Finishing Up. Our week ahead (Long)

Due to back to back long weekends, this week and last week, (yay!) we have been taking it easy school wise, but, lesson learned from back to back previous long weekends, we don't want to take the entire two weeks off, so insha' Allah I am planning a 'finishing up' theme.

The idea of Make Your Own (MYO) Playdough is starting to wane on the Professors so we are going to end this activity with a bang insha' Allah by using our left over Jello to make three batches of Jello Playdough (thank you Ms. Anna for the link) :

http://www.playdoughrecipe.org/playdough-recipes/jello-playdough-recipe

After these batches, we are going to move on to some other craft activities, but insha' Allah I hope to get back to the MYO Playdough soon, and have the Professors help me out with making the batches of playdough, now that I've made them all one time.

We are also insha' Allah, going to finish up our Arabic Alphabet Immersion Month. We have been spending all our circle time lessons this month on our Arabic Sandpaper Letters:

http://thelittleprofessors.blogspot.com/2011/12/arabic-alphabet-immersion-month.html

While we have missed more than a few circle times, this has been tremendously beneficial for the Professors, and now its time to get back to our regular circle time schedule, which will still include time with the Sandpaper Letters.

Two new 'challenge' style play ideas came up on my Twitter feed this weekend that we would like to give a try too, though I'm not sure we will fit them in this week, or hold them for next week:

http://thegoldengleam.blogspot.com/2011/12/playful-ideas-for-kids-home-on-vacation.html via @nurturestore

and


http://kreativeactivities.blogspot.com/2011/12/ideas-to-extend-challenge.html via @Teach_Preschool

I'd also like to finish up my posts on Montessori in the Home, so I can start a small new series on Reggio Emalia, and how we incorporate his methods in our homeschool environment.

The only new thing we will be doing this week is making this recipe, which you might remember from my Guest Post Yummy Homemade Treats: (http://thelittleprofessors.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-post-yummy-homemade-treats.html ) earlier in the month:

http://chasingchildrenandrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/12/easy-marveolous-chocolate.html

Not planning on blogging at all this week due to the short week, so this will be our only post until next Tuesday. See everyone then insha' Allah : )

Update to Summer Reading List 2011 Post

Awhile back I did a post on our local Summer Reading List for this year:

http://thelittleprofessors.blogspot.com/2011/12/summer-reading-list-2011.html

I realized recently I forgot to include two books in the post that the Professors and I really enjoyed.

Whose Garden Is It?

by Mary Ann Hoberman

Birdsongs

by Betsy Franco

I personally enjoyed Whose Garden Is It? the most. I even found lesson plans and printables online that I hope to take advantage of come spring when things are in bloom again, insha' Allah. I plan to re add both books to our next Library trip.

Galaxy Playdough

Continuing our Make Your Own ( MYO) playdough theme, we made Fairy Dust Teaching's Galaxy Playdough this week: http://fairydustteaching.blogspot.com/2011/05/galaxy-playdough.html 
(Special thanks to Ms. Anna for pining this link to your Pintrest Board)

 Preparation wise this is not my top choice.  I followed the bloggers directions word for word, and used the entire bottle of my black food coloring, but because I could not find blue, I mixed equal parts red and green. Looking back, I would've been good with just black. We didn't get the bluish hue she refers to in her post, but more of a green one, and that was more evident in the pan, than the finished product.

The blogger mentions in her post that she put out a small amount of glitter on the table for the kids to push into the playdough. I thought that was a cute idea, but knew immediately there was no way I was doing that. Instead, as I did with the Snow Playdough, I kneaded the glitter into the dough, once it had cooled.

Turned out the amount I put in was not nearly enough, so I added more to the pan and kneaded the dough again.

I could have been a lot more liberal with the glitter, and probably a little less with the food coloring

This is more actual playdough stuck to his hands, than dye on his skin, but it did leave behind a small hue, especially on the rolling pins. It was alot cleaner the second time we played with it, but not entirely gone.

Despite everything, Masha' Allah, this was hands down the Professors favorite of all the playdoughs we have made so far. I felt bad at first that I didn't get any gems or glow in the dark stars, some of the manipulatives the blogger used, but the Professors used their imagination and made up their own space theme using their regular playdough manipulatives, Masha' Allah.

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I'm not jumping up and down to make this again, but I'm glad we did!

