Accomplishment! Getting Things DONE! Delayed Gratification!

THRILLED! THRILLED! THRILLED! 

We've all made it through September. It's in the book! 

All of the effort of launching the new school year is now behind you. 

EXHALE! 

You did it!!

What a sense of accomplishment to have made it through the most energy intensive days and weeks of launching the new school year: the never-ending 'to-do' list of setting up your room, meeting your new students & their families, and getting off to a whole new adventure!

It's OCTOBER!

YOU MADE IT! 

Don't you just LUV having a map?

Doesn't having a map of your plans secure your arrival?

Are you a list maker? 

Don't you long for a map to get you where you want to go? 

I saw this 'music-mind-map' in the hallway of Concordia College in Chicago YEARS ago! 

I was immediately both fascinated and transfixed. 

What a brilliant shorthand *M*A*P* of the uses and benefits of music. 

LUV me a MUSIC-MAP! 

Truth be told: I took that picture years ago, blogged about it and then 'forgot' about both this image and my fascination with it. Then one day this summer I happened upon 'my' photo while investigating my own Pinterest feed. {I now have 165,000 followers on Pinterest!} Someone had repinned the image -- all of these years later. I was fascinated all over again. It was like a homecoming party. Luv'd it then! LUV it NOW! 

What with it being summer at the time and it being my season of rejuvenation, a few extra light bulbs lit! What if I could put my 18.3 years of experience as a 'music-lady' onto one piece of paper? What if I could expand and expound upon the simplicity of the original map with my own spin-on-it? What if? So I got out a drawing board and began! 

MUSIC is the heart of it all: the very center. 

Next? 

Let's take a look at singing within music. 

I got out my colored pencils and had myself a ball. 

SINGING is indeed within music. 

I blogged about it more extensively last month on my personal blog as I finally made progress and got it {my mind map} done! 

I think of the singing benefits as falling into two camps: 

Lyrics = Language [Reading]

The Beat = Patterns [Math]

In my mind-map all things 'language' are above the center point. 

All things beat/math are below. The bedrock. The foundation. 

Even after I had my map finished, it took a while to get into pdf format. 

Then it took another step to get the pdf uploaded as a FREEBIE at our EARLY EDUCATION EMPORIUM!

Patience, grasshopper. 

BANG THE DRUM! Mission accomplished!

Cross it off the list! 

It is *NOW* available for your download!

Want to see a dozen bulletin board type music ideas?

Go back to my blog for those!

While I was attempting to get this accomplished,

I searched my own blog's archive for some additional, earlier music support articles. 

Here's a dozen directions from my heart to yours.

***This article would be especially helpful if you feel you're out of your element when it comes to music and children. We're talkin' basics!   

Here's a different dozen. 

This time focused on "Music as Motivator." 

This next one is no doubt one of my widest-researched articles: 

"The importance of rhyme." 

If you are feeling like there's just not enough time in the day for 'sing-ing' 

then you need to read this article for reinforcement to combat the "Wolf at the Door" 

and get back to some basics! 

Speaking of delayed gratification..... 

Last winter began a whole new era of fun for me. We had a day of video filming in a professional studio on behalf of Zaner-Bloser, the handwriting company in Columbus, OH. Green screen fun with two of my WonderPeeps [grand-children] plus a few more! 

How I wanted to click my heels and have the videos finished...... 

PATIENCE!

THE DAY HAS ARRIVED! 

THE VIDEOS ARE FINISHED! 

THEY ARE UPloaded over to YouTUBE! 

THEY ARE FREE!!!! 

YOU WILL LIKE THEM!

*Here's a glimpse and an image you could pin for me! 

We shot two videos. 

The first in the set is called, "SKYWRITING" and is an upbeat, 

blast-off to using our imagination, our visualization as a tool for handwriting success. 

It features a rocket ship blasting off and an octopus. 

It would be great for a 'brain break' and getting some oxygen. 

The second video is "Top to Bottom" and I predict will be your favorite. 

You can use it EVERY day this month! 

The more you use it the more infectious the learning becomes!

It is a marching, getting faster, 'print directionality' master piece if I do say so myself. 

