The Pinay Homeschooler
  • HOME
  • TODDLER
  • PRESCHOOL
  • KINDERGARTEN
  • GRADE SCHOOL
  • SHOP
  • FREE PRINTABLES
  • SUBSCRIBER PAGE
  • ABOUT ME

Montessori Inspired Clock and Time Activities (with FREE Cards)

Sunday, June 28, 2015

A few weeks ago, Mavi brought home some homework about clocks and time reading. I knew then that we should at least have a brief discussion about the clock and telling time as it has been years since we had a clock activity.

Reading and Writing Time

Using my latest clock nomenclature cards and workbooks, we reviewed how to read and write the time, compared the difference between analogue and digital clocks and the relevance of time in our lives.

Clock and Time Activities
Clock Nomenclature Cards with Borders are from here. You can get the learning clock from here.

We then moved on to our workbooks for more practice on writing time. Have I mentioned before that Mavi enjoys using workbooks? Oh yes he does!

DSC_0370
DSC_0374

Learning AM and PM

In addition, I asked him to make a record of his daily routine. Like, what time does he wakes up, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner… till he sleeps. He’s very excited about this! I can’t wait to see that routine record and share it with you.

Other Clock and Time Activities

FREE Simple Hour Clock cards
Click this link for your FREE Simple Hour Clock cards.

Learning how to tell the TIME
5 comments
at 12:20:00 PM Labels: homeschooling, materials, math, Mavi, Montessori Math, Montessori-inspired
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

FREE Insect Habitats Learning Material

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Here are some of the learning materials that we used in our activity, Complete Guide to Insect Study for Grade-Schoolers.  You can now download a free copy of the file, I’m sharing it for everyone to enjoy.

FREE Insect Habitats Learning Material
Continue reading...
0 comments
at 7:11:00 PM Labels: free, insect unit study, materials, printables
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Star Unit Activities and {Learn & Play Link UP}

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

STARPIN
Welcome to another series of Letter Sound of the Week!  Today, I’m going to share our ‘star’ themed activities for learning the letter s sound. Vito really really like seeing stars around the house, and it’s the first shape that he can identify.  So while he’s at it, we jumped from letter c to learning letter s!

Letter Sound Basket. None this week. All we ever did was look at stars!

Painting the letter S.  We are exploring different mediums in painting and currently, the boys love the roller paint brushes I got for them last month.  So here is Vito painting the letter with a roller brush which he loves to use.  As we do the stroke, I would emphasize the word “up” and “down”.   I would exaggerate the hand stroke a little bit to demonstrate what does up and down means. And yes, this is also an activity for colour recognition: yellow.
DSC_0088
Playdough & Star Cookie Cutter.  Playdough is a great activity for fine motor skills.  Vito is enjoying playdough so far.  He likes squeezing and grasping the dough already.  We used our star cookie cutter for this.   
DSC_0097                      DSC_0113  DSC_0117                    DSC_0129

Counting & Gluing.  An activity that’s like hitting two birds with one stone.  Practise gluing and counting at the same time.  What I did here was punch the star shapes and made Vito apply glue on the paper.  Then we place the stars according to their number.  We then count the stars over and over.  These days, Vito loves to count than reciting the letters LOL. He’s like, 2, 2, ,2!
DSC_0045
An activity that’s like hitting two birds with one stone.  Practise gluing and counting at the same time.  What I did here was punch the star shapes and made Vito apply glue on the paper.  Then we place the stars according to their number                  
                 DSC_0154 DSC_0162

Colour Matching.  This is a DIY.  I printed stars in coloured cardstock papers, laminate then glue them on the popsicle sticks. The bead cubes were from Melissa & Doug Lacing Beads. We matched the stars to the cube by placing them into the hole.   I showed Vito how to do it first and then he mimicked my actions.  The matching of colours is still a hit or miss, so I’m guessing he couldn’t recognize them yet.DSC_0138
   DSC_0141

Big and Small.  A random activity while playing the cookie cutter.  I was showed Vito the big star and small star.  He wasn't interested at all with this.

