Map work and more

I finally got the courage to bring out the World Map puzzle. DJ loves it! I showed him how to match the puzzle pieces to the control sheet. This will become more important when we get to maps like the US or Asia where there are a lot of little tiny pieces.

I've also begun teaching him the continent names using the continent song on this youtube video. There are many, many versions of this song but DJ likes this one because it is sung by kids using the same map puzzle he has. It's quite adorable hearing him try to pronounce America.

You can see from this photo just how large these maps are.  This is why I've hesitated to bring it out.  I don't really have a place in the schoolroom/living room for it.  And there are a total of 8 maps (World, US and 6 continents, excluding Antarctica).  Where, or where, am I going to put them all??


In addition to the new map work, DJ also pulled out some old favorites. Although he's not working on his mat on the floor here, I was glad to see that he chose only one block so he could explore it more without getting bogged down in a lot of pieces. There is some extension work that I need to try with him by setting the pieces across the room, pointing to a slot and asking him to go and find the right piece. I'm just not sure if he's ready for that or not.


DJ also selected the cutting work again and did really well with the scissors this time. And he didn't need any help from me. I was glad to see that he chose the straight cuts so he was able to cut on the line for the whole strip and ended with a pile of squares.


After that he wanted to paint, so I gave him some green paint (his request) and then I gave him a bowl of yellow and blue. You can see on his paper the lighter green came from the green paint and the darker green sections were the blue/yellow mix. This was the first time I've given him colors to mix other than white with a color. He enjoyed it but I don't know that he really cared what was happening. He starts an open-ended art class with our homeschool co-op soon so I'm curious to see if his interest in art will be piqued by that.


In addition to shelf work, DJ has been doing a lot of Practical Life work around the house. He really loves bringing in the empty trash bins on trash day. Often he asks to take them out every day of the week. Heh. It doesn't work like that!


He also helps in the kitchen with his breakfast and lunch. Here he's making tuna sandwiches with my help. (Yep, that's me. My husband took this photo.)


I recently received inspiration from a post on Montessori Mischief on how to make it possible for a toddler to use an apple slicer. Eureka! First, I had to buy an apple slicer, because I broke ours trying to slice an entire apple. Once I had cut the apple into 4 horizontal pieces, DJ was able to slice them into a pile of perfect little pieces. Yum!!