March 2009

Crazy for Mazes

It used to be dot-to-dots, but now mazes are all the rage in our house. The girls like doing them and making their own, too. There are lots of great sources on the internet for free maze printables. Thanks to reading some of Laura’s posts at My Montessori Journey, I realized that I could laminate [...]

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Fun With Clipboards

Have you made any Mini Clipboards yet? There’s something about walking around with a clipboard and pencil that makes my girls feel like they are doing important work! As promised, here are a few fun things we like to do with our mini clipboards: Surveys and Checklists a running log of birds seen in the [...]

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Make Your Own Mini Clipboards

We love using clipboards around here. We have quite a few regular-sized ones, but sometimes it’s nice to have something small to tuck into a bag for a nature hike or car ride. You can buy small clipboards at most office supply stores, but we like making our own using recycled cardboard and binder clips. [...]

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Nonfiction Books for Young Kids

We read a lot of nonfiction books around here. The girls always have animals they want to learn more about, places they want to see on the map, and more “Why?” questions than I could ever answer! Plus, I think learning how to read for information is a really important skill that doesn’t always get [...]

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Shape Collage

Step 1: Surprise your young artists with a tray of colorful paper shapes. Step 2: Make sure the glue is handy. Stand back and let the creating begin! Step 3: Ooh and aah over the shape-inspired masterpieces. The girls spent a good amount of time creating shape pictures over the weekend, and have continued to [...]

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Flower Planting Kit

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We are always looking for simple, creative gifts to put together for the many birthday party invitations that arrive in the mail. Natalie and I put this flower planting kit together for two of her friends, and we just love it! Inside an inexpensive terracotta pot (6″) we put: organic potting mix, a packet of [...]

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Wikki Stix

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I am always looking for new and interesting ways to help my girls strengthen their fine motor skills. Building strength and coordination in the fingers and hands helps kids get ready to use scissors and hold pencils and write letters. Wikki Stix are a fun and simple product that kids are drawn to immediately. Made [...]

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