The Butterfly Cycle

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We had a super time watching our caterpillars turn into butterflies. . . so much so we captured four caterpillars in our backyard this afternoon to attempt to "raise" some more butterflies!

This video shows you the progression the past few weeks. The caterpillar pictures at the beginning of the video were taken EVERY SINGLE DAY! It was crazy how fast they grew! Lawton took the caterpillars to school one day early on to share and when I picked him up, I honestly could tell they had grown!

I would highly recommend doing this with your kiddos!

Basting - but not your turkey!

So sorry for the blog slacker that I have become. Several of you have called me out - and I guess I have been a slacker mom lately, too. Okay, I'm going to go easy on myself - life and the busyness of life take over sometimes, 'kay? You can always check out "my other life" HERE to see what we've been up to. (The reasons why I can't get a "Momtessori" post together)

Here's what you need: two bowls, water, food coloring, a baster, and a tray and sponge (even though I don't have the tray and sponge pictured, I HIGHLY recommend them!)

Notice that you always put the water (or whatever you are doing) on the left first. (Because everything in our culture - reading, math - is from left to right) Put the "utensil" in the middle so that just in case your child's "handedness" isn't declared, they will naturally choose what is right for them. If you were to put it on the left hand side of the bowl, 99% of the time they will pick it up with their left hand, and vice versa.

Here's why you should do it: This will help your kiddo with fine motor skills, concentration, and pave the way for your kid to bring the perfect turkey to Thanksgiving dinner years from now so you won't have to make it anymore! ha!

Show them how to squeeze the bulb, put it into the water, and then release to suction up the water.

Squirt out the water in the right bowl. (Just in case you're wondering - this is just water with a little red food coloring (since red is his favorite color). Colored water makes it SOO much more fun!

Keep transferring the water until it is all in the right bowl, and then transfer it all back to the left. Repeat as long as there is interest.

Want to take it up a notch? Use a medicine dropper with smaller bowls or a plastic "syringe" like what I have pictured below.

If you have a tray, USE IT! Somehow, out of the fifty different sizes, shapes and colors of trays I have in storage, I don't have ONE in the house. Water will spill. That's why you should have a sponge handy to teach THEM to clean up their own spills! :) Happy basting!

Mother, May I?

So sorry for the delay of posts. . . I know you have been anxiously waiting! ha! (note the sarcasm, okay?)  We have been super busy around here with Easter and Lawton's 4th birthday on Tuesday!  I am going to throw this activity out there, not that it is original OR "Montessori", but I had kinda forgotten about it!  

After playing in the yard for at least an hour or so the other day, this momma wanted to rest! So I sat down on the swing in our yard and memories came flooding back to me when my mom sat and relaxed on the swing while my sister and I still had plenty of energy!  :)  (I now understand why we played this so much, Mom!)  Someone asked for an activity to help with gross (large) motor skills, so here you go!  

Here's what you need:  A "mother", some player(s), and some space!

Here's why you should do it:  It helps with gross motor skills, teaches taking turns (if playing with more than one person), helps with one-to-one counting, manners, patience and concentration!  It's just plain fun, too and lets the "mother" take a break and relax!  :) Who knew such a simple game could be so beneficial?  

Follow my dialogue . . .

The player stands a designated distance away (about 20 yards or so)

Mother:  Lawton, take three big bunny hops!

Lawton:  Mother, may I?

Mother: Yes, you may! 

(Lawton takes three big bunny hops)

Mother:  Lawton, take eight baby steps!

Lawton: Mother, may I?

Mother: Yes, you may!  

(Lawton takes eight baby steps)  

Continue on until the player reaches "Mother". 

If the player forgets to say "Mother, May I?", then they have to go back to the very beginning! 

If playing with more than one person, it can become a contest.  (or, you can "rig" it to be a tie!)

Some other ideas of steps - scissor steps (crossing one foot in front of the other), giant steps, crab walk (for the more coordinated), backwards steps, kangaroo hops, and whatever else you can dream up.  Give me some more ideas!  

