On the Shelves: December

Either I have way too many Christmas and holiday things or I just love this time of year, because I've spent a very long time in the classroom getting these (and other) shelves ready!  It is sure to be a festive month:

Jingle Bell Necklace tray.

Practical Life:  Dry Transferring 
One of my all-time favorites (which is impossible to see in the photo, top left) is spooning Balsam Fir.  The other trays contain various items such as small and large jingle bells, red and green pom-poms, colored rice, and tiny Christmas tree-shaped beads. 



Even our Handwashing Table is ready - the Santa soap dispenser is sure to be a major point of interest! :)

I would share with you a photo of the Wet Transferring activities, however, the picture came out too blurry.  But you can only imagine the fun I had with all the Christmas trays and items I've accumulated over the years! :)  Instead, I'll share with you some super fun Practical Life extension materials I made:

Braiding Board
For this material, I simply tied three pieces of ribbon together and clamped them under the clip of the clipboard.  I found this wooden clipboard at the craft store and I like it because the clamp is tight enough so the ribbon stays in place. 

 

The small clothes pin at the top will be used...

  

...to clip the end of the braid.

 

Putting on a Pair of Gloves 
I am confident I'll be thanking myself for introducing this lesson to my students everytime we get dressed to go outside!

Matching Socks and...

...folding them, too!

Christmas Bow-Tying 
I re-used part of an old Pink Tower I had in my storage closet to make this material.  To do the activity, the child will take the cubes from the shelf, just like in the Pink Tower lesson. Then, they will be able to practice tying bows as they did with the Bow-Tying Frame.  I predict a bow-tying frenzy in my classroom!  :)

Here are the three lessons on a top shelf:  Putting on Gloves, Christmas Bow-Tying, and Matching/Folding Socks.

Montessori Monday Link-Up