Pumpkin Spice Playdough

A few weeks ago I featured this Guest Post by our friends, the Lueker family, in which the girls made Pumpkin Spice Playdough for their co op class:

http://thelittleprofessors.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-post.html

We finally got around to making our own batch last week.

It was much softer than the Snow Playdough, and very aromatic. The entire kitchen and playroom smelled like Fall and cookies! Yum!

`

The Professors weren't as impressed with the smell, as Professor #1 declared that is smelled like 'Cat Food' (to clarify we've never owned a cat) and Professor #3 just wrinkled his nose and gave an 'Eeeewwww.' Professor #2 however, seemed to enjoy the aroma of the spices, but declared it looked like mud.

~

Alhumdullilah, in the end everyone enjoyed it and played with it for quite awhile:

Professor #2 stayed at the table long after the other two had bounded off to watch movies. I peeked in and, Masha' Allah,  for about an hour he was involved in making batch after batch of 'cookies' as he called them:

~

This was my favorite batch of homemade playdough so far, and, Masha' Allah,  I really think Professor #2 found the spices thearuputic, (as did I). 

If anyone is interested in making a batch of your own, the link to the recipe is also contained in this blog post: http://thelittleprofessors.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-post.html

Montessori at Home: Sandpaper Letters

Sandpaper Letters are probably the most famous Montessori manipulative, and one of the few we elected to buy. However, simple versions can also be made at home.

In the book, Teaching Montessori In The Home The Pre-school Years.
by Elizabeth G. Hainstock there are instructions and templates for making your own sandpaper letters mounted on index cards.Below is a very good visual of what homemade Sandpaper Letters could look like (please be patient w/the link, takes a few seconds to load):

http://totallytots.blogspot.com/2011/11/little-hands-on-abcs-and-123s-simple.html

As I mentioned in a previous post, the sand paper is there for extra tactile stimulation of the brain. To read more on that you can follow this link:

http://www.blog.montessoriforeveryone.com/montessori-basics-9-sandpaper-letters.html

  If the concept interests you, but you don't want to buy the Sandpaper Letters, or make them at home, you can go to any store you know of that sells print flash cards and buy two packs, Upper and Lower case, and teach a Montessori lesson with them.

Below is a short video of a Montessori lesson on letters and letter sounds, and recognition.

....And we're back : )....

As-salaamo alaykum/Good Evening Everyone,

We're back to school tomorrow, insha' Allah, but I don't have a 'new' blog post for you except to say that,  Masha' Allah we really enjoyed our visit with the Professors, Grammy and Pap and Uncle. We also got our Pumpkin Spice Playdough made on Friday, Alhumdullilah, and insha' Allah will have a post up about that this week. Masha' Allah, it still smells incredible, and insha' Allah we can eek a few more days out of it before moving onto making Galaxy Playdough later this week!

Falling asleep at the keyboard means its time to go....Have a great week! Look for my post on Sandpaper Letters, tomorrow evening insha' Allah.

Schools Out!

As you may remember from our Monday post: http://thelittleprofessors.blogspot.com/2011/12/waiting-for-grammy-teachable-moment.html the Professors Grammy, Pap and Uncle are insha' Allah coming for a visit this upcoming Saturday. School is out while we prepare for their visit, which also means no new blog posts till Sunday evening, insha' Allah, when I plan to continue with the Montessori at Home series with a post on Sandpaper Letters. Insha' Allah, see you then : ) Have a great weekend.

Montessori at Home: The Books

Starting off my series on Montessori at Home, a small series of posts on how we use Montessori in our homeschool setting, is a post on the books I use for material, and general guidance, Alhumdullilah. 

Masha' Allah, since the Professors were about one year old, I have been implementing Montessori based learning. One aspect often overlooked about Montessori is its application to everyday life, two of the most important being care of self, and care of your environment, both of which can be 'taught' years before formal learning begins.

Here are the main books I have been using with the Professors:

Teach Me To Do It Myself 

by Maja Pitamic

This book contains many sequential lesson plans, all of which can be, or are adapted for the home. We are able to find most of our supplies around the house, if not, the $1 store and Wal Mart are great stand ins.  Insha' Allah I hope to begin some of lessons again with all the Professors over the winter. 

