www.prekandksharing.blogspot.com

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Montessori-Inspired Orca Activities Using Free Printables

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now

We have a new unit that's perfect for summer and a focus on oceans! Our unit has Montessori-inspired activities using free orca printables along with a new Montessori-inspired orca pack for subscribers to our free newsletter at Living Montessori Now!

You'll find many activities for preschoolers through early elementary throughout the year in my previous PreK + K Sharing posts. You'll also find ideas for using free printables to create activity trays here: How to Use Printables to Create Montessori-Inspired Activities.

At Living Montessori Now, I have a page with lots and lots of free printables.

Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Montessori Shelves with Orca-Themed Activities

Montessori Shelves with Orca-Themed Activities

You’ll find Montessori-inspired orca-themed numbers, letters, and more (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

Go to my Free Orca Printables and Montessori-Inspired Orca Activities at Living Montessori Now for the free printables and activity ideas you see on the shelf and collage above!

Free Montessori-Inspired Orca Pack

Montessori-Inspired Orca Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).

More Ocean Resources and Activities

Ocean Science

More (Non-Human) Mammal Resources and Activities

Mammal Toys on Amazon

Helpful Animal Classification Posts

If you’d like ideas for calendar-based themes throughout July and August, see my July Themed Activities for Kids. and my August Themed Activities for Kids.

Be sure to go to my Free Orca Printables and Montessori-Inspired Orca Activities for lots of free printables and activity ideas.

Have fun the rest of the summer!

Deb Chitwood is a certified Montessori teacher with a master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies from Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, England. Deb taught in Montessori schools in Iowa and Arizona before becoming owner/director/teacher of her own Montessori school in South Dakota. Later, she homeschooled her two children through high school. Deb is now a Montessori writer who lives in San Diego with her husband of 50 years (and lives in the city where her kids, kids-in-law, and grandkids live).

Sunday, July 13, 2025

Children, Bugs and Nature

When a young child captures a specimen of nature in the backyard, one parent might tell them they can keep it in a jar, while the other tells them to take it out of the house and let it go. Instead, make this a learning opportunity for the child and a chance to demonstrate respect for nature. It's also a good time to reinforce time away from the screen and experiencing the world around them.

Allow them to keep the creature for a brief time and study it. Take some digital pictures of it and allow the children to decide which ones are their favorites to keep. Use an online application with your child to research information on the critter, what it eats, and the most favorable conditions for its habitat.

When it's time to let it go, allow the children to decide where they’ll release it. You could use it as an excuse to visit your local state park to let it go there and look for other forms of nature.

You might be fortunate to have butterfly garden close enough for you and the children to visit. There are numerous butterfly conservatories and indoor butterfly gardens located across the United States. These facilities provide a year-round tropical environment where visitors can observe a wide variety of butterflies flying freely.

A conservatory near us became a favorite place for me to bring my autistic granddaughter when I was running out of options to keep her busy. For the safety of the wildlife we were about to see, and to help secure her cooperation once we were inside, we would go over the rules they had posted by the entrance. The most important one was that everyone must remain on the walkway throughout our visit.

Once you and your child are back at home and the creature they once had in a jar, or saw while on an outing, is gone, use any digital photos you took and ask them questions that encourages them to talk about the experience. What did they like most, what was their favorite and what made them smile. Have them draw pictures or use art clay to recreate what they remember.

Temporarily capturing a little piece of live nature to touch and see can be so enriching for our kids with a little bit of coaching. It’s also a great opportunity to guide them away from screen time for a while and help them to open their eyes to the true beauty around them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bill Corbett is the author of 8 books, including the book, LOVE, LIMITS AND LESSONS: A PARENT'S GUIDE TO RAISING COOPERATIVE KIDS. You can see more of his work at http://BillCorbettsBooks.com.

Pages