The month of September it is a good time to talk about apples. The next few weeks are one of the best times to go apple picking in most of the United States and Canada. I include lessons on the Five Senses during this month and like to tie in an apple tasting day when we talk about the sense of taste. Continue reading “Apples”
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Apple Fun
September is a great time to have fun with apples. Previous post highlighted some activities and lesson ideas to use with apples. Some may be repeated and others may be new on this post. I especially enjoy bringing a variety of apples into the classroom for the children to taste. During this month I like to include lessons on the five senses, and highlight the lesson on taste, a day before our apple tasting activity.
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Summer Activities
Summer activities for the classroom or the home often involve an ocean theme. There is so much one can choose from and share with children. A variety of lessons on things related to an ocean theme can be found in Weeks 34-Day 3 through Weeks 36-Day 5 of the curriculum pages. These include lessons on things such as coral reefs, shells, tide pools, crustaceans, and sponges.
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Read Across America
Read Across America Day is a highlight of each school year for me and the children. This is an annual reading motivation and awareness program to celebrate books and reading that many schools, libraries, communities centers, and homeschool families take part in. It is a nationwide reading celebration. There are many different ways to involve a child’s participation in the program. See what you can do in 2026!
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Winter Activities
Winter is soon to be here in the Northern hemisphere. Many schools do close for a winter break so some of these ideas can be presented for that last week before school closes, or have them ready to go when you return from break, highlighting the new season. Either way, it is important for us to prepare the materials in advance. I find most of my prep work is doen weeks in advance. That is the benefit of having the 40-week curriculum PDFs, so that you can see wha’s upcoming, the examples I provide, and how to accomplish everything needed. Here’s some ideas for the Winter…
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Owls
During this month, we discuss the vertebrate group of birds. It is always fun to include owls as a bird of prey to be highlighted. I always like to order some owl pellets for the children to explore.
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Color Mixing
The youngest children often come to school knowing the names of many colors or very few. Montessori color boxes are used to introduce colors to the children. A variety of activities and songs are also a fun way to help children learn colors. Hap Palmer and Frank Leto both have great songs about colors, which can be easily be found online.
Gardening Lessons for Children
I have decided to share with you some gardening ideas from the past that you can perhaps use with children. Children are naturally drawn to plants and gardens. Maria Montessori said, “There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature, to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature… so that the child may better understand and participate in the marvelous things which civilization creates.”
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Fun with Soil
Children can enjoy exploring with different kinds of soils or dirt. They can compare which soil can hold water best, what kind of living things are found in soil, or just discover what is happening in a small patch of grass in the backyard. An area can be marked off with craft sticks and yarn or rope to be explored.
Younger cildren can draw their findings and older children draw, label and/or write about their discoveries. Perhaps they can look at the patch of grass before a rain and after a rain. Different times of the day can also be recorded. However, your children have a chance get their hands in the dirt, it will be a great!
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Weather
Today, we talk about our Lesson Science 47, which focuses on the weather.
We have talked about the four seasons that make up a year. Ask the children the name of the seasons? During the different seasons, the weather changes. We experience different kinds of weather in different seasons. There are many kinds of weather. So, continue asking questions: What might the weather be like in the Wintertime? How about in the summer? What makes the weather? What is weather?
Let us find out more…
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