Montessori Cub-n-Kitten

External Anatomy of a Bird 🐦

Animals in their natural habitat

Desert habitat 🏜️🐪🌵

We visited the desert for the first time (first time for children). They touched the sand, felt its texture, and collected some in a container. We also found driftwood and a desert plant to bring back home.

We spoke about the different parts of the desert, the animals that live there, the plants that grow there, and how the desert is very hot during the day and cold at night. They were surprised to learn that plants other than cacti grow in the desert too. ☺️

We saw some camels and we talked about how camels can live for many days without drinking water.

At home, they created their own desert using the sand they collected. With the driftwood, they made patterns and even formed small dunes. We discussed how dunes are shaped by the wind.

Vertebrates and Invertebrates Sorting.

Now that the children have studied about the invertebrate classification and previously about the vertebrate classification, I set up an activity to sort vertebrates and invertebrates and label them.

This was an independent work and I gave them a prompt that said 'Pick one animal figurine at a time. Do you think this animal has a vertebrae?'

So this work was to make them think if an animal has a vertebrae and not just sort from their memory based on previous work. When they reason, they learn and execute better than when they recall. Don't you agree? ☺️

Study of Flags 🇨🇭

I introduced the language to flag parts through a three-period lesson. The language will be very useful as we dive into the study of Flags.

These 3 part cards are a free printable from a blog I came across. The link to download is in the comments.

The flag is a DIY using felt material. Don't forget to download the free printable. ☺️

External Anatomy of a Horse 🐴

Recently we were at a camp and while taking a walk we spotted two horses. My children and I stood there observing the horses.

From there, we spoke about why a horse is classified as a mammal. We discussed how horses have hair, are warm-blooded, give birth to live young, and nurse their babies with milk. We identified the external parts of a horse. This might seem so simple, but honestly, visiting these horses helped connect our earlier lessons (vertebrates to mammals) to the world around us. 🩷☺️

Invertebrates - Introduction to the 6 main groups. 🦋

When we step out, we find far more invertebrates than vertebrates around us. We stop and talk about which group does that particular invertebrate belong to.

Is it an insect with 6 legs?
Is it an arachnid with 8 legs?
Is it a soft-bodied mollusc?
Is it a hard-shelled crustacean?
Or perhaps an echinoderm from the sea?

This way, the classification becomes a part of the real world and not just in materials.

I have shared a few pictures of the invertebrates we came across in our environment.

Fun fact: 🩷 Found the coral, shells, clam, tubes formed by sea worms, cuttlebone, a piece of dried sponge, on a recent visit to the beach. ☺️😇

What do we get from Plants are Trees?

It all began with a simple question:
"Mom, what are rubber bands made of?"
The conversation led to a discussion about rubber trees and then to trees in general and all that they give us.

I wanted to revisit this discussion in a concrete, hands-on way, so that it truly stays with them.

Everything here comes from our kitchen. From spices, grains, cereals, seeds, and nuts to rubber bands, herbs, and even resin (tree gum), was already available in our kitchen. Many Asian families use tree gum to make cooling drinks and sweets, and we happened to have it right there in our kitchen. Cotton and medicines came from our first-aid kit.

No fancy materials.

Even the "board" I used to present the activity was just a kitchen cutting board. ☺️

If you pause and look around, you will realize that you can teach almost anything to children in a meaningful and concrete way using everyday objects from our daily life. Don't you agree? ☺️

Circles drawer from the Geometry Cabinet.

Art extension activities: Size Comparison and Concentric Circles

Needs of a Plant 🌾

Just like us, plants have needs too.

Sunlight gives them energy. Water helps them grow. Soil provides nutrients. Space allows them to grow freely.

Plants breathe in carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen, helping all living things.

Snacks and Grammar ☺️

Purpose of the activity: A noun can have more than one adjective.

After having some snacks, children took some papers from the tray and began making their own book of Adjectives. They recalled what snack they had just eaten and described it with words. (Indirectly working on long-term memory) ☺️

I'm sure this activity will stay with them for a long time. 🩷

Parts of a Tree and the functions of each part.

These 3 part cards are a FREE printable from Seemi - Trillium Montessori. I will be linking the resource in the comments for anyone who would like to use it.