Here is another great giveaway from Montessori Print Shop: World Maps Bundle

 

Each of the 9 sets of Maps includes:

• 1 black and white blank map
• 1 color map
• 1 black and white labeled map
• 1 colored and labeled map
• 2 sets of map labels (1 set has color-coded borders, 1 set with no borders)

And also Win the Pin Map Flags Bundle:

 

Two lucky winners will received both the World Maps Bundle and the Pin Map Flags Bundle.

These are digital files in PDF format.

Open worldwide to anyone over the age of 18 years.
You just have until tomorrow!!!
Ends: 12:01am Tuesday Nov 6 2012

Here we have the last addition to our geography corner. I found these a long time ago, saved them and then forgot about them Since I have been doing some cleaning around, I ‘d found them with other un-done projects (tell me I am NOT the only one!). Well, I decided it is time to finish the project and let Pinky explore, play learn and have fun with them.

Sorry, I can’t remember where I found these. (Arrgg! It was BEFORE Pinterest lol)

Thanks so very much to SteveH for letting me know where to find these beautiful printables.

They are from KizClub.com (Kids around the world) plus you can find the flags, too.

If anyone knows the webpage, let me know in order to give credit!

I think she liked them!

I am planning to use these as a matching activity with the Flags around the World project I did a few days ago.

Also, we are going to classify these by Continents, talk about differences and similarities among people, explore our Continent boxes, or just have a fun puppet show.

 

Our Continent Boxes (not perfect unfinished, as always lol)

Upper shelf: Antarctica, a blue bin with general activities about the world like maps, puzzles, flashcards, Europe.

Middle shelf: Asia bin and Africa

Lower shelf: North America (I have another bin just for USA, so in this one we have general aspects plus the Caribbean), Australia and South America.

 

I will try to do a post about what’s inside our boxes. The only bins that need some help are Australia and South America (but it is just about time!)

Disclaimer: I know it is better to keep just a few things inside the box at the time and just rotate them.

However, we are just taking the Montessori idea and applying it the best we can to our situation.

Pinky goes to a Montessori school full time, we still love to learn and have fun at home, she is the only child and we live in a rented apartment where I am trying to keep her “learning tools” available while keeping the home environment.

 

How do you add a learning space for your child at home while not changing it into a classroom???

Linking to:

 

For quite a time now, we have been saving books, flashcards, postal cards, flags, money and everything we could add to our Continent Boxes. I am not doing any formal presentation with Pinky. From time to time she takes whatever box she wants that day and start discovering its treasures. We love to freely explore, talk and learn together.

Ooopsss! Talking about our post title, we added a flag recognition activity. Even that there are beautiful and perfect materials to buy, I did our own. Pinky will have pretty ones at her new school to use; therefore, we just need something related to have fun at home (mommy-daughter fun!). Well, I am intended to use them as a Pin Map lesson but that’s still in the process.

(Flag Stand World Map with Flags)

Mommy’s version!

What do we need?

• Flags printable: I had to do mine (color-coded) because I wanted to match the flags to some traditional clothes printables I already had (sorry, I can’t find the link) Mommy is always trying to get the most from one activity!
• I used bamboo forks, found at Target because of their flat shape and because I know they are going to resist better on Pinky’s hands
• Then, you better follow Montessori Print Shop tutorial (see link below!)
• Finally, enjoy!!!

 

If you are interested on this printable, here’s the link (PLEASE share it but DON’T sell it!!!!)

Folding and gluing the bamboo fork, add a piece of tape to secure the side. I didn’t laminated them but MPS shared the idea of using packing tape to preserve them.

Continent color-coded back with the name of the country.

The result!!!!

Isn’t it great???

 

 Here are some great links about Pin maps:

1. Early friendly mama: DIY Asia Pin maps
2. Montessori materials: Cultural/geography materials printables
3. The helpful garden: Parts of the Flag Nomenclature Cards and Little Booklet (FREE) and here is the link for all her great geography free printables .
4. The homeschool den: How to make a Europe pin map
5. Montessori Print Shop: World Continents - Pin Map Flags and Map (FREE), an amazing tutorial about how to Prepare Printable Geography Pin Maps and Flags, and Printable Montessori Geography Materials where you can order the flags for each continent.
6. Living Montessori Now: Montessori-Inspired Olympic Opening Ceremony Activities and Olympics Blog Hop (learning activities to implement this material)
7. Making Montessori Our: has such a generous list for making your continent boxes and flags.
8. 3 reader’s blog: Free Continent Pin Map Supplies
9. Video about how to do the presentation (it is for upper elementary but we could adapt it to the kids age/interest).

 

Linking to:

The new school year is almost around the corner. My little big Pinky is just so excited to start a different experience: the transition from a traditional preschool classroom into a Montessori one. We have been so blessed to be able to cost this education for our Pinky. In preparation for the change and just because she is such a big girl (she’s very into acting like a grown up, most of the time), she have an important chore: setting up the table.

