Dec 20, 2017

Pattern Writing & Waldorf Inspired Chalk Drawing For Winter & Christmas Season (VLOG)

Watch this video to know how we did our prewriting & tracing exercises this winter season using the DIY chalkboard wall at home. I also did my first ever Waldorf inspired chalk board drawing, so watch the video to know how we are going to utilize our chalk drawing. This video is a part of the Youtube playlist where I am sharing (on-going basis) winter & Christmas theme activities that I am doing with my 34 months old son. Last year Christmas activities were all Montessori inspired, but lately I am reading & researching more about Waldorf philosophy so you would see more of nature based learning, seasonal activities, celebrations of festivals, handwork etc in our day to day activities in addition to Montessori materials & activities.




Hope you liked these ideas.


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!


Read More »

Dec 18, 2017

Imagica joins hands with CRY to #ShareTheJoy this Christmas


In an endeavour to #ShareTheJoy and cheer for this holiday season, Imagica has joined hands with CRY and Rotary Club to organise a toy donation drive. At various locations, including schools across Mumbai, collection boxes are placed for everyone to contribute the toys which kids may have outgrown. Imagica, from their end, will contribute one toy from its range of toys for every single toy collected as part of the collection drive. At the end of the collection drive, kids’ favourite character from Imagica - Tubbby will play Santa Claus and distribute the toys by Christmas weekend to the underprivileged kids of CRY.

Mr. Ashutosh Kale, Joint CEO, Imagica said, “Imagica has always been a place of joy for families and friends to spend quality time with each other. This activity is an effort from our end to spread joy and happiness beyond the Park among the lesser privileged and add some festive cheer to their lives.”

Imagica has partnered with some schools across the city as well as Rotary Club centres, to facilitate the collection of these toys and make it easy for everyone to give it at a centre nearest to their place.

To get a full list of centres, visit – www.adlabsimagica.com/giving-back

According to the Census 2011, 1 in 4 children of school-going age is out of school in our country. There are 10.13 million child labourers between 5-14 years in India who are deprived of a childhood. This activity is Imagica’s symbolic gesture to give some joy to the kids and make them feel like a child again.

About Imagica

Located between Mumbai and Pune, Imagica is one of India’s leading holiday destinations, offering a gamut of interesting and unique entertainment experiences under one roof through its international standard Theme Park, a Mykonos themed Water Park and the largest themed Snow Park that India has ever seen. Adjacent to the park is Novotel Imagica, a hotel that offers customized stay packages, acting as a basecamp for guests to relax and unwind. Imagica is the perfect hangout for school picnics, corporate visits and the ideal magical venue for theme weddings, photoshoots and memorable celebrations. With Imagica, Adlabs Entertainment Limited has created an unparalleled ‘all weather entertainment destination’ that provides a compelling experience for every family at every step.


For further information, please contact:

Suruchi Sapru
Adlabs Entertainment Ltd.
9819662640
suruchi.sapru@adlabsentertainment.com

Charlene Daniel
Genesis Burson Marsteller
7045017396
charlene.daniel@bm.com
Read More »

Dec 15, 2017

Waldorf Inspired Fairy Peg Doll Tutorial (DIY) (VLOG)

I have been loving the peg dolls ever since I browsed through them on the internet. Peg dolls are Waldorf materials as well, open-ended & natural toys. You can make so many different kinds of peg dolls as per the theme. Here in this tutorial, I am sharing how to make a fairy peg doll with felt as her costumes. Peg dolls can easily fit into the storytelling sessions, puppet shows & open-ended play. Watch the video in this post to know how you can make you own DIY Fairy Peg Doll.




After reading, researching & following Montessori philosophy with my son for over 2 years now, I have recently been attracted towards Waldorf philosophy as well. It is again an alternative education philosophy by Steiner. I have a complete blog post HERE where I am curating the resources & relevant links that I find for Waldorf. It is being populated as and when I read & research about Waldorf. So you might want to bookmark it & visit regularly if you also intend to know more about Waldorf.

Waldorf is so much into open-ended play. I have one such very popular open-ended toy - Rainbow Stackers - an awesome Waldorf material that can be used in so many different ways. You can find the details here & I have also listed some of the many ways you can play with it. 

