Soles Montessori Child Development

Labor Day is a great opportunity to talk to your kiddos about different jobs and occupations! As you're out and about this long weekend, talk with them about the types of jobs you see people doing and ask them what they jobs they would like to try out when they're older. It's a great chance to teach new vocabulary and inspire imaginative play!

Back to school season is almost here! We hope everyone is enjoying their summer break and we can't wait to welcome returning students back on August 26 and new students on September 3. See you soon!

✨ FOCUS ✨ We love the look of concentration on a toddler's face as they tinker and experiment to master a new skill.

Friendly reminder to let them tinker, discover, struggle, and find solutions while they play and explore. 😊

Looking for some Montessori-approved activities that will keep your kiddos occupied when the weather is yucky? We have you covered!

🎨 Use the rain as an art tool! Have them draw using washable markers on plain white paper (abstract designs and shapes work best). Place the drawings on a tray and set up outside with one side of the tray propped up at an angle and let the raindrops transform the pictures.
👕 Work together to clean out their closet. They can practice folding, sorting by color, and stacking clothes.
🥧 Make salt dough! Kids will get a kick out of making their own play dough. Find a recipe online and experiment with different mix-ins to create scented doughs for a sensory experience.

The fourth of July is a great excuse to get creative at home with your kiddos! Here are some ideas to get you started:

🇺🇸 STEM: Make fireworks in a jar - Put water in a jar about 3/4 of the way up. Pour about 6 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a small separate bowl. Have your kids add drop of 2-3 colors of food coloring to the oil and whisk (the food coloring will bead up in the oil). Pour the oil over the water and watch a fireworks show as the food coloring gradually sinks to the bottom and the colors mix.
🇺🇸 ART: Cut strips into one end of a straw or paper towel and fray the strips outward. Dip the strips into paint and blot on paper to create a fireworks scene. Level it up by having them cut buildings and landscapes out of magazines to create their scenes.
🇺🇸 BAKING: Make a flag cake! Bake a simple one layer cake, top with white icing, and use colorful fruit of your choice to create a flag design.

In need of some easy ideas for water/ice play that don't require a sprinkler or pool? Try these:
🌊 Keep it as simple and let them wash their toys! You'll be surprised how much they love using soapy water and a sponge to get their toys squeaky clean.
🌊 Let toddlers cool off while they practice their hand-eye coordination. Put ice cubes in a few different bowls and set out tongs, spoons, and any other fun tools they can use to transfer the ice cubes between bowls.
🌊 Freeze their toys! Put some small toys in a plastic bin, fill it with water and freeze it. Then let them use toy tools and kitchen utensils to "free the toys."

Looking for at-home art activity ideas for the summer that go beyond crayons and markers? Try these:
🎨 Ice Paint: Fill an ice cube tray and add a few drops of food coloring to each section. Cover with plastic wrap, and poke a popsicle stick into each section and freeze. Once frozen, have your kids use the paint popsicles to unleash their imagination.
🎨 Paint the Ice: Fill a plastic container with ice cubes and take it outside. Set out washable paints and brushes and let your kids paint the ice cubes. They can watch the colors blend and change as the ice melts.
🎨 Bubble Painting: Fill some bowls with water and mix a few drops of dish soap and food coloring or paint into each one. Have your kids use a straw to blow bubbles into the bowls until they reach the top, and then have them "print" the bubbles with white paper.

Here's an activity idea that is great for outdoor play or can be played indoors on a rainy day: Balloon Tennis! Have your kids create a "tennis racket" by taping a paper plate to a paper towel roll or popsicle stick. Have them decorate their racket with crayons or markers, blow up a balloon, set up a play area, and get playing! Younger kids will be happy to simply hit the balloon around, while older kids can create a designated "court" and rules.

Summer can feel like an all-out sprint of kids activities, but there are some ways to slow down and savor the season as a family:
☀ Bring a blanket outside and listen to an audio book
☀ Embrace outdoor arts and crafts - paint rocks, make fairy houses on tree trunks, make leaf prints
☀ Camp out in your living room
☀ Make your ice cream or popsicles and let your kids invent their own flavors

What's your favorite summer activity to do as a family?

Have you seen these “dressing frames” in Montessori classrooms? Tools like these help little hands practice with buttons, snaps, zippers, buckles, and ties, while also grappling with coordination and patience. You can help foster these skills at home with materials you have at home. Take a shirt with large buttons and wrap it around a pillow or picture frame, or drape a zip-up coat on a straight-backed chair. Demonstrate what to do and let your toddler practice independently!

Even the youngest children start thinking like scientists, starting with observing the world around them. Bring the natural world inside without creating a mess by collecting items from nature and putting them in recycled glass containers for kids to examine and explore.

Flower arranging may not seem like a kids' activity, but it's a great activity for all ages! From snipping flower stems, to pouring water in a vase, to exploring beautiful colors, it's a fun activity that lets little ones practice fine motor skills, build vocabulary, and get creative.

