-XTQW5d_HdjKibplSyNDQRYqGN7Zu/s1600/snowcreamset.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWWds9pzfmyqgyOS4mHmVs64utxlyBKWmUGXmK62oceUuAO9iRKD58mTVQmnY5D2MFhgdCon4FCeBIKNGl-BOLWZ6aOSzqls_Mbom9q_b5YWZgFM-XTQW5d_HdjKibplSyNDQRYqGN7Zu/s320/snowcreamset.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="151" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0jvuIEaFlrre7y-xyxI_O13yoPWd9NdZ41YF3BSYWNY-l5dIgbhFn3FQvCDPsq5-Av3a-2z57K4Napv3pLJH3mobCu65wUQk76rfCG3c1mgszBa8THHDoNYCUQNip9SYf4zXnChyPDXV/s200/snowcream1.png" width="200" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This set shows the picture of our snow cream when I limited the food coloring to just two colors. I'm not going to post the pictures of the snow cream which I allowed them to use whatever coloring they wanted.... it didn't quite look like snow, or actually anything I would want to eat, but they had fun and that is what really matters!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Visit Montessori For Learning for more </span><a href="http://www.montessoriforlearning.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">montessori materials</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">!</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-43927413376558299752011-01-07T10:47:00.005-06:002022-03-17T13:53:43.090-05:00To Be or Knot to Be -- Our Next Fine Motor Lesson<div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This weekend I decided to clear some clutter and went through my closet and drawers and tossed/gave away unneeded items. Although I had been putting off the task because I am not good in that area at all, my much dreaded activity quickly turned into a treasure find.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have found that it is not quite as challenging to engage young children in activities that strengthen fine motor skills, as it is older children. What do you do after pushpin, tracing insets, and lightbrights after children get a little older and tire of these activities? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thanks to the scouting book I found while cleaning out my sock drawer (I have no idea how it got there, but I'm glad it was there), a treasure of great activities, which included knot-tying, helped me decide on my next approach to strengthening our fine-motor skills. </span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBw9FeamIdi4399vg26DriRhcTNU4NxwZ3Zq3tZK3iFnqNXyfvCBiI9ZFAJPyg3DRX0MMDk2njo1N3M0VnEPxmRPLDAEF3u6DWdrmlUxrXMDyU-PKZRQVSBlGNa4qKVsZqA_PW0KIbVfv/s1600/boyscouthandbook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="195" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBw9FeamIdi4399vg26DriRhcTNU4NxwZ3Zq3tZK3iFnqNXyfvCBiI9ZFAJPyg3DRX0MMDk2njo1N3M0VnEPxmRPLDAEF3u6DWdrmlUxrXMDyU-PKZRQVSBlGNa4qKVsZqA_PW0KIbVfv/w133-h195/boyscouthandbook.jpg" width="133" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Although the book itself did not go into great detail on how to tie individual knots, I found some wonderful online sites that displayed clear diagrams. I printed and cut the diagrams/directions to create instruction cards.</span><br />
</span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVy8KvfNyYCq1p3Cs_htXdpOqbKZ_IDUbVW1tFlHst_hLD9e01tEd2urDvdLdqaAr2sscSZoJtPBhvs1LQcjmljb_qDhewpwAF-LrZZ44ibw-Z-Zu9ByKJzX7NQUQlnq-PF416vgT3irSX/s1600/knotinstructions.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="219" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVy8KvfNyYCq1p3Cs_htXdpOqbKZ_IDUbVW1tFlHst_hLD9e01tEd2urDvdLdqaAr2sscSZoJtPBhvs1LQcjmljb_qDhewpwAF-LrZZ44ibw-Z-Zu9ByKJzX7NQUQlnq-PF416vgT3irSX/w228-h219/knotinstructions.jpg" width="228" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />
