Our hope is that our students’ creations below serve to be great Mothers Day craft ideas for your preschoolers! Each of the crafts are simple to create at minimal expense, but if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below and we’ll be happy to answer them.

Happy Mother’s Day With All Our Love!

Creating a Montessori environment in your home for your toddler or preschooler to flourish in is possible, provided that you have taken what you’ve learned over the last few months and applied it in your own home.

If you’re just visiting this article for the first time today, we described 10 different ways that you could transform your home into a Montessori environment to encourage your child to be inquisitive and to instill a love for learning.

So in case you missed it, here is a recap:

1. Why Use Montessori at Home?
2. How a Child’s Developmental Stages Will Affect the Planning of Your Montessori Home
3. How to Prepare a Montessori Home Environment for Your Children
4. Montessori Reading Materials for Your Kids at Home
5. How to Communicate With Children, Montessori Style!
6. Want to Make a Huge Difference in Your Child’s Life? Turn off the TV!
7. 14 Household Chores & Activities for Kids
8. The Best Educational Toys for Preschoolers are Montessori Toys
9. The Best Educational Toys for Preschoolers are Montessori Toys – Part 2
10. Montessori Kitchen – Show Your Child How Much Fun Cooking Can Be
11. Easy Recipes for Kids – How to Make Cooking Fun for Your Children

At Montessori American School, we’ve been teaching children the Montessori method since 1988 and our principal has been in the industry since 1982.

With this wealth of experience, we truly hope that you’re able to take these tips, apply them to your home, and watch your children flourish!

For more information about our preschool and kindergarten located in Chula Vista, CA, please call us at (619) 422-1220. We currently have room for more children in the ’13-’14 school year.

Here are five easy recipes for your kids to help with. Younger children may need a little more hands-on help, while older children will just need your supervision.

These simple recipes are for children to ensure that they have fun while cooking in the kitchen with you. Hope this brings you lots of joy with your little ones.

Here we go!

Pizza Bagels

Ingredients: bagels, shredded mozzarella, tomato sauce, and pepperoni.

Directions:
Lightly toast bagel after slicing in half. Spread 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce onto bagel, then sprinkle mozzarella over the top to cover the bagel.
Place in microwave oven for 30 sec. Ready to eat!

Goldfish Aquarium

Ingredients: slice of toast, cream cheese, goldfish crackers, and blue food coloring.

Directions:
Color cream cheese with blue food coloring. Spread blue cream cheese onto toast. Finish by putting goldfish over the toast. It looks like little fish are swimming in the ocean!

Decorate Cupcakes

Ingredients: cake batter, cupcake cups, white frosting, food coloring, icing, sprinkles, and decorations.

Directions:
After baking cupcakes, let them cool for about an hour. Use food coloring to make various colored frostings. Decorate with colored frosting, sprinkles, and other decorations or candy pieces. Let your child’s creativity go wild!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sushi Rolls

Don’t worry, it’s not as gross as it sounds, since there is no actual “sushi” or raw fish involved here. These are actually quite tasty, and kids LOVE them! If you’re having a “sushi night” for the adults, this is a great way to keep your children involved.

Ingredients: 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of strawberry jelly, and 2 slices of white bread.

Directions:
Remove crust from bread. With a rolling pin or large soup can, completely flatten bread. Spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and one tablespoon of jelly on each slice. Roll each slice into a tight spiral. Cut each spiral into 4 pieces. 8 pieces per serving.

Worms in the Dirt

This one is also very tasty, despite the name!

Ingredients: Oreo cookies, 2 cups of cold milk, 1 pack of chocolate instant pudding mix, 8 ounces of cool whip topping thawed, and gummy worms.

Directions:
Put cookies into sealable bag and close tightly. Using a rolling pin, roll and crush the cookies until crumbly. Pour the milk and pudding into a large bowl. Whisk well until all the pudding mix is dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add cool whip and 1/2 of the crushed cookies. Stir mixture.

Place a large spoonful of crushed cookies into the bottom of the plastic cup. Add the pudding mixture on top of that until the cups are 3/4 full. Add 1 large gummy worm so that it is half in the cup, and half hanging out of the top of the cup. Spoon in more crushed cookie around the worm to hold it in place. Top it with cool whip. Serve chilled. You may use as many worms as desired.

This is the last tip in our FREE eBook How to Create a Montessori Environment in Your Own Home which you can download by clicking the icon to your right. →

If you’re child is in the San Diego area and you’d like to enroll your child in our Montessori Preschool, please call (619) 422-1220

There was a time when parents, grandparents, and children would be cooking together in the kitchen, sharing family recipes, and hearing secrets passed down from one generation to the next.

This is still true in some cultures, but has unfortunately become a lost art in many American households. It’s often hard for busy parents to take time out of their busy schedule to even teach basic cooking techniques to their children.

Benefits of Practicing Montessori in the Kitchen

Yes, including your children in cooking requires time, patience, and some additional clean-up (especially with younger children). However, the payoff for you and your child is great!

