glue sky » Learning

This morning Lou started getting Ero dressed. They were holding their Halloween pumpkins. She told me we were all going trick or treating in nature. We got dressed and began “trick or treating.” Nature had many treats. Then we found the motherload. A beautiful spruce tree. The leaves got dumped to make more room for spruce [...]

Timeline of the Day

Lou’s been asking about time lately. So we made a timeline of the day. We got a roll of colored paper, cut it down to a strip, and stuck it to the wall. After every hour I drew what we did on an index card. Lou did not want to draw it, and she hasn’t [...]

Taking Apart Flowers

We have a couple planters on the deck. They have edible stuff that the kids can pick, play with, and destroy if they choose to. Flowers don’t last more than a week out there. Their petals become snow, raining down on all of our heads, or mashed up in some mixture for pretend doll food. [...]

Kids Hammer and Nails (and Safety Glasses!)

We got a check from Oma for Lou’s birthday. I asked her what she wanted and she said a hammer and safety glasses. She got the idea from our Montessori Services catalog. We got them, and they are adorable. We went to our local lumber shop and got some nails with fat heads on them. She [...]

Grass Clippings

I don’t know the allure of grass clippings, but my children gravitate to them. They must sense they are back there because they come running. They make stew, little lawns, and who knows what else. The little corner where the compost bin turned into a compost heap is one of their favorite places in the [...]

Pre-Learning to Write

I believe that to be Katakana, and not Kanji. I’m almost certain it’s not Hangul. Montessori believes that children practice writing before they practice reading. Which I thought was neat, and I agree. Lou’s been writing all kinds of little letters and symbols lately. She’s also got some actual letters too. Oma said it was [...]

Learning Math with D&D Dice

We found Pete’s old D&D dice the other day. Lou wanted to play a game with them. We told her we didn’t have the books for the games anymore. So Pete taught her another game. Craps, without the gambling part. He taught her to throw the dice, add the two dice together, and then to [...]

Sorting Nature

On our walks we collect sticks, leaves and weeds. I read in one of my Montessori books to collect a bunch of twigs of different sizes and let the kids sort them by height. I have not had much luck with sorting. The kids love to sort, but they love to sort when it’s their idea. [...]

Milk Clouds

It’s a pretty cool special effect they used to use in old movies. We did this type of stuff when I was doing a claymation video game. High tech. Pour or drip, either way it’s great looking. I’m sure teaches some kind of science, though I am not sure what. Do tell if you know. [...]

Making Montessori Objects for Reading

We have our sandpaper letters, our movable type and a little carpet. Lou is eager to kick reading in gear. Now all we need are some Montessori Objects for reading. These are usually things Montessori moms hunt for all over, or they can be bought from Montessori Services. But I didn’t have the patience to [...]

Child-led Decorating

Peeling and Cutting Carrots

Nature Trick or Treat