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Showing posts with label Autumn. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Montessori-Inspired Fall Activities Using Free Printables

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now

Fall activities are lots of fun to prepare for welcoming in the new season. So I have a new unit with free fall printables and Montessori-inspired fall activities! You'll also find a fall-themed newsletter subscriber freebie at LivingMontessoriNow.com!

Montessori-Inspired Fall Activities Using Free Printables

You'll find many activities for preschoolers through first graders throughout the year along with presentation ideas in my previous posts at PreK + K Sharing. 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 post with resource links of Free Printables for Montessori Homeschools and Preschools.

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

Montessori Shelves with Fall Themed Activities

You’ll find Montessori-inspired fall numbers, letters, and 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 Fall Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fall Activities post at Living Montessori Now for the free printables and activity ideas you see on the shelf and collage above!

Free Montessori-Inspired Fall Pack

Montessori-Inspired Fall 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 Montessori-Inspired Fall Activities

If you'd like ideas for calendar-based themes throughout September, see my September Themed Activities for Kids .

Be sure to go to my Free Fall Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fall Activities post at Living Montessori Now for lots of free printables and activity ideas!

I hope you find these helpful!

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 45 years (and lives in the city where her kids, kids-in-law, and grandkids live). She blogs at Living Montessori Now.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Montessori-Inspired Scarecrow Activities Using Free Printables

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now

Even though I grew up on a farm, we never had a scarecrow. Still, a scarecrow theme is one of my favorites for fall.

I shared a list of free scarecrow printables in my post today at Living Montessori Now. Here, I'm sharing some Montessori-inspired scarecrow activities using free printables for preschoolers through first graders.

You'll find many activities for preschoolers through first graders throughout the year along with presentation ideas in my previous posts at PreK + K Sharing. 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 post with resource links of Free Printables for Montessori Homeschools and Preschools.

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

Scarecrow, Scarecrow, What Do You See? Book and Color Matching

Scarecrow, Scarecrow, What Do You See? Book and Color Matching

Free Printable: Scarecrow, Scarecrow, What Do You See? Book by 1 - 2 - 3 Learn Curriculum at Teachers Pay Teachers

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is a great book for toddlers and preschoolers, so I was excited to find a free scarecrow variation at Teachers Pay Teachers. The tray is a Multicraft tray, and the small basket is a Montessori Services basket. I printed out the book on cardstock, glued the suggested pages together, and folded the pages as recommended. I could have used a long stapler. Since I don't have one, I used a hole punch and yarn to fasten the book pages. It worked very well. With the cardstock pages, it's almost like a board book.

I printed out and laminated the free Color Matching Cards from Montessori Print Shop. I read the book to my granddaughter, and then she matched a color tablet to each of the colors in the book. If you wish, you could use Velcro dots for the child to attach each color tablet underneath the corresponding picture in the book.

Scarecrow Puppet Tray for "5 Tall Scarecrows" and "I'm a Little Scarecrow"

Free Printable: "Five Tall Scarecrows" from Teaching Heart

Free Printable: "I'm a Little Scarecrow" from Scarecrow Printables by Blessed Beyond a Doubt

For this activity, I made puppets by printing and cutting out the scarecrows and then gluing them to craft sticks. I used a Montessori Services basket (the small willow basket, which is my go-to basket for many card materials) and small tabletop easel to hold the poem. You could add the "I'm a Little Scarecrow" song printable, although I just memorized the song to sing with my granddaughter. This activity is already one of my granddaughter's favorites.

Scarecrow Number Puzzle

Free Printable: 1-10 Scarecrow Puzzle from Fall Fun Printables by Homeschool Creations

Free Printable: 11-20 Scarecrow Puzzle from Fall Pack (part 1) from 3 Dinosaurs

This is an easy activity to prepare and change according to theme. You can often find a free printable number puzzle for each theme. I simply printed out, laminated, and cut out the puzzle pieces. This puzzle box shows the 1-10 scarecrow puzzle, but you can prepare a box with an 11-20 scarecrow puzzle by using the printable from 3 Dinosaurs. I used a Really Useful Pencil Box for the container.

