THE MOSTLY
MONTESSORI MAMA
THE MOSTLY
MONTESSORI MAMA
Weekly themed activities
Weekly themed activities
Each theme includes one structured activity per weekday for toddlers.
Books, songs, & videos related to the subject are a wonderful way to reinforce!
Local mamas: let me know if you need any supplies for a small fee to cover expenses.
Halloween
October 26, 2020
Halloween
October 26, 2020
Monday: Trick-or-treat, smell my feet - make ghost footprints by painting feet with white paint
Tuesday: Jack-o-lanterns - cut out orange pumpkins and several eye/nose/mouth black pieces for children to make their own jack-o-lanterns
Wednesday: Counting bones - write numbers 1-5 on squares. Put in a basket with q-tips for children to count the "bones"
Thursday: Pumpkin hunt & paint - hide a pumpkin for each child and let them find it! Use flashlights, binoculars, etc. Then, let them paint the pumpkin.
Friday: Felt monsters - cut out monster shapes from felt and present with googly eyes, pipe cleaners, etc. Let children make their own monsters
Pumpkins
October 19, 2020
Pumpkins
October 19, 2020
Monday: Buy a pumpkin and provide some nails and a hammer. Let children hammer the nails into the pumpkin!
Tuesday: Fill a bin with water and soap and give the children pumpkins to wash with sponges and/or brrushes
Wednesday: Cut a tunnel through a pumpkin and put train tracks through it for a fall themed train ride!
Thursday: Make pumpkin playdough
Friday: Seed names - write out names and give a bowl of dried pumpkin seeds for children to "trace" their name with
Leaves
October 12, 2020
Leaves
October 12, 2020
Monday: Leaf color sort - take a nature walk and collect leaves of all different colors. Put out 5 pieces of construction paper (yellow, green, red, orange, yellow) and have children place the matching leaves on the color paper.
Tuesday: Color a print out or drawing of the letter L. Use a tape measure or ruler to measure the leaves from Monday.
Wednesday: Leaf raking - using colored tape, make a square on the floor. Put real or fake leaves all over the floor and give the child a broom to sweep them all into the square.
Thursday: Use scissors to cut up leaves from Monday! Littler ones can rip or crinkle them.
Friday: Oobleck and leaves - mix cornstarch and water and add fake leaves for children to find mixed in! This is a messy one!
*Bonus: place the leaves in a laminating sheet and laminate, then tape to the window for a fall leaf suncatcher
Trees
October 5, 2020
Trees
October 5, 2020
Monday: Contact Paper tree - go on a nature walk and collect leaves. Draw a tree on a piece on contact paper and tape to the wall, so children can stick the leaves to it. Color in a giant letter T.
Tuesday: Print photos of an oat tree, birch tree, pine tree and apple tree. Also print photos of an acorn, white bark, a pinecone and an apple. Teach the children which come from which tree!
Wednesday: Alphabet acorns - Draw acorns on large white sheet of paper with a letter in each. Cut own brown acorns the same size with the same letters for them to match.
Thursday: Apple tree rolls - Use empty paper towel rolls cut up different sizes for children to balance apples on. Talk about how the shorter they are, the easier it is to balance and why.
Friday: Pipe cleaner tree - make a tree out of 2 pipe cleaners, bend the bottoms and tape to hold down/stand up tree. Cut little foams or paper leaves and put a hole so they can decorate the tree with leaves.
Farm
September 28, 2020
Things you'll need: book about farms, animal figurines, mud/grass/hay/corn kernels/oats, milk, honey, hard boiled egg, printer or drawing materials
Farm
September 28, 2020
Things you'll need: book about farms, animal figurines, mud/grass/hay/corn kernels/oats, milk, honey, hard boiled egg, printer or drawing materials
Monday: Sensory bin animals - fill a cookie sheet or muffin tin with pudding (mud) for pigs, ripped up grass for cows, hay for horses, corn for goats, water for ducks, oats for sheep.
Tuesday: Chicken eggs - draw or print a photo of a chicken, and enough eggs to write a letter of your child's name on each. Help them unscramble the eggs to spell their name
Wednesday: Farm animal & product match - place a figurine or photo of a cow, bee and chicken on a tray. Place a cup of milk, spoonful of honey and a hard boiled egg on the tray. Have the children match them!
Thursday: Print or draw photos of farm animals vertically (left side of the paper) and across from each animal draw a barn. To connect, make lines in zigzags, slopes, etc and have children follow the line with their finger - bigger kids can trace.
Friday: Color in a giant letter F & visit a farm to see the animals. We love Brooksby - bring some fruits & veggies! They also have a wonderful play area.