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Montessori Play and Learn: A Parents Guide To Purposeful Play From Two To Six
by Lesly Britton

This book has beautiful, full color photography and very condensed text. A quick look at the pictures will tell you its dated (80's) but the information is still relevant. Its a very easy read, even for the Montessori novice. The content focuses mainly on how to establish a child friendly environment in your home, and is full of great ideas, that are easy to implement. I refer to it often.

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There is one more book titled: Teaching Montessori In The Home The Pre-school Years.
by Elizabeth G. Hainstock

I have been over my bookshelves numerous times in the past few days looking for it to snap a photo but I can not locate it. Here is a link instead: 

http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Montessori-Home-Pre-School-Years/dp/0452279097

This book contains a brief overview of who Maria Montessori was, and the Montessori method, but the main focus is on how to make Montessori materials in your home. There are a good amount of templates, with instructions and pictures (sketched), and a few lesson plans.
~
The three of these books are the most recommended (or were at the time we started using them back in 2008, Masha'Allah) for the Montessori in the home educator, and can all be found most likely at your local library. If you are interested in purchasing them, it is recommended that you purchase all three together, as they compliment each other.

Guest Post: Yummy Homemade Treats.

Today's Guest Post is from my good friend Sister Jennifer, a homeschooling Mama of 6, Masha' Allah. She has a wonderful blog: Chasing Children and Recipes over on Blogger, which features a delicious variety of homemade recipies.  The Professors and I are all big fans of today's two featured recipes, homemade Snickerdooles and Chocolate Pudding, and can't wait to make a batch of each soon! Enjoy!

Homemade Snickerdoodles: http://chasingchildrenandrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/11/snickerdoodles.html

Homemade Chocolate Pudding: http://chasingchildrenandrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/12/easy-marveolous-chocolate.html

Waiting for Grammy: The Teachable Moment.

Insha' Allah the Professors Grammy is coming for a visit next weekend with the Professors Uncle, and Grandfather. I casually mentioned this when the topic of going to thier house for a visit came up. This conversation has taken place before, but this time it had a huge impact on the Professors, namely, Professor #1.

Masha' Allah, seems he is starting to grasp the concept of time. Poor little guy waited all afternoon by the door and on the sofa for Grammy and family to arrive. When he realized she truley was not coming for a visit this past weekend he was terribly upset. We both talked to Grammy on the phone and she suggested to me that I mark on the calendar when she was coming, so I took the opportunity.

I have had this one glittery stars and stripes sticker left over from a batch of Summer stickers forever! and I thought great! finally a chance to use it. I informed Professor #1 that we are going to mark on the calendar what day Grammy is coming, and then cross of the school days between now and then. Of course I could not find that blasted sticker! and while I rummaged through my teachers closet the other Professors thought that might be a go ahead to try and sneak some goodies out.

Deflated, I closed the doors and got out our stickers folder, and asked Professor #1 to choose a sticker to put on the calendar. He chose this:

He then X'd off our first day:

After that, I numbered the days so we could keep a visual of how many more days to go: 

Insha' Allah, this will help him make it through the week and be an enjoyable activity for everyone.

Montessori at Home

As you may already know, we are homeschooling the Professors using the Montessori and Reggio Emalia methods. When many hear the word Montessori one of the first things they think is 'expensive!' Even my college professors would comment on how pricey the authentic material is, and while I have to agree, don't let that shy you away from looking into this method of education. Montessori is about so much more than the materials. Through a series of upcoming posts, titled Montessori at Home,  I hope to show how we use Montessori in our homeschool setting, and how easy and cost efficient it can be, to implement a small or large amount.

Stay tuned : )

Dominoes!

About a year ago the Professors Grammy gifted them an unusual set of Dominos, Dora and Care Bears to be exact, she picked up at a consignment sale. After a few days of playing with them it was obvious they were a wee bit to young for them, and the Dominos were quickly hidden away. While putting away our Arabic Sandpaper Letters the other day, Professor #1 spotted them in the closet, and sounded the alarm to the other Professors. Not eager to get this out, but wanting to reward them for their hard work with the Arabic letters, I let them go ahead.

The Dominoes

Stacking the Dominoes

Sorting

Professor #3's 'H' (Insisted I get a picture of this)

Everyone's favorite part of Dominoes

Masha' Allah, The Professors all did and excellent job being respectful with these, much to the relief of my blood pressure, and played with them for the rest of the day. We also got them out three days straight as a morning Ice Breaker. Insha' Allah, I look forward to introducing real Dominoes to the Professors soon.