Scarecrow Numbers and Counters

Free Printable: Scarecrow Numbers from Scarecrows and Corn Thematic Unit by The Pre-K Planner at Teachers Notebook

I wouldn't purchase traditional Montessori cards (numbers) and counters for a homeschool or any school that's unable to purchase the entire Montessori curriculum. Instead, I love the idea of preparing DIY cards and counters for different themes. They're less expensive than traditional cards and counters as well as a fun way to add variety to the curriculum.

I used popcorn kernels for the counters. There are 55 popcorn kernels - the exact amount needed for the activity. That's important as a control of error so that the child can tell if there's a mistake if there are too many or too few kernels at the end.

I like to lay out my numbers and counters in the traditional Montessori layout of rows of two counters with a left-over counter centered below the bottom row. This gives a visual impression of odd and even. For more about creating DIY numbers and counters and a link on how to present the lesson, check out my DIY Cards and Counters post. (I used a Montessori Services rug for my layout.)

Scarecrow Salt Tray

Free Printable: Scarecrow Fun Freebie by Primary Perspective at Teachers Pay Teachers

A salt tray a perfect way to reinforce writing for toddlers and preschoolers. I simply added some yellow and red food coloring to salt in a plastic bag. Then I poured the salt into an inexpensive tray from Michaels craft store. There's still some unmixed food coloring in the salt that will deepen the color as the tray is used. If you'd like to know more about how to introduce letter sounds in Montessori education, check out my post with Inexpensive and DIY Sandpaper Letters.

Scarecrow Long Vowel (CVCE) Words

Free Printable: Scarecrow CVCE Words from Life Over C's

I love this printable! It's very versatile and an appealing way to reinforce CVCE words. There are also picture cards with the words. You could even glue or tape the cards with words to the backs of the picture cards as a control of error.

For children who are just learning to spell or read 3-letter phonetic words, you could cut off the sunflower on the right of the scarecrow image and use the sunflower letters as movable alphabet letters. The child could use 3-letter phonetic objects or pictures to spell with the sunflower movable alphabet letters.

More Free Scarecrow Printables

Go to my post at Living Montessori Now for links to free scarecrow printables from around the blogosphere: Free Scarecrow Printables and Montessori-Inspired Scarecrow Activities.

More Montessori-Inspired Fall Activities

You'll find many more fall activities and ideas in these Living Montessori Now resources: Montessori-Inspired Fall Activities.

Montessori at Home or School - How to Teach Grace and Courtesy eBook

If you'd like to focus on manners with children, please check out my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to Teach Grace and Courtesy! It's written for anyone who'd like to feel comfortable teaching manners to children ages 2-12. I'm also one of the coauthors of the book Learn with Play – 150+ Activities for Year-round Fun & Learning!

Happy harvest season!

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 40 years (and lives in the city where her kids, kids-in-law, and toddler granddaughter live). She blogs at Living Montessori Now.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Montessori-Inspired Fall Leaf Activities Using Free Printables

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now

I love fall leaf activities! There are so many activities that can be done with them in every curriculum area.

I shared a list of free leaf printables in my post today at Living Montessori Now. Here, I'm sharing some Montessori-inspired leaf activities using free printables for preschoolers through first graders.

You'll find many activities for preschoolers through first graders throughout the year along with presentation ideas in my previous posts at PreK + K Sharing. 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 post with resource links of Free Printables for Montessori Homeschools and Preschools.

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

Fall Leaf Lacing Activity

Free Printable: Fall Leaf Lacing Cards from Gift of Curiosity

The tray is a Multicraft tray. This activity just requires printing out, laminating, and cutting out the fall leaves; punching holes around the leaves; and using tape to create an end on a piece of yarn for threading. There are a number of options of leaves, so just choose the ones you prefer.

Fall Leaf Cutting Strips

Free Printable:Fall Cut It Out Pack from This Reading Mama There are 3 different levels of cutting strips you can use. I used Fiskar kids' scissors. It's easiest for children to cut the strips if you print them out on cardstock.

Fall Leaves Memory Game

Free Printable: Autumn Leaves Printable Memory Game from Mr Printables

You can't really tell from the photo, but these are lovely leaf images with lots of detail. The printable even has leaves you can use for the backs of the cards.

