I think I am a little late posting activities Winter-related but, around here, it’s still COLD!!!

Well,  this lazy mama explored things that animals do in winter with Pinky a few weeks (or months) ago.

I’d make a coloring booklet about activities we (humans) do in winter a long time ago, maybe when Pinky was 2 and a half years old, and never had the opportunity to finish it. So, now, this was a great addition to our mini-unit and a great mommy-daughter activity on those snowy and cold days. The coloring pages are about: making snow angels, snow tasting, baking, reading a book, snow fights, making a snowman, skiing, caroling, sledding, etc. Yeah! we finally used the homemade coloring book!!!

We read a few books from the library but the best one was What do animals do in winter? by Melvin Berger and Gilda Berger, illustrated  by Susan J. Harrison.

Then, we looked for our animals figurines in order to sort them. As I was reading, Pinky sorted the animals.

Just short, easy and free!!!

 

Useful links:

1. Hibernation & Animals in Winter! from Good books for kids. Amazing list of books about Animals in Winter.
2. What do animals do in Winter? from Ms. Crowley’s class blog. They sorted animals pictures by what animals do in winter: Hibernate, Adapt and migrate and made a beautiful and easy art project.
3. Animals in the Winter - Links for Montessori Unit Study, has a great recompilation of different activities by sub-themes like: How do animals prepare for winter?, Why do birds fly south in the winter? and Where do the insects go in the winter?, etc.
4. Animals in Winter from Trillium Montessori. Easy, fast and meaningful activities to complete your readings. Love it!
5. A great substitution for the plastic animals but, still a good manipulative, are the animals picture cards available at MPS: Animals in Winter.

Pinterest

 

Now we are more than ready for S.P.R.I.N.G!!!!

What do animals do in Spring????

Linking to:

Disclaimer: These links are activities I think are great to add for further learning. I am sharing them because I feel they are useful for someone and I am NOT receiving anything in exchange….just my opinion!

 

 

Last March 10, Pinky and mommy went to their very FIRST Piano concert and it was AMAZING!!! I was a little worried about my little one’s reaction through the whole concert, since it was my first time, too! However, she DID behave extremely excellent.Indeed, it was a magical afternoon!

“In the second concert of their inaugural season, the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra returns to Symphony Hall with a magnificent program of Schumann and Mahler. This concert features wonderful collaborations with piano soloist George Li, the Harvard University Choirs conducted by Ed Jones, and soloists Barbara Quintiliani and Robynne Redmon.” Taken from The Boston Philharmonic website.

 

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The conductor??? Benjamin Zander.

Benjamin Zander was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England on March 9, 1939. Benjamin’s main instrument was the cello. He began studying at the age of ten and became the youngest member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain at the age of twelve. Zander is now the Conductor and Music Director of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, a brand new youth orchestra in Boston composed of both High School and College age students. The BPYO rehearses at The Franklin Institute in Boston's South End. Their premier performance took place in Symphony Hall on November 25, 2012. On the program was Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, Beethoven's Egmont Overture, and Elgar's Cello Concerto with Alisa Weilerstein as soloist. BPYO's first international tour will take place this summer as the entire orchestra goes to Holland to play Mahler's Second Symphony in the Concertgebouw.

Visit his web site over here. And make sure you visit his profile at TED, here, and LISTEN to his spectacular talk: Benjamin Zander: The transformative power of classical music.

Conductor: Benjamin Zander, Pianist: George Li, Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra

“Everybody loves classical music, it's just that many people haven't found out about it yet”.

 

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The pianist??? George Li

George Li was born in August 1995.  Since his first public performance at Boston Steinway Hall at the age of ten, George has gained significant attention as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with orchestra. Li was awarded the first prizes in the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association state competitions at the age of 6 and 7. Li currently resides in Lexington. He is a 10th grade student at the Walnut Hill School and the New England Conservatory (NEC) Preparatory School, where he studies piano with Ms. Wha Kyung Byun.

Here’s the link to his Biography.

 

 

Did I say the whole experience was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G???

And now……my little own pianist

(don’t get scare at the end….lol…that’s how my silly girl loves to practice)

Don’t you love those cute little fingers???

 

It has been almost 2 years since Pinky started to take piano lessons. It was such a beautiful day in October 2011, when I took my little 3 years old girl to meet her new piano teacher. It was an exciting day….well just 15 minutes that fell like an hour. Pinky was more excited about exploring her teacher’s house, music room and the goodies table. However, it was the beginning of our music experience. With time, we have been exploring music games, music websites, practicing charts, practicing silliness, etc. Because of Pinky’s age, to learn how to play the piano, so far is a challenged adventure. But, when we take the time to look backwards, it is a valuable experience for both of us.

