Colour swatch ombre wrapping

 Colour swatches are AMAZING in so many ways! Beautiful to the eye, useful for so many activities and did i mention FREE!!

We picked these ones up at our local Bunnings and used our butterfly hole punch to make a stack of tiny coloured butterflies. Tara sorted the colours as best she could from lightest to darkest and glued them to a brown paper package for her cousin.

The latest OMBRE trend can even become a part of learning! Tara also discovered the remains of the colour swatches made great butterfly stencils to keep for a rainy day!



Stacking

This wooden stacking activity was Tara's favourite when she was around 18 months and it seems Mason enjoys it to. It is the first thing he gravitates to on the Montessori shelves.
So while Mason worked on his stacking and matching Tara got to work on an older version of he stacking activity.
All you need is a ball of play dough, one stick of uncooked spaghetti and a bowl of cheerios

The aim was to keep stacking to the very top while being gentle enough not to snap the pasta.

Waterbead Transferring

Transferring is a basic Montessori principle that is important for different ages and stages for different reasons. Mason is 12 months here and just manages to pick up these slippery wet Waterbeads and place them in the bowl on his right.
When placing an activity out to a child encourage them to work left to right as this will start the skills towards reading and writing.

Montessori Almond Meal Tray

I found some almond meal in the pantry that was out of date by just a month so i decided instead of throwing it out we would use it in our activities. This was a Montessori sand tray which i made with a baking tray and plain almond meal. I put a pack of flashcards next to Tara and she copied the letter using her finger to move the almond meal.
Almond meal is also known as almond flour or ground almond. It has a similar consistency to sand so works well for this activity.

Glow water pouring

Pouring is a classic Montessori activity but we decided to "spook" it up by using our glow water for Halloween.
Here i have set out a jug filled with glow water and two glasses with lines drawn at different levels. It is importan to use clear glasses to allow the child to see the liquid rising to the line.
Slowly the liquid is poured in and the object is to stop at the line

One is complete and onto the next

Once finished the liquid is poured back into the jug to be used again

Preparing playroom for a crawling baby

Mason has out grown his play space that i created in this area for him so i turned this part of our playroom into a geography area.
Each few weeks we have a country to discover and this week was The USA
I found some great resources at 1+1+1=1
http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/search/label/America
Colour by number flag and a cute verse about America's currency. Grandma who had visited America bought us back some coins that Tara matched to the verse.
Her VTech globe gets a work out learning the animals and names of surrounding countries.
Our shelving had to be reorganised, as Mason will soon be exploring all of Tara's activities. Montessori shelving is great as the lower shelves can be used for the younger child's work while still having room for the older child on the higher shelves.

Our resource cupboard also was organised to allow Mason to easily find his work on the lower ground and Tara has her work on the middle while i keep all my resources up and away from both. We also added Tara's paint smock(daddy's wedding shirt) on a hook inside the cupboard so she knows where to find it when preparing herself for painting activities.

Drinking glass practice

Mason has turned 6 months and he has been enjoying meals with us at the table along with practicing his drinking glass. Montessori teach that babies love to imitate their parents and as we are not using sippy cups, babies should be given the opportunity to use child size versions of our utensils.
A shot glass,espresso glass or even an egg cup are a great size cup for babies to learn to drink from. The only problem we have found is the slipperiness of the glass when water is spilt.

To help Mason get a better grasp of the glass i decided to make an anti slip glass holder for his cup with some non slip grip mat

I cut a strip of non slip off the mat and sewed up the ends to create a circle that can wrap around and be taken on and off for washing or when the baby can manage the slipperiness

Funny looking but works a treat!

Red ribbon bell

Montessori commonly add this type of mobile to a baby's environment around 2 months. A red satin ribbon with a bell securely connected, hung just in reach of baby's arms. The baby will practice movement and batting which helps with cross lateral development.



Such a simple idea and can be set up in any home with minimal fuss and will keep baby interested