Now, for this week's feature!  Here are my favourites this week, something that we would like to try this summer!
FREE Summer Songs and Rhymes for Circle Time by Living Montessori Now
Parts of a Fruit Lesson with Printables by The Natural Homeschool
Shark Unit Study by Gypsy Road
Accordion Critters by Little Fingers Big Art

Welcome to the Learn & Play Link Party!

11206071_10206383760770609_4191824351964193280_n

Now it’s time for this week’s link party! This is a BRAND new link up for all blog posts that include learn and play activities and hands-on education for kids. We are excited to read your blog posts and to see what you have to share! Please link up below and grab our button to display on your blog.
If you are a blogger, share your family friendly posts here. We are looking for things which include:
  • Montessori Education
  • Homeschool
  • Sensory Play
  • Tot and Preschool Trays
  • Fine and Gross Motor Activities
  • Kids in the Kitchen
  • Healthy Recipes for Kids
  • Arts and Crafts
  • Natural Living
  • Free Educational Printables
  • Family-Oriented Activities
  • Healthy Living
Your post will be featured on each of our blogs where we will pick our favourite posts every other week. That means there is more of a chance that you will be featured!
Everyone, please meet our link party hosts:

learn and play party hostesses
Christian Montessori Blog ~ Please visit our CMN FB group ~ Pinterest
Vanessa from Mama’s Happy Hive~FB~Pinterest~Instagram~Twitter
Jennifer from Study at Home Mama~FB~Pinterest~Instagram~Twitter
Marie from Child Led Life~FB~Pinterest~Instagram~Twitter
Jae from Pinay Homeschooler~FB~Pinterest~Instagram~Twitter
Heather from Golden Reflections Blog~FB~Pinterest~Instagram~Twitter
Renae from Every Star is Different~FB~Pinterest

GUIDELINES FOR LINKING

  • Please link up 1-3 posts
  • Follow each of the hosts on social media
  • When you link up, please add our button and place it at the bottom of your shared posts or link back with text link.
  • By entering a link, you’re giving us permission to feature an image on our blogs. Proper credit & links will ALWAYS be given.
  • Please visit a couple of shared posts and leave a comment for them
  • Remember that you must link back in order to be featured
Grab This Button:
Christian Montessori Network
<div align="center"><a href="http://christianmontessorinetwork.com/category/learn-and-play" title="Christian Montessori Network"><img src="http://www.christianmontessorinetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/learn-and-play-link-up-150-150.png" alt="Christian Montessori Network" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Please Follow
Follow Pinay Homeschooler's board Pinay Homeschooler on Pinterest.
An InLinkz Link-up
0 comments
at 8:46:00 PM Labels: 18-24 months, fine motor skills, learn & play link up, letter s, letter sound of the week, materials, Melissa&Doug, Montessori-inspired, themes, totschool, Vito
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

GALT Cotton Reels

Friday, June 19, 2015

This is Vito’s current obsession. These are cotton reels from GALT.  We love it to pieces! It’s an inexpensive toy which you can use in soooo many ways!
DSC_0698
If you’re asking if he can successfully accomplish this on his own, the answer is no.  The only thing he can achieve right now is insert the lace in the reel’s hole but he doesn’t know that he has to pull it yet.  I love that this activity uses both hands and working together with the eyes. 
DSC_0694
And he always saves the best for last. Using the reels as stacking toys! Now this is something that he’s really good at!DSC_0708
More toddler activities coming soon!
0 comments
at 9:35:00 PM Labels: fine motor skills, galt, materials, play, totschool, Vito
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Ultimate Collection of Practical Life Activities (Part One)

Thursday, June 18, 2015

PL FB
“Practical life or real work activities, along with the development of language, may well be the most important work in the first six years of life.  By means of these activities the child learns to make intelligent choices, to become physically and mentally independent and responsible.  He learns to concentrate, to control muscles, to act with care, to focus, to analyse logical steps, and complete a cycle of activity.  This lays the groundwork for sound mental and physical work throughout life.” – Susan Mayclin Stephenson, CHILD OF THE WORLD

Scooping Pasta

Scooping Pasta

Materials:

  • bowls
  • pasta
  • spoon
Essential in practicing the small muscles in the hand.  Practiced by younger children to develop skills essential in feeding.