Apples
September 21, 2020
Things you'll need: book about Apples, printed letter A, apples of different colors, red/yellow/green construction paper sheets, red paint
Apples
September 21, 2020
Things you'll need: book about Apples, printed letter A, apples of different colors, red/yellow/green construction paper sheets, red paint
Monday: cut up tissue paper and decorate the letter "A" with the pieces using glue to stick them on. Then, get out 3 sheets of paper: red, yellow and green. Give at least 1 apple of each color and have the child put them on the matching colors. We found this activity here. Talk about the life cycle of an apple.
Tuesday: Parts of an apple - take a sheet of paper and write out the parts of the apple (core, skin, seeds, flesh, stem, leaf), and take an apple apart showing the child the names and letting them explore
Wednesday: Apple stamping - cut an apple in half horizontally and stamp in red paint
Thursday: Go apple picking - we love Connors Farm!
Friday: Bake applesauce. We peeled the apples, baked them, then cut them and put them in the blender with brown sugar. YUM!
England
September 14, 2020
Things you'll need: continent puzzle, sensory bin, dried beans, sensory bin, blocks, printed flag of England, tea, paper plate or paper, spinner (optional), book about England
England
September 14, 2020
Things you'll need: continent puzzle, sensory bin, dried beans, sensory bin, blocks, printed flag of England, tea, paper plate or paper, spinner (optional), book about England
Monday: Sensory Bin - Continent Puzzle - every month when we do a country theme, we revisit working on the continents and finding which one the country belongs in. We sing the continent song, and I hide the continent puzzle pieces in the sensory bin filled with dried beans. I recommend a subscription to Little Global Citizens if you'd like your lessons to include a lot about culture and geography.
Tuesday: Big Ben - show the children a photo of Big Ben and encourage them to replicate with building blocks, and a clock to go on top
Wednesday: Flag - provide a drawing or print out of the flag along with the colors to the flag in markers, crayons, chalk crayons, paint- any mix and match! For kids 2+ see if they can follow instructions to color the flag (the cross is red, and the rectangles are blue)
Thursday: Tea - Wear or make a fancy hat and have a tea party! Then sing London Bridge (we sung in the bounce house while they ran in circles until I "took the key and locked them up" repeatedly)
Friday: Make a clock on a paper plate. If you have a spinner, you can add clock hands that spin. Practice numbers and counting. You can also do this with chalk outside and jump to the numbers called out.
Bugs
May 11, 2020
Things you'll need: pipe cleaner, googly eyes, playdoh, 5 rocks, red & black paint, kinetic sand (or dirt), play bugs, Elmer's glue, coffee beans, yellow pompoms, egg carton, tongs (or spoon/clothespin)
Bugs
May 11, 2020
Things you'll need: pipe cleaner, googly eyes, playdoh, 5 rocks, red & black paint, kinetic sand (or dirt), play bugs, Elmer's glue, coffee beans, yellow pompoms, egg carton, tongs (or spoon/clothespin)
Monday: Playdoh Bugs - cut up pipe cleaners and put out googly eyes and make some bugs out of playdoh!
Tuesday: Lady Bug Rocks - Take a walk and search for 5 smooth circle/oval rocks. Paint them like lady bugs. Give each bug a number on it's belly & corresponding amount of dots on its back, so your child can visualize the number amount.
Wednesday: Sensory bin - Play bugs in kinetic sand
Thursday: Ant Farm - use Elmer's glue to draw a large squiggle on a piece of paper. Have child glue coffee beans and make their own "ant farm"
Friday: Bee Pollen Transfer - using a recycled egg carton, fill one side with yellow pompoms. Provide tongs for your child to transfer the "pollen" from one side to the other. For more of a challenge, write down numbers or roll a die and have the child put the correct number of pompoms in the carton
*Special Week* My sweet girl is turning 2, so this week is all about her. Feel free to follow or adjust to your own child's favorite things!
May 4, 2020
Things you'll need: 26 rocks, paint (ideally patio paint and fabric paint for letters), jars of spices
Monday: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - a favorite book of hers, we will read it and play with rocks that have letters painted on them. Collect 26 letters outside, then paint them with capital or lowercase letters. If your child knows both, use this activity to have them match lowercase to uppercase. We love matching them to Montessori sandpaper letter cards, but you can use anything and even write them out.
Tuesday: Make a book for your child. You can print photos or draw. We are very into the "If you see a Tiger" type books, so I made her her own with her favorite animals. I drew the animals, wrote "if you see a *insert animal*....*insert sound or action*", laminated, put two hole punches and tied together with ribbon.
Wednesday: Movie Day! Make a movie theater inside or outside. If it's warm enough, I plan to set up a movie on the laptop in her bounce house filled with pillows and blankets. If it's too cold, we will set up something fun inside. If your kids are a little older, it's a great chance to practice using money to "buy" snacks! Pinterest has tons of ideas for at home movie theater days!
Thursday: "YES" DAY. This is a favorite for kids, and is very insightful for adults. Simply say YES today, as much as you can. Obviously within reason, but throw out any agenda for the day and let your child take the lead. It always makes me realize how many times I really can say yes to my child.
