Whoops!

I've been relishing my time at the annual American Montessori Society conference in Dallas, TX and forgot to post last week's photos!  Actually, most of them are from the previous week because we had yet another snow day and a teacher workday last week.  In any case, there are some interesting pictures of activities from around the classroom.

Making shamrock shapes by stamping green peppers - so simple, but the children loved this!

Drawing flags of the world and writing the names of the countries.

'Shamrocks and Lucky Pennies' for a Cards and Counters variation.

Exploring with the Pink Tower.

Paring the sides of Geometric Solids.

Reading practice with the Vowel Tree.

Practicing letter recognition and sounds with the Language Step Board.

Making small arrangements of flowers for our classroom.  

Tracing shapes for a sensorial experience with the Geometric Demonstration Tray.

March calendar work.

Transferring rice and beans with a spoon.

Pink Tower and Brown Stair extension work.

Visual discrimination of length with the Red Rods.

Static subtraction with the Golden Beads.

Feeling differing weights of quantity:  "Five feels heavier that one!"

"Look, I combined my lessons!"

An extension activity with the Cards and Counters lesson: Tracing numbers and coloring the quantity.

Pin-pushing: Map of the World

Weaving with paper.

Springtime colors!

Number sequencing and recognition with the Math Step Board.

We added beads to one of our sewing drawers - the children have been enjoying this new variation.

Understanding teen numbers and place value with the Teen Beads and Boards.

Timeline of Seasons.

Visual discrimination of size with the red set of Knobless Cylinders.

Tropical Fruit Taste Test

With our ongoing studies of South America, I thought it would be the perfect time to set up a taste testing activity with rainforest fruits.  Such a simple activity has certainly generated lots of excitement and chatter in our classroom!

The children came to the table and tasted one of each kind of fruit.  After tasting each kind, they wrote their name on the corresponding color sticky note...

…and placed it on this chart.
There were a few friends absent on the day we did this,  so I haven't taken a photos of the completed chart..  Results to be determined! 

We might have to complete another taste test with more exotic fruits - I wanted to use familiar fruits this first time around to highlight the fact that some "common" foods actually come from exotic places and get them thinking about where their food comes from.

Another teacher brought in this wonderful informational cookbook that has added another a point of  interest to our taste testing.  The photos are stunning and the book not only  includes information about each fruit, but also explains the land and surrounding areas from which they come.  

Group Art Project

Around Valentine's Day, the children had completed watercolor heart paintings which turned out so vibrantly that we had to save them for something special.  We thought they would look beautiful altogether on a canvas and remind us of our key experiences together at school.  For a "spur of the moment" project, it turned out beautifully!  We are in the process of naming the work and finding a place for display - I just had to share this now because it is just gorgeous!!

Each child first completed a watercolor heart...

…then painted a section of a large canvas.

Next, I took the pieces home and sealed everything with a coat of Mod Podge…

…then sealed them to the canvas. 

 I love how this impromptu project leaves such a lasting impression - it will be treasured for years to come!

Weekly Photo Round-up

Even with another snow day thrown into the week, we were an active bunch for sure:

Number Sort and Count

A seasonal tracing/fine motor activity.

Making shapes while sewing.

Practical Life activity:  Transferring (coffee beans) with a spoon.

Examining photos from the South America Continent Folder.

"This is five-hundred," with the Golden Beads.

Carefully constructing the Pink Tower.

Adding with Fraction Circles.

Making a beaded rainbow.

Language work with Flags of South America:  hearing the syllables in the name of each country.

Stamp Game:  Static Addtion

Reading color words and placing them with the Color Tablets.

Sensorially exploring the Trinomial Cube.

Making a rainbow with Do-A-Dot painters.

Sorting Animals of the World cards.

Number writing practice with the Sandpaper Numbers.

A seasonal Cards and Counters variation.

Coloring the flag of Ireland in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

Working with the Spindle Boxes.

"This is five hundreds, six tens, and four units."

Using the smallest Pink Tower cube for measurement.

Adding with Colored Beads.

And during that snow day, I was home putting together the children's group art project (which I must admit it absolutely gorgeous!).  I will post about it next week, so stay tuned!