Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Princess Week: Let Princesses Be Princesses

None of my plans for the day appealed to M, so we scratched it all and let her choose what she wanted to do. She wanted to play with puzzles, dance, play with dolls, explore outside, and help me clean the house (I swear- she loves to clean!). It was another reminder of the fact that kids know best what they need to learn.

Practical Life

Care of Self
Since M is now a 3-year-old, she has decided that there are so many things she must do on her own. She wants to brush her own hair, pick out her clothes and dress herself, use the potty by herself, and wear big girl underwear to bed. She also loves playing with dolls right now, and has started trying to change their clothes and brush their hair.



We recently got my old American Girl doll (Samantha) out of storage, along with her entire wardrobe and several pieces of furniture that I had collected during my childhood. I had the sets of books about Samantha too, which we started reading last spring (who knew a 2 year old could sit through a chapter book with very few pictures?). I love the historical references in the books too.



Care of Environment
I am so thankful that M loves to help out with housework. She doesn't have a very long attention span, but she is actually able to help with small tasks like folding wash cloths and dishcloths, moving clothes from the washer to the dryer, sweeping dog hair, watering plants, and cleaning up her toys.



Fasteners
I haven't created a true Montessori activity for fasteners or dressing frames, but M gets a good bit of practice in our day to day life. Here's an example of a small lunchbox-style container that M uses as a suitcase for her dolls. She has gotten really good at opening and closing it by herself.


Puzzles
M played with the princess magnet doll and the ballerina dress-up puzzle for a while. She hasn't been into puzzles much lately, but the novelty of these kept her attention.


Scooping and Pouring Fairy Dust
This was pretty short-lived, but M spent a few minutes transferring fairy dust (salt and glitter) from cup to cup. She wanted to know if the fairy dust would make the glass or tray fly.


Sensorial

Princess and Letter P Lunch
M really liked the themed lunch I did last week for our B Week, so I prepared a quick and easy lunch with foods starting with the letter p. We had grilled cheese sandwiches cut into princess shapes (a castle and a crown), peaches, and pink milk with a pink straw.


Tasting Muscadines
We have some muscadine grapes growing in our backyard that I noticed when I was emptying the compost bin. A few looked ripe, so we did a quick taste test. I split the grape open and removed the seeds to make it easier for M to eat. It was a little sour, but she said she liked it and asked for another.


Listening and Dancing to Music
It doesn't take much to get M moving. After playing with her ballerina puzzle, she requested some dance music so she could have a dance party in the living room. She even asked to have a video chat with Gigi (her grandma) so she could show off her dance moves. You've got to love modern technology!


Language

Aesop's Fables
M chose this collection from her bookshelf, and we sat on the couch for a long time reading the fables. Most are really short (no more than a page), so we were able to read a lot without her losing interest. I chose the fables that had a picture so she could look at the picture to help her understand the story (the language isn't exactly targeted at 3 year olds). After each story I asked her what she thought, and she would ask questions.


Cultural Studies / Science

Caterpillars
When we were looking for muscadines along the edge of our woods, we noticed that there were TONS of caterpillars on the leaves. We spent a long time watching the caterpillars, talking about their coloring, and using my phone to look up what kind of moths they would turn into.

Orange Striped Oakworm
Yellownecked Caterpillars


I think M had a pretty good plan for the day!

To see everything we have planned for the week, check out the first post in this series: P is for Princess.

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