AFRICA continent blog hop

Ok….I know…I’m LATE!…but, well…better late than never! 😉  Who ever said organizing enables you to be more well…organized…never factored in being a goober!  So…I’m adding all my posts again and hoping it connects up with Leann’s Continent Bin Blog Hop at Montessori Tidbits.  Or at least simply posts this time! 😉  Some of it’s…well redundant, but I’m too lazy to edit a lot as I’ve already spent tons of time putting it together that first night.  So…here it is along with the links to Leann’s posts! 😉

Well, while I ran away for the weekend with Karen and Leann for some child free fun we talked about (wow…how sad is this tidbit..but…) the kids, montessori and waldorf, the swaps and some blog hops.  Leann thought of doing a continent bin hop.  I was on it like white on rice and super excited.  Basically it starts Sunday with the world, Monday Africa, Tuesday Europe, Wednesday Asia, Thursday Australia, Friday Antarctica (be sure to check out that amazing Mondorfment girls polar bear.  It’s simply adorable and she’s so clever! 🙂 hehe), Saturday South America and ends Sunday with North America.  Be sure to check it all out.

While you wait for the rest of them, here’s my bin of stuff for Africa….and don’t forget links are so appreciated, but don’t use my pics without my permission.  Say no to blogerism!

 I have no idea why they’re upside down.  I actually turned them and even added a mondorfment thingy but….they’re upside down and w/o a preventative….  All I have to say is Picassa sucks when you don’t know what you’re doing!.

But, obviously here’s some of our books from ABCs to fold out books like The Nile (suppppper duper awesome as it unfolds and follows the Nile down…very cool.  We’ve floated everything from egyptian boats to baby Moses when Tyler and Rhea were little.  Egypt is a 3d pop up book for bigger kids and then there is Ancient Egypt.  Tyler loves this book.  He’s had a favorite like this every year but last year and this year it’s Egypt.  I’m glad that Kristie at Earthschooling has some Egyptian stuff for 5th grade so we’re adding Egypt to our America studies this year for Tyler.  (By the way Kristie’s giving away some of her lessons as freebies if you’d like to check out some Waldorf inspired stuff.)  I also have some Zoo books and a bunch of other books too.  I’ve bought them at Half Price Books or at the Library Sell.  I’m banned from both places for a good year unless I thin out some more books.  Moving sucks as you have to get rid of great books!

I know…still upside down…. sorry! Just look at it as a way to practice your yoga poses. 😉

 This was also bought at Borders and is a game called Africa Wild.  Basically there’s a bunch of plastic animals you move, answer a bunch of questions and win the game.  It’s interesting and the kids have enjoyed it.  Sunshine made off with the animals and I don’t know where she went and honestly, she’s playing in yonder and I’m not messing with the quiet I’ve got going on here so…envision little animals.

 
This is a tin that came with chocolates back when Tyler was a baby and we were only vegetarian.  Yes, we’ve been unschooling since he was born.  The colorful thingys are little acrylic monkeys, camels, donkeys , a few other things but we’ve used these for years with our math works, as place holders, games, sorting, matching, etc.  I can’t remember where I bought the little thingys…but I paid less than a dollar for them.  I really think I bought them at Card and Party Shop when they were Half Price Card Shop.  (yes, I have a preference for half price 😉 )

some stuff from Ally in swap 1, books and wooden animals, a zebra maze, my moms necklace courtesy of the ’80’s!, coins, some Egyptian toob symbols, a scarab carved rock, a lion bell, and the coolest (bought it off of Karen(my 2-6 album diva guru at http://www.montessorimarketplace.com/ ) is a giraffe puzzle with 4 little balls you have to get into the divits.  LOVE it.  Sunshine will play it for about 10 minutes, bring it to me to do, then take it back and try to do it.  I LOVE her attention span and attitude with this thing!

Pictures from Amanda in Mondorfment Swap 2.  They’re amazing, but as a sling wearin’ momma…I LOVE this one!!!  That sweet babe being popped about by his older sibling.  LOVE it!  And, I love the fabric. 
 
