Tuesday

I am going to try to post things on this as we move along with our day and then publish it at later today. I think adding a picture or two at a time during the day might save me a lot of time at night.

More Montessori materials...

I "think" this is something I saw in a Montessori book and convinced Rob to make one. I am not positive it is Montessori. My hubby made this up for T. several years ago that is why I can't remember. I thought D. "might" be able to use it. She is able to use it and she is very good at it! Her fine motor skills always surprise me (T. always had a hard time with stuff like this when he was little). Right now I have her using her fingers to put the nuts on and off. Next I will give her wrenches and have her match them up to the right size nuts to put on and take off the nuts. I have extra nuts in a yogurt cup. I have a small basket I am going to use but I don't remember what I did with it. For now the yogurt cup will work. I had to take the picture outside to get a good picture. My 7 year old is finding this activity new again so it is not just something for a 2 year old! I just found my little wicker basket to put the nuts in but I don't have the time to take and upload another picture.

ABC center/toy.

OK, my "toys" are not real toys but they seem to entertain and teach my children. This is an old metal coffee can. I cut a slot in the top.
I have the slot large enough for the largest letter to fit in.
Inside the can you can see a it is full of several sets of letters and numbers . This is a jumbo coffee can almost full. It has numbers along with upper and lower case letters in it. The letters can be stuck on the outside of the can or on our "magnet wall".

Below is a picture of our "magnet wall" LOL! Our heater never gets hot even when running it is only warm (can't burn fingers) so it is safe to use year around for a magnet wall.


Another Montessori activity we used today.

Sorting activity. D. is sorting pony beads in an ice cube tray. I LOVE having a lot of little things like this nearby to keep her busy when T. needs help with his school work. She pinches them with her fingers and drops them in the ice cube tray. When I first started this with her I only used 2 colors. We worked up slowly. I couldn't get a picture of her doing this because I was teaching T. at the same time. I am finding it very hard to work with 2 children teach them both 2 different things at the same time and snap pictures. LOL!


My daughter loves paper dolls. They don't last as long as they do with older children (because she is only 2 years old) but they do keep her busy. Today she was on a pony kick so I printed her out My little pony paper dolls. She likes taking off the clothes and putting them back on. She gets mad when she gets the tabs twisted and the clothes will not go back on so I have to stay nearby or the screaming will get T. off track with his lessons.

D's magnet doodle was another big favorite for today.

The pictures below are for Yas. This is what my little one did today when I left for 5 minutes to wash a few dishes! I think it was less than 5 minutes but I didn't time it. I am happy that it only takes me 2 or 3 minutes to pick this all up. Below is some samples of her chalk art she did today. She did all of this and more in under 5 minutes. I went to the kitchen (room right next to the living room) to heat her a piece of pizza for lunch (4 minutes in the toaster oven) this is what I found.

This is the coffee table.

Wood beam.

LOOK AT THIS!
Here she is cleaning it up!
This is her cleaning off the coffee table. She doesn't get it all clean but she is good at cleaning most of it.

She got the walls, TV, floor, couch, her toys, and anything else she could reach!


I am glad it is just chalk and it cleans up quick with a damp cloth. We now have her clean it up but she thinks that the cleaning is just as much fun as doing the writing. This happens EVERY DAY! We spend most of our days outside and she still finds time to do this and a lot more! Yasmina, I just wanted to let you know you are not alone!!!

I wanted to add pictures of the marble run and a video clip I took earlier that showed up a lot better (easier to record in the daylight) but I am getting tired so I don't know if I will get that done tonight. It is after midnight and my children get up early (5 or 6 am). I will try and add them tomorrow.