Easter Felt Art Project (& Math Tie Ins)

Recently, while perusing the dollar section at Target, the boys and I came across some cute seasonal felt place mats.
The place mats came in two packs,  in both pink and light blue.
The pink place mats featured floral cut outs. The light blue place mats featured Easter egg cut outs.
We bought two of the light blue place mats.
These mats are not only decorative for Easter but they make the concept of positive and negative space very concrete, as well as the concept of patterns.
Plus, we figured that they would be fun to paint!
So, we took them home and discussed the designs on the place mats.
We discussed the pattern on the place mat and discussed how we thought that the place mats had been made: most likely, they were done using a die cut tool, as the egg shapes were identical on both of the place mats.
We got into the concept of positive and negative space.
After briefly discussing, it was then left up to them to explore their mediums: the felt, the paints, and the paper...
Both Big Bro and Little Bro placed their mats onto their art trays and carried the trays outside.
They both chose to place card stock paper under the felt place mats.
Big Bro and Little Bro then discussed if they were to paint only on the surface of the felt, that they would be painting on the positive space of the place mats. They then discussed if they painted in between the die cut outs, they would be painting in the negative space of the felt.
The boys enjoyed exploring patterns, colors, and positive and negative space during this project.
They were very deliberate in their paint choices and really took their time on this art project. Big Bro took two days to complete his art work.
Little Bro is still working diligently on his...he has already spent two days, but has more to go...
The process of getting to explore the concepts of pattern, color, texture, and positive and negative space has been really interesting to observe.
They both have seemed to get quite a bit out of doing this project.

Here are some pictures of their work in progress:

Big Bro went back and forth painting the positive and negative spaces...

Little Bro painted all of his positive space first. Then, he went back to do the negative space...

Big Bro's art work...note how he has painted both the positive and negative space as he has worked on this...

Big Bro, day 2, working on his art project...

Little Bro, day 2, working on his art project.

Close up shot of Little Bro's art in progress...he focused on painting all of the positive space first...

Here is Big Bro with his painted felt place mat...he is still debating whether he wants to use it as a place mat or if he wants to affix it  onto tag board...

Big Bro's finished art from painting all of the cut outs on the felt mat...the negative space becomes the positive space on the card stock paper!

Have you done some Easter or Spring themed projects that you would like to share?

Have you created art projects that drive home math concepts?

Would love to have you link up and share your ideas in the comments section so that I can come see you art projects and so that I can pin them to my Pinterest boards.

Mini Golf Math!

A few weeks ago, while perusing various consignment stores looking for picture books for our homeschool, we decided to pop by our local Goodwill store to check out their selection of books.
Back in our earlier days of homeschooling when we were still very much in the process of building up our collection of books and materials, I used to pop into both consignment stores and thrift shops in search of Fabulous Finds. But since we have amassed such a wonderful collection of materials, these shopping trips have subsided quite a bit...they are still fun to do once in a while though! 

Well, while we were there at Goodwill, Big Bro happened to see a miniature golf kit, in like brand new condition, in the original box, with each part of the set still in plastic wrap.
Both boys love golf, whether it is miniature golf or real golf, so to find this set was pretty neat!
Even though the creators of this set designed it to be a drinking game, we saw it as something that could work well for us in the scope of homeschooling...

Big Bro was especially determined to get this little golf game so he quickly added that there would have to be some kind of learning game or Montessori extension that they could do with this set.

Since this kit was actually designed to be a drinking game, each shot had a designated meaning as to whose turn it was to drink and how many shots they were supposed to have...
Each shot glass is color coded. There are a total of six shot glasses, as well as one flag/pin, two golf clubs, two little metal golf balls, a sand trap, a small bunker, and a water hazard.
The only thing the set needed was a little rake for the sand trap, but we found that taking the brush meant for Dear Daddy's shaving kit worked pretty well as a way to tidy up the sand.

As it turns out, our Montessori math facts are in little boxes and are color coded, so the boys came up with the idea that this set could work for a math game / work extension!
We have four boxes, one for each of the math operations:addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Little Bro has not had any work involving division yet, but both boys are familiar with and have had Montessori lessons on addition, subtraction, and multiplication, so we used cards from these three sets and filled the shot glasses with the cards.

Our cards fit perfectly into the shot glasses!

Let me tell you, this math work extension has been a huge hit with both boys!

They have come up with multiple ways to do this work  / play this game, depending on how you wanna look at it...

