On the PL Shelves This Week....

"Peaceful Feet" This isn't so much a Practical Life work as much as a Grace and Courtesy or community building activity but in our room it was born out of necessity for busy twos! Running is a common trend among toddlers; they can help themselves! So I put this work together to encourage slower movements and to bring a focus on deliberate and purposeful walking. I simply traced a shoe of Little one's and cut out felt foot prints (about 10) included in the basket are a peace dove (Christmas ornament) and a Tibetan bell with a pipe cleaner handle. The idea is the children set out the foot prints (to tread lightly and slowly upon) and carry either the dove or the bell as they walk peacefully along. a younger child would carry the dove, an older child the bell, being careful not to make it ring. This could be done along a tape line or around a circle rug or anywhere really.



This bunny was a candy box. I used sharpie markers to color in the dishes to match with corresponding color pom-poms. Include wooden tongs and this tweezing activity can simply be tweezing to transfer OR a more challenging color matching activity.



The next two photos are of another color matching work I created using playdough container covers (the color circles) and a dollar store storage jug with a twist off top. I cut a hole in the handle of the top and used the tape to cover any possible sharp plastic. I realize the dark tape takes away from the presentation but it doesn't seem to deter from the toddlers wanting to do this activity. They LOVE this, from the twist off top they can do themselves, to the "curplunk" sound the lids make as they fall in. This is a big hit (and it cost just under $3 to pull together). If these types of playdough lids are not available to you, milk container lids would work also. They don't come in bright colors but you could cover them or paint them or even affix an image to them to create matching pairs.




What's most important is to have fun! Use what's available, during these tough times, we all need to spend less money and to re~use materials when possible.
Happy Spring!
In PEACE ~ Jennifer

The Peace Box

While at the AMS conference I came across this beautiful addition to my classroom. It's called The Peace Box and it was designed by an amazing toddler Montessori teacher Marcia Hublebank and created by the Nature & Nurture Learning store. I adore this! Obviously Little One is fond of it too.

You introduce the Peace Box with a photo of Maria Montessori, then follow with other Peace Makers you are fond of (Helen Keller, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. Johnny Appleseed) and then mid year when your children are familiar with discovering peacemakers inside the box, you include photos of them! Isn't that lovely?

I can't wait to introduce this new circle activity. Marcia shared during her workshop that each of the laminated photos she presents have a small velcro tab on the back of them so that they can be hung in the classroom on the wall where she has a felt rainbow. Above the rainbow it says "The Gallery of Peacemakers".
In PEACE
Jennifer

Caps for Babies

Knit One Save One
Every winter I try and do something for our world's children. I mostly do this because I had a wonderful role model in my own mother and I long to be that for my children. I participate in this particular effort because of Save the Children. If you don't know about this amazing organization please visit their web page and introduce yourself.
To be part of 'Knit One Save One' on a large scale you can do the following:
Write up a brief letter to your school families and share with them what your goal is. Last time I did this I said my goal was to collect 100 caps; I ended up collecting 121 caps! Share with them your goal and how they can help. Do they knit? Would they like to learn? Visit your local yarn shop and ask them to hang up a poster for you with where to mail donations. Get your church congregation involved and spread the word to the older generation. Knitting a small infant cap takes no time at all for the seasoned knitter. Next, set a dead line (when you want the caps collected by) and remember to check in with people closer to the collection date so that they can have time to buy one if they have not yet started knitting.
Happy Knitting Everyone!
PS: FYI, I don't know how to knit. I just collect the caps and send them on their way. Every bit helps and I'm doing what I can. Someday though, I'd love to learn how to knit. Maybe this winter?
If you want to contribute a cap visit: Save the Children
or contact me directly at spirals@gwi.net
In PEACE
Montessori Mama