Spooning Rice

Spooning Rice

Materials:

  • bowls
  • rice
  • tablespoon
Essential in practicing the small muscles in the hand. Practiced by younger children to develop skills essential in feeding. This can be a little bit tricky for smaller children as rice grains are much smaller than the pasta.

Whisking

Whisking

Materials:

  • bowl
  • whisk
  • something to whisk (liquid or powder)
Essential in practicing the hand and arm muscles. For Developing motor skills as well.

Latches

Melissa & Doug Latches Wooden Activity Board

Materials:

  • Melissa & Doug Latches Wooden Activity Board
  • Melissa & Doug Locks and Latches Board Wooden Educational Toy
To develop the skills in opening and closing different kinds of latches. For hand-eye coordination, concentration and motor skills.

Wooden Puzzles for Toddlers

Melissa & Doug Farm Wooden Chunky Puzzle (8 pcs)

Materials:

  • Melissa & Doug Farm Wooden Chunky Puzzle (8 pcs)
  • Melissa & Doug Farm Animals Jumbo Knob Wooden Puzzle
Recognition of farm animals, able to match them to the board, develop problem solving skills and enhance memory. Develop hand-eye coordination, dexterity and concentration.

Shape Punching

Shape Punching

Materials:

  • SiCoHome Paper Punches,Pack of 3,Heart,Circle,Star
  • Paper Punch Hole Puncher -- (3 PACK Circle Maple Leaf Retro Flower)
To strengthen the small muscles of the hands. Develop shape recognition as well.

Roller Painting

Roller Painting

Materials:

  • paint rollers (Rimobul Artist Studio Sponge Painters - Set of 6)
  • non-toxic washable paints (Crayola Kids' Paint Washable, Assorted Colors 6 Bottle,  Crayola 6 Count 8 oz. Washable Kids Finger-paints features 3 Bold Primary colors & 3 Bright Secondary colors)
  • painting paper
Develop fine motor skills, encourages the child to use his arms, hands, wrist and pincer grasp to paint on a paper or easel.

Sharpening Pencils

DSC_0010

Materials:

  • pencils
  • handheld pencil sharpener
To develop in-hand manipulation skills.  This is the ability to move objects using one hand.

Spooning water

DSC_0482

Materials:

  • bowls
  • liquid medium
  • spoon
Develop hand-eye coordination and concentration when transferring water from one bowl to another.  Essential skill in feeding and food serving.

Garlic Press

DSC_0437

Materials:

  • garlic press
  • garlic (or foam)
Enhance the skill of grasping objects of various sizes and hardness.  To improve thumb stability, which is essential in holding things and drawing.

Paper Clips

DSC_0442

Materials:

  • paper clips
  • bundles of paper
Another simple and feasible activity that allows kids to develop their pincer grasp and concentration.

Lacing

Melissa & Doug Primary Lacing Beads

Materials:

  • Melissa & Doug Primary Lacing Beads with 30 Beads and 2 laces
  • Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Lacing Beads with 27 Beads and 2 Laces
To develop the skills of using both hands in a controlled and organized manner.  Having a good bilateral coordination will allow both side of the brain to work.

Nuts and Bolts

DSC_0421

Materials:

  • nuts and bolts (Melissa & Doug Take-Along Tool Kit Wooden Construction Toy, Jumbo Nuts and Bolts Set with Backpack by Skoolzy)
Develop hand-eye coordination, and in hand manipulation (allow using of one hand to manipulate object). 

Clamping using Pegs

DSC_0385

Materials:

  • clothespin
  • bowl/s
Practice pincer grasp, a skill that is essential in feeding, pick up small objects, writing, drawing, scissors and more.

