Check out this simple DIY Montessori Math exercise to explain & teach the concept of even & odd numbers to children. Indirectly it also prepares the child for divisibility of numbers.
If you have been following this blog closely, I has posted about the work with Montessori beads done by my 3 year old son. If not, then you can click right HERE to check that in detail. That exercise was basically to associate digits to the quantities. Quantification is very important to understand.
He has been practicing that for long now so I thought it is a good time to expose him to the concept of even & odd numbers. For that I took out my versatile wooden digit counters from the below set & Montessori beads.
If you do not have wooden digit counters, you can easily make paper cards and write digits on them by hand.
Then I asked him to arrange the beads in the correct fashion. And he did it quite nicely & confidently. Check out in my Instagramvideo where he is counting & arranging the beads. It is hilarious!
After that I asked him to place the walnut shells in pairs below each digit as per their quantities. Walnut shells make great counters, right?
And then I told him a quick story. Those which are in pairs have friends to play with and they are called even numbers. Those which have one shell left alone are always looking for a friend to play with, they are called odd numbers.
And this little story gave him a good grasp of the concept! Listen to his answers in my Instagram video below when I asked him whether this number is odd or even for couple of numbers!
To reinforce the knowledge that each number is made up of separate quantities.
To indicate the odd and even numbers
Indirect
To prepare for the divisibility of numbers
You can see the exact presentation of this Montessori exercise HERE.
Which Math exercise/activity have you done with your child recently? Share your blog post in comments below, I would love to see & get some inspiration.
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Read on this kids book review of the book Just Enough Carrots from Harper Children Publishers.
Book: Just Enough Carrots Creator: Stuart J. Murphy Publisher: Harper Children’s
Just enough Carrots, an astonishing book for moppet’s to begin with comparative concepts – less, same and more which are the early concepts of math.
In this book a bunny and his mom rabbit makes a visit to the supermarket.They choose to get carrots, and the bunny requests more. The child/bunny is exceptionally perceptive of what is in alternate customers trucks and compares how various animals has in their cart compared to what he has in his own cart, so bunny thinks about the quantity of carrots they have in their truck to those in the other creature’s carts and begins saying some have less, some have increasingly more and a few has a similar number of carrots. They do comparative correlations for purchasing peanuts and worms. Here the youthful rabbit couldn’t comprehend why mother is purchasing such a significant number of peanuts and jars of worms until he went home and received their visitors.
The story additionally presents different creatures with their staple food,for illustration: carrots and rabbits,peanuts and elephants. As the story goes rhyming, it interests young readers along with the great list of activities for comparing amounts at the end of the book.
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Montessori Bead Stairs is a standard Montessori math material in a 3-6 years Montessori classroom (House of Children). Let us see how it is used for learning numbers & how my 3 year old boy used it.
Material
The bead stair consists of 9 segments of wire strung with one to nine beads. Every number of beads is done in a different color: 1-red, 2-green, 3-peach, 4-yellow, 5-light blue, 6-lavender, 7-white, 8-brown, 9-dark blue. The beads should be as spherical as possible so that they are equally wide as long.
You can check out the detailed presentation of this material HERE.
Ideally the end product would look something like this & the control of error is creating the triangle.
Img Source - montessorialbum.com
But this is what my 3 year old boy did independently. We follow Montessori at home so I am not strictly concerned about the correct formation of the triangle as far as he is getting the concept right.
Material Sources
Beads
The wooden digits are from this kit
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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.
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STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. STEM toys encourage kids to learn more about these different subjects by applying each to the real world. They make education exciting for kids and help to develop key skills. STEM toys focus on creativity and problem solving skills and present clear goals which help kids to learn while having fun. If you are wondering which STEM toys to present to your toddler, preschooler or kindergartner, here are some awesome Science, Engineering & Maths toy recommendations for the little scientists.
What Are STEM Toys?
STEM is not just about learning Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths, it is about a combination of any of these four areas that when combined, produces more logical thinkers and creates adults who can be ahead in their lives, not just in jobs that are related to science and technology, but in other domains too. In other words, it helps in creating innovators and doers, rather then just followers.
