The K Junction: Early Learning

Showing posts with label Early Learning. Show all posts

Sep 21, 2018

Wooden Knobbed Puzzles - Geography For Kids - Review

Does your child like puzzles? Here is something interesting for those little hands. Montessori inspired puzzles that cover some geography🌎! These wooden toys (knobbed puzzles) are made by artisans in India.

I came across these wooden knobbed puzzles of India, Continents 🌎🌏& Countries of the world by Stuti Gupta (Wooden Toy Lovers) . Sharing them here for your benefit and if you would like to order these for your child, here is a benefit for all you awesome members of this community. This is a token of love for being here!

PRODUCT DETAILS

Continents puzzle - 399 Rs + shipping, A4 size

Countries of the world puzzle - 700 Rs + shipping, 46*30 cm

️India puzzle - 450 Rs +shipping, 30*30cm

HOW TO ORDER

You can order these puzzles directly by contacting Stuti Gupta on whatsapp 📲 9811987124.

DISCOUNT

Mention the discount code KJUNCTION & get an instant 👉 5% OFF on the prices mentioned above. Shipping is extra for all the puzzles.

PERSONAL REVIEW

These are nice to introduce the concept, names & shapes of the continents, countries & states of India. I do not own them because I already have another version of such puzzles since a year now. But these wooden ones are a better eco-friendly alternative. It has knobs so it also helps in pincer grip. It is sturdier as compared to foam based puzzles of the same type available in the market.

I would have preferred if the country & states shapes & sizes were more to scale but since this is just for representation purposes, it is not that big an issue. The child surely gets an idea about the stuff this puzzle intends to give. Some states in the India map will not have knobs because of their small size. So those pieces wont be detachable from the map board. This is a known limitation because of small size of the state, but needs a gentle mention in this review.

Overall, nice, engaging & educational puzzles. When not used with the puzzle board, for elder kids, the individual pieces of the puzzle can be used for tracing the countries or states shape & kids can color them.

Do not forget to follow "The K Junction" on Facebook page & closed Facebook group, Twitter and Instagram for day to day updates that might not always find a place on this blog. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to know more about our early learning journey, DIY & Montessori & Waldorf inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

Ganesha Birth Story - How Ganpati Got Elephant Head - Storytelling For Kids - DIY

Storytelling is an art & Indian mythological stories are a treasure. Instead of just telling the story verbally, this time try telling it with the help of props to your kids. Here is the birth story of Lord Ganesha, how he got elephant head. Check out my DIY storytelling setup with props in this article.

Watch this video below.

This is how I narrated the birth story of Lord Ganpati this Ganesh Chaturthi to my 2 year old son using his toys and playset items.

Let me know in the comments, how you found this storytelling setup!

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

How To Make Handmade Paper From Recycled Scraps With Kids - DIY Tutorial

how to make handmade paper at home with kids diy recycling waldorf inspired project tutorial

Here is an easy tutorial on how to make handmade paper at home with your kids using recycled paper scraps. I did this Waldorf inspired activity with my 3 year old son after we visited handmade paper factory as a part of our homeschool co-op field trip last week. Making paper is magical, therapeutic & its super simple too!

We had visited hand made paper factory recently and since summers are here in India, I thought it is a great time to make hand made paper at home with my 3 year old son. I had been meaning to do this for a long time & for this project, I had also collected old paper bills, scrap papers, left over paper cutouts while making Montessori inspired printable activities etc. They all came in handy while making this handmade paper. And not to mention, my boy was super excited to replicate at home what we had seen in the handmade paper factory recently.

WHAT YOU NEED

Recycled wastepaper (I used old paper bills, scrap papers, paper cut outs from craft sessions, my son's old scribbled papers)
Blender / mixer
Big large utensils
Water
Wide kitchen sieve
Rag clothes
Towel
Flower petals, food colors, thread cuttings (optional)
SUN (lol)

PROCESS

Me & my son tore the scrap papers into small pieces & put them into warm water & left them to soak for 30 minutes while we had our lunch. You see these big utensils that contain soaked papers.

