Here's the last mini unit! This makes seven total. More than I had originally planned to make and the recent ones have been more involved (compare the robot mini unit to the transportation unit - it's laughable!), but that's how I roll. I get an idea and then I run as fast and far as I possible can with it!
Certain themes we've covered in our 2 years of homeschooling have been more interesting to James than other themes. Halloween is one he looks forward to all year. So, since my teaching hiatus will occur over the month of October, I thought I'd devote a unit to all the fun and not so scary aspects of Halloween. To see my posts from Halloween past, click here and here. :)
~an overview~
Tweezing Spiders (Practical Life). This activity reminds me of the game "Operation" because you have to be careful to get the tweezers into the small opening, pinch a spider, and then carefully draw it out of the pumpkin without dropping it!
Finger Puppets (Just For Fun!). Ha! Love the little orange arm peeking out of the bag! :)
Pencil Sharpening (Practical Life). These pencils, like the finger puppets in the above photo, are things James received while trick-or-treating last year. Hooray for non-candy treats!
Lacing Spiders (Practical Life). These spider rings have nice, big loops and bunch up in a fun way to create a spooky spidery necklace!
Patterning Cards (Language/Math). I made these last year using clip art from abcteach (yes, I have a membership, and yes, I think it's worth it). :).
Pumpkin Manipulatives (Math/Sensorial). These acrylic pumpkins are very pretty and come in a variety of colors and sizes. I found them at Micheal's in the US. James can use them for sorting, math, imaginative play, and as our bingo counters.
Mini Sensory Tub. To see past sensory tubs, click here and here. This one is full of all sorts of goodies: feathers, chip board signs (found at a scrapbooking store), spiders large and small, puffs, erasers, skull beads, purler beads in black, purple, and white, and letter buttons that spell out the word "Halloween".
Make A Pumpkin (Art). James isn't much into art whether it be free creation or prepared crafts. He is, however, a big fan of pumpkins so I think he'll enjoy the end result of this craft. I've prepared everything he needs to create two cute little pumpkins.
Skip Counting (Math). As in some of our other mini units, I created some blank skip counting cards (on Word) and then added puffy stickers to make them more interesting. This set counts by 5 up to 100.
Parts of a Skeleton (Science). I printed the booklet from Montessori Print Shop (note: it's actually a set of 3-part cards - I just used the title cards) and I included a little glow in the dark skeleton (found at the dollar store). James can match the parts from the booklet to the corresponding parts on the skeleton.
Stamping (Art/Just For Fun!). As a photo, this activity looks extremely dull. :) But James loves stamping and will cover page after page with stamped images.
Life Cycle of a Pumpkin (Science/Language). This is also from last year and I printed it off from the Montessori For Everyone website.
Scissor Practice (Practical Life). I love these stickers - they're puffy, shiny little candy corns. :)
Punching (Practical Life). I just strips of scrapbooking paper for this activity and there's a little container (not pictured) for James to dump the punched pieces into.
Counting Cards (Math). No counters with this activity. James enjoys numbered items and spends a good amount of time simply putting them in order and creating new numbers.
Poetry Basket (Language). Also from last year - in fact, it was our first poetry basket and the poem was written by me. :)
Books (Language). Pumpkin Eye by Denise Fleming, Arthur's Halloween by Marc Brown, Clifford's Halloween by Norman Bridwell, and Happy Halloween by Rosemary Wells.
Bingo (Language). I made this myself using clip art I purchased from here. You can find a link to download this here on my printables page.
Worksheets and Mini Activity Book (Language/Math/Art). The color pages were found free online and the worksheets were created by me. The activity booklet was another trick-or-treat giveaway.
Collage (Art). These are foam stickers in Halloween shapes. James likes stickers, so I'm thinking he'll enjoy sticking them on the paper and also tearing the paper to make a collage. He has access to scissors, paste, and other art tools in our supply basket.
Pumpkin Playdough (Sensorial). This playdough, like last year and the year before, is scented with pumpkin spice and smells de-licious!
All packed and ready to explore!
Certain themes we've covered in our 2 years of homeschooling have been more interesting to James than other themes. Halloween is one he looks forward to all year. So, since my teaching hiatus will occur over the month of October, I thought I'd devote a unit to all the fun and not so scary aspects of Halloween. To see my posts from Halloween past, click here and here. :)
~an overview~
Tweezing Spiders (Practical Life). This activity reminds me of the game "Operation" because you have to be careful to get the tweezers into the small opening, pinch a spider, and then carefully draw it out of the pumpkin without dropping it!
