Summer Time Fun!

Here Little One enjoys the rain.
Spraying the hose high above him makes him smile and laugh every time.
I haven't been blogging much...summer is here. But we have been crafting lots!
And my wheels have been turning creating activities for my toddler class this fall. I've decided to open an Esty Shop and slowly but surely it will get up and running!
Thank you to all of you who have encouraged me to take this step toward sharing what I love to do! The following is a short list of items soon to appear in my on-line Etsy shop.
I have several different options available for sale.

1.) Reflection Cards are a set of 30 hand painted, laminated cards with dish (inspirational words)~~$15

2.) Comfort Cards are a set of 22 hand painted, ( a bit larger than the Reflection cards) laminated cards with dish (words and phrases to comfort such as 'Let it be')~~$15

3.) 'While You Wait' Cards for expectant mothers are a set of 30 hand painted, laminated cards with dish with words and phrases to both comfort and inspire the future Mama example: "You are a Goddess!" and "Magic within" ~~$15

4.) Children's Affirmation Cards are a set of 20 large hand painted, laminated cards with dish (these cards are intended for both home & classroom use; if you are buying them for a classroom please specify the number of students if more than 20)~~$20

5.) Yoga Position Cards (something NEW I've been working on) are a set of 20 yoga positions, hand painted and laminated includes dish ~~$20

6.) Sentence Starters a set of 15 hand painted, laminated cards with sentence starters printed on them (some examples: "While walking through the woods I saw..." "I opened the box and discovered..." "I heard a loud noise and felt...") with dish ~~$20

If you have another request of idea in mind I can also do custom orders. I once did a set for a friend who was recovering from surgery, she chose some of the words she wanted. Or if you have a favorite color choice, let me know. :)

Also for sale will be prints of my art work and greeting cards as well as note cards featuring Maria Mouse and original cut paper designs!

So bear with me while I get up and running PLEASE I may look computer savvy but honestly, not so much.
I hope you are all enjoying your summers and your kiddos are too!
In PEACE
Montessori Mama

Classroom Affirmations

My end of the year gifts to teachers are complete! Phew, finished and ready to be wrapped then delivered. I made each teacher a 25 card set of Affirmations to share with their future students at morning circle (or whenever).

Together Middle Man and I thought up the sentences and I encourage you to write your own with your children. That, on it's own, was a creative and learning experience for us both.
I brought a set with me to church this weekend and even the older children (ages 11-14) wanted to pick one and seemed to enjoy sharing with the others the card they chose. It's fun and a nice was to connect as a group.

I am selling these sets with bowl/dish for $20 locally. If you live in the area and would like to purchase a set please contact me via email spirals@gwi.net if you want to buy a set and do not live locally still contact me and HOPEFULLY I can get paypal up and running and complete some order requests.

But, I will say this is an easy project to do on your own and with your children; I encourage you to try it yourself and enjoy the process most of all.
In PEACE
Montessori Mama

My favorite List

A few posts back I shared Chick Moorman's 10 Best and Worst things to Say to Your Students, I promised to share my favorite list; so here you have it.
During my training I had the opportunity to attend several lectures given by Sister Anthonita Porta, O.P. I can not say enough wonderful things about Sister Anthonita; she is an inspiring teacher, entertaining and joyous person, a Spiritual Montessorian. I adore her!
This list is from her "Teaching to a Child's Spirit" lecture. During this lecture she talked at length about the differences between Evaluative and Appreciative and Descriptive praise.
The titles pretty much say it all but I will define them briefly for you.
Descriptive Praise:
Praise given that describes child's behavior, quality of work or accomplishments.
Often used when making observations about art work, practical life works, or performances.
Examples:
"I see you created green by mixing yellow and blue."
"I noticed you put away the red rods one at a time and carried them carefully."
Appreciative Praise:
Praise that is given to show appreciation for following ground rules, being helpful, kind etc. (the behavior we desire whatever that may be at the time)
Examples:
"Thank you for raising your hand."
"I appreciated your cooperation on the play ground today."
"I observed that you finished the 100 board, would you like to help our friend Tommy get started with the material? You would! Thank you."
"Thank you for collecting the library books, that was very helpful."
Evaluative Praise:
Sister Anthonita referred to this type of praise as 'meaningless'. She said it is the verbal equivalent to a pat on the head or a gold star sticker. This confused me and most of my fellow students because we were all raised hearing these types of comments and have come accustom to using some of them ourselves. But after she explained I came to understand what she was saying. I personally do often used "Wonderful" and "I'm proud of you." with my own children.
But I also understand her point and try to use my observation skills whenever possible.
Examples:
"Good work."
"Good job"
"Nice work"
"I'm proud of you."
"Fantastic."
"Wonderful"
"You are so good!"
"Perfect!"

