the calm before the storm..

New school, new classroom, new children! After two weeks of unpacking, sorting, repacking, organizing, cleaning and creating, I put the finishing touches on my new classroom today. This summer it got a complete makeover (including two new teachers): a new kitchen, a new layout, a private bathroom and endless little odds and ends. I will most definitely miss the Toddler room but a Primary class brings a whole new kind of excitement. Here are just a few glimpses of the room.

Peace Poem (Said at Closing Group in AM and PM)

Language

Language (Metal Insets)

Secret Word (PIG)

Nose Blowing

Library/Peace Corner

Birthday Walk Materials

Moon Landing (Part of Solar System Unit)

Sweeping Square, Snack Waiting Chair, Line Up Path

Dishwashing - Practical Life

Afternoon Job Chart

Snack Table

Cultural Corner

Sensorial Area

Rock Painting

Teacher Table: Rain Stick, Bell, Monthly Poem

Mystery Number (Math)

Light/Nature Table in The Peace Corner

crazy fun toddler montessori stuff: what happens in the classroom

here are some fun activities that have been happening in the toddler room the past few months.

threading, stretching: putting "necklaces" on henry the dinosaur

visual object to picture matching: landmarks around the world

adding some penguin pizazz to the broad stair

stretching: rubber bands on peg board

visual object to photo matching: fruit/vegetable seeds

sweeping

drawing in the salt tray

sensorial fun

object to outline matching

fine motor concentration, coordination: marble balancing

exercising facial muscles: blowing pom poms

love a good toddler tea

who doesn't love drinking tea with three year olds? we had a fairly fancy party at school today, our annual Spring Tea. the children prepared fruit kabobs, vegetable pasta salad, pumpkin chocolate muffins and home made hummus and veggies. we also added olives and cape cod potato chips because those are the only things one child will eat! they prepared everything themselves, arranged flowers in vases for their guests, and watercolored the invitations. they set the tables and served themselves and their guests. i had my most productive sewing day ever and made five table cloths and ten cloth napkins. it was a success. we have every allergy ever imaginable and had to get creative with our food menu. it was soy free, nut free, banana free, dairy free and wheat free.

invitations

table setting

flower arrangement party favors

seating labels

olives, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, fruit kabobs

potato chips, pasta salad, fruit kabobs

table setting with a teapot

the whole room

life on the toddler floor

A little late on the update from last school year but the latest news is that I am now teaching in a Toddler room! I have two programs, the morning program has ten children that will all be three by December and the afternoon bunch has a larger age range (oldest turned three in the Fall and youngest in the summer). It has been a lot of fun, exhausting, a little bit of a learning curve but nothing crazy - there obviously are so many similarities between the threes upstairs (in the preschool) and the children who are three or about to be three down here (on the toddler floor). All the children are so capable, lovely and funny. This post is mainly about my classroom. I started arranging and organizing and creating work in August and I feel like it is just now actually coming together. It still needs a little love but I'm happy with how its going. The children are so super busy which means me and the lovely lady, Rallee that I teach with must be doing something right. Here are some pictures of whats happening in the room now!

Sink & Float Table (i think its supposed to be Sink OR Float but that is OK)

Coziest observer chair ever

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work mats, a child's plant and an alone table fitted with dry erase markers and a dry erase board.

our classroom celebrity: the sahnd goat. 

chalkboard hallway

flower arranging shelf

our plant collection (with one sad dying one)

end of our snack shelf, these are our glasses (jam jars)

bookshelves and the cozy house

my favorite work right now

theres that cozy chair

our dinosaur rock garden? can't see to find a good name for this. 

me. and our tissue table. 

that car tracker is never going away. (view from our changing area)

cubbies and tiny cute shoes

morning is currently on the bottom and afternoon on the top, it switches. 

tiny montessori movers

the latest addition to our classroom: the farm table. 

drying rack, laundry basket and clean towels. 

sensory bin with rice and jewels (and some more lovely plants)

dirty dish cart

cleaning/housekeeping area

the cozy waiting chair for when the snack table is full. 

teacher shelf

helper of the day bowl/clips, our lovely music lady and morning and afternoon name tickets

months, days, weather

land air and water demonstration tray

cozy house, the lizard, and bertha. 

you can put a work back on the shelf on top of a green dot. 

our pretty (unfinished) curtains.