Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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Nurturing the Years of Wonder
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Subject Topic: What's on your Christmas shelves? Post ReplyPost New Topic
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SeaStar
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Posted: Nov 29 2008 at 2:26pm | IP Logged Quote SeaStar

I'm putting out a basket with Christmas stamps, ink pads and some blank note cards. I also made up a little tray of "build your own nativity scene"- nothing fancy at all, just figures I cut out of old cards that dd can use to build a nativity scene on her mat. She likes to rearrange the figures differently each time. We'll also make a sheep ornament: gluing cotton balls onto a precut sheep shape, coloring the legs black, putting on a goggly eye.



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mooreboyz
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Posted: Dec 01 2008 at 11:41am | IP Logged Quote mooreboyz

I made some lacing cards using some old xmas cards. I also made peppermint scented playdough and put it on a tray with a small rolling pin, cookie cutters, and showed him how to make candy canes with it.

He will also be making a winter picture this week which will be going by his calender. I put a tray out with a piece of construction paper, a cut out tree , a tree he needs to cut out, a curving line on white paper to cut. H put it all together to make a snowy scene. There is also some glitter glue and a paper punch to add "snow".

We are doing xmas around the world this month. This week we are making jigglers on a stick that goes with Canada, read about posadas from Mexico and colored a nativity scene.

For Geography (which is Antarctica this month) he will be using cotton balls glued to blue paper to make a 3d model and glue on cardboard penguins.

Practical life this month is cooking annd so I have a couple trays with a grater, peeler, scrubbing potatoes, and grinding pepper.



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Mackfam
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Posted: Dec 02 2008 at 8:39am | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

Wonderful ideas, ladies!!!

I never thought of making lacing cards out of old Christmas cards - that seems fun.

I'm...

::setting out old Christmas cards on a collage tray.
::setting out a sculpey tray for making a sculpey St. Nicholas(this week), St. Lucy crown (next week), O Antiphons (3rd week) Nativity (4th week).
::I set out a wooden Nativity for working with and for CGS lessons - that's in the learning room and frequently used and re-arranged
::A winter corner on our nature display shelf with favorite winter books, seasonal finds from nature walks, fresh color pencils and sketch papers, the new copy of December "Nature Friend".

Loving your ideas though, so I might add a few from you guys - thanks!

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Chari
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Posted: Dec 02 2008 at 2:01pm | IP Logged Quote Chari

Thanks, Melinda! I read your post and IMMEDIATELY went out to storage and found a basket and gathered the stamps, inks and blank cards from the school room.....my 7 yo crafty guy has been lovin' it!

I think I will get out some old cards and scissors for him to use next week....great ideas!



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Willa
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Posted: Dec 03 2008 at 9:50am | IP Logged Quote Willa

I see that Jackie already mentioned lacing cards, but here is a nice visual I just found.

Here are a few more activities for December

and a few more Christmasy ones for math

These are all from Montessori Journey, which is a blog I really enjoy browsing through.

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mooreboyz
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Posted: Dec 06 2008 at 9:24pm | IP Logged Quote mooreboyz

Just an update...

I added a tray with beads and pipe cleaners bent around each other to make a star for him to put the beads on.

Also: stringing cranberries and popcorn
xmas around the world is Africa this week and there are some cutting and glitter crafts to make. I'm using the book Merry Christmas, everywhere! for ideas.

For geography he will be learning what an iceberg is and making one of these measuring the correct ratio of under water to above water.


I forgot to mention that on my littlest guys shelf I've had a color sorting activity that I switch up each month (last month was colored feathers). This month I have curled colored ribbons and he loves this! I just set him up with his own little table last week and so we're doing a lot of work with that. He does LOVE having his own cupboard with dishes, etc and setting his own table,,,just as Montessori says he will. I just have to help him learn to stay there now until he is done and washed up.

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Angel
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Posted: Dec 09 2008 at 12:49pm | IP Logged Quote Angel

I just have a couple of things so far... I drew Christmas trees on big sheets of paper like I did last year and let the little ones "decorate" them by drawing, coloring, gluing on foam shapes, etc. Seems to be a hit again.

last year I made a Christmas tree felt activity by cutting out triangle shapes from green felt (Christmas trees) and using other felt shapes for the ornaments, then putting it out with a flannel board. Last year the twins just dumped all the stuff, but around Halloween somebody found it and started using it. Don't know where they put it, though, and need to hunt it down!

We've also been making clay ornaments using air-dry clay, cookie cutters, rollers, and clay tools. And I hope to set out some pine cones with glue and glitter to make glittery pine cones.

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Land O' Cotton
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Posted: Oct 31 2009 at 9:33am | IP Logged Quote Land O' Cotton

I'm bumping this up for the new year. I thought that the ideas from last year were great, and it would be nice to have them to look over again, and add some new.

Anyone making Thanksgiving and autumn trays?

These are some trays I'm setting up.

* A Thanksgiving cornucopia with green floral foam inside and fruit/vegetable picks to make a nice fall arrangement

* A musical tin decorated with a carousel--Theresa gave me the idea to make holiday play doh and add a few cookie cutters. I was happy to find that I had a couple of horse cutters, so I'm using those. I'm going to include the cinnamon applesauce dough, as we'll be baking it to make real ornaments.

* A poinsettia tray--another tray Theresa gave me ideas for. I'm cutting out leaf shapes in red and green, then adding in some circles traced from the bottom of a glass---this goes together to make poinsettias. We'll also read the Legend of the Poinsettia that day.

* A gift card making tray---I have a Sizzix die cut of an apple pie, and also a stamp that says "Fresh Baked for You" with an apple pie. I'll probably include some other things to decorate the gift cards with too.

* A Christmas and Thanksgiving card lacing tray---I am making it a little more difficult, as I have a 9 y/o. I will make the holes much smaller, and probably use some kind of Christmas ribbon or yarn.

* A Thanksgiving tray with a ceramic turkey that will hold fall colored pencils and a small turkey tray that will hold oil pastels. I will include a thanksgiving-themed picture to copy with some art paper cut to post card size. This idea came from Theresa.

* an ornament tray that will make a plastic canvas star. I got the idea from an ornament I found at the thrift store. Here's how it looks:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/324504/how_to_creat e_a_star_plastic_canvas.html

The one I have is small. The pieces are cut 1/2" wide by 5" long. All the child has to do is edge the pieces with yarn, then fold them over to make a tear-drop shape and sew the two ends together. I think the assembly will require some help from moms though.

* A Thanksgiving card tray---I will include some stamps and some silk colored leaves I picked up at the Dollar Tree.

* A candy corn math tray---I will include a box of candy corn and a nice candy corn candle trivet I found at the thrift. The task will be to count out multiplication facts with the candy corn to match a number written on a pumpkin shape. If I can get some of the different colored candy corns today or Monday on clearance, I'd like to include a graphing exercise also.

* A gingerbread man lacing activity---A local university has a resources center that has some of those large size Ellison dies. I'm cutting out several very large gingerbread men and laminating them. However, I may back them with cardboard from a box, then cover it with clear contact paper, as this would be more durable.   The lacing activity will also be for a friend who has a 4 and 5 y/o.

So there's a few of the ideas I'm working on. What do you have planned?

I'm editing this post, as I just realized another tray I need to make-- a detective adjective tray. I will use all different shapes and kinds of ornaments for this.
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