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</span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I found my "rope" at a fabric store. I figured the thick yarn robe would be large enough for them to practice the knot-tying, but gentle enough not to create scratches on their hands.</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I ran an errand to our local Lowe's Home Improvement store and purchased a couple of pieces of small wood used for porch posts and then scoured the aisles until I found just the right thing to insert in the pre-made holes so the kids would have something in which to practice tying their knots (some of the diagrams do not show tying around an object, but many displayed knots being tied to posts or hooks, so I wanted to </span><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">add a variety of options)</span><br />
</span><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-color: initial; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-style: none; border-top: medium none; border-width: medium; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvkEfhf_dwZ1nDKSrX1_6Rkjxq2-SgIZJZNO5PT3gkpJ0mEifu4QopaDb_pb3A3NqGaexM7dIlkmAYhLQIzmbs5178V8DUBmGASlT9Ocx5gWGAbD2-rt3Oo47gRGR_6AgoNhhPmb96vhk/s1600/piecesofmaterialsknottying.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="112" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvkEfhf_dwZ1nDKSrX1_6Rkjxq2-SgIZJZNO5PT3gkpJ0mEifu4QopaDb_pb3A3NqGaexM7dIlkmAYhLQIzmbs5178V8DUBmGASlT9Ocx5gWGAbD2-rt3Oo47gRGR_6AgoNhhPmb96vhk/s200/piecesofmaterialsknottying.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="165" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGW2x8TOPID3gEHMyklFx-kaIqHvD_CVNDlIyRkVEW_llqyAlz7IcOU20QVhPKs-tiGTYTWkhRz_9709dPINDxM5XW_u2bKF8-ZxEpPRB8k6gj7NASE81DcpMX6TKNb9kuCZVTzyvSfHK/s200/woodenpiecestogetherknottying.jpg" width="200" /></span></div></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />
<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">They did really well for their first experience and had a lot of fun too:</span><br />
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</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wD9e24WLJNVA_j2KKIbqfo8UUcht-7yrEC4rMeaGdGWs3N2vxO8BiiWIrjnr4uGwaZrezkLNMh5cgJqmejeGNx3RYHwF9d-g89i-ro_cP6Ok7zjtFVOrCeNwyUprwwlPhpiPTFAWc26q/s1600/finishedknots.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wD9e24WLJNVA_j2KKIbqfo8UUcht-7yrEC4rMeaGdGWs3N2vxO8BiiWIrjnr4uGwaZrezkLNMh5cgJqmejeGNx3RYHwF9d-g89i-ro_cP6Ok7zjtFVOrCeNwyUprwwlPhpiPTFAWc26q/s200/finishedknots.jpg" width="144" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Here are a few of the knot-tying websites I found:</span></span><ul>
<li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.animatedknots.com/indexscouting.php">Grog's Index of Scouting Knots</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.realknots.com/knots/">Roper's Knot Page</a></span></li>
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<span>Visit Montessori for Learning by Insightful Brain for more <b><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/">montessori materials</a>!</span></b></span></span>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080781988791999589.post-1131983140189920692010-12-29T12:03:00.004-06:002022-03-17T15:20:44.833-05:00Fingernail Clipping Activity<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I was in need of an activity that reinforced fine motor skills with my children. Interest in playdoh and push pin work has waned for right now. Therefore, I pulled out an old favorite --- fingernail clipping. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
