Practical Life: Montessori Snack Time!

I've been eying these cooking cards by Kinderlings sold at Montessori Services for a long time now. I debated spending the money on them, but I'm glad I finally did. My kids love, love, love to help cook and they were so excited to get these in the mail.

To be honest, I don't think the description on the website does them justice. These cards are actually a Practical Life Montessori cooking curriculum!

They talk the "teacher" through the process of setting up the snack area and the activities are arranged in sequential order from simplest to more difficult in true Montessori fashion.

For example:
First it has you setting out a simple already cut/made snack. The child serves themselves snack on a napkin or in a cup. They then carry it to the table and when done they throw away the napkin or paper cup.
Next you would pre-cut an apple, and the child would take one slice and chop it up into pieces, put it on a napkin and carry it to the table, etc.

Once the kids have had a lesson on dish washing, you would introduce a dish washing station for them to use dishes and then wash them instead of using napkins or paper cups.

The recipes become more complicated, like cutting one apple slice, one orange slice and adding yogurt to make a fruit salad. They also have more complex salads and snacks later on and even have some ethnic recipes that can tie in to cultural studies.

I love that each step is on one card for the children to see easily. The teachers cards advise to set up the snack making area like an assembly line from left to right, with trays containing necessary ingredients with the corresponding card.

The teachers cards are awesome in that they tell you how to prepare ahead of time for each recipe, very "a la" Montessori. These cards make it so easy to implement an excellent Practical Life snack station for the kids. I had been trying to create a snack program on my own, but luckily now I don't have to!

I can easily see my kids 7, 6, 4, and 3 using these at different levels because the recipes and steps are very adaptable. I love that they will learn to follow directions, while understanding that each step is important.

Let me know what you think! I'd especially love to hear about how you do snack in your Montessori home school or program.

"Summertime, and the living is easy"

copyrighted photo by my handsome husband

Wouldn't that be nice?

Life is never really quite what you expect it to be. What's that they say?
"If you want to make God laugh, make plans."

I asked my husband to stop me if I came up with any ideas to start a new business. It seems my mind is always working and always coming up with something new, although this time around it was him who approached me with an awesome idea that we're going to work on in the "slower" winter months. Anyhow, I told him I was just going to concentrate on the kids schooling and try to double that as my hobby. If anything, for some variety, I would take up baking and sewing.
My plans for this summer were to visit at least once a week one of the following because we have memberships: the zoo, botanic gardens, aquarium, and local kids hands on science museum in addition to our weekly trip to the library.

We were off to a good start at the beginning, but got off track with a "spur of the moment" trip to visit family in another state. It was lots of fun and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but I'm the type of person who is really happy following a routine with a little bit of flexibility. Once I get off that track, I'm kind of like an ant who gets off course when a twig or stone is put in the way of it's path.

Besides taking our out of state trip, I recently got involved with a group of friends wanting to start a Catholic Montessori school. So far, it has taken a lot of my time and brain power! However, a valuable lesson I have learned is to not put too much on my plate and remember to take care of my primary responsibilites.

On a side note, two weeks ago I got my four wisdom teeth taken out at the same time and my lower right lip and chin are still numb! I've been slow to heal and can't really eat much solids so I've been drinking a lot of V8 and eating yogurt and berries lovingly made by my husband. Looking at the silver lining, I've unintentionally lost a few pounds and could probably stand to loose a few more (5 babies in almost 8 years of marriage will give you a good baby pouch!).

So far, summer has been busy, but we've definitely had some great moments in there. Birthday parties, 4th of July, family sleep out in the clubhouse, concerts in the park, as well as many more to surely come.

Anyway,the UPS man has been good to us and brought some cool Montessori resources for this coming school year. I'm excited to share my excitement for the goodies with you, in hopes that it will help you in your own homeschooling/schooling endeavors. Stay tuned!

Montessori Math

Here is a link to a great article on Montessori math. You can also find other articles of interest regarding Montessori here as well: Education Infos

Religious Education: Life in Jesus Christ by Maria Montessori and more..

To my French or Italian readers, have any of you ever read or come across the following books by Maria Montessori?

Book 1: Religious Education: Life in Jesus Christ / Maria Montessori
Livello bibliografico
Monografie
Autore
Montessori, Maria
Titolo
L'éducation religieuse : la vie en Jésus-Christ / Maria Montessori
Mater.
Altre respons.
avant propos du R. P. Pierre Faure
PUBBLICAZIONE
DESCRIZIONE FISICA
Luogo
Paris
Estensione
207 p., [21] p. di tav.
Editore
Desclée De Brouwer
Illustrazioni
Data
1956
Dimensioni
Luogo stampa
Paris
Materiale allegato
Tipografo
Imprimatur


Data di stampa
1955


Lingua
FRE


Paese
FR


Collocazione
FSMM 1956FR EDUC/1956FR EDUCbis/1956FR EDUCter
ISBN
NoteTit. orig.: La vita in Cristo (1.ed., 1931)


