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Angel
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| Posted: June 11 2007 at 7:20pm | IP Logged
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What are y'all including in your environments for ages 3-6? I think I have a pretty good handle on my toddlers, but I need to think of my 4 yo next. Many of the purchases I'd hoped to make (like the geometry cabinet) are going to have to be put off because we just got an estimate on a new roof.  So it looks like I'm probably going mostly homemade for a while.
Here's what I'm thinking of including specifically for my 4 yo (not sure I'll start with *all* of this):
hammering shapes -- already ordered this before the roof thing
nuts and bolts
maybe a polishing activity?
Montessori animal puzzles
parts of the animal cards
red rods
geometric solids
botany cabinet + leaf cards
Handwriting without Tears wooden letters
chalkboard
I'm stumped on geography, though. I think I'm going to put together some continent boxes like Theresa's, but I *know* that my 4 yo would like a puzzle there. I think I may also grab the Leap Frog globe from my oldest to have out there, too.
I'd also like to make Theresa's lifecycle cards for him, but I'm having to put off the laminator purchase, too... and still waiting for dh to bring the color printer up from the basement so I can attempt to use it with my laptop...
We have art materials in the same room (that need to be organized), but maybe I'll dedicate some just for him and move them to a special place. I don't know if I have room for our easel or not, but I'm hoping. Maybe I'll move his basket of books in there, too, since he doesn't really seem to look down at the shelf where they are now. They're right next to the babies' books, and all of them tend to get tossed around and mixed up.
I've got Lori's essentials of a Montessori 3-6 classroom in my starred items folder on google reader, but I was just wondering what all of you were setting up.
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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Meredith
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| Posted: June 11 2007 at 10:29pm | IP Logged
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Angela, I'm gonna look at this tomorrow, so many good ideas here and I am right in the thick of setting up all my 3-6!! Thanks for starting this thread!
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Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
Sweetness and Light
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: June 11 2007 at 11:51pm | IP Logged
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My dd is three-and-a-half. I also have a 5-year-old.
I'm going to be making some of the sensory activities from the I can do it! book by Labritta Gilbert.
Moveable Alphabet
Leaf cabinet and cards
Cuisenaire rods, spindle, other counting stuff
Cylinders - knobbed & knobless
Shapes tracing/insets
Pouring, spooning, tonging, tweezing
Color Tablets
Geography Map
Lots of art supplies
rhythm instruments
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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EmilyC
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| Posted: June 12 2007 at 5:33am | IP Logged
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For my almost 5 year olds, I have:
sound boxes
scent boxes
animal habitats cards
spindle box
pattern blocks
wedgits
spooning and dropper activities
lacing beads
A tea set to practice pouring (and table manners)
I plan to get or make:
rhythm instruments
moveable alphabet
golden bead materials
geometry cabinet
map puzzles
a sorting activity
real tools and wood working activities (I'll leave that to dh though)
lots of 3 part cards for various topics
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Emily,
Wife to Rob since 8/98
Mom to 4:
Sarah (13) Robbie & Riley (10) Regina (nearly 3)
My secular lit-based curriculum:
Build Your Library curriculum
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Meredith
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| Posted: June 12 2007 at 11:58am | IP Logged
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Wow, everyone has souch nice ideas and choices, I love it!!
So far we have:
Sand Writing Tray (just made this)
Shell Feel & Sort/Match
Red Rods
All Math Bead Work
Botany Puzzles 3-6
Blue & Red Rods
Sandpaper #'s
Pink Tower
N. American Botany Leaf Cabinet & Cards
Geography Cabinet, World Globe & Sanpaper Globe
Geometry Cabinets & Cards
Geometric Solids (I'm going to make my own presentation tray to go with)
Number Cards & Counters
Spindle Box
Binomial Cube
Stamp Game
All Snake Games (Bead Work)
Cylinder Blocks & Knobless Cylinders
Constructive Triangles
Many Practical Life Activities
Brown Stair
Music Center
Color Box 1 & 2
Art Supplies
Many Picture Books
Many other Homemade materials 
Many of these will also be available for the 2 yo too, with supervision 
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Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
Sweetness and Light
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 12 2007 at 12:26pm | IP Logged
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Whew! I am going to try to list some of the things we're doing this year. Some we made - some purchased - some are in the works. Keep in mind that these activities span from a 2 1/2 year old to a 6 1/2 year old for us.