Of course, depending on the age of the child, you can give the steps in little or big increments.  If they are just learning how to count, stick with just one, two and three and shorten the distance between the two of you.  If you have an older child, challenge them to higher numbers and having one-to-one correspondence!  

Here's to happy playing (and resting) "Mothers"!!! :)

Easter Story Cookies

I LOVE reading cookbooks. Not that I really like to "cook", but I do like to bake (and consume the baked goods.) ha! Anyways, several years ago, as I was reading one of my cookbooks, I found this neat recipe for Easter cookies. I wrote a note to myself and stuck it in my Easter decorations tub so I would remember to do it once Lawton got old enough. This is the year! :) And let me tell you, you might want to write yourself a note to do this, too, just in case your kids aren't old enough now. If you're anything like me (please say you are), you can hardly remember what you did yesterday, much less what recipe you want to make and where to find it two years from now! You can google "Easter cookies" and will be able to find it, but I am going to include a little bit more detail and specific verses to go along with this recipe. I found my recipe from"Memories in the Making", a cookbook from the Puffy Muffin.

I would suggest that you do this on Saturday, the night before Easter, but we did it ahead of time for two reasons. One, Lawton is having his family birthday party Saturday night! We will be a little preoccupied! Two, I want all of you to see this and prepare in time so you can do it, too!! :)

Here's what you need: 1 cup whole pecans, 1 tsp. vinegar, 3 egg whites, pinch of salt, 1 cup granulated sugar, zip lock bag, wooden spoon, tape, Bible

Here's why you should do it: It is a great Easter memory to do with your child and it provides a tangible, visible reminder/application of the story of Easter.

1. Place the pecans in a zip lock bag and let the children beat and break them with a spoon/rolling pin until the nuts are in small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. (Read John 19:1-3)

*We just told the story and referenced one of his Children's Bibles with the Easter Story that was more on his level.

2. Let the child smell the vinegar and pour it in a mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross He was given vinegar to drink. (Read John 19:28-30)

*Lawton also knows how vinegar tastes . . . a few sassy mouth comments to mommy and daddy gets a spoonful of vinegar around here! He can sympathize with Jesus on this one!

3. Add the egg whites to the vinegar. The eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life. (Read John 10:10-11)

4. Sprinkle a pinch of salt into the child's hand and let them taste it. Brush the rest into the bowl with the egg mixture. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers and the bitterness of our sins. (Read Luke 23:27)

Here is the picture showing how sad everyone was.
5.Next, add the sugar and explain that the sweetest part of this story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. (Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16)

6. Beat the mixture on high for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks form. (I hope for your sake you have a stand mixer! :) Explain that the white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. (Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3: 1-3)

*We also used the time that the mixer was going to retire "Spider man" and get on jammies and brush teeth . . . :)

7. Fold in the broken nuts. With a teaspoon drop the dough onto wax paper covering a cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. (Read Matthew 27:57-60)

8. Place the cookie sheet in a preheated 300 degree oven. Close the door and turn the oven off. Give the child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. (Read Matthew 27:65-66)

9. As you and your child prepare for bed, explain that there may be sadness about leaving the cookies in the oven overnight; likewise, Jesus' followers were sad and in despair when his tomb was sealed. (Read John 16:20-22)

10. On Easter morning, open the oven and pass out the cookies. Notice the cracked surface of the cookie and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. (Read Matthew 28:1-9)

"the empty tomb"

I hope that this can become a wonderful and meaningful Easter tradition as we plan on doing!

Winner!

Sorry for the delay . . . the winner of the Easter activity is #9 - the Parker family! I'll get it to you soon!

And here is my feeble attempt to show you that I did use random.org . . .

Min: Max: Result: 9 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Easter, Easter, everywhere! (and a give away!)