Dear Sister, If you are reading this...
These few words can not express my admiration and my appreciation for having met you in my life! Thank you for all you've done for children, teachers, parents, and our earth!

~~In PEACE
Montessori Mama

Water Colors 'Little Man' Style

Tomorrow you turn two years old, today you paint with water colors and make a big colorful mess.
Tonight I kissed your head and put you to bed, my almost two year old.
~~MM

Swirly, that's the best word to discribe it.

Some times this is how I feel. Tonight watching Middle Man's performance as Piglet in Winnie the Pooh made be feel swirly inside. So proud and in awe of him at the same moment. Nervous with him and therefore delighted for him when it was all over. Swirly.
I love being a Mom. As hard as some days can be, I wouldn't trade a second of it for any other job. Not trying to be mushy, maybe just a bit swirly, thanks for reading.
PEACE to you and your little ones.
~~MM

Cut paper cards hand made by me

Our local Co-op wants to sell my collage cards! I'm very excited and wanted to share with all of you. I have to say, I really feel out of my element and have no idea what I'm doing but I welcome the learning. Until now I have only made cards for my church and friends and family, never to sell.
Maria Mouse up-date:
I have decided to self publish Maria Mouse in the Children's House! So I am gearing up for another BIG learning experience. Thank you to all of you who have expressed interest and given me support through this process. The folks at Parent Child Press have been WONDERFUL and even though they passed on publishing Maria Mouse, they are going to publish another one of my stories for children called When I Make Silence, it's about making Silence as a group in the Montessori classroom. I'll let you know more when I know more.
Thanks Again!
~~MM

Just because...

I made this and wanted to share. The child in me. My brother and his family are visiting this weekend and my little house is full of energy and noise. I love it!
PEACE to all of you and yours.
~~MM

Pick a Card, Any Card

So these are my new pass-the-time (Ha-Ha) craft.
Seriously, I really enjoy doodling with water color paints and can do so even when looking after my small child. I keep my paints & brushes ready and water is always close (of course it is with my little guy around). When he is finger painting, I paint too. When he is occupied with an activity, so am I..paint doodling I call it. When he is off and running, I sent it aside and then when he is in bed I find it again and cut it up into little slips of paper. I write words on them (words of encouragement/inspiration/comfort) and when time allows I have them laminated at my local UPStore!

Woo-La! Affirmation cards.

For those of you not familiar with the concept: You keep a dish of these special words/phrases near your bedside or where you start your day (ours are near the bowl that holds the car keys). Each morning/evening you choose one card randomly and that is your word to reflect on.
I used them in my classroom when it was some one's birthday. The birthday child would pick a card and that word would be their word for the year to come. It's a wonderful tool for teaching new vocabulary words and sharing a personal moment with your students. Other times we would just pick them at circle time, pick a card and read it out-loud, what does it mean to you?

I made a set of them for my 3rd grader's classroom, the set was made up of phrases, I explained that all the statements were true of who-ever chooses them, if not when they picked them than after. If you haven't had an opportunity to encourage peace for example, after choosing that card you will.
Examples:
I am an artist ~ I make healthy choices ~ I encourage peace ~ I sing beautifully ~ I read well ~ I try my best ~ I care for the Earth

The teacher told me, they use them every day as a way to regroup after recess. The children look forward to choosing different words or phrases in relationship to what is going on for them in their lives.
[And it really does work! When I was expecting my third child (but did not know it at the time)
I pulled the following cards in a row: expectancy, waiting, fate, choice, and birth!
I am not making this up!]

So remember during this holiday break, to nurture the creative spirits not only in your children, but in all of you! Take time to paint-doodle. Make something with your hands, get messy and have fun!
We are ALL Artists after all.
In PEACE
Happy Holidays
~~MM