There are many benefits to including your children in cooking activities. For example:

• It teaches them life-long skills that they will use in the future.
• It can help get children interested in trying healthy foods they may normally not want to try.
• It is a wonderful way to encourage creativity and independence.
• It’s a great bonding activity and can be a lot of fun!

Up next, we’ll share with you recipes that your children can help you with. If you don’t want to wait another 2 weeks, simply download a free copy of our eBook. →

Although cooking isn’t a subject that we usually teach at our preschool near San Diego, we highly encourage it at home in your own Montessori environment!

If you’d like to enroll your child in our preschool for the 2013-14 school year or our 2013 summer camp, please call (619) 422-1220. We’d love to welcome your child!

-Edith

This is part two of “Montessori Toys.” In case you missed it, here is Part I.

Presentation of Montessori Toys

Playtime is about more than just having a big pile of toys for a child to sort through. Even if they are wonderful toys, they need to be presented to a child in a way that he/she can fully appreciate the toy.

Storing Toys

We recommend that toys are stored on neutral colored toy shelves because they offer the possibility of displaying a toy in such a way that it attracts and lures the child to it.

Each toy should be washed often and have all of its parts. If a toy is difficult to store or keep neatly on the shelf, make an attractive box for it.

Each toy that has removable parts should have a beautiful small box for the storage of those parts.

Keep it Fresh! – The art of rotating toys:

Toy rotation results in better use of toys. This way, children always feel that some of their toys are “new.” Limit the number of toys on the shelves to 8 or 9 at any one time. Remaining toys should be stored accessibly.

As the child tires of certain toys they can replace them with a stored toy. Of course, if a child asks for a “stored toy,” he/she should be able to have it.

Putting toys away

This is something that must be formed as a habit.  It’s easy to form this as a good habit, but very difficult to break the habit of not putting toys away!

Encourage your child to replace each toy on the shelf immediately after he/she has finished using it (even if he or she plans on using it again later).

For more ways to create a Montessori environment in your own home, download our free eBook.→

Just a reminder that if you’re looking for a Montessori preschool near San Diego, students are still be accepted for the 2013-14 school year that begins in the fall.

To enroll your child, call (619) 422-1220 or view our official press release for more information on our Montessori Curriculum.

Talk to you soon!

-Edith

Montessori philosophy believes that choosing toys in a Montessori home should challenge a child’s interest and imagination, without being too difficult or too easy.

If your child destroys a toy, it is often because the toy is either too simple, too difficult, or is in a deteriorated condition. Toys should inspire a sense of joy, wonder or fulfillment as a child plays with them. (Of course, first and foremost, toys should be safe!)

Types of toys

Many toys found in a Montessori environment are both fun and educational. Some of the criteria for selecting the best educational toys and games are:

Children will be strategic and use their imagination when playing with toys. There will be a positive challenge for them, that when they have successfully completed the task they will feel a sense of accomplishment and want to do it again.

Children will have an enjoyable experience and love what they are learning. Toys should contribute to the enhancement of life skills that will prepare your child for a life-long love of learning.

Children need smart toys and games that are fun, have a purpose, and are also durable and attractive. It is important to choose quality, over quantity, when selecting toys and games for your child.

In part two of this segment, we’ll get into more detail about the presentation of toys for your toddlers and preschoolers.

Don’t forget that if you’d like more ideas for creating a Montessori environment in your home, you can download our eBook for free!→

Montessori American School is a preschool in Chula Vista, CA that instills the love of learning in children ages 2 – 6. For more information or to enroll your child, visit MontessoriAmerican.com/contact.html.

There are many fun and creative ways that you can involve your child in everyday activities that will help them grow in their independence and creative thought processes. Below are some exercises that will provide a range of activities which allow children to develop:

• Control and coordination of movement
• Awareness of environment
• Orderly thought patterns
• Independent work habits
• Responsibility

Even at an early age, your child can help perform tasks in your home environment, such as:

Scrubbing sinks

Materials:
Small sponge or scrub brush and a small can of cleaner with only one hole uncovered.

CAUTION: Store the cleanser out of the child’s reach. With younger children, you can apply the cleanser and they can help scrub. Or, for older children, they can apply the cleanser and do everything themselves while you just supervise.

Helping unload groceries

Place grocery bags on the floor. Let your child hand you items, or let them put things away that are within their reach. CAUTION: Be mindful of cans or other items that are too heavy for a child.

Dusting

Materials: Colorful flannel cloths (cut 6”x6”), small baby’s hairbrush, and a place to put the dirty cloth. Start by showing your child the dust and asking if he/she would like to be a helper. Show him/her how to wrap the cloth around his/her fingers and slowly, carefully wipe away the dust. Show him/her how to change the position of the cloth as it collects dust. The brush can be used to get into carved furniture, nooks, and crannies.

Vacuuming

Most children love to vacuum! Show your child how to connect the various parts of the vacuum, turn it on and off, and how to clean different parts of the rug. CAUTION: Make it very clear that an adult needs to plug the vacuum in!