Toddler Conflict Resolution

Some one recently posted a very good question I would like to take a moment to answer.
Q: How do I handle conflict with Little One?
A: Well, since I am presently a teacher of toddlers (10 children with myself and one wonderful assistant) I will share with you, not only how I handle conflicts with Little one at home but also how conflicts are handled in the classroom. (It was my photo of our classroom peace corner that inspired the question.)
At home: Being the youngest of three, Little One has, well, very little to get into conflicts over. He is often given what he wants, as he wants it,to be completely honest. And when he wants something he can not have, we tell him so using simple clear statements and comfort him while he expresses himself. (i.e.we listen to him scream and hope he gets over it quickly) And he usually does move on quickly because my husband and I decided years ago (with Middle Man) that we were never 'giving in' to a screaming toddler ever again. If he wants something we model for him how we want him to ask for it politely and we support him in getting it for himself (when possible) and we try and provide him with as many opportunities as possible for him to independently take care of his own needs (by preparing the environment).
At School:
Our Toddler PEACE Corner is a space for friends to go and sit and just 'be'. There are beautiful & interesting things to look, a soft pillow to sit on, dolls for playing with...
And this is how the space is used by even our youngest friends. Conflicts are not often resolved in the PEACE Corner; they are resolved as they occur usually with the help of an adult. To share an example:

Two children are interested in the same toy, they each have hold of it and are pulling and yelling or crying, neither child is willing to let go.

The teacher joins the duo and begins to calmly state her observations and ask questions:
"I can see you are both wanting this toy. Let's work together to figure out a solution/ or way to make it work. (I once worked with someone who said "Make it work" and now all I can think of is Tim Gunn!!)
State the obvious: "There are two of you and only one toy" What can we do? Then offer the desired answer: "We could take turns with the toy." or "We could use the toy together, we could SHARE" (one of my favorite words!)
Next ask to hold the toy and assure the kiddos that they will each get to hold it too. Demonstrate a way to use the toy and then how to share with a friend. Offer the toy to one of the children and say,
"I will sit by you while you play and you can show me how you two SHARE with one another."
The expectation is clear, and if possible the two children will use the item one at a time. Most likely the child waiting for his turn will become disinterested or distracted and no longer want to wait for their turn. When I see this happen I try to remember which child didn't get their 'turn' with the item and later when it is not being used I lead them to it, so that they can choose it off the shelf for them self and have their turn (If the want to of course).
Now, just like sometimes with Little One, things don't always go that smoothly, often a two year old will cry or yell or tantrum. Depending on their temperament and the time of day. Sharing just before lunch or rest is probably not going to happen.
But this is what we try to nurture, this is our best practice. If both children are still fussy or becoming aggressive, I will remove the object from the equation and distracted with something new that I have many of or a puppet. (I'm a big fan of puppets)
I could talk more on this and will in future posts. Write now Little One wants his big brother's new National Geo Kids magazine. I've gotta GO!
PEACE,
MM

Dancing with the Dolly....

When I was a little girl, my mother used to pick me up and spin me round the kitchen floor. We would dance and she would sing,
"Dancing with the Dolly with the hole in her stocking, knees keep a rocking, hole in her stocking, dancing with the dolly with the hole in her stocking, knees keep a rocking oh my!"
Dancing is one of my favorite things to do. Dancing with my boys, dancing with my husband, dancing with my girl friends...
Lately we have been doing allot of dancing with our toddlers at Cornerspring. Here's a picture of Little One with a rainbow ring to twirl. We were dancing to Frank Letto. What are YOUR favorite children's CDs? Please share!

Some of my favorites are:
Frank Letto
Raffi
Sweet Honey In the Rock
Buckwheat Zydeco

Dance like no one is watching!
MM

Peace and Quiet

This is a picture of our classroom's Peace Corner. The basket on the right holds several little cloth dolls to be used for play acting, conflict resolution between our almost 3 year olds, and simply to hold for comfort. The star fish is obviously not a soft texture but is beautiful and an exotic item to a toddler's eyes. In the corner are a set of my child's affirmation cards and a post card that has an image of hands of various sizes working together to carefully hold seeds. There is also a kaleidoscope and (not pictured) a view finder with a disk of baby animals. (I think it was being washed at the time of this photo!) Little One spent some time in the Peace Corner yesterday, making the little dolls talk to one another in the mirror. He moved too quickly for me to get a photo of him!
Peace to you~
MM

Lovin' this Book

Yesterday I participated in a workshop for early childhood educators and was given this beautiful book. [Thank you Born to Read!] Interestingly I was going to buy this book for my classroom.
If you haven't read it I highly recommend it. For the illustrations alone! It's so bright and beautiful. At the workshop we grouped together and came up with ideas about how to use this book children 3 to 6 years old.
Here are some of the ideas we came up with:

Remaking the title page (or any other beautiful image in this book!) as a bulletin board or display in classroom. Written on the petals of the flowers, a quote from each child in the class, "If Peace is..."

