Matching Months Activity: Preschool : Montessori

I cut up an old calendar to make this activity for Scholar.

I found a calendar that had the months across the top in strips,
and the same picture on the back very small.

At first, I gave him 1 small month and he found the matching large month.
Then, I put out a large month, and he found the small one.

After a few days,
I set the months out in groups of 3,
and let him set the larger / smaller ones on top.

After a few more days,
we put the months in order
and he matched them up.

Then we sang a month song to remember the days.
I think it was one from Barney,
or a similar children's show.

Next, we got it down to matching the words on 3x5 cards with either
a large or small set.

Then,
I gave him a large calendar,
and he would turn the pages and set down the proper month
on the floor.


And then I gave him a smaller calendar to use.

We kept changing it up,
until he was able to put the small set in order
without looking.
And tell me what the month was on the card.


We got miles out of this simple activity.

By the end of one month,
he had his months down pat.

We reviewed several times over the next year.


This was inspired by a blog post
Montessori style learning,
about 3 years ago.
Therefore, I have not been able
to find the original post.

And the best thing about this one...

Sunshine will be using it in another year!




A Months Poem
by ME

January is so very cold.
February for hearts so bold.

March brings winds so free.
April brings rain to me.

May flowers bloom
June goes by zoom.

July is American like Apple Pie
August is so hot the grass will die.

September is back to school for all
October brings a colorful fall.

November we are thankful for what God does bless.
December is Jesus, and his gift of forgiveness.



To make the above poem into a "game".
January - hug self like you are cold, brrrr
February - make a giant heart on your chest, start in middle of chest, up to the shoulders, and down to the belly button - tickle
March - open arms above head and sway back and forth like a tree in the wind
April - reach high and wiggle fingers down to the floor - hands are raining
May - stand back up and smile with arms out - child is a flower
June - both arms reach out to one side and then zoom fast to other side of body
July - Pretend to wave a flag and eat pie
August - wilt onto the ground
September - stack books (imagine)
October - use hands to be leaves falling from trees
November - fold hands to pray
December - rock a baby Jesus in arms

Homeschool Method: Montessori

The Montessori Method is well known in well educated circles.  Montessori Preschools are among the elite schools, and very expensive - but teaching Montessori style doesn't have to be expensive, and it can be done at home.

According to Wikapedia ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_method

Overview

Montessori education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological development, as well as technological advancements in society. Although a range of practices exists under the name "Montessori", the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential:^[2][3]

• Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children aged 2½ or 3 to 6 years old by far the most common
• Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options
• Uninterrupted blocks of work time
• A Constructivism or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction
• Specialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators

In addition, many Montessori schools design their programs with reference to Montessori’s model of human development from her published works, and usepedagogy, lessons, and materials introduced in teacher training derived from courses presented by Montessori during her lifetime.

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I follow Chasing Cheerios, and highly recommend it, although the best stuff is way back in 2007 - 20010.

Another blog I read about the same time was A Bit of This and A Bit of That.  I highly recommend digging back into her older posts when Ebi-kun was a toddler and preschooler.

Both of these blogs made many of their own equipment for their homeschools.

To explore Montesorri methods ...  here are some links to other blogs that have been highly recommended for those using the Montessorri method. ... 

http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-montessori-living-blogs/

http://www.onlinedegree.net/50-must-read-montessori-blogs/

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I didn't hear about Montessori Method's until my mom started to babysit a child who attended a special preschool using this method.  Story and Song were already doing schoolwork, the internet was not as well developed as it is now, and so I didn't give it much thought ... until Scholar came along and blogging, and I began to see this name pop up again and again.

For the most part, this is not a method that I have implemented in my home.  For starters, it requires a LOT of creativity on the parents part - and I'm not a creative person.  Second, I didn't have space to dedicate to a "creative" and "exploration" area.  Third, many of the things people were using were very expensive.

In the end, I settled on following a few blogs - the two above became my favorites - and implemented ideas whenever I was able to do so.

When learning the months and days of the week, we cut up an old calendar.  This one had extra large squares and only long parts across the top with the month names in large letters.  On the back, the same thing but little so you could see what was inside before you purchased it.  At first, he put the months in order with the little ones still together, and later we matched them up.  We did something similar with the weekdays.  He enjoyed it.

I couldn't bring myself to waste a whole bag of rice just to make a sensory box, but we had a yard of sand, so I let him dig through the sand for buried pennies and aquarium rocks.  

Whenever something caught my interest, and I was able to make it myself, we would apply it to our stack of "games" to play.  In this way, I used the Montessori method as an extra learning tool and not the fundamental tool.