Friday: Stacking spices- Toddlers love to stack, This super easy actvity keeps them buy for quite a while. Simply give them all the plastic spice containers and watch how focused they become on stacking them over and over again!
As a bonus, here are some of my daughter's favorite things:
- Color Dropz - add to the tub for colored water
- Her window bird feeder
- This wall fish tank
- This running sink that recycles the same water over and over
- This game that can actually be played by toddlers that doesn't require reading or skills they haven't yet mastered
*Special Week* My sweet girl is turning 2, so this week is all about her. Feel free to follow or adjust to your own child's favorite things!
May 4, 2020
Things you'll need: 26 rocks, paint (ideally patio paint and fabric paint for letters), jars of spices
Monday: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - a favorite book of hers, we will read it and play with rocks that have letters painted on them. Collect 26 letters outside, then paint them with capital or lowercase letters. If your child knows both, use this activity to have them match lowercase to uppercase. We love matching them to Montessori sandpaper letter cards, but you can use anything and even write them out.
Tuesday: Make a book for your child. You can print photos or draw. We are very into the "If you see a Tiger" type books, so I made her her own with her favorite animals. I drew the animals, wrote "if you see a *insert animal*....*insert sound or action*", laminated, put two hole punches and tied together with ribbon.
Wednesday: Movie Day! Make a movie theater inside or outside. If it's warm enough, I plan to set up a movie on the laptop in her bounce house filled with pillows and blankets. If it's too cold, we will set up something fun inside. If your kids are a little older, it's a great chance to practice using money to "buy" snacks! Pinterest has tons of ideas for at home movie theater days!
Thursday: "YES" DAY. This is a favorite for kids, and is very insightful for adults. Simply say YES today, as much as you can. Obviously within reason, but throw out any agenda for the day and let your child take the lead. It always makes me realize how many times I really can say yes to my child.
Friday: Stacking spices- Toddlers love to stack, This super easy actvity keeps them buy for quite a while. Simply give them all the plastic spice containers and watch how focused they become on stacking them over and over again!
As a bonus, here are some of my daughter's favorite things:
- Color Dropz - add to the tub for colored water
- Her window bird feeder
- This wall fish tank
- This running sink that recycles the same water over and over
- This game that can actually be played by toddlers that doesn't require reading or skills they haven't yet mastered
Ponds
April 27, 2020
Things you will need: water or water beads, construction paper - green, yellow, orange, paper plate *optional, food coloring, cream cheese, goldfish snacks, a net *optional
Ponds
April 27, 2020
Things you will need: water or water beads, construction paper - green, yellow, orange, paper plate *optional, food coloring, cream cheese, goldfish snacks, a net *optional
Monday: Pond sensory bin- Fill a bin, bowl or Tupperware with rocks from outside (bring a bag on a walk with you), little pieces of bark for lily pads, sticks, frogs, turtles...anything you can find that lives in a pond.
Tuesday: Lily Pad Hop- Cut out large circles from construction paper. Cut a triangle out of each circle (think: pacman). Put a different number with corresponding amount of dots on each circle. Shout out a number for your child to go jump on the correct lily pad.
Wednesday: Make a duck- Work on those fine motor skills by having your child rip and/or cut yellow construction paper. Then, have them glue it to a paper plate. Add and orange beak and some eyes! Sing "Five Little Ducks" with the ducks from your Literally Enrichment Bag.
Thursday: Make snack together- add some blue food coloring to cream cheese. Let your child put on a bagel, and add some goldfish on top. Yum! Then, stack turtles and frogs by their size. (Use for playdoh play this week.)
Friday: Explore a local pond- don't forget your mask :-)
This week's playdoh activity is using blue playdough to make a pond (if you really want to get creative, try making it from scratch) and use the frogs and turtles from Thursday to put in your pond. Add rocks, fish, whatever else you can think of!
The Earth
The Earth
April 20, 2020
Things you will need: grass seed, soil, cup. shaving cream, food coloring, photo of child, construction paper (optional)
Monday: Plant seeds of grass in a small cup or pot, gluing a photo of your child's face to the front so that the grass will become their hair!
Tuesday: Spray some shaving cream into two piles- add green to one and blue to another. Offer a paper plate for your child to paint the earth their shaving cream.
Wednesday: Happy Earth Day! Paint with feet: draw a large circle and pour some blue and green paint dots. Children can step in it to spread it around and color in the earth! Tip: you can do this in the tub to contain the mess! Put them in their bathing suits, rince off the paint and fill the "swimming pool" for some more fun!
Thursday: Go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt
Friday: Land vs. sea animals: use animal figurines or print/cut out magazine photos of animals. Place a blue and green piece of construction paper and talk about which animals live in the sea and which live on land. You can even use the shaving cream again if it was a hit!
Click here to download this week's playdoh mat. Offer blue and green playdoh to color in the oceans and continents. Make small "playdoh snakes" to trace the letters EARTH.