The Concert

Tonight I am playing my fiddle in a concert!

The Numerous Number Boards

Wow! I just got my shipment of number boards from
Young Minds at Play. They are very beautiful and well
worth the price!! I cannot recommend them highly
enough. These make a beautiful transistion from the
number rods to the counters and numerals. They have
a built in control with the counters fitting into the boards.
Here are the pix and a link:
(If Jeff is out of stock, just shoot him a message and
I am sure he'll make you a set...)

Sensational Suzuki Twinklers

So do any of you do Suzuki violin (or other instrument)
along with Montessori? They seem a good match.
Here are some Twinkler sources for beginning violinists:
http://www.brittviolinstudio.com/
(go to Student Resources/PreTwinkle Activities)
http://practicemakesiteasy.blogspot.com/2010/12/twinkle-flashcards.html

Very Cute Multicultural Prints

These prints and cards are really nice.
There are also black lines for these international
dolls.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AmyPerrotti?section_id=6082668

Happy Labor-Work Day!

Play is the Child's Work!
The Work of the Child is Play!
Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul.
(Montessori/Froebel)

A better way to say conceive of this is that
what appears to be play to the adult is work
for the child. He is concetrating, repeating,
imagining, solving problems, creating and
enjoying the process of learning.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0718830687?tag=froebelweb&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0718830687&adid=0Z7KH6BW87F0H75C207X&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.froebelweb.org%2F

"What is the greatest sign of success for a teacher transformed?" Maria Montessori wrote, "It is to be able to say, 'The children are now working as if I did not exist."

http://www.montessoriprintshop.com/Montessori_Practical_Life.html
Check out this page at Montessori Print Shop ...scroll down the page

for Practical Life ideas.

THE UNINTERRUPTED WORK CYCLE • This is a period of time, usually in the morning, when children work unencumbered. After a typical morning opening circle, children are encouraged to work independently, collaborating with classmates as their work and exploration dictate. *

 

 

Play activities are essential to healthy development for children and adolescents. Research shows that 75% of brain development occurs after birth. The activities engaged in by children both stimulate and influence the pattern of the connections made between the nerve cells. This process influences the development of fine and gross motor skills, language, socialization, personal awareness, emotional well-being, creativity, problem solving and learning ability.

The most important role that play can have is to help children to be active, make choices and practice actions to mastery. They should have experience with a wide variety of content (art, music, language, science, math, social relations) because each is important for the development of a complex and integrated brain. Play that links sensori-motor, cognitive, and social-emotional experiences provides an ideal setting from brain development.

 

According to Montessori, the essential dimensions of play are:

• Voluntary, enjoyable, purposeful and spontaneous
• Creativity expanded using problem solving skills, social skills, language skills and physical skills
• Helps expand on new ideas
• Helps the child to adapt socially
• Helps to thwart emotional problems

If play is the work of the child, toys are the tools. Through toys, children learn about their world, themselves, and others. Toys teach children to:

• Figure out how things work
• Pick up new ideas
• Build muscle control and strength
• Use their imagination
• Solve problems
• Learn to cooperate with others

http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-development/play-work-of-children.shtml
*Montessori 101: Some Basic Information that Every Montessori Parent Should Know, Tim Seldin, President, The Montessori Foundation.

Free Freebees!

For some nice freebee activity and coloring pages click
here: http://www.schleich-s.com/en/Playground/Activity-Sheets/Activity-Sheets/ Some of these images would make great blacklines
for cards or labeling activities.

Rods and Rod Segment

Hi All,
Back from a family visit to our beautiful Island in the Seattle
Sound. The fourth was fun to shoot fireworks into the bay and
be surrounded by such beauty. Definitely the best day of the
month.

I am excited that Young Minds at Play is making these lovely
Rods and Rod segments for me!  Looking forward to these...

They are offering a three part card tray as well...

coming soon!