Color Sorting using Chopstick

DSC_0414

Materials:

  • chopsticks (Training chopsticks for kids, adults, and beginners)
  • sorting tray (Learning Resources Sorting Muffin Pans)
  • counters (Bug Counters Set of 72)
Chopsticks enhances hand-dominance, pre-handwriting/handwriting skills, and improving pincer grasp in a fun and exciting manner.  Associating colors.

Sponge Painting

DSC_0956

Materials:

  • sponge
  • non-toxic paint (Crayola Kids' Paint Washable, Assorted Colors 6 Bottle)
Develop fine motor skills,  encourages the child to use his arms, hands, wrist and pincer grasp to paint on a paper or easel.  Color recognition.

Painting using Brushes

DSC_0961

Materials:

  • paint brushes (Crayola Paint Brush Set)
  • non-toxic paint (Crayola 6 Count 8 oz. Washable Kids Finger-paints features 3 Bold Primary colors & 3 Bright Secondary colors)
Develop creativity, artistic skills and hand-eye coordination.

Gluing

DSC_0933

Materials:

  • papers
  • different glue types (Elmer's Disappearing Purple School Glue, Elmer's Liquid School Glue Washable)
Develop creativity, hand-eye coordination, control of hands, pincer grasp and ability to strengthen hands through squeezing.

Glitter Glue

DSC_0919

Materials:

  • glitter glues (Elmer's Liquid Glitter Glue Washable)
  • paper with lines
Develop creativity, hand-eye coordination, control of hands, pincer grasp and ability to strengthen hands through squeezing.

Using a Fork

DSC_1014

Materials:

  • fork
  • package foams
Practice picking up “objects” using fork. Essential in feeding.  This also develops hand strength with a pinching activity.

Transferring using a Chopstick

DSC_0942

Materials:

  • chopsticks (Training chopsticks for kids, adults, and beginners)
  • sorting tray (Learning Resources Sorting Muffin Pans)
  • pompoms (Creativity Street Bright Hues Pom Poms)
Chopsticks enhances hand-dominance, pre-handwriting/handwriting skills, and improving pincer grasp in a fun and exciting manner.  Associating colours.

Transferring using a Tweezer

DSC_0947

Materials:

  • pom poms (Creativity Street Bright Hues Pom Poms)
  • tweezers (Learning Resources Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set)
Enhances hand-dominance, pre-handwriting/handwriting skills,pincer grasp, hand control and concentration.

Transferring Glass Beads using Jumbo Tweezer

DSC_0007

Materials:

  • jumbo tweezers
  • glass/crystal beads
Enhances hand-dominance, pre-handwriting/handwriting skills,pincer grasp, hand control and concentration.

Transferring Glass Beads using Tweezer

DSC_0948

Materials:

  • tweezers (Learning Resources Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set)
  • glass/crystal beads
Enhances hand-dominance, pre-handwriting/handwriting skills,pincer grasp, hand control and concentration.

Sticking

DSC_0020

Material:

  • assorted stickers
  • paper
Skills developed in sticking activities:  fine motor skills, sorting skills and creativity.  Develop motor skills and concentration as well.

If you are looking for more ideas you might want to check the Ultimate Collection of Practical Life Activities (Part Two).
16 comments
at 11:10:00 PM Labels: homeschooling, materials, Mavi, Montessori, Montessori-inspired, practical life, Vito
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Complete Guide to Insect Study for Grade-Schoolers

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

We just concluded our study of insects and oh boy, both Mavi and Vito had a wonderful time learning all about these creatures!  We’re having zoology (animal study) for this month (12 Months of Montessori Series) and I’m going to give you a complete guide on how to study insects with your kids.