Generally, one of them will select the work and will add the respective cards.
They then choose to do the work with or without the aide of the Montessori math beads.
They have come up with all kinds of rules about what the different shots mean:
If you land in a sand trap, you have to complete two cards.
If you land in the water hazard, you have to do three cards.
If you get stuck by the bunker, you have to do two cards.
If you score a hole in one, you can choose to not answer a card for that time or, for some of the rounds, If it is a "hole-in-one contest", then you "win" a car (a toy car of course)!!!

This has been such a great way for them to practice their math facts.

Since they have enjoyed playing it so much, they are now trying to think of other sorts of cards that could work into this game.
We are going to try this game using grammar cards from our Montessori grammar work for Big Bro, as well as speech and articulation cards for Little Bro.
I just have to use the template from our Montessori math cards to make cards for grammar and speech/articulation that will fit the shot glasses.

So thanks to the person who donated this adorable set to Goodwill!
You probably got it as a gag gift or something and thought it was silly, but for two boys who love golf, this set has been such a great addition to our homeschooling (and all for only $2.00)!

Here are some photos...what a fun way to learn!

Our mini golf set!

Our Montessori math facts cards in their regular color coded boxes: addition is red, multiplication is yellow, and subtraction is green. They are not using the division cards for this work just yet...

Big Bro working out what each shot will mean...

Big Bro explaining to Little Bro how this mini golf set works as a math work...

The ball has landed in the sand trap! That means answer two math facts cards.

Best ball round!  Montessori math beads are hanging out in case they need to use them for solving / self checking their answers.

Little Bro doing this work independently...

Little Bro doing this as his work. The Montessori math beads and the cars for getting a hole-in-one are off to the side...

Close up of the toy cars they use as prizes if they get a hole-in-one! Love how they have the cars open as if they are actually on display at a tournament. Also shown are the Montessori math beads they can choose to either help solve the problem or to self check their work. The beads in this box are referred to as the decanomial bead box. For homeschoolers using Montessori math, this math bead set is terrific! We purchased our decanomial bead set from Alison's Montessori.

Halloween Math Fun for Older Ones! (Ages 6-9)

Today's post is about some neat and inexpensive ideas of fun for children, ages 6-9, for Halloween themed math fun!

To do these activities, you will need to do the following:

1. Find a large assortment of Halloween themed manipulatives, such as mini erasers or plastic rings that are meant to be Halloween party favors.

2. Make or purchase the following charts:
Venn Diagram paper chart or Venn Diagram math tray...
Sorting paper chart or sorting math tray...
Graphing paper chart or graphing math tray...

Here is a link to the Lakeshore Learning math trays. We have these trays. The boys love using them!

3. You will need:
Some paper, pencils, and various bins, jars, and baskets for the erasers.

4. For a more Montessori-inspired setting, you may also wish to add the Hundreds Board, Fraction Circles, wooden trays, and self-check charts for the Control of Error for these activities. This way, as the child works through the activity, he or she will be able to check to see if their answers are correct. For the activities that involve using the Hundreds Board, the Hundreds Board also inherently works as the Control of Error for this work, as there is only room for one eraser per space on the Hundreds Board.The same is true with the Fraction Circles. The wooden trays are so that the child can easily carry his or her work to their work space with ease.

For the set-up for each math work, determine whether or not your child or children are familiar with the following math concepts. Make the call if this concept is new and will require a mini lesson on how to do the work or if it is a skill that they already know how to do...

Fractions

Have the child go through the Halloween erasers and set them into groups.
For a child who still needs a very concrete experience, you can use your Fraction Circles with this work. Have the child stack the erasers on the Fraction Circles to get the hang of how to determine the fractions.You could also have a child use your set of Fraction Skittles if you do not have Fraction Circles. To do this, have the child set up the Fraction Skittles, then, behind each section of the skittle, the child should place one eraser. Either way, whether you use Fraction Circles or Fraction Skittles, the child gets to see the one to one correspondence for each part of the fraction.
If a child has yet to learn how to simplify fractions, you can do a mini-lesson after they have grouped their erasers. For a child who already knows how to simplify fractions, you can have them simplify after they figure the initial amounts.
For a Variation of doing fractions work, if you have fractions dice, you can have the child roll the dice on their tray and then, do then problem using the erasers. Then, depending on how proficient they are with fractions, they could add, subtract, multiply or divide the fraction amounts rolled on the dice.
They also could play a game where the first roll is their roll and the second roll is the challenge roll. They can then compare if their roll is greater than or less than the challenge roll.

