By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now
Today, I have some Montessori-style activities inspired by my 2½-year-old granddaughter and other kids in our neighborhood. Their love of the snails they find brought about my latest theme of snails.
You'll find lots of free snail printables in my Free Snail Printables and Montessori-Inspired Snail Activities.
Here, I'm sharing some Montessori-inspired snail 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.
Snail Pin Poking Activity
Free Printable: Snail Pattern from Pattern Universe
For this activity, I used a Multicraft Tray, colored construction paper, Wood-Handled Puncher from Montessori Services, and a Felt Pad from Montessori Services (Note: The Montessori Services felt pads are now black so they don’t get dirty as easily.)
(Read the push pin warning and why I recommend using the wood-handled puncher.)
Pin poking activities are very popular in Montessori schools and homeschools. Punching out the snail is a good way for young child to develop fine motor coordination and work on the pencil grip needed for writing. It's also a wonderful activity for developing the ability to concentrate. If desired, the child can decorate the snail once it's punched out.
Snail Color Matching
Free Printable: Color Matching File Folder – Snail Theme by The Laminating Co-Teacher at Teachers Pay Teachers
Free Printable: Montessori Color Matching Cards from Montessori Print Shop
For this activity, I used a Multicraft tray and Montessori Services basket.
This is similar to last month's car color matching. Even though it has smiling snails (which don't fit with the Montessori emphasis on reality), it's a very cute color-matching activity with isolation of quality. That is, the snails vary only in color ... not in shape or size.
For the layout, I'd just lay out one column of color tablets and then have the child match the second column (unless color tablets haven't been presented before. If not, I'd give the introductory color tablet presentation). Then the child can match the colored snails to the color matching cards (color tablets) and finally add the colored words to the layout. For older children, you could print out the extra set of color words that are on a white background.
For our floor layouts, I always use a Montessori Services hemmed work rug.
Feed the Snail Counting Game
Free Printable: Snail 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)
For this activity, I used a Montessori Services basket, laminated leaves from a bush outside my home, and a small bamboo condiment cup to hold the leaves.
You could just use the printable to make a number basket with one number and the correct number of leaves for your child or students to count. Or you could have a matching activity with snail numbers and sandpaper numbers.
For this activity, Zoey and I played the Feed the Snail Game, a game I made up that I knew Zoey would enjoy. I turned all the numbers upside down on a rug. Then Zoey would draw a number, say what it was, and count out the correct number of leaves to "feed the snail." Zoey loved the laminated leaves and the concept of feeding snails. She did the activity for quite awhile.
Letter S Basket and Sand Tray
Free Printables: Snail Letters for S Letter Basket and Sand 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 letter s basket, I used a basket with small objects beginning with /s/ sound. I like introducing the cursive letter along with the manuscript one, so I included the cursive s card. I used a variety of objects starting with /s/. You could just say the phonetic sound as you or your child removes an item from the basket: for example, "/s/ sack, /s/ saxophone..."
Some of the objects are ones I had at home (especially Safari Ltd. TOOB objects), although most are from Montessori Services (they have individual phonetic objects or a whole set available).
For the letter s 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. For the sand, I sterilized sand from outdoors by baking it for 30 minutes at 200F. You can also buy sand on Amazon.
Snail Game for Beginning Blends
Free Printable: Game for Beginning Blends from The Measured Mom
For this activity, I used a a Multicraft tray, dice, any type of game pieces (I used glass gems), and a small bamboo condiment cup to hold the pieces.
You'll find directions for playing the game at The Measured Mom. If you'd like to play it as a cooperative game, you could use one game piece and simply take turns moving the piece.
Making a Snail Enemies Wheel
Free Printable: Snails Study and Lapbook by Wende at Homeschool Share
For this activity, I used a Multicraft tray, Fiskar scissors, a glue stick, and brads to connect the two wheels.
Not only is this a good activity to help kids work on cutting and gluing skills, but it's a fun introduction to snail predators.
More Free Snail Printables
Go to my post at Living Montessori Now for links to free snail printables from around the blogosphere: Free Snail Printables and Montessori-Inspired Snail 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.
