Homeschooling May 2013 Part 4

Montessori Sensorial: Knobbed Cylinder Blocks

(Sorry that the pictures turned out so dark.)

This is Block A: Same circumference, height is tall to short.

Presentation: Put cylinders right in front of the holes they belong in and discuss the hight, 

the circumference, and the depth of the holes. Put cylinders back in the holes.

Take your time analyzing each block and each cylinder (height/depth, circumference, etc).

Extension 1: Take cylinders out and place them out of order. Have child place them back 

where they belong. Order in which they are put back doesn't matter.

Extension 2: Take cylinders out and place them out of order. Have child put them back 

where they belong in the right order (tallest, next tallest, etc, all the way to the shortest).

Block B: Same height, circumference from wide to narrow.
Use same Presentations and Extensions as with Block A.

Extension: Use Blocks A and B. Place all cylinders out of order in the middle and
put them back where they belong. At this point, order doesn't matter.
Another Extension would be to put all cylinders in Block A back where they belong
IN ORDER and do the same with Block B afterwards.

Block C: Height goes short to tall and circumference goes from wide to narrow.

Block D: Height goes from tall to short and circumference goes from wide to narrow.

Extensions with Blocks C and D.

Extension: Blocks A, B and C.

Field Trip: Splash Pad

                                    

Pretend Play: Superheroes

                                   

Desk Work: Mathematics

                           

                           

Montessori Science (Botany): Parts of a Root

                                 

Nomenclature Key

Matching Nomenclature Cards

                            

Montessori Practical Life: Sewing a Button

You need:
- a mat
- an old shirt or piece of fabric
- a pair of scissors
- thread
- a couple of buttons
- a needle

                            

                               

                          

Homeschooling May 2013 Part 3

We went out to lunch for Mother's Day. I was happy to choose Olive Garden. Great place and great food.

Desk Work

Spanish: The Vowels (Las Vocales)

"a" as in apple
"e" as in egg
"i" as in igloo
"o" an in orange
"u" as in the sound "ooooo" that a monkey says
Cuántos años tienes tú? (How old are you?)

Practical Life: Cutting with a knife

This is a safe knife that I ordered from the Pampered Chef. It has a rounded tip
and the teeth are wider, so it still cuts, but it's safer to use. K does great using it.

Practicing Spanish (The Vowels)
We learned them along with sign language.
He is saying "U" here.

Desk Work

Montessori Mathematics: Number Rods and Tiles

Put Number Rods in order from 1-10

I put the Number Rods out of order and K put them back in order from 1-10.

Putting them back in order.

Montessori Science (Geography): Land, Water, Air

We sorted several pictures of animals and insects depending on where
they "live."  I know birds and butterflies technically don't LIVE in AIR,
but they fly and it's easier to explain to him that they can fly
and they spend time up in the air, whereas other animals can't.

Land, Water and Air lesson, but with means of transportation.

English: Land, Water, Air
Spanish: Tierra, Agua, Aire
Chinese: Di, Shui, Qi

Homeschooling May 2013 Part 2

Montessori Language Arts: I Spy Activity

I honestly didn't buy the Sound Boxes (Bags) because K has been doing so well with his letter sounds since he was very young, that I didn't feel the need to get them. So, instead of that activity, I found some I Spy pictures online and printed 2 copies of each. The first copy was kept intact, but the second one is where I'd cut out 6-8 pictures and taped them to the top and bottom of the first I Spy page. Those are now the objects her must find. Eventually, I'll make some with just words of the objects instead of pictures.

Unrolling the mat, Montessori style. We always use mats while working on Montessori activities, so learning to roll and unroll the mat properly is very important.

Bible Class: God made the sun, moon, stars and clouds

I use Karen Henley's curriculum and I love it! K does, too. It comes with a book and a CD with songs. Each lesson is easy to prepare and fun to teach. K loved the songs in this lesson so much that he asked to play them over and over. He had no idea that I had prepared different textures for the sun (foam stickers), moon (crayons), stars (chalk), and clouds (contact paper and cotton balls), I simply asked him which he wanted to make first. He chose moon first, then sun, stars and finally, clouds. I must say, the cloud was the most fun to make. It was K's favorite. And obviously, we also discussed other things that God made. A very cool and successful lesson.