Insect FBN

What is an insect?
Start your unit study by learning what is an insect. Put it simply, it is an animal that has 6 legs with segmented bodies. And yes please, spiders are definitely NOT insects.  Now for Mavi to have a wider understanding of this subject, I've set up a sorting activity of the 4 major groups of the Arthropods.  Since we've done this last year, Mavi has a prior knowledge of the difference between insects and spiders.  He got confused with the crab though, if its either arachnids or crustaceans LOL.  Initially he placed it in the Arachnids Smile  These animal figures were from Safari Toob Insects and Insect Lore.

insect suty
insect study

The Life Cycle of an Insect
Now after learning about the animals that belong to the insect family,  we looked into the life cycles of an insect.  Here we talked about the insects that undergo “complete metamorphosis” and those with “incomplete metamorphosis”.  Note complete metamorphosis means, it has the stages of: egg-larva-pupa-adult. 

Materials here are Insect Lore Life Cycle of Butterfly and Ladybug

insect study
insect study
insect studyinsect studyinsect study

Parts of an Insect 
We also learned about the different parts of an insect. I have a separate post on this one and you read it here or click the image below.Parts of an Insect PIN

Insect Habitats and Bug Hunting
I created guides on hunting insects in different habitats.  We have insects found in woodlands (in the forest), those found in rivers and lakes, the ones found everywhere and in the meadows/fields.  We used these guides as we go “bug hunting”.

Insect Study Guide
We were able to catch a few insects like ladybird (escaped from our net after a few hours), this unidentified insect in the outdoor stairs and ants.
Insect Study Guide
Vito was fascinated with ants! He also had a separate insect study for toddlers. 
Simple Insect study
Vito’s Insect Study Winking smileSimple Insect study

Previous Post on Insects
  • The World of Arthropods Part One
  • The world of Arthropods Part Two
  • FREE Arthropods Chart
  • Insect Activities for Preschooler
  • Life Cycle of a Butterfly for Preschoolers
  • Grasshoppers
  • Parts of a Ladybird
  • Life Cycle of a Ladybug
Thank you so much for taking time to read this post. I hope that I was able to give you enough ideas so you can also jumpstart your own insect study with your kids.

If you need some learning materials about insects you can also buy the following from my printable shop:
The Arthropods Learning Pack
The Insect
The Ant
The Grasshopper
The Dragonfly
The Arthropods Learning Pack

This post is part of the 12 Months of Montessori Learning which is hosted by Natural Beach Living and The Natural Homeschool.




Natural Beach Living ~ The Natural Homeschool ~ Living Montessori Now ~ Planting Peas
The Kavanaugh Report ~ Mama’s Happy Hive ~ Study at Home Mama ~ Child Led Life
Every Star Is Different ~ Grace and Green Pastures ~ The Pinay Homeschooler
10 comments
at 10:39:00 AM Labels: 12 Months of Montessori series, free, homeschooling, insect unit study, materials, Mavi, Montessori, Montessori-inspired, printables, Vito, zoology
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Newer Posts Older Posts Home
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

Search This Blog

DISCLOSURE

The Pinay Homeschooler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a program designed to provide means for websites to earn from the ads/promotion they create. We have included links to the products we used in our homeschool activities and if you buy via the links we may earn a small commission.

Follow Me on Social Media

BLOG MENU

SHOP PRINTABLES
FREE PRINTABLES
TODDLER LEARNING ACTIVITIES
PRESCHOOL
KINDERGARTEN
GRADE SCHOOL
THEMED UNITS
CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Prev Next

My Printable Shop

Follow Pinay's board Pinay Homeschooler on Pinterest.

Contact

If you have any concerns and found some errors in my posts and printables please let me know. I love receiving feedbacks! You can send me a message at pinayhomeschooler@gmail.com

