A moment of joy....

She loves going down the slide backwards with her eyes closed. ♥

Stickygram Contest Winners (3 Winners)

Thanks for your participation, and congratulations to the Stickygram contest winners!

With the help of random.org, here they are in the order of random selection!

comment # 9 

mebe1975 said...
I liked Sticky Gram on FB! :)
August 14, 2012 2:32 PM

Comment # 2  

Lori said...
The fact that I'll be holding my newborn baby girl in 2 weeks makes me ELATED! :)

August 13, 2012 9:34 PM

Comment # 1

  Rebekah said...

The sun makes me happy :)

August 13, 2012 9:04 PM

Thanks again for your entries!

If you are a lucky winner, please send me an email at

simplymontessori@yahoo.com

to claim your prize!

Stay tuned- I already have another exciting giveaway lined up for later this week!

xo

Free Downloads {Back to School Edition}

Pencil Box Label from The Party Dress

First Day of School Signs from Nest of Posies

Free Kindness/Back to School Download from Character Mom

Back to School Interview form from petite lemon

Lunch Notes from the Paper Coterie

Geometric Solid 3 Part Cards from Maybe Montessori

School Days Printable Subway Art from Sweet Coconut Lime

Printable Map of the Moon poster from Mr. Printables

Great Back to School Printable Signs

A Note for the Teacher from Anything But Perfect

Montessori Vowel Tree from Montessori MOMents

Back to School Reading Log by Simple As That
{the cover says summer, but the inside of the reading log is very cute
and appropriate for all year long!}

(Not a printable) but a great idea for establishing classroom routines at Beautiful Sun Montessori

Things We Do At School Printable Book and Activities from Chapel Hill Snippets

School Supplies Printable Preschool Unit from 2 Teaching Mommies

Enjoy!

xo

{All images in this post are property of the websites that posted them- I just used them for preview and linking purposes}

An amazing place for children to grow!

Stickygram Giveaway {3 Winners!}

Image via Stickygram

Last week I wrote about exciting ways you and your family can use instagram photos in your home.

This week I am excited to be giving away 3 sets of Stickygrams to 3 winners {1 set per winner}!

Stickygrams are so easy!

Make your fridge happy!

How to enter:

Mandatory Entry: Leave me a comment on this blog post telling me about something that makes you happy!  

It can be anything- I look forward to sharing your happiness!

Optional Additional Entries:

Like Simply Montessori on Facebook

Like Stickygram on Facebook

Follow Simply Montessori on Pinterest

You must also leave a comment on this blog post for each additional entry to count.

Giveaway ends Friday, August 17 2012 at 11:59 CST.

xo

Free Printable Subway Poster {Mindfulness}

Mindfulness Poster

Please enjoy this printable "Mindfulness" subway style poster.

I love this quote from James Baraz! 

I "vintaged" this one up a little with some distressing in the middle.

Please stay tuned for a tutorial of a great way to display this and my other subway style printables in your home- it is coming later this week!

xo

**UPDATE: One of my readers was kind enough to notice & let me know that I forgot the "E" in mindfulness at the top of the poster.  OOPS!  This is why I shouldn't work late at night! ;)  I'll have a corrected version here soon!
**UPDATE: I've corrected the document (sorry again!)- feel free to download away!
Thanks again for the correction! :)

{this moment}

{this moment}
one image
a tidbit from the week
held close to my heart

On our way to picnic our dinner at the beach between rainstorms.
♥

DIY: Painting Feathers

Painting feathers like the pros takes practice, but even beginners (like me) can make a beautiful feather the first time out.

Inspired by the beautiful feather photography and artwork I've been seeing all over the place lately, I decided to try my hand at painting one myself. 

With a little assistance and demonstration, children would easily be able to create their own feathers as well.  They look beautiful framed by themselves or in pairs, and if you cut them out, these painted feathers would look so pretty hanging from the bottom of a dream catcher, too!

To begin the project, I recommend either collecting some feathers from nature (I wish I had some) or find images of feathers that strike your fancy on the computer (like me).  It helps to see the color variations and size scale while you sketch.

