Carrots Are Orange

Montessori Parenting & Learning

Preschool Valentine Math & Fine Motor Activity

By Filed Under: Activities, Holidays Tagged With: , , This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

This easy Preschool Valentine activity is the perfect work to add to your home or classroom. Children not only work their fine motor skills, they also work their early math skills. This Valentine Lace by Number Card allows children to work fine motor skills through lacing and paper punching, while utilizing early math numeration skills. Plus, children exercise their creativity by designing their heart. Additionally, this activity can be adjusted for the age group. Make the holes bigger or fewer for younger children, or use thread instead of yarn for older children.

Preschool Valentine Activity

Valentine Lacing Card

Materials Needed for Valentine Activity

  • Yarn. Any color will do just fine. We used blue because that happens to be my son's favorite color. Go Valentine's colors, or not.  Use as many colors as you would like to use.
  • Heart cut out made from Card Stock or Card Board. I bought our hearts at Michaels. Ian sure your local craft store has a few in stock, but these hearts are easy to make without buying them.
  • Paper Hole Punch. We used a heart paper hole punch to add a cute little detail.
  • Marker for writing the numbers
  • Scissors for cutting yard and possibly the heart cut out.
  • Markers, crayons, and stickers for decorating the heart (optional).

Valentine Lacing Card Materials

Steps to the Valentine Activity

  • Gather your materials.
  • Paper hole punch around the heart cut out.
  • Write numbers on each hole indicating the path the child should follow.
  • Cut a good length of yarn.
  • Anchor the yarn with a knot or a bead.
  • Call the child over and introduce the activity.
  • Invite the child to decorate his heart.
  • Explain that he is to begin at number one and thread the yarn through to hole marked with number two.
  • Demonstrate the first few holes.
  • Help with anchoring the yarn if necessary.

Valentine Lacing Card for Kids

What Kids Get from this Activity

  • Creativity with designing their heart
  • Numeration work
  • Fine motor skill development with lacing and paper hole punching
  • Adorable take home project for parents to admire

Did you love this activity? Do you want more? Check out my Valentine Activities Pack!


Marnie

Spindle Boxes – Learn a Montessori Math Lesson

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

Spindle Boxes are part of Montessori Math Introduction to Numeration. Although gorgeous and reasonably priced, one of the best things about a Spindle Box is that you can make your own fairly easily at home with sticks, pipe cleaners, straws, etc. Plus, there are many variations of objects to keep the work interesting is always a bonus.

Spindle Boxes - a Montessori Math Lesson

The main aims of this work are to guide a child in his learning to count and to introduce the concept of “zero”.

spindle_boxes

Montessori Math Spindle Boxes

Here is how I present the Spindle Boxes to a child:

Invite the child to do the work. Get a mat and spread it on the floor.

Presentation I

Carry boxes, spindles and mat one at a time to the mat. Place as shown in the image.

spindle_initial

“Would you like to learn how to use the spindle boxes today?”

spindle_pointing_numeral

Point the numeral one: “Do you remember what this is? Yes, it is one.”  Move through the numerals included in the box.

hand_spindle

  • Count a spindle from the box & transfer to your other hand to place in the one: “One”.
  • Point to the next numeral and repeat the same approach, restating the quantity and finish counting each spindle into the box.
  • Go through five, at which point the child will be most likely ready to take over the work. If not, invite him to do so.

spindel_zero

When all of the spindles have been distributed, point at the zero: “What is in here? Yes, nothing. It is empty because zero means none.”

  • To put spindles away, begin with section one and return them to the basket section by section. Count as I drop them back into the basket. I might also ask the child to go section by section to grasp the spindles and return them to the basket, counting them as they drop into the basket.
  • Return to shelf once all the spindles have been put into their respective sections.

 

spindle_final

Montessori Math Resources

Thanks for reading!
Marnie