Related Read - Open-ended learning experiences for kids.

Now, on to the tutorial of the fairy peg doll. I used a simple plain wooden peg doll as a base. I bought it from aliexpress. You can read my very popular blog post about the ultimate guide to buy from aliexpress HERE. Then I have used felt as her costumes & sourced felt from Tiara Toys facebook group. I have used a hot glue gun to glue the pieces in place, I got it from Amazon.

Watch this video below to see the step by step process to make your own Fairy peg doll.



If you wish to see the pics, here are few in the making -







This peg doll is going to be used in storytelling as a prop, I am also using it as an angel in the nativity story telling for Christmas this year. My son calls her sleep fairy & sleeps along side her. He also gives her a ride on his toy vehicles. The possibilities are innumerous. And it is a pleasure to see your child playing beautifully with something that you have created on your own, isn't it?

Related links - You might also like this wonderful set of 18 FREE Christmas activities. And if you are short of time, this Christmas story & activity book is there for rescue. It is loaded with awesome activities, watch the video review here. 

So this was my first peg doll with felt. Before this, I had done a set of Halloween peg dolls with acrylic paints. You can check them out below. There is no tutorial required, you can see it is a straightforward painting exercise!




Let me know how you liked this tutorial. And if you happen to make your own peg doll, I would love to see it!

And goes without saying, there is more on Waldorf philosophy & learning coming up on this blog now, so keep a watch, or rather subscribe to this blog via email. Find the subscribe box on the right panel of the blog.


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-inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!


Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!


Read More »

Dec 14, 2017

All About Christmas - Story & Activity Book For Kids - Book Review

All About Christmas is a story & activity book for kids based on the Christmas theme. It has the Nativity story, facts & stories about Santa Claus, and an amazing set of engaging & educational activities for toddlers, kindergartners & little older kids too. It has over 400 stickers for the related activities. Check out the inside pages, review & buy link in this post.


As promised, here is a video review of this beautiful Christmas book - All About Christmas - written by Kajal Dharod from Your Learning Capsules. If you are a regular follower of my blog, you must have seen Kajal's Diwali activity book few months back. Me & my 2 year old liked it a lot! You can check out Diwali book HERE.



Publisher - Your Learning Capsules
Age Group - 2.5 Years +
Price - Rs. 349 (FREE shipping anywhere in India)

Click HERE to buy this book.



BUY NOW so that the book reaches you well before Christmas this year! This will certainly give your kids an enriching experience!


Here are few pages from this activity book that my almost 3 year old son has done.




You may like more of our featured products & discounts related to early learning for kids HERE.


Click HERE to buy this book.
Check out YourLearningCapsules.com for more such awesome stuff for your kids and some free printables of activities!

I also have a FREE collection of 18 Montessori Inspired DIY activities for Christmas & New Year from the year 2016 & you can do those activities as well with your kids! Check out the entire collection HERE





Disclaimer : I received this book for free in return for a review but the views shared are honest and solely mine. I believe in using the products/service myself before putting up the review or opinion about them here.


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-inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!


Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!


Read More »

Dec 12, 2017

Rentoys.in - Subscription Offer Alert - Online Toy Library For Kids - Review & Recommendation


Have you been eyeing upon expensive international brand toys for your kids & not able to justify a purchase because they are so expensive? Are you planning to buy new toys for your kids & thinking how to declutter the old ones? Are you a kind of parent who is constantly on a look out for sustainability, even when it comes to toys? Then this Online Toy Library Rentoys is the answer for you! And if the collection of this library was not awesome enough, I am sharing with you an irresistible deal for your subscriptions that you can order from Rentoys!



I recently discovered this awesome toy library Rentoys that has some really beautiful, engaging, expensive, international brands' toys for kids that they RENT out. I absolutely fell in love with their collection!!! I had wanted to buy so many of those toys but they are so expensive & hence I could not justify buying for personal use.

I have ordered my first toy rental box from Rentoys & eagerly waiting for Jr. Rainbow Blocks, Tegu wooden magnetic blocks & Dado cubes! All of these are open-ended toys and my son loves such building blocks & comes up with so many different interpretations everytime!


