I am so excited to share our latest Montessori-inspired grammar activities.  The entire Montessori language curriculum is absolutely amazing.  Maria Montessori's way of presenting grammar concepts is beyond brilliant.  

If you're not familiar with them, you need to be.  Montessori for Everyone gives a great detailed explanation of each symbol in a 4 part series, when you have a moment.  

For the purpose of this post, I'll just say that each part of speech corresponds to a colored shape.  The shapes and colors provide a sensorial experience that is hands on, thus enhancing the child's ability to absorb and understand grammar.

During the course of this school year we've learned about nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions.  

This month we're learning about pronouns, articles, and interjections.  

I've created six activities for our shelves to help the kiddos review information they already know, and to learn the three new grammar concepts.  

All of the kiddos enjoy grammar activities, so I know these will be a hit!

Montessori-inspired Grammar Activities

Montessori Grammar Symbol 3-Part Cards

It's always nice to have a set of grammar symbol 3-part cards on hand for reference and review, especially now that we have our own 3-D Montessori Grammar Symbols.  The kiddos will match up the 3-part cards and symbols.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Grammar Activities Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

My Book of Montessori Grammar Symbols

Why not have your child make their own grammar reference to have on hand when needed?  The kiddos will create their own book of Montessori grammar symbols, writing the names of each symbol on each page and coloring in the shapes.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Grammar Activities Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Ocean Article Activity

I'm super excited about using this activity to teach the kiddos about articles.  The kiddos will choose an animal or animals, and then find the corresponding article and noun cards.  

This activity will be perfect for teaching them the rule of when to use "a" versus "an."  I made sure to choose a Safari Ltd. Toob that included animals with names that begin with a vowel.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Grammar Activities Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Family Pronouns

In my mind, the easiest way to introduce pronouns is to use individual and group pictures of our own family.  

As the kiddos look at each picture, they can find the most appropriate cards to match, replacing names with pronouns.  

Each kiddos' final results will be different, but they'll each receive the same practice.  This activity could also work well with pictures of individuals and groups in a classroom.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Grammar Activities Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Interjection Match Up

Interjections can be a little difficult to understand at first.  I thought the best way to introduce them to the kiddos would be to show them pictures and ask for their emotional responses.  

A special thanks to those who helped me find pictures for this activity.  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.  The kiddos will match up the 3-part cards provided.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Grammar Activities Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Grammar Aquarium

In most Montessori classrooms, there is an activity called a Grammar Farm.  I love the concept of this farm, however, we have yet to do a farm unit, and I don't intend to keep a farm set up in our classroom for an extended period of time.  There's just not room.  

So, I decided to create a "Grammar Aquarium" instead.  The kiddos use the materials provided to enhance their grammar skills, at whatever level they are at.  

This grammar activity presents similar to an invitation to play.  I've included cards for each part of speech, but not all need to be used at one time.  

Kiddos may simply separate cards under grammar symbols, label items in the invitation to play, or create silly phrases to match scenes they create.  

Whatever way they use the materials, they're enhancing their grammar skills in a way that is too fun to pass up!  I know I had way too much fun playing with materials while preparing this activity.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Grammar Activities Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions below.

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For more fabulous language activities and ideas, take a look at posts included in the 12 Months of Montessori Learning.

Natural Beach Living ~ The Natural Homeschool ~ Living Montessori Now

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

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Eye Mini Unit w/ Free Printables

Putting together a Montessori-inspired eye mini unit with free printables proved to be much more difficult than I thought.  I saw so many cute posts on the internet with eye exam printables.  There were eye glass store set ups etc.  

Unfortunately I could not figure out how to put a Montessori tray together with a control, that could be completed individually with those adorable printables.  

All of my kiddos are 100% proficient at putting on glasses.  So, I had to become a little more creative.  I came up with the following activities, if further inspiration strikes, I'll be sure to add more to this post.

Eye Mini Unit with Free Printables

Spelling with Movable Alphabet

I'm not sure if it's just my kiddos, or if most kiddos get confused when trying to learn all outer parts of the eye.  Hopefully this spelling activity will help them.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Eye Unit Printable Pack 1 is free. For your copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Odd & Even Numbers with Eye Counters

It's been a long time since we've reviewed odd and even numbers.  I've been meaning to do so for quite some time. When I found these large cute googly eyes, I knew they'd be the perfect counters for the activity.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Eye Unit Printable Pack 1 is a free printable. For your copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Parts of the Eye

An eye unit wouldn't be an eye unit without 3 part cards introducing all the parts of the eye.

