Over the next few days I'm going to share some of the V-day activities I've created for James and I'll break them down by "theme", too. :) As always, click on any photo for a larger view.
Practical Life
Another button snake, but with hearts - idea courtesy of Leptir. She had her school children cut the slits in the hearts for an added PL lesson. James isn't at this point yet, but it's something we'll do later, I'm sure!
Transferring beads into suction cups. James LOVES this work, so it's one of those things I keep on our shelves (and rotate) each week.
Open and close work. Each item has a little heart eraser in it. This is by far James' favorite activity on our shelves.
Transferring a dozen felt roses. :) I was inspired by My Montessori Journey to create these roses. They were so fun and easy to make! I'd gladly create a tutorial if anyone is interested.
Transferring pom-poms into a heart shaped tray using a strawberry huller. James is still working on his tonging skills and gets really p.o.'d when he has a hard time. I found the huller to be a bit easier for him.
Lacing jumbo beads. A few months ago I found out James can easily lace things, but that he didn't really seem interested in doing it. So, I'm putting a couple of lacing/beading type activities on the shelf to see if time has changed his opinion. Chasing Cheerios had the idea of lacing used greeting cards, but since I couldn't find any used cards and since I just couldn't see spending $4 per new card, I passed on this. Great idea, nonetheless!
Transferring water with a dropper. This is a new one for us - can't wait to see what James thinks of it!
Spooning flower pasta into 2 containers.Sensorial
Size sequencing foam hearts - this is a great activity geared toward recognizing size discrimination.
Color matching with beads and pipe cleaners. This creative idea comes from Itty Bitty Love. Also, an excellent fine motor activity.
Color grading paint samples from darkest to lightest. The set on the right appears blue, but it's actual purple. :)Also check out this post of mine for more sensory fun!
Love it! All of It! Where did you get the turtle bowls??? Those are the best bowls I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteWow. wow. wow. I am so impressed with all these amazing things you put together... so many ideas, my head is spinning! LOL Everything looks so neat and tidy, can I come to your house and play with these things?! Also, I would love to know how you made the roses, they look so pretty. :)
ReplyDeleteI love them all! Great job! I will be doing some of those activities very soon! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThese are so great! I love the heart button snake and know M would love it too. I love all the little containers you have, each one is beautiful and I'm sure increases the interest in actually doing the activity. I had M do a tonging activity with red plastic crystals today and just used my ice cube tray (boring!). Thank you for reminding me of the heart tray I have... I'm going to go change it up right now! Is there anywhere in particular you've had good luck finding (inexpensive) containers? You have such a nice way of presenting things! :)
ReplyDeleteYou must, must, must do a tutorial. Also, if you want me to ever pick up greeting cards for you at the dollar store let me know. You can usually get an assorted pack for well $1.oo. Sophie is lucky in that she gets cards about once a week so I have saved them since reading that on Chasing Cheerios.
ReplyDeleteThese are great...what a fabulous collection of work you have on your shelves. :)
ReplyDeleteLove ALL the activities you got there!!!! love the felt roses, and the heart tray!!! so cute..... and lovely!! hurra!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!
ReplyDeleteAngela, I agree about the bowl - I love it! It was handmade by someone at a craft fair.
Nicole, no such thing as "cheap" in Bermuda. :( And shipping things here ends up being double the cost in most cases. That's why I thrift shop so often, but when it comes to these muffin tins, I just bite the bullet and pay the $20.
Wow, another great week of business...awesome job!
ReplyDeletePlease show us how to make those cute roses and everything else looks great!!!!! I'm the writer of the Little Hands Big Work blog and I am so excited to start following your blog!!!!
ReplyDeletegreat ideas!
ReplyDeleteWhat great tray activities. I think my little boy would love to open and close different boxes to find a heart shaped object inside.
ReplyDeleteYour Valentine's sensory tub is gorgeous. Pink wool - what a terrific idea, that would feel lovely. So many special things to look at and explore in your tub.
Cocoa scented play doh - that would be awesome.
Mari-Ann, it's such a joy to stop by here and I always leave feeling so inspired.
Oh my, what a wonderful assortment of activities! May I ship my son to Bermuda so he can go to "school" with James?? :)
ReplyDeleteI love your strawberry huller idea, my son is having a terrible time with the tongs I have for him.. I need to go buy a huller, asap!
Love all these activities, but I must say the Kitchen-oholic in me loves all your beautiful bowls and platters and trays too!! lol
ReplyDeleteThese are all great and I love the presentation. I'm sure this is inspiring to James to see the beauty of it. We have recently tried the water tranfer with dropper over here but it was not successful so far. Good luck to ya.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog! You're so talented! I'm going to have to stop by more often!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with all the "wows" and "love them." You have some amazing ideas here. I want to try so many. We are also having a bit of trouble with the tongs, I think I will see if I can find a strawberry huller too. Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with all the "wows" and "love them." You have some amazing ideas here. I want to try so many. We are also having a bit of trouble with the tongs, I think I will see if I can find a strawberry huller too. Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteYou all are just too sweet - your comments always make me smile. :)
ReplyDeleteQuixotic, I have to admit, I enjoy making these activities mainly because I LOVE all the trays and containers and combinations one can create!
Susan, thank you so much for offering to send us some cards. When I go to MN in May you can bet I'm going to stock up on all kinds of things, cards being one of them!
James is very, very lucky to have you as his mommy. Your mom would've been proud of you... I am too!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, tutorial please :) Also, just a thought but perhaps try threading cheerios onto some thread (foods always a bonus, huh?) but you could hang it up to feed the birds (so he's not eating it all!). Thanks for the ideas and inspiration. LOVE the heart snake:)
ReplyDeleteLove the button snake as well as the gadient color sorting/matching!
ReplyDelete