A video review of the box will be on my YouTube channel super soon! Stay tuned & subscribe to my channel HERE.


And guess what!?! I have An Irresistible Offer

You can get 15% OFF on your first Rentoys box if you use this coupon code "KJUNCTION" , without quotes & all caps.

Visit rentoys.in today & start adding your favorite toys into your wishlist!

Need More Reasons Why To Go For Rentoys?


  • The excitement of a new toy box arriving every month gives me a high as a mom, lol! A child will certainly be thrilled!
  • Smart educational toys are very costly and can go for ₹5000+ a piece. Now, parents may not feel the heat if buying toys were a one-time expense. However, this is hardly the case.
  • Renting a toy saves money! Rentoys has almost all the toys that are super expensive otherwise from brands mentioned below & not affordable for middle class families like mine. 
  • Decluttering is done on the go! You do not tend to store the toys that are no more relevant to the child. You save a lot of storage space!
  • Sustainability issues are addressed. The toys are reused by so many children. We leave lesser carbon footprint on Mother Earth.
  • The collection of toys is just amazing! The variety, quality, brands everything is superb! Spoilt for choice! 
  • Customer service is amazing! I had some issue with adding toys to my wishlist & they were super quick to revert! They even called me saying one toy from the three toys that I chose, will be available after two days so they are sending the available two toys right away & will send the third one after two days. I mean why would someone call me up for this, but they did! This shows their commitment & service for the customers!
Check out this video to know why people love Rentoys!



Related Reading - Step by step guide - what are STEM toys?

More About Rentoys

Rentoys is a toy rental service focusing on educational and award-winning toys. We deliver and pickup toys from your doorsteps, anywhere in India.

Rentoys is founded by parents having years of experience of managing kids. Been there, done that. They understand how children's early experiences - the bonds they form with their parents and their first learning experiences - deeply affect their physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. This is why they are on a mission to help parents optimize their investments in the early years of children's lives to ensure children's future success.

All the toys at Rentoys are selected keeping in mind what they call "open-endedness" which they measure by asking questions such as in how many ways the toy can be played with, is there any rule book, and does the toy force the kids to think/create on his/her own.


Related Read - Tons of ways to play with Waldorf Rainbow Stackers - An open-ended toy


Check out their toys collection HERE. They deliver all over India. Do not forget to use the coupon code I shared above in this post to avail the discount!

Confused about their working? Click HERE to know how it works. And your FAQs are answered HERE.

Subscription Box Pricing

It starts with Rs 599 per month where you get premium educational toys worth at least Rs 5000 in a box! There are other plans as well, you can visit the pricing page HERE for all the details. If you are concerned about damage of toys from the library, THIS link might answer your questions. 

You MUST read this wonderful article that explains why Rentoys is into toy renting business!

Do let me know in comments below what all you have ordered from Rentoys, I would love to know!


Disclaimer : This is a sponsored post but the views shared are honest and solely mine. I believe in using the products/service myself before putting up the review or opinion about them here.

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-inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!


Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!


Read More »

Nov 23, 2017

Alphabet Tracing Prewriting Activity For Preschoolers On DIY Chalkboard Wall (VLOG)

Pre-Writing skills are needed before any letter formation or other handwriting skills are mastered. The little muscles of toddlers & preschoolers are first prepared by involving them in lot of fine motor activities before any formal writing work. Tracing is one of the popular prewriting activity & I am sharing one of the many methods of tracing here - tracing on the blackboard using a wet paint brush. Read on & watch the video to know the why & how of this technique. This was completely child-led in my case. 




This is my 33 month old son doing tracing work on the DIY chalkboard wall using a wet paint brush. Listen to the audio in this video below where I talk more about the how & why of this tracing technique. This was in response to his repeated comments - mumma I dont know how to read & write, please teach me! And this is because we read a LOT of books everyday. I never planned to introduce tracing activity to him this early but since this was completely lead by him, I went with the flow.



We have done tons of fine motor & practical life activities in the past 2 years that has prepared his hand muscles for writing.

