Uno, dos, tres!

Well, I have to admit.. I haven't done any spring cleaning yet. What I have been doing though is a lot of purging, sorting, and organizing. After looking through Montessori catalogs online, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to afford the materials I needed for our classroom. So, instead I have been trying to come up with some simple & inexpensive materials on my own, and they seem to work just as well! I have also recently found some fellow bloggers who make a lot of materials themselves, so I am hoping to learn some new ideas from them. :) It feels so good now that everything has a place of it's own and that we can easily find what we need without having to dig through a box of supplies!

Goodbye (old & beloved, but difficult to find anything in) Art Box..



Hello (new, see-through & organized) glass containers! Some came from World Market and the others were (spaghetti sauce and sliced fruit) jars I had cleaned and saved.



I am loving these little pails. The Peter Rabbit ones came from Target's $1 spot and the metal ones from Michael's $1 section.



Someone else has been enjoying the fruits of my labor! He is excited about his new Montessori activity center and has been doing some sorting as well. :) I found the wooden tray on clearance at World Market. It was so perfect for these activities! Sometimes he sorts them by color, and other times by size or shape. I encourage him to count as he sorts and we have been practicing adding and subtracting a bit as well.

Buttons..



Stones..



Shells..



The natural materials were all things I already had around the house and we bought a small package of buttons and smooth glass stones at Wal-mart.

He has also been practicing his E's with chalk on some small chalkboards I found at Michael's.



Both of the boys have been enjoying drawing on them as well. :)



Oh, sweet organization.. let me count thy ways I love thee. :)