+Walking the line
+Homemade balance beam
+Lock box
+Musical instruments: bells, lap harp, piano, recorder, guitar, drum, rhythm instruments - several music 3 part cards, some with notes, some with instruments
+shape puzzles
+geography puzzles/geography center
+pouring/scooping/chopstick transfer activities
+folding
+polishing
+sewing cards/sewing basket
+nesting dolls (Matreshka)
+geometry 3 part cards/geometry solids
+grammar (parts of speech id) - using 3 part cards and with the hopes of using the Montessori farm for this activity - still looking into that though.
+hammering activity
+nuts and bolts
+knobbed cylinders
+numerous activities with number cards (place value, building numbers, seguin boards, etc.)
+color tablets and 3part cards
+spindle box
+addition strip board
+red rods
+brown stairs
+small numerical rods
+binomial cube
+some golden bead work (I finally read a book and figured the whole "golden mystique out for myself - glad I did!)
+shell nomenclature cards with shells
+cloud nomenclature cards
+an entire set of Botany 3 part cards to be completed with some accompanying nature study
+astronomy 3 part cards
+a lot of animal 3 part cards - animal kingdom, vertebrates and invertebrates, classification of animals
+patterns in math and science using pattern blocks, zome system, and fractiles
+art exploration using different media
+stereognostic (mystery) bags
+sound boxes
I think that's it for now, though I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. I loved looking at your lists and getting more ideas!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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SeaStar
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| Posted: June 12 2007 at 12:29pm | IP Logged
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Which book explained the golden beads? I need to read that!
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 12 2007 at 12:37pm | IP Logged
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Well Melinda, I had Hainstock's preschool book, but had wanted her elementary book for a long time. It's out of print though  I was finding soooooo much for my 3-6 group online and in various other books, but felt I was really needing some guidance for my 10yo who I don't feel yet has a good grasp of some concrete's - particularly in math.
With that in mind, my dh gave me permission to order a (very nice - the 97 updated version) used copy of Hainstock's elementary book from an Amazon marketplace seller. I'm embarrassed to tell you that I paid $18 for this little paperback book   , but I was very happy when I read it through. It was clearly laid out, had very clear pictures, and nice explanations as to the progression of the math presentations. The foundation to ALL of the elementary math are the golden beads! They're essential to that concrete before abstract concept. I finally ordered some!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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AndreaG
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| Posted: June 14 2007 at 8:53am | IP Logged
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Here's what I am planning for my 3-6'ers, some of this will be used by my 8-year-old also.
All the montessori Sensorial works (I'm sure I won't present them all though)
Golden Beads (aka base 10 blocks) Numeration and Operations
Bead Chains
Addition and Subtraction charts and booklets (and maybe multiplication and division)
RightStart math A for my 5 1/2 year-old
movable alphabet
sandpaper letters
sand tray
HWT wood pieces
pink reading (sound boxes, matching cards, objects with labels)
lacing activities (inspired by Theresa)
practical life trays (tonging, pouring, spooning, sorting etc)
Nomenclature cards (animals, plants, living vs non living, life cycle, weather, space, shells etc)
Activities to correlate with our history and science studies ( ie rock nomenclature cards, rock sorting)
Art/craft trays (hopefully a new one each week)
Science experiment trays (supplies to correpsond to Usborne Science Activities)
world map puzzle and continent box
walking on the line
possibly some grammar presentations- I'd like to get the grammar solids
And finally lots of books to read aloud!
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Andrea
GrayFamilyCircus
Read Through the Catechism in a Year- For Moms!
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SeaStar
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| Posted: June 14 2007 at 12:19pm | IP Logged
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You all have such wonderful things planned for your dc- I am so impressed.
I am so wanting to set up my own place, but we still have yet to sell this house and buy a new one. I am so frustrated that way- but in the meantime I will see if I can hunt down another copy of that book.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Environment for 3-6?