Plus there's a duck and a bear. 

And moi and my WonderPeeps! 

What more could you ask for? 

Here's the link to Zaner-Bloser and on to the videos!  

Did I mention that they're FREE FREE FREE!!!!

HURRY HURRY HURRY! 

In honor of all of this progress on my "To Do" list, I have a big celebration going on right now, 

where there will be a lucky winner of some amazing seasonal, downloadable goodies from some of my favorite bloggers. 

You still have three more days to get entered to win! 

Follow this link for those specifics!

Montessori-Inspired Turkey Activities Using Free Printables

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now 

Even though I'm a vegetarian, I enjoy using turkeys as a theme for Thanksgiving ... I just don't focus on turkeys on the Thanksgiving table. Today, I want to share some free turkey printables and ideas for hands-on activities for preschoolers through first graders. 

You'll find many more 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.  

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

Turkey Practical Life and Color Matching Activity 

 

This was a fun activity to prepare. I used the the Turkey Template by The Mommy Teacher to create a turkey from a colander. Because I had found a small colander at the grocery store, I printed out the turkey template at 50%. With a larger colander, I would have used the larger size. I also printed out the Turkey Feather Color Game from TOADally Tots for the feathers. I used a large plastic tray from Montessori Services.

When I laminated the feathers before cutting them out, they were stiff enough to insert into the colander holes for a practical life activity. I would recommend using this as a color-matching activity as well. I only used two feathers of each color for the matching activity. 

For a child who isn't comfortable with identifying colors yet, you could first lay out the feathers on a table or rug. Then place one of the feathers on the table or rug in front of the child and ask him or her to find the matching feather. After that, the child could insert the feathers into the colander. A child who's more comfortable with color names could be asked to find the red feathers and so on before inserting them into the colander turkey. 

Although I used feathers from the printable, I imagine colored feathers from a craft store would work very well. You could also use different colors of pipe cleaners and have the child place matching colored beads on each pipe cleaner after it's inserted into a hole in the colander. 

Turkey Cutting Activity 

For this activity, I used the Thanksgiving Cut It Out from This Reading Mama. This printable has many fun turkey cutting activities for various skill levels. The photo is just one example of a tray for cutting straight lines to make turkey puzzles. The tray is an inexpensive wooden tray from Michaels hobby store.

Ten Little Turkeys Activity and Song 

I always loved holiday songs and props for "circle times" as a Montessori teacher and as a homeschooler. This activity uses the Ten Little Turkeys Activity and Song printable. I especially like that it includes a link to a very cute "Ten Little Turkeys" song with original melody and audio by Rachel Rambach. You could use the props at circle time and allow children to use the tray to act out the song on their own. 

Turkey Fractions Activity

 

The turkey fractions activity uses the Turkey Fractions printable from Classroom Game Nook. This is just a fun themed extension to fraction work. The printable also contains the fraction words, but I only used the symbols and numerical fractions. I put the layout on a large hemmed work rug from Montessori Services.

 

Build-a-Turkey Phonetic Reading Activity 

This was a super-easy activity to prepare. I used Build a Turkey - CVC Freebie from My Fabulous Class and a a medium-size tray from Montessori Services. This is simply a fun way for children to work on blending phonetic sounds into words. 

More Free Printables and Thanksgiving Activities 

Go to my post at Living Montessori Now for links to LOTS of turkey freebies from around the blogosphere: Free Turkey Printables and Montessori-Inspired Turkey Activities. 

You'll find lots of Montessori-inspired Thanksgiving activities and ideas in these posts at Living Montessori Now: Montessori-Inspired Gratitude Activities, How to Help Your Child Feel Comfortable Greeting Relatives, Table Setting, How to Teach Your Child Table Manners for Holiday Gatherings, Homeschool Thanksgiving, Activity of the Week – Montessori Thanksgiving Noun Sorting Work, Montessori-Inspired Corn Unit, Montessori-Inspired Thanksgiving Activities, Kids in the Kitchen on Thanksgiving, Montessori-Inspired Thanksgiving Math Activities, Thanksgiving Grace and Courtesy, Montessori-Inspired Thanksgiving Math Activities and Free Printables, Montessori-Inspired Native American Unit

Enjoy the rest of autumn!