Source:  The free printable for this activity can be found at Suzie's Home Education Ideas.  Unfortunately it is no longer available. I'm hoping to have my 4D Eye Ball Anatomy Model arrive soon!

Animal Eye Match Up

There's nothing quite like studying the eyes of animals, especially animals that have more than two eyes.  The kiddos will have a blast playing memory with these cards, or just completing a simple match up activity.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Eye Unit Printable Pack 1 is a free printable. For your copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Spooning Eyes

The kiddos will practice transferring the eyes from one bowl to the other.  The fun part about the activity is that the eyes are floating in a bowl full of water.  I'm excited to see how well the kiddos transfer the liquid and solid mix.

Source:  This activity was inspired by a post I saw at Fun at Home with Kids.

Ways to Use our Eyes

This activity will most likely change during the course of the week, as more will be added to the tray, and some items will be taken away.  

The purpose of the activity is to discover and explore ways we use our eyes in different situations. In some scenarios, we'll be learning about protective eye wear.  Other items on the tray help the kiddos explore ways to see with there eyes.  

Lastly, I've included some visually stimulating items we have at home.  (Bulldozer LOVES visual stimulation.)  No matter what items are on the tray, the kiddos will be able to have a hands on experience exploring.

Learning about eyes can be so much fun!

For those who would like more Montessori activity ideas and free printables, be sure to subscribe to our free newsletter by clicking the link below.

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Eye Care Unit Printable Pack 1

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I'm super excited about our dental unit with free printables.  The timing of these dental activities is quite perfect!  

Bulldozer just lost his second tooth and had a dentist appointment on Tuesday.  

I just found out that I need some major dental work done.

Learning more about teeth has really helped anxieties. 

Studies about the human body are so important for kids, including our mouth and dental health!

Dental Unit with Free Printables

Dental Grammar Activity

The kiddos will sort words, placing them under the correct Montessori grammar symbol.  This will be the first time that we'll work on distinguishing words that can be used as nouns and verbs.  

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Dental Unit Printable Pack 1 is a free printable. For your copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Measuring Dental Supplies

The kiddos have become quite proficient at measuring inches, but have yet to be introduced to centimeters.  In this activity they are given a ruler with both types of measurements.  They will measure each supply in inches and centimeters, recording their answers.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Dental Unit Printable Pack 1 is a free printable. For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Animal Teeth

 

I'm super excited about this activity.  Jason and I created animal cards showing different types of teeth.  The kiddos can match the animal teeth to the animal cards, placing the animal figures on top of them. 

Or they can simply match animal figures to animal cards, depending on their levels and abilities.  

For Dinomite, who is quite advanced in his knowledge of animals, the cards can be sorted by eating habits:  herbivore, omnivore, and carnivore, which are notated on each card.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Dental Unit Printable Pack 1 is a free printable. For your copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Parts of the Tooth

The kiddos will use the control provided to help them fill in the missing labels of the tooth chart. 

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Dental Unit Printable Pack 1 is a free printable. For your copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Different Kinds of Teeth

 

The kiddos will use the code provided to color the teeth model, while learning the names of the different kinds of teeth in their mouth.

Source:  The free printable for this activity can be found at education.com.

Brushing Teeth

For the most part, the kiddos do very well brushing their teeth.  Princess even goes as far as using a timer, to ensure she's brushed for an extended period of time.  Each of them knows to brush morning and night.  

Bulldozer is the only one, out of the older three, who still needs help at times.  He loves to chew on his brush instead of brushing with it.  I'm hoping this activity will help him understand why it's so important to brush.  

Six cards are included in the activity with different dirty spots.  The tooth cards have been laminated and colored with a dry erase marker, to ensure easy brushing.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Dental Unit Printable Pack 1 is a free printable. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Tweezing Teeth

I'm guessing this activity will be quite popular on our shelves, as the kiddos are able to have fun building a mouth full of teeth and then pulling them.  

I've used a clear mouth guard as a mold and filled it with pink play dough.  White beans represent clean healthy teeth.  Black beans represent rotten teeth needing to be pulled.

Source:  I've seen variations of this activity all over the internet from various sources.

Flossing 

 

At the kiddos' last dental appointments, the dentist mentioned it was time for them to start flossing regularly on their own.  I thought this unit and activity would be a perfect way to introduce them to the concept and have them practice flossing on their own.

Mouthwash Practice

The dentist also mentioned the kiddos were ready for mouthwash.  I decided before I attempted to choose a flavor on my own, I would let them test a few children's flavors out.  