STEM learning actually starts at the age of 7 but the foundations are laid in the very early years of a child's life. Playing with STEM toys from an early age, whether it’s science toys, engineering toys, math toys or technology toys, can have a lasting impact on a child’s thought process and approach to problem-solving and creative thinking, no matter what vocation they land up in.
I do not want to say that STEM toys will make kids into future inventors, programmers, or poets. Boiled down to the basics, STEM toys tend to emphasize creativity, logic, problem solving, and experimentation. Great STEM toys don’t instruct kids, but engage them. These toys are open-ended, adaptive, flexible, provocative, and, most importantly, fun.
The Rise Of STEM Toys
STEM education in schools is now as much a part of the curriculum as English or social studies. There have been some variations like STEAM (“A” for art because creativity is a must in life to excel) and STREAM (“R” for reading because it is one of the foundations in child's learning). This STEM movement is also picking up with parents at home as they try to give exposure of STEM toys to their kids to teach these critical concepts during early years.
STEM toys are fun & facilitate real play. And that is what a child needs at the end of the day - PLAY. Play is the work of the child & it is through play, children explore & figure out the world around them. Play is also very important for their skills like gross motor, fine motor, cognitive, social & emotional. STEM toys help support this philosophy.
What To Look For In STEM Toys & Awesome Skola Toys Recommendations
STEM toys need not be fancy all the time. According to child development experts, you should look for these qualities while buying STEM toys -
Interactive- It could be a toy to assemble body parts to form an animal figure like this Nesting Hen toy or a simple car set up like Cascade Car toy. The process of building or creating something, taking it apart and rebuilding it in a new way, can facilitate deeper learning and brain development.
Nesting Hen - To balance unevenly sized and weighted eggs in creative ways on the hen. Children get a chance to think of creative ways to balance eggs on the back of the hen. This augments fine motor skills and improves dimension awareness, thus developing their concentration levels. By balancing the eggs, children achieve greater dexterity. Nesting the pieces in this toy helps in developing fine motor skills. It is a simple activity that helps children focus on sizes and dimensions of objects leading to effective spatial analysis. Stacking uneven and distinct objects helps children understand the correlation between sizes and weights. Pairing, size gradation and name games enhance children's awareness of shapes as a property of objects. One can do nesting, name games, gradation, patterns, balancing, abstract pairing & lot more with this toy.
Cascade Cars - To track the movement of the cars as they cascade down the stepped slopes. By letting one or more cars roll down from one slope to another, children learn to focus on moving objects and track the movement. Following the movement of the car improves visual tracking among children, which is essential for improving their reading skills and abilities while playing any physical sport. This toy also leads to awareness of motion and movement as children watch and analyse the movements of the cars as they roll down the slopes. As they push the cars further or hold them back, they understand the impact of their actions on the speed, motion and time factors of the cars. As children begin to develop their visual tracking skills, they get ready to understand the cause and effect phenomenon.
Child-Led - Even the greatest STEM toys in the world won’t be of much value to your child if he has not interest in that particular area of learning at that point in time. One should observe the child & understand their sensitive period of learning & see what types of toys and activities your child gravitates to and follow their lead. For example, if your child loves blocks, stock up on basic wooden building blocks or construction toys like Mosaic Nuts & Bolts, which teach basic engineering concepts.
Wooden Building Blocks - 50 wooden coloured blocks of different shapes and sizes to build fascinating structures. This toy happens to be one of the most creative toys that children of all ages can enjoy. These colorful, wooden blocks grab their attention, making children imaginative as well as logical while building different shapes and objects. Constructing with different shapes to form new shapes, sorting, classifying and pairing enhances children's understanding of geometry and creativity. Constructing with wooden blocks of varying geometric shapes, is fantastic for developing fine motor skills. By applying their knowledge of shapes, children get a better understanding of how shapes can have multiple dimensions and numeral values associated with them.
Mosaic Nuts & Bolts - It is a smart toy that combines high dexterity with creativity. The fact that it uses equilateral triangles & rhombuses to create patterns inherently increases the understanding of geometric construction. There is no "prescribed outcomes". The child is free to innovate and create patterns. A practical life toy that uses nut and bolt mechanisms to create a whole range of designs.