 
 
 
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 Colorado Springs with her husband of 38 years and their cat of 12 years. She blogs at Living Montessori Now. 

May be linked to Afterschool Express, Thoughtful Spot, Tuesday Tots, The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions at Milk and Cuddles and Crystal & Co., Mom’s Library, It’s Playtime, The Weekly Kid’s Co-op, Hearts for Home Blog Hop, Learn & Link, TGIF Linky Party, Preschool Corner, Ultimate Homeschool Pinterest Party, Sharing Saturday, Saturday Show & Tell, Share It Saturday, Show-and-Share Saturday, The Sunday Showcase, Link & Learn

Montessori-Inspired Spider Activities Using Free Printables

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now 

Since spider activities are especially fun before Halloween, I want to share some activities today using free spider printables. 

The hands-on activities in this post are for preschoolers through first graders. You'll find many more 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.  

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

Glow-in-the-Dark Spider Practical Life Activity 

 

This activity was very simple to prepare. I just used the the spider web printable from Spider Web Number Cards by Boy Mama Teacher Mama. I used an inexpensive wooden tray and 5 glow-in-the-dark spiders from Michaels hobby store, a tweezers, and a small flashlight. The child could use the tweezers to transfer the spiders to the spider web. Then, if you have a dark area, the child could shine the light on the spiders for a bit, turn off the flashlight, and enjoy the glow-in-the dark effect.

Spider Shapes Activity 

This tray uses the Spider Shapes (laminated) from Spiders Tot Pack at 2 Teaching Mommies. I used a clear acrylic tray from Montessori Services and added a small container of playdough. The playdough could be used to make the appropriate shape around each spider.

S is for Spider Beginning Sounds Tray

I love glass gems and have collected them in most colors. For this Montessori-inspired activity tray, I used the S is for Spiders printable from Making Learning Fun with black glass gems from the hobby store. I put the exact number of glass gems in a round candle coaster along with a sugar tong from Montessori Services. This makes a nice language activity, but I especially like that the themed printable adds interest to a practical life tonging activity.

Of course, you don’t need to use glass gems for this activity. You could use playdough balls, pom poms with a strawberry huller, magnetized pom poms on a magnetic tray, or dot markers (if you don’t laminate the activity). 

In Montessori education, we emphasize phonetic sounds rather than letter names. I would demonstrate the activity by placing the printable on a rug and saying, "/s/ is for spider." Then I would show how to use the sugar tong to place a few of the glass gems before returning the tray to the shelf for the child(ren) to use. 

Spider Numbers and Counters 

I found the spiderweb numbers in the Spider Sums of 5 and 10 by My Fabulous Class at Teachers Pay Teachers. I love preparing seasonal cards and counters, and these were perfect for creating a DIY numbers and counters activity. I purchased 55 felt spiders from Michaels hobby store. The tray is a black Economy Tray from Montessori Services.I found the black bowl (cauldron) on sale after Halloween last year. The container is fun, but another type of container would work just as well.

When showing how to do the layout, I recommend placing the spiders in rows of two with a leftover spider centered below the last row. It's a standard Montessori layout for cards and counters and gives a visual representation of odd and even. If you have exactly 55 spiders for the numerals 1-10, that will serve as a control of error.

I put the layout on a large hemmed work rug from Montessori Services.

Spider Addition Activity 

For this activity, I used the Spider Addition Math Sheets from 123 Homeschool 4 Me and 10 spiders from Michaels hobby store.

This tray was very simple to prepare. Many of the 3 Dinosaurs printable packs have counting, addition, subtraction, greater than/less than, and/or word problem printables with numbers that are interchangeable. I just used the numerals from the "Montessori-Inspired Ocean Math Activities" I prepared last June.

For presentation ideas, check out the Montessori-Inspired One Fish, Two Fish Addition Tray in my February post here. You should be able to easily adapt the presentation for this activity.

For younger children, I would make a separate "Count the Spiders" tray, using the Preschool Spider Math Sheet from 123 Homeschool 4. Me For each tray, be sure to have the exact number of spiders needed for the highest sum or to go to the highest counted number you're using in the activity.