Fall Leaf Addition and Subtraction Problems

Free Printable: Leaf Addition and Subtraction (from Leaves Pack part 2) at 3 Dinosaurs

I like this printable because it has both addition and subtraction equations, and it's a hands-on introduction to story problems. I used these acrylic leaves, although these acrylic leaves would would work well, too. You could use the numerals that come with the printable, or your child or students could write the numerals using erasable marker.

Math Fact-Family Leaves and Trees

Free Printable: Math Fact Family Trees from The Educators’ Spin On It

This is another hands-on math activity, focusing on fact families. Again, your child or students can use the cards to create equations, or they could write them out by hand using an erasable marker.

Word-Family Tree and Leaves

Free Printable: Word Family Trees from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

This was amazingly easy to prepare using the Martha Stewart Crafts Maple Leaf Punch. I used colored cardstock ... a different color for each tree. I simply used the printable word-family list to write the correct letter or letters on each leaf. I didn't laminate the individual leaves, although you'd want them laminated for a classroom.

Free Leaf Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fall Leaf Activities

Go to my post at Living Montessori Now for links to free leaf printables from around the blogosphere: Free Leaf Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fall Leaf Activities.

You'll find more leaf activities and ideas in these Living Montessori Now resources:

Montessori-Inspired Autumn Leaf Unit

Autumn Leaf Unit Study Pinterest Board

Have a happy fall!

Friday, October 3, 2014

Pumpkin Fun!

It's Autumn time, It's Autumn time

The leaves are falling down.

It's Autumn time, It's Autumn time

All around the town.

Oh my goodness...leaves, pumpkins, apples, corn mazes....there is so much this season has to offer our little ones. It is time to get outside. The temperature is perfect and even if it is not....get out anyway.

If you are not able to get outside there are many ways to tickle the senses inside your classroom.

This is Terri Izatt from KinderKapers, and this autumn my kinder kids are dancing their merry kinder kapers with pumpkins. I'd like to share with you my favorite pumpkin activity....Counting the Seeds.

Begin with the question, "Does the biggest pumpkin have the most seeds?"

Now you need pumpkins....I usually use 5 (four students to a pumpkin seems to be a good number). Measure them, weigh them, line them up and decide which is the biggest pumpkin (this can be tricky if you have tall, skinny ones and short fat heavy ones). Don't rush the chance for discussion and comparisons.

Next comes the fun part....cleaning out those pumpkins. I really want this to be an interactive and sensory loaded experience, so I cut the top off and let my students clean it out by hand. Ooey....gooey....wonderful mess.

To keep the mess under control, and the seeds with the right pumpkin, I put each pumpkin on a large piece of different colored butcher paper. I tear off a piece and pin it to the pumpkin and then I tear off another piece and tape it to the cookie tray where we are collecting the seeds. Goo goes on the butcher paper and seeds go in a cookie sheet. It makes for easier clean up. Don't worry if some of the goo is still on the seeds, it will not matter.

Now here is the best trick I learned....wait a day before you do your counting activity. Let me repeat that. Wait a day. On the first day your seeds are still slippery. If you wait a day, they will be drier and easier to count.

Count your seeds in groups of ten. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10, and into a small cup they go. Count to ten again, and again, and again, until your have 10 little cups. Now take those ten cups and pour them in a bigger cup. Keep going until you have counted all your seeds. This is a great day for parents to come and help. With a little bit of help your Kindergarteners can count all those seeds (ten seeds at a time).

I've done this activity with second grade, third grade, and with my kinder kids too....it doesn't matter the age, extra hands are a big bonus.

Once the seeds are all counted it is time for the big reveal. Is the pumpkin with the most seeds the one that was the biggest??

I don't want to give away the answer, but you can guess. If you have plans to keep your seeds, to roast or for an art project, dry them thoroughly. Spread them out on the cookie sheets in a single layer. If you keep them in the cups they WILL mold.

If you want a book to read, here are a few of my favorites:

One last piece of advice....Go BIG or go home. I always try to get the biggest pumpkins I can find and my pocketbook can afford. When we float our pumpkin it is always so much more impressive to use a big one. I love that WOW factor.

Come and visit me at KinderKapers and see what other fun things we have up our sleeve for this month.

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