Super Hero "Not-So-Montessori" Subscribers Freebie Activities for Preschoolers

DO YOU KNOW A CHILD WHO LOVES TO PLAY SUPER HEROES? I'VE FOUND LOTS OF  POSITIVE WAYS TO INCORPORATE THIS "LOVE" INTO YOUR MONTESSORI LEARNING ACTIVITIES. (Download them for free!)

Photo from Adobe Stock

For the past two months I have been caring for my youngest grandchild who is now three years old...and a big super hero fan.
In fact, he has been wearing one of his super hero costumes everyday since September!

As soon as he gets home from Preschool, his costume goes on! 

3-yr old "super hero"!

This 3-year old's intense interest in Super Heroes has inspired me to create some Montessori-style Activities to enhance learning in many of the curriculum areas of the traditional Montessori pedagogy.  Since the authentic Montessori scheme is reality-based, I had not actually developed this type of "curriculum" during my years in the Preschool classroom. 

However, I have found that there are these lovely teachable moments at home when "super hero kids" can enjoy my Montessori-style Activities and my little grandchild has had lots of fun with these while learning, too!

PRACTICAL LIFE SKILLS

His favorite costumes are "Spiderman" and "Superman." Eventually, he combined the favorite parts of each of these and so he becomes "Super Spiderman!" That way he gets to wear a cape AND a mask.

Getting Dressed

Getting into the costume involves several steps that must be followed in a sequence. For example, the suit must go on before the belt and the cape can be put on. 

Also, the gloves were very frustrating in the beginning! This very independent little one didn't like to have to wait for an adult to help him place his fingers in the correct parts of the gloves. Within three weeks, he had figured out how to put his own "Spider gloves" on! 

This was a "Super Hero accomplishment" that he has been so proud of achieving. And, what a wonderful example of gaining Practical Life skills in dressing himself! 

You can create an inspiring little booklet or set of cards with the following freebie Activity Pack featuring photos of DIY super hero costumes for girls and boys! 

"Super Hero Costumes Booklet"

(for your book corner)

This new Activity Pack at my Subscribers Freebie Collection includes photos of people (and an animal!) dressed in a variety of DIY super hero costumes. You can print them on heavy card stock and put them together to create a book for your reading corner. 

Is there a "Sensitive Period" for Super Heroes? 

I am beginning to think so! With my grandson's "Sensitive Period for Super Heroes", I got inspired to create this Montessori-style "Parts of..." set of activities that are now part of my Subscribers Freebie Collection!

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT:

Pre-reading, Reading, & Writing

"Super Woman 3-Part Cards & Booklet Activities" 

These Activity Packs include templates for you to create:

~ 3-part cards for the costume of both Super Woman and for Super Man

~ Templates for the child to make "Parts of..." Booklets to go along with the 3-Part Cards Sets

"Super Man 3-Part Cards & Booklet Activities" 

You can learn more about how to use Montessori 3-Part Cards at this link: Montessori 3-Part Cards Rationale

"Super Hero Alphabet Letter Matching Sounds Activity"

This Activity Pack includes templates for you to create an individualized Matching Activity:

~ Templates of 26 "Super Hero" capital letters

~ Templates of 26 line drawing pictures of objects with beginning sounds that correlate with the phonetic sound of each letter of the alphabet ("x" is represented by a picture of a "box", since there are no words in the English language that begin with the phonetic sound of "x")   

LARGE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT: MOVEMENT

"Super Hero Spiderman Command Cards"

This Activity Pack includes templates for you to create a set of Montessori-style Command Cards:

~ Templates of ten pictures of "Spiderman" in various action poses for the child/ren to enact

****There is a fun EXTENSION included for this activity, too!

ARTS/CRAFTS and DRAMA

"Super Hero Stick Puppets & Ornament-Making Activity"

This Activity Pack includes templates for you and the child/ren to create a Super Man and/or Super Woman stick puppet

~ Templates of Super man and Super woman in both color and also color-in outlined drawings that can be printed off on heavy card stock and made into stick puppets or ornaments to hang

My grandchild and I made these puppets and then we acted out some "rescue stories." Adding music makes it even more fun!(see suggestions below)

We also hung some of these on our Christmas Tree!

MUSIC 

My little grandchild likes to pretend he is a super hero when he is wearing his costume.

He creates elaborate and very active scenarios both indoors and outside. 

I've added some music to his drama play and here are a few songs I found on Amazon:

"Superman the Movie: Main Theme"

"Wonder Woman: TV Series Theme"

"Spiderman The Animated Series (60's)"

I invite you to download these wonderful new resources at my Subscribers Freebie Collection! 

Not yet a subscriber? 

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Thank you again for visiting my Blog today. I hope you and your child/ren enjoy these activities as much as we do!