Actually, she is learning the music theory, and here is an activity we came up to get her to focus: water bottle caps music notes! Hands-on-music activity following the Montessori method inspiration. You can use this with the staff written on paper or to put then on each piano key. On the second photo we were practicing the Yankee Doodle song.

One of the website we love to visit is Free piano lessons for kids with Mr. Hoffman. We love to watch the free videos on YouTube and then practice. He has a great lessons curriculum available to buy, but some lessons are free plus you can subscribe to the newsletter with very useful resources. Mr. Hoffman is really great!!!! So far, I am planning to buy his lessons in the future. Disclaimer: I am not receiving anything, just sharing what we love and took sometime to find! Here is Pinky doing one of Mr. Hoffman’s lessons:

To learn how to play an instrument is really serious work, but at the end music will fill your life. Plus it is 100% better for the brain development than videos games or televisions…..!!!!

Are your kids learning to play an instrument? At which age do they started? How do you make practice fun for them?

Thanks for any advice!

 

I wanted to share, for a very long time now, how we learn at home AFTER school time. Besides from weekends, holidays or vacations, we have just 3 hours and a half to motivate Pinky’s learning. As you can see, just a few hours can make a difference in your child’s life.

Everyday, after school, Pinky comes home eager to do activities about a new theme (mostly one that she studied at school) or to continue any work about an old theme. Because of the lack of time, I try to do short activities re-using old materials into hands-on-activities. Sometimes, I print out worksheets but they have to be in relation to the theme of interest and be able to be used in an interesting way.

Just following my child interests, as one of Maria Montessori believes (the one I LOVE the most!), I am helping myself to give my daughter:

1- An special mommy-daughter bonding time.

2- Confidence in herself- she is learning to identify her interests or doubts about any theme and to request further learning. She is learning about not staying with any doubt! She learns to speak for herself.

3- Research time. She is learning about where to look for anything and how to ask for help. She is very aware of the Internet, specially Google! Also, and most important, what are a Dictionary and an Encyclopedia and how to use them. Well, that was the way before the internet and I want Pinky to learn it, too!

4- Concentration. Because we study themes that she asked and I was not the one to impose, her concentration time into certain activities has been increasing. Sometimes, I have to stop her because is past bed time!

5- Joy. She has been finding joy into learning! Isn’t that the best reward?

6- Memories. We are creating beautiful memories, not only for Pinky but for mommy, too!

7- Simplicity. This one is for mommy! I don’t have to get crazy looking for themes, activities or crafts in a random way. I don’t have to get disappointed after expending time creating a masterpiece unit just to end with a “I am not interested kiddie face” (lol I had been there!!!).

8- Satisfaction. Both for mommy and daughter. Even if it was a one day only theme, Pinky is happy because I’d listened to her curiosity and took the time to look it up. As a result, mommy is happy, too!

 

Sorry for the long post! Just wanted to share in case there are more moms getting frustrated because they want to give more to their schooled kids but think it has to be all the way into homeschooling. Now you see there’s an easy and satisfactory way for both mom and kid. Just follow your kid: Listen to them!

 

Ok, continuing with out post tittle…..this is the time Pinky came back home wanting to learn more about the United States! Well, this was my easy and fast way to expend two afternoons:

 

Activity #1

Melissa & Doug USA puzzle 

 

Montessori-Inspired activity: from the classic Montessori activity of matching objects to pictures. We built the puzzle and them matched some objects to the pictures on the puzzle for each state. For example, Orange picture over Florida state and she added Minnie Mouse because Disney World is located there, too!. Cactus for Arizona, Golden gate bridge for California, Pineapple for Hawaii, car for Ohio, Lobster and Lighthouse for Maine, Statue of liberty, yellow taxi and Empire State building for New York, etc. We found an object to match to most of the states. This is really an easy, fast and fun activity with lots of possibilities!

 

Activity #2

United States floor puzzle

This puzzle I found it at Goodwill for $1.99. Good deal!!!

We love that it is so big! She decided to use her USA placemat to make sure both were the same! lol

Maybe we could add some postcards from each state to do with this puzzle? souvenirs? flags? states birds, animals, flowers? Presidents??

Too many possibilities!!!

 

Linking to:

This is going to be just an ALL picture post (mostly).

Why????

Because I am going to share how silly, innocence, cheerful, joyful, lovely and imaginative a child mind can be.

Here is a post about my beloved Pinky’s hobby: she LOVES to dress-up……she loves to pretend she is someone else…..she loves to have fun wearing glittery dresses or tie and pants……she is just a wonderful 4 years old! 

