Montessori-inspired Daily Prayer Chart

Sorry for the long delay in posts.  My computer was in the shop last week.  However, I should be back to posting later this week.

In the mean time, check out my guest post over at Explore and Express.  It explains how we have incorporated a Montessori-inspired prayer chart into our classroom.  The prayer chart is a great visual reminder to Aikman to offer prayers of need AND thanksgiving.  It also has links to some great resources for studying about other cultures and countries around the world.

So head over to Explore and Express to check out the post on our interactive kids prayer chart.

Small Hands Creating Hope

A few months ago, I was invited to be involved in the Small Hands Creating Hope project.  It is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  The resulting product is an ebook, compiled by MaryAnne at Mama Smiles, which celebrates crafts or ideas that could be made by or for someone facing cancer.  The projects in this book are stunning, and several include tutorials so that you can recreate the crafts at home with your own children or students!

So, why did we participate in this project?

This is why…

This is my mom, with 3 of her grandkids, including Aikman.

She is an avid gardener, and in the summertime, she can often be found on her back porch admiring the flock of hummingbirds that buzz around the feeders all day.

She’s a fun-loving and giving mother and grandmother.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in February.

Fortunately, the doctors find her cancer very, very early.

Just 2 weeks ago, she finished her radiation treatments, and is celebrating being cancer-free!

To celebrate her fight with breast cancer, Aikman and I made a hummingbird and flower craft for this project.

How we create it:

1. Marble painted a piece of cardstock with green and red paint.
2. Sponge paint  a piece of cardstock with shades of pink paint.
3. Print off this hummingbird.  Enlarge and printed this flower. Cut out each.  These will be your templates.
4. Trace the hummingbird onto your green and red cardstock paper and the flower onto your pink paper.
5. To add dimension, I cut out the front petals on the flower template, traced and cut it out, and then adhered it to the flower with a scrap piece of paper.

Interested in more projects?

All of the projects from the contributing bloggers have been compiled into an ebook, which we are sending out to anyone who donates at least $15 to the American Cancer society. An email with the download link, as well as a second link that allows you to purchase a hard copy of the book at production cost will be sent once we receive your donation. This button will take you directly to the American Cancer Society’s donation page:

If you donate but do not receive a confirmation email with the link to where you can purchase a printed version of the book, or if you have trouble with the download, email smallhandsproject at gmail dot com.

MaryAnne at Mama Smiles compiled this book as a way of celebrating thirty years of cancer survivorship!  We are hoping to raise $3000 by July 4th, and we are running a blog hop from May 14th until July 4th to celebrate and raise funds so that, in the future, thirty years of cancer survivorship will be the norm, not the exception!

 

You can win this beautiful sterling silver bracelet with Swarovski crystals in this giveaway…

 

Learn about each of the bloggers who participated in the book by visiting each blog on their assigned dates – a few bloggers will be running celebratory giveaways, too!

14 May Mama Smiles
15 May Artsy Craftsy Mom
           Rainbows Within Reach
16 May B. Inspired, Mama!
17 May Rainy Day Mum
           Imagination Soup
18 May Inspiration Laboratories
19 May Experimenting Mom
20 May Mama Mia’s Heart2Heart 
21 May NurtureStore  
           Mama Smiles
22 May Living Montessori Now
23 May Mess for Less
24 May Having Fun at Home and CraftoArt
25 May Outlaw Mom
26 May Angelique Felix and Sense of Wonder
27 May Sun Hats and Wellie Boots
28 May Duck Duck Octopus
29 May Smiling like Sunshine
30 May Mommy with Selective Memory
31 May One Perfect Day
1 June The Educators’ Spin On It
2 June Kids Stuff World
3 June Rainy Day Mum
4 June Teach Preschool
5 June Dirt and Boogers
6 June Creative Connections for Kids and The Golden Gleam
7 June Montessori Tidbits
8 June Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
9 June The Iowa Farmer’s Wife
10 June Scribble Doodle and Draw
11 June Learn with Play
12 June Kitchen Counter Chronicles
13 June CRAYON Freckles
14 June Glittering Muffins
15 June Wise Owl Factory
16 June Crafty Maa
18 June Lessons Learnt Journal
20 June Growing a Jeweled Rose
21 June Growing Play
23 June JDaniel4′s Mom

Tinkerlab challenge: Nature Bracelets

 

We are joining in on Tinkerlab’s Creative Challenge.  This month’s theme is flowers. 

