Felt Party

One evening back in August, I had some fellow homeschool mothers over to make some things for our kids with felt. We had so much fun, we did it again at another mom's house a few weeks later!

My craftsmanship isn't quite where I'd like it to be....but hey - I'm okay with that.  My kids love my creations. And I had a blast making them. Sewing is surprisingly therapeutic!

Felt is such a breeze to work with. It's easy to feel successful making things with felt.....even if you are craft-challenged like me. 

It was wonderful to hang out with my fellow homeschool moms. My pals at Autism and Salvation and Sunrise Learning Lab were there, among others. We got lots of creative inspiration from Counting Coconuts, and we felt like this bloggy-friend was there in spirit.  

I've always loved hanging out with teachers, and I especially love homeschool teachers.  I learned so much at our felt parties, and I left feeling inspired and energized.

Here are some of the things I made....

The button turkey (from Counting Coconuts) and the button spider shown above are great ways for kids to learn how to button. It helps develop dexterity and fine motor strength. Plus, that little turkey face just makes my heart happy when I look at it!

Fraction circles (also from Counting Coconuts) provide a great multi-sensory way for kids to learn about fractions. I'm not crazy about how the fabric paint numbers look.

We made some very inexpensive Montessori-inspired "puzzles" using felt. I will be using these along with some three-part cards to help my kids learn about the parts of a tree, a flower, and a leaf.

Here's the felt continent map I posted about a while back.

Feeling inspired to make something with felt?
Give it a try....it's a lot easier than you might think!

GIVEAWAY: Montessori Training & Curriculum

I've never done a giveaway before, but I have the opportunity give one of my readers a very valuable gift. I love to give people free stuff! So, here goes. 

WHAT YOU WILL WIN
A free spot in the next training course through World Wide Montessori Online, which starts in September. Along with the training, you will receive 12 albums of curriculum materials (over 5,000 pages of materials)...a $240 value.  This course is designed for educators, homeschoolers, or parents who are interested in learning more about Montessori methods.  

HOW TO ENTER
There are five ways to enter. Do any (or all) of the following:

1. Like Raccoon School on Facebook
2. Subscribe to Raccoon School via email 
3. Like Healthy Green and Frugal on Facebook
4. Subsribe to Healthy, Green and Frugal via email
5. Share this post on your Facebook page.

Then come back here and leave a comment (with your email address) telling me what you did. If you are already doing any of these things, be sure to say so in your comment. You will receive one entry for each way that you are following one of my two blogs, Raccoon School and Healthy, Green and Frugal. So, you could get as many as five chances to win!

I will randomly choose a winner on August 5, 2011. I will contact the winner directly via email. If I do not receive confirmation from that winner within 48 hours, I will randomly-choose another winner. Once I receive email confirmation, I will post the winner's name here. 

MY EXPERIENCE WITH WORLD WIDE MONTESSORI
This time last year I enrolled in an online training course through World Wide Montessori Online. I had recently come to the decision to homeschool. Although I was a certified public school teacher with a master's degree in elementary education, I wanted to know more about Montessori teaching methods.

I was struggling to learn as much as I could on my own. My homeschooler friend from Sunrise Learning Lab, who has a professional background in Montessori education, suggested I consider World Wide Montessori Online.

A year into my training, I'm so glad I enrolled. Although I'm far from being a full-fledged Montessori homeschooler, the knowledge I've gained from this course has revolutionized my approach to teaching and parenting.

I wasn't looking for an official Montessori certification. I just wanted help implementing Montessori methods at home. That's exactly what the course offers.  Here's what I like about the course:

• It's very laid back. You can do as much (or as little) as you like. All the materials and lectures are presented online, so there's no set time-frames that must be followed. You can give your attention to it when it's a good time for you.
• You get a lot of curriculum materials. You get them all electronically, so you will have to decide whether you want to invest the time and resources into printing all out. Alternatively, you can just view them on your computer and print out materials as needed.
• Direct instruction for me (not just the kids).  The course provides lots of detailed information about the philosophies behind Montessori, and how to implement it.
• Support from a Montessori-trained professional. You have easy access to the woman behind the course, Karen Tyler, AMS. She's always been very helpful to me when I have questions.
• An international learning community. One of my favorite parts of the class is the opportunity to connect with fellow students from around the world. I would say most of the students are homeschoolers, and a number of them have children with sensory issues. 

Let me know if you have any questions about the training or the giveaway. Good luck!!!

Learning About Subtle Shades of Color

 

This is a fun activity that's inexpensive and easy to make. It's provides practice identifying subtle differences in shades of color. Plus, clothespins are great for building fine motor strength and dexterity.

Here's how I made them. It only took me about 20 minutes, and I didn't spend a cent on any new materials.

• I got a few free color cards from the paint department at the home improvement store. Be sure to get two of each color.
• Take one card from each pair and cut it up.
• Glue the cut piece onto a clothespin (school glue worked just fine for me). 
• Once it's dry, it's ready for the children to make the matches. 
• I'm finding it's better to not overwhelm Little Brother (3) with too many colors at one time. Big Brother (5) likes the challenge of doing them all at once. He actually wants to create a color spectrum, so I will need to make a few more for him.