Materials:

2 different sized watercolor brushes (one medium and one very thin), 

a piece of watercolor paper

watercolor paints (you don't need fancy ones!)

a jar of water

a kitchen dish towel

a pencil

and a few images of feathers off the computer,

or a real feather for inspiration

(if you collect real feathers, gently wash them in liquid dish soap, rinse with water, and lay them flat to dry before handling)

DIY: Steps

1.  Lightly sketch your feather(s) onto the watercolor paper.  If you are using a real feather and it is the size you'd like to paint, you could even lay the feather on your paper and trace around it.  Be sure to sketch lightly, as the paint will not hide pencil lines very well.

2.  Step back and compare the sketch to your inspiration.  Add light guidelines with your pencil where you want your color variations to help guide you.  Be sure the edges are uneven and feathery, just like the real thing!

Note: You can always freehand paint your feather, especially if you are an experienced painter.  I am not, and I chose to sketch it out first to guide me along.  The choice is yours!

3.  Painting the first background layer:

 Using your medium sized watercolor brush, dip it into the jar with water.  If you want your colors very translucent, you can paint the area of your feather where you want your color first with a little clear water, then quickly add a little color with your brush.  The color will be lighter and will spread out, bleeding into the surrounding paper giving you the professional blendy look.  The first background layer should be your lightest color.  We will build on top of this with darker colors as we go.  My first background layer was a light gray color.

4.  Next, add in some depth:

Begin shading by lightly layering some more color in the areas where you want your background color to be a little stronger.  Get a little more watercolor paint on your brush than you did with the first layer, and simply paint over.  Watercolors are very forgiving, and if you make a mistake with too much paint, just take your kitchen dish towel or paper towel and dab it off while it is still wet to make it lighter again.  My kitchen towel had a waffle weave which left a very interesting texture when I dabbed, so I did this intentionally in a few areas of my feather as I like the way it looked.  

5.  Blend:

You don't want distinct lines yet- we're still in the blendy phase.  If you need to, wet your brush with water only and gently rub along the edges of areas that have too much of a distinct line to smooth them out.

6.  Add your other colors:

Repeat steps four and five with the other colors in your feather, carefully layering them on one another and shading more where you want more pigment.  My feather had darker colors around the edges and the top, so this is where I layered the most color.  Don't forget to blend the edges if necessary.  You can always add more water to lighten your colors, or dab off some if you need to with your cloth.  If you go outside your pencil lines, don't freak.  Feathers naturally are uneven and imperfect around the edges.  We can add a little fringe on them at the end and no one will know.  Happy accident!  Repeat your shading layers until you've added all the the colors your feather requires.  Add a little shading to the edge of the bottom of the shaft of the feather as well so it doesn't look flat.

7.  When you are finished layering your colors, now is the time to take your tiny brush and add in the wispy details.  Add small feather veins, little fluffs coming off the sides, or a puff of single feathers at the base, whatever you wish.  This paint should be applied with less water and more paint on your brush, as you want the details to stand out and be actual detailed lines, not blendy like our previous layers.  This is your final step!  For my feather I used a dark navy for the feathery tips and fringe along the sides.  Don't overdo this step- the darker color will be more difficult to remove (add a little water and blot off the paint if you need to).  Paint a little fringe, then step back and look at it to see where you need to go next.  If you feel that your feather needs a little filling in, you can return to your first background color and add fringe to the edges of your feather in that color as well until you feel like it is more natural looking.  This part is all eyeballing it and personal preference. 

Let it dry flat so that your paint does not run. 

And, enjoy!  These are addicting- once you paint one you'll want to paint more.  With these easy steps, you and your little ones can make a feather collage, a dream catcher, a Native American headdress, or just a beautiful framed work of art!

xo

for whatever we lose (like a you or a me).....

 ......it is always ourselves we find in the sea.

 - e.e. cummings

Another day out at the beach!

Summer is oh, so good.

The sea is the only place I feel the same age as my children again.
 

Coming soon, book review:

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to 

Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids.

Care to join me?

Or have you already read it?

{this moment}

{this moment}
one image
a tidbit from the week
held close to my heart
♥

Use your Family's Instagrams

{Image via Francesco Maria Dominedò}

Pretty much everyone I know uses Instagram.  Children also enjoy taking photos with a cell phone, which is often easier to use and much less bulky than a DSLR.  Seeing what they capture gives us a glimpse of the world through their eyes.  But, once you upload them to Instagram and share them with friends, the beautiful images are often forgotten.  There are many ways with endless creative possibilities to provide your family with concrete representations of your Instagram visions.

