Today, we are continuing our art-unit study "Introducing The World's Greatest Artists 🎨 Series." Among the greatest of the Impressionists, French painter Oscar-Claude Monet (born November 14, 1840 -1926) was the artist whose painting Impression: Sunrise (1872) gave the Impressionist art movement its name. Monet brought painting out-of-doors so that... Read more →

International ❄️Polar🐻Bear Day is an annual event celebrated every February 27 to raise awareness about the conservation status of polar bears and the impact of global warming and reduced sea ice on polar bear population. So, we started our unit study by reading about polar bears and the dangers they... Read more →

February 27 is International Polar Bear Day, celebrated to raise awareness about the conservation status of polar bears and the impact of global warming and reduced sea ice on polar bear population. Polar bear facts: The polar bear (together with the grizzly bear) is the largest land-dwelling predatory animal on... Read more →

Julia has been enjoying all sorts of arts and crafts lately, knitting fork in particular. This knitting tool (buy here) is a perfect introduction to a pleasure of working with yarn. With a simple hand and finger movement, a child creates a loose, chain-like stitch. This fork is made in... Read more →

Today, we are playing Dinosaur Matching Memory game that I created. We are using one-to-one correspondence with two sets of sorting cards. Match-Up Memory game is a classic (it can be made for any unit study), and it is simple and fun to play. The game can even be played... Read more →

Even though, Adrian knows his ABCs, daily practice and repetition is crucial for long-term retention of learned material. Today, Adrian was working with wooden PlanToys Alphabet letters (buy here): matching capital letters to double- sided bases. The front base has animal pictures which relate to the alphabet, and on the... Read more →

We love ❤️ to 📖 read, but we are also very selective with which books we end up buying. Julia and Adrian love going to libraries, and we end up with about ten books a week. We have been reading many dinosaur books, and the list below summarizes the books... Read more →

As Adrian turned three, he developed a genuine interest in puzzles: jigsaw, wooden, magnetic, geo puzzles - any one would spike his interest. I sincerely encourage puzzles since they promote not only child’s mind and cognitive development, but also mental development. Puzzles advance hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, problem solving... Read more →

Happy Presidents' Day! Today, we remember George Washington (our first President who lead through the Revolution), and Abraham Lincoln (our 16th President who led through the Civil War). We celebrate birthdays of both of these brave and honest leaders on the third Monday of February. Today, we also honor all... Read more →

Mini Mount ⛰ Rushmore is a fun craft for President's day, which can be enjoyed by toddlers and older children. The craft is very easy to set up (no specialized material is required), and it is fun! (What child would not like shiny coins and crayons!) You will need: a... Read more →

Julia had a beautiful International Day celebration at her Montessori school, and to commemorate the occasion, Adrian assembled the "Children of the World" 🌎 Puzzle by himself for the first time (buy here). Only a month ago, during our Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance, he needed Julia's help to... Read more →

Almost every Montessori lesson (from Language to Geography to Math) is presented as a 3🅿️🌠Three Period Lesson, which is proven to afford a child optimum assimilation of a learning material. The presentation can be very confusing🤔(trust me, I have been there), but when you break it down, it is real... Read more →

We are continuing our Dinosaur Unit study. Today, we are learning about dinosaur fossils and foot-prints hands-on. My children love modeling dough, especially three pounds of it! (We are using this dough.) Adrian also likes to engage his animal figurines in play, so today, he is a paleontologist, exploring ancients... Read more →

Happy Valentine's💝 Day. I hope you had a lovely celebration. Today, I will show you a sneak peek into our Learning Space (our classroom), as well as a summary of our Valentine's inspired activities. When we moved into our new house (in September of 2016), and I walked into this... Read more →

Happy Valentine's Day💝! Love💗 is in the air, and today, we are exploring ❤️️ love-themed sensory bin. I strongly believe that sensory play is extremely important for children since by manipulating different textures and fillers, children trigger various senses. In turn, by triggering sensory stimulation, they send multiple signals between... Read more →

Happy 💝Valentine's Day! I hope your hearts are full of love and ready to share the light with family, friends, and dear ones. Today, we are making a special surprise for Daddy: Adrian's footprint turned into an art project: his favorite Blue Truck 🚙 delivering loads of love! Adrian also... Read more →

Today, Adrian (39 months old) enjoyed threading a heart 💗 as Valentine's Day craft. This activity can be enjoyed by toddlers, preschoolers, and even adults. It fosters concentration, develops fine motor skills, and encourages creativity. To prepare this activity, I traced and cut out hearts from red and pink cardstock... Read more →

This year, for Classroom Valentine's gifts, Julia decided to make small hearts from beads and pipe-cleaners. (See Adrian doing this craft here). I encourage hand-made gifts since such activity promotes creativity, patience (she had to make 36!), and develops fine-motor skills. This cannot get any more practical as a Montessori... Read more →

Number Bingo is a fun game to play with children who are just learning numbers 1-50, or who already know their numbers. The game is also great to play together with friends or siblings, and learning to take turns teaches children cooperation, patience, and respect. Before the game begins, children... Read more →

Today, we are revisiting Montessori Odd & Even Math Lesson (buy here). Only a month earlier, this concept was still confusing to Adrian even with all the visual help with counters. However, at 39 months, he seems to be getting it! (It is amazing what one month can do for... Read more →