Spider Acrostic Poem Writing Activity 

This was another simple-to-prepare tray. It's for advanced kindergarteners or first graders. I used the Spider Acrostic Poem Printable from Activity Village. I added a pencil sharpener and Halloween pencil.

Pipe Cleaner Spider Craft 

I had a lot of fun with the Pipe Cleaner Spiders from Mama Miss. Melissa at Mama Miss has free printables and clear instructions for making the pipe cleaner spiders. 

I'd recommend the craft for ages 4 and up because of the fine-motor control that's required. Of course, if you prepare the spider except for the pony beads and googly eyes, a younger child could have fun adding those. Adding pony beads to pipe cleaners is always a great fine-motor activity.

More Free Printables and Halloween Activities

Go to my post at Living Montessori Now for links to LOTS of spider freebies from around the blogosphere: Free Spider Printables and Montessori-Inspired Spider Activities. 

You'll find lots of Montessori-inspired Halloween activities and ideas in these posts at Living Montessori Now: Montessori-Inspired Pumpkin Activities, Homeschool Halloween, Montessori-Inspired Pumpkin Unit, Montessori-Inspired Halloween Activities, Halloween Grace and Courtesy, Montessori-Inspired Friendly Ghost Activities, Montessori-Inspired Halloween Activities (2012), and Montessori-Inspired Skeleton Activities. I also have a Kids' Halloween Activities Pinterest Board with Halloween activities of all kinds.

Have a Happy Halloween!

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 Colorado Springs with her husband of 38 years and their cat of 12 years. She blogs at Living Montessori Now. 

May be linked to Afterschool Express, Thoughtful Spot, Tuesday Tots, The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions at Milk and Cuddles and Crystal & Co., Mom’s Library, The Weekly Kid’s Co-op, Hearts for Home Blog Hop, Ultimate Mom Resources, Learn & Link, TGIF Linky Party, Preschool Corner, Ultimate Homeschool Pinterest Party, Sharing Saturday, Saturday Show & Tell, Share It Saturday, Show-and-Share Saturday, The Sunday Showcase, Link & Learn

Positioned for Scissoring Success by Dr. Mari

By, Marianne Gibbs, EdD, OTR/L

www.writeoutofthebox.com

Facilitating appropriate arm and hand positioning is critical when children are developing their scissor skills. “Positioned for Scissoring Success” means the thumb is facing up on the hand holding the scissors and that the arm is moving away from the body when cutting instead of toward it. Try these positional strategies when the hand or arm is curved or being used in an unorthodox position:

Get Rid of the Table: Some students perform cutting practice better when they are seated away from the desktop or table surface. Often, scooting the chair back from the table will improve positioning and holding of scissors and/or paper automatically.

Fringy Fun: Tape paper to edge of desk or middle of easel so student can cut upwardly and make “fringe.” This is a great technique to correctly position the arm for cutting.

Hold Tight: Have the child “hold” a small roll of paper towel or newspaper between the underarm and torso of the cutting arm to ensure that the arm stays in the correct position. This is a gem of a tip!

Tummy Time: Lying on tummy to practice cutting will often correct arm positioning automatically!

Color-Coding: Clarify scissor grasp and build independence by color-coding thumbhole on scissors. Simply wrap thumbhole with tape in a contrasting color. Electrical tapes works well.

Documenting Scissor Skill Progress with Lollipop Friends™

                  

We hope you love scissor skill assessment tool – Lollipop Friends! Educators can use this assessment tool to document progress and engage in productive conversations with a parent about his/her child's scissor skill progress and goals. The Lollipop Friends Assessment Booklet integrates perfectly into a student's cutting project portfolio to capture multiple reflections of the student's journey to cutting skill proficiency!

Lollipop Friends Assessment Booklet is available as a single booklet for use with one child or in a reproducible format for easy and cost-effective duplication. Full instructions for implementation of Lollipop Friends are located in the Lollipop Friends Assessment Booklet. For more information on this product please visit www.writeoutofthebox.com.