Each day they'll select a new flavor to try out, measuring out the correct amount, pouring it into the cup, putting it in their mouths, swishing it around, spitting it out and wiping their mouth when finished.  

If you'd like a visual to help your child learn how to use mouthwash, I have created this bonus freebie that does just that! 

Just visit the post below to learn how to grab your own copy.

Montessori-inspired Self: Care Dental Printable Pack

For those who would like more self-care supports and visuals, Montessori activity inspiration and free printables be sure to subscribe to our free newsletter by clicking the link below.

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Dental Unit Printable Pack 1

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Book Review: Montessori at Home or School: How to Teach Grace & Courtesy

This post contains affiliate links.

About a month ago, I was really struggling with some of Sunshine's behaviors.  Some are a result of her autism.  Others are due to her Reactive Attachment Disorder.  There have been many days over the past few months where all I seem to do is discipline.  I've been more firm and strict than I prefer, and ultimately by days end, I'm in tears, feeling frustrated and exhausted.  What I'd give for positive and constructive interactions between the two of us.

Sunshine is the youngest of my four, and is three years old.  Looking back, I can say with certainty that three years old has been the hardest year with all of my kiddos.  The stories I could share...  Still, Sunshine seems to be THE HARDEST.  Though I'm more experienced this time around, my patience has thinned.

It seems everything I've tried with my other kiddos has failed with Sunshine, except for the implementation of Montessori methods in our home.  Though it may sound silly, implementing more aspects of Montessori in our every day lives seems to be the key to success these days, especially in areas that the kiddos struggle.  However, as I poured over my collection of materials, activities, etc., I couldn't seem to find anything that would help me with Sunshine's behaviors.  Until I remembered Deb Chitwood's new book:  Montessori at Home or School:  How to Teach Grace & Courtesy.

I've been studying, learning, and applying many principles of Montessori into our home and school life, but the area of Grace and Courtesy is the area I know the least about, and quite frankly had no idea how to implement.  That is until I read Deb's book.

Before we implemented Montessori into our home we had daily schedules filled with appointments for speech therapy and occupational therapy.  After I started using the Montessori approach, creating language, practical life, and sensorial activities for our kiddos, occupational therapists would enter our classroom and mention how pleased they were with the therapeutic activities on our shelves.  Dinomite was evaluated by an occupational therapist.  It was determined that due to Montessori activities, he no longer needed therapy.  A few months later when discussing Sunshine's progress with her team, they declared that there was nothing more that they could do for her, that I wasn't already doing on a daily basis in the home, using the Montessori method.

As thrilled as I was to eliminate therapies for my children, there are still some gaps.  All of my kiddos are verbal, but lack conversation skills.  Though we work hard daily, their inability to express themselves appropriately and socialize with others affects them (and me) in big ways.  There are meltdowns and screaming fits, which can lead to physical aggression.  Sunshine has these episodes multiple times a day.

It wasn't until I was reading Deb's book that I realized Grace and Courtesy lessons are in essence Maria Montessori's version of speech therapy.  Through these lessons, children learn to communicate effectively and learn social cues at the same time.  They are able to memorize the correct responses for specific social situations and feel successful in their interactions with others.  When taught and applied correctly, meltdowns, screaming fits, and physical aggression episodes will diminish and both parties will thrive due to more positive interactions. Grace and Courtesy lessons are exactly what Sunshine (and all the other kiddos) need!  Deb's book:  Montessori at Home or School:  How to Teach Grace & Courtesy is exactly what I needed, to be able to prepare, present and help my kiddos be successful in their progression of Grace and Courtesy lessons and activities.

Deb's book is broken down into several detailed chapters that build on one another.  Her explanations of proper etiquette are specific, informative, and easy to understand.  If you're looking to use the book as a tool for speech therapy lessons, the set up of each chapter is PERFECT, giving step by step instructions about what to do in specific social situations.  In essence this is an amazing speech therapy instruction manual for teachers, whether you're a parent or public school teacher.

I lost count at how many times I expressed my amazement about the content of this book, while reading it.  For me, it was the missing link in my kiddos' education.  It's exactly what I have needed to help Sunshine.  I can't wait to incorporate Deb's etiquette lessons into our days, progressing from one chapter to the next!

If you haven't read Deb's book yet, don't wait, especially if you have a special needs kiddo at home who needs to work on their communication skills.  The book includes everything you need to successfully teach the material.

Thank you Deb for once again helping me be the best parent and Montessori teacher I can be!

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We had so much fun studying Europe we had to divide all of our activities into two posts.  

