Practical life is one of the most important aspects of a Montessori preschool classroom. 

Practical life activities help develop fine motor skills and promote self care. 

No matter what time of year it is, practical life work is on our preschool shelves. 

In autumn, I love to incorporate a fall harvest theme into our activities. 

Here are four fall harvest practical life activities that have been on our shelves over the years that Sunshine absolutely LOVED.

Fall Harvest Practical Life Activities

Leaf Arranging

This activity was a HUGE hit and one that Sunshine would do every day.

Sunshine would pick up each leaf on a "stick" and place it in a hole on the lid of the cheese shaker. 

She would do this until every single hole was filled. 

I purchased the leaves from my local dollar store.

Acorn Tong Transfer

Sunshine enjoyed this activity. It was such a fantastic way to help prepare her hands for scissors. 

At the time this activity was presented, Sunshine really wanted to learn how to cut things.

She would pick up an acorn with the tongs and transfer it from one bowl to the other until all the acorns were in the other bowl.

Leaf Button Tweezing

This activity was definitely a challenge, but in the very best way. 

Sunshine would practice transferring leaves from one bowl to the other. 

(My photo was taken after she finished the activity. Transfer activities are encouraged to go left to right.)

Sunshine really enjoyed these cute tweezers and button leaves and did such a fabulous job. I loved watching how proud of herself she was after she transferred each button to the other bowl.

Clipping Leaves Together

Sunshine was very big into matching things when I created this activity. 

She would select a plastic clip, found at our local dollar store and then find two leaves that matched the color of the clip.

Once she found her matches, she would clip them together. Sunshine would continue this same process until all of the leaves and all of the clips were used.

This activity was so excellent for helping Sunshine build muscle strength in her fingers and hands.

There are so many fabulous ways to incorporate autumn into practical life activities no matter what your child's interests are.

For those who enjoyed these fall harvest practical life activities for kids, and are looking for more practical life activities, be sure to subscribe to our free newsletter by clicking the link below.

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 "Is it time to pick the peaches?" 

This is the question Sunshine has always asked and still does the minute our peach tree starts to show signs of life.

Sunshine has an incredibly difficult time waiting until the peaches are ripe. She wants to pick them NOW and sometimes does. I know of no one who loves peaches more than she does.

For years I have wanted to create a resource for her that will help, but didn't get around to it until this year.

I am absolutely in LOVE with our FREE Life Cycle of a Peach Printable Pack and hope you enjoy it too!

FREE Life Cycle of a Peach Printable Pack

The FREE Life Cycle of a Peach Printable Pack comes with two different activities that can be used in multiple ways.

• Life Cycle of a Peach Sequencing Nomenclature Cards
• Life Cycle of a Peach Chart

Life Cycle of a Peach Sequencing Nomenclature Cards

In the printable pack, you'll first see a set of nomenclature cards with numbers on them. These cards can be used for sequencing the life cycle of a peach. 

I chose not to use words on these cards because the names of each stage are very complicated and I wanted Sunshine to focus on the steps and sequence rather than the names.

Life Cycle of a Peach Chart

The next activity you'll see are two versions of  Life Cycle of a Peach Chart. 

• Life Cycle of a Peach Chart with true-to-life images. 
• Life Cycle of a Peach Chart with blank squares and a set of pictures to place in the blank squares

Some of my kids enjoy placing pictures where they belong, using the control.

Some of my kids enjoy using the control as a guide to color pictures in the blank squares. 

Sunshine will enjoy using the control to take to the peach tree with her. There she'll identify which phase the peaches on the tree are in.

Whichever way you choose to use them is up to you!

The true-to-life images are absolutely gorgeous in this printable pack and accurately depict each phase of the life cycle of a peach.

I hope you enjoy the Life Cycle of a Peach Printable Pack as much has we do! Sunshine is so excited about it.

We have spoken to her on the phone every night this week, mentioning how Princess has been picking peaches every day, and how Mommy is making all sorts of peach dishes for meals and desserts.

Sunshine is so hoping she'll be able to come home on a pass soon to join in the fun. 

Last time she was home, the peaches weren't ready to be picked, as one can see in the picture above.

Source: The Life Cycle of a Peach Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy, follow the directions below.

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3. Open the thank you message you receive in your e-mail, after subscribing. (Be sure to check your spam folder, as sometimes it ends up there.)

4. Click the confirmation link in the thank you message.

5. Once the confirmation is complete, you will receive another e-mail message with the Subscriber Only Freebies.

6. Click on link.

7. Find the printable pack you are looking for listed in alphabetical order, click on it, and voila!

We hope you enjoy your free printable.

Note: If you are already a newsletter subscriber, open your most recent newsletter. At the bottom you will find a link to the Subscriber Only Freebies page, along with the password in case you forgot it.

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Sunshine is very passionate about ballet right now. 

For Easter we gave her a leotard, stockings, skirt, and ballet shoes. She wears them every chance she gets when she visits the house.

Sunshine has been my inspiration when making ballet themed products including these FREE Ballet Themed Cutting Strips. 

I find that when I create something that she loves, I feel closer to her, even though she's unable to live with us at this time due to her unsafe behaviors. This is especially true when it's a topic we both love, which ballet is.

