Montessori Style Teaching

I really want to be able to teach Noah at home the way that he was learning before when he was at Koala Kids daycare.  A lot of the methods that they used there appealed to me.  So, I went online to see what I could find about sensory bins and activities that were life application activities, playing that was learning, etc.  I did a lot of research yesterday and a lot of the methods fall under montessori style learning/teaching.  I found a great website that I will be frequenting quite often (see HERE) and from there ping ponged all over the internet.  I learned so much in a matter of 2 hours (see, not all time on the internet is wasted) and I now probably need to find a way to use my excitement properly.

Today, we went to quite a few garage sales, and after reading about all the methods yesterday, the world of things opened up to me.  I found "sorting trays", fake money, a cash box, small stones, blocks, marbles, a pencil sharpener, and so much more.  I only spent $20 total (that included a small desk and a Mickey Mouse that Noah found) and we have such a good start!  I will have to definitely start honing in what our first "lessons" will be and I will need to arrange a "classroom".

I am putting this picture in here to bring up the question he asked..."Mom, are these humans, and what tray do they go in?!"

He did SO very good at sorting.  He was excited, I was proud.

Enjoy the pictures of all our fun finds and then I will post what type of kits or bins we make out of them.  I look forward to sharing our journey as part of this blog.  We will also have to find ways to make God a large focus as we learn.  More research will be needed.  :)

I conquered MOST of the Homemade pizza!

Well, I have made a few homemade pizzas that ended up like cardboard in the past - take out tasted better.  However, after a little research and  thanks to the recipes that others have shared online (love the internet), we ate a great pizza!  It was fun to make and yummy to eat!

I am sharing the recipes I found below and also few pictures of my triumph over the homemade pizza!

First, the bread dough was made in the bread maker (got to love that doing the work!)  It has such a fresh flavor to it, full of herbs and olive oil.  I found this recipe HERE.

Best Bread-maker Pizza Dough

1 1/3 cups water     

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon honey

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons cornmeal

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Directions:

1 Add ingredients to machine in order listed above.

2 Set to "Dough" mode (Mine has a pizza dough mode that takes less time.)

3 Once completed, place in greased pan to rise about 20-30 min, and split in half.

4 Put in Ziploc bags, stack flat to be used as needed. i.e.: parties or occasions. When needed slap on a cornmeal/floured surface, roll flat, and hand spin - GOOD FOR 2 DAY'S

5 Add light layer of sauce and pre-bake at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes.

6 Remove from oven and add toppings of your choice.

7 Bake in oven at 400 degrees until done (approx. 20 min, depending upon topping thickness).

Then the sauce was made.  I loved the taste of the olive oil in the sauce.  I found this recipe HERE.

Ingredients

• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

Directions

1. Mix together the tomato paste, water, and olive oil. Mix well. Add garlic, salt and pepper to taste, oregano, basil, and rosemary. Mix well and let stand several hours to let flavors blend. No cooking necessary, just spread on dough

Then we piled on our toppings - after second thought we MIGHT have put on a little too much cheese?  :)  Who can say no to fresh MOZZA - YuM!

 

So yummy that there were only 2 small pieces left!!!