You might also want to read about prewriting exercises for toddlers HERE.

You can find the YouTube playlist of our literacy activities HERE & I will keep on adding new videos on teaching reading & writing.



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-inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!


Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!


Read More »

Nov 22, 2017

Why Does It Rain? Hands-on Science (STEM) Activity For Kids (VLOG)

Kids learn the most by experiences & experiments. And it is best to answer their day to day questions by relevant activities whenever possible. Read to know how I answered my toddler's bunch of questions about rain during the rainy season. In this simple DIY science experiment (STEM), he understood why does it rain. Let us honor & fuel the curiosity of these little ones!



Watch the video below to see my 27 month old son doing a simple science experiment to understand why does it rain. This was in response to his tons of questions about rain during the rainy season! This is a super sensory fun exercise & a hands-on science experiment - STEM for kids.





You can find the entire playlist of our STEM activities HERE & I will keep populating the playlist when I add a new STEM video! And do not forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you never miss a new video.

You might want to read this step by step guide about STEM toys in general & find some really good recommendations HERE.


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-inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!


Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!


Read More »

Nov 21, 2017

The Magic Umbrellas - Children Book Review By Shital Choudhary - #MondayMorningReviews



Wondering which books to read to your child? Welcome to this wonderful 10 weeks long project of #MondayMorningReviews where Shital Choudhary, a passionate storyteller & a mom herself, shares children's book reviews every Monday! The age group for these books is 0-4 years. This review series will help you choose the best books for your baby / toddler / preschooler / kindergartener. This week's pick is The Magic Umbrellas! Read on this full book review. 


Book: The Magic Umbrellas
Author: Theertha Raj
Illustrations: Nancy Raj
Publisher: MsMoochie books
Recommendation: Strong
Age: 3+ years



Story

A little girl Leela's umbrellas keep getting lost. First day of school, she loses her first one, no one has a clue, on second day second one, but someone sees it, flying out of the window, third day third one goes 'whoosh' and everybody sees it flying out. Where are they going? Leela's mother decides to follow the forth one!



The suspense is built and unfolded in each passing day. We are kept glued till the end.

What I Liked

Suspense: I liked the 'Suspense' angle. I like children stories that try to incorporate suspense or investigation theories with very simple stories. And more so, I loved the ending, the suspense ends with a strong message.

Illustrations: detailing in illustrations like mess of classroom in the break time, vapor evaporating from hot cutting tea, umbrella designs is wonderful.

Green highlighted text: the story uses two fonts, one - normal and second - highlighted bold and bigger green fonts, these bigger fonts tell you all about the umbrellas.

Our Experience

Let me tell you about a couple of questions asked by my kid and answers given by me after 3rd reading of this book. 

Q: mom how can Apoopa be young here (see the pic above) A: Oh! this coconut incident happened when he was young, so...
Q: what's pillion? A: back seat of a scooter
Q: How can author and illustrator both be 'Raj' A: just a coincidence Q: what's a coincidence? A: ...and i explained



I am sure each book and each story has a plethora of opportunities to talk, discuss and derive at learning and values we seek out in life.

Go ahead and enjoy this umbrella unfolding its magic!


Book review contributed by Shital Choudhary
Chief Reviewer at 
Children's Book Reviews & Stories


Shital Choudhary is a passionate storyteller (a Kathalaya Alumina) and a mom to a 6 year old. Apart from power of stories in teaching concepts and values, she believes that stories can come at your rescue absolutely at any situation in your parenting journey. You can reach out to her at storywayschool [AT] gmail.com. She documents her book reviews, recommendations and reading out experiences at her Facebook page - Children's Book Reviews & Stories


This book review is a part of 10 week long project #MondayMorningReviews which is going on in our Facebook Group. Join in the tribe of involved & conscious parents HERE now! You can find ALL the book reviews under this project HERE.

Do not forget to follow us on Facebook page & closed Facebook groupTwitter 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-inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!


Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!


