Fall

Montessori Monthly Themes: Amazing, Fun, & Easy to Do

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities, Montessori in the Home Tagged With: Fall, Holidays, Monthly Themes, Seasons, Spring, Summer, Winter This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

This page includes Montessori monthly themes for preschoolers including Montessori Activities by Season and Montessori Activities by Holiday. I hope this content helps you create amazing Montessori Monthly Lesson Plans! My goal is to add to this monthly content so that you have dozens of Montessori theme ideas for each month of the year!

Montessori Month by Month Curriculum

The child's development follows a path of successive stages of independence, and our knowledge of this must guide us in our behaviour towards him. We have to help the child to act, will and think for himself. This is the art of serving the spirit, an art which can be practised to perfection only when working among children. – Dr. Maria Montessori

Montessori Winter Activities

It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it. ~John Burroughs, “Winter Sunshine”

Montessori New Years Activities

Montessori Martin Luther King Jr. Activities

Montessori Valentine's Day Activities

Montessori St. Patrick's Day Activities

Montessori Earth Day Activities

Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each. – Henry David Thoreau

Montessori Spring Themed Activities

Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own. – Charles Dickens

Montessori Mother's Day Themed Activities

Montessori Memorial Day Themed Activities

Montessori Father's Day Themed Activities

Montessori Summer Themed Activities

Montessori July 4th Themed Activities

Montessori Fall Themed Activities

5 Fun Montessori Practical Life Fall Shelf

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Montessori Tagged With: Fall, Practical Life, Shelf Work This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

If you are anything like me, refreshing shelf work is huge whether you are a homeschooler or in a classroom. Shelf work should get a refresher once a month at least to keep the kids interested and to honor “following the child”. In this case, I have a Montessori Practical Life fall shelf theme. I hope you enjoy these Montessori Practical Life Fall Shelf Ideas.

Check out my fall themed Rainbow letters!

“All our handling of the child will bear fruit, not only at the moment, but in the adult they are destined to become.” ~ Maria Montessori

$Math Paperclip Tray$

Paperclip Tray

This tray is great because you can place it on the Math Shelf! Pretty simple. A small bowl or paperclips, a piece of chalk, a die, and a chalkboard. Have the child roll the die for the numerals to add (or subtract). If the child rolls a “3”, the child then clips 3 paperclips together, and so on. Add the paperclips together to get the sum. This tray works fine motor skills and introduces math concepts in a concrete way.

Acorn Transfer Tray

I found plastic Christmas ornaments and decided to make a work from them! This tray has the ornament placed on a geometric solid base, a small bowl of acorn “gems”, and small tongs. You can use tweezers, too. Simply tweeze an acorn and drop it into the ornament!

Daisy Counters Tray

This tray is versatile, too. Like the Paperclip Tray above, this tray works the fine motor skills of “clicking” the counter while introducing numeration with counting. Honestly this idea came about when we were cutting the dead flowers from our yard. We started to count the daisies and group them into 2s, 5s, and 10s. Voila! We have a work!

I also introduced this tray with “leaf gems” from Michaels. Simple, small, and festive!

Thank you for taking the time to read this Montessori Practical Life fall shelf post. Please subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest and greatest. Be sure to stop by our awesome Carrots Are Orange Facebook community for more inspiration! Lastly, please let me know what is on your shelf!

Marnie

PS. I have some super fun Halloween themed cutting strips in my shop! Check them out!

Make a Melted Pony Bead Sun Catcher

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Montessori Tagged With: Elementary, Fall, Kindergarten, Preschool, Seasons This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I love the colors of fall. The turning leaves, the harvest, the light. I love all of it. This post includes a Make a Melted Pony Bead Sun Catcher activity, perfect to brighten your home with a little fall decor.

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Melted Pony Beads Sun Catcher

Materials

Transparent and Opaque fall colored Pony Beads
Silicone Mini Leaf and Pumpkin Mold
Heat Source like an outdoor oven or grill works best to mitigate the toxins from melting plastic. We used our inside oven, cranked the fan, and opened windows and doors. The smell was a bit much so definitely over do it with the ventilation.

Approach

Decorate your pumpkins and leaves however you wish in the mold
Carefully place onto baking sheet
Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes
Allow time to cool
Display by mounting on a window, or drilling a hole into the sun catcher and threading string through for a hanging display

A fun and simple way to bring light and creativity to your child's day and into your home! Be sure to check out The Artful Parent's Melted Pony Bead Sun Catcher posts. They are wonderful and are sure to inspire you!

I hope we inspired you today!

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Pumpkin Sewing Activity for Preschoolers

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Montessori Tagged With: Fall, Kindergarten, Practical Life, Preschool, Seasons This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Sewing a wonderful early learning activity for children. We recently used felt, yarn, and cotton balls to create a pumpkin. The great part about this activity is that you can adjust it to the age of the child with the type of needle, the type of thread, and how much the child owns the process. Here is how we did our Fall Montessori Activities – Pumpkin Activity for Preschoolers.

Fall Montessori Pumpkin Sewing Activity for Preschoolers

Materials

Orange felt, fabric, card stock, or construction paper
Needle
Paper Hold Punch (if completing with younger child)
Yarn or String (depending on younger child)
Cotton or Paper for stuffing
Scissors
Marker

Montessori Approach

Trace a pumpkin shape onto the orange felt, card stock, or construction paper
You or the child cut out the pumpkin shape
If using a blunt large needle, you won't be able to poke through the felt. I punched holes into the felt with a paper hole punch. So, for my 3.5 year old, the exercise became more of a lacing activity. If you have an older child, you can use a standard needle and thread. You can also play with materials, using thinner felt pieces or cloth.
Demonstrate how to proceed by “sewing” with the yarn or string the two pumpkins together. We went around the pumpkin twice.
Leave a hole at the “stem” to stuff with cotton or paper
Color the stem or glue a brown/green piece of felt, paper, or fabric to create the look of the stem
Gently stuff the pumpkin
You can either glue the pumpkin shut at the stem, “sew”, or staple it closed

Other Fun Pumpkin Activities

Parts of the pumpkin
Explore the guts of a pumpkin
Bake pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seed sensory bag
Pumpkin Play dough and Slime

I hope we inspired you today!