Finger Puppets (Just For Fun!). Ha! Love the little orange arm peeking out of the bag! :)
Pencil Sharpening (Practical Life). These pencils, like the finger puppets in the above photo, are things James received while trick-or-treating last year. Hooray for non-candy treats!
Lacing Spiders (Practical Life). These spider rings have nice, big loops and bunch up in a fun way to create a spooky spidery necklace!
Patterning Cards (Language/Math). I made these last year using clip art from abcteach (yes, I have a membership, and yes, I think it's worth it). :).
Pumpkin Manipulatives (Math/Sensorial). These acrylic pumpkins are very pretty and come in a variety of colors and sizes. I found them at Micheal's in the US. James can use them for sorting, math, imaginative play, and as our bingo counters.
Mini Sensory Tub. To see past sensory tubs, click here and here. This one is full of all sorts of goodies: feathers, chip board signs (found at a scrapbooking store), spiders large and small, puffs, erasers, skull beads, purler beads in black, purple, and white, and letter buttons that spell out the word "Halloween".
Make A Pumpkin (Art). James isn't much into art whether it be free creation or prepared crafts. He is, however, a big fan of pumpkins so I think he'll enjoy the end result of this craft. I've prepared everything he needs to create two cute little pumpkins.
Skip Counting (Math). As in some of our other mini units, I created some blank skip counting cards (on Word) and then added puffy stickers to make them more interesting. This set counts by 5 up to 100.
Parts of a Skeleton (Science). I printed the booklet from Montessori Print Shop (note: it's actually a set of 3-part cards - I just used the title cards) and I included a little glow in the dark skeleton (found at the dollar store). James can match the parts from the booklet to the corresponding parts on the skeleton.
Stamping (Art/Just For Fun!). As a photo, this activity looks extremely dull. :) But James loves stamping and will cover page after page with stamped images.
Life Cycle of a Pumpkin (Science/Language). This is also from last year and I printed it off from the Montessori For Everyone website.
Scissor Practice (Practical Life). I love these stickers - they're puffy, shiny little candy corns. :)
Punching (Practical Life). I just strips of scrapbooking paper for this activity and there's a little container (not pictured) for James to dump the punched pieces into.
Counting Cards (Math). No counters with this activity. James enjoys numbered items and spends a good amount of time simply putting them in order and creating new numbers.
Poetry Basket (Language). Also from last year - in fact, it was our first poetry basket and the poem was written by me. :)
Books (Language). Pumpkin Eye by Denise Fleming, Arthur's Halloween by Marc Brown, Clifford's Halloween by Norman Bridwell, and Happy Halloween by Rosemary Wells.
Bingo (Language). I made this myself using clip art I purchased from here. You can find a link to download this here on my printables page.
Worksheets and Mini Activity Book (Language/Math/Art). The color pages were found free online and the worksheets were created by me. The activity booklet was another trick-or-treat giveaway.
Collage (Art). These are foam stickers in Halloween shapes. James likes stickers, so I'm thinking he'll enjoy sticking them on the paper and also tearing the paper to make a collage. He has access to scissors, paste, and other art tools in our supply basket.
Pumpkin Playdough (Sensorial). This playdough, like last year and the year before, is scented with pumpkin spice and smells de-licious!
All packed and ready to explore!~Click the button below to view more of our mini units.~
~Thank you for your comments!~
Fun fun fun fun!
ReplyDeleteQuestion: all these pre-made play doughs, do they really last for months and months?
Love it! You will be all set for when your sweet little baby gets here :-)
ReplyDeleteWOW - impressive, Mari-Ann!
ReplyDeleteThese are GREAT! Thanks so much for taking the time to post all of your work.
ReplyDelete~Betsy
I love how you are already thinking about Halloween. I am so that type of person. Already thinking about the next holiday before the one we are celebrating is even over!
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed with these mini-units! I think my preschooler would love these, so I'd better get to work :)
ReplyDeleteI know your time before the baby arrives is short, but if there was a pdf for the Halloween bingo I would love to include it in our mini-unit.
Good luck with your sweet baby!
Hi Mari-Ann, I am really enjoying your mini units. I'm running tight on space these days and though your mini units would be great. I was wondering what size boxes did you find worked well for you? Your pictures look so compact but pack a lot. Thanks for the great ideas. Now enjoy the last weeks before long awaited baby comes :).
ReplyDeleteI love Halloween and am so excited to see this post. I am a procrastinator and this is early enough I can start now! Usually I see some lovely theme and want to do it right away but it really takes a while to get it all together. This post is perfect for me!Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou are amazing and so inspirational! I am making orange playdough today and gutting a pumpkin for a little sensory fun! We enjoyed the book from Seed to Pumpkin too...Marnie @ Carrots are Orange
ReplyDelete