Then I blended the soaked papers and formed a nice pulp out of it.

His friends also joined in & then the kids took the pulp & placed it into the circular kitchen sieve that I had. I use that sieve for flour to make chapatis. They put one layer of pulp on to the sieve & pressed it to make it uniform - neither too thick nor too thin. Putting a container beneath the sieve works well to contain all the draining water.

Now the task is to keep squeezing out water from this sieve. Before that we put in some flower petals on the the pulp to make it beautiful. See those orange petals in the pic? This step is optional. And you can also put in seeds in the paper at this step so that when this paper is discarded & thrown in the soil, something grows out of it. We also put in some thread cuttings into the paper to give it another look.

We used a rag cloth to press the sieve so that more & more water squeezes out of the pulp & the grains/fibres of the paper inside the pulp start to attach to each other & take a form of paper all set together.

My son again pressed the pulp in the sieve kept on old newspaper so that it absorbs water from both the sides.

Finally when we felt that the water is squeezed out pretty nicely from the pulp & the paper which is in the making is binding nicely (basically the fibres), I inverted the sieve & the wet paper landed up on the towel like this. It was an awesome moment to put down our first paper on the towel with no cracks at all.

And slowly we had a bunch of papers ready to be sun dried! We ended up putting food colors in some papers, that is the reason you see greenish paper in the picture below.

And the next day, our handmade papers were all ready!!! They looked gorgeous to us!!! Don't they?

Handmade papers also make beautiful gifts & keepsakes!

Painting Space Nebula Using Soft Pastels - Art Tutorial For Kids

Ever wondered to introduce a new art medium to your kids other than crayons, water colors, acrylics etc? Here is a quick tutorial on painting a Nebula in space using Soft Pastels for kids.

We do a lot of arts in our Homeschool! We have a Montessori Inspired arts corner set up for my 3 year old and he is free to access any art supplies.

Related Read - What Is Open Ended Art & How To Encourage It In Toddlers.

We do unstructured as well as guided/structured art and the pics of our artworks are spread all over my phone. Not every art activity go on to this blog. You might see many art posts on my Instagram & Facebook accounts.

This is our latest guided art work using soft pastels from Kokuyo Camlin. We tried to recreate a nebula from Natgeo book of space for kids.

Here are our resources that we used in this project -

Soft Pastels, Natgeo Book of Space, Black Paper, Sponge for smudging, White Acrylic Paint, Old Tooth Brush. You can go for any of the variants of soft pastels as mentioned below. It is suggested to use a fixative spray on top of your soft pastels art work so that it remains intact.

My son chose this picture to paint.

This is our first attempt using soft pastels. We got inspiration of such artwork from @acraftedchildhood on Instagram. Thanks momma!

My 3 year old son basically used soft pastels on a black chart paper as per the colors seen in the nebula. He did couple of layers.

This is what it looked after a bunch of colors he did.

Related Read - How To Encourage Creativity Through Art.

Then he smudged the colors using sponge when done.

He again layered with red soft pastel with its entire length on to the paper to get a wider & smooth stroke.

And then he sprayed white acrylic paint to recreate stars.

Here is the final version.

How do you like it? Hubby said the painting looks better than the original image, yes he is biased because it's done by our son!

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

How To Reduce Screen Time For Kids - 10 Tips For Parents (VLOG)

how to reduce screen time for kids mobile tips parenting

How To Reduce Screen Time For Kids - 10 Tips For Parents. This article showcases the facebook live video I did on this topic recently as a part of my #TuesdayLive Facebook live series.

In my blogging & consultation journey in parenting & early childhood domain, that one problem that I have come across umpteen number of times with great seriousness is screen time kids are exposed to these days!

Here are tips for parents to handle/limit/eliminate screen time for kids. And trust me, it isnt easy at all. So be prepared for the hard work, but it is totally worth it for the physical, mental & emotional health of our kids & the betterment of the next generation.

In this video below, let us understand how can we reduce screen time for kids.

Share this blog among friends/communities who might be looking for any kind of help/support as far as kids & books are concerned.

You can also contact me using this form.

