First Days Back

To say the children were ready to get back to their lessons during these first days of school would be an understatement.  The children amazed me with their knowledge and readiness for lessons.   The newest members of our group are fortunate to have so many role models to learn from and are becoming more confident in their choices each day.  My observations have given me a clear direction of how to guide the students - just keep going, because they are ready!

Our new set of nesting dolls from Russia was in use as soon as the classroom door opened on the first day of school.
Child:  "Is this a new one?  Where is the crack?!  There's no more crack!" speaking of the cracked wood of the old set.

Exploring concepts of height with the Knobless Cylinders.

Sewing activity with the lesson from the first sewing drawer.

Transferring with a spoon, a preliminary Practical Life lesson.
Child:  "This spoon is shiny.  I have brown rice at home."

This student completed the Maze with the Red Rods as one of her first choices upon entering the classroom after summer vacation!

Letter writing practice with Rainbow Letters.

Solidifying place value with the Golden Beads and place value mat.

Using the Short Bead Hanger to match quantities and number symbols.
Child:  "Look, I mixed them up.  But they still match.  Wait, this one is five and it's blue."

Using the Moveable Alphabet to write phrases and record/illustrate them on paper.

Visual discrimination of size with the Pink Tower.
Child:  "This one is next.  It's getting taller."

Noticing the puzzle (sight) words in the transferring activity.

Working with the Solid Cylinders.

Pre-reading:  "Go-Togethers"
Child:  "Squirrels like nuts.  Mmmm!"

Teen number quantity and symbol with Teen Boards and Beads.
Child:  "Seventeen.  This one is going to be seventeen!"  while counting the beads.

Learning about odd and even numbers using the Cards and Counters activity.
Child:  "This one's even because my finger goes through [the counters]." 

Spelling words with the Small Moveable Alphabet.
Child: "Did I spell it right?  Let me check my list!"

Counting the units during the 45 Layout.

Introducing articles 'a' and 'the.'
Child:  "I use 'a' when there is more than one in a group and I use 'the' when there is only one."  

Building and refining writing skills with the Metal Insets.
Child:  "Look, I did it!  I made a circle."

Static addition with our Math Drawer activity.

Letter writing practice on the chalkboard.

Using the Red Rods to enhance visual discrimination of length.

Writing practice with the Sandpaper Letters.
Child:  "Oooh, I like tracing this one! 'M,' 'm,' 'm.'"

Enjoying a lacing card while building coordination and fine motor skills.

Using  mirror to complete a self portrait.

Using letter stamps to spell words from the 'Language' Works word list.

Using 'Language Works' - reading, writing, and spelling practice.

Grading shades of orange with the Third Color Box.
Child:  "I think this one is lighter.  Look I did it!" 

Sensorially exploring the Binomial Cube.

Using our Reading Drawers to practice reading and writing three letter phonetic words.