Archive

  • ►  2023 (10)
    • ►  March (3)
    • ►  February (2)
    • ►  January (5)
  • ►  2022 (43)
    • ►  December (6)
    • ►  November (2)
    • ►  October (1)
    • ►  September (2)
    • ►  August (2)
    • ►  July (5)
    • ►  June (3)
    • ►  May (6)
    • ►  April (3)
    • ►  March (3)
    • ►  February (6)
    • ►  January (4)
  • ►  2021 (53)
    • ►  December (7)
    • ►  November (5)
    • ►  October (6)
    • ►  September (3)
    • ►  August (5)
    • ►  July (3)
    • ►  June (5)
    • ►  May (6)
    • ►  April (4)
    • ►  March (4)
    • ►  February (1)
    • ►  January (4)
  • ►  2020 (41)
    • ►  December (4)
    • ►  November (2)
    • ►  October (2)
    • ►  September (5)
    • ►  July (2)
    • ►  June (2)
    • ►  May (2)
    • ►  April (3)
    • ►  March (6)
    • ►  February (7)
    • ►  January (6)
  • ►  2019 (59)
    • ►  December (6)
    • ►  November (5)
    • ►  October (1)
    • ►  September (5)
    • ►  August (6)
    • ►  June (4)
    • ►  May (5)
    • ►  April (6)
    • ►  March (4)
    • ►  February (11)
    • ►  January (6)
  • ►  2018 (71)
    • ►  December (3)
    • ►  November (6)
    • ►  October (8)
    • ►  September (11)
    • ►  August (4)
    • ►  July (4)
    • ►  June (3)
    • ►  May (5)
    • ►  April (6)
    • ►  March (5)
    • ►  February (8)
    • ►  January (8)
  • ►  2017 (140)
    • ►  December (7)
    • ►  November (6)
    • ►  October (10)
    • ►  September (12)
    • ►  August (9)
    • ►  July (16)
    • ►  June (13)
    • ►  May (11)
    • ►  April (14)
    • ►  March (13)
    • ►  February (14)
    • ►  January (15)
  • ►  2016 (202)
    • ►  December (8)
    • ►  November (14)
    • ►  October (13)
    • ►  September (17)
    • ►  August (14)
    • ►  July (21)
    • ►  June (18)
    • ►  May (15)
    • ►  April (24)
    • ►  March (24)
    • ►  February (19)
    • ►  January (15)
  • ▼  2015 (154)
    • ►  December (8)
    • ►  November (18)
    • ►  October (15)
    • ►  September (15)
    • ►  August (6)
    • ►  July (14)
    • ▼  June (14)
      • Montessori Inspired Clock and Time Activities (wit...
      • FREE Insect Habitats Learning Material
      • Star Unit Activities and {Learn & Play Link UP}
      • GALT Cotton Reels
      • Ultimate Collection of Practical Life Activities (...
      • Complete Guide to Insect Study for Grade-Schoolers
      • Clock Nomenclature Cards
      • Montessori-Inspired Parts of an Insect
      • Summer Math Activities and {Learn & Play Link Up #8}
      • FREE Summer Themed Grid Number Games
      • FREE Insects & Spider Silhouette Cards
      • Insect Study for Toddlers with Free Printable {Lea...
      • Summer Themed (6 x 5) Grid games
      • DIY Animal Puzzle
    • ►  May (22)
    • ►  April (13)
    • ►  March (13)
    • ►  February (11)
    • ►  January (5)
  • ►  2014 (147)
    • ►  December (7)
    • ►  November (13)
    • ►  October (17)
    • ►  September (15)
    • ►  August (13)
    • ►  July (16)
    • ►  June (15)
    • ►  May (11)
    • ►  April (12)
    • ►  March (7)
    • ►  February (10)
    • ►  January (11)
  • ►  2013 (97)
    • ►  December (1)
    • ►  November (8)
    • ►  October (7)
    • ►  September (7)
    • ►  August (7)
    • ►  July (7)
    • ►  June (13)
    • ►  May (11)
    • ►  April (10)
    • ►  March (8)
    • ►  February (12)
    • ►  January (6)
  • ►  2012 (90)
    • ►  December (2)
    • ►  November (11)
    • ►  October (12)
    • ►  September (3)
    • ►  August (9)
    • ►  July (7)
    • ►  June (4)
    • ►  May (7)
    • ►  April (8)
    • ►  March (9)
    • ►  February (7)
    • ►  January (11)
  • ►  2011 (45)
    • ►  December (5)
    • ►  November (12)
    • ►  October (8)
    • ►  September (6)
    • ►  August (8)
    • ►  July (6)
Powered by Blogger.