Montessori-Inspired Medical Worker Activities Using Free Printables

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now 

Community helpers make a great theme at the beginning of the school year. This year, medical workers are even more important than usual. So I have a new unit with free medical worker printables and Montessori-inspired medical worker activities! You'll also find a medical worker themed newsletter subscriber freebie at LivingMontessoriNow.com! 

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 Medical Worker Themed Activities

You’ll find Montessori-inspired medical worker 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 Medical Worker Printables and Montessori-Inspired Medical Worker Activities post at Living Montessori Now for the free printables and activity ideas you see on the shelf and collage above!

Free Montessori-Inspired Medical Worker Pack

Montessori-Inspired Medical Worker 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 Community Helper Activities

• Talking with Children about 9/11 – Ideas and Activities
• Free Police Printables and Montessori-Inspired Police Activities,
• Community Helpers Activity Trays and Sensory Tubs
• Free Fire Safety Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fire Safety Activities
• Free Ambulance Printables and Montessori-Inspired Ambulance Activities
• Montessori-Friendly Community Helper Resources
• Montessori-Inspired Activities with Community Helper Figures and Free Printables
• “Look for the Helpers” Mister Rogers Word Art Freebie
• Free 9-1-1 Songs for Kids {Non-Scary Emergency Preparedness}
• Free Emergency Preparedness Songs for Kids {Character Education Resources}
• Free Water Safety Songs for Kids
• Montessori-Inspired Fire Safety Unit with Free Printables and Activities
• Free Fire Safety Songs and Educational Videos
• The Best Fire Safety Books for Kids
• Free Fire Truck Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
• Free Firefighter Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
• How to Teach Children Fire Safety in a Non-Scary Way
• Community Helpers Pinterest Board

More Montessori-Inspired Anatomy Activities

• Montessori-Inspired Skeleton Activities
• “All About Me” Free Printables and Activities for Back to School
• Handwashing Activities for Kids – Free Songs and Lessons
• Free Skeleton Printables and Montessori-Inspired Skeleton Activities
• Hands-on Fun with Montessori-Inspired Human Skeleton Activities
• Free Brain and Growth Mindset Printables and Montessori-Inspired Brain Activities
• Brain Hemisphere Hat and Montessori Activities to Learn about Parts of the Brain
• Free Brain Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
• Free Brain Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
• Free Heart Printables and Montessori-Inspired Heart Activities {Human Heart and Valentine Hearts}
• Montessori-Inspired Heart and Circulatory System Activities
• Montessori-Inspired Heart Unit {Hundreds of Human Heart and Valentine Heart Resources}
• Free Heart and Valentine Do-a-Dot Printables (Montessori-Inspired Instant Downloads)
• The Best Heart Books for Kids {Human Heart, Love, and Valentine’s Day Books}
• Human Body Unit Study Pinterest Board

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

Be sure to go to my Free Medical Worker Printables and Montessori-Inspired Medical Worker 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.

Montessori-Inspired Constellation Activities Using Free Printables

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now 

Stars and constellations make a fabulous unit for almost any age. This unit will be for preschoolers through first graders, although older kids could love some of the activities as well! 

At Living Montessori Now, I have a list of free star and constellation printables. The free printables include my latest subscriber freebie (a Montessori-inspired constellation pack). 

Here, I'm sharing ideas for using free constellation printables to create Montessori-inspired activities 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 some affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Montessori Shelves with Constellation-Themed Activities

My shelves with constellation-themed activities include a free constellations culture card designed by The Montessori Company. You’ll also find Montessori-inspired constellation 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)

I always have related books available throughout a unit. I have Zoo in the Sky and Little Kids First Big Book of Space (the beautiful open book from National Geographic) along with a number of other star and constellation books. I'll publish a related book post another day. 

I also have some fun glow-in-the-dark constellation lacing cards from Montessori Services on the top shelf along with the books and culture card. They come with laces, but you could extend the work by adding a needle for sewing, too. 