Thanks Jessica for this great idea!
Also, thanks Mom for picking up the color cards for me!

Felt Continent Map

I have always wanted a Montessori-style continents puzzle for our classroom, but I can't stomach spending $40 or more on this one item.  After many months of searching for a good deal, I gave up my shopping quest and decided to make it myself.

I am NOT a very crafty person, so this was a big undertaking for me. It's certainly not perfect, but it serves my purpose just fine.

The intention of this activity is to help my children learn the names of the seven continents and where they are positioned in relation to each other.

It only cost me $5. Here's how I did it:

• Print out outlines of the continents from a website such as Owl & Mouse.  I suggest choosing "World 1" at the 4x4 size. I started off trying to do each continent individually and ran into some trouble with the continents not being equally proportioned.
• Cut out each continent and pin them to a sheet of felt. You could also use iron-on transfer paper. 
• I purchased the felt for 29 cents a sheet at Michael's (they are running a coupon right now for 25% off your entire order, including sale items, expires July 23). 
• I choose to follow the Montessori color-coding system for continents, so I bought seven different sheets in the appropriate colors (orange, brown, pink, green, red, yellow, white). Be aware that one yellow sheet is slightly too small to capture all of Asia. I pieced some of the scraps together to complete the continent. In hindsight, I wish I had just left it cut off, though.
• Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut the shape of the continents out of the felt. I was worried about precision, but it really wasn't difficult. Actually, the hard part is deciding how detailed to be and how to deal with islands and such. 
• I printed out labels from Free Montessori for Everyone, laminated them, and hot glue-gunned them to little pieces of felt (using the Montessori color coding system).
• I created a felt board by hot gluing a big piece of blue felt (about $2 at Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft) to a piece of foam board ($2.89 at Target). I can see using this felt board for other projects in the future. 
• I printed and colored this world map to use as a control of error. The children use it as a guide as they place the felt pieces onto the board.

I introduced this project to the boys this morning, and they've already made huge progress with the intended learning objective (something I've had a hard time getting them to focus on up until now).

Thanks to Maya, Susan, Martianne and Jennie for all your helpful advice on this!! I really appreciate it.

Picking Kernels Off Indian Corn

We had some Indian corn on hand from our autumn sensory feast, so I decided to try this fun activity I saw on Living Montessori Now.  I'm sure that my children would have eventually started picking the kernals off the corn anyway, so it was great to head them off at the pass with this constructive activity. 

• It's a great fine motor workout.
• To make it more challenging, use tweezers. 
• I used miniature ears of corn. I suspect the larger ones would be easier to manipulate (particularly when using tweezers).
• Since Little Brother was having a hard time picking off the kernels, his work entailed putting the tiny kernels through the holes of an empty spice jar using his fingers. 
• Big Brother also put the kernels into the spice jar as a way to practice his palm to finger skills.

It's a really fun activity.  Big Brother has worked on it several times today. I enjoy doing it too!

10 Reason We Love This Vacuum

1. Didn't cost much. About $10 at Big Lots (the brand is Simple Human).
2. Doesn't make a loud, scary sound. Does make a soft, interesting sound.
3. Doesn't use electricity. 
4. A simple design that will (hopefully) outlast a typical electric vacuum. We've already had it four years and it's as good as new.
5. Can easily be switched from adult-sized to child-sized by unscrewing the middle section of the handle.
6. A good source of "heavy work".
7. Gives the children a meaningful way to contribute to the housework.
8. Orange is the Raccoon School signature color.
9. Easy to store, and can be hung flat against the wall.
10. Fun to use!

Flour Sifter

Big Brother helped me make our dinner last night, Vegetarian Lentil Pot Pie.  He's actually becoming quite useful in the kitchen, and I'm getting better at relinquishing control.

My Montessori class has taught me a lot about the importance of not interfering too much. This has been a challenge for me because (much like my children) I like to do it myself!

Last night he sifted flour (a great fine motor activity).

I also gave him some extra dough to make pie crust cookies. I gave him a rolling pin, cookie cutters, and a cookie sheet and walked away.  I was impressed at how well he managed without me hovering over his shoulder. Lesson learned for Mommy!

It seems like a good time to put out this flour sifter activity. I'm sure there will be lots of flour in the school room this week, but that's what the vacuum is for, right? 

Welcome Back Autum

Fall has officially arrived. To mark the occasion, I bought a sensory feast at Publix for the children to enjoy first thing this morning. I told them last night there would be a surprise for them. They love the anticipation, and it's a nice way to get the school day started.

• pumpkins (mini bag of 3) $3.99
• acorn squash $1.07
• cinnamon broom $3.99
• pears (2) $1.00

The nice thing is that we'll will be able to eat much of this later.  Publix also had some lovely wheat stalks for around $3, but I was afraid they'd be too fragile. Maybe next year.

The boys thoroughly enjoyed inspecting all the objects, arranging (and re-arranging) them in a bowl, lining them up, and soaking in all their sensorial delights.

The corns make very interesting instruments (both the husks and the kernels). 

The cinnamon broom is VERY fragrant. A little too much for me, actually. The children didn't seem to mind. It makes my husband hungry.