         

*** Note from the editor. There are terrific photos that go with this article. They are in a technological blackhole known as my laptop, that just crashed, big time. Twill work with Dr. Mari to get a new set and get them uploaded for your further insight, just ASAP. Ahhhhhhh. Technology. ~~ Debbie 

Fine Motor Skills..... Write Out of the Box

Fine Motor Skills..... Write Out of the Box with Dr. Marianne Gibbs

Last month we discussed the definition and development of the tripod pencil grasp in young children – super important in the age window of 3-6 years old! This month I want to encourage the expansion of the writing center…Write Out of the Box!

Give Your Writing Station a Little Punch!

A Mini Hole Punch, that is! Children LOVE to play "Office", which is a perfect play-based activity to build hand skills for future handwriting and writing. A Mini Hole Punch is an especially beloved item by young children - it is tiny and punches with purpose! This gem is not only a super fun "office" supply in the Writing Station, but also serves to develop the tripod grasp.

Tool Time: Mini-Hole Punch

When children hold the Mini Hole Punch with their Busy Fingers they reinforce the tripod grasp position, which is helpful to holding a pencil comfortably and efficiently. As children are expected to write longer sentences, paragraphs, and stories in the primary grades - they need a comfortable, positionally-efficient pencil grasp to support lengthy writing production.

So add Mini Hole Punches to a great assortment of thick, colorful papers, stickers, envelopes, paperclips, rulers, folders and file holders to organize it all! This is Play with a great Purpose!

Mini Hole Punch Activity Ideas:

• Practice sequencing skills according to alpha or numeric patterns on thick paper to create design
• Create their own lacing cards (laminate for longevity)
• Create mosaic art projects with the punched chads
• Have punched chad races with Squishy Fish

Squishy Fish 

Punch it Up....Write Out of the Box!

Dr. Marianne Gibbs, EdD, OTR/L

www.writeoutofthebox.com

Fine Motor Skills..... Write Out of the Box

I am Marianne Gibbs (Dr. Mari) and thrilled to be a new contributing author to PreK and K Sharing!  As an occupational therapist, national early childhood educational speaker, and creator of Fine Motor Skills…Write Out of the Box, I address fine motor development of young children via keynotes, once-in-a-lifetime workshops, resource materials, and consultation in the Early Childhood community. In addition, I am a contributing author to the Frog Street Press Pre-K curriculum, Benson Handwriting programs, and the owner of Gibbs Consulting, Incorporated. My passion is supporting the appropriate development of young children and elevating educational practices and life-long outcomes for children beyond expectations! 

It is my pleasure to be communicating with you on the 18^th of each month regarding fine motor development and its critical role to future handwriting efficiency in young children. Please leave any questions you may have in the comment section below so I may address them in future articles.

Let the sharing begin…Write Out of the Box!

Have you ever found yourself saying, “Hold it right” to a young child who is trying to hold a pencil? If you have, you know these words alone simply do not work. Acquisition of an efficient pencil grasp is a process of pattern development. An efficient pencil grasp involves three fingers holding the pencil: Thumbkin, Pointer, and Middleman. I call these the Busy Fingers and they make up the tripod grasp. When Ringman and Pinky hold a Pillow (cotton ball or pom pom) and "go to sleep," the Busy Fingers are ready to play! The Busy Fingers can effectively hold and move a pencil, crayon, or tool while the Sleeping Fingers help to stabilize and support the child's hand and grasp.

                   

I love to use singing to convey this simple strategy for holding a pencil correctly. Check out my “Fingers and Pillows” song, which is available in English and Spanish to help teachers and parents teach proper positioning for pencil grasp. By adding in simple hand movements (sing the song and you'll see what I mean) we can teach children about Busy Fingers, Sleeping Fingers, and Pillows. This is a fun way to teach students how to hold a pencil efficiently in a child-friendly way!

Follow these links to receive a FREE Pdf version of my piggy-back song lyrics: 

English Version of "Fingers and Pillows" Song Lyrics 
Spanish Version of "Fingers and Pillows" Song Lyrics

I'm already looking forward to my sharing next month! 

Marianne Gibbs, EdD, OTR/L

Write Out of the Box