Montessori circle time songs

We all know that there is nothing better than learning through songs. I strongly believe in starting and ending the day with the circle time. I will either present some group activity or simply have a good music time in the circle. Collecting music for the circle time is the hardest and most challenging job for me. All these years I wished if there was a place online where I could just click and get all the Montessori songs.

To make life easier for all the teachers and parents, below are some fun and educational songs -

Start the day song -

1. Start the Day (Original Author Unknown)
Sung to tune: "Merrily we roll along"

Clap your hands to start the day, start the day, start the day
Clap your hands to start the day,
How are you this morning ?
Stomp your feet to start the day, start the day, start the day
Stomp your feet to start the day,
How are you this morning ?
Wiggle your fingers to start the day, start the day, start the day
Wiggle your fingers to start the day, 
In the same way, you can do various actions, or ask the child for an action :) 

2. God Bless America -

God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home.
Video - You'll love this video. Thank you You tube.

The Continent Song -
There are many many ways this song can be sung. It's your choice, which ever you like better.

1. Tune : merrily we roll along.

There are 7 continents, continents, continents,

There are 7 continents and I can name them all.

North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica.

Video -

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_5VCx8iqE0&feature=related

2.  Video -

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDO7FTIj3HU

The weather song -

Tune: Clementine

What's the weather

What's the weather

What's the weather like today

Tell us (Matthew) what's the weather

What's the weather like today

Is it sunny (make big cirlce with arms above head)

Is it cloudy (cover eyes with hands)

Is it rainy out today (rain fingers)

Is it snowy (act cold)

Is it windy (windy arms) today ?

7 Days in a week song -

Sunday , Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
There are 7 days, there are 7 days, there are 7 days in a week. 


Video - 

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f77PWrBd8HM

Months of the year songs -
1.  Video -

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5enDRrWyXaw&playnext=1&list=PL6CC81AB0E5AB1C28


2. Video -

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ3msC5pSk0&feature=related

Dinosaur Song 

ALL AROUND THE SWAMP

SUNG TO: "THE WHEELS ON THE BUS"

THE PTERANODON'S WINGS WENT FLAP, FLAP, FLAP,

FLAP, FLAP, FLAP, FLAP, FLAP, FLAP.

THE PTERANODON'S WINGS WENT FLAP, FLAP, FLAP,

ALL AROUND THE SWAMP.

THE TYRANNOSAURUS REX WENT GRRR, GRRR, GRRR,

GRRR, GRRR, GRRR, GRRR, GRRR, GRRR,

THE TYRANNOSAURUS REX WENT GRRR, GRRR, GRRR,

ALL AROUND THE SWAMP.

THE TRICERATOPS' HORNS WENT WENT POKE, POKE, POKE,

POKE, POKE, POKE, POKE, POKE, POKE,

THE TRICERATOPS' HORNS WENT WENT POKE, POKE, POKE

ALL AROUND THE SWAMP.

THE BRONTOSAURUS WENT MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH,

MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH,

THE BRONTOSAURUS WENT MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH,

ALL AROUND THE SWAMP.

THE STEGOSAURUS' TAIL WENT SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE,

SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE,

THE STEGOSAURUS' TAIL WENT SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE,
ALL AROUND THE SWAMP.


Video - The wheels on the bus go round and round

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2dCO3enPfk&feature=related

Thank you to all the people who shared their precious videos on you tube !
Hope you all will have fun learning through music.

Indoor fun !

I remember when I was a kid, I used to join 2 chairs upside down and cover them with a sheet to make my fantasy tent. There were times when I used to live in my tent like, eat, sleep and study. I used also play with friends and family in it. Living/playing in the self-made tent is one of my favourite memories from childhood :)

Why not we try our best to give our children these everlasting memories too. Now-a-days there are so many creative and fun tents available in the market.

In our school, we have lots of fun indoor tents for children to play in winter (mostly). These tents, also help in developing large motor skills. Yes, we have running, yoga and playing outside as other large motor activities, but in some places where we have to compromise on going outside due to harsh cold weather, blizzards or hurricanes, these tents come in very useful. Some interesting tents are:

Picture taken from the website. So calm and serene and a great idea to encourage learning the guitar !

Picture website. Children love this. They get to crawl and hide and have fun !

where to buy this, click here. Yayyy !!!

Picture courtesy. and you can accommodate this inside your home !

Picture courtesy. Love this one too !

 These tents are available in all the department stores in the children's section. Check the link here for more options ! It is so much fun being a child !


Have fun :)

Nurturing the Spirit

Nurturing the Spirit: In Non-Sectarian Classrooms

by Aline D. Wolf

 

 

 

 

It is a big conflict in my mind that there are so many people who are unable to understand the benefits and the structure of the Montessori classroom environment. The Montessori activities are designed based on the scientific methods of control and error, observation, logical reasoning and those that we can use in our daily life. The classroom structure influence independence, freedom, co-ordination and involves activities that encourages a child to help in concentrating. I wonder, why some people are unable to recognize the value of these fundamentals ?!

