Please visit the link below to see my post at Monday's Montessori Moment!! Mommy Moment: 5 Ways to Aid Concentration in Children

There's no shortage of snow here, so we made some indoor use of it. We put tealights upside down in a baby bowl, and topped it with snow. I put it in the freezer to get more solid for about an hour. At dusk, we took them out and lit them. What fun!! Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Pouring Black Beans Lacing She made the letter i!!  Sandpaper letters and sandtray I Spy Game Spindle Box This week has been busy, so we were very happy to have an extra day off.  We spent a crazy amount of time working today.  I'm not sure where they get the energy, but I'm exhausted!  As I post this I realize that I did not invite them to work today, and I did not invite them to any of these activities:  they wanted to work!!!  Hooray!  Truthfully, I was looking forward to a day of movies.  Hey, they know what is best. A quick run-down:   I saved all of my winter-themed holiday cards, laminated them and made hole punches for lacing.   The sand tray is just a wooden box, that came with a cover.  I needed something with high sides for the tots, I find that if the sides are about 3" they are more apt to use just the one finger.  I glued 4 popsicle sticks to the cover to display one sandpaper lette...

Deb, at Living Montessori Now wrote this amazing article. It links Montessori and Attachment Parenting in such a clear way.  Quotes from Dr. Montessori's writing has me back reading the classics.  Right now, I'm feeling very lucky to have my work and my parenting line up so perfectly.  Enjoy! Thanks, Deb! Montessori And Natural Parenting

Tonight we made the recipe from Fairydust Teaching, and it was fun! Red, with gold glitter for luck. We made enough for home and for my classroom. I think we will be finding glitter everywhere for while...

Head over to Mommy Moment to see my post :)   Mommy Moment: Make Your Own Sensorial: Sorting Shiny and Dull Linked to:

The kids kept busy while Mom and Dad cleaned.  They helped, too :)  Mainly, they worked.  3 part matching, colors Little mats, big mats Updated shelves

A toddler loves her basket! I just changed the containers, and the old is new again. Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Today we painted with only white. I often isolate a color, offering just one to see what they come up with. The art teacher at my school did something like this with the 3rd year children and it was so festive. This is a tree in our back yard (which we so lovingly call the Charlie Brown tree) covered in new snow. The kids and I agree; this old icy snow needs to go! Looking forward to more fresh, white fluffy snow this weekend. We spent a lot of time working today, and I took no pictures. We explored the differences and similarities in the pink tower and brown stair. Big sister used the bead stair and colored and decorated a paper to look like one for our art display. I changed baskets for the materials (just a simple variation, to keep interest) and I'm pleased with them. The handles are so attractive to the tots, who carry them around for a while for fun before working. They are filled with lacing and beading, always a hit with the littles. Published with Blogger-...

Click Here: Celebrating Skin Color I'm very excited to post over at Mommy Moment!

Cardboard Playhouse, a Christmas Gift from Discovery Store Finding similarities between materials  New England got some blizzard action this week, and kept us home for a bit.  Never a dull moment though!  We have been saving our cardboard art house for a snow day, so we were VERY excited to get going on it's decoration.  They had dinner in there.  We even had a cookie/brownie swap with our neighbors. Bean, age 4.5, is beginning to spontaneously notice the similarities in our materials.   I have been much more (umm...) lax in our ground rules. I'm noticing more creativity and concentration if I let them just go to it.  One of my professors once said that if things get crazy, get low.  Teacher/parent hovering causes heightened energy.  She how messy she is?  But look:  she just discovered that a bead stair is the same exact size as the triangle metal inset.  Here, she's making one for Pumpkin, age 2.5. 

In their favorite colors, a sorting activity with tweezers. This is the first time they used tweezers for a sorting activity, as the first tool is the hand. I was smiling ear to ear when I put this together, because I knew they would love it. We used to dress them in these colors to keep our twin-sleep-deprived minds straight ;) My little ones are growing up. How long can I call them tots?

No words needed :) Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Awww. I love Friday work time!! We sing: Tell me the continents, tell me the continents, tell me the continents if you can! North America South America Europe Asia Africa Don't forget Antarctica, don't forget Australia! (I know 3 versions of this, but I like this best because its left to right if you look at a map.)

We took another week of vacation from the materials.  I plan on doing a bonus week after each regular school vacation so that I can get back into the swing of going to school and managing our little environment.  We have boxes of new materials to set up.  Plus, play is so vital to their development.  I need to be sure they have the opportunity to get creative with toys. We have kept busy in many ways.  The number one thing:  POTTY TRAINING TWINS!  Sorry to e-yell, but it's a big deal here.  I must have read the No Cry Potty Training Solution 100 times, and we are ready.  So far, so good- and it's getting better.  There is no rush, we are playing it light.  This is our families 2nd training, it was easy with big sis.  She is a big help now! Through the process of training, I came across some great sites that I'd like to share here: http://www.montessorimom.com/montessori-potty-training/ http://www.dailymontessori.com/mon...

Today the snow stated to melt, and Bean and I went for a nature walk in the woods just off of our property. We noticed all types of foot prints, and saw yellow snow (we giggled about that, too). She loves tracking animals, my Dad taught me that as a kid- passing it on! She chose some beautiful items to collect for our nature table. She adored her table at Montessori School, she requests one here. More on that later. Happy 2011!!!