Relevant Links Mentioned In This Video

You can check out tons of activities that you can do with children on my blog & youtube channel here -
Early Learning activities
Montessori Inspired activities
Waldorf Inspired activities
DIY & activity videos

Take a look at some kids books & toy recommendations here -
Books & Toys Recommendations
Books & Toys Reviews

You can go through other Facebook live videos HERE & I will keep adding them in this archive and you can find them all at THIS link anytime in the future. You can also join my facebook page & group to follow the updates.

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

An Ultimate Guide To Encourage Young Kids To Read & Fall In Love With Books (VLOG)

how to make kids fall in love with reading books encourage children read readers

How To Make Kids Fall In Love With Books - Tips For Encouraging Kids To Read. This article showcases the facebook live video I did on this topic recently as a part of my #TuesdayLive Facebook live series.

As an early childhood educator & a mom to a 3 year old book lover, I get a lot of queries & see many parents seeking help when it comes to books & young kids. We all know the benefits of reading books to kids but many parents do not know how to introduce books to kids. Some parents struggle to read books to kids because kids do not seem to be interested. Some parents are clueless which books to read & how to read so that it interests the child.

In this video below, let us understand how can we as parents or educators, instill love for books in kids & how to make book readings more interesting for them.

Share this blog among friends/communities who might be looking for any kind of help/support as far as kids & books are concerned.

You can also contact me using this form.

Relevant Links Mentioned In This Video

Our previous FB live videos on the topics of parenting, early childhood education (check the playlist Tuesday Live)

When & How To Introduce Letters & Alphabets To Kids

Kids Book Hauls, Reviews, Recommendations - YouTube Playlist

Book Reviews By Shital

Teaching Reading & Writing - Literacy For Kids - YouTube Playlist

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

Buy Super Affordable Grimms Inspired 7 Piece Rainbow Stacker - Waldorf Open-ended Toy

Check out this Grimms inspired wooden Rainbow Stacker at super affordable price by My Dream Shop.

I recently bought a 7 piece rainbow stacker at super affordable price from My Dream Shop run by Surekha Jadhav. And I must say it's lovely! I opted for a wood finish instead of a colored one. Check the video for the 1st day play by my 3 year old.

I love this Waldorf inspired open ended toy! And if you do not have it in your child's toy collection, it is a must have!

Rainbow Stacker is amazing Waldorf-inspired multi used toy for toddlers, kids and even adults! The bold colors of this beautifully hand made wooden rainbow will help to boost child's imagination, creativity and provide hours of open ended play.

Benefits of Rainbow stacker:

Stimulates reasoning skills.
Spatial awareness
Problem solving skills
Enhance creativity.
Refine eye-hand co-ordination and motor skills.
Boost critical thinking and deep play.
Children learn about colors.
Nesting and stacking ability.

Uses of Rainbow Stacker

There is no right or wrong way to use a rainbow stacker hence its a unique open-ended toy for very young as well as older children. The pieces can be use together or individually as bridges, tunnels, seesaws, fences, houses, doll cradles or caves. Sometimes its just used in the background of other open-ended play. It helps to sort things practicing early maths skills. It can be used to order the arcs from smallest to largest. Challenge your child to explore force and motions with your rainbow stacker by creating a marble run or two. These are only few ways we can use rainbow stacker, actually it has boundless possibilities!!!

Colors : Waters based non-toxic colors are used in this Rainbow stacker, so it is totally safe for young ones to play.

You can buy it from the shop section of my blog HERE or directly from My Dream Shop HERE or from Amazon HERE.

I also have a complete blog post on how to play with Rainbow Stackers HERE. In that post, I have featured Rainbow Roofs from Skola Toys. Click HERE to watch.

Have you got your Rainbow Stacker yet?

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

how to prepare toddlers writing prewriting fb live tips parenting issues kids

How To Prepare Your Toddler To Write? Pre-writing Skills - What, Why & How? This article showcases the facebook live video I did on this topic recently as a part of my #TuesdayLive Facebook live series.

As an early childhood educator, it pains me to see queries from parents where the kids are not comfortable writing in kindergarten, some do not want to complete their homeworks, some do not want to color properly and the list goes on.