You could mix your constellation-themed activities among your shelves according to curriculum area. Or you could have a special constellation-themed area something like the one pictured. My shelves this month have a mixture of skill levels. Many of the activities can be adapted for a variety of levels. If you’re a homeschooler, just choose the activities that work for your child’s interests and ability levels. If you don’t have room for all the activities you’d like to do, simply rotate them.

Constellations Culture Card with the Glow-in-the-Dark Night Sky Book

The Glow-in-the-Dark Night Sky Book is a wonderful book that I had from homeschooling my now-adult kids. It doesn't appear to be in print any longer, but you can get it used inexpensively from Amazon. My glow-in-the-dark constellations still worked great! 

I'm happy to share with you this lovely constellation culture card from The Montessori Company. I’m hosting the free printable as an instant download at Living Montessori Now. You can always access the free constellations culture card here. 

The description says: “Constellations are different patterns found in the night sky's stars. Most are connected to old stories and myths!”

C is for Constellations Sand Writing Tray with Glow-in-the-Dark Stars

Free Printables: Constellation Letters for constellation writing tray (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)

For the sand tray, I used the wooden tray from the Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Shapes. You can use whatever tray or container work best for you, though. I already had the blue sand from a hobby store from previous activities. Amazon has some even darker blue sand that would be perfect for the night-sky look.

My 4½-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, absolutely loves anything glow in the dark, so we have a lot of glow-in-the-dark activities for our constellation unit! For the sand tray, I even added the glow-in-the-dark stars to be placed on the letter that's traced. The bathroom off my kitchen can be made completely dark, so Zoey likes to take her completed work in there to see the glow-in-the-dark effect. 

If you would like help with introducing phonetic sounds, introducing objects with sounds, or beginning phonics in general, check out my DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics with Preschoolers.

I Have, Who Has? Greek Mythological Constellation Game

Free Printable: I Have Who Has Greek Mythological Constellations from Fifth Is My Jam at Teachers Pay Teachers 

Zoey also loves I Have, Who Has? games, so we added a super-easy-to-prepare game to our work. It just needed a Montessori Services basket.

Montessori ar Phonogram Cards and Movable Alphabet Work

Free Printables: “ar” stars font cards (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) 

Free Printable: Green Series ar Letters from MontessoriSoul 

I love the simplicity of this! It was so easy to prepare, yet it isolates the ar phonogram very well. I have a post and video on how to introduce words starting with phonograms, even with very young children. 

 

Then the movable alphabet can be used to build ar words (or any words).

Pin Punching Work for DIY Daytime Constellations

 
Free Printable: Constellations from Full of Great Ideas 

I used a star flashlight from the Montessori By Mom Space Explorer Toolbox along with a wood-handled puncher from Montessori Services, craft sticks, craft glue, and a Multicraft tray.

 

We studied the Big Dipper before Zoey punched the holes for the main stars along with punching out the circle. 



Then we went into a dark room and experimented with shining a few different flashlights through the circle toward the ceiling. The little star flashlight worked but was a bit dim, a big flashlight was almost too bright, and my iPhone flashlight was perfect!

Constellation Cards for Matching and Recreating ConstellationsFree Printable: Constellation Cards from Lie Back Look Up (With a double sided printer, these have information on the backs.) 

This was another super-easy-to-prepare activity.  It just needed a Montessori Services basket. These cards have helpful information on the backs and work well for matching or for children to place stars on to make the constellations.

Recreating Constellations with Glow-in-the-Dark Stars, Counting, and Writing Numbers

 

Free Printable: Constellation Numbers (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) 

Again, I used some of the glow-in-the-dark stars along with a magnifying glass to magnify the constellations on the number cards. The child could choose a constellation, make it with the stars, count the number of stars, and write the number with chalk. Then, of course, watch it glow in the dark! 


 

A younger child could place stars on the cards from the previous activity or a card from the printables list. Then just count the stars and place the appropriate number card.

