One of my favorite learning tools that's commonly found in a Montessori classroom is the Grammar Farm. In short, it's a farm setting (complete with a barn and farm themed figurines) and its purpose is to introduce the parts of speech to children in a fun, interactive way. You can read more about Grammar Farms here.
Over the past year and half, I have been creating a Grammar Farm of our own. Because I love farms, and because I love natural toys, and because I wanted this set to be something my children could pass along to their own children, I invested a bit of money into this little farm. I purchased our wooden animals from here and here, and the barn was purchased second-hand, but you can find it here. I made the cards myself ages ago and they are color coded (In Montessori, the parts of speech are color-coded.)This is James' first introduction to the Grammar Farm, and as such we're focusing on just nouns at the moment. Very soon we'll move to articles, adjectives, and verbs. Next, we'll create sentences by lining up the cards (like this) and finally I'll introduce these grammar symbols to accompany not just this farm, but other language activities as well.
I really enjoyed putting together our own farm, but you can purchase Grammar Farms online - here are a few links I found:
:: A very basic set, which you can add to.
:: Complete sets here and here that appear to have everything you'd need (minus the grammar cards).
:: Don't forget thrift shops - Montessori Tidbits found a fantastic set at the Goodwill!
:: For the grammar cards, you can make your own or you can purchase them from my favorite store for Montessori printables, Montessori Print Shop.
Here's a link on how to make your own farm (to keep it thrifty, you could use these animals) and here's a link on how to present the Grammar Farm to a child.
Lastly, (if you're not all linked-out by now!) be sure to check out these posts:
:: The Work Plan made her Grammar Farm work for toddlers!
:: For another DIY farm, check out A Bit of This and A Bit of That.
~Thank you for your comments!~
12 comments:
Very cool!! Love your farm animals!!
I really like this idea, thanks for sharing. Karen
this a fun way and very concrete way to introduce this very important skill for later in life. Thank you
Oh I'm so glad you made one! This is on my lists of things to do and you always have the best ideas and links! Thanks so much for sharing!
I love it! What a wonderful idea to make this a family keepsake. The Grammar Farm is also one of my favorite Montessori learning tools, it is also a favorite among the children. The pleasure you will receive from yours is immeasurable. Great Work! Thank you for sending traffic our way. Always love visiting your blog! Thank you so much for sharing.
What a lovely farm for James!
As usual, your post is full of inspiration and links that will get others started with this fun Montessori lesson.
Well done Mari-Ann!
Thanks for mentioning me! I've been putting off introducing the farm, but it's coming.... this morning, we had an entire conversation about compound words!
I saw a demonstration of Montessori grammar lessons on-line and downloaded the charts to use in the future. I haven't seen the Grammar Farm before but that looks like fun. We'll do doing the Montessori grammar lessons this year as well. Love how they use the ball for verbs and then use the circle as a symbol for the ball.
Thanks so much for all your wonderful ideas and links for preparing a Montessori grammar farm at home! I featured your post at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/05/16/activity-of-the-week-the-montessori-grammar-farm/
I love farms too! I wish i had this when i was learning about verbs and all that stuff. :D
Thanks for those links! This is a fantastic post and I look forward to making our farm for the coming year. :)
Oh wow - those animals are so lovely! I can't imagine spending that much on them, though, so I'll have to admire from afar. We'll be using a few tubes of the Safari animals. :)
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