Pearls and Clams

My eyes hurt because this is so beautiful!

Observing my class doing these Reggio inspired free form design works I see concentration, choice making, pride and delight
 in doing a task that is satisfying.
Every adult that sees them says they want to do it as well.
It is peaceful, calming and creative work that is boundless.
I love adding it to my curriculum.

Beautiful!  And so fun for any age person.

"S" Table

Object box extension

I call this 'web paper" and we use it in many ways.

Usually, I make a master that fits the subject at hand and the kids copy it along with the 

Montessori lesson involved.

Works so very well. Please try it.

Fall Invitation to Play

Foam numbers get tiny foam pumpkins counted on top next to Norman Rockwell's darling painting

A variety of small objects create this fall design.

On a large vinyl floor mat haunted houses are built with craft sticks and swizzle sticks and then decorated with foam Halloween images. 

Those foam stickers from Target make a fine Halloween display. 
We keep the paper on the back so they can be used over and over.
The children love the endless possibilities!

Ocean Designs

An old 1970's wall hanging has found new life as the sea background for this Ocean Design Layout.

Real starfish and shells are used as well as a few plastic models.

The centerpiece will be a baby shark in a jar from Florida.

His plastic brother sits on top.

A second layout is ocean creatures in the waves blowing bubbles!

Surrealism Collage for Preschool

The juxtaposition of disharmonious and unrelated images creating surprise, shock and in this case laughter is an attribute of surrealistic art.  All you need are striking pictures cut from magazines and glue sticks. I gave the kids a choice of images that I knew would dazzle.

Humans were cut apart into head, body and legs to be reconstructed into a new, startling form. Other puzzling images float around them.  

These young children only have the beginning skills to draw suns so that is what we added.  

Illuminated Free Form Designs

I was given a box of lighted globes. Oh, thanks. 

What am I going to do with those?

Oh! This!!

Slid the globes out of the box keeping them in their cardboard packing and added these elements.

Felt heart, glazed ceramic test plates from an estate sale, 

flat marbles, and polished rocks. 

Clustered the globes and 

turned the lights out!

Wow!

Ceramic Dish Design

My estate sale scavenger hunting pays off. The colorful dishes are glaze tests from a home ceramics studio and the middle dish was 25 cents. Felt heart from a Valentine's project and flat marbles make for a flashy display in colors.

As a group each child got to pick a glazed dish and a flat marble or polished rock to put on it and then add to the community design.

We discussed color and placement and the children loved it.

Antique Mirror Design

Three is a magic number in art so here we have flat marbles, plastic stars and plastic swizzle sticks. The mirror is probably from the 1930's and found in an attic. The youngest children love this easy design work. So pretty.

Free Form in a Large Frame Design

So simple. Elements are an empty large frame on a black vinyl mat, colored craft sticks, foam stars and wooden rectangles. I have simply started looking in my craft closet for components to create these flexible design works. The beginning to seeing the world in shapes and colors.

Of Nests and Eggs

My hope is to create an engaging object table for observations of bird life with real nests from the neighborhood, hatched egg shells found on the ground, since mama bird tosses them out of the nest to make room for baby, sequence cards, feathers and bird houses.

The objective is for the table to be enticing to children calling to them, "Come! Learn here!"This is the first time I have laid such a variety on a table at once. Usually, Montessori way is to put each activity on a separate tray. Visually, this is exciting. 

A trial run for this teacher!

My excellent 5 Bird Art Projects posting begin here:

http://inspiredmontessori.blogspot.com/2013/07/birds-in-apple-tree.html

A real cardinal nest and egg with sequence cards laid on a bird place mat.

I make a lot of handmade books from magazine pictures

Blue robin egg shells are abundant around my school.

This shows just a small part of a large set of bird story cards. I hand out the pictures to the kids and read the description and they raise their hand to say the name. This is a favorite activity because it starts a lot of discussion.

Drawn Parts of the Feather. Kids can copy this.

Real feather with labels

Drawn Parts of the Feather. Kids can copy this

Bird wing a cat left behind.

Nod to a cultural importance of features

Types of beaks cards with matching photos from 

National Geographic.

Beaks and how they are used.

Bird houses add interest to a nest collection

Enticing object grouping for bird exploration on a floor mat.

Interactive bird object table. I will rotate the lessons to include the above beak, feather and feet lessons

If I was a child I would love to sit here!

I think pulling the unit off the shelf and laying them out as a group will bring a lot of enthusiasm and desire to be involved with this unit. I will station a teacher to guide the children at first.