March Madness is here! My husband is a dedicated sports fan, especially when it comes to basketball. He is always looking for ways to pass down that passion to our children.

When it comes to Montessori, sports aren't really at the top of the list of topics to study, however, they can provide so many fantastic ways to learn about language, math, culture, and science.

Bulldozer has always had an intense passion for balls of every kind. To bring balls to learning is always such an incredible experience for him. There's so much to be said about following a child's interests!

For all the reasons above and many more, we have decided to create a  March Madness Basketball Unit with Free Printables for our kids and share it with you!

I need to thank my husband for his help with this unit.  In all honesty, I really don't keep up with the sports world at all.  He's the one who did most of the research for these activities.  Those that he didn't research, he was able to pull from his head.  

Finding player pictures and logos for the activities below proved to be quite a challenge.  My husband spent a lot of time trying to find Wikipedia Commons Files we could use.  If there is a player you expected to see on these cards, but isn't here, know it's because we wanted to follow copyright laws.

Also, not all activities are specific to March Madness, but basketball in general.

Here's what's on our shelves this week!

March Madness Basketball Unit with Free Printables

Basketball Compound Words

 

The kiddos will match up the two parts of each word to form the compound word, using the control provided.

Source: I created the printable for this activity.  The March Madness Language Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Basketball Themed Sentence Diagramming

We're learning about conjunctions this month.  The kiddos will put the word cards together to create sentences.  A control is provided. (It's located behind the Grammar Symbols Card.)  Then they will place the grammar symbols over the correct words in each sentence.

Source: I created the printable for this activity.  The March Madness Language Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Basketball Points Addition

The kiddos will practice their addition skills as they add up points earned from each basket or shot.  Mini plastic basketballs are provided as counters.  

I wanted to use the little basketball chocolates, but Bulldozer is allergic to them, so we couldn't.  Both were at Walmart when I looked.  The mini basketballs in the picture were in the Easter Isles.

Source: I created the printable for this activity. The March Madness Math Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Basketball Fractions/Percentages

The kiddos are too young to understand percentages, but we are working on fractions this month.  In this activity the kiddos will use the dot marker to color basketballs representing how many baskets were made.  They will then match up the dot card with a fraction card.

Source: I created the printable for this activity. The March Madness Math Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Basketball Size Sequencing

 

Bulldozer has and probably always will be obsessed with balls.  This is why we have so many different sized basketballs on hand.  Lol.  

The kiddos will place the cards in order from smallest to biggest.  Then they will do the same with the basketballs provided with this activity.  

I'm super excited about this as the boys have a really difficult time generalizing information.  This activity requires them to do just that!  

If you don't have as many basketballs as we do, they're not necessary.  It's very easy to do the activity with just the cards.

Source: I created the printable for this activity. The March Madness Math Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

2014 March Madness Players

I was not able to include as many, or the exact players I would have liked for this activity due to copyright laws, however there are still sixteen different cards with different players from different teams.  

The kiddos will match up the player, logo, and state with the controls provided.  I figure this will be a great introduction to specific players can follow during the next few weeks.

Source: I created the printable for this activity. The March Madness Culture & Geography Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Positions on the Basketball Court

I love how this activity turned out. The kiddos will look at the cards provided, learning the names of each basketball position.  

They will then use the markers provided to identify where the different players are initially positioned on the court.  I've color coded the position names on the cards with the color of the markers.

Source: I created the printable for this activity. The March Madness Culture & Geography Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Some of the Best Basketball Players Ever

This activity includes five male and five female basketball players that are known to be some of the best basketball players of all time.  

If you notice someone who's missing, it's most likely due to picture copyright laws.  Still, there are a lot of great players here.  I loved the opportunity to include girl players too.

Source: I created the printable for this activity. The March Madness Culture & Geography Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Basketball Shot Practice

This activity is being used with our basketball hoop.  The kiddos will practice each of the different types of shots.  It should be fun to watch.

Source: I created the printable for this activity. The March Madness Culture & Geography Printable Pack is a Subscriber's Only Freebie.  For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Learning the Keyboard

This month we've progressed with our music theory.  The kiddos are reading letter names instead of finger numbers.  It's proven to be a little difficult.  I created this activity to help the kiddos along.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity. The Learning the Keyboard Music Printable 1 is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your free copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Make a Basket

This is just a game I came up with using materials we had laying around.  The kiddos can play together or alone.

Design Your Own Basketball Jersey

Technically this is an art activity, but it's included on our "fun" shelves this week.  I'm excited to see what logos the kiddos come up with for their jerseys.

Source: This free coloring page came from a basketball printable pack at 2 Teaching Mommies.

Lacing Sneakers

This week we'll see if the kiddos can learn how to lace up their sneakers.  I figured this should come before I try to teach them how to tie their shoes.  That whole process scares me a little bit, even though I know it's time for Dinomite especially.

Potato Chip Taste Testing

Sports games wouldn't be complete without some type of potato chip.  The kiddos have never really tried any flavors but plain. I'm hoping they'll decide to try a few new flavors over the week.  I must say I'm very intrigued by the chicken and waffles flavored chips.

March Madness Sensory Bin

As I laid in bed last night trying to finish up my plans for activities this week, it crossed my mind that I might just be able to pull off a March Madness sensory bin.  I must say it turned out quite well.

Sensory Bin Includes:
Basketball Erasers
Food Erasers: Pizza Slices, Soda Cups, Hamburgers & Hot Dogs
Plastic Basketballs
Plastic Basketball Hoops (Found in the Easter Section at Walmart.)
Basketball Netting
Plastic Trophies
Animal Figures representing different College Basketball Mascots
Bouncy Basketballs
Corn Kernels

I hope your week is going well! 

Next week we'll be continuing with our In the Kitchen Unit!

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