Happy Earth Day! New to the Blog: Subscribe by Email

I ♥ Earth Day!!!  Today we purchased a small tree to plant, and a few more pots of flowers for the garden.  I am going to try to plant them tomorrow, time permitting. 

 Along with the holiday, I created a Mossy green treasury. 

There is something so soothing about this color for me.

I just want to wrap it around me like a clean, soft old quilt and take a nap.

If you have a moment, stop by the Earth Day Network and add in your act of green.

"The land is where our roots are. The children must be taught to feel and live in harmony with the Earth."
“We must therefore turn to the child as to the key to the fate of our future life.”
-Maria Montessori

I also added in an email subscription option on the right sidebar.
All the tips, links, and ideas conveniently delivered to your email! :)
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Earth Day Giveaway!

I read about this great giveaway and wanted to share it with you.

Plant a tree, visit Figs & Ginger to upload your photo of the process, and receive this beautiful necklace!

Get the little ones involved.  Take them to the nursery to select the tree and soil together.  Get your hands dirty.  Dig the hole with their help and let your child discover what is living in the earth.  I still remember watching my dad plant trees when I was little, and being enthralled with watching the earthworms.  Take a photo of the tree every year to watch its progress. 

Earth Day is April 22nd. 

10 items, $10 and under

Want to spruce up your Montessori curriculum but don't want to spend a lot of money? 
Here are 10 items I found for only $10 or less...

1.  Teaching Montessori in the Home: Pre-School Years
A book written some years ago with ideas that are still relevant today.  By Elizabeth Hainstock.  New, $9.36 from Amazon, plus free shipping with minimum purchase of $25.

2.  MÅLA, Long sleeve apron.  Ikea.  $2.99 (Yes, that price is correct).  Great smock for art projects and messy play of all kinds.

3.  KID O Arranging Narrow to Wide Puzzle.  $9.95.  Colorful wooden puzzle engages children while promoting skills that help down the road with reading and math. Children exercise hand-eye coordination, concentration, spatial relations and problem solving. From narrowest to broadest, the multiple hues of this beautiful green puzzle compel children to discern gradual variations in width.   Other variations of this puzzle also available at Amazon as well.

4.  Pink Series Beginning Sounds Set from Montessori for Everyone.  $4.99.  PDF file including This material consists of: 10 Pink Series Picture cards with missing beginning sound (vowels in blue), 10 Consonants to fill in the missing sound, Chart that shows all the pictures completed correctly, black and white master with all the words for children to trace, black and white master with guidelines so children can write the words, and instructions for making and using this work.

5.  A Montessori Transferring, Counting, Sorting, Pouring, Manipulative STARFISH Activity from Fun Cards.  $9.99.  Multiple colors and designs are available so you can keep it fresh and interesting, or change seasonally.

6.  Lacing Frame from Alison's Montessori.  $6.  Use coupon code alisons at checkout and get an additional 10% off your order.  Buckling and Safety Pin Frame also currently available at the same price.

7.  Pink Tower and Brown Stair Pattern Cards from Montessori Print Shop.  $4.49.  PDF file instant download.  Children view the cards and select one, and transfer the pattern into 3D using the pink tower and broad stair.  Set 2 is also available.

8.  Grow Your Own Elm Tree from Montessori Services For Small Hands.  $6.25.  Hands on science activity.  Everything included is biodegradable and organic — just add water. The Siberian Elm is a robust variety, chosen for quick growth and the ability to thrive in a variety of climates.  Seeds are guaranteed fertile; ours sprouted within two weeks, right on time. Plant outdoors when seedlings are about 6" tall. Includes instructions and reference material.  5% of proceeds benefit the Arbor Day Foundation.  Great activity for Earth Day on April 22nd.

9.  Melissa and Doug Stack and Sort Board.   Engage kids with this stack and sort board that helps build matching and counting skills. Little learners can simply match the color and quantity of the colorful pieces to the key on the sturdy solid-wood board, and then stack them up on the peg. Comes with 15 wooden stacking pieces and base.

10.  Geometric Nomenclature Card set.  $3.80 (on sale from $16).  From Adena Montessori.

Happy Spring!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend, and are enjoying the beautiful spring weather! It was lovely here, and the Easter Bunny was kind enough to spare my children the baskets of candy, and provided them instead with an egg hunt, some beautiful books, and a Live Butterfly Kit by Insect Lore. We have to send away for the caterpillers, but I am looking forward to watching them grow and transform with my little ones! I will post photos to update you on their progress as we go along.

In the spirit of spring, I am participating in the collaborative project A Blog A Tree between I plant a tree and ITSTH in order to reduce my energy footprint! They are partnering to plant a tree for each blog that participates. Even more exciting, you can choose the species of tree for them to plant: pine tree, oak tree, robinia, or beech tree. I chose Robinia because their flowers are lovely, but it was a tough choice. Want to get involved? Simply blog about their project, follow the link to enter your blog and select your tree, and post your button to let others know about the project!

"The land is where our roots are. The children must be taught to feel and live in harmony with the Earth."
~Dr. Maria Montessori