Thursday, August 29, 2013

Back to School Attire

Hello lovelies! Next week I go back to work..boohoo! Eh its no biggie, I only work two days next week and its only for classroom preparations (phew). On Tuesday, I will definitely be wearing jeans and a t-shirt, especially since all we will be doing is setting up the classroom. In the meantime, I thought I would start planning my First day of School looks.

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Top and Skirt: J.Crew Factory // Shoes: Tory Burch // Bag: Louis Vuitton Neverfull 

I love this outfit because it is so casual! The skirt is perfect for transitioning into fall and paired with a striped shirt is just perfect! This is actually my favorite LV bag! At the moment I don't own one but this one is one that I would love to have one day.

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Dress: Xhilaration (On sale!) //Shoes: Jack Rogers //Bag: Michael Kors

I recently purchased this dress on the clearance rack for only $12.98! Not bad for a cute eyelet dress! I love it paired up with a small belt to create a even better look. 


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Top: J.Crew // Pants: J.Crew Factory // Shoes: J.Crew // Bag: C.Wonder


I can not get enough of leopard print and for back to school, it is a definite must have! I just ordered a pair of leopard print flats from American Eagle Outfitters for only $20.97 after using my 40% discount code (74693461). I just love a great sale!

I am still unsure what I will wear for my First Day of school (September 10th) but I think these outfits gave me a little inspiration as to how to style the current clothes I have. Happy Reading everyone :) 

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Linking up with these lovely ladies!

Perfectly Coutured





Monday, August 26, 2013

Montessori Mondays: Must Read Montessori Books

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When I took my Montessori Training almost three years ago, I was told to read many books on the Montessori Method. The ones that really stood out to me were Montessori From The Start: The Child at Home, From Birth to Age Three and Understanding the Human BeingThese two books are amazing and I would recommend them to any parent, teacher, or anyone who wants to know more about Montessori and child development.
  1. Teach Me to Do It Myself: Montessori Activities for You and Your Child  by Maja Pitamic - It gives you simple and easy Montessori styled activities that parents can do at home with their child. 
  2. Montessori From The Start: The Child at Home, From Birth to Age Three by Paula Polk Lillard and Lynn Lillard Jessen - As I mentioned earlier this book is highly recommended by many Montessorians. The mother-daughter authors do a great job in explaining many of the Montessori practices that we use at our school. I think this book is ideal for parents who would want to foster the Montessori method in their home. 
  3. Understanding The Human Being: The Importance of the First Years of Life. by Silvana Quattrocchi Montanaro MD. - I recommend this book to any first time parent, expecting parent or parents of infants. This book is amazing! It helps you to really understand more about your child's development and growth. I love how easy it is to read and it is not filled with jargon that we would not understand. Definitely a must read! 

These are just some of my favorite Montessori books. Which are your favorite? 


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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Wish List Sundays: Polka Dot Love

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Kate Spade Keds // Polka dot georgette shirt // Blanc Polka Dot Slim Ankle Jean
Polka Dot ombré scarf  // Polka Dot Dress (Similar here) // Polka Dot Kate Spade Watch
Polka Dot collar sweater // Betsey Johnson "Pretty Polka Dot" // Zatchel Polka Dot Bag


I love love polka dots! They're just so adorable. For my birthday, I received a really cute polka dot peplum top (similar here) which I wore with a pair of skinny jeans. I feel you can't ever have too many polka dot items in your closet. The Katespade polkadot sneakers by Keds are definitely ones I want to get my hands on. Wouldn't they look great with a pair of skinny jeans or colored shorts? I guess I'll add the jeans and watch to my order. :) 

Which are your favorites? 

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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Wednesday Favorites: Montessori

Montessori Materials


I thought I would share some of my favorite materials for a Montessori Infant to Toddler classroom. Since I teach infants and toddlers, I find that these materials really aid my tiny students in their development and growth. Last year, my students used many of these over and over in the classroom so not only do they help in their development but they also enjoy using them. What is so great about some of these, is that you can use and make them at home. 

1. Plan Toys Geometric Sorting Board (aids in helping children recognize colors, sorting, shapes and even helps in counting abilities. 

2. Plan Toys Walk N Roll I have seen in the past what a big hit this material is. Children love the sound it makes as they walk with it. Great sensorial work for older infants as well as young toddlers.

3. ALEX Toys: Early Learning String A Farm Another big hit with my students this past year. You may want to show them first how to use this but once they see how it works, they will love it. I was so surprised that even my youngest of students were able to use this. This material is great for their fine motor skills and manual dexterity. The animals are a point of interest for the child (sheep, dog, cat, cow, pig, etc). 