More Free Star and Constellation Printables

Go to my post at Living Montessori Now for links to free star and constellation printables from around the blogosphere: Free Star and Constellation Printables and Montessori-Inspired Constellation Activities. And be sure to subscribe to my email list if you'd like to get an exclusive free printable each month (plus two more awesome freebies right away): Free Printables.

More Astronomy Activities and Resources

 

• Astronaut Unit
• Montessori-Inspired Astronomy Activities
• Montessori-Inspired Star and Constellation Unit
• Montessori-Inspired Moon Unit
• Montessori-Inspired Solar System Activities and World Space Week Blog Hop
• Montessori-Inspired Astronomy Units
• Montessori-Inspired Moon Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers
• Montessori-Inspired Phases-of-the-Moon Playdough Tray
• Free Moon Printables and Montessori-Inspired Moon Activities
• Montessori-Inspired Moon Activities with Spielgaben {Free Printables}
• Free Moon Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
• Free Moon Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
• The Best Moon Books for Kids
• Astronomy Unit Study Pinterest Board

Have a great rest of the summer!

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!

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

Pumpkins, Wind and More October Music!

Where is Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup today?  I’m in Los Gatos, CA at the annual Children’s Music Network Conference – singing and dancing with people who make music with and for children! 

         Yes, I’m in my “Happy Place!” 

PLUS for the past two months every spare minute has been devoted to making a new recording! “WELCOME!” will be released in early December!  Look at the “Macaroni Soup Singers” for this year – they were adorable plus plus!

What does that mean for this month’s blog?  Well – I’m asking you to take a look back at some October offerings from the past 5 years that I’ve been contributing here on PreK and K Sharing!

OCTOBER 2015– “Pumpkins!”  

OCTOBER 2014- “Windy Songs from the Windy City!”

OCTOBER 2013-  “Blow the Wind!”

OCTOBER 2012 -  “Making BOO Fun!”  sorry - this one seems to have disappeared!  Talk about "BOO!"

…and one of my most-read blogs: “Creating an Obstacle Course”  Make a slightly spooky, wonderfully fun course of challenges that children will enjoy over and over!

Now – back to my own singing and dancing!  For more information about The Children’s Music Network you can email me or go to www.cmnonline.org   It’s a fantastic organization for teachers, musicians, librarians, parents – heck, anyone who makes music with kids of all ages!

 

Yours for a Fall Song!

“Miss Carole” Stephens

Macaroni Soup! Active Music for Active Learners!

September Songs - Keep the HAPPY Going!

Sticking your head to the floor - with bubblegum?

    Happy September to all from Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup!  By now some of the routines of school are humming, others are still being assimilated into the day.  The one thing that shouldn’t get lost in the mix is a commitment to keep the music flowing.  For some students, the little song or chant that you’ve put in their heads is a comfort.  For some it’s a joyful outburst!

Miss Chris is in bubblegum pink on the right!

   I recently saw a post on my FaceBook page from a teacher who’s been using my music for about 15 years.  Miss Chris – I’m talking about you!  Miss Chris’ classroom sings a lot. They move a lot. They’re really good learners!  In this case she posted, “Made it through the first week of preschool with our new favorite song, Sticky Bubblegum, Carole Stephens , we sang it today 3-times in a row! Can't wait to hear the next CD!!!”

   Why would Miss Chris sing the same song THREE TIMES IN A ROW? I’m guessing:

1. The kids said “Do it again!” when they finished.

2. They heard it the first time to get how it goes. They enjoyed it the second time because they now understood the pattern and words.

3. They did it the third time because they knew what to do and that’s truly when the fun kicks in!

Toe to nose?  Got it!

   


 SO, remember, just because YOU are tired of a song or activity, keep doing it.  Your typical preschooler needs to hear something 4-6 times before it is theirs and they can reproduce it with joy and abandon!  For K’s, that number is 2-5 times.  So even though you are thinking “I can’t do that song again” –

               Oh Yes You Can!