FREE Ballet Themed Cutting Strips

The FREE Ballet Cutting Strips are designed to help children cut simple pieces of paper while practicing rotation. Each strip has a different cutting angle.

Whether you choose to practice cutting with ballet pointe shoes or ballet dancers, kids who are interested in cutting are sure to enjoy them.

Source: The ballet cutting strips are a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy, follow the directions at the bottom of the post.

Montessori-inspired Ballet Printable Packs

The FREE Ballet Themed Cutting Strips are designed to be used with our Montessori-inspired Ballet Printable Packs.

These printable packs include so many fabulous ballet resources in math, language, culture, and practical life. It even includes some beginning French activities!

What I love most about these printable packs are how diverse they are, and how much they encourage movement while learning. 

Ballet is not just for a certain body type, ethnicity, race, or sex. It is for everyone to enjoy!

Learning is not meant to occur when standing or sitting still.

Be sure to check out our Montessori-inspired Ballet Printable Packs if you have Montessori preschoolers who love dance. 

Montessori-inspired Ballet Printable Pack

The Montessori-inspired Ballet Printable Pack is a fabulous resource for those preparing for ballet classes or for those who absolutely love ballet and want to learn more about it in Montessori preschool and early elementary classrooms. 

It includes wonderful step-by-step visuals about how to get ready for ballet class and the order and sequence of the class.

Montessori-inspired Ballet: Math Printable Pack

The Montessori-inspired Ballet: Math Printable Pack is designed for children in Montessori preschool classes. It focuses on numbers, basic addition, skip counting, and ordinal numbers.

This printable pack does include number activities in French, which is a huge bonus for those teaching French in the classroom.

Sunshine absolutely LOVED these math activities. They are absolutely beautiful!

Montessori-inspired: Language Printable Pack

The Montessori-inspired Language Printable Pack is designed for children in Montessori preschool classrooms. It focuses on letter sounds, synonyms, antonyms, colors, and vocabulary.

This printable pack also includes color words in French for those who would like to teach their children how to say and spell them.

Sunshine's favorite printables from this resource were those used in our ballet vocabulary, spelling, and writing activities.

Don't forget to grab your free printable!

Directions on How to Obtain Subscriber Only Freebies

1. Click on the Subscriber's link at the bottom of this post.

2. Subscribe to our free newsletter.

3. Open the thank you message you receive in your e-mail, after subscribing. (Be sure to check your spam folder, as sometimes it ends up there.)

4. Click the confirmation link in the thank you message.

5. Once the confirmation is complete, you will receive another e-mail message with the Subscriber Only Freebies.

6. Click on link.

7. Find the printable pack you are looking for listed in alphabetical order, click on it, and voila!

We hope you enjoy your free printable.

Note: If you are already a newsletter subscriber, open your most recent newsletter. At the bottom you will find a link to the Subscriber Only Freebies page, along with the password in case you forgot it.

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter

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I can think of no other Montessori Sensorial Materials that children love more than the Pink Tower and Brown Stair. They are a staple in every Montessori preschool classroom teaching sensorial and math concepts to all.

Our children have LOVED these materials over the years. Whether they're building that first pink tower or trying extensions, they are so happy when handling these materials. 

I think the proprioceptive and visual input that children receive while working with these materials make them all the more helpful and loved in the classroom.

Montessori Sensorial Materials: Pink Tower and Brown Stair

Some wonder if the Pink Tower and Brown Stair are worth purchasing. I'm here to say 100% yes! 

There are so many things to do with these materials. My kids can't keep their hands off of them.

If you have a child who craves proprioceptive input or visual input like Bulldozer, these materials are a must!

So then the question becomes, what can you do with these materials beyond building towers?

The answer is extensions! 

There are so many ways to use these materials by themselves and together.

You just need to know where to look for some fabulous activity ideas and controls.

Dinomite is definitely a few steps beyond building a basic tower with these sensorial materials, but when I give him a template or control he needs to follow, he starts advancing his skills further, especially when both materials are included in the challenge.

I love his expressions in these photos because they show how much effort and concentration goes into these activities. The photos also show how pleased he is with himself.

The cards may not look challenging, but I assure you they are. To line up every size perfectly takes time and a lot of effort!

You can find several extensions out there. 

One of our favorites is from Montessori Print Shop. I love the challenges the resource includes as they are all so very different.</ p>

The resource also provides multiple levels of difficulty to meet the needs of all children.

No matter what type of extension your child prefers, there's something for everyone.

Some may worry about the weight of these materials along with possible mishaps. 

Truthfully, we've never had an incident. The weight requires children to handle with care. 

Most extension challenges require building from the biggest to the smallest, or similar, so the biggest and most heavy materials aren't really at risk for doing damage.

Now, if you're looking for even more fun resources, especially those that are free, I highly recommend the Pink Tower and Brown Stair Extension Activities from Creciendo con Montessori. This printable is being used in the image above.

They provide so many different extension challenges for kids. All of my children loved them, especially Princess.

Sensorial materials are so important to include in the classroom. The Pink Tower and Brown Stair are no exceptions!

For those who are looking for more sensorial resource for the classroom, be sure to subscribe to our free newsletter by clicking on the link below.

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