Postcards :: No. 2

Greetings from Riverdale, NY the greatest little nook of the Bronx! 

Postcards :: No.1

I took a photo to share with you today as we crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge on our way to the Bronx. Crossing that bridge marks a huge change for us. It means we’re finally just about there. It means a sudden and significant change in traffic flow!! It means the real driving is just beginning!!! (By the way…I did not make a single wrong turn!)

The (much) anticipated bridge was stunning today. It begged to be recorded. Unfortunately I was on my own driving with my littles with no one to hold the wheel for even a second for me to snatch a shot. Not that the traffic suggested that that would be in the least bit wise. But it truly was a stunning view…! Can you see that late afternoon light that glows warm and yellow and shines down in truly luscious rays making everything it lands on magnificent to behold? Can you see those winter clouds that fill the sky with a purple light? Can you see the brilliance of architecture spread across the expanse of a huge river…lines criss-crossing over head in hard steel? Can you see the shadows and breaks of light all around you weaving in and out in rhythm as you drive through the bridge? I hope you can! It truly is beautiful.

Besides the splendor of the bridge we also saw a gas station attendant in one of these face masks:

And I heard in hushed tones…

“Mom…look, a superhero!”

Yes…I told the man…I think we made his day! Superheros belong in NYC afterall!

Straight From Her Mouth:

(The following delightful little bit is written just as it was said!!! She is quite pleased to have written a post.)

I would like you to write

“Rebecca”

please.  

Today I went to the library.  And today I went to the bank.  Today I  went to the post office… hmmmm…no.  Today I went to ttthhhhhheeeee…………..and tomorrow I’m going to go to Auntie Robins house.  She lives in the big New York City.  We will go to a museum.  We’re going to see dinosaurs…. lots of dinosaurs …and that’s all. 

(this is her typing a word of choice on her own)

read

This picture reminds me of this favorite children’s book.  Silly silly!

*We will be having adventures of the most wonderful kind in NYC with cousins for the next little while.  We’ll send postcards! 

Alphabet Colors

Do you remember the Montessori Color Spools adventure and my love affair with paint chips?  Well making those Spools sparked several paint chip project ideas.  They are simply delightful bits of color to work with!  Go collect a bunch from the hardware store and let yourself be inspired!!

We used bright collection of squarish chips and made a cheery bit of alphabet color to hang in our school room.

The paint chips are glued onto poster board and then stitched on.  Sewing machines actually handle paper quite well. I just lengthen the stitch width a bit and throw away the needle when I’m done.  The original idea was to stitch the vertical lines as well, but I was seriously out voted by the little artist!  We are quite pleased. 

Dancing Girl

As I watch my children grow and become themselves I catch glimpses of myself and my love in them.  In their faces, in their hair, in the way they react to certain things.  But some things are completely new.  They are not from me.  They are not from their Dad.  They are completely them.  Traits given to them to make them unique, to make them who they are, to guide and beautify their path here on earth. 

My daughter loves to dance.  It is a part of her.  She will dance to any music that is playing…anywhere…anytime.  And she’s good.  Her soul just responds to the music and it is truly beautiful to watch.  Her love of dancing is very special to me because it is so unique to her.  She most definitely did not get any dancing abilities from any part of her known ancestry!!!  It is simply who she is…and it is beautiful! 

For Christmas we made her a wooden ballet bar and a full ballet outfit.  We weighed the decision carefully knowing that once received it would likely be the only thing worn for a very long time!  

Recently I knit up a quick pair of ruffled leg warmers that couldn’t have been easier…or more happily received.  They are (in her case)  40 st k2p2 ribbing for 10 inches, then increase each stitch every other row twice to make the ruffles.  They are knit on double pointed needles which took a bit of getting used to…but I am a big fan now.  I think we might need more pairs….oh the possibilities!!!  We have a very happy, very warm and ruffely little dancer around these parts!    

Pins and a Bit of Felt

I have been working on a wall hanging recently with embroidered felt on raw canvas.  The shapes and colors are delightful to more than just myself and I have been finding pieces unpinned and repositioned in another spot by little fingers…again and again!!  So we set her up with her own delightful collection of felt shapes and a pin cushion.  She works the most beautiful stories with her pieces and carefully pins them each in place.  Felt is so wonderful for beginning pinning and stitching as it has nice structure,  and a fantastic texture.

It appears more shapes are needed….!  So we are off to custom create felt bits to enhance her stories! 

Happy weekending! 

Salt Letters

Montessori philosophies focus on the infinite worth of the senses in learning.  Our efforts to incorporate a natural sensorial education into our days has led to some wonderful moments.  One such moment happened yesterday.  Questions arouse yesterday morning during a snack regarding just how pretzels are made.  Trying to answer them led to the decision to make pretzels as part of our dinner.  (Such fun and yummy yummy!) While we were working with the salt I had an idea of how to incorporate another sensory activity into our writing exercises.  We spread ~3/4 cup of salt onto a cookie sheet and little fingers were completely absorbed with practicing upper and lowercase letters for such a long time.  When done we talked about the best cookie sheet to use for the activity and poured the salt into a jar, labeled it and now store it with the cookie sheets.  It is now available for her to use whenever she wants to gather her materials and proceed with the exercise on her own. 

This activity is most easily done in the kitchen.  It also lends itself well to practicing control of materials, and sweeping!!

I have definitely found that as our days become filled with Montessori inspired sensorial learning, ideas and thoughts come with greater frequency to aid in our learning.  Their is no end to a mothers inspiration!