I love decorating for the holidays . . . I don't really go all out, except maybe for Christmas, but every holiday there are things here and there to make things a wee bit festive. When I taught, the practical life area would get a complete overhaul would this time of year and become all things spring/Easter. Here is one activity that the kids would love. Sadly, my Easter box was one of the few things that I couldn't get to in storage and I'm not in the mood to buy things that I already have - just not accessible to right now. . .

Here's what you need: a tray that is made to hold eggs, the corresponding number of plastic eggs, a bowl, and these cute, bunny-eared "scissor/tongs" that you can find in almost any Easter section right now.

Here's why you should do it: Ummm . . . fun Easter entertainment! Oh yeah, it also helps with their fine motor skills and helps increase their concentration, coordination and sense of order.

Start with all the plastic eggs in the tray. Grab the tongs and transfer all the eggs into the bowl.
Lawton insisted on holding the tongs with two hands and I kept telling him to hold them like scissors, it would be easier. Finally, on the fourth egg or so, he finally decided to listen to me and realized that it was, in fact, easier.

See the tongue? Trademark Lawton concentration face . . .

Once they are all in the bowl, transfer them back to the tray. Voila!

And, because I am in the Easter spirit, I want one of you to have this activity! Sorry, but the bowl is not included . . . just the tray, eggs, and tongs. Just leave a comment! I would love to hear what activities you like most so that I can maybe do more posts along those lines. . . Friday night will be the deadline. Good luck! :)

Oh, and guess what we have at our house now? Caterpillars! They are tiny! Stay tuned!

Sound sorting

Did you see the post about collecting little objects? Well, this activity uses objects - and kids are enamored with these cute, mini, choking hazards. :) (Just thinking about my ten month old "vacuum cleaner" and why we don't do things like this when she is awake!)

Here's what you need: groups of objects (We used three different letter sounds - but if you are just starting, just use two) and felt "rugs". I just used a felt "sheet" from the craft store and divided it into thirds.
Here's why you should do it: This, like I spy, helps your child isolate and listen for beginning sounds. This activity is just another extension of I spy, but this time attaching a visual, written letter with the sound that is heard. You can also introduce some new vocabulary, too!


First, dump all the objects into a bowl or container.
Lay out your letters and your felt "rugs". (I would not do these letters for someone who is just learning letters/sounds. Note how confusing these letters look to a young child who is learning. Circles and sticks are all over the place! :)

Say the name of the object and choose the right letter sound. You might have to emphasize the beginning sound for them, especially at first when they are training their ears to listen for beginning sounds.
Here is the finished product!

Here is a close up of some of the objects - poodle, puppies, paper clip, present, pan, pea, pacifier, pineapple, pin (bowling and safety), pizza, praying mantis

Here is a picture of some easier sounds to start with. Happy sorting!

I love me some Mo!

A few months ago, on my other blog, I wrote about Mo Willems, one of my favorite children's authors. I was thinking . . . this would be fun to share with all my new blogging friends on Momtessori . . . and I will add in some of my other favorite children's authors from time to time, too.

Who, you may ask, is Mo Willems? He is the funniest children's author/illustrators that I have read in a long time! I LOVE his books and Lawton thinks they are the funniest thing! They are so expressive (who, me, loves expressiveness? hmmm.) and you just can't help but giggle at the story lines, the characters, and their expressive expressions. :)

I first discovered Mo one night when Chad and I were on a rare date or Christmas shopping or something and we were perusing some children's books at Davis Kidd. We came across Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale and read the entire thing cover to cover, laughing out loud in the bookstore. Poor Trixie takes her Knuffle Bunny (or lovey in our house) to the laundromat with her Dad. Somehow Knuffle Bunny gets left at the laundromat, and she tries to communicate to her dad that her beloved Bunny is lost, while going boneless (you know you have all experienced "bonelessness") trying to convey her deep despair. If your child has a lovey and it has ever been lost, you can totally relate. Being reminded of this, I bought Carolina a back-up lovey just in case hers ever gets (gasp) LOST. I am sad that I do not own this precious book.