Let us see what the underlying issues could be & how can we as parents, help kids to enjoy writing & not dread it!

This video below talks about how a parent can prepare a child to write, about prewriting skills, its whats, whys & hows.

Share this blog among friends/communities who might be looking for any kind of help/support as far as writing & Montessori is concerned.

You can also contact me using this form.

Relevant Links Mentioned In This Video

Importance of puzzles for toddlers & how to introduce puzzles

What are prewriting skills & how to develop

Montessori inspired Practical life activities for young kids

How to set up Montessori inspired arts corner for kids

Montessori inspired shelf activities that I had setup at home

Other Montessori related blogs of mine

Alphabet tracing & prewriting for preschoolers

You can go through other Facebook live videos HERE & I will keep adding them in this archive and you can find them all at THIS link anytime in the future. You can also join my facebook page & group to follow the updates.

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

Montessori - What It Is & What It Is Not (VLOG)

montessori what is homeschooling maria fb live the k junction alternative education early learning kindergarten preschool

What Is Montessori & What It Is Not? This article showcases the facebook live video I did on this topic recently as a part of my #TuesdayLive Facebook live series.

Montessori is one of the alternative education philosophies. I have seen a lot parents being stuck to the Montessori term per say & not realizing what it is. Montessori is not just the Montessori materials and Montessori inspired toys. It is a way of life.

And then there are some parents who do not know what is Montessori at all and perhaps hearing this word for the first time!

This video will cater to all.

This video below talks about Montessori - what it is & what it is not!

Share this blog among friends/communities who might be looking for any kind of help/support as far as homeschooling & Montessori is concerned.

You can also contact me using this form.

Relevant Links Mentioned In This Video

Free Extensive Tour of authentic Montessori classroom (2-6 years)

How to set up Montessori inspired arts corner for kids

What Makes A Toy Montessori

Montessori inspired Practical life activities for young kids

Montessori inspired shelf activities that I had setup at home

Other Montessori related blogs of mine

Free Ebook - The Absorbent Mind by Dr Maria Montessori

You can go through other Facebook live videos HERE & I will keep adding them in this archive and you can find them all at THIS link anytime in the future. You can also join my facebook page & group to follow the updates.

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

Importance & Benefits Of Pretend Play For Kids

Pretend plays are so much fun! Kids learn a lot while pretending to be someone else. Read on to know the importance & benefits of pretend play. And look at what my 2 year old son did when he pretended to become a farmer & vegetable vendor.

Vegetable shopping anyone? My toddler has become a farmer and has got some fresh veggies from his farm. The rates are very reasonable, 2 or 3 Rs for each vegetable. Rush before the stock ends!

He sold all the veggies to me, strictly after weighing them, and put all of them into the jute bag except baby corn. That is for him exclusively, he said.

During pretend play, a child uses objects to represent something else while giving it action and motion. But this pretend play is not as simple as it may seem.

The process of pretending builds skills in many essential developmental areas.

Social and Emotional Skills
A child experiments with social roles & relationships of life while pretending to be someone else. He has conversation to himself and others. He learns how to take turns, share responsibility, and creatively problem-solve. When your child pretends to be different characters, he has the experience of "walking in someone else's shoes," which helps teach the important moral development skill of empathy. The child begins to understand the feelings of others. The child also builds self-esteem when he discovers he can be anything just by pretending!

Language Skills
It is hilarious sometimes to listen when a child engages in imaginary play with his toys or friends? I many times hear some words and phrases I never thought he knew! In fact, I often hear my own words & phrases when my son does some kind of pretend play. Pretend play helps your child understand the power of language.

Thinking Skills
If you think only mazes or puzzles give your child something to think about, then that is not right. Setting up a pretend play scene requires some real thinking & planning skills. They try out new ideas, new ways to solve problems, new ways to resolve conflicts and a whole variety of life skills.

Pretend plays are so much fun & enriching too!!!

What kinds of pretend play does your child involve in? Do share in the comments below.

