Montessori by Mom Review
by me, of course
I don't know if any of you have heard of this company called Montessori by Mom. I have pining and ogling over it for a while. It's part of the new fad of monthly subscriptions where a kit is sent to you every month. Montessori By Mom is obviously a Montessori kit for kids age 3-6 years old. Each month is themed with 6-8 projects for your child to do. They also give you a variety of buying options if you don't want to do the monthly subscriptions. If you mosey onto their website and click on their store you can buy any of their past kits or even just pieces of kits. They even have refills if you kids loved it and you want more or maybe you have more then one kid you want to use it but don't want to buy multiple kits.
Well this month I ordered my first Kit and man can I just say I love LOVE LOOOOVE it!
Let me show you what we got this month....
- 4 plastic toy dinosaurs
- play dough mix
- plaster mix
- a bag of rock shaped crayons
- dinosaur stenciles
- a wooden dinosaur puzzle
- game cards
- game mat
- dinosaur poster to hang
- real fossil in wooden case
- a excavation kit with bones inside to make on of 4 different dinosaurs
November Dinosaur Discovery
Well we started the box out super excited. (original I got this for Princess to use during her down time when I am working with Monkey on school, but the both loved playing with it) First Princess looked through all the stuff and introduced the plastic dinosaurs (with their egg babies <the rock crayons>) to her toys. Then she had a good hour of make-believe play with them before I couldn't wait any longer. I was really excited to get started.
Next was excavation time. They took turns on this one. I just ran a line down the center and they each had their own side to chisel. We worked on this, rotating every 10mins, for over an hour. We have done that for three days now (not in a row) and we have almost discovered all our bones. I love how this has taken such a long time. Really helps them to work at a goal.
While one bear was working on the fossils the other was using the rock crayons and stencils making different dinos. Monkey was really excited to explore the difference between the larger fossil sketch and the smaller picture of dino...Princess loved that it was a Mommy and her baby in every pic...whatever makes them happy. Of course they then could color them in afterwards....nothing better then kids making their own coloring pages! We haven't yet, but I am hoping to use this to segway into more crayon rubbing activities such as leaves or maybe grave stones.
Stencils only lasted one day of fossil digging the next day Princess way ready to dive into the wooden puzzle during her break time from chiseling and Monkey like to look at the real -that's right REAL- fossil that came with the kit and learning about how fossils form via google
We also played this awesome matching game....I think the website list 5 different games you can play with them. Princess also like to match her new little dino buddies up with their cards.
Next we were ready to make some fossils of our own. First we made some Dino play dough. Then we made impressions with our new dino buddies that came in the kit and poured plaster over the top of the impressions. (step by step video on their website)
They loved that they made their own fossils. Even better with the kit you have enough plaster to make two rounds of fossils (two dino impressions in each round) We did one and are saving the other for later this month during some down time.
My Thoughts on this Company
SO the only reservations I had on this company was the price of the kits. It is on the more expensive side and I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much money on a box of "crafts and activities". Now that I have it (which I got my first box $10 off with this awesome coupon AFFSAHA) I can tell you this is 100% worth every penny! The quality of everything that comes in this box is amazing. It is something that will not only entertain your kids for a whole month (not just last a day), but it can be kept and used over and over again. Of course some of the items can't be used again, like the block we excavated, but the bones in it can be kept as a 3D puzzle. I took all the things we can reuse and bought this plastic tub from Target and it all fit nicely. I will easily be able to stack a few of these on a shelf for the kids to get to and play with whenever they want.
This is what I loved!
- Like I said earlier...amazing quality! Everything is either heavy card stock (cards) or excellent quality plastic (won't break easily) or wooden (puzzle and box the real fossil came in). And it is all non toxic and safe for little ones.
- Will last all month and for much longer then that!.
- A variety of activity used to improve children's dexterity, knowledge, and abilities all while having fun.
- easy to follow directions, with step by step videos for all activities on their website.
- small Mom and Pop store....which I love to support. Let me tell you I have already spoken with them and they are super nice and extremely helpful.
- Everything is safe for kids...even Ninja, who is only 18months, happily played under my supervision <Not recommended for children under three due to choking hazard>
- They also add free printable each month to their website to go along with that months theme just in case your kids go through it too fast...mine have stayed plenty busy with the items in the box.
- FREE shipping when you get a subscription which you can pause or stop at any time.
- Finally, the hours of entertainment and the questions it has sparked in my kids this month alone is enough to spend a whole year learning on. It is an amazing addition to any homeschool curriculum or even just a weekend activities to get them out of that "Saturday morning <which really lasts all day> cartoons"
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