You'll find find animal classification resources in this post at Living Montessori Now: Montessori-Inspired Animal Classification.
I hope you're having a fun summer ... and preventing summer slide at the same time! :)
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 41 years (and lives in the city where her kids, kids-in-law, and toddler granddaughter live). She blogs at Living Montessori Now.
By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now
My son was obsessed with vehicles, so I know first-hand how powerful vehicle learning activities can be.
So today, I'm focusing on hands-on learning activities with cars.
You'll find LOTS of free car printables in my Free Car Printables and Montessori-Inspired Car Activities. Here, I'm sharing some Montessori-inspired car 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.
Car Color Matching Activity 
Free Printable: Car Color Match from Childcareland
There are 12 colors in the printable, but I use the 11 colors that match Montessori color box 2. You could just use the 3 primary colors or whatever colors you want your child to work with.
Free Printable: Montessori Color Matching Cards from Montessori Print Shop
For this activity, I used a Multicraft tray, Montessori Services basket, and a small bamboo condiment cup to hold the pieces.
For the layout, I'd just lay out one column of color tablets and then have the child match the second column (unless color tablets haven't been presented before. If not, I'd give the introductory color tablet presentation). Then the child can match the colored cars to the color matching cards (color tablets) and finally add the colored circles to the cars. (Note: For our floor layouts, I always use a Montessori Services hemmed work rug.)
Highway Shapes 
Free Printable: Highway Shape Cards (or highway letter or number cards) from Making Learning Fun If you'd prefer highway letters, check out the ones at Making Learning Fun or the ones linked to in my post at Living Montessori Now.
This is awesome! You could just use basic shapes such as circle, triangle, and square. Or reinforce shapes like ellipse (called "oval" in the printable), trapezoid, and pentagon. There aren't all 10 Montessori metal inset shapes, but there are quite a few.
I used different colors of Micro Machines. We still had the Micro Machines from when my now 31-year-old son was little. He loved them too much to give them up! If you can find them, they're perfect for this activity.
You could make a green dot with 1/4" color control label dots to show where to start driving (tracing the shape).
Spelling with Car Movable Alphabet
Free Printable: Car Movable Alphabet (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 just used some Montessori Services language objects, which can be purchased individually or in the starter set. My basket is a Montessori Services basket.
You'll find activities using Montessori Services language objects with a similar layout. The car movable alphabet is especially helpful for a car theme or for vehicle lovers in general. Because children can write (spell) before they can read, many children will be able to hear the sounds needed in a word and add the movable alphabet letters even if they can't read yet. So this will often work with children who just know phonetic sounds for letters. It's great for readers, too! Just adapt the difficulty of objects for your child.
Beginning Reading - Race Car Blending 
Free Printable: Race Car Blending (CVC, digraphs, blends) by Engage2Inspire at Teachers Pay Teachers
I think this is totally cool ... such a great idea for reinforcing blending sounds to read words. Many children have difficulty with that part of learning to read. This is super easy to prepare. I just printed out and laminated the printable and added a Micro Machine race car (a larger race car might work if you set your printer at 125% in landscape). I love that there are a number of different levels for this activity, although it's most effective with children just learning to blend.
To do this activity, I would have the child "warm up" the car slowly and say each letter sound as he or she drives the car over it. Then I'd have the child go faster and faster each time, saying the sounds faster and faster until the word is clear. For a child who can't yet blend sounds, you could say the sounds yourself while your child moves the race car until the word is obvious. I'll have a post tomorrow at Living Montessori Now with more extensions for this printable!
More Free Car Printables
Go to my post at Living Montessori Now for links to free car printables from around the blogosphere: Free Car Printables and Montessori-Inspired Car 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.
You'll find lots of Montessori-inspired transportation activities and ideas in these Living Montessori Now resources:
Happy end-of-the-school-year! :)
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 41 years (and lives in the city where her kids, kids-in-law, and toddler granddaughter live). She blogs at Living Montessori Now.