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

When & How To Introduce Letters & Alphabets To Kids - Alternative Learning (VLOG)

how to teach letters alphabets kids alternative learning education

I get a lot of questions from fellow parents in my Facebook community asking how & when to teach letters to kids. So this video is an answer to those parents & many more who have the same question! This article showcases the facebook live video I did on this topic recently as a part of my #TuesdayLive Facebook live series.

It is not a rare sight to see letter based activities for kids as young as 1.5 years. Is it right or wrong? Well there might not be a consensus on the answer. But in this video I am going to tell you, as a certified early childhood educator, what I think about when & how letters can be introduced to kids. It is a very personal opinion but in line with many alternative school of thoughts & some of you might disagree with it but to me. But this is the most organic way of introducing letters to kids according to me.

I hope you liked this video. Any kind of feedback - positive or negative is welcome in the comments below. I hope after this video, your perspective of looking at letters or alphabets & teaching them has changed a bit!

Share this blog among friends/communities who might be looking for any kind of help/support as far as introducing letters is concerned.

You can also contact me using this form.

You can go through other facebook live videos HERE & I will keep adding them in this archive and you can find them all at THIS link anytime in the future. You can also join my facebook page & group to follow the updates.

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

The world is our classroom and field trips are a core part of homeschooling & daily lives. As a Waldorf inspired family, I try to engage my son with the natural world whenever possible and give him real life experiences of things rather than just reading books or watching videos. At least for the things that are available to us city dwellers. We visit cowshed often, check out what we see & do there.

We often (at least twice a week) go to the cowshed to feed the cows. Today we also got a chance to meet these little calves, the youngest one is just one month old!!! My son loves feeding the cows. He has also seen how those people milk the cows. This place also has some horses. A rare thing to see when you live in a city, but fortunately this place is near to our house.

With my son's never ending question list, we have discussed how we use milk, it's products, what cows & horses eat, why do they put horse shoe on horses' feet, how cow dung is used, why do we worship cows in India, what do they eat, etc etc. We understood what is waste for we human beings (like stalks of grains like wheat, jowar, sugarcane, corn etc) become food for cows & horses. And how the waste material of cows like urine & cowdung is so beneficial for human beings.

All this helps toddlers to know more about animals, develop love for them, understand life on a farm, about food etc by experiencing it, rather than just learning from the books.

A beautiful way to connect with mother nature on an everyday basis!

We have also made cowdung cakes & dhoop batti (incense sticks) using cow dung & other natural ingredients & these days we are using them at home to purify air. I will share its tutorial soon!

Do share with me the recent field trips you have done with your child! Would love to get more ideas!

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

What Is Homeschooling? Why & How To Homeschool? Homeschool Resources, Community, Mistakes & More (VLOG)

What Is Homeschooling? Why & How To Homeschool? Homeschool Resources, Community, Mistakes & More. This article showcases the facebook live video I did on this topic recently as a part of my #TuesdayLive Facebook live series.

Homeschooling is a buzz word these days. Often there are questions, doubts & myths in parents who are contemplating to homeschool their children. I see so many question threads in online parenting communities about homeschooling. I myself get a lot of messages from fellow parents about it.

This video below answers the basics of homeschooling & other FAQs related to it.

Share this blog among friends/communities who might be looking for any kind of help/support as far as homeschooling is concerned.

You can also contact me using this form.

Relevant links mentioned in the video -

Homeschooling 101 With Renuka Mahesh (Explore Kids World)
Virtual Tour of Montessori Classroom
Understanding Alternative Education (Waldorf Pedagogy)

Resources For Homeschooling

Indian Association Of Homeschoolers - Swashikshan
Facebook Page Of Swashikshan
Pune Homeschooling Group

You can go through other facebook live videos HERE & I will keep adding them in this archive and you can find them all at THIS link anytime in the future. You can also join my facebook page & group to follow the updates.

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

Waldorf Inspired Wet on Wet Water Coloring With Kids - Duck

Me & my 3 year old son did wet on wet water coloring together for some art therapy! In Waldorf philosophy of alternative education, wet on wet coloring is very popular. This is a free hand style we did together. It is Spring season right now & we are reading about nature & birds these days, so my son chose to paint a duck.

