Monday, June 27, 2011

Mini Unit - Candy

~an overview~

Here's a closer look at what's inside this unit:

Sensory Tub & Playdough (Sensorial/Practical Life/Math/Language). This sensory tub is just a mini version of our larger candy tub, and the playdough is chocolate scented. :) Yum!

Alphabet Beads (Practical Life {lacing}/Language {spelling}).

Worksheets (Language/Math/Art). Most of these printables came from 1+1+1=1's fantastic candy preschool pack. Other sheets came from abcteach.com. I also found some chocolate scented stickers (Sensorial) and I printed out a recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge (Practical Life) for James and his daddy to make together. :)

Cutting Practice (Practical Life/Art). These cutting strips came from here and are unique to Montessori classrooms. I had been making my own strips, but ran across these recently and thought they were much better. There's an entire series of them which we'll gradually work our way through. I added the jelly bean stickers for an added point of interest. After James cuts these he'll put the pieces in the envelope provided.

Memory Game (Language/Sensorial). These were a part of the candy preschool pack I linked to above.

A mini gumball machine, just for fun! Also an excellent fine motor activity as James will need to press down the little yellow lever to extract the "gumballs" (wooden beads). The gumball machine was a gift; I'm afraid I don't know where it was purchased.

Sequencing (Math). I found these candy die cuts online and there are enough of them that we can work several patterns.

Less Than/More Than/Equal To (Math). I created these cards using words and symbols and gathered an equal amount of green, pink, and white buttons. We'll set up some scenarios and James will need to use the cards to finish the mathematical sentence.

Graphing Game (Math). I made this grid after seeing something similar somewhere else (can't recall where - sorry!) and used a plain wooden block to create a color die. James will roll the die and place the corresponding colored lollipop brad on the grid. He'll do this until one of the color sections is full.

Even/Odd (Math). These are homemade, too. I simply created some labels and blank number cards and then added puffy candy stickers to each card to make them more interesting and fun to work with.

Pouring (Practical Life). The red bumpy beads look a lot like candy and make a nice clinking sound when they move along the glass. I chose two small, identical lidded jars for this work so the beads stay contained with the unit's bin.

Candyland Game (Practical Life {taking turns}/Language).

That's it! I purchased (here on the island) several of these clear snap lid containers - they're perfect for these units. I labeled each bin and later (after the baby comes) I plan to place each bin on a shelf. James can choose any bin he'd like to work with, but there are two rules: he may not mix the bins and he needs to put everything back into the bin when he's finished working with it.

~Click the button below to view more of our mini units.~

~Thank you for your comments!~

9 comments:

LeeanneA said...

Aw geeze now I wish I grabbed the gumball machine I saw at the garage sales on the weekend!! This is awesome!

Brandi said...

I LOVE this idea! :)

Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas said...

what a fun cany unit! Your idea of mini-units sounds great for keeping momentum when the new baby arrives but giving yourself a bit of flexibility which will be necessary.

I like the meld of montessori & workboxes.

Can't wait to see what else you come up with.

Bernadette

Sara said...

That is amazing, I am so excited about these. I am so excited to find your blog, you have made me so excited for teaching my daughter and son!!!! thank you for your love of teaching and amazing way of presenting it!

Olives and Pickles said...

Great preparation!!So clever!I hope ypu are doing good and resting before the new baby arrives..how excited!

Ai Sakura said...

Such a SWEET (pun intended haha) unit!! :) All the best for the last leg of your pregnancy...

Unknown said...

Another great idea! Thank you!

I had never thought about cutting strips until I read your blog. I made some for my daughter this week & she was in love! She wants them every day now!

Chestnut Grove Academy said...

Okay, so I was just looking over your blog and I see you said "here on the island"...are you in Hawaii? I'm in Mililani :D

Chestnut Grove Academy said...

After further reading, I see you are on Bermuda...wrong island ;) Darn!

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