4. Single Shape Puzzles Even the youngest of students will be able to use these shape puzzle pieces. They are great for language (introducing shapes) and eye-hand coordination. 

5. Object to Picture Matching This is probably one of my favorite materials to make. Yes you can actually make this yourself! Object to picture matching is great for even the youngest of students (just make sure none of the objects you use are choking hazards). It really helps in their cognitive development. 

6. Wooden Texture Cylinders A great sensory activity for older infants and toddlers. The touch and match cylinders helps in the development of tactile discrimination (smooth, rough, soft, etc).

7. Guidecraft Screw Block Great manipulative that aids in eye-hand coordination, fine motor, and color matching skills. Great for young - older toddlers. 

8. Coin Posting Box Another one of my favorites! Infants and Toddlers a like love using this material. Very simple to make using a tin can, contact paper and craft store buttons. 

9. Object Permanence Box  You've probably seen this in many Montessori classrooms. It helps develop hand-eye coordination and indirectly allows the child to experience object permanence (when a child understands that an object continues to exist even when they cannot be seen). 

10. Homemade Shakers I absolutely love this! I have made this for my students and also for my niece. I must say it is such a hit for infants and older infants! The bottles I used were from Michael's craft store, and I filled them up with rice, marbles, sand, cotton balls, or rocks. You can add water to one of them and also put glitter inside of it. Children love to shake them and watch the glitter! You can also use old baby jars. 

I'd like to mention that books are a huge part of a Montessori environment. I did not mention any on my list because I just wanted to concentrate on some of my favorite materials. I definitely recommend books by Roger Priddy and DK Publishing, which contain realistic pictures, ideal for an infant and toddler classroom. I hope you enjoyed reading my list. Let me know if you tried any with your students or your children. :) 


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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

J.Crew Factory Hen Print

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Recently, I have seen these adorable hen prints all over the J.Crew Factory site. I just love them! J.Crew Factory has done it again with these. Much like the Merona Seahorse print shirt 
Target had, I think these will be seen everywhere and be just as famous. 

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Monday, August 19, 2013

Montessori Mondays: Matching Activity


I wanted to share with you a favorite activity (work) of my students and mine this past year. It is a matching activity, where you match objects to pictures. It is so simple to make as well. The supplies you will need are as follows:

laminator

white paper or white card stock
wood animal cutouts (I got these from my local Michael's Craft store). 
glue stick

First make a color copy of the animal cutouts. I used my canon printer and the copies came out pretty good. I just outlined some of the black ink that was not showing too much. Next you cut the color animal pictures in the shape of a card. (They should all be the same size). Once you are done, you can paste the picture to a card stock paper and then you laminate it. 


The end result is this:



          

You can put the work on a shelf and invite the child to take the activity to a table or put it on a mat on the floor. The child will then try to match the animal to its card. 

          

An extension to this activity would be to trace the outline to four of the animals. Place two animals in each row and trace an outline around them. Laminate it and when the child uses the activity, they will match the animal to its outline. 

           

Both of these activities help the child develop concentration, visual discrimination and order. You can use other animals of your choice. I used this activity with children between the ages of 18 months - 2 years old. 


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Sunday, August 18, 2013

Wish List Sundays

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jcrew.com

factory.jcrew.com

ae.com

J Crew j crew flat
jcrew.com




I absolutely love Spring and Fall! So it's only natural I start thinking of must have items for the season. I personally am in love with this J.Crew puffer vest. I ordered it online and can not wait for it to arrive. I love Fall because you can definitely bring out the leopard print and these flats are just so adorbs! I honestly think they go with everything! You can definitely find similar ones at Target or Steve Madden. 
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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Hello World!



This is my very first post!! Yay!! I am so excited to finally get this blog started! I've been contemplating for a while on whether or not I should start a blog. I mean do I even have time to start one? But I feel this could be my creative outlet and I love and enjoy reading other blogs, where I get ideas for classroom materials and outfits. 

So here's a little bit about myself:

I am currently a grad student pursuing my Master's Degree in Early Childhood, Childhood, and Special Education. 
I am sort of a workaholic. I sometimes leave my job two hours after I clock out working on new materials or decorating my bulletin board. 
I work at a Montessori Pre-school in Manhattan. I love my job! Some days are challenging but it is all worth it! 
I am a moderate shopaholic (I say 'moderate' because I don't spend too much but I do enjoy shopping every now and then). 
I am a amateur baker. I love love baking cupcakes and cake bites. I am not the best at decorating them but I do try my best. 
I am a diabetic. I was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes when I was 15 years old and for some reason have had a bad case of a sweet tooth ever since. (I absolutely LOVE chocolate!). 

This blog will be about my life, montessori, and shopping.  I hope you all enjoy reading my blog! Happy Reading! 


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