The accidental Valentine shelfie:
I don’t usually theme my shelves because I’m not big on celebrations, especially the aspects that promote consumerism or have arbitrary symbolism attached to it. I understand it for adults, but does a heart symbolise love or is it just another shape to a child who is a concrete thinker? Plus, letting the child make his own meaning is valuable for her learning.
I put together 9 easy, low-cost Montessori-inspired activities that help children make personal connections to things or people that they love.
1. Letterboard writing
To practise recognising and writing uppercase letters.
2. Hearts and photo collage
Gluing heart confetti on black-and-white images of children from all over the world. I wanted to do something edgy yet timeless for Valentines instead of the usual feel-good heart-themed stuff (there’s plenty of that if you read on anyway 🤦🏻♀️). It’s my way of counteracting racial bias, by reminding them that children of all races have things in common, and that children of the same race can be so different too.
3. Family members activity
As Valentine’s Day is usually a few days away from Chinese New Year, I leave these Asian finger puppets on the shelf with handwritten cards for the Chinese words for father, mother, grandfather, sister etc. It is love too, for one’s family and culture. It’s very important to use shelf activities to help the child make personal connections.
4. Pregnancy anatomy model
Two close friends are expecting or have just given birth, and the children had observed how the women’s bodies changed magnificently, so I brought out this anatomy model for the children. The children use it for language work (I’ve learnt to not be squeamish but name each body part with a straight face! There is nothing shameful about the human body!) and as a 3D puzzle. Everything is detachable – even the umbilical cord separates from the fetus!
I cut the diagram out from the back of the cardboard box to act as a control of error and there’s further info I’ve cut from the brochure and glued on the back.
5. Red and pink fuse bead hearts
I drew hearts on origami paper which was the same size as the fuse bead base. As a pre-activity, invite your child to sort the red and pink beads from the other 20 colors in the fuse bead box.
The children also like using the travel iron to melt the fuse beads and make hanging ornaments to gift to friends.
6. Ladybug counting
This is only marginally related to Valentine, but my child loves ladybugs.
These ladybug counting cards were from a Montessori coffret we found in, of all places, a Parisian supermarket.
7. Pompom rolling maker
This $2 Daiso thing of beauty makes tassels and pompoms. You could easily DIY a pompom maker with a cardboard “donut”, but I thought the children would enjoy cranking the handle and seeing the yarn twist around it.
I demonstrated how to tie the thinner string around it, cut it and fluff it up to get a pompom.
The children were on a roll, making pompoms and also tassels as presents.
8. Books
One should feature diverse children all year round, but this darling little book is especially sweet. (How to choose Montessori-friendly books here).
9. Card-writing station
When my son started writing little notes to me last week , my heart leapt. I knew then that he had realised the power of writing. It wasn’t just restricted to worksheets, but a legitimate and vital means of lifelong communication.
I wanted to support that by setting up a station with beautiful notepaper and accoutrements.
I also realised they liked to cut up paper to make really small notes, so I bought the tiniest envelopes I could find. I adore the Japanese bunny envelopes!
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