Monti-Story Box – Truly Montessori

Dinosaur Unit Study

Montessori Dinosaur Unit Study

We started our dinosaur unit study after the introduction of planets, earth, and landforms. It seemed a perfect transition to talk about prehistoric atmosphere and dinosaurs are my son’s favorite animals right now. These amazing giants once roamed our planet Earth.

To begin our Dinosaur unit, we first visited a museum to see the dinosaur bones replica. This got him fascinated to learn more about the dinosaur. I like to add concepts my son is working on and add a dinosaur twist to those activities.

Practical Life

Practical life curriculum is a series of simple activities such as tong transfer, scooping, cutting, pouring, and more. These activities promotes concentration, coordination, order, and independence. When I plan my activities for this curriculum based on the theme we are studying, I observe the skills my son is working on. Since my son is 2.5 years old, he is working on tong transfer and cutting activities. So, the activities I planned for our dino unit is based on his needs.

Dino Theme Cutting Practice From Dinosaur Cutting Bundlehttp://www.etsy.com/shop/oakandearthgoods

Additional Dinosaur Theme Practical Life Resources

Sensorial

The sensorial curriculum focuses on the exploration of all senses. These activities are made to refine each of our senses. Typically activities with different textures are perfect for toddlers. Dinosaur texture identification and sorting by rough and smooth is a perfect activity for toddlers. Sensorial is also a preparation for the mathematical mind; so, the concepts of the large, medium, and small sorting with Dinosaurs are a great way to introduce some pre-math work

Language Arts

Children are in a sensitive period of language from birth to age 6. That means this is the time when we want to introduce new vocabulary and many languages. Children are also in a sensitive period of big words, so the bigger the word the more fascinated they are to say it. Montessori language curriculum is all about introducing nomenclature in primary (3-6) classrooms.

Our Dinosaur theme language lessons included Three Part Cards of Dinosaurs, Parts of the Triceratops, and Sequencing Cards.

Read the Key Activity. Available in Dinosaur Theme Printable Bundle Visit our Etsy Shophttp://www.etsy.com/oakandearthgoods

Math

The concept of math for toddlers and early childhood children is to keep it simple and concrete. We do not want to introduce too many concepts together. For toddlers and young three’s, we are working on the concept of one-to-one correspondence. We want to give children as much opportunity to work on these concepts because this numeral to quantity relationship is crucial in developing a mathematical mind.

Thus, concepts of measuring dinosaurs with Legos, ten frames, shapes, are a great way to incorporate the dinosaur theme in this curriculum area.

Dinosaur Printable Available now in our Etsy Shop
Oak and Earth Goods

Roll the die and place the dinosaurs. Prehistoric Mat, Dinosaur Objects, and Wooden die. Available in our Dinosaur theme Activity Box
http://www.etsy.com/shop/oakandearthgoods

Cosmic

The cosmic curriculum includes biology, history, zoology, botany, geography, and more. Dinosaurs are part of the cosmic curriculum, so all the activities we incorporate on our shelf are all related to the cosmic curriculum. One of my favorite Montessori Cosmic activities to do with a dinosaur is sorting dinosaurs by land, air, and water. This is a great activity for little children to learn the concepts of land, air, water.

Dinosaur Wooden Puzzle in our Etsy Shophttp://www.etsy.com/shop/oakandearthgoods

Books & Amazon Resources

https://www.amazon.com/shop/trulymontessori

Additional Resources

Free Dinosaur Printables and Montessori-Inspired Dinosaur Language Activities

Dinosaur Theme – Math, Science, Free Printable Worksheets

Dinosaur Theme Preschool Activities

https://www.montessorinature.com/dinosaur-montessori-inspired-activities-and-printables/

Earth

Montessori cosmic education teaches children about the interconnectedness of all living things. In the first plane (0-6) this is experienced with sensory learning and connecting with nature. Sensorial experiences are also incorporated in the classroom to deepen the understanding of our planet.

Once the child is introduced to cosmic nesting boxes and sandpaper globe, we begin our study of the planet Earth. These topics are introduced in the form of Unit Study in the classroom. Not all unit studies will interest all children, so it really depends how deep you delve in the unit study topic based on your child’s interests.

Cosmic education starts with macro (whole) and moves toward micro (parts) of the Earth. The lessons in early childhood (3-6) includes: Land, Air, Water Sorting, Sandpaper Globe, Montessori Puzzle Maps, Study of Planet Earth, Botany, Science, Geography, Geology, History, and more.

In our Monti-Story Box, we decided to look at the layers of the Earth. The book we chose for this box, represented illustrations of planets to as accurate as possible and the activities are simple but purposeful. There are 5 activities pertaining each curriculum of Montessori classroom and 1 art activity based on the artist study of the box.

Transfer with tong activities prepare hands for writing. It promotes and strengthens tripod grasp. This activity builds concentration and allows repetition. With repetition comes normalization.

One to one correspondence with ten frames. Ten frames are a great graphic tool to teach children place value. This graphic organizer can also be used for simple addition and subtraction activity

Always pick a book with realistic illustrations for younger children

“Pointillism, also called divisionism in painting, the practice of applying small strokes or dots of color to a surface so that from a distance they visually blend together.”

Impressionistic lesson of Layers of the Earth. We used avocado pit for inner core, ketchup for outer core, gravel for mantle, and apple skin for crust

**DIY Needle Felting Planets @ohhappyplayday. Follow this account on Instagram**

This box also comes with sensorial activity, paint, parts of Earth layers three-part cards, digital downloadable instructions. All of this you can get for only $50 in our Etsy Shop

Resources

Layers of the Earth Definition Cards

Kandinsky Inspired Art

Earth Explosion Activities

Interactive Earth Craft

Planets Needle Felting

In November

“November is a month in which nature prepares to numb”. This month reminds us to be more grateful for all the wonderful blessings in our lives, to slow down and enjoy simple things in life, to give more, and to be more present. We all have something to be grateful for and when we shift our mindset from what is lacking to what is already here, we manifest more joy in our everyday life.

One of the most important things we do every night with our son is to practice gratitude. Before we go to sleep, we count all the things we are grateful for, which for my toddler means he is grateful for his quails, his trucks, and the little blankie that he sleeps with. However, that is not the point but the point is to really appreciate little things in our lives by being more grateful than complaining.

November is also my favorite month to do some fun shelf work. Some of the Montessori activities that we are doing this month are simple nature-based activities. Here are a few ideas from this year and the previous years for you to try at home.