Can I just say that I love authors who make it easy to work with their books? Jan Brett (whose work I adore) is one of those artists. On her website—www.janbrett.com–you will find tons of fantastic teacher helps and all of them have her delightful characters and illustrations worked into the activities. There are alphabet cards, classroom signs, character masks, phonogram flash cards, matching games, and even instructions on how to draw your own characters–and that’s just to name a …

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I know, I know. I said I was going to review The Absorbent Mind next. But after I said that, I picked up my copy of Teach Me to Do it Myself: Montessori Activities for You and Your Child and felt like it made for a nice compare/contrast review right after my review of Teaching Montessori in the Home: The Pre-School Years. Don’t worry, The Absorbent Mind really is next–I promise. Oh, and just a warning. I think I use …

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Here’s a glimpse at what Pearl has been working with the past couple of days. Prepare yourself for lots of pictures.
See my new cabinet? And doesn't the sight of tidy trays of work just make you happy? Or am I the only one…
You know what else makes me happy? This great plaque that my friend gave me. What a weird word–plaque.
As a sidenote, here's my current solution to little hands that want to get into everything. Works like a charm.
Sandpaper …

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Teaching Montessori in the Home: The Pre-School Years by Elizabeth Hainstock
Introduction
This small volume, only 115 pages long, is a lovely little introduction to Montessori methods and a guide to creating and using Montessori materials in your home. Hainstock has created a glimpse into the Montessori world with brief overviews of Maria Montessori’s work and life, how to create a learning environment in your home, how to set up and demonstrate the various exercises (practical-life, sensorial, reading and writing, and arithmetic), …

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Remember that great treasury of picture book classics that I mentioned here? Well, it has brought another enchanting gem into our family library.

Goodnight Moon written by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd
Although I was more familiar with this text than with Harold and the Purple Crayon, I’m almost ashamed to admit that it wasn’t part of our collection of picture books until recently. In one word, Goodnight Moon is lovely. Lovely text whose rhythm is practically a lullaby, lovely illustrations …

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All right. Here’s another lovely little art experience from this book:

First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos by MaryAnn F. Kohl.
Since I already reviewed the book in my last post, let’s get right to the fun stuff: Ice cube color theory! The book’s version of this activity is a bit more complex and has several variations. I chose to keep it to the very basics for now.
Let me start by saying, this project has been a major hit. …

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This week, we’ve started having art time every afternoon. It’s a great way to spend time together and teaches so many things: the joy of manipulating colors and mediums, the endless possibilities found in artistic expression, and patience (if you happen to be a mommy like me who gets a bit anxious about paint-covered toddler hands), just to name a few.
This is our lovely guide book:
Please ignore the funky shadows. Amateur photographer in residence.

First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers …

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I have a confession to make. Up until last month, I’d never heard of or read Crockett Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon. Can you believe it? I guess it’s possible that it was read to me as a child. I’ll have to ask my mom about that one. Can you believe his name was Crockett? I kind of love it. Definitely has character.
About a month ago, I ordered this fantastic treasury, HarperCollins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child’s …

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Okay. I need your help.
I have this dream, see? A nice long low bookshelf with neatly arranged trays of carefully placed Montessori work. In this dream, Pearl would see the inviting display, walk over to the shelf, choose her activity, and carry it to her table to work with it. Like this:
No bookshelf, but you get the idea.
When she was done, she would take the tray back to the shelf and decide which work she’d like to do next. A …

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Someday, we’ll live in a home with enough rooms to spare one for a homeschool classroom. At the present, we live in a modest condo. But I refuse to let lack of space get the best of me. If anything, our current lack of space highlights how homeschooling is becoming a lifestyle choice. Drawings, cuttings, learning toys, and books are all over the place and I can’t say I mind it that way. I think it makes it easy for …

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