Pouring

Allow the child to pour drinks from a small pitcher, with only a cup of liquid. Gradually increase the amount of liquid as the child is older and more dexterous.

Setting the table

Hand them one item at a time, and later set one full place and allow the child to replicate it for remaining place settings. Then, finally, allow them to do the whole process on their own.

Folding and putting clothes away

A great way your child can help is by being responsible for folding and putting away his or her clothes. Show him/her how to fold various types of clothing, and where the appropriate drawer is for each item. Also teach him or her how to sort dirty clothes to be washed.

Other indoor & outdoor activities your child can help you with are:

• Washing/drying dishes
• Weeding
• Raking leaves
• Watering plants
• Washing the car
• Gift wrapping
• Decorating for holidays

The point is that you can find plenty of simple tasks around the house that your children will enjoy doing with you. Remember, children learn better when participating with someone they love.

Download a free copy of our eBook if you’d like more tips on creating a Montessori environment in your own home. →

Oh don’t forget that if you live in the San Diego area and you wish to enroll your child in our preschool and kindergarten classes beginning this fall, you must do so soon because classes fill up quickly on a first come first serve basis.

Just call (619) 422-1220 and we’ll be happy to assist you. Hope to speak with you soon.

-Edith

“Books are good for children and TV is bad.” This has become as common knowledge to most as the fact that fruits and veggies are better for you then sweets. But, do you actually know why this is?

The truth is, that if your child spends great amounts of time watching television, they are deprived of some very essential parts of childhood, such as:

• Social contact and communication with families
• Development of language
• The ability to express their spirit
• The closeness derived from family communication

In addition, excessive television hinders imagination, as well as reading and writing skills. When we hear someone speaking words, we create pictures in our mind. These mental images are necessary for reading and writing.

Children who watch endless hours of TV often never develop the necessary ability to form these mental images.

Along with the lack of exposure to some positive communication, children are often given exposure to some negative images and words through television. They may be exposed to violence, inappropriate, or disrespectful language and actions, fantasy and unnatural family relationships.

When you turn on television for your child, do you approve of what he/she will see? Is it consistent with your family values? Instead of resorting to television for entertainment, consider a carefully selected book as a substitute.

This suggestion along with 10 others can be downloaded for free in our eBook: How to Create a Montessori Environment in Your Own Home. If you truly want to develop “the love of learning” in your child and watch them intellectually flourish as they grow, we invite you to download a copy. →

Also, if you’d like to enroll your pre-schooler in our award winning Montessori school, enrollment for the ’13 fall semester begins tomorrow, February 1st. Check our calendar for more information or call (619) 422-1220. Hope to see you soon!

-Edith

Effective communication between children and parents is so important in formative years (and even into adulthood!) Here are some things to consider when communicating with your child…and of course, we suggest communicating in a style that Maria Montessori would approve of.

• Do you listen with genuine interest when your child speaks?
• Do you give him/her the opportunity to express interests, thoughts, and opinions?
• Does your family include your child in daily life, trips, and social relations with other adults and families?
• Do you insist that family members listen to each other, without interrupting?
• Do you speak to your child in a series of nods and grunts?
• Do you share thoughts with your child every day?
• Do you teach your child at least 10 new words a day through conversation and reading?
• Do you communicate the family values and morals to your child? (This is done through what you say and how you handle distressing as well as happy situations.)

By the age of six, children have adopted the family morality and attitude. Have you given him/her enough of yourself to last a lifetime?

Please download a free copy of our eBook to learn more ways to create a Montessori environment in your own home. →

Also, parents…don’t forget that Montessori American School in Chula Vista will be closed Monday Jan 21st for Martin Luther King Jr day and children are off on the 24th and 25th for parent/teacher conferences. Refer to our school year calendar for more information.

Enjoy your 3 day weekend!

-Edith

Reading with your child is one of the most important things you can do to help them develop their reading and language skills and to encourage imagination. It’s also a wonderful way to spend quality time together.

Montessori Reading Materials & Types of Books to Read
For children under four years old, true stories are a must. Very young children devote their energy to exploring, ordering, and classifying their real environment. Make-believe or fantastic stories can confuse this important work.

Young children are interested in stories about:

• Other children
• True things
• Family life
• Animals

Around five years old, children will begin to seek out make-believe and fantastic stories, as well as:

• Geography
• History
• Music
• Famous people
• Story Telling

In addition to reading stories, it is also beneficial to have “story telling” time at home. Pass along those home-spun yarns your ancestors told their children. Create some of your own and start back up the tradition by telling your stories to children.

You can make up stories about your own child and what he/she did all day, or about your childhood, an exciting adventure, the adventure of your family pet, etc.

For more tips on how to create a Montessori environment in your own home, download a FREE copy of our eBook. →

If you’re searching for a Montessori school near San Diego, you’ll be happy to know that in addition to language skills, our curriculum focuses on practical life, math, and teaching a child to use their 5 senses to explore their surroundings. Call (619) 422-1220 for more information.

-Edith