Decimals

You can either have the child convert their fractions into decimals or else, for a more concrete experience, you can use the Hundreds Board. Have the child place one eraser on each block of the hundreds board in random order...some children may decide that it will be easier to place each type of eraser into groups on the board...others might choose to keep the board random but will then figure out how many out of 100 are a particular type of eraser by counting the various types of erasers one group at a time.

Percentages 

Pretty much the same as above, converted into a percentage...

Multiplication

Give the child the basket or bin of erasers and see if they can make some multiplication facts out of the piles.

Division

Have the child try to make division facts using the erasers...you may want to pull out your division facts box for your child to refer to, to make sure that they have covered the different facts.

Estimation

If the child is familiar with estimation, have them estimate how many erasers are in each bin, basket, or container.
For estimating how many are in a filled container, you can use a large amount and then, see how they work through trying to estimate the total.
You can have an older child or a child who understands the concepts behind estimation to give some pointers to a younger child who has not had a lesson on estimation yet.
Clear containers, whether they are glass or plastic, work best for estimation work.
Mason canning jars, applesauce jars, spaghetti sauce jars, and leftover Rubber-maid type containers, etc. work well...
You can also do the reverse of this by having them start with an empty container and having them estimate how many erasers they think will fit into the container. Empty single serving applesauce cups and baby food jars work well for this estimation activity...
Both of these activities also reinforce the concept of re-purposing and re-using containers, so bonus there!

Solve for X

Using a different eraser for each problem, solve for X.
Set up problems for your child for any of the operations where the eraser represents X.
3rd Grade Gridiron made super cute Halloween flash cards where the child has to solve for X for both multiplication and division problems. We had already done solving for X using the erasers so it was a great transition to then have Big Bro solve for X using these adorable Halloween themed cards.
If you have not checked out 3rd Grade Gridiron and you have a child around the age of a third grader, be sure to check out her lovely blog! She has some wonderful freebies and really neat ideas!

Graphing

For a concrete graphing experience, the graphing math tray from Lakeshore Learning is excellent, as the child literally places one in each space on the graph.
The graphing tray literally work as a Control of Error, as there is only room for one eraser per space.
For a child who is more comfortable with a more abstract version of graphing, the child can make a paper graph on chart paper.
For graphing work, limit it to say five different types of erasers...then, have them graph how many there are of each type.
Again, if a younger child has not had much experience with graphing, this is something that an older child can easily model for a younger child...

Venn Diagram

The Lakeshore Learning Venn Diagram math tray is a very visual, very concrete way for a child to lay out how the erasers are alike and different.
If a child is new to doing Venn Diagrams, you can intentionally limit what is in the bin or on the tray for them to compare and contrast...

Depending on where you particular child is at with these math skills, you can design mini-lessons similar to how you would do a Montessori math presentation.

Hopefully, your child will enjoy doing these fun, Halloween themed math activities as much as Big Bro has been enjoying doing them! 

In case you are looking for Halloween fun for little ones, ages 3-6, here is a link that shows you all of my Halloween and fall themed posts, many of them featuring ideas for younger children. 

Hope that you find these ideas helpful! Happy fall fun!

Disclosure: 
I was not asked by Lakeshore Learning to highlight the math trays mentioned in this post. Rather, wanted to tell you about them, as we have them and love them! One of the best math purchases ever! You can use them for all sorts of subject areas beyond just math, too. 
Regarding mentioning the Hundreds Board, the Fraction Circles, and the Fraction Skittles: 
Again, these are materials that we have and use for these sorts of math works. 
Ours are not necessarily the same brand as the ones I have listed. I just did a search and found ones that have direct links to similar products like the ones we have in our home.

Some Fun Inspiration: Elastic Font!

Got up early this morning and was reading various tweets.
Happened to read one by @bitrebels that mentioned an Elastic Font on the Behance Network created by Jenny Kyvik Hutchens. 

If you are on Twitter and you don't follow @bitrebels, and if your family likes super creative projects, suggest that you follow them. They have great ideas and tweet about things related to design and technology. 


Bit Rebels Contributor, Richard Darell, did a great post about Jenny Kyvik Hutchens and her cool school project. Jenny lives in Norway and created an amazing project that started with rubber bands.
Her rubber band letters translated into a font as a school typography project is sure to inspire many...know that it will inspire my sons.


