Sleigh Bells Ring...

Are you listening?  :)

If one were to stand outside the classroom door and do nothing but listen, they would hear the soft jingling of little bells coming from our classroom!  This week has brought much cheer and festivity as we rang in the new month:

Scooping large jingle bells - This is one of my favorite Practical Life exercises because as the child scoops one bell into the 'scooper,' they give it a little shake to hear the delightful jingle sound!



Balsam Fir Play dough:  I added balsam fir to this green play dough for a fun sensory experience.  It smells just like a Christmas tree and the texture is a new point of interest for the children.  The small box contains craft beads which the kids have been using to decorate their play dough trees and wreaths.



Painting with watercolors.



Opening and Closing boxes.  I added a special trinket to each box which the kids have been discovering as "little treasures."



December Math Game with holiday erasers as game pieces.



Sensorial exploration of shapes and preparation of the hand for writing with the Geometry Cabinet.



A pair of polishers:  Metal Polishing (red) next to Glass Polishing (blue).  I appreciated how these two students decided together who would polish what, and how they situated themselves at the table... :)



Pink Tower work. 
(Click on caption to read more.)



Tens Board



Triangular Box of the Constructive Triangles.
(Click on caption to read more.)



Reading practice with the Phonetic Object Box.  This pictures shows the child working with the written (cursive) labels from the initial presentation with me...



... and here is the student working independently using the printed labels. I love how a child is able experience both cursive and print with the same material!
(Click here to learn more about the Phonetic Object Box.) 



Paper cutting exercise  using green and red cutting strips and strips of wrapping paper...



...which some children turned into a Christmas collage.

Phonogram word building.



Holiday-themed lacing cards - a wonderful way to reuse Christmas cards!

Also in the classroom this week, many children received brand new lessons in Math and Language, moving them forward in the Montessori sequence of materials for these subjects.   Presenting these lessons reminds of the ongoing progress the kids are making and I'm so honored to be a part of it!