Check out our Europe Unit Part 2 with Free Printables

There are so many great activities here.  

The kiddos loved all of the sensory exploration we included.  

You'll also find a few math activities, one about multiplication and the other about symmetry.

Here's what we've been doing around here!

Europe Unit Part 2 with Free Printables

Introduction to Line Symmetry

We've learned a lot about fractions this year, but not so much about line symmetry.  This week the kiddos are receiving a basic introduction to the concept as they practice folding different shapes into equal parts.

The shapes are felt.  When you fold them and then open them up, the crease still shows.  Not only has this been a great math activity, but it's been a great introduction to folding laundry!

Multiplication Grouping

The kiddos are slowly working through their multiplication facts, however they're struggling to fully understand the concept of multiplication.  

Though we worked on skip counting for quite some time, it didn't sink in.  Sigh.

This week I decided to do something a little different with our multiplication activity.  

Instead of finding the answer, the kiddos are showing me the concept of the problem.  

They've all enjoyed this very much, and seem to have a better understanding of what multiplication is.

Source:  I found the idea for this activity at Noor Janan Homeschool.  

The printable for this activity is included in my Europe Unit Math Printable Pack 1.  This is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

European Habitat Invitation to Play

The kiddos are doing so well understanding different habitats, though we still have a few to introduce. 

In this activity the kiddos will use the map provided, to create different types of habitats in Europe.  

Not all are included, as I didn't have animal figures for all of them.  

Bulldozer made sure I went and added ice and glaciers to the activity as well.

I just love Bulldozer's habitats!

Lines of Latitude & Longitude

We've been working with maps for a while.  

This week the kiddos were introduced to the globe. 

It's definitely time to teach the kiddos about latitude and longitude, especially now that they're familiar with the Equator and Arctic Circle from previous units.

Source:  The free printable for this activity is no longer available. My apologies.

Greek & Roman Architecture in Europe

The one thing I remember about Europe, more than anything else, is the architecture.  

When I visited, I just couldn't get over the beauty of the magnificent buildings.  

Knowing Bulldozer is very much into building, I decided to incorporate his new architectural block set into our unit.

There are cards showing examples of different types of Greek and Roman structures as an introduction to the activity, and then the kiddos just build with blocks from there.  

It's been a very popular activity on our shelves.

Source:  The printable for this activity is part of my Europe Unit Geography & Culture Printable Pack 1.  This is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Painting Europe

The kiddos can always use extra practice painting within the lines.  

I thought a map of Europe would provide quite a challenge for them.  

To my pleasant surprise, they've done quite well with the activity.

Source: The printable for this activity is included in my Europe Unit Geography & Culture Printable Pack 1. This is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy, follow the directions at bottom of this post.

Spooning Rice

The kiddos will practice transferring rice from one bowl to the other using the spoon provided.  I dyed the rice red to go along with our Europe theme.

Water Drop Activity

The kiddos will carefully place drops of water on the designated spots on the butterfly.  This is a great fine motor activity!

Transferring Pom Poms using Tongs

The kiddos will practicing using tongs to transfer pom poms from one bowl to the other.

Touch Board

About a month ago I ordered a touch board for our classroom.  

When it arrived it was very used and worn.  

Pieces did not match up correctly.  

After sulking for a few weeks, I decided to attempt to refurbish it using materials I had on hand.  This is the result!  

The kiddos LOVE this activity!  

I've included a blindfold with it on our shelves.  

(After taking a picture of the used and incorrect item, and complaining to Amazon about the seller this was purchased from, I was given a full refund immediately.)

European Taste Testing

The kiddos found our cheese and cracker taste testing quite interesting.  

The smells bothered Dinomite quite a bit.  

So, I made some minor changes and we decided to go a different route with our taste testing choices.

We decided to have a European buffet for dinner one night.  Obviously, this is not the healthiest dinner ever, but it was a one night thing and everyone had a blast with it.  

I admit it was a bit of a challenge to make/purchase allergy friendly foods for everyone, but we managed so that each kiddo, including Sunshine, was able to taste test at least three different items. 

Our menu included:  

• Homemade allergy friendly waffles with the option to cover with strawberries and whipped topping
• Focaccia
• Croissants
• Chocolate eclairs
• Cannolis
• Chocolate mousse
• Toblerone chocolate
• Gelato 
• And more !

We served juice with our dinner which was a big deal to the kiddos.  

After our dinner buffet, Princess has declared that she wants to go to Europe someday to visit.  

I couldn't be more excited. I do believe we may plan a trip in the future!

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