Christmas Craft Linky Party

December 3, 2011
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Have a Christmas craft you’ve made? It could be something you did on your own or with your kids, if so link-up below and join the party! ****** We made a hand-print wreath. My original idea was to put the kids hands in green paint on paper in the shape of a wreath, but that [...]

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Montessori Christmas: Sensory Books & Cracking Nuts {day 6}

December 3, 2011
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  Touch & Feel Sensory Books We borrowed a small collection of Christmas board books from our local library and they’re all new and in good condition, which is rare for library board books. This isn’t as “Montessori” as most of the other activities in this series, but it’s reading and it’s fun for Otto [...]

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Montessori Christmas: Cookie Cutters & Sensory Sorting {day 8}

December 3, 2011

Sickness is almost out of our house. Yay! The boys are doing much better, but little Otto is still coughing and congested. Cookie Cutter Play Dough This is an activity for a toddler or older toddler, depending on their ability and comfort level. But plain and simple, it’s play dough with a rolling pin and [...]

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We Have a Winner! {And a Little Sapling Toys Giveaway!}

December 2, 2011

The winner of the Melissa & Doug stacking train is commenter #36 – Tanya! Congratulations, Tanya! I’ll be e-mailing you soon for your address. ****** Onto this week’s giveaway… Another company our family loves is Little Sapling Toys. They’re a little family run company that make handmade, organic developmental toys and blocks. For each toy they [...]

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Montessori Christmas: Unwrapping & Wrapping a Present {day 5}

December 2, 2011
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Unwrapping a Present When you think about it, for an infant or toddler Christmas morning can be a pretty overwhelming experience. There’s so much activity going on and most they don’t understand. So why not an unwrapping work? They might just think this is more fun than the actual present! Wrapping a Present This is a work [...]

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Montessori Christmas: Trying on Hats & Beading Candy Canes {day 4}

December 1, 2011
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Trying on Hats My aunt bought the boys a few silly hats last Christmas, so when I pulled them out of the box I figured, why not put them on the shelf? It reminded me of a work in one of my infant/toddler albums. Little did I know this would be a favorite of Otto’s! [...]

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Montessori Christmas: Christmas Treasure Basket & Weaving Ribbons {day 3}

November 30, 2011
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Christmas Treasure Basket Once we opened our box of Christmas decorations I pulled out a few things that would be safe for Otto to play with and explore without breaking. It wasn’t as much as I was hoping, but I like to work with what I have on hand instead of buying new items for [...]

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Montessori Christmas: Crushing Paper & Decorating a Tree {day 2}

November 29, 2011
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One day down…eleven to go! Onto today’s activities… Crushing Paper This is a fun activity for the older infant/younger toddler. I cut leftover Christmas tissue paper and wrapping paper into squares, and let them crush it. When I did this with Joey, I left the paper in an open basket, but since Otto is still [...]

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Montessori Christmas: In & Out and Transferring {day 1}

November 27, 2011
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It’s here! The 12 Days of Montessori Christmas to get you inspired to do “school” this holiday season while having fun celebrating. I’m excited to share with you Montessori-inspired Christmas activities for infants/toddlers and preschoolers. Over the next 12 days, I’ll post an activity for each group every day. I’ll be revisiting some from the archives, [...]

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Montessori Christmas Gift Ideas for Preschoolers

November 26, 2011
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Last year I made a gift idea list for infants and toddlers. This year I decided to separate and extend the list, so that infants, toddlers, and preschoolers each get their own list! If you’re wondering what to get for your child, a friend, niece/nephew, or grandchild, then I hope this helps you. Each list [...]

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Montessori Christmas Gift Ideas for Toddlers

November 25, 2011
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Last year I made a gift idea list for infants and toddlers. This year I decided to separate and extend the list, so that infants, toddlers, and preschoolers each get their own list! If you’re wondering what to get for your child, a friend, niece/nephew, or grandchild, then I hope this helps you. Each list [...]

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