My amazing talented friend Monica made these cute and sophisticated placemats for me (I don’t know how to sew just because this dump idea that I will get my fingers caught in the needles way..lol). I wanted something useful for my teaching purposes and cute to be used for everyone. She made 4 of them in NO TIME!!! Isn’t she amazing???  

 

I am really in LOVE with my placemats!

Back to our activity; here is my beautiful princess doing her chore:

Now I just need a beautiful dinning table

Pinky is very serious about her job!!!

Yum!!!

Buen provecho!

Here is a great post from Living Montessori Now about table setting.

If you need more ideas around the web, check these amazing moms:

1. Harvesting Kale: Montessori Monday: Table setting
2. The Mary Frances project: free printable
3. Acquiring a Life-long PhD in Cross-Cultural Homemaking
4. Montessori for learning: Mindfulness Lesson 1: Lessons of Grace and Courtesy - Table Manners
5. Milestones Academy Montessori Folding and Setting Lesson: Video (if you want to do a presentation at first)

Linking to:

Today was Pinky’s soccer and T-ball summer last class.

She (and her cousin while was visiting) had such a great summer time. Every Wednesday Pinky was eager to start her lessons and run wild, at least for an hour. Therefore, I took this occasion to keep reinforcing some really important tasks: Courtesy and grace.

Teach my daughter to be grateful for her coaches or teachers for taking their time and patience to share their knowledge is one of the priceless gift I could ever give her.

It doesn’t have to be anything expensive or elaborated, just a thought of appreciation.  Believe me, her coaches where really surprised and glad about the unexpected detail, as well as her teammates.

About Pinky, I could not describe how Proud and Happy she was about herself.

Priceless!!!

Coaches gifts: Water bottle, Kashi cherry dark chocolate chewy granola bar, Planters nuts mixed bag.

Team gifts (24 in total): Mott’s medleys fruit snacks (24 box), sticker box (Dollar tree store: 7/$1), pencils (Dollar tree store: 12/$1)

The end of her summer classes only means: Is time to get ready for Back-to-school!!!!

 

Here is more information about Grace and courtesy:

1- From info Montessori. Introduction to Grace and Courtesy.

2- From MariaMontessori.com. The magic of Grace and Courtesy.

3- From Living Montessori Now. Montessori Monday – Grace and Courtesy for a New School Year.

 

About other gift ideas for your favorite Coache:

1- Over the big moon. Baseball Coach Appreciation (Thanks for covering all the bases)~attached to a bag of peanuts. Free printable.

2- Just be happy. I skor-ed big.

3- Simply This and that.

4- Just Between Friends: Teacher Appreciation Gift Idea---Coach (Thanks for helping me “stick” to my goals this year)

5- Our Gift ideas Pinterest board full of more unique ideas!

Just an easy and fun idea to learn sight words for those mommies that need to spare their time. We are trying to simplified our learning around here.

You will need some garden signs, paper and markers or crayons. I got mine from Target at the dollar spot.

 

And we ended with these:

These are a great addition to our learning room. As soon as Pinky knows these, I just change the piece of paper with another one and add new sight words. You can play with them outside at the yard, hide them, play memory, a kind of Olympic running game, or my daughter’s favorite one: mommy monkeying around/marching/dancing and shouting 123 and holding the sign around the house while Pinky follows shouting the word and moving,too. You know what I mean: Have fun, move your body, learn and make it easy (that one is mostly for mommy!)

Here is my Pinterest PRE-READING ideas board!!! There are lots of great ideas to try!

123 123 ……Happy reading!!!!! and dancing!

Just a quick post about some of the activities we have been doing this summer. It is all about: MATH!

I found this poker rack and chips at Goodwill and decided to introduce some addition concepts with it. The girls loved it!!! I am thinking about using it with other activities like patterning, graphing, counting, and subtraction concepts.

Here is Pinky having a great summer vacation with her big cousin (5.8 years old). Her big cousin is starting First grade on a traditional school system in Puerto Rico this fall. She was so happy learning math while discovering some Montessori world. The result was two little girls happily working side-by-side, helping each other. 

 

We’ve been doing other math-related activities which I don’t have any pictures to share because my little camera past away

Next, I am sharing great links if you feel like trying the amazing Math world with your cuties. As of July 2012, Pinky is 4 years old.

Printables:

1. Here’s the domino printable.
2. Here’s the beads and pine cleaners activity idea.
3. Here are the fractions worksheets printable (free).
4. Trace the number printable from here.
5. Here’s the 1-100 numbers maze worksheet.
6. If you want to make your own Number cards, here’s a FREE printable available plus lots of links about where to buy them and activities to try.

Here is an AMAZING post from Mom’s Heart about how to bring Hands-On Math activities for Preschoolers. Check it out, I know you will get inspired!

For more inspiration go here at Homeschool-activities.com.

 

Take care and enjoy your week!