By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now
I clearly remember celebrating Earth Day with my (now 31-year-old) son back in the 1980s. I love that the celebration is continuing in 2016! Today, I have ideas for Montessori-inspired recycling activities using free printables.
You'll find LOTS of free recycling printables in my Free Recycling Printables and Montessori-Inspired Recycling Activities. Here, I'm sharing some Montessori-inspired recycling 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.
Do-a-Dot Recycling Bins Color Activity
Free Printable: Earth Day Do-a-Dot Printables from Gift of Curiosity
This activity couldn't be easier to prepare once you have the necessary materials! I just printed out the page with the green recycling bin trail from Gift of Curiosity. I added Do-a-Dot markers. After your child has finished with the green trail, you could have him or her match the other colors of recycling bins with Do-a-Dot markers. The tray is a large plastic tray from Montessori Services.
Recycling Number Puzzles for 1-10 and 11-20
Free Printable: Number Puzzles 1-10 from Earth Day Pack and Earth Day Puzzles at Totschooling
Free Printable: Number Puzzles 11-20 from Earth Day Pack (PreK Pack Part 1) at Royal Baloo
This was another simple activity to prepare! I just had to print out, laminate, and cut out the letter puzzles. I added them to a wooden tray I got a few years ago at Michaels craft store. There are more puzzles available in the printables, so just choose the ones that are best for your child or students.
I used .55 liter Really Useful Boxes. They're available on Amazon, although I got mine on sale at an office supply store.
Counting Activity with Recycling Bin Number Cards
Free Printable: Recycling Bin Number 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).
For toddlers (who don't mouth objects) and younger preschoolers, you could just have one number card with the correct amount of recyclables in a container. I found these very cool miniature glass bottle with corks. They come in sets of 50, so you'll need two sets if you want to prepare numbers and counters as shown below. These aren't as fragile as you'd think, but they're still best for children who will be gentle with them.
Montessori sensitive periods show that children from ages 1½-4 are especially drawn to small objects and details. The miniature bottles add interest as well as a great fine-motor activity. I'm planning to use mine for a variety of activities.
Amazon carries .14 liter Really Useful Boxes, although the box I used for this activity is even shorter. Again, I found it on sale at an office supply store. You might also find a miniature recycling bin for office supplies that you could use instead. I used a Montessori Services medium-size tray to hold everything.
We use a Montessori Services rug for our floor work, although this activity would work well at a table. The 1-10 numbers and counters need to be done on a rug. For this activity, the child just removes the bottles from the "recycling bin" and counts them next to the card. This was a good way to let my almost-2-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, work with the mini bottles without having to count all 55 bottles.
Recycling Numbers and Counters
Free Printable: Recycling Bin Number 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)
I love making DIY themed cards and counters to introduce odd and even and add interest and variety to cards and counters. Again, I used the .14 liter Really Useful Boxes that looked like little recycling bins along with the miniature glass bottles. You need exactly 55 bottles if you want to do the numbers and counters 1-10.
Roll-and-Stamp Recycling Addition Activity
Free Printable: Roll and Stamp from Earth Day Pack at Homeschool Encouragement
This is a super-easy activity to prepare. It uses two die along with Do-a-Dot markers, glass gems, or some other way to mark the numbers used, and a piece of paper for the printable! Younger children can count the dots to add the two numbers together while older children can work on remembering the facts, counting the dots if needed as a check.
Earth Day Every Day Picture Cards and Labels
Free Printable: Earth Day - Every Day! Picture Cards and Labels from Montessori Print Shop
I LOVE this printable from Montessori Print Shop! It's so helpful that there are definitions for the terms Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Upcycle, and Protect. Then there are 15 real photographs with short captions that can be matched to the labels. It's a great way to discuss these important terms with young children. Older children can read and sort out the cards on their own.
More Free Recycling Printables
Go to my post at Living Montessori Now for links to free recycling printables from around the blogosphere: Free Recycling Printables and Montessori-Inspired Recycling 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.
You'll find lots of Montessori-inspired Earth Day activities and ideas in these Living Montessori Now resources:
Happy Earth Day! :)
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.
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
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.
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.
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!