Open-Ended - Whether a simple set of building blocks or a multipurpose step tower for stacking, counting, sorting & gradation, or a rainbow stacker, the list of open-ended toys is endless. Toys that can be played with, disassembled, reassembled, and interacted with in a variety of ways are enjoyed by kids of all ages because they work with such toys differently. All this help kids to enhance thrier creativity, exploration, and a deeper understanding of rules, patterns, logic, and how things work.
Rainbow Roofs (Stack & Nest) - Stack, nest and arrange rainbow coloured roof shapes in various ways.Children explore the magic of creating different forms with this toy - a train, a sofa or a building! Nesting the pieces in this toy helps in developing fine motor skills at a very young age. Stacking the individual pieces makes children dexterous and hones balancing skills. Playing with the toy enhances their awareness of colours in a concrete manner and various name games hone children's memory skills. Children also gain knowledge about the rainbow in the form of VIBGYOR.
Step Tower - Stack the step tower to learn ordinal numbers through quantity, dimensions & colours. The toy is a beautiful stacking tower that uses colours, width and height to form different steps ranging from numbers 1 to 10. Stacking these steps help children connect dimensions with quantity. This toy also enhances thinking ability and encourages creative exploration. Step Tower helps children develop ordinal counting skills. It also assists the child in getting a deeper understanding of the correlation between dimensions and sizes of objects and quantities. This toy hence successfully fuses the understanding of sensorial properties of colour and size with numbers.
Toys With Direct STEM Aim - Some STEM toys have a direct aim such as Maths concepts but the key here is toys are supposed to be played. So make sure you choose a toy that teaches the concepts in a playful,creative & engaging manner and not in the rote way.
Peg & Add- Add numbers between 0 and 10 using coloured pegs on wooden decagons. A self-correcting toy, Peg and Add, forms the perfect link between numerals, object counting and addition. Children can add numbers between 0 and 10 using pegs and no matter what combinations they try, they will always find the right answer. It also helps them read addition problems in an equation format. Using pegs makes the abstract arithmetic procedure of addition very concrete, making children enjoy it as they soak it in completely.
Skip Counting Tshirts - Skip count miniature t-shirts sequentially by hanging them to dry on a pole. As children begin playing with this toy, they build a strong foundation of number patterns and sequences, thanks to the numbered T-shirts. Children associate better with an everyday task of drying clothes and enjoy hanging T-shirts with certain fixed patterns on the rod. The geometric symbols help them learn how numbers can be skipped in a pattern, setting a firm base for multiplication.
Scroll & Multiply - Scroll perpendicular mats to slot pegs in rows and columns for multiplication. Children uncover more arithmetic secrets with this toy. As they scroll away the screens based on the rows and columns, they learn to count and add values based on the pegs fitted in the empty slots, which in turn helps them learn multiplication. The toy also exposes them to the numerous multiplication combinations that can be created and helps build logical reasoning. Multiplication is an abstract concept that most children do not visualize but learn by rote. Multiplication by counting and adding gives the child a clear understanding that multiplication is repeat addition. Using pegs for counting and to learn multiplication involves fine motor skills and ensures higher accuracy of results, simultaneously enhancing their writing skills and pincer grip. Children can also use the toy to learn division with the help of physical cues. Performing multiplication and division with this toy helps them understand that the arithmetic processes are the opposite of each other.
Skola toys helps in preparing a child for STEM learning. Skola’s ultimate aim is to improve fine motor skills which certainly helps in engineering, but more importantly using fingers helps children think clearly and enhances concentration and cognitive ability which is a direct STEM requirement.
As discussed above, cascade cars toy helps a child to understand cause and effect. This is where a child is exposed to science. It helps a child to register concepts, process and comprehend them.
Colour Wheels toy encourages children to use fingers to rotate wheels and then find the matching colours which involves examination, observation analysis and discovery. You can watch the unboxing & review of Color wheels toy in this video below.
To summarize, these common principles of exploration, open-ended play, analysis, discovery, examination, and most importantly the presence of the PLAY element is true for all Skola Toys and hence creates thinkers, innovators & doers in the long run!