 

It is not too hard to accept or believe that every spirit need to be free and independent. Yes, knowledge plays an important role but is feeding the knowledge makes more sense or creating an environment to nurture the mind, heart and spirit to retain that knowledge makes more sense !? So far, Montessori classrooms has the most advanced knowledge based activities than any other day care. It gives children from the ages 3-6 years old an opportunity to do Science, Geography, History, Multiplication, and reading books with 8-9 letter words, all at the same time !

 

This book "Nurturing the Spirit" is a very good way to understand the basics of life, nurturing and building the environment for our children. It tells us how the child grows independently with defined freedom and absorbs all the knowledge from the classroom, house, and the environment where the lives.

Thank you for Reading !

Blogging, on break !

image by http://portfolio.kevinthom.com/artistic/hands_compel

My apologies to all readers ! Due to Tendinitis on my right hand wrist, I am unable to Blog. It has been over 2 months now, and seems like forever, it is getting better, but I still have to take cautions, by abstaining from typing and doing other strenuous activities.

Thank you for your co-operation. I will get back to writing as soon as possible.

Regards,
Divya

Start early

I should mention this, that my teaching career was started with being an assistant infant/toddler teacher and this experience was an eye-opening experience for me. Unfortunately, I do not have my personal pictures to share with you but thank goodness for some beautiful blogs on Montessori infant/toddler training and Google that I can share my experience with the help of these pictures.

When I say eye-opening experience, it means that I had never seen a 6 month old drinking milk from a glass before, in fact, I never knew that it was physically possibly to carry a glass with those tiny little hands ! Yes, I witnessed it because I helped the child do it. Of course, we had everything to the size of all the infants, for example, little chairs, tables, utensils.

I think, it is the process you go through when you are living with your child and know your child. It was like, I was growing and learning with this particular child, we were like best friends. No matter if the child was just 6 months old, we were communicating with each other, there was a connection and that's what, I think, every child wants ! For me lesson learned - start early !

While I googled for an image of a child drinking milk, I found this image and this little girl looks exactly the little one I helped then. Image courtesy- Montessori ici

So, this experience opened my mind and made me realize that no child is too little to do anything. Thank goodness for the Montessori infant/toddler curriculum that they have it written, to start early with a child of 6 months old and above, with sitting on their cute chairs, stop drinking milk using their bottles and eat their food on the table. Well, it is a process, you have to believe in that this is possible.

I am emphasizing on the process because most of us expect results or look for results. This thing comes in our mind, say, "Hey, this happened with her child why not with my child!" We have to follow the child and we go through a phase or a time and that is also called a process. We are all growing and for every growth we need a motive/goal/dream/something to learn. I have friends and know some parents who have real hard time transitioning their children from bottle to the glass. In the end, they leave up to the school teacher to do that hard effort !!

I strongly suggest parents to try practising at home the same process too, by using infant size utensils and furniture, role modeling by giving examples of your self because they see you drinking milk from the glass. By the time, the child is 8 months old, s/he will be having fun being an independent and a happy being.

Start early !

When children are not 'listening' !

picture taken by me -  Walnut Park Montessori school

I have this trouble all the time, and I say to myself, "What do I do they are not listening?" And the idea pops out, "Why not make them walk on the line !" Aha ! This idea came as a blessing. This we can try after all the other ways we have tried on them as I mentioned on my blog 'Listening ears'. A walk on the line is not only helping them to listen but also, with co-ordination, order, movements, building up balance and knowing their body.

Children here simply walk on the line where you may be walking in the front. I make the walk more interesting by telling a story sometimes. If the children had been really loud then I gently ask them to walk on the line very quietly. We name it as a silent walk.

There are ways to make the walk interesting - walk with your hands on the side, hands next to your shoulders, behind and up OR, walk with a basket, tray or a plate in your hands. After 2-3 rounds of walk, you can  hop, jump, gallop, run and skip on the line. There are lots of music you can play while children are doing walk on the line activity. I came across with this website called Montessori Mozarts and it is great, they have sample music to listen too ! You can also play some folk music from around the world. Look here - a beautiful Around the World: International Folk Songs CD ! You can also play fun children's music or any of your favorite instrumental music.

ENJOY !

Scooping

This is a good activity that you can use during the apple season. Look at the presentation, it is very important that an activity looks beautiful and attractive to a child. Apple bowls, matching red mat and the cute scooping spoon, are all so inviting. You can buy these apples from stores like Micheal's, Walmart, Target or any of your local art & craft store. These materials sometimes are seasonal, so make sure you visit one of these stores seasonally.

The child uses her dominant hand, scoops an apple from L-R, one bowl to another and back to the 1st bowl. Helps with managing an order, concentration, eye & hand co-ordination and independence.
 

Here, the child is repeating the scooping process. Notice that she scoops one apple at one time. This emphasize on concentration and order. The child is encouraged to use only his/er dominant hand. The second hand is used to pick the fallen apples only.

The child is patiently scooping the apples from one bowl to another bowl.

Now, scooping the apples to place them on the left bowl, as to make it ready for the next child. Remember, that the child has to always begin the activity from L-R. We read and write from L-R, the number line begins from L-R.

Control of error - scooping from left to right, tilt of the scooping spoon from the tip.

Variations-

these are candies, to my surprise children did not recognize this at all, but if they do you can direct them to work and not eat

Pink stones

Enjoy creating good activities !