Montessori Mena 3

I know many of you have asked about the Montessori materials I am using and where I find things online. I will write a post about that shortly. I have a big list of websites that I love!

Sport'n my new kicks!

I found these practicly new shoes at a mom 2 mom sale on Saturday. I got them for $2 and they look almost new! What a steal!

My Sunflower!

This is Philomena's first flower she ever planted. It is a sunflower! A little baby sunflower right now but this thing is bound for greatness! It has already survived wind and drought (yes, I forgot to water it sometimes and it has fallen off my porch railing when it was just a seedling!) Let's just say this plant is a trooper. Mena has so much fun watering it with her spray bottle now that it is in a big pot and she looks at it all day out the door. What a great way to teach her about plant life cycles. This may be the beginning of a great garden someday, for now, we are happy with the sunflower!

Jumpstart Review and Giveaway!

If your looking for something for your children to enjoy this summer yet still learn as they play...Jumpstart has just the thing for you! Here is a quick description of Jumpstart taken from the website...

"JumpStart is an award-winning adventure-based 3D virtual world that is super-personalized, wildly imaginative and really fun, but don't let that fool you - it also teaches math, reading, and critical thinking skills so kids get a real jump start in life."

I was given the opportunity to try out the new Jumpstart online world. All I have to say is "Wow! This game has everything!" I will definitely elaborate though for your benefit!!!

When you first load the game, you are introduced to Frankie the Dog who helps you when you have a question about where to go or what you should be doing at any point in the game. From there, you are able to create your own Jumpee. This was so much fun for my daughter. She loved changing her clothes, hair, eye color, skin color...and you can go back any time to change or get upgraded clothing options. There are two worlds to venture through. The first is an area called Storyland which is aimed at 3-5 year olds and the other area is called AdventureLand, for kids in kindergarten through 2nd grade. Soon they will launch a third world called Future Land for kids from 3rd to 5th grade. Stay tuned! My daughter spent all of her time with me in Storyland. I can't believe all of the things to do there. She was able to read an alphabet book and put items that begin with each letter on the page, then hear it sing a song. She thought that was so wonderful as she loves music! She could draw pictures and use all the different tools available to create pieces of art. Then take those pictures and display them throughout Storyland. You can also display your treasures that you win from playing all the games as decorations in your world. Very cool! There are different animals that you meet along the way to tell you what to do next. This seems very helpful for the young ones who can sometimes feel overwhelmed with so many opportunities. There are places to learn shapes, counting, letters, and just to have fun. What more could you ask for in a game, right? My daughter is almost three and really liked it. She never got bored of doing the same thing twice because there was always something new to explore. After I was able to pull her away from the computer, I got a little time by myself to explore Adventureland. It incorporates learning and fun in the most interesting of ways. I was able to go through training when I first entered the world so that I would learn all I needed to know to proceed. There are so many games, adventures, and fun activities. There is no possible way to tell you everything about this program. You are going to have to find out for yourself! Come on, you know you want to!

Go to http://www.jumpstart.com/ and check it out today!

Jumpstart also have a wonderful parent area with a blog and discussion boards. Wow! They have thought of everything! Good work Jumpstart!

WIN IT!!!
You can win a free three month subscription by going to http://www.jumpstart.com/ and telling me something that you learned or like in my comment box that I didn't mention in my post. This is a mandatory first entry. You do not have to have a blog to participate. Just leave your email address so I can contact you should you win. This giveaway will end on July 21! I will send the winner an email and you will have 48 hours to respond. Hurry and tell all your friends. This is something that your kids will really enjoy and you'll be so happy their learning while they play!

EXTRA ENTRIES!
Follow me on twitter (@domanda3) and tweet this contest. You can do this once a day.

Write a unique blog post linking to me and Jumpstart then tell me you did so in the comment box.

Email someone about this contest including the link to this post. Tell me you did so in the comment box.

Comment on any of my other posts and tell me you did so.

BE SURE TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COMMENT OR BLOG PROFILE SO I CAN CONTACT YOU SHOULD YOU WIN!

Montessori Mena 2

Here are a few more pictures of Mena doing her "work" at her new table from Ikea. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Ikea? No, well I do! Hubby is not such a fan but he was a real trooper yesterday. They actually have some great items for a Montessori environment. I am so pleased with my findings.

Fourth of July

Here are a few pics from Mena doing sparklers in are yard on the Fourth. Fun stuff. We also had a fire in the backyard and Mena got to eat her first marshmallow. Lets just say she LOVED it!

Family pic

Isn't this a nice family picture? I love it!

The Saint Song

This is a fun video naming lots of Catholic saints in a minute and a half! Do you hear your patron saint listed? I heard Philomena in it!

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Montessori Mena

I have just started to make Montessori materials for Mena to use. Here are a few pictures of her doing the activities. She loves it so far and I know I will be making a lot more. She spends a good amount of time on each activity and then asks me, "What's next?" I better get to that!

Wordless Wednesday!

This is how are table looks when we set up for the conferences. Doesn't the table cloth look nice with our logo on it? Thanks Janice! I know my mom was curious about what it looks like when we are all set up, so I took these pictures. Enjoy!

Oh, check out our website at www.lighthousecatholicmedia.com/ use promo code 1740!!!