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Musically Montessori: Jingle Bells and "Paper Plate Ice Skating"

HOW ABOUT ADDING SOME SEASONAL SPARKLE TO YOUR MONTESSORI MUSIC CIRCLE!  I'll show you how with just two paper plates, four jingle bells and a pipe cleaner. And, as a seasonal gift for you from me, you can download my full "Paper Plate Ice Skating" Lesson Plan, visuals, and extension activities at the Max and Naoli Montessori On-Line Advent Calendar that you will see at the end of this post!

Photos in this post from the artists at Adobe Stock Photos

You can watch this fun activity in action in the following  little video of me and  my little Montessori Music group at Kiran's Montessori School. And, I've had such fun "paper plate ice skating" with the other 700+ Preschoolers throughout my weekly schedule at 30 Montessori schools in the SF Bay Area!

CLICK to watch the video at youtube!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
A Jingle Bell Bracelet for each child in your group

Two Paper Plates for each of 4 children at a time to "ice skate" while the others play their bells

• First, I introduced the jingle bell bracelets to the children and showed them how to play them by shaking them.

• Then, we all got our own jingle bell bracelet and we played them all together in "our jingle bell orchestra". First, we all practiced some of our rhythm patterns (Ex: "Ti-ti Ta, Ti-ti Ta") and then we sang "Jingle Bells", of course!
• Singing the Jingle Bell Song was a sweet seasonal activity and we all had fun singing while playing our bells. 
• Next, I showed the children my collection of paper plates and told them that we weren't going to eat on these plates, but we were going to use them for pretend "ice skates"!
• Here is where it helps to show the children photos of actual ice skates, and also ice skaters skating around on a rink (You can download photos and a full Lesson Plan for this activity as a special gift that you will see at the end of this article)
• We had fun pretending to make our circle rug into a pretend "ice skating rink": First, we got out our pretend hoses and "sprayed water" on our rug. Then, we turned on our pretend snow making machines to "freeze the water" and voila! We had our "slippery pretend ice skating rink" all ready for our first skaters.
• I stepped onto a pair of paper plates to demonstrate to the children how to go ice skating on "paper plate ice skates"
• Next, I invited 4 children to be the ice skaters in the middle of our circle and they stepped onto their paper plates and took off "ice skating" around while the other children played their bells
• I like adding to the atmosphere, so I played "The Skater's Waltz" on my iPod to accompany each group of skaters as they glided along the rug...and of course, there were plenty of giggles!
• After each child had their turn for "paper plate ice skating", we all played our bells along to the song, "Bell Horses" and our "Little Macaroni Pony" song, too. Great fun for all!

IF YOU WANT THE CHILDREN TO MAKE THEIR OWN JINGLE BELL BRACELETS YOU WILL NEED:

Large size jingle bells from the craft store

Pipe cleaners onto which, the children will "thread" the jingle bells 

• Decide how many bells each child will put on their pipe cleaner. (Usually 4 bells work well)
• Invite each child to choose a pipe cleaner.
• Demonstrate how to thread a bell along the pipe cleaner.
• Proceed to thread the other 3 bells along the pipe cleaner, then twist together the ends of the pipe cleaner. (You might have to help the children with the twisting part!)
• Have fun playing the bells and singing holiday songs together!

I am so delighted to offer you my special gift that is being featured in the 
Max and Naoli Montessori On-Line Advent Calendar!

HERE'S MY SEASONAL GIFT FOR YOU:

You'll be able to download my full Montessori Lesson Plan, Visuals, "Song of the Week" card, and links to mp3 songs to create your own fun "Paper Plate Ice Skating" Music Circle for this fun time of year!

AND---there is a SPECIAL 50% OFF COUPON for my Musically Montessori eCourse "First Twelve Weeks."

That means you can enroll in my 12 week on-line training for just $62.50 until December 25th!

YAY! I've gotten such a nice response to this special offer that I decided to EXTEND it until midnight Jan. 1st, 2017.

ENTER THIS CODE: WINTER MUSIC  and get 50% off the regular price. HERE IS THAT LINK: "FIRST TWELVE WEEKS"

That is a super deal to jumpstart your Montessori music curriculum with:

• More than 40 Instructional Videos that demonstrate how to implement a sequential music curriculum that has been very successful with my Montessori groups over the past 20 years
• Weekly PDF Downloads that include Montessori Lesson Plans, Visuals, Montessori-style Games and Templates for Shelf Works to reinforce the music concept of each Lesson
• Exclusive mp3 music downloads from my very favorite resource, "Classical Fun Sing-Alongs" that introduce children to a famous composer's work through Movement and Focused Listening Activities

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR SEASONAL GIFT 

AND COUPON!

~25 Days 25 Gifts~

MAX & NAOLI 

ON-LINE MONTESSORI ADVENT CALENDAR

http://maxandnaoli.com/montessori-online-advent-calendar

This post is part of the Montessori Monday Link-up at Living Montessori Now, where you'll find gazillions of Montessori resources from educators all over the world!

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