Thursday, March 1, 2012

On the Shelves: March


I can hardly believe I'm posting about March activities - can it really be March already?  This month, we have plenty of St. Patrick's Day-inspired fun on the shelves.  I am looking forward to working with the children with these lessons and showcasing our classroom during our Formal Observations.  Throughout this month, I have invited parents to observe our classroom - they will attend in half-hour increments to see firsthand all that happens in our classroom.  Without a doubt, they will see these activities in use:

Practical Life: Dry Transferring Shelves
Practical Life:  Wet Transferring Shelves
(Amazing how the color can change everything!)
Bead Tray
We'll be making Irish 'good luck' bracelets on sparkly, gold pipe cleaners.

Threading materials to make...

...a beaded rainbow!  (Thanks, Montessori Journey!)

A fun Opening/Closing variation...

...with seven lucky pennies!

Paper cutting strips to make Irish flag collages.

These 4x6 pieces of oak tag will be used  for making the flags.  After the child cuts the strips, they can glue the pieces onto the oak tag.  It might be fun to tape a small dowel or Popsicle stick for a flagpole...

Math:  Numbers 11-19
I wrote the numbers on decorative shamrocks and thought the little clips would be perfect for...

...hanging them on the line.
I have also set out the "Lucky Penny" lesson seen in THIS POST.  The only thing I plan to change during the presentation of this material, is to show the children how to line up the pennies as we do in the Cards and Counters lesson.  Additionally, there are a host of art lessons on the shelves which I am planning to share with you in future posts.

20 comments:

  1. The green color made me think of the optimistic spring weather ;-) Yes it's amazing how the color can change our way of perceiving the world around us. Wish your kids lots of lucky encounters with those lovely prepared materials ;-)

    Have a sparkling March ;-)
    Ewa

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  2. Thank you, Ewa! I hope you have a, "sparkling March" as well!

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  3. I love the open and close activity with the pill box and pennies! Such a great idea!

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  4. Thanks, Jodi. The kids have really like it - such a simple variation but very effective it getting their fingers moving! Thanks for reading!

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  5. I love these ideas. I will definitely set up the beaded rainbow for my son. And I love the look of the shelves. It must put big smiles on the children's faces the first day they walk into class and see the changes. It would be so exciting!

    Thanks for sharing!

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  6. You are so right, Shelley - the kids come in and are sooo excited to see new acitivities!

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  7. I LOVE your festive St. Patrick's Day shelves ... so inviting! I featured your St. Patrick's Day posts and your beaded rainbow photo in my Montessori-Inspired St. Patrick's Day Activities at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/03/05/montessori-monday-montessori-inspired-st-patricks-day-activities/

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  8. Thank you, Deb! I tried to leave a comment on your post, but I'm having trouble on your page - something keeps popping up about a 'compatability mode' needing to be switched and (my) Internet Explorer is not responding. Is anyone else having this issue? I'm not sure how to fix this. :(
    In any case, thanks again for featuring my pictures and posts - I can't wait to see them on your post!
    Sasha

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  9. Hi, Sasha! I'm new to your blog and can't wait to read more. I have a source question: where did you get the curvy (Waldorf-ish?) frame that I see featured with your letters?

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  10. Welcome, Jaem! I'm so glad you found my blog. The wooden stands are from Montessori Services. Here is the site:

    http://www.montessoriservices.com/preparing-the-environment/display-stands/wooden-display-stand-large

    This address is to the large size, but they also carry a smaller version.

    Thanks for reading!
    Sasha

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  11. You have so many wonderful ideas here! I'm going to feature the beaded rainbow tonight when I share some St. Patrick's Day ideas at Preschool Powol Packets--let me know if that's a problem!

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  12. I love your amazing shelves and works! I may be using some of these ideas next year!!
    Rachel
    http://www.discoverykidzone.blogspot.com/

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  13. Thank you, Rachel. I really enjoy preparing the shelves for the seasons or holidays... The kids love the small changes too!

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  14. I had fun revisiting your rainbow posts, Sasha! I featured your beaded rainbow photo again as well as your rainbow posts in my Montessori-Inspired Rainbow Activities at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/04/26/montessori-inspired-rainbow-activities-and-rainbow-blog-hop/

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  15. What fun, Deb! Thanks so much for including my picture in your post!
    Sasha

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  16. Your activities look great! I'm just a little uncomfortable with teaching small children to open pill boxes - sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

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