Read More »

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish - Children Book Review By Shital Choudhary - #MondayMorningReviews



Wondering which books to read to your child? Welcome to this wonderful 10 weeks long project of #MondayMorningReviews where Shital Choudhary, a passionate storyteller & a mom herself, shares children's book reviews every Monday! The age group for these books is 0-4 years. This review series will help you choose the best books for your baby / toddler / preschooler / kindergartener. This week's pick is One Fish Two Fish by Dr Seuss! Read on this full book review. 


Book: One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
Author: Dr. Seuss
Concept: Math and Phonics


About

It's no story book. It is just a book with funny phonetic sentences and funnier illustrations. It is more or less a funny 'Math' concept book. It touches upon all the basic Math concepts like colours, numbers, distance, speed, height, sizes and opposites in the simplest and funniest and rhyming way we can ever imagine.


You can read this book or you can sing. It will give your kid's imaginations little furry wings and keep your funny bones tickling!
For instance, Red fish, Blue fish, one fish, two fish, fat fish, thin fish, old fish, young fish. Some are fast and some are slow. Some are high and some are low.

Phonetic rhyming words like Run-fun-Sun. Bump-Wump-hump-gump. Here-there-everywhere. Dear-hear-near-ear-fear. Old-gold-hold-cold. so on and on the book goes on for 62 pages without beginning without end. Well, because fun is not supposed to end!

Our Experience

Needless to mention, we had tons of fun laughing out loud, singing and reading this book together. And I must caution you, you will not reach to the last page so easily while reading it to your little ones, as he/she will turn back pages and say Mumma! please read this again! uff! AGAIN!


One Fish Two Fish.... A book to relish!


Book review contributed by Shital Choudhary
Chief Reviewer at 
Children's Book Reviews & Stories


Shital Choudhary is a passionate storyteller (a Kathalaya Alumina) and a mom to a 6 year old. Apart from power of stories in teaching concepts and values, she believes that stories can come at your rescue absolutely at any situation in your parenting journey. You can reach out to her at storywayschool [AT] gmail.com. She documents her book reviews, recommendations and reading out experiences at her Facebook page - Children's Book Reviews & Stories


This book review is a part of 10 week long project #MondayMorningReviews which is going on in our Facebook Group. Join in the tribe of involved & conscious parents HERE now! You can find ALL the book reviews under this project HERE.

Do not forget to follow us on Facebook page & closed Facebook groupTwitter 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-inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!


Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!


Read More »

Tiddler - The Storytelling Fish - Children Book Review By Shital Choudhary - #MondayMorningReviews



Wondering which books to read to your child? Welcome to this wonderful 10 weeks long project of #MondayMorningReviews where Shital Choudhary, a passionate storyteller & a mom herself, shares children's book reviews every Monday! The age group for these books is 0-4 years. This review series will help you choose the best books for your baby / toddler / preschooler / kindergartener. This week's pick is Tiddler - The Storytelling Fish! Read on this full book review. 


Book: Tiddler - The Story-Telling Fish
Author: Julia Donaldson
Publisher: Scholastic
Age: 2-4 years
Recommendation: Strong


About



Tiddler is a fish. He likes to make up stories. He makes up stories of how he got late for school (which he does every day). So no one believes him when he says I got late because I met up with a mermaid or got caught in the net and so on.

But what will happen when he really gets lost and doesn't reach school on time? Will his stories help him? Is there anyone who believes in him?

Best part: of the story is this jingle that gets repeated 'Tiddler is telling a story, Tiddler is telling a story ..... ' kids would love to hear this little song and would literally sway with you if you do.

It's a very relate-able story by all kids who often times makes up stories of their day to day encounters with friends, teachers, etc. At the same time, the book may be used as an opportunity to discuss pros and cons of making up stories.




Strongly recommended! 


Book review contributed by Shital Choudhary
Chief Reviewer at 
Children's Book Reviews & Stories


Shital Choudhary is a passionate storyteller (a Kathalaya Alumina) and a mom to a 6 year old. Apart from power of stories in teaching concepts and values, she believes that stories can come at your rescue absolutely at any situation in your parenting journey. You can reach out to her at storywayschool [AT] gmail.com. She documents her book reviews, recommendations and reading out experiences at her Facebook page - Children's Book Reviews & Stories


This book review is a part of 10 week long project #MondayMorningReviews which is going on in our Facebook Group. Join in the tribe of involved & conscious parents HERE now! You can find ALL the book reviews under this project HERE.

