New Materials

I've been working on a few new materials while we are on a short break from school.  Next week we'll start up again for a month or so, and then we'll really get into things in August.  E's friend, our neighbor across the street, will be joining us a couple of days a week, starting next Thursday!  E is excited to have a friend for school time, and I'm excited to work with two children, instead of just one.

E loves butterflies.  And since she got over her fear of ants, she pretty much likes all kinds of bugs.  She is fascinated by them, as are most children.  I put together this felt board to teach the different parts of a butterfly.  The only thing missing are the legs, I thought she'd just loose 6 tiny felt legs. 

Even though E can't read, I have labels for each part.  She enjoys placing the labels on the picture.  She usually says the right body part, but doesn't have the correct label.

The other new material I have made recently is the sound cylinders.  I made these out of baby food jars.  I gave them a good spray painting, and filled them with different items from my pantry.  I have 6 different pairs.  Inside are things like cornmeal, dried beans, oats, and rice.  I measured them so the amount in each is the same.  E loves this work, and gets so excited when she finds a matching pair.

Next up on my list of things to make are the metal insets.  I'm planning on tracing our geometric cabinet shapes and making the insets out of cardboard.  E has been interested in tracing things recently, so I think it's time to start!

Montessori Touch Boards

I have been a little remiss in my posting.  E and I are doing our work each morning, but I don't feel like I have anything new or exciting to share with you.  Until today!  I finally got started on some of the sensorial materials that I want to make rather than purchase, and this morning I made two touch boards while E was doing her rug work.  I have found that it is easier for her to stick with her work if mommy is also working on something.  She is less likely to ask me for help until she's really tried it, and more likely to work for a longer period of time.  So today, E worked on button sorting and stacking cups while I sanded plywood boards and cut papers to make my touch boards.  Then I used some spray adhesive to stick it all down.  E was very excited about the result, and I only let her use the two-texture board.  I didn't finish the four-texture board until it was time for us to go to a playdate.

 

 

Pretty good work for a morning!

The first board is superfine sandpaper on one side, and the shiny side of freezer paper on the other side.

The second board is four different textures: superfine sandpaper, textured scrapbooking paper (kind of like parchment paper, but a bit more textured), plain white paper, and shiny freezer paper.

I have another three boards that are waiting for me to get out my circular saw.  I am going to cut these ones up and make four pairs of textures to match.  The idea is that you use a blindfold with them and just match them by touch.  We'll see if I can get E to wear a blindfold . . . .