New Blog is up! Montesecrets: An insider's guide to Montessori

www.montesecrets.com

Sorry I haven't been blogging for a while...but there's a good reason. I have my new blog up and running! It's not 100% complete, but I couldn't wait much longer to share it with you all!

On my new blog, you'll find activities to download, videos made by *yours truly*, parenting advice, online classes, monthly contests and much more! I'm still in the initial phases, but I invite all of my loyal readers to check it out! Montesecrets: An insider's guide to Montessori

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You can also follow me on twitter. Click here.

Parts of a Flower

Make your own Parts of a Flower!

This is an easy work to make, and the best part is you don't have to be a Crafty Cathy to make it! It's simple and fast! All you need is different color felt and sharp scissors!

Cut out 4 RED shapes that represent the corollas (petals).

Using GREEN felt, cut out the calyx

Using the YELLOW felt, cut out the stamen pieces.


Finally, using the rest of the GREEN felt, cut out the pistil.

Make labels for each of the parts, including a label for the Flower.

Ta-da! Parts of the flowers!

There's not doubt that children absolutely love nature. Once you have presented them the parts of the flowers, go outside (if appropriate) and find examples of each of the parts. If you have a microscope, have the child examine the different parts closely.

OPTIONAL: USE THIS WORDING WHEN PRESENTING TO THE CHILD

THE FLOWER IS USUALLY BRIGHTLY COLORED. SEEDS DEVELOP WITHIN IT.

THE COROLLAS (OR PETALS) ARE THE BRIGHTLY COLORED OUTSPREAD PARTS OF THE FLOWER.

THE STAMANS SURROUND THE PISTIL. EACH STAMEN BEARS A LITTLE POLLEN SAC.

THE PISTIL IS IN THE CENTER OF THE FLOWER. IT HAS AN OPENING IN THE TOP AND A TUBE TO CARRY THE POLLEN DOWN TO THE OVARY WHERE THE SEEDS DEVELOP.

THE CALYX IS THE GREEN PART THAT HOLDS THE FLOWER ALL TOGETHER.

Famous Montessorians....food for thought...

Here are just a few of the many influential people who attended Montessori school.......

Julia Childs
Late American chef, author, and TV personality famous for Introducing French Cuisine

Sean "P Diddy" Combs
American Record Producer, Actor, Fashion Designer, Entrepreneur, Dancer, Rapper

Prince Harry and Prince William
Heirs to the British Throne and sons of late Princess Diana

Larry Page and Sergey Brin
Founders of the every popular Google

Jeffrey Bezos
The Genius behind Amazon.com

Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy
Former First Lady and Book Editor

Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Columbian novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and journalist. Awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature.

Anne Frank

Famous for writing a diary documenting her experiences during World War II

Making Bubbles

My daughter absolutely loves this activity. You'd be amazed to see how children concentrate so hard while making bubbles. I personally like this activity for selfish reasons- it gives me about 15-20 minutes of "Me" time. I usually can read a book or do some other random thing around the house that I had been neglecting! LOL

This activity is simple and easy. All you need is a clear bowl, a pitcher for water, some liquid soap**, a small egg beater, and food coloring (optional).


**If your child is a little bit older, you can use hard soap, and teach them how to use a grader.

1. Have the child set out the clear bowl, soap, and beater on the table.
2. Show the child where the water is, and have them fill up the pitcher.
3. Take the pitcher with water, and pour it into the clear bowl.
4. Allow the child to squirt some soap into the water.
5. Give the child the egg beater, and let them beat away!
6. Optional: If you have some food coloring lying around, add some color to the water and see what different color combinations you can make.
7. When finished, show your child how to clean and put the materials away.
8. This completes the work cycle!

Enjoy!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

I must say, I've never been a fan of Valentine's Day. I always ended up breaking up right before and would always end up alone. (how depressing?) But, this year, things are a bit different. I'm still alone, in the romantic sense, but I have many special Valentines-my daughter and my students.

My daughter has brought so much joy into my life, and I'm so fortunate to be her mother. My students all have a special place in my heart. (even the one's that drive me crazy!) They all surprised me when they brought the teachers personal drawings, valentines, chocolates (yummy!) and even flowers! I honestly wasn't expecting anything! I can't even begin to describe how that made me feel. The small little gestures meant a lot to me.

