Check out these new puzzles, controls and three part cards from Puzzle Heads!
Mine came in the mail today and we are really thrilled with the quality of the puzzles
and materials.  The lady who runs the company (Mira Herbert) sent the following information to
share with my blog readers:

I design and create all of my puzzles myself from start to finish. They all start out as an original pencil drawing before becoming a digital piece of art. Stencils are then created for each color block. The images are silk screened with water based inks on to Baltic birch plywood panels which I cut into the finished puzzle pieces. My puzzles are guaranteed to last for years in your classroom and the corners will not deteriorate or become rounded.  Ideas for new puzzles or materials are always welcomed and have either already been created or are currently in progress in my workshop.

Here are the links for the materials:

Monarch

http://puzzleheads.ca/shop/montessori-monarch-butterfly-nomenclature-puzzle/

Ladybug

http://puzzleheads.ca/shop/montessori-red-ladybug-nomenclature-puzzle/

Nomenclature cards

http://puzzleheads.ca/shop/montessori-monarch-butterfly-nomenclature-cards/

Great New Montessori Puzzles!

Update: Sad to say, JMP learning is no longer in business! Check with Alisons for this puzzle as
they carry some of the same line. Good luck!

 Check out these Montessori Puzzles at JMP Montessori!
Some great bang for your buck for geometry, sensorial and
botany puzzles:
http://www.jmplearning.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ProductCode=JS%2D2188

Grow a Bean!

Here is an activity we all remember from our Grammar School days...
growing a bean plant. It is actually a great hands on activity to tie
into the study of botany, classification, and language.
Here are some resources:
http://www.inhabitots.com/potting-time-growing-plants-indoors-with-your-tot/

Bean Nomenclature with Description
from Montessori Print Shop

Bean/Seed Nomenclature from
Montessori for Everyone

Exploring Seeds Book
available from Montessori Services or Amazon

Growth of a Bean/Seed
from Montessori N Such

A Diagram

Bean Plant Puzzles with Control Sheets
From Early Learning through Montessori Services

Ripe Beans on the Plant

Life Cycle Materials NEW from Waseca
There is a set for the Bean Plant!

Green Leaves

Hi all,
 I am almost done putting together my elementary control
booklets for botany! What a big job for over two hundred cards in
the series. I purchased the sets from Montessori R&D several
years ago all as loose cards to bind myself.
http://montessorird.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_12_20&products_id=14 I am making covers and piercing the books with little studs and rings. Every page
is laminated and the covers are laminated. Tomorrow I'll be
pounding studs all afternoon...I am determined to get this set
usable with the controls! (You can buy this set all bound and
ready to go, but I was being frugal and ambitious...)

Here are some additional
freebee leaf resources for download:
 http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/39D78BAB-4C63-40C0-994C-1FE186671572/0/cards_leaves.pdf
http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2D3C6DDB-5BEA-4C2D-A3DD-E9F13CE2B667/0/hunt_leaves.pdf
http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/288A58A2-30DD-4D0E-9A87-11165AF7F663/0/ladder_leaves.pdf
http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/packs/trees.htm
http://www.coloring-pages-kids.com/coloring-pages/nature-food-coloring-pages/leafs-coloring-pages/leaves-coloring-pages-gallery.php
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/leaf/
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Leaf

Nature and Nurture

I admit it! I have a serious case of SPRING FEVER!
So, today's post will be all about nature study in
the Montessori environment. There is the the
Nature Table which I was introduced to in my
training...this is common to Waldorf classrooms
as well. The idea is to have a variety of materials
in a basket placed on a table, usually seasonal
or around a theme. If your children collect items
themselves I believe it would be more meaningful.
Ideas for nature tables follow:
http://www.bluebellmontessori.com/index.php/activities/nature_table/
http://montessorimum.com/?p=4435
http://spiralmontessorimama.blogspot.com/2008/01/beauty-and-wonder-table.html
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=221340685345
http://montessoribeginnings.blogspot.com/2010/02/february-nature-table.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=GPyuWXvI0_AC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=the+nature+table+montessori&source=bl&ots=KQ3iU2wOYJ&sig=a2kwAimUPP-vvytwcbAgJa2CkXE&hl=en&ei=RZp5S-2FDY6mswPTidXKCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CCkQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=the%20nature%20table%20montessori&f=false

Here is a great resource for creating nature nomentclature
cards or three part cards to add to  your botany or
biology materials.

http://www.english-country-garden.com/default.htm