The leader of the day chooses one page to share and tells why they picked that particular page.

On the very last page of the book it says that this book was inspired by the students of a particular school. Read this page and ask your students if they would like to create their own peace book.

Also while there I met a lovely woman named Anne who turned me on to The Hunger Site PLEASE visit this site and make a contribution to help our world's children.

PEACE to all of you and your beautiful children,
Montessori Mama

Thursday's Center-PEACE

Tonight I was a the person who chose the items for our Center PEACE I picked these items:
A pine cone
A Magic Box (more about that later)
A card recently sent to me by my niece and nephew (whom I adore! Thank you guys)
A jar of grape jam given to me by a family who attended my ART+PLAY class as a thank you.
(They made the jam!)
It is sad for me, that ART+PLAY has come to an end, but the experience was wonderful and I learned so much about myself as a teacher. I will always be grateful for my time at Waterfall Arts.
In PEACE
MM

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

On the PEACE Wheel

Hello Everyone,
Mike Van a fellow Montessori teacher who I completed my training with, wrote me about an exciting project his school recently completed. I thought it would be of interest to all of you so I told him I would share it. Have you ever heard of the organization 'Free the Children'?
(I hadn't myself, until Mike sent me there). It's a wonderful organization! Wow! They do so much good for this world. Mike's school participated in recording a song called On the Peace Wheel and proceeds from the sale of their CD will go to supporting the Free the Children organization and the many children of this world that they care for. The song, On the Peace Wheel, represents the very real attainability of peace in the world. In the words of the children, “Why can’t we just share?” and “We all deserve a peaceful land.”

I am so proud to know Mike and would like to congratulate him and the children of Harbourview Montessori! I can't wait until my copy of their CD arrives. Wow! What a wonderful idea, please check it out when time allows you.
In PEACE
~~MM

Making Mandalas

Inspired by this PEACE Mandala, 'Middle Man' and I decided to create our own!
Using a throw-away DVD some company sent me in the mail, we traced the circle and planned our designs. (in the Montessori classroom the circle metal inset could be used)
'Middle Man' wanted to make "a hoop that weaves over and under the spokes".
I kept mine more traditional. 'Little One' got in on the action by coloring his own mandala from a Mandala coloring book we have. Later we water color painted the pre-made mandalas and hung them in the window. *MM note: Working with mandalas is an artist way to practice fractions.
Enjoy
PEACE
~~MM

Who Is Missing?

In Aline Wolf's book Nurturing the Spirit, chapter 16 Peace in the Classroom Community, she talked of ways to include peacemaking in your classroom. One of her many suggestions is the circle activity:
Who Is Missing?
Here I've create my own version of this idea.
Materials needed:
photo cards for each child in your class
with their first name printed on the card.
a circle rug (the one in the photo is actually a chair pad I thought was colorful and resembled our circle rug)
To Use:
One child arranges all the photos except one in a circle, leaving space for the missing picture. She then says, "Some one is missing from our community. Who is it?"
The other child(ren) guess the name of the child missing and the first child returns the card to the circle, completing the classroom community. The game continues with children hiding their eyes while another child removes a different photo from the circle. The exercise shows that the presence of each person is necessary to make their community complete.

In our classroom this work was chosen every day. The children LOVE looking at photos of themselves (and trying to trick one another :)

The circle itself is a wonderful symbol of community. It has no beginning or end, no front row or back row. Each sitting space is equal in rank, indicating that each person in the circle is equally important. Most Montessori classrooms have "circle" at least once a day.
~~MM

Healing Hugs

My Little One has been sick with a tummy bug this week.

