Jenn’s Home Montessori

Everything Apples! So the kids know when amazon comes its usually something Ive ordered for them well these came over the weekend and we love them!! We started today with the story 10 Apples Up On Top and it developed into a STEM activity! Balancing apples using blocks! Even Quinn wanted to check it out the children continued to create different ways they could use the blocks and apples and in the end they built a garage to store the apples in using the mat for the top lol!

Happy first day of Autumn

Today we started our unit on Apples. There are so many great things you can introduce and expand on! We read a story about how apples grow and I introduced the children the the Life Cycle of an Apple. We then expanded our sink and float work into a STEM activity to see if apples float. We cut them in half, the children noticed the star and the seeds in the middle of the apples. The children designed their sails. We attached our sails to popsicle sticks and stuck them into the middle of the apple. One by one the children watched intently to see if their apples floated.

To all the educators and families, I think I found my new CPL direction! Mindfulness I just watched a great seminar through scholars choice with guest speaker Sherry-Lynn Kirshcne! Amazing! And I came away with some great ideas! Please let me know if you are interested I can send you a link.

Weve been so busy today we havent even gotten outside yet!! We are getting all the time we can get with one friend whos last day is today when we have to say good bye its always sad but I cherish all the amazing moments and time weve spent together. He sure has made his mark in my families heart

Today to end our insect theme we explored a fossil and talked about some of the imprints we saw in the fossil. We explored our own imprints in our play doh fossils we made using the insects and it was quite the discovery! We were able to see all the parts of the insect imbedded in the play doh and we learned insects like to hide inside. The children rolled the insects and tried to dig them all out.

My favourite thing about teaching is listening to the way children develop their language. Through sorting activities we were learning the difference between insects and non insects and how to answer yes and no questions. This little man I have had since he was 12 months is now speaking in full sentences as he sorts the land, water and air activity! Amazing!

These pictures say it all! The kids came in today happy to be together and start their day! Its been jam packed of insects, picking and eating tomatoes and playing outside!

Amazing focus today! Beading and finishing crafts were on the top of mind for our older friends. Something Id like to touch on is circle time. This is an important time for us as it brings us together, to talk, to learn new material, to sing and read. Its always been a part of our routine. Whats important to understand when managing circle time is knowing that some children arent quite ready to sit and engage. This doesn necessarily mean they arent listening. Ive alwa...ys allowed and encouraged other educators to be mindful of this period for a young child. To allow this child to move around the classroom. To work on what interests them. Today is a great example of that. As we were singing our good morning song, my younger friend came over, sat and participated in our songs and story time. He did the actions, pointed to his friends and engaged himself with the others! This is huge!! If hes not been part of this activity how did he know, because he was observing and listening, still while moving around the room. Something caught his attention to want to sit and participate with us today I know his attention span will begin to increase. As educators we take small steps to allow for this to happen. I have a group of various ages so its important that my circle time is engaging, interactive and short! If Im not keeping their attention Im really only entertaining myself. See more

A great reason to teach about insects and observe them in their natural habitat is to show children that some can be amazing little creatures, and not to be afraid of them. Today we were so brave to interact with a stick bug!

Tunnels for insects and an introduction to the number rods. Already the children are noticing the pattern of the number rods! For the children continuing to work on identifying numbers and 1:1 correspondence they are still learning language and identify shortest to longest.

For the next little while its going to be all about insects! There has been many different species on the property so I decided we needed to explore them more closely. Ofcourse I went online and ordered a bag of insects and they came the next day! Well it was like Christmas!! The children yelled amazons here!!!! And our delivery man felt like a rock star! We are currently working on a ladybug art project and continue to label the parts of the insects. If that wasnt exciting enough Vicki our mail delivery came today with another package!! Something I ordered pre covid!! I even forgot what it was!! Number Rods and a counting apple tree!! Just in time for fall!!

Today has been a rainy day but boy we were busy!!! I was asked to do an experiment today so I created a sink and float activity. They learned this concept quickly and did such a great job waiting their turns. Today the children also had an opportunity to engage in the materials in more depth! They brought out the pink tower and brown stair and were very interested in working on some extensions and using their creativity by building with them together

At snack today I told the boys I wasnt peeling the apples. They dipped them in peanut butter and ate the entire apples slices skin and all

With all the grasshoppers, crickets and butterflies weve been discovering the children have taken this week to explore these beautiful insects. Ive been busy prepping to provide the children with lessons to learn all things insects this week today we learned this song and talked about the parts of a grasshopper.

We started our morning strong with some math work. Its amazing to witness the process of Montessori work from number recognition to ordering numbers

This week we have been really focusing on letter sounds, rhyming and following directions. The children have been so engaged mentoring each other and participating in circle time

Learning letter sounds

A great start to the week! From chasing crickets to picking and eating the tomatoes out of the garden. It will be interesting to see where this takes us this morning we continued with letter sounds and match pictures to initial letter sounds.

Nikki Slessor! We did it we made our own rainbows Love the focus!

Today we read a story called A Rainbow of my Own I highly recommend it! Beautiful pictures we made a rainbow of our own and looked for one outside on our rainy walk

It was all smiles, ohhhs and awes as we talked about rainbows and colours. Today we did a science experiment. Weve done this before but it seems so long ago! A much different experience now that the children are older. Food colouring, vinegar and baking soda erupted in colourful bubbles!

I think I know what next weeks theme will be!! This was absolutely exciting to see when I opened my daughters door and her room was filled with rainbows! The rainbows reached into the hallway and the children pointed to the colours they saw. We practiced counting one-one using fishy crackers and the kids got a riot out of that. A little confusing when I asked them to glue and not eat

Sorry everyone for the delay in posts! Usually if I do a theme Ill move on after two weeks. The children have been really interested in the sea life unit, I havent moved on. Yesterday we talked about sea horses and read a colourful story written by Eric Carl called Mr. Sea Horse. We then watched a video about real life sea horses and the children were so intrigued! We used a bingo dabber and painted to encourage language and more discussion. Today, instead of waiting for the rain, because thats seems to not be happening, we decided to embrace the little bit of sprinkle we received and went out to play in it! The children ran and danced! We discovered how far pucks can roll across the driveway and discovered Monarch caterpillars flocking to our butterfly plant again! So exciting!

So busy this week I didnt get a chance to show off all their work! From Painting Puffer Fish to collecting and exploring bugs, best friends and hard play! Their attention span is increasing and the work and exploration they continue to do amazes me everyday!

Some great strides this week! Small group lessons are happening and today we walked with the rope!! Game changer!!

Finally outside and they have been non stop! Lol!! They are having a blast!

Montessori moments and boys and their cars! We havent even been outside yet, its been such a busy morning! Why interrupt