Winter Theme 2018

Our Montessori Inspired trays for the two weeks:

1. Rock snowman mix and match story telling
2. Pattern making with templates 
3. Create your own pattern
4. Sandpaper numbers and glass (ice) beads 
5. Numeral and dot snowman match 
6. Tens and ones roll and count 
7. One to one correspondence with penguin stickers
8. Stair counting with snowman manipulatives 
9. Hundred chart cover and find the number 

1. Shape matching penguins 

2. Snowball ten frame 

3. Numerals and for ten frames using penguin manipulatives (cards from Your Sister's Shoppe )

4. Mitten Double letter blends picture card match 

5. Wooden snowflake match

6. The Mitten animal word building with the moveable alphabet

7. Penguin puzzle with penguin fact card 

Our winter feels Math Table:

Wooden scale can be found here. 

Our Loose Parts set out for them in their Block Area:

Here are our Invitations:

Invitation to Build: Can you build a snowflake? (pay attention to main parts of what make a snowflake) We paired this with the book: The Story of Snow



Invitation to Explore: What story can you tell using these loose parts on the light table?



Invitation to Build: Can you build a sled? This went along with the Red Sled book we borrowed from the library. We LOVE a good STEAM invitation.

We had a fun Small World Sensory Play day where I filled a baking sheet and froze it. Then I mixed baking soda and shaving cream and made a super fun moldable snow! We added the Safari Ltd. Penguins for some chilly play! When the ice melted it was a great discussion opener about icebergs! 

Below are just some of the Science, Math and Art we did during these Winter Theme weeks.

How Do Penguins Stay Dry?
I printed a picture of a penguin from A Scrap of Time. We tested just water on the penguin and noticed it got drenched immediately. Next we rubbed oil onto the penguin first and then added water. Conclusion: try it yourself to discover!



Making Snowflake Names:
Fold your paper like you would to make a normal paper snowflake. Then write the name you want on the fold of the paper. Cut along the lines careful not to cut the fold. Viola!

Painted Snowflake Symmetry:
Place some paint into the center of a folded piece of paper. I prefer the larger pieces of construction paper for durability of the wet paint. Then fold the paper. The child then pushes the paint into three lines moving it away from the center of the fold to the edges of the paper. Be careful not to press too hard or the paper could rip and to not go past the edges. Open the paper carefully!



Penguin Coding
After reading Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. I set up a basic coding game to follow the order of events of the story to get the penguin to the South Pole. My daughter then had to write down the code the youngest was to follow in order to achieve this goal. 

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Games - The Secret Learning Tool

Have you heard of Game schooling?

This is just a few of the games that are out for the girls to
freely choose from to play when they want. 

It is basically playing games to facilitate learning .

Although we don't game school 100% we are HUGE fans of utilizing games into our days. They save all of our sanity most days when working on our lessons just aren't an option for my girls. I much prefer pulling out a game we can all play and will have fun together. They bring connection and the girls have little idea that they are learning!


Sounds amazing, right?



Here is a list of a few games that have frequented our table as of late.

For my youngest: 

Nonsensical Stories Game : This is a cooperative story based game for ages 3 and up.

Haba Orchard Game : This is a fun game for cooperative learning and fine motor.

Hape Listen to Clues  : This is good for paying attention and following directions.

Guess Who? : Great for asking questions and paying attention to details.

For my oldest (who is now 6)

Outfoxed!  A simplified game of Clue!

Sums in Space : A fun addition and subtraction game using number 0-9.

Qwirkle : a fun strategy game for the entire family. My husband and I really enjoy this one too!

Scrabble Junior : This particular version of Scrabble has options to play with a younger playing for letter recognition and is able to move to a more advanced version for spelling.


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Play Dough Recipe

Here is my MOST FAVORITE recipe for play dough.
You can add all sorts of things to this to have a different sensory play each time. I love this because it is made of items already in my pantry making it a simple last minute play time tool.




The basic recipe is as follows:

2 Cups of flour
1/2 cup of salt
2 Tablespoons of cream of tartar
2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups of VERY hot water, boiling is best


ADD INS: (optional)
Glitter
sequins
sprinkles
food coloring
essential oils

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Add the vegetable oil to the hot water and then add to the dry ingredients.
Stir together until it starts to form.
Take out of the bowl and knead together. BE CAREFUL IT WILL BE HOT!

This recipe if stored in a sealed container will last up to a few months.

For add ins, if they are dry add in with the dry ingredients and likewise, if they are wet, add into the wet. For add ins like sprinkles it is best to add them in after the entire mixture is cooled down or the coloring will bleed from the hot water.


Let me know if you make this! Leave a comment or post to your social media (Facebook or Instagram) and tag me (@momducator) ! I love to see how you adapt it to your own.