Enter the Two-Year-Olds!

Miss K and her crew couldn't be with us on Tuesday, so Miss D led Circle Time instead (thanks, Miss K, for leaving us so well prepared!). Miss D talked to the kids about all the things we need to do to keep our bodies healthy, and then she focused on exercise. She asked the kids about different kinds of exercise and what kinds of exercise they like to do, and then she led the kids in some calisthenics (Have I mentioned that Miss D is about 23 weeks pregnant? Thanks again Miss D!)

Miss D's son came excited to work with the sandpaper letters and sand tray, which was the final item on the long list we had made for him the previous week. He worked with about 15 letters...



...and then we made a new list. He chose metal insets, bead sequencing, the fabric box, and the feel and find puzzle. He also did water transfer and cutting practice:


Miss C's son, who is quite the puzzle guy, chose a horse puzzle...


...a fish puzzle...


...the 3-D Feel & Find puzzle...


...and then he went big-time and did North America:


He also worked with the pumpkin lifecycle 3-part cards that I downloaded for free (thanks!!) from Montessori for Everyone.


My daughter chose cutting practice, the teen bead hanger, the fabric box, and the map of the United States:


One very exciting development in our classroom was the introduction of the 2-year-olds! Typically, my 2yo and Miss D's 2yo stay in the playroom, and Miss D leads them in crafts, play-dough, stickering, etc. My daughter gets a lot of time in the Montessori classroom outside of "preschool," though, and she does pretty well depending on how well-fed and -napped she is. On this particular day, she was feeling pretty sad on the other side of the baby gate, and - I don't know, call me a softie - I took pity on her and invited her and Miss D's daughter over to the Montessori side. I don't know if this will be a daily thing (can I get this toothpaste back in the tube?), but it went pretty well!

My daughter chose water transfer with a medicine dropper, the wooden cylinders...


...and then my 4yo daughter presented the geometric solids to her:


To me, this is one of the most appealing aspects of the Montessori method. My daughters worked so nicely together, and it was great to see my older daughter's command of the subject and obvious delight in teaching her younger sister.

Miss D's daughter chose a one-to-one correspondence activity with tongs...


...pouring...


...and bear sorting:


For Music Time, Miss D led the kids in lots of movement songs to go with the day's exercise theme, and she also introduced a tooth-brushing song to reinforce the healthy habits we're discussing this week.

We closed with the "I" verse and story from My ABC Bible Verses: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," Philippians 4:13.