When I first introduced this activity a while ago, we traced our hands and drew fingernails on them and practiced cutting the paper nails. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVuPs5EkimgLZKd-6Fzy4WK6MSIbwFFk__KsGDx0ZfvnOmvMaRz4La-dDCO5bcNzXJPiSd8Zl8z0M7WWpFX8fZO5FWsS_y6pJvdl6GlDBG1rVPSeEJ3-XeXkJ-c2mjiSdprwPeTXofRwy4/s1600/hand2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVuPs5EkimgLZKd-6Fzy4WK6MSIbwFFk__KsGDx0ZfvnOmvMaRz4La-dDCO5bcNzXJPiSd8Zl8z0M7WWpFX8fZO5FWsS_y6pJvdl6GlDBG1rVPSeEJ3-XeXkJ-c2mjiSdprwPeTXofRwy4/w273-h290/hand2.jpg" width="273" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I decided to try an updated version this time when I brought the fingernail clippers back to the shelf. I cut small strips of paper (I used three different colors) approximately 3 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. I used red, green, and blue for this activity (mainly because these are the colors that I found first in the art bucket).</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYA932UJntsml6slHTQ4q4_dxpW5xfGUt7lnpYKpdOYMQbkrOrZtiZzvAUqatwVlDlgaDUMStjoGZteJtsGhYOe0IJEORIt8bQB82eOCnYex57UVaBzYJAoJbgOWSZkaTHIxVoOWzWaRM/s1600/colorstrips.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYA932UJntsml6slHTQ4q4_dxpW5xfGUt7lnpYKpdOYMQbkrOrZtiZzvAUqatwVlDlgaDUMStjoGZteJtsGhYOe0IJEORIt8bQB82eOCnYex57UVaBzYJAoJbgOWSZkaTHIxVoOWzWaRM/w349-h201/colorstrips.jpg" width="349" /></span></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqDKKrynZ-1wiRL-B1EQuVxtVAS7TK0fvaPJS0ruAnuYCOC7WoAhU0EtstXFvCHR0rrL9VIMvWlFppVj0yRx1_mf989EIyrfJ6Kad_IogtJsUxfdW2eSHKqDkAlxT-DtpZMOYaBx4kRw0/s1600/spoons.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqDKKrynZ-1wiRL-B1EQuVxtVAS7TK0fvaPJS0ruAnuYCOC7WoAhU0EtstXFvCHR0rrL9VIMvWlFppVj0yRx1_mf989EIyrfJ6Kad_IogtJsUxfdW2eSHKqDkAlxT-DtpZMOYaBx4kRw0/w228-h277/spoons.jpg" width="228" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVuPs5EkimgLZKd-6Fzy4WK6MSIbwFFk__KsGDx0ZfvnOmvMaRz4La-dDCO5bcNzXJPiSd8Zl8z0M7WWpFX8fZO5FWsS_y6pJvdl6GlDBG1rVPSeEJ3-XeXkJ-c2mjiSdprwPeTXofRwy4/s1600/hand2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I pulled out our measuring spoons and separated the 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, and 1 tsp from the ring.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I affixed red, blue, and green bands around each spoon.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkbKZOgHDlTTCDifE0SnNWuW6d7PsRkTAJsMvXwxpPK15nKWqN7lDWZeM4sGx56TzKkIvxlzj-viQvyzJmHGTtlcWcZXz8F91HjbnHd-0C4gl0sSvp0KTNdauIrfWCAfHKeFaavFVmJZCQ/s1600/clipmat.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkbKZOgHDlTTCDifE0SnNWuW6d7PsRkTAJsMvXwxpPK15nKWqN7lDWZeM4sGx56TzKkIvxlzj-viQvyzJmHGTtlcWcZXz8F91HjbnHd-0C4gl0sSvp0KTNdauIrfWCAfHKeFaavFVmJZCQ/w377-h297/clipmat.jpg" width="377" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I used a white sheet of paper and labeled the placement of the objects. This also teaches the measurements of 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, and 1 tsp. The child uses the fingernail clippers to cut small pieces of paper and fills up the spoons according to the color of the band on the spoon. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The aspect I really liked about this variation is that the children spent more time actually practicing cutting with the clippers as they had the goal of filling up each spoon - which helped my goal of them practicing their fine motor skills longer! </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Visit Montessori For Learning by Insightful Brain for more <a href="https://insightfulbrain.com/">montessori materials</a>!</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></div>Insightful Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155595562244656078noreply@blogger.com2