A core principle of Montessori is that even the smallest children can master practical skills like washing dishes. Kids love the feeling of accomplishment they get from cleaning up for themselves after meal!

Art is all about the process in the Montessori classroom, not just the product. Bringing your art materials outside can really spark your little one’s imagination! Have them collect natural objects like leaves and sticks to use as their painting tools, or even let them paint a tree or the driveway (the rain will wash it away). Let them get messy and explore! 🎨

Soles Montessori offers an exclusively Spanish-language immersion environment, but what does that mean? Our teachers are native Spanish speakers and focus on the proper phonetic pronunciation for words to help children absorb the language effortlessly. Our lessons are enhanced with themes around Spanish culture, including books and music.

We know that learning a second language is an extended process for both children and their parents. Soles Montessori helps foster language development for the whole family by providing special programs to help parents learn along with the children. We also provide take-home resources so parents can help students practice what they are learning in school. Learn more at www.SolesMontessori.com!

Did you know that April 6-12 is The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)'s Week of the Young Child? It's a week to celebrate the early childhood years (birth through age 8) that lay the foundation for children's success through their school days and later in life. Learn more https://www.naeyc.org/events/woyc.

Spring is officially here! It's a great time to let your kids get their hands dirty and experiment with seed planting. Kids love watching the progress as their seeds sprout into beautiful plants, and love the reward of eating veggies that they grew. Looking for veggie plants that are easy to grow and maintain? Try cucumbers, summer squash, and peppers.

Friendly reminder: for kids, making art is about the process, not the product. And sometimes, they just create a beautiful mess! Here are some ways to foster a love of creating and art in your little one:
🎨 Talk about the art you see around you and use the opportunity to teach new words like composition, fresco, abstract, impressionism, foreground/background, etc.
🎨 Creating doesn't have to be a free-for-all. Put out a small selection of supplies so they can get creative.
🎨 Take the creating outside! Bring out paper and paints but tell kids they have to find things from nature to use as their paint tools.

Are you familiar with this common sight in Montessori classrooms? The Pikler Triangle is a climbing toy that promotes exploration and coordination. Toddlers and little kids can safely challenge themselves at their own pace and feel the pride in their accomplishment when they scale the triangle.

March is Women's History Month, and a great time to honor Dr. Maria Montessori, the creator of the Montessori Method. Dr. Montessori was an Italian physician and an educator who created "Casa dei Bambini" (Children's House) in Rome in 1907 to bring quality education to disadvantaged children. She recognized that children posses a natural curiosity, a desire for hands-on experiences, and self-motivation, inspiring her to create the student-led Montessori Method of learning.

If you have a toddler, you know how much they like to get their hands dirty. Sand bins let them practice skills like scooping and pouring, tracing shapes and letters, and creating scenes from their imaginations. At home you can use rice, beans, or any other small object in a bin for a similar tactile play experience.

Did you know that Montessori classrooms take a different approach to learning about letters than traditional classrooms? A few key aspects of the Montessori approach include:
▶ Teaching letter sounds rather than letter names (so B would be introduced as "buh" instead of "bee")
▶ Getting tactile by tracing a sandpaper letter while saying the letter sound
▶ Focusing first on writing rather than reading, like using moveable letters to create words

It can be so tempting to offer help or praise while your child is immersed in a challenging activity. Letting them focus and problem-solve will not only lead to deep understanding, but will also let them feel genuinely proud of their accomplishment.

Maria Montessori believed that children's minds thrive in a neat and orderly environment. Focusing on one activity at a time and cleaning up between activities helps little ones focus and builds a sense of responsibility for shared spaces. Encourage this at home by keeping simple cleaning tools in kids' reach and allowing them time to clean their own messes.

Celebrate winter with an "invitation to create" - set out paper, cotton balls or white pompoms, qtips, white paint, buttons, sequins, or whatever else you have on hand and ask your child to create a snowman friend. ☃️ Open-ended crafts let kids' imaginations flow and focus on the process of the art rather than the product. Plus, kids love exploring new materials!

You don't need snow to have snow-themed fun! Try these simple activities at home to celebrate winter:

⛄️ Draw a simple snowman on paper and have your child press playdough into the shape & decorate.
⛄️ Draw a snowman and have your child glue cotton balls to create the snow. Use buttons, paper cutouts, and other simple crafting supplies to decorate.
⛄️ Draw a snowman face on an empty jar and have your child fill the jar with cotton balls using a small pair of tongs.

Happy Holiday from Soles Montessori! We wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday filled with love and laughter. ❤️

Between social events, skipped naps, late bedtimes, and general excitement, the holiday season can be overwhelming for kids, even if it is the most wonderful time of the year. Create a "calm corner" in your home as a place for your kids to re-regulate when they're overstimulated. Simple items like soft toys, chimes, small puzzles, and sand timers can help kids take a quiet calm moment.

Sensory bins are a great activity when you want something to hold your child's attention during independent play? Adding natural elements like beans, rice, sticks, and leaves add an extra dimension and set of textures (and even smells) for kids to explore!