At morning circle, when one of my students was out sick, we would light a special candle and send a "Healing Hug" to our absent friend. As a group we would wrap our arms around our own bodies (in a hug) and close our eyes and send love and well wishes up and into the air by lifting our arms to the sky. When we extinguished the candle we would say the name of our missing friend(s) and "we hope you feel better".
When children who had been home from school sick would return, they would inevitably ask, "Did you send me a healing hug when I was out?"
and I would always say
"Of course we did, we miss you when you are not here."
Their little face would light up feeling loved and missed by their classroom family.
It started as a community building tool, but it became more than that.

Please send my Little One a 'Healing Hug' if time allows. It's been a long week and it's only Wednesday.
~~~MM

Creating a Center-PEACE

Your children may enjoy being asked to make this very special contribution to the family meal. Don't wait for special holidays to set the table in a sacred manner. Any meal can be lifted to a feeling of loving care with a vase of flowers, perhaps "the good" dishes, a table cloth, whatever feels right in creating a sense of grace.

Some of us have been collecting treasures for years (sea shells, river stones, drift wood, buttons, fabric scraps etc.) these treasures and your child's creative eye will together become a beautiful centerpiece for your dinner table. While you are finishing fixing dinner ask your child if they would like to create something beautiful for the middle of the table. Make sure you express how important this task is and how all eyes will see what they make for the table.

Provide your child with a tray or box with supplies to choose from (whatever treasures you have on hand will be fine) limit them to three items (or else you'll have trouble seeing one another at dinner time!) and let them know that if they enjoy doing this, that the other items can be used next time. Provide a place mat or piece of felt (to help define the centerpiece space) and encourage them to be creative!
Remember: a newly picked dandelion in a jelly jar of water can be a simple center piece that brings us great joy.

There is something very special about being asked to make a contribution. Your child may take on this task with loving care and enjoy this new responsibility. If they don't, make something yourself, remembering to take a moment before your meal to enjoy it's beauty.
Here are some of my favorite Center-PEACE displays that have graced our family's dinner table (and made me smile) over the years:

• a sea shell, a blade of grass, a driveway stone (they look like crystals you know)
• a juice glass with water, a sprig of rosemary, and a shiny penny
• a Harry Potter Lego piece, and two stones that looked like mountains
• my grandmother's bone china sugar bowl filled with grapes,
• a post card of a photo Martin Luther King Jr., a glass heart and a tissue paper flower

What's important is taking a moment as a family to celebrate one another and the beauty of our world.
In PEACE
~~MM
(and should you do this activity and want to share, please comment and let me know what your children came up with!)

Finger play: I am Special

Who Am I?

(Bring your hands palm up, to your shoulders)

I am me.

(point to yourself)

And I’m as special as I can be.

(Frame your face with your hands)

When I look in the mirror

(Look in the mirror)

I’m proud of what I see

(Place your thumbs under your arms)

‘Cause there’s no one in the world

(Shake your head)

Just like me.

(Point to yourself).

~~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

International Peace Day

Dr. Montessori's son Mario Montessori once said, "During the formative period, when soft clay is being molded and impressions are easiest to make, children are impressed with the greatness of certain persons. Those persons may be described as heroes or supermen who have sacrificed their lives (literally or metaphorically) to a sacred cause. In every child's mind is fostered the desire to imitate those persons or become a follower of someone like them."
Who will our children's heroes be? Superman, GI Joe, Barbie, The Cast of the High School Musical? Or Martin Luther King Jr., Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela, Rachel Carson...Maria Montessori?
In my opinion we have a responsibility to our children to expose them to the amazing and inspiring men and women who have come before us, who have been role models, sources of inspiration and educators for many. On this the International Day of Peace, I ask you to evaluate who your children see images of, hear stories about, read about each day. Look around your home and see, are these peacemakers mentioned above represented in your home, in a book, on a poster?
My 9 year old son's bedroom has many inspiring pictures for him to look at. The largest of which is a painting, I painted, of Spiderman. I can't paint over it now, for he would be heartbroken but I can share with him about the peacemakers that inspire me and his father, and I can listen about why he likes Spiderman so much. I can hear his voice and I can listen. Then we can have a dialogue about heroes and the people we like and why. It's a starting place on this important day. I'll let you know how it goes. I hope this post encourages you to do the same.