Music, Letters, Animals, Insets, Balloons, and More

MEGAPHONE:

The first thing we did was to make a megaphone. This is a very simple project with a big payoff for your little ones. Simply trace a large circle on poster board. Cut the circle out and then cut it in half, making two half circles. Roll one half circle together at the straight edge to make a cone shape. Seal it with tape and then cut the small end off for the mouth. It's almost guaranteed your little one will have fun playing with it.

PLAYDOUGH B'S:

Our letter of the week was B. Was practiced making play dough B's.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom:

We printed off this Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Tree, colored it, and then made our magnetic alphabet letters climb the tree. We still have a few more activities we want to complete in this theme. This is the theme over at TinyTots, be sure to check out her blog for more activities.

Act Like Animals:

We had fun acting like different animals. Here my daughter is pretending to be a turtle and kitty cat.

Porcupine Play Dough

For this project the little one just makes a ball and then sticks objects in the round play dough. It is supposed to be tooth picks but I couldn't find any, so we used crayons instead.

Montessori Style Geometric "Metal" Insets Kinda/Sort:

Okay, before strict Montessori mommies cringe, this is not exactly, okay not even really close to the proper Montessori Metal Insets. So, I'm going to start by telling you about the correct insets and then our style we did. The correct has

Ten geometrical shapes in metal or plastic. The frames are in one color and the inset shapes are in another. The squares of colored paper are cut to fit the frames exactly. Colored pencils in a box of 48+ colors should be provided. The teacher places the frame exactly over the square of paper, showing the child that no paper can be seen around the edge of the frame. Next, the teacher draws around the shape. She then removes the shape and lets the child see the drawn shape. Next, she uses a different colored pencil and fills in the drawing with light parallel lines from side to side. takes one pencil and draws around the shape. She removes the frame and lets the child look at the drawn shape. She changes for the second pencil. She fills in a small part of the drawing with light straight parallel lines that go exactly from one side of the drawing to the other.Then, the child is allowed. Here is a pic of how the real ones look- Our version was really a very quick and non precise attempt. We've been sick this week. For the square I used a little frame that I have and popped out the glass. I think it works good. The oval is one of those magnets where the inside can be removed. We also did a triangle out of cardboard. We didn't use colored pencils because I forgot. Can anyone tell me why you must used colored pencils? For proper insets here is a good place to download the shapes and cut out of cardboard.

Bubble Wrap Dance:

Next, we laid out some bubble wrap and simply danced on it. I took this time to introduce different types of music and discover her likes/dislikes. Her favorite types of music were Jazz and Fiesta Mexico-style music. (She also had fun playing with a flashlight during this time).

Practical Life: Washing Dishes

She always enjoys washing dishes...I really hope this hobby continues, lol!

Painting the Letter B:

I gave her a wooden letter B and let her paint it. We are decorating all the letters of the alphabet to go up in her room. This one isn't being painted yellow and black, as in a bumble bee. The letter A was done in green with red apples.

Balloon Fun:

Lots and lots of fun with a balloon. (Note: Almost everyone knows to watch their children carefully but just in case I want to remind everyone that children can die if they swallow balloons).

We were sick most of the week so didn't come near to meeting our curriculum goals for the week, but at least it makes next weeks planning easier!