Spring is a great time for a pond unit. May is an especially good time for turtle activities since World Turtle Day is May 23. Today, I want to share some Montessori-inspired turtle and tortoise printables and activities from around the blogosphere. Note: This post contains Montessori Helper affilia ...

_{Posted by 23 hours ago} Deb

It’s the 15th of the month, and I have a new post at PreK + K Sharing … perfect for May! Today, I’m sharing the links to free printables I’ve used to create Montessori-inspired flower math activities for preschoolers through first graders. I show how I used the printables to prepare the Montes ...

_{Posted by 5 days ago} Deb

Trillium Montessori is one of our Montessori Monday participants and gives lots of wonderful ideas and inspiration through both the Trillium Montessori blog and videos. (Photo from Learning about Bugs.) You’ll find curriculum ideas as well as the inspiration of seeing Montessori in action in t ...

_{Posted by 6 days ago} Deb

Literature-based unit studies often fit well with Montessori education. Related hands-on activities are great extensions to  sharing books with children. May 13-19 is Children’s Book Week, which is a perfect time to add a literature-based unit study or mini unit. Today, I’d like to share some ideas ...

_{Posted by 7 days ago} Deb

Practical life activities are probably the most important activities in Montessori education because they help children develop qualities that will help in almost every area of life. Those qualities are order, concentration, coordination, and independence. I have a post with lots of practical life r ...

_{Posted by 11 days ago} Deb

May is a perfect time for kids to show appreciation to very special people … both mothers and teachers. For homeschoolers, that can be the same person. Even if you don’t homeschool, gifts that are recommended for kids to make for teachers often work well for mothers and vice versa. In th ...

_{Posted by 13 days ago} Deb

Who can help but enjoy springtime flowers?! “April showers bring May flowers.” What a fun thought. And U.S. Mother’s Day during May brings even more thoughts of flowers. While flower activities are great any time during the spring or summer, May does seem like a natural time to focus on flowers. Her ...

_{Posted by 14 days ago} Deb

From my Google Analytics report for April 2013 Thank you to all my referrers! Top 10 Referring Sites (Not counting sites like Facebook, Pinterest, Google, Twitter, Blogger, and Sulia) 1. PreK + K Sharing 2. No Time for Flash Cards 3. In Lieu of Preschool 4. Kids Activities Blog 5. KHT Montessori 6. ...

_{Posted by 18 days ago} Deb

I never experienced dancing around a Maypole, but I have great memories of preparing May baskets as a child. May Day isn’t a very popular holiday in the United States today, but it is more popular in some parts of the world. May Day provides schools and homeschools a great opportunity to study ...

_{Posted by 20 days ago} Deb

It seems a bit funny to write about Montessori-inspired screen-free activities when Montessori education by nature emphasizes hands-on, screen-free activities. Still, it’s Screen-Free Week, and I want to give some Montessori-inspired ideas that would be fun alternatives to screen time this wee ...

_{Posted by 21 days ago} Deb

Welcome to my calendar of May themed activities for kids. You’ll find all my unit studies and holiday posts listed by themes in my “Should You Use Unit Studies?” post. Here you’ll find lots of themes for May according to holiday or calendar observances. You’ll find more ...

_{Posted by 25 days ago} Deb

Parents are often concerned when they first hear the Montessori term “normalization.” It doesn’t sound like a good thing … more like something trying to make all children think and act the same. In The Absorbent Mind,  Maria Montessori said, “Normalization is the single ...

_{Posted by 27 days ago} Deb

Happy Earth Day! April is a great time to focus on Arbor Day along with Earth Day. National Arbor Day is the last Friday in April, although many states observe Arbor Day on different dates according to their state’s best tree-planting time. You can find a map of Arbor Day dates across America ...

_{Posted by 28 days ago} Deb

I spent last weekend at the 2:1 Conference in Herndon, Virginia, and it was a new, enriching experience for me. Even though I just celebrated my 3rd blogiversary, this was my first blogging conference. I’ve attended lots of Montessori conferences and homeschool conferences, and I’ve now ...

_{Posted by 32 days ago} Deb

It’s my 3rd blogiversary month, and I have another AMAZING giveaway for you … this one sponsored by KHT Montessori! KHT Montessori is giving away a full 12-month online certificate course (May 2013 – May 2014) and a set of all 12 core KHT Montessori Teachers’ Manuals (a $315 ...

_{Posted by 33 days ago} Deb

It’s the 15th of the month, and I have a new post at PreK + K Sharing! Today, I’m sharing the links to free printables I’ve used to create Montessori-inspired Earth Day activities for preschoolers through first graders. I show how I used the printables to prepare the Montessori-inspired activities. ...

_{Posted by 35 days ago} Deb