The idea is to take something ordinary and let the child play and explore with it, so they can make their own observations and discoveries. Personally, I think this is a perfect tie-in to the Montessori approach.

At co-op the past few weeks, we’ve been studying flowers.  We’ve let the kids dissect a seed and a flower.  We’ve talked about, felt, and explored bark, tree rings, and other parts of the tree.  However, the highlight of the day was our nature walk.

The kids favorite thing to do was to make a nature bracelet.  On this particular day, we had been discussing flowers and pollination.  So, we took them out to our favorite outdoor area (literally a slightly wooded drainage ditch behind the church where our co-op is held), and let them explore as they may.

The children loved exploring our small “open field.” The would bring us flowers to look through the small hand lens.  Some were minutely small, while others had unique attributes that attracted each child.  One particular favorite find was always an interesting seed pod, which would spur an interest in finding other seed pods.  We’d hike a little, chat a little, all the while exploring the outdoors.  As they went, they would collect their favorite items, and add them to their nature bracelet.

So, how do you make a nature bracelet?  It’s quite simple…take a piece of duct tape, wrap it around your wrist, and then let the child add their favorite finds and pieces of nature to the bracelet.  We’ve “collected” everything from tiny pieces of gravel to nearly foot-long seed pods, even a little poison ivy a time or two, and, of course, a flower – or ten.

Make sure you check out the other great ideas from the tinker challenge on the bloghop below!

 

 

TOS Review: Dive into Your Imagination

We love studying the ocean – from the coral reefs to the dark depths of the ocean.  I was given the chance to review Dive into Your Imagination’s Dive into Diversity DVD curriculum.

Annie Crawley, the founder of Dive Into Your Imagination, is a photo and broadcast journalist – turned – scuba diver and underwater cinematographer. She is the narrator behind each product, and shares with the viewers her expertise about ocean life!  Annie’s passion for conserving the ocean and sharing the joys of the amazing underwater world with children shine throughout her products!

Dive into Diversity is a 44 minute DVD and corresponding pdf teacher’s guides that walks through each chapter of the DVD.  The DVD is designed for grades preK – grade 3; however, the teacher guides are dividing into more specific abilities and reading levels – one for preK and kindergarten; the other for grades 1-3.

Topics on this DVD include: 

• night diving
• diversity within the ocean
• Submarines
• invertebrates
• vertebrates
• crustaceans
• coral reefs
• the kelp forest.

The segments on the DVD are filled with Annie’s underwater footage, and then narrated with interesting facts about the different animals seen in the shots.

For each lesson on the the PreK-K teacher’s guide, you will find lesson objectives, a character education trait, vocabulary words, materials needed, lead-in questions, imaginative play script, activities, extension ideas, suggested books, follow-up activities and discussions, transcript of the DVD, and printables.

So, what did we think?

I believe the true test for a DVD is how often it is requested.  Aikman asked to watch it one afternoon.  The following day, we were heading on a weekend getaway with my family, and I let him choose any of the DVDs from our extensive movie collection to take with us.  He chose to take Dive Into Diversity!  In fact, after watching it once on the way there, he and his cousins begged to watch it 3 more times that weekend!

Personally, I was quite impressed with how well this DVD is put together.  It is very informative, with quite captivating scenes that have been filmed.  I even learned quite a bit by watching the clips.  It will definitely be a DVD that we will reference again and again.  I also appreciate her use of real terminology that she uses within the narration; she doesn’t “water down” terms or explanations because this is a kids product. 

In fact, in the fall, we will begin a biome study, including an in-depth study of the ocean, and I am already planning on buying Exploring Coral Reefs since we have enjoyed this one so much!  (See below for the SWEET deal that she’s offering!)

You can purchase Dive into Diversity or any of her other products through her store.  The DVD sells for $19.95, while the educators guides that contains all of the lessons sells for $299 printed or $69.95 as a pdf.

The best news is that Dive Into Your Imagination is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders in June!

PLUS, if you mention to her that you are a homeschool parent who saw these reviews, you will receive the educator’s guide for the products you purchase for FREE!!!  (Educator guides are available for Dive Into Diversity, What Makes a Fish a Fish, and Who Lives in the Sea)  That’s more than a $70 savings!

Read what other Homeschool Crew members think of the Dive Into Your Imagination products here.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of Dive into Diversity DVD and the corresponding educator’s guide for free, in exchange for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way!