Knuffle Bunny Too is equally funny. Loved it.

We checked out The Pigeon Wants a Puppy the other week at the library. I'm not sure how many times we have already read it, but it still is cracking me up. (it doesn't take a whole lot, though.)

There is an entire Elephant and Piggie series, (click HERE) Cute, but not as cute as the other ones I have mentioned.

HERE is his blog for fun . . . Go check out some Mo at your local library!

Not your Grandmother's laundry . . .

Seriously. Does anyone still hang their clothes on the line to dry outside? I don't think that I have seen a clothes line at any of my friends houses last time we were over for a play date. Growing up, we would always hang our sheets and towels outside and I vividly remember my Grandmother's clothes pin bag and going to help her hang clothes on the line. Drying clothes on the line - at least in my small circle- seems like an era gone by. But . . . your kiddie needs to learn how to operate a clothes pin - if for nothing else but to let you drink your coffee in peace one morning! ha! :)

Here's what you need: Clothes pins of any type (I have several ideas for you - keep scrolling!) and a straight lipped bowl or glass

Here's why you should do it: This activity will help develop their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and help increase their concentration levels. Hopefully they will like it so much they will do it over and over again and let you drink a second cup of coffee to better face the day!

On this post, I am going to show you increasing levels of difficulty instead of "stepping it up a notch" or "stepping it down a notch". You'll see . . .

Start with 8-10 clothes pins inside your selected container. Make sure that the width of the "lip" and the height will correctly accommodate your pins.

Take the pins and place them on the rim of the container. A very young toddler could do these pins (there is no pinching!)

Ta da! Lawton started pretending that these were the members of our family and was naming them as he was placing them on the lip. How I wish I had gotten this out two years ago . . . I guess Carolina will benefit, huh?

These are "typical" clothes pins.

He's proud as punch that he lined them up so neatly . . .

These clothes pins could probably be found in your office supply section of the store. (I don't really remember, though. I bought them when I was teaching about six years ago . . .)

He liked matching the colors as he was clipping them on.

This is where it finally got challenging for Lawton. These teeny tiny clips are tricky! He did a few and then said he "was tired". umm hmmm. I have left them out though and he has already tackled them again. Maybe in a few days he will have the hang of it!

Just to show you the scale - my beautifully manicured fingernails (hear the sarcasm?) and the too cute clothes pins. You can find these probably at a craft store or the dollar store. Again, six years ago, people. :)

I thought of these kind of clips after Lawton was sleeping. You probably have these on hand in your desk drawer!

Oh! Guess what?! When we got back from camping last night, (sorry for the delay in posting), we had a package waiting for us! Lawton was so excited - he didn't know it was coming! Here is a book that I got to go with the butterfly kit.

And here is the kit! This kit came with a coupon that I have to send in to get the caterpillars. I saw that some kits are shipped with live caterpillars, too. I'm glad that I got the coupon kind, though, since ours came while we were gone! Caterpillars are coming soon . . .

Want to join me?

This is not a post about what we've done already, but what we're going to do! Maybe you can follow along at your house, too!

Here's what you need: A butterfly growing kit. Click HERE if you want to order one yourself and experience the fun at your house. I've never done this, but I've heard how much fun they can be and the reviews sound like it is an awesome experience! The kit comes with live caterpillars (or coupon for them) and within three weeks, you will have butterflies!

Here's why you should do it: How exciting to see science - a beautiful and fascinating life cycle - up close and personal (in your house!!)?

But here's the real reason that I, personally, have decided to grow butterflies at this particular time - Easter. As I was researching on line and pondering all the busyness that is coming up this spring, I realized that Easter is on April 12, a month away. All the information says that you will have butterflies within about three weeks. I'm not sure how the shipping and all that will pan out, but hopefully we will have butterflies near Easter.