{Image via Isidora Leyton}

Instaprints allows you to upload your Instagram photos and have them printed as photographic prints, canvas prints, and even provides framing services.  Another neat feature of this website?  You can choose to offer your Instagrams for sale!  Just decide which photos from your gallery you would like to sell, and voila!  You can also set your own prices.  Instaprints will pay you through Paypal once a month and keep you advised when any of your prints sell.   These prints would make great gifts, too!

{Image via Wilbert Claessens}

Another child-friendly option is Printstagram.  This website allows you to turn your Instagrams into little stickers, perfect for little hands!  Bonus- they are wallet friendly.  You receive 2 sticker books for a total of 252 stickers per order, and each order is only $10!  Printstagram also offers poloroid-style Instagram prints, mini photo albums, memory boxes, prints on t-shirts, and a poster collage of your Instagram prints, perfect for framing.

{Image via Bryan P}

Postagram is an app that will help little ones (and you, too!) stay in touch.  You can choose an Instagram print and have it sent to the recipient of your choice as a snail-mail postcard for just $0.99.  This would be a great way to say hello to a grandparent, or send a great surprise to a teacher or friend.  You could also easily send one to your own child, as what child doesn't get ultra-excited when they receive their very own mail?  They have a version for iphone and android.

 {Image via Jeremy Eaton}

Stickygram turns your Instagrams into super-hip magnets.  You could just use them for great decorations, but.... wouldn't it be cool to take photos of letters you find around your house or town, then create your own magnet alphabet set?  Use it on your fridge or cookie sheet to build words and spell names.  You could also photograph words out of their favorite children's book and make a word set to build sentences.  Making it personal for the child means they will be very engaged in using the letters. The magnets cost $14.99 for a pack of 9 with free shipping worldwide.  You can currently get 20% off your order with coupon code SNAP.

{Image via Jermaine Young}

Finally, Keepsy is a great way to save your photos in a hardcover album.  Let your child document a vacation, a day at the zoo, a field trip to the grocery store or fire station, memoried throughout their school year, or a visit with a sick relative at the hospital, then upload their Instagrams to Keepsy to preserve them in an album.  Hardback albums begin at $29.95.

Do you Instgram?  Do you let your little ones try it out, too?

xo, Simply Montessori

Coming Back......

{Image via Ruth de Vos}

 

“You've been gone so long from all that you know. It's been shuffled aside as you bask in the glow."

-Sarah McLachlan

 

Yes, I've been gone awhile. 

I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye.

It wasn't a planned absence, but rather one that grew out of a need to disconnect for a time to soak in the baby.  You know, the sweet essence of a baby that is so fleeting, and slips through your fingertips like sand.

It began with a computer crash, and I realized that I really enjoyed the time off and the resulting quieter, simplified mind while the computer was being repaired....so I kept going.

I still used my newly repaired computer for communicating, but as for blogging, facebooking, pinteresting, I've mostly been absent.

 

I think I'm ready to begin to ease back in to this now, but please be patient with me as I return to dust off the cobwebs, and begin to pull the weeds from the broken links and any other little troubles going on in this neglected garden.

 

xo, Simply Montessori

Celebrating the shuttle launch with a little free art

It has been a busy week, but with a little boy who is very excited about anything space, we had to pause and celebrate the last shuttle launch.

To commemorate the occasion, I'm giving you a free art printable poster.

I've always loved this quote....

Just click on the above image to bring it up full-size (click on the photo again when it comes up on the new page to be sure you are zoomed in to 100% before printing), then save to your computer to print. 

♥

Learning to Read in Montessori

Source: google.com via Danae on Pinterest

Please click here

for an article by Hannelore Engelman explaining how children are learning to read with ease using the Montessori Method. 

Hannelore Engelman is Founder and Executive Director of Montessori School of Los Altos, Co-chair of the 2007 Montessori Centennial, San Francisco, and a Member of the first Montessori delegation to the People’s Republic of China in 1990.

I hope you all had a safe and lovely 4th of July Weekend!

♥

Free American Flag 4th of July Do-A-Dot Printable

To celebrate the 4th of July, I'm offering a free American Flag Do-A-Dot Printable for you.

Just click on the flag to bring the image up full-size, then right click and save to your computer for printing.  It will fill an 8.5"x11" piece of paper so it is great for hanging up.

Visit this post for other great printable everyday Do-A-Dot activities.

Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July!