Do not forget to follow us on Facebook page & closed Facebook groupTwitter 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-inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!


Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!


Read More »

Fun With Alphabet Stories - Children Book Review By Shital Choudhary - #MondayMorningReviews



Wondering which books to read to your child? Welcome to this wonderful 10 weeks long project of #MondayMorningReviews where Shital Choudhary, a passionate storyteller & a mom herself, shares children's book reviews every Monday! The age group for these books is 0-4 years. This review series will help you choose the best books for your baby / toddler / preschooler / kindergartener. This week's pick is Fun With Alphabet Stories! Read on this full book review. 



Concept: Alphabet Stories
Book: Fun with Alphabet Stories (Set of 6 books)
Publisher: Navneet Publications (India) Ltd.
Age: 1.5+ years
Recommendation: Strong




Concept

Alphabet stories are conceptualized to focus on the derived learning it imparts, of words beginning with a particular alphabet. For instance Story of letter 'A', 'B' and so on till letter 'Z'. So there are always 26 stories. These stories can be designed in a progressive way to suit the audience from toddlers to kids age 11-12 years.

Primarily, each Story has many words beginning with that particular alphabet.

The ones designed for toddlers are very, very simple stories packed with as many simple words of that alphabet as feasible.

This is the best way to enhance a kid's vocabulary without fussing about it.

About The Set

There are many books available in the market based on the concept. But this set by Navneet is my absolute favorite.

Divided into 6 six books, there are of course 26 stories. Let's look at one of the stories. Story of Letter 'G' for instance:

Geeta Gorilla guards a Guava garden in Gauhati.
Through the gaps in the wall, goats get into the garden to eat the guavas.
"Eat some garlic and blast the goats with your breath," Ganju the goose suggests.
Geeta eats lots of garlic.
She blows her garlic breath.
the goats gag and hurry away.
Geeta is garlanded as the best guard in Gauhati.
"Thank you, Ganju," Geeta says gratefully.


Just 8 simple sentences, telling a proper story (the story has a problem and its logical resolution too), packing as many as 14 different 'G' letter words, including 3 proper nouns and 7 common nouns is an achievement in itself.

Don't you think?

Our Experience



I picked up this set when my child was just one year old. Like most of my books, I didn't pick it up for teaching anything. I picked up because, I wanted books with silly simple small stories to be read to a one year old. What followed was beyond my guess. Kid loved all the stories no ends. I had no choice but to follow 3 steps 1) read out 2) re-tell 3) repeat!

My Recommendation

Buy the set, start with Story of letter A, sit on the story for as long as child wants you to, read, tell, repeat! Move on to Story of letter 'B' when your child tells you to.

You may also want to check out my video review of this set in this video below. It also includes a read-aloud of story of letter 'F' for reference.




Even though I recommend these books for 1.5 years onward, I have successfully done storytelling of these stories with much older kids too.


Book review contributed by Shital Choudhary
Chief Reviewer at 
Children's Book Reviews & Stories


Shital Choudhary is a passionate storyteller (a Kathalaya Alumina) and a mom to a 6 year old. Apart from power of stories in teaching concepts and values, she believes that stories can come at your rescue absolutely at any situation in your parenting journey. You can reach out to her at storywayschool [AT] gmail.com. She documents her book reviews, recommendations and reading out experiences at her Facebook page - Children's Book Reviews & Stories


This book review is a part of 10 week long project #MondayMorningReviews which is going on in our Facebook Group. Join in the tribe of involved & conscious parents HERE now! You can find ALL the book reviews under this project HERE.

Do not forget to follow us on Facebook page & closed Facebook groupTwitter 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-inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!


Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!


Read More »

Clumsy - Children Book Review By Shital Choudhary - #MondayMorningReviews



Wondering which books to read to your child? Welcome to this wonderful 10 weeks long project of #MondayMorningReviews where Shital Choudhary, a passionate storyteller & a mom herself, shares children's book reviews every Monday! The age group for these books is 0-4 years. This review series will help you choose the best books for your baby / toddler / preschooler / kindergartener. This week's pick is Clumsy! Read on this full book review. 