Marnie

Montessori Math and Fine Motor Activity with Leaves

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Montessori Tagged With: Fall, Kindergarten, Math, Money, Preschool, Seasons This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I love fall! I am so inspired to create materials with the traditional icons and especially the colors of fall. I like to think my sons enjoy the process as much as I do. This post includes a simple fall themed Montessori math and fine motor activity with leaves. Great for one to one correspondence work, numeration, and you can even work place value by assigning different place values to different colors. In other words, a “red” leaf is a ten and an “orange” leaf is a hundred. You can get as creative or advanced as you and your children need to be with this activity. Enjoy!

Montessori Math and Fine Motor Activity with Leaves

$Leaf Math Activity$

Fine Motor Activity Materials

Leaf Paper Hole Punch
Card Stock or Construction Paper in various fall colors (e.g. red, orange, brown, yellow)
Glue Stick
Marker
Paper hole punch with string or stapler to create a booklet

Math Activity Approach

Cut squares of card stock or construction paper in all the same color for your number cards
You or the child write the numbers on the card (1 to 5 for younger child, 1 -10, teens, or the name “one”, for example, for an older child)
Get out the glue stick(s) and leaf paper hole punch
Demonstrate how to use the leaf paper hole punch to the child
Introduce the activity to the child, including being able to make a booklet to take home or to display

This activity is great for pre-math and fine motor skills. Plus it is pretty and festive. The children will love using the hole punch! The work is perfect for the shelf in your classroom or your kitchen table at home. Enjoy!

Montessori Apple Activities for Preschoolers

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities, Montessori Tagged With: Fall, Kindergarten, Life Science, Preschool, Seasons, Unit This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

This post includes loads of apple themed activities for preschoolers! A great addition to a fall preschool unit.

Preschool Apple Theme Activities

Practical Life

Tonging Apples – Great for fine motor skill development and pre-reading skill. Demonstrate by identifying the items on the tray, move slowly transferring the small wooden apples from left to right and speak with a few words. Once the child masters the activity, integrate pre-math by counting the apples.
Washing Apples
Slicing, Peeling, Coring Apples
Make Apple Sauce with these Crockpot Applesauce Making Cards from Training Happy Hearts
Apple Lacing Card from No Time for Flashcards
Apple Scented Playdough from Learn, Play, Imagine
Apple Themed Sensory Bin from Pink and Green Mama
Apple Scissors Cutting from Frogs, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails

Sensorial

Apple Taste Test
Leaf Shape & Sort
Apple Variety Matching using this FREE Printable
Apple Peeling – Present an apple, a peeler, and a cutting board. Demonstrate using an economy of words with your child.
Apple Sensory Cards from Stir the Wonder
Apple Taste Test like this one from What Do We Do All Day?
Apple Core Puzzle from J Daniel 4s Mom

Montessori Language

Apple Pin Poke
Parts of an Apple from The Helpful Garden
Types of Apples 3 Part Cards
Apple Word Family material from Scholastic
Apple Adjectives Activity

Montessori Math

Graphing with a chart and die, or graph an Apple Taste Test
Tree Addition using this template from Life Over C's
Pattern Cards using a free template from Spell Outloud
Apple Tree Counting like this felt tree from Spell Outloud
Graph an apple tree's growth

Montessori Art

Make Apple Prints

Although I was at first disappointed that the apples I had bought from the grocery were not in great shape for eating, my mind immediately went to “what can I do with these apples with the boys?” So we sliced them open and took a look at the Parts of the Apple: the skin, the flesh, the core, the seeds, and the stem. Then, well, we made art! Personally, I prefer apple activities over skeleton activities but who is counting?

Apple Activity for Preschoolers

Materials:

Paper
Apples
Brush (or not)
Bowls for paint

Apple Printing Approach:

I set out a tray with bowls of paint. The bowls were wide enough so that the boys could dip the apple into the paint. I also included a paint brush so the boys could paint the apples if they desired that approach.

More Apple Themed Activities

Apple Seeds Mosaic
Apple Tree from I Heart Crafty Things
Paper Plate Apple Core from Fun Family Crafts
Life Cycle of an Apple craft
Apple Tissue Paper Suncatcher
Lifecycle Apple Poem Craft
Fingerprint Apple Tree

Montessori History

Track the time it takes for an apple tree to grow and to harvest apples using a piece of string

Montessori Geography

Where do Apples grow? Why? Discuss states like Washington. Mark a map with the apple grown in that state.

Montessori Zoology

Study of animals known to enjoy apples such as worms, caterpillars, and horses
Investigate: An apple a day keeps the doctor away?

Montessori Botany

Life Cycle of an Apple Nomenclature Cards

Montessori Science

What makes an Apple rot?

Resources for Apple Unit

Apple Serving Activity Set from Montessori Services
Fruit Vocabulary 3 Part Cards from Montessori Services
50 + Activities All About Apples from Housing a Forest
Picture Books about Apples from No Time for Flashcards
10 Apple Math & Literacy Activities from Playdough to Plato
Tons of Science Experiments with Apples from Preschool Powol Packets
Learn, Play, Imagine's Learn about Apples post
Easy Apple Crafts from No Time for Flashcards