If you are a very hands on and creative parent, you might find this teaching/ learning style to be to your liking.  But even if you don't, it has a LOT to offer in activities, especially for slow learners, accelerated learners, and highly inquisitive children.  I've seen a huge amount of these methods "bled over" into therapy for teaching both autistic children and those with motor skills and verbal delays.

I would highly recommend digging around through the blogs, find one or a few that you like and can relate to, and following them for ideas and inspiration.  You don't have to use every single idea - but have fun with the things that inspire you to do something different with your child.  

The BEST thing about home schooling - you can adapt and use ANY education method to accommodate your teaching style and your child's learning style.  You never have to choose JUST one and stick to it.  

Teaching the Toddler

One thing for sure, Toddlers do not need anything special for them to learn!  I've never seen a single toddler that didn't soak up as much information as possible as fast as they could.  They seem to be natural sponges.

I think the real danger comes in pushing them too hard to perfect the stuff that they are trying out.

Sunshine has recently discovered cutting.  She will latch onto any stray pair of scissors and any paper, and go to cutting with a vengeance.   I am so glad the our family is already in the habit of putting scissors away.   I could get all over her about how she cuts, and make her hold the scissors just so and cut on lines, but so far I've managed to just watch and gently turn her hands so that the scissors actually cut the paper.  I also encourage "cut, don't tear".  She has a stack of paper that she knows is OK to draw on ... so they must be OK to cut.  It's been a couple of weeks now since she cut anything important!

Montessori Method works really well for toddlers and most preschoolers.  Not that I've incorporated EVERY single thing that they do, but the idea behind it works.  As I understand it, the children learn through play and interacting with adults.

There are literally dozens of awesome Montessori inspired blogs.  When Joel was little, one of my favorites was Chasing Cheerios - because the Mom would use stuff she had around the house to recreate the expensive toys she saw in magazines.  It was so clever, and so do-able.   One project taught the months of the year - I found an old calendar and cut it up for a matching game - perfect!

If your toddler is your only/ oldest child - just add them to everything you do.  Teach them count by cooking and letting them help count the cups of flour and sugar and eggs.  Teach colors by sorting laundry.  Teach shapes by cutting cookies and sandwiches.   It is so easy to include a willing child whose main goal is to be with Mom (or Dad).

Picture "Song's First Scissors"

What do I have on hand for my toddler during the day?

Wooden Blocks

Lego Blocks

ABC blocks / Magnets - 3 D alphabets and numbers help fix a letter's shape in a child's mind.  One of the therapys for dyslexia, is to make clay letters and numbers, so the child can touch and feel the letter.  Little brains learn this way.

Sensory Tubs  ....  Actually, I have a yard of SAND ... and from time to time, I bury coins, beads, and other fun things ... all of the kids love treasure hunting.  Sensory tubs can be made with sand, rice, beans, leaves, and all kinds of fun items.  The internet has hundreds of ideas.

Bean Bags

Balls - a variety of sizes

Dolls - all sizes and types - avoid dolls with "real hair"

Buttons and shoe strings

Oversized beads - I have fun shapes and big wooden beads

Paper and art supplies - scissors, glue sticks, crayons, paint (I water down acrylic paints), markers, and colored pencils.  This is used at the table with supervision.   A home made desktop art easel can be made from a pizza box.

Boxes and tubes

Sticks and rocks

Cars and trucks

Board Books

Little plastic animals

Magnets - under supervision

Puzzles

Games (some of these can be tons of fun just letting an older toddler sit and play with the pieces and the board)

Rubber bands

Hair bows or loose ribbon

Oversized paper clips

Large nuts and bolts

egg cartons

And the list could go on and on ....  over the years I've just watched for things to catch my kids eyes, and tried to keep an open mind.  Story had a huge collection of stickers ... on juice can lids.  She loved to look at them and stack them.  Song had a bathtub funnel that we made from a milk jug.  Scholar use to run around with egg cartons full of rocks and leaves and sticks.



Taking walks and going to the park are wonderful too - moving, running, and sunshine help build brains and balance.

A toddler's world is all about exploring and imitating.   If you go out of your way to provide an environment on purpose to allow your child to explore and imitate you .... you will find that the "terrible two" stage is a lot less of a problem.   This is the age of learning - and becoming an individual.    Provide plenty of opportunity for curiosity ....  I've often allowed my kids to traipse kitchen supplies (spoons, bowls, cups, measuring spoons) up to the bathroom for bath time.

Relax, have fun, and try to see the amazing world that God made through the eyes of your toddler.