Here are some bird related books I am reading to my 3 year old these days because it's spring time and my boy has been listening to koyal and other birds these days during our nature walks. We also made a nest using twigs & weaved them into pipe cleaner few days back.

Do you have any favorite kids books related to birds? I would love to know, do share in the comments below.

Since we are reading about birds these days, my son wanted to paint a duck. So we took this page as reference and did our wet on wet painting.

Here is our humble setup.

Products Used -

The brand of water color paper we used isnt showing up online, so I am linking up a similar water color paper of another brand for your reference.

This is how we started our work on the floor.

Our work midway. Left one is my 3 year old son's work & right one is mine. It was done free hand on wet paper. I am actually happy the way my son's artwork turned out to be. It is difficult for a child to do free hand painting. Of course I was guiding him verbally how & what to make.

After the painting was dry, I outlined both the paintings using black gel pen. This is our final outcome & I am very happy about it!

Have you done wet on wet water coloring?

Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

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Sep 21, 2018

Wooden Knobbed Puzzles - Geography For Kids - Review

Does your child like puzzles? Here is something interesting for those little hands. Montessori inspired puzzles that cover some geography🌎! These wooden toys (knobbed puzzles) are made by artisans in India.

Sep 6, 2018

Ganesha Birth Story - How Ganpati Got Elephant Head - Storytelling For Kids - DIY

May 22, 2018

How To Make Handmade Paper From Recycled Scraps With Kids - DIY Tutorial

May 15, 2018

Painting Space Nebula Using Soft Pastels - Art Tutorial For Kids

Ever wondered to introduce a new art medium to your kids other than crayons, water colors, acrylics etc? Here is a quick tutorial on painting a Nebula in space using Soft Pastels for kids.

May 7, 2018

How To Reduce Screen Time For Kids - 10 Tips For Parents (VLOG)

How To Reduce Screen Time For Kids - 10 Tips For Parents. This article showcases the facebook live video I did on this topic recently as a part of my #TuesdayLive Facebook live series.

May 4, 2018

An Ultimate Guide To Encourage Young Kids To Read & Fall In Love With Books (VLOG)

How To Make Kids Fall In Love With Books - Tips For Encouraging Kids To Read. This article showcases the facebook live video I did on this topic recently as a part of my #TuesdayLive Facebook live series.

Apr 18, 2018

Buy Super Affordable Grimms Inspired 7 Piece Rainbow Stacker - Waldorf Open-ended Toy

Check out this Grimms inspired wooden Rainbow Stacker at super affordable price by My Dream Shop.

How To Prepare Toddlers To Write - Prewriting Skills - What, Why & How (VLOG)

How To Prepare Your Toddler To Write? Pre-writing Skills - What, Why & How? This article showcases the facebook live video I did on this topic recently as a part of my #TuesdayLive Facebook live series.

Apr 10, 2018

Montessori - What It Is & What It Is Not (VLOG)

What Is Montessori & What It Is Not? This article showcases the facebook live video I did on this topic recently as a part of my #TuesdayLive Facebook live series.

Apr 9, 2018

Importance & Benefits Of Pretend Play For Kids

Pretend plays are so much fun! Kids learn a lot while pretending to be someone else. Read on to know the importance & benefits of pretend play. And look at what my 2 year old son did when he pretended to become a farmer & vegetable vendor.

Apr 3, 2018

When & How To Introduce Letters & Alphabets To Kids - Alternative Learning (VLOG)

Learning Beyond Classrooms - Back To Roots - Cowshed Visit - Waldorf Inspired Field Trip - Kids

Apr 2, 2018

What Is Homeschooling? Why & How To Homeschool? Homeschool Resources, Community, Mistakes & More (VLOG)

What Is Homeschooling? Why & How To Homeschool? Homeschool Resources, Community, Mistakes & More. This article showcases the facebook live video I did on this topic recently as a part of my #TuesdayLive Facebook live series.

Mar 26, 2018

Waldorf Inspired Wet on Wet Water Coloring With Kids - Duck

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