One of the projects we did for Valentine's day was create a poem that described what "Love is...". After reading their responses, I was touched. I realized that children find joy in the smallest things. I wish adults were like that. Sometimes we tend to let life take over, and forget to appreciate the smaller things in life. Who would of thought a bunch of preschool age children would teach me a very valuable lesson. I learn something new everyday.

Well here is the poem. Enjoy!

A poem for Valentine's Day, 2009

Love is hot chocolate with double marshmallows.
Love is my mother, love is my dad, love is jumping.
Love is monkeying around.
Love is my book.
Love is Maurice, the bear who I sleep with.
Love is.
Love is my abuela.
Love is my stuffed animal monkey-her name is Chloe.
Love is getting a Star Wars Lego set.
Love is having fun with my brothers, wrestling.
Love is Disney on Ice.
Love is making a great birthday for my mom.
Love is going on a walk with my dogs.
Love is my sister.
Love is when my brother gives me hugs and I give him hugs all the time.
Love is getting new shoes.
Love is backpacks.
Love is eating food, except noodles or macaroni and cheese.
Love is playing with Kallen, my little brother.
Love is growing up.

Stay Tuned & Recommended Reads

I wanted to give you an update about the plans I had mentioned earlier on in the year.

I have been taking an online class that teaches you how to build a blog! So far, I've been learning some amazing things, and hopefully in the next couple of weeks, I'll have a new and improved blog! My sister is helping me out by retyping all of my Albums into PDF format , and they will be available on my site for anyone to download! (hopefully the $50 bucks I bribed my sister with, will motivate her to complete it soon!) I'm also preparing some Introductory to Montessori Online courses, that I will be offering to my loyal readers! I think the class will be an amazing opportunity for Montessorians all over the world to get together and discuss ideas and share stories! With this online classroom, we'll be able to talk live, face-to-face with video, and/or speak via microphones. There is also a chat feature, and the option to upload videos, powerpoints, and documents! I'm so excited for this! Every since I got into Montessori, I knew that I wanted to spread the word! Thanks to the beauty of technology, I can do just that!

So far, things have been going pretty well, and I can't believe that my Internship is a little more than half over! It's been a long 6 months! I have learned so much and I am so thankful that I was able to take this course! The past couple of weeks, I have been reading up on Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). When that one child in my class had a breakdown the other day, I felt so helpless. I didn't know what to do to help him. I think as an educator, it's important for me to read up on all types of developmental delays and learning disabilities in order for me to better serve the child. If I am better educated on this disorder, I'll be able to help my students and be prepared for various situations in the classroom.



A great book, that I highly recommend is "SENSATIONAL KIDS" by Lucy Jane Miller. She does an extraordinary job of breaking down the disorder into terms that everyone can understand. Not only does she go into the neurological aspects of this disorder, but dives into the emotional and mental affects as well. She offers valuable information to parents, and guides them through the process of the initial diagnosis to treatment. This book is great for teachers as well because it offers different ways we can deal with Sensory Integration Disorder in our classrooms. I'm not done with the book yet, but already I'm beginning to understand more and thinking about ways I can change my reaction to things.

When time permits, I'll share with everyone what I've read so far. It's interesting stuff!

Well, it's getting kinda late. I'm getting kinda sleepy and another day awaits! I must get my beauty rest! Till next time!

Color Box Continued

Montessori materials can be extremely expensive. But don't fret! You can still teach your child the same concepts simply by using everyday items. I was blog hopping the other day , and I came across an idea about using Paint strips instead of the actual color box. (I don't remember who's blog it was...sorry :( but as soon as I figure it out, I'll definitely give you credit!)

Materials: Paint strips
Glue
Clothes pins

Go to your local paint store, Home Depot, ect. and grab a bunch of those paint sampler strips. Make sure you get two in each color. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Green, Purple, Pink, Gray, Black are great ones to start off with!)

Once you have all of your colors selected, separate them into two piles. The first pile of colors, you will leave alone, and keep them the way they are. In the second pile, cut the colors out separating each shade.

Once you've completed this step, attach a clothespin to each separate color, gluing the colored piece on the top of the clothes pin.


The first pile will be your control. Have each child pick up one clothespin, and try to match it with it's appropriate pair on the paint strip card.

I hope this all makes sense, and as soon as I create this at home, I will share pictures!

Good luck!

Update: One of my readers found the blog that I was referring to! Check out Chasing Cheerios!

Click HERE!!!