Animal cards with info on the back.  Rhea and Tyler have been playing with these with Sunshine.  I love how they just pick something up and ‘teach’ her.  Tyler’s reading is taking off in leaps and bounds and it’s all because he is reading to Sunshine.  I love seeing the two of them cuddled up and reading.  Rhea reads her a story every night as they share a bed now.  It’s so cute but I must say I miss that spot…but it’s good for the two of them and I just read during the day now… 🙂  I REALLY love this box.  I’ve put all the stamps and coins and tiny things in it.  It’s so colorful and I really want to snatch it for my room but…I have to be a big girl and share with the class… 😉

 
Here’s some of Amanda’s stuff.  Oh and Ally sent the African stuff with the boy and girl and the Egyptian toob thingys.  The Egyptian jasmine smells niiiiice.  The Egyptian map is ours (Tyler’s favorite section of history!) and it’s from our National Geographic subscription that was FULL of learning and amazing things.  I really wish we still had a subscription but you want to keep everyone of them and after 5 years of stuff…they were sent to Goodwill and we didn’t renew.  I miss you National Geographic.  Your maps and inserts alone are worth the subscription.  You REALLY need to get an e version and just mail the maps.  I’d be SOOO down with that and wouldn’t mean lots of trees and space used! 😉  The cloth,mask and box with mummy wrapping inside is also Amanda but the stamps (bought from Karen too) and the puzzle came from Target and their dollar section which is a spot where I can spend an easy 30-40.  I swear they have some kind of chemical piped in that area to make you buy.

 
 Schleigh (spelling) and other resin like animals.  This summer I hit the mother load at Michaels and bought a TON of animals on clearance.  I bought one of everything they had marked down.  Went back the next day to buy some for Sandra…they were GONE!  HoLo’s (Hobby Lobby) has some marked down occasionally too as does Joann’s if you look in the clearance section and even through the aisles.  I’ve found animals popped in the middle of baskets before and they were for a quarter-2.00 each.  Yes, I bought them all.  Anyone wish to trade some animals?! 🙂  The right is some scenes.  They look like they were a set the scene yourself but have since been laminated.  I’m using these as writing prompts and to help with art ideas.

Pictures bought from Karen

 
This is a scrapbook stack full of safari paper which screams Africa.  I use it to make covers for the kids books, and also as great backgrounds when I display art they’ve drawn.  I bought it at Joanns for 9/10 bucks.  The fabric I’ve had FOREVER!  It was bought at Hancocks I believe.  I used this to make some books for the kids when they were babies.  A really great way to introduce more culture to your babes when you live in a community that’s a sea of white is with fabric.  I made cloth picture books out of all these great prints.  Now I use the left over for a table cloth at the display table, dress up, etc.  Sunshine loves the fabric on the right and wraps her babies on her back with it.  I’m always finding it in her baby doll bin and we’ll be ok until it’s time for our Africa studies…then I’m going to have to bribe her with perhaps some sari fabric.  Oh wait…she’s got that already too…hummmm…maybe Santa REALLY needs to bring her her own sling or wrap this year! 😉

These are from my Geo Safari.  It’s an electronic game that you match up the answer by picking and it’s simply amazing.  I bought about $500.00 worth of cards when United Art and Education had their 10.00 a bag clearance.  Basically, you got a brown bag, filled it up and paid 10bucks.  There wasn’t a limit to the number of bags you could purchase…I paid a total of 130.00 and we added it up and I had purchased ON clearance prices over 2500.00 worth of product.  I know if it’d been retail I’da had an easy 7grand.  It was really cool and so used up because at the time I ran a preschool out of my house.  UA&E doesn’t do the bag anymore….I wonder why? 🙂  But hey…I followed their rules and the workers were even helping me bag up!  I think the powers that be never considered anyone running an in home preschool :).  My girlfriend who worked with me spent about 80 and she bought some of the most AMAZING puppets.  She was supposed to share …she didn’t….and moving on!

And here is my FAVORITE!!!  This little giraffe goes on our peace table.  He’s a reminder to always use Giraffe language.  I actually will carry him around with me when I’m feeling the jackals creeping about.  Boy that has so many interpretations to it!  But, check out Marshal Rosenburgs Nonviolent Communication as it’ll help make your peace table become a peace home or classroom!   I hope you enjoyed a peek at most of my Africa bin.  I hope you liked it and it helps you add to your own.  Also, if you get a chance…the movie ‘Babies’ gives a beautiful look at the life of a Nigerian baby if you’d like to see how different cultures live.  We enjoyed it a lot and I took the kids to see it.  Naked little bums and nursin’ babies all over the place it was perfect and will be added to our bin (Asia too) once it comes out for sell.