Why the big deal about Easter you may be asking? I am hoping to use these magnificent butterflies as a tangible example of Jesus to my very concrete three year old. Just as the caterpillars will be delivered to us very small, Jesus was born on this earth just like me and you. The caterpillars will grow and eat for the purpose that they must fulfill, just like Jesus did. The caterpillars will then form a cocoon, seemingly sleeping, or dead, and await the day for his calling, just like Jesus did. And then, what a glorious day when the butterflies emerge "from the tomb" and are released, just as Jesus ascended to heaven!

I'm not sure if Lawton will grasp the correlation between the wonderful story of Jesus and the life cycle of a butterfly, but I'm sure we will both learn a lot and make some fun memories in the process!

Let me know if you're going to participate at your house - it will be fun to follow every one's progress together! :) I'll be sure to post pictures of the progress once we get started - stay tuned!

Spooning (but not with your hubby . . .)

Although I'm sure that your husband would appreciate some spooning . . . sorry, this is a clean site. hee hee! Seriously - your kiddo will enjoy spooning - however hard or easy you make it!

Here's what you need: two bowls (identical if possible), a spoon or ladle of some sort, and something to spoon!

Here's why you should do it: It helps with fine motor skills/eating skills and helps increase their concentration. Confession: Lawton has NEVER eaten cereal with milk - he prefers it dry - and refuses to eat soup. He also prefers drinkable yogurt and hates ice cream because it is cold (crazy!), so . . . the boy hasn't had a ton of practice "spooning". I know - I'm a terrible mother. He is a sensory guy - doesn't like mushy things (cereal with milk), doesn't like for his hands to have food on them. Is anyone else's kid like this? Please, please say yes.

Here is your set-up. Now, in a Montessori classroom, this would be on a beautiful tray with color specific or themed bowls and contents and sitting in a specific area on a shelf in succession of easier to harder activities, or "works". whew. Seeing that I don't have a nice shelf to put a nice tray on and actually leave it there, I just got these bowls out of my cabinet and put it on the table. :) Oh, and notice the beads? If you did this cutting activity, then hopefully you will have some beads to spoon yourself!

Notice - always put your contents into the bowl on the left, and then have them spoon into the right bowl. Why? What's the big deal? This helps to lay the foundation for pre-reading skills . . . we read from left to right. When in doubt, always think about how we read - from left to right, top to bottom. Oh, and the spoon? Set in the middle. This allows the child to choose what hand feels comfortable. If you were to place it on the left hand side of the place mat, they would pick it up with their left hand. Same goes for the right. . . Lawton actually switched his hands in the middle (even though he is completely right handed). You'll see what happened later when he switched hands . . .
What a heaping spoonful! And look! This can be mesmerizing. . . Once they get everything in the right bowl, transfer it back to the left. They can go for as long as they want!
Yep. Things can go flying across the kitchen when you get carried away. Guess what else he found under the stove? A car, a straw, and a scrap of paper - and a few dust bunnies. Never mind the crumbs on the visible areas of the floor.
Here's another idea to get your juices rolling . . . a ladle and some fun balls!
This was actually harder for him than the beads - I think it was the ladle.
Wow! Three in one spoonful!
Another thought - dried beans and a starter spoon
This spoon is a tiny baby spoon and these are the tiniest disposable plastic containers. You can't really tell the scale in this picture.
"What are those small white ball thingys" you might be wondering? I actually have no idea! When I was teaching I stocked up on all kinds of cool dried goods from the ethnic store within our local Farmers Market. Any ethnic store would be sure to have lots of cool "spooning" items! And who knows? If I knew what it was and how to cook it, it might be good! :)Want to take it down a notch? Just set out two bowls with some large items (like fava beans) and just let them grasp and transfer from one bowl to the other. They might do it over and over and over again - and that's great! Let them!

HERE are some neat spoons of varying sizes and shapes that you might not have handy in your drawer . . . Enjoy!