I know you’ve heard about these already and have seen these markers in other homeschooler Moms. My little Vito had a renewal of interest and can’t stop using them! These dot markers are great tools in practicing hand/eye coordination and concentration. Aside from that, we also use it to learn shapes, colours and letters! Next year, we’ll start using them for counting.
Though there are plenty of FREE dot worksheets online, I prefer handwriting our own sheets to save ink. Here are some random photos of Vito using the dot markers.
For learning letters.
Marking shapes.
He keeps asking for more!
Working on letter ‘t’ again.
To save time, energy and INK, I cut out sheets of paper from the IKEA paper roll and just hand drawn everything. Then I place the sheets on one of the work trays so Vito can easily access them. He would usually work on them in the morning. Note that the markers can stain, but they can be wash off with soap AND water (with a little scrubbing). I have these markers since 2011 and they’re still good as new. Here’s the link if you are interested.
Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Google Plus, Instagram or Twitter for updates!
<div align="center"><a href="http://christianmontessorinetwork.com/category/learn-and-play" title="Christian Montessori Network"><img src="http://www.christianmontessorinetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/learn-and-play-link-up-150-150.png" alt="Christian Montessori Network" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
I’ve been receiving requests from readers asking me to share some tips or at least share how I organize our materials at home. To be honest, I haven’t found the perfect formula for organizing materials. I find myself experimenting on what works for me and for the kids. So instead of giving advice on what to do, allow me to share with you how I organize our things at home.
We live in a small apartment… as most European homes are! So our sitting room is our playroom which is also our “home” school room. Except for painting and messy play, this is where all the actions are taking place. So to make it “conducive” for the boys, husband and I purchased Ikea shelves and inserts so I can organize learning materials, mostly of Vito. Mavi’s stuff are in his room including the Montessori materials that we own.
This is the main shelf, the upper layer is for the working trays and the bottom layer contains the inserts. We bought a sturdy insert from Ikea as well, they are really really good, quite heavy so Vito can’t just push and pull them.
Daily Activity Shelf
The inserts contain all the learning materials (non Montessori) of Vito, including the puzzle boards. Surprisingly, they fit! So convenient because whenever I needed to change my materials, I just remove them from the insert and place them on the tray. Same thing when Vito is done working with them, I just put them back on the insert.
