Mini Units

Once our little baby girl arrives in August, and until we are able to find our new rhythm as a family of 4, I've decided I'll be taking a break not just from blogging, but also from our usual way of schooling. So, I'm planning ahead and putting together some mini-units that will allow us to keep educating James, but with a bit more of an "on the go" style.

This page is a work in progress, and I'll be updating it throughout the summer as I post about new mini units. Here's what's currently available for viewing:

Robots

Candy

Pond

Transportation

Space

Mickey Mouse

Halloween

A few notes about our mini units:

These units, which are meant to last us a few months, are a bit of an eclectic union whereby workboxes meet Montessori. Two very different schools of thought, but I think the meld will work well for us temporarily. We won't need to be in the classroom to do these and they are very self-directed (meaning James won't need much guidance), but should he need help they are also very user-friendly (meaning daddy doesn't need special training in order to explain anything). :)

Each of our units is, for the most part, color-coordinated (the folders, the containers, the pens, the labels, etc.). I'd like to say this is to help James visually identify each unit and because it's a Montessori thing, but really it's just because I'm weird like that. I like things to match! :)

Within each unit I incorporated activities that address each of the following subjects: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math, and Art. Certain themes opened themselves to a few Science related activities. I also made sure to include fun and sometimes theme related containers for added points of interest and fine motor practice.

After the baby arrives I'll place all of these units, in their bins, on the shelves in our classroom. James can choose any bin he'd like to work with, but there are two rules: he may not mix the bins and he needs to put everything back into the bin when he's finished working with it. In addition to the bins, he'll be welcome to use whatever other materials are out in the open in the classroom.

Each unit requires certain tools (i.e. pencils, scissors, etc.) and since I didn't want to purchase several of each item to go inside of each bin, I've created one "supply basket" that will remain on the shelf. James can visit this basket whenever he needs a tool for whatever project he's working on.

I purchased the clear snaptop bins here on the island, but I found them on the manufacture's website here.

~Thank you for your comments!~