Book: Clumsy!
Author: Ken Spillman
Illustrator: Manjari Chakravarti
Publisher: Tulika Publishers
Age Group: 2+ years
Recommendation: Strong



About The Book: 

Disability is not always physically glaring, sometimes it's more like inability to do things the way it's expected. The book tells a tale of a girl who lacks heavily in what we call 'motor skills', yes! And how she is been treated by all around her on this point alone.

Family, friends, teachers call her names; Some call her 'Clumsy', some 'Butterfingers', some 'Slowcoach', some 'Messy' and what not!



One day, her grandmother gives her a paintbox. She loves to paint. In her imagination she is not clumsy, not butterfingers, not messy. She loves to draw and paint her imagination. She also signs off her painting with a name, that's not Clumsy or butterfingers or messy or slowcoach, but with her real name. Because she has one just like all of us.

The beauty of the story is the message hidden in it. Let's accept all inabilities around us instead of shaming! Let's focus on abilities a person possesses rather than not.

I some times wonder... forget about kids, aren't we adults clumsy at times? It is the time to accept.



Book review contributed by Shital Choudhary
Chief Reviewer at 
Children's Book Reviews & Stories


Shital Choudhary is a passionate storyteller (a Kathalaya Alumina) and a mom to a 6 year old. Apart from power of stories in teaching concepts and values, she believes that stories can come at your rescue absolutely at any situation in your parenting journey. You can reach out to her at storywayschool [AT] gmail.com. She documents her book reviews, recommendations and reading out experiences at her Facebook page - Children's Book Reviews & Stories


This book review is a part of 10 week long project #MondayMorningReviews which is going on in our Facebook Group. Join in the tribe of involved & conscious parents HERE now! You can find ALL the book reviews under this project HERE.

Do not forget to follow us on Facebook page & closed Facebook groupTwitter 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-inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!


Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!


Read More »

Nov 20, 2017

Idli Making - Montessori Inspired Practical Life Activity & Importance For Toddlers (VLOG)

Practical Life Activities are of great importance in Montessori philosophy, specially for young children of 2 - 6 years. We love practical life activities in our home. My toddler is always ready to help me in the kitchen & other household chores. Read on to know what is practical life activity & its importance in early life.



What is Practical Life & Practical Life Activities In A Montessori Environment For Toddlers?

Practical : means basic, useful, purposeful
Life : means the way of living

Practical life exercises are exercises for the child to learn how to do daily routine chores & activities in a purposeful way.
Children, specially toddlers & kindergartners are naturally interested in daily chores. Hence, Dr. Montessori began to use practical life exercises to allow the child to do activities of daily life & therefore adjust himself in his culture & society.

All the materials & supplies of practical life activities should be real, familiar to the child, breakable (if applicable) & functional.

Involving you child in the kitchen is a great practical life activity!

Are you trying to find a way to peacefully cook and also engage your toddler constructively without iPads, TV and screens?

Involve your toddler in the kitchen! It's a great fine motor skill and teaches them life skills. This indirectly also helps in preparing those little fingers for writing, a great pre-writing activity.

We are a great fan of practical life activities and my son loves them.

Watch my 32 month old son making idlis out of the batter. 



You might also like 

Toddler making Omelette
Baking with toddlers
Doing laundry with toddlers
Toddler cutting potatoes for French Fries


Benefits & Importance Of Practical Life Activities In Montessori

The practical life exercises are a beginning point in the Montessori environment. They help the child in his whole development - physical, mental and moral.
  • To develop the child's concentration
  • To develop fine and gross motor skills
  • To help children towards independence
  • To establish order
  • To develop a good self-esteem
  • To appreciate and understand the limits of his environment
  • To develop a sense of responsibility
  • To aid the child in his construction
  • To appreciate culture
Read more about practical life activities in Montessori HERE.

Do not forget to follow us on Facebook page & closed Facebook groupTwitter 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-inspired activities for kids, kids books & toys reviews and much more!


Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!


Read More »