BOOK 2, Life in Christ: Liturgical years / Maria Montessori:
Livello bibliografico
Monografie
Autore
Montessori, Maria
Titolo
La vita in Cristo : anno Liturgico / Maria Montessori
Mater.
Altre respons.
PUBBLICAZIONE
DESCRIZIONE FISICA
Luogo
Milano
Estensione
88 p.
Editore
Garzanti
Illustrazioni
Data
1949
Dimensioni
Luogo stampa

Materiale allegato
Tipografo


Data di stampa


Lingua
ITA


Paese
IT


Collocazione
FSMM 1949IT VITA/1949IT VITAbis
ISBN
NoteCalendario liturgico, si veda una precedente 1.ed. nel 1931

Indice:
" Calendario Anno liturgico Natale e Pasqua Il tempo in relazione a Cristo I due cicli Tempo di Natale Tempo dell'Epifania Il ciclo di Pasqua La Quaresima La Vittoria Il colore bianco Il cero pasquale Le feste del tempo di Pasqua Pentecoste Pasqua di Rose Il numero pasquale Tempo dopo Pentecoste La festa del Corpus Domini Il calendario liturgico Le Quattro Tempora La vita dell'uomo Fine e principio d'anno."

Index:
" Calendar Liturgical year Christmas and Easter Time in relation to Christ The two cycles Christmas Time Epiphany time The cycle of Easter Lent Victory The white The paschal candle Holidays time for Easter Pentecost Easter Rose The number of Easter Time after Pentecost The feast of Corpus Christi The liturgical calendar Four Tempora Human life End and the beginning of the year. "

Blessed...

Today my eldest son, (6 going on 7) fell and cut his leg open. He sliced his leg right on top of another scar he already had. He takes after his mama in that he cuts and bruises so easily.

My heart was absolutely broken as I held his little skin together trying to hold it closed with gauze and band aids. I called my husband and had him take our son to the doctor for stitches. When he came home, as we sat at the table together I said to him, "Pobrecito mijito". Meaning, "My poor little son". At this, my boy looks up at me and says, "Mami, don't feel sorry for me. I'm offering this up. Feel sorry for Jesus and how he suffered for our sins". I was just in awe at his words. Such wise words said with such confidence. My little son. I get choked up thinking of his words to me. How I love him, how I love them all. Each and every little gift God has blessed me with. They are truly His, and I see Him working in them and through them and I blessed because of it.

Dreaming, Praying, Hoping...

This is the place of my dreams for a traditional Catholic Montessori school. It used to be a spa, and has beautiful wood and tile floors inside. Directly behind are a few beautiful acres for sale as well. This place seems perfect for going from a 3-6 class and growing beyond with the lower, upper elementary and high school grades.

"Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." ~ St. Francis of Assisi

I have the following in one of my earlier blog posts titled, Childhood, Pure and True but I will repeat it again below:

-I will leave you with a snippet from the book (there are much more detailed descriptions in the book), in which Maria Montessori is asked what her ideal school set up would be if money were no object:
"Dr. Montessori: I would have a little fountain in the garden with a pond containing fish. The children themselves would look after the fish, and I would have a little tablet near the pond - a replica of one of the ancient inscriptions from the catacombs showing the fish as the ancient symbol of Christianity.
Question: Where would you have your pond?
Dr. Montessori: In the cloister garden. You told me that expense was to be no object! So, adjoining the Atrium, I would have a special garden for the children. The ideal thing would be to have the school arranged like a monastery round a little cloister. The church could be on one side, the Atrium on another, and on the other two the ordinary schoolrooms. I would have statues at the end of the cloister walks to which the children could bring flowers. The children could play in the cloister garden, and I would like a tree in it with a little house up in the branches into which the children could climb, as they had in one school I visited in California. In this garden I would like the children to keep as many as possible of the Evangelical Animals and Plants.
Question: What do you mean by the "evangelical" animals and plants?Dr. Montessori: I mean the various animals and plants that play a conspicuous part in Bible history and symbolism. For instance I would like the children to have a pet lamb to remind them of the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." They could have a dovecot and keep doves, because of the two turtle-doves our Lady offered up at the Temple, and the dove that was sent out of the Ark and also because the dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. They could keep bees, too, and have some candles made with the wax their own bees had made. These could be blessed and placed on their school altar. Nature study would form an essential element in the work of the Atrium. In my description of our work at Barcelona I have indicated the reason for this, viz., that from the observation of created things the child's mind should be raised to their Creator. As the psalmist says: "The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork."
-The Child in the Church by Maria Montessori and others, Edited by E.M. Standing- pp. 40-41.

Wish List: $2 Million Please!

How do you raise 2 million dollars to start a traditional Catholic Montessori school including academics with certified teachers, atrium for Catechesis of the Good shepherd, gardens and farm? ;) Just wondering...