Clapping side to side!

   What’s the “Sticky Bubble Gum” song?  Well, aside from being the title track of my very first recording, “StickyBubble Gum …and Other Tasty Tunes”, it’s one of the all-time most popular songs I sing!  It’s a quick zipper song (same song over and over, just insert a new body part to stick to another body part!)  Learn it, and you can keep the class listening for what to do next.  Here’s my version:

STICKY BUBBLE GUM

Sticky sticky sticky bubble gum

Bubble gum, bubble gum.

Sticky sticky sticky bubble gum

Sticking my hands to my shoes – Un-STICK!

Sticky Bubble Gum lover!

       
                                                                        

    Sing it again (and again and again), changing what body part sticks to what.  I stick elbows to knees, toe to nose, hand to someone else’s hand, back to someone else’s back, and head to the floor.

HELPFUL HINT:  I always use “Head to the Floor” for my final verse.  The children know that when I do that, it’s the end. Final. Kaput!  Plus, while they are in that position – head stuck to the floor, I give them a direction for what to do when they Un-Stick!  Usually it’s “when you say ‘Un-Stick’, sit down criss-cross applesauce, eyes on me!”  This exit strategy means we’ll be ready to move on to the next activity in an orderly fashion.

sticking hands to shoes!

MOVEMENT:  Clap hands on the beat from one side to the other during this song.  Children whose brains are ready to do cross-lateral movement will, those that aren’t ready will clap directly in front of them.  Model where to stick their hands – to their shoes – and then pull hands off with a gleeful “UN-STICK!”

What’s next?  (That’s what my students usually ask!)  Well, you could do “The Wiggle Song” from last month’s blog.  OR a circle dance like “B-I-N-G-O”, from last month’s blog.  

OR how about a rhythmic chant?  First, ask if anyone has ever been camping?  Did they sleep in a sleeping bag?  Was there a tent?  What sounds did they hear? 
    This is a great time to practice taking turns by raising a hand to signal that a child has an idea.
    Take the first idea (unless it’s totally inappropriate, in which case you can suggest one to get things started.)  Hear the rhythm HERE, and it’s on my H.U.M.: Highly Usable Music cd.

Great howling!

THE SLEEPING BAG CHANT

I was lying in my sleeping bag

I couldn’t get to sleep

When the winds began to howl –

And the bugs began to creep

So I rolled to the left

And I rolled to the right

And I heard every sound that you hear at night!

Owls:  Hoo, Hoo, Hoo!

This is a scaffolding song.  Ask for another sound to add, 
start at the beginning and add the new sound, then do the last one, too!  Like this:

…And I heard every sound that you hear at night!

Bats:  Fl-ap, fl-ap, fl-ap!

Owls:  Hoo, Hoo, Hoo!

Urban students may hear traffic/car horns, people talking, etc.  Rural students may hear cows mooing or coyotes (even if they haven't ever heard a real one, it’s a favorite sound because kids love to howl!)

walking hands on legs

MOVEMENT:  Gently tap alternating hands on legs for the first 4 lines.  Then lean to the left, lean to the right, and go back to tapping for the last line, ending on “night!”

This chant can also be enjoyed with shakers – eggs, maracas, bottle shakers (check out my FB page for a video tutorial of how to make Bottle Shakers.)  But teach the chant several times before adding instruments.

Teachers practicing blowing bubbles!

Have a wonderful September.  I’ll be all over Illinois and Iowa, and in North Carolina, too!  Check my website Events Calendar to see if I’m coming to your state!  If not – why not?  Call me and we can talk about the possibilities for a Professional Development workshop, Family Concert of other event in your area!
   October? California here I come!
   November - Indianapolis!

Yours for a Song!

“Miss Carole” Stephens

Macaroni Soup! Active Music for Active Learners!
847-384-1404
carole@macaronisoup.com