♥

{this moment}

{this moment}
one image
a tidbit from the week
held close to my heart
♥

{Free Printable} Human Body Parts, nomenclature 3 part cards

I recently had a request for Body Part nomenclature cards.

Here they are!

Body Parts 3 Part Cards

Please let me know if you have any problems downloading them.

Looking for free Nomenclature cards on a certain subject but can't find them?  Please make a suggestion.

♥

Revisiting: Homemade Ice Cream Right Now! {No Machine Required!}

Revisiting this post from last summer....

It is still as yummy and fun this summer!

Do the kids have a little extra energy to burn off today? Do you want a quick, simple treat that the kids can make themselves (with a little help from you)? Try this recipe for homemade ice cream that uses items you most likely have in your house right now!

I discovered this recipe somewhere either in a book or online a few years ago, and used it in my classroom as an activity for parents to do with their children at an evening meeting at the school. It was a huge success!

I decided to pull it out and use it with my own children today- yum yum!

I can't remember where the original recipe came from, but I've adapted it some so I think it'll be okay if I post it for you here.

 

You will need 4 main ingredients:

milk, vanilla, sugar, salt.

You will also need 2 ziploc bags (either a quart and a gallon, or 2 gallon sized bags), and ice cubes.

First, put 1 cup milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 4 tablespoons sugar into a ziploc bag (the smaller ziploc bag, if you are using 2 different sizes).

Press any excess air out of the bag and zip or press it closed tightly.

Fill up the gallon freezer bag with ice 1/2 of the way.

Sprinkle in 6 tablespoons of salt (regular table salt, but you can also use rock salt).

Put the first sealed bag with the milk, sugar, and vanilla inside the bag with the salt and ice, and seal the outside bag.

Shake the bag around, up & down, back & forth, for 8-10 minutes. The milk/sugar/vanilla mixture will begin to thicken and solidify. When it reaches your desired consistency, just open up the bags and scoop the ice cream into a bowl (or eat it right out of the bag).

 

We sprinkled on some rasberries on the top of ours, and I must say I'm always surprised how quick and easy this recipe is! It may not be the creamiest ice cream you've ever had, but it sure is good, and a fantastic treat that even little ones can help with!

If you make this, let me know what you think!

♥

I haven't tried this recipe yet (no machine required either), but I'm going to! (It requires me to make a trip to the grocery store for some ingredients, but I plan to make it sometime this week).

Have a lovely day!

I offer you peace, {and a free printable subway style poster!}

To continue my subway-style printable poster series, here is a lovely quote from Ghandi's nephew.

Click here to see my previous post about how to use it in your home or classroom, including a video.

 Just click on the above image to bring it up full-size (click on the photo again when it comes up on the new page to be sure you are zoomed in to 100% before printing), then save and print.

♥

Bedtime bonding and building literacy skills through the power of touch....

Source: weheartit.com via Simply on Pinterest

I have a bedtime routine, as I'm sure you do with your children.  We have a bath, we put on pajamas, we brush teeth, we choose some books to read together, and snuggle for a little while.  During the snuggle time, I have found that the children often wanted me to rub their back or gently scratch their backs or tummies.  This is a great way to bond with you child as well as to relax them before they fall asleep. 

What I've also found is that this is a fantastic way to build literacy skills.  It began as a soothing game where I would gently "draw" each letter of the alphabet on their back with my finger as I quietly sang the alphabet song to them.  Then, I began drawing one letter at a time (out of order) to see if they could guess which letter I had drawn.  In this way you not only practice letter recognition, but also expose them to the correct form in which to write the letter. 

The child is feeling the letter formed from the paper's perspective. 

Sometimes I will even say quietly to myself "up, down, up, down" as I trace for an "M", or ""over, up, and around" for an "e" so it reinforces the correct way to write the letter at the same time.  The kids just think I'm whispering to myself.  :)

For children that need a little bit more of challenge, you can write a letter and have them tell you the sound the letter makes (phonemic awareness).  Or, you can spell out three or four letter words, or the child's name.  I have also drawn shapes ("guess the shape" game) and numbers.  For younger children, write the numbers on their back with your fingertip as you count in order up to 20, or 100.  For older children, silently trace your finger to form the numbers on their back and have them guess the number you wrote. 

Depending on the night and the child, our games may last only a few minutes. Other times they take longer as we move from one game to another.  Sometimes, it is just plain tickles, back scratches, or cuddles. 

That's the best part about this- it is mostly about the love.

♥