Here is a quote from the post by Richard Darell from Bit Rebels called The Elastic Band Typography who describes Jenny's project:

So what is typography, and who creates it? Well, anyone can create it, and if you’re good or if you come up with a unique idea, you could potentially get your idea to go viral. That’s exactly what Jenny Kyvik Hutchens did. She created a typography alphabet for her school project. But it ain’t just any ole typography project because it’s quite unique. It’s one of those odd things that just makes sense, a lot of sense.
She used rubber bands to create all the letters in the alphabet. By using nails attached to a board, she brilliantly managed to create the shapes and forms for a whole new font if you will. The finished result is really inspiring to look at, and it must have taken quite some time to figure out all the positions for the nails and where the rubber bands must go to form exactly the letter she wanted. It’s a brilliant example of what pure creativity can result in, and I am as blown away by this as you probably are. Pure creativity at its best!


Big Bro especially loves creating forms with his geoboard.
It is something that appeals to his way of learning. 
He seems to really thrive at creating complex geometric designs.
Big Bro really enjoys making intricate designs on the geoboards. 
Some of the designs that Big Bro makes are just amazing! 
It is almost hard to believe that he has made them just by using rubber bands.

Little Bro also seems to enjoy geometric design.
Well, after seeing Jenny's Elastic Font, I cannot wait to show the boys!
Predict it will be inspirational for taking geoboard creations and making them into graphics on our computer.  Big Bro has created so many neat geometric designs and it will be great for him to take his work and make them into a graphic design project.

Thanks to Jenny, Richard, Behance Network, and Bit Rebels for sharing this cool project and what will surely lead to inspiration of other projects for the boys here.

Making Memories & Montessori Monday - Our Version of Summer Camp

Peanut butter cup time...this time, our version of summer camp (including some Montessori inspired works), plus some memories in the making...

We are having such an awesome summer! 

Memories in the making, to be sure...

Such fun times with some wonderful friends who came to visit us for a week, as we packed in Disney, the Florida Aquarium, Clearwater Beach...

We also had fun shopping, playing at the pools, parks, and water parks in our area, and going out to eat, plus some fun hanging out, playing at our home, and just kicking back and relaxing a bit, too....

This past week, we had to take it down a notch and get back into our more regular summer groove...namely,  doing our version of "summer camp."

Our summer camp is basically a looser version of our school year.

(Pictured above: bead stair hanger work, counting 0-20 work.)

Both boys still select their work the night before, and they still get started as they normally would during our school year.

(Pictured: sorting shapes work, patterning work, rhyming work with language objects,  counting bead stair extension with frog counters, Draw Write Now Frog art and copywork, dart frogs sorting work and dart frog book, block tower work, sound cylinders work, CVC words with language objects and movable alphabet work)

The main difference is that in addition to our Montessori inspired works, there are more non-Montessori materials such as board games, card games, extra art projects, etc. than we normally have during the school year.

Plus, there is some additional free play time added into the mix, to play outside and to catch and / or observe all of the little critters in our neighborhood, along with some down time to watch a family movie, to do some cooking projects, and to just hang out and relax...

 For us, our summer camp schedule is a much more loose, go with the flow sort of schedule...

We get out and enjoy the sunshine when we can and then, we hang out and relax when either the weather is too hot or humid, or it is a downpour.

Sinus and ear infections have kept creeping back into our summer, so that has necessitated some time to just chill out, as there have been days when we have not felt up to par.

When you feel dizzy, your face, ears, and head feel like they are going to burst, and your sinuses and ears are so full that your teeth hurt, putting in a nice family friendly movie is not all bad...

It actually can be quite calming and relaxing, although we do not do that during the school year. 

(Pictured: Little Bro's art project, cool bilingual English - Spanish card game called Green Alligators, having fun in the sun at the beach, Big Bro and Little Bro eating Popsicle treats, Boys trying to pull out King Arthur's Sword at Disney's Magic Kingdom, having fun splashing at the park in the water fountains, checking out the hot air balloons that fly over our home almost daily each morning, Big Bro and Little Bro catching lizards and frogs, as well as watching a grasshopper and an alligator swimming by at a nearby pond.)

We are enjoying our summer, so much so that the happy times will shine through more than remembering the sinus and ear troubles we have had lately. Ear tubes may make their way back in to the scene, but we know that those aren't all bad, as they worked like charms for both boys the last time around, so if it comes to that again, well, BRING IT ON...

But really, when we think back to this summer, we will remember the times spent doing things we love, not times we had to spend laying on the sofa and watching movies.

Well, happy Monday and happy summer to everyone!

Please be sure to check out:

Jennifer's Making Memories Monday link-ups,
Jody's Montessori Monday at Mommy Moment link-ups,
and Nicole's Montessori Monday link-ups.












 Please also be sure to check out my last post about a light table items swap! 

Even if you don't have a light table, if you have a decent light source such as a large window that gets plenty of sun during the day, you could use the items for displaying in your window.