I love Montessori art appreciation activities, and Montessori By Mom has some fabulous ones in their Art Appreciation Toolbox. Although the Montessori By Mom toolboxes are designed for ages 3-6, my 20-month old granddaughter, Zoey, had a lot of fun with the learning activities in this toolbox. The Art Appreciation Toolbox has activities appropriate for toddlers through elementary.
Disclosure: I’m a Montessori By Mom affiliate. I was given the Art Appreciation Toolbox for this review/activity post. This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).
Montessori By Mom
Montessori By Mom is a small business started by Nathan and Teresa Hadsall, two teachers who wanted to empower parents to teach their own children using Montessori principles and activities. Nathan and Teresa offer a subscription service, sending a box of themed Montessori materials and activities for 3-5 year olds each month. Everything you need for teaching your child with the materials is included in the monthly subscription. With each box, you’ll get
- Video instruction for many activities (The videos are wonderful! Parents with no Montessori experience can feel comfortable introducing the Montessori activities after watching the video instructions.)
- Video instruction about basic Montessori principles and teaching techniques
- All the materials needed
- Extension activities with other materials from home
- Access to an online forum where you can ask questions and connect with other parents
Montessori By Mom now has a Montessori By Mom store where you can buy single toolboxes, activity sets, single items and refills, and printables and videos.
Art Appreciation Toolbox and Activities
Art Appreciation Toolbox from Montessori By Mom
The Art Appreciation Toolbox has a large number of activities you can create with the materials.
Teresa and Nathan give many ideas for various ages and levels of difficulty. Each material can be used in multiple ways, and the extensions ensure that the activities can grow with your child. The instructional videos and online resources are wonderful … and it’s so nice to have all the materials included. The Art Appreciation Toolbox is available in the Montessori By Mom store.
The toolbox contains:
- Make Your Own Paint Kit
- Arabic Gum
- Pigment Set (Red, Yellow, Blue)
- Mortar and Pestle
- Painting Supplies Set
- Painter’s Palette
- Mini Watercolor Paper
- Large Brush
- Small Brush
- Mini Masterpiece Set
- Masterpiece Poster
- Masterpiece Cards Set
- Canvas Masterpiece Prints Set of 2
- Mini Wood Easel
- Montessori Shapes Work Book
- Art Appreciation Toolbox Guide
- Instructional Videos (online)
- Online Printables and Resources
Art Appreciation Activities Using the Montessori By Mom Materials
These are just a few of the activities you can prepare using the art appreciation materials. There are additional ideas in the videos and online parent resources that are included with the toolbox. I’m impressed that there are so many different levels of activities included in the Art Appreciation Toolbox. It’s especially helpful for homeschoolers to have activities for toddlers through elementary.
Montessori: Shape Work Book
We already had this book, so I gave the extra copy for Zoey to use at home. Zoey likes feeling the tactile shapes, and I appreciate that the shapes use the same terminology we use in Montessori schools. An ellipse is called an oval in many books, but it’s called an ellipse in this book.
Using a Mortar and Pestle
I prepared an activity from the Art Appreciation Toolbox guide for starting to use a mortar and pestle. I didn’t have a dusting brush, which would have been best to use as the brush, but a regular paint brush worked fine for the activity, too. I used oregano as a first activity for grinding with a mortar and pestle. The tray is from the Shells and Starfish Toolbox.
Make Your Own Paint Activity
I’m saving this activity for when Zoey is preschool age. I added a small eye dropper bottle filled with water and a small knife to measure out the pigments from the containers. Using red, yellow, and blue pigments and Arabic gum to create watercolors is a great activity for preschoolers. Elementary-age children would probably enjoy this process for making their own paints, too.
The watercolor paper and other materials are nice quality, which adds to the aesthetic value of the activity.
Art Masterpiece Collection
Sharing art masterpieces with young children has always been one of my favorite educational activities as a Montessorian. In Montessori education, we have art masterpieces on the walls for babies as well as older children. The Montessori By Mo poster is beautiful and could even be used in a baby’s room.
I wanted to preserve the poster, so I framed it. I ordered an 11×17 Snap wood frame from Amazon.
When Zoey arrived at my house after I’d put the poster on the wall, she immediately went to study the poster up close.
The next day, I added a tray with matching art masterpiece paintings along with the small wooden easel and canvas print from Montessori By Mom. Zoey loved the cards and especially loved the small easel with canvas print of the Mona Lisa. There’s also a canvas print of The Storm on the Sea of Galilee.
Even without the Renoir prints above Zoey’s other shelf (art masterpieces I had printed out and put up when Zoey was a baby), the Montessori By Mom materials easily created a very special art appreciation area.
Matching Art Masterpieces
Zoey was eager to match the cards to the poster for this activity. She was able to match all the colored cards without difficulty. At another time, I’ll have her match the black and white cards to the poster. The reverse side of the poster has the artists. There are many activities that can be presented using these materials alone.
The Art Appreciation Toolbox is already one of Zoey’s and my favorite materials!
UPDATE: Day number 3: Zoey went to the poster right away and wanted to match the cards. She matched the colored cards, and then I gave her the black and white cards to match to the poster. She found that interesting and enjoyed matching all of them. She repeated the activity and worked for a good length of time. She repeated the activity later in the day, too. 🙂
Montessori By Mom Toolboxes + Toolbox Review and Activity Posts
(Update) Here are all the Montessori By Mom toolbox review and activity posts I’ve published here at Living Montessori Now:
Shells and Starfish Activities + Free Printable from Montessori By Mom
Shoots and Sprouts Activities + Free Printable from Montessori By Mom
Practical Life Activities + Free Printable from Montessori By Mom
Building and Blocks Activities + Free Printable from Montessori By Mom
Land, Water, Air Activities from Montessori By Mom
Art Appreciation Activities from Montessori By Mom
Learning Language Activities from Montessori By Mom
Making Music Activities from Montessori By Mom
Earth Exploration Activities from Montessori By Mom
Montessori By Mom has a few other Toolboxes, too: Mad Scientist (for skills such as pouring, color mixing, volume, and measurement), Space Explorer Toolbox, Movement and Motion, Caves and Caverns, Journey to Japan, Dinosaur Discovery, Delicious Discoveries, and Kings, Queens, and Castles.
I’ll be adding my review and activity posts to this post as I publish them. Montessori By Mom is actively working to restock several of their Toolboxes, so there should be more available every month.
MONTESSORI BY MOM SPECIAL OFFER FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS!
I really love the Montessori By Mom materials and curriculum. I definitely recommend Montessori By Mom for parents looking for a simple and fun way to start using Montessori at home.
Montessori By Mom offers $10 off to new subscribers with the coupon code AFFDECH at checkout.
Montessori By Mom is based in the U.S., but there’s even international shipping! Montessori By Mom also has a Montessori By Mom store where you can buy single toolboxes, activity sets, single items and refills, and printables and videos! You can connect with Nathan and Teresa on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube (where you can see their public videos, including a Montessori By Mom subscription sample). They also have a blog with more helpful information. Montessori By Mom runs the Montessori By Mom Family (Facebook group), too, “as a way way to support anyone interested in providing children with a Montessori experience. We also want our customers and fans to be able to connect with us and each other!”
Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!
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