Sunday, April 15, 2012

Montessori-Inspired April Showers Activities

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now


April showers activities are versatile and so much fun! They could work well for a spring-, weather-, April showers-, or gardening unit. 

This post originally used a number of activities from an April showers pack that's no longer available. This post was updated in March 2021.

At Living Montessori Now, I have a list of Free Water Cycle Printables.

I also have a post with resource links of Free Printables for Montessori Homeschools and Preschools. 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).


Water Cycle Activity
Water Cycle Activity

The pack this was from is no longer available, but one of these printables could work well for this activity:

I like to add 3-dimensional objects to an activity for preschoolers whenever I can. For this activity, I found some acrylic gems in a variety of shapes, including raindrop shapes. I used an inexpensive wooden tray from a hobby store. Update: Now I use a Multicraft tray for most activities.

If you have a preschool or group, this would be a great activity for a large- or small-group presentation, although it can be introduced individually, of course. 


Presentation Tips
  • If you’re presenting to a large group, go to the rug container, get a rug, and roll it out on the floor in front of you. For an individual child or small group, it’s helpful to use a rug if you’re presenting an activity on the floor. 
  • Go to the shelf where the activity tray is located, pick up the tray with both hands, and carry it to your rug or to a table. 
  • For a large-group presentation in a preschool, generally the children will be seated in a circle. Present the activity facing toward the group. If you’re presenting to an individual child, have the child sit to your left if you’re right-handed so that you don’t block the child’s view with your arm. 
  • I would use this activity to tell the story of the water cycle, moving the raindrop through the water cycle as I tell it.
  • When you’re finished with the activity, put the activity away on the shelf. Always show how to clean up and put away an activity when you first present it. If you had a rug out for the activity, roll the rug up and put it away. 
  • Then I’d leave the activity on the shelf for the child or children to use whenever they choose.

More Weather Resources

If you'd like ideas for calendar-based themes throughout April and May, see my April Themed Activities for Kids and May Themed Activities for Kids.

Be sure to go to my post with a list of free water cycle printables at Living Montessori Now!

Deb Chitwood is a certified Montessori teacher with a master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies. Deb taught in Montessori schools in Iowa and Arizona before becoming owner/director/teacher of her own Montessori school. Later, she homeschooled her two children through high school. Deb is now a Montessori writer who blogs at Living Montessori Now.


32 comments:

  1. Awesome activities - love how they flow together.

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    1. Thanks, Leeanne! I had so much fun with this! Such a cute printable pack to work with ... and many of the activities in the pack are designed for hands-on use. :)

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  2. Great post, as always, Deb. I downloaded this pack awhile back, so I'm going to pin these ideas for when I use it. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks for your kind comment, Allison! It's a great printable pack, isn't it?! Thanks for pinning! :)

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  3. Deb - Thank you! I absolutely love these ideas. I've written a post on my blog linking my readers to your post. Hopefully you don't mind, but I used one of your pictures to link back to your post. If you would like me to remove it, I'd be glad to do so.

    Again, thank you for the post...and for the beautiful ideas! I'll be getting to Michael's to pick up some of those beautiful gems just as soon as I can! :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Dawn! The post you write is lovely ... I'm honored! You're welcome to use the photo in your post.

      For an adult, I probably have way too much fun with those gems! ;)

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  4. Excellent, Deb, again. I love, love, love these ideas and the gems just make the learning so inviting. You write so clearly and make everything wonderful in your lessons. Carolyn

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    1. Thanks so much for your kind words, Carolyn! Such a nice start to my week! :)

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  5. I really like this! I wonder if it could be converted to a lapbook for use during a long trip, waiting rooms, etc.

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    1. Thanks, Davidsona! That's an interesting thought. I know there are some Montessori apps available now. Even though young children need hands-on work as a primary focus, digital apps are very helpful for times like trips and waiting rooms. :)

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  6. Very pretty presentations. Jem raindrops are a nice touch. Thanks for sharing with Afterschool!

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    1. Thanks so much! I'm a real fan of the gem-like materials that are so easy to find now. :)

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  7. Love these ideas! We've already got the glass gems, so it should be easy for us to set up.

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    1. Thanks, Aiming4Simple! I'm not terribly crafty, so my activities tend to be very simple to prepare (thanks to printables). If you already have the glass gems, your preparations should be very easy! :)

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  8. Very cute! Love the wooden trays for holding the activities. Awesome:)
    ~popping over from the Preschool Corner

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    1. Thanks, Heather! Have a great Earth Day weekend! :)

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  9. I really like the Water the Flower game. So cute! I pinned this on Pinterest so I would remember to do these activities with my girls.
    Thanks for sharing your ideas.
    Tonya

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment and for pinning my post, Tonya! Happy Earth Day weekend! :)

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  10. love it Deb! Always great stuff here - pinning it!

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    1. Thanks so much, Stef! Have a happy Earth Day! :)

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  11. What fun trays & beautiful printables to alongside them! So much fun! Thanks for linking up to TGIF! Looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow =-)
    Beth

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    1. Thanks so much, Beth! Have a wonderful weekend! :)

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  12. I found your blog while I was looking for montessori activity.that is very nice and super for me and my son(2.5 years old)
    but ı couldnt find printable pages
    for example "f flower" page and the others??
    how can I printthese materials?

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    1. I just found this. In case anyone is looking for the link, the link for the whole April Showers Preschool Pack is near the top of the post. Here it is: http://mamasmonkeys.blogspot.com/2012/04/free-april-showers-preschool-pack.html. When you get to the page, just click on the picture of the pack to be taken to the page with the download. :)

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  13. Replies
    1. My pleasure! I had fun putting the activities together! :)

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  14. These are wonderful Deb. I'll be using the water cycle activity for sure. My son asked me last week how rain is made and I didn't do that well at answering! The movement of the raindrop will be a great visual aid.

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    1. Thanks, Ness! I hope it works well for you! :)

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  15. These are beautiful printables and such a fun way to learn about April showers.

    Seemi @ Trillium Montessori

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    1. Thanks, Seemi! I agree that the printables are beautiful ... so helpful for preparing Montessori-inspired activities! :)

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  16. Such a great collection of printables and Ideas. Thanks for sharing at Mom's Library this week! We are looking forward to what you have in store this week.

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  17. Hi Deb - I hate April showers but this is a wonderful way to help kids learn about them. I'm pinning it as I'm just trying to prepare for Tot School with my kiddos. I'm also inviting you to come and add it to my party - hope to see you there - http://www.supermommyclub.com/super-mommy-club-week-2/

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