DIY Montessori Materials - Road Trip Flip Book
As the Age of Montessori Parenting Coach expert, I am happy to announce I am expecting my first baby this December. I’m only mentioning this because it will drastically be influencing the blogs articles I will be writing for AOM. I will be starting a series of blogs on ways to use Montessori learning in the home for children 0-5 for stay-at-home moms/dads/grandparents/etc.!
This month, I made a DIY Montessori road trip flip book for my niece and nephew (ages 5 and 7), who were coming out to visit Montana to spend some time with their pregnant (and I like to think favorite) aunt. I hope this book will help them to engage their brains, while passing the time.
Supplies:
Binders
Reclosable dots (similar to Velcro)
Cardstock (for the puzzle pieces)
Colored pencils and/or pens
Printable Sheets (I used montessoriforeveryone.com, montessoriprintshop.com, and tlsbooks.com)
The first step is to find a binder that you can use/reuse. I found I had several from old workshops that I could recycle.
I started the book with a puzzle page. By using reclosable dots (similar to Velcro), you are able to set up a way for the child to complete the puzzle even while in the car. The reclosable dots seemed too strong to me, so I cut them in half and attached the other half to the back of the puzzle pieces. They already had adhesive on the back, so it was simple to adhere them. A control page is inside a sheet protector.
Another simple collage idea is for the child to use a glue stick and paste pre-cut up pictures (that could be already loaded in one of the sheet protectors from nature magazines) onto colored card stock that is 3-hole punched without a sheet protector.
Similarly, I made a geography page to study the continents, using the same reclosable dots and 2 copies of the continents (one as a control page, and the other that I cut up to make attachable pieces). This helps the child to practice visual discrimination. It would be best if you laminated the small pieces, but I didn’t have access to a laminator, so I used packing tape to imitate lamination. Again, the background page is inside a sheet protector.
Other pages allow children to practice geometric awareness.
Related to these pages, you could encourage children to: 1) Look out the window and search for recognizable shapes in the clouds—animals, etc.; 2) Try to guess what crops, flowers and trees are growing within view of the car; 3) Check around your seat to see if you can find any objects that could serve as stencils like a cup, a snack box, keys, rings, one’s own hand.
The last option is to find some great printables that encourage practicing shape identification, writing letters and numbers, using imagination, etc. There are a variety of free printables available as well as many you can purchase. I found some great free ones at montessoriforeveryone.com, montessoriprintshop.com, and tlsbooks.com).
I would love to hear feedback if you make your own flipbook at home! Come back to check this blog, as I will be sharing my Montessori-style nursery as it grows.