Lalaloopsy

Super Mario Bros.

Cowgirl

Princess

President of the United States

Gold miner/explorer

Super fashion model

Egyptian mummy

I am not sure…..Snow White??

Snowflakes ballerina

Where’s the fire?

Luau dancer

Chef

Pinky: What are we gonna be next????

Cousin: Well, I am not sure……

Pinky: For now…we rock these shoes!!!

Cousin: Yes!, we look GREAT!

 

Oh yes, everyone has to join the fun when visiting our home!!!!

She has lots of customs, thanks to the Halloween after sales….and EVERY day, maybe 2-4 times a day, she is pretending to be someone else!

 

So, do you get dressed or do you dress-up?????

 

Check these very interesting articles about Dress-up play:

Playtime in peril by Lea Winerman from the American Psychological Association (APA).

Play Therapy: How it Helps Children Feel Better and Improve Behavior by Kathy Eugster, MA, RCC, RPT

Don't Get Dressed - Dress Up: 5 Benefits of Dress Up Play by Sara McTigue from It All Started with a Meatball.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to watch my little one’s Half Birthday walk. Pinky’s teachers decided to celebrate Pinky’s half birthday because she is a summer baby. It was such a beautiful celebration. Pinky was so proud, walking around the sun carrying the globe on her hands. Of course, she didn’t turn around the sun 4 and a half times only. In fact, I thinks she did it a bit more. lol

While she was turning around, her friends were singing the song:

The Earth goes around the sun,

The Earth goes around the sun,

The Earth goes around the sun,

And now Pinky is one (1)….. (repeat)

 

After the walk, the teacher read Pinky’s story of life….from the time she was born, until her 4 and a half years. I wrote about all the places she has visited, her milestones, her friends, special holidays, recitals, classes, etc. I wrote about her sweet and adventurous personality, things that she loves, like food, dance, soccer, music, paint, draw, etc.

While I was writing her story, I realized all the wonderful things that had happened in Pinky’s life, and how blessed I am for get to be part of them. This is the blessing of having such a hard working daddy!

Later, we got to talk about Pinky’s picture poster. Well, the teacher remind mommy about the birthday walk just the afternoon before the amazing day. As you can see, mommy didn’t have anything prepare. So, I found a carton box I was saving for another project, cut it and made a 4 layers poster. Then, glued scrapbook paper and some random photos. I think it looks like a Scrapbook poster! lol Since I have thousands of Pinky’s photos but none printed, I had to print some in paper praying that my printer won’t run out of ink. It was such a long night! But, it was amazing at the end!

Here is a photo of my darlings amazing day! Pinky is officially 4 years and a half! Big girl!

Now she is on her way to turn 5!!!!

For our Christmas holidays, we had a road trip to Canada. Since, this was the first year with our little Elfie visiting, mommy had the obligation of continuing with the fun until the end. It was a hard time trying to keep Elfie hidden and ready every night to re-appear in the next hotel! However, it was fun and priceless to see my little’s one face every morning amazed that Elfie had found her.

Here are the last days with our Elfie Elizabeth visit for the 2012 Christmas!

Elfie as Mrs. Potato Head

This one was a hard one! It took me to much time to put it together, so at the end I added to much tape that Pinky asked me why Elfie loved to use my tape? LOL I saw this idea in this video.

 

Elfie preparing her stuffs for the road trip the next day with the family!

 

Elfie found Pinky at the first hotel after the road trip. She was kind of tired form the driving, so she decided to take a cotton balls bath.

 

Elfie was having a Caroling time or concert with Rapunzel and Doc Mcstuffin.

I bought this cute card at Target! When you open the card, there’s a tiny Elf’s voice singing Jingle bells. Pinky was so excited!!! She carried the card everywhere…..not so a good idea when you are driving around! lol

 

 

 

Elfie pretending to be Santa!!!

I’d bought a cute Red bag at CVS just to do this one but forgot it at home. Too bad!….until next year!

The next day Pinky was laughing very amazed by Elfie’s custom!

 

On Christmas Day, Elfie was not around anymore in the morning. W e were just starting to miss her, when we found that she had been playing with mommy’s camera the night before. She took some photos telling a secret on Pinky’s ear and kissing her goodbye. Ah!!!!!! Elfie was such a good and well-behaved elf!

 

So long Elfie…..thanks for bringing such a magic time and laugh to our holidays. It was fun having you around helping our family to build more memories!

Until next year!

For more fun ideas, visit our Pinterest Board: The Elf on the shelf