Disclaimer : This is a sponsored post but the views shared are honest and solely mine. I believe in using the products myself before putting up the review or opinion about them here.
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Math isn’t always fun and games...but it can be! This DIY Math game is sure to catch your preschooler's fancy & attention. Today, we are featuring a simple yet fun Math activity for preschoolers, which is powered by this wonderful educational resources website education.com. Counting is one of the most essential skills for preschoolers to acquire in preparation for kindergarten, so let us dive into a hands-on counting activity using DIY flash cards.
ACTIVITY - Count the Suns: Number Flash Cards
Want to make number skills second nature to your child? Try these cheerful, "sunny" number flash cards! As she enjoys the wonders of math, she'll also get a positive boost from these bright-looking, sun-shaped cards!
AGE GROUP
Preschoolers (2.5 Years +)
SKILLS ADDRESSED
Counting, Reading, Writing
WHAT YOU NEED
Card stock or other thick paper
Scissors
Circle-shaped template (try a large coffee can or the top of a cup)
Markers
WHAT TO DO
Ask your child to describe the shape of the sun to you. Explain that you'll be making the flash cards in the shape of a circle to look like the sun. If she can, help her trace ten separate circles onto the card stock.
Next, cut the circles out with scissors. (Most young kids need adult assistance for this step.) Allow her to try cutting on her own first. If she doesn't get the hang of it right away, simply trace extra circles.
Now, have her draw a sun shape onto the first circle card. Encourage her to be creative and make rays in different colors, or add in clouds.
Turn the card over, and help her write the number one.
Finally, repeat for each number up to ten, making the corresponding number of suns on one side, and then writing the number on the other.
After all ten cards are complete, use these sun-shaped cards to reinforce basic number concepts. Have her count the number of suns on the front of the card, and say the answer aloud. For added fun, make two sets of the cards and play a memory or matching game!
MORE ABOUT EDUCATION.COM
Education.com provides learning resources in over 20 countries and six continents. Their digital resources, tools, and learning materials are developed by educational experts to incorporate leading pedagogical practices. They are useful in any type of teaching moment and many can be used to support national education standards. Their mission is to empower parents and teachers to help their children build essential skills and excel.
Their FREE Math games are interactive drills that work on the same skills as pencil-and-paper practice: counting, numbers, shapes, and basic addition and subtraction. Filled with kooky characters that kids will love, these online math games are a kid’s math practice dream. You can find more such Math games HERE.
If you also have any activities ideas for toddlers / preschoolers / kindergarteners, then we would love to feature them on this blog! Shoot us an email using the contact form HERE along with a brief about you & your idea & we will get in touch with you soon!
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Thank you so much fellow parents for loving the first three videos of Practical Life, Sensorial & Language tour. I loved reading your feedback, keep them coming please. Coming Friday, it is going to be the tour of math area of Montessori in our FREE Guided Virtual Tour of a Montessori House Of Children, #TourOfMontessori, 5-part video series! So sign up now HERE.
If you still do not know what it is all about, then check out THIS post & you can sign up for FREE for this super informative series by clicking HERE. In return, you get 5 videos right into your mailbox!
Click HERE to watch the Practical Life tour teaser video & HERE to watch the Sensorial tour teaser video.
Hurry, you do not want to miss it and it will NOT be free forever :)
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See for yourself what an authentic Montessori classroom looks like. We will give you a complete overview & a guided virtual tour of a typical classroom in a Montessori House Of Children (for children of age 2 - 6 years - preschool age). The K Junction & Benmont Montessori (Pune, India) have come together to create this one of a kind FREE 5 part video series that will give you an insight into all the Montessori materials used in different areas of learning like - sensorial, practical life, maths, language and culture. You can treat this as a Montessori 101 course for your toddler's learning supplies needs!
The entire video series is FREE!
Just sign up HERE now & get these exclusive videos right into your mailbox!
Are you a parent contemplating to enroll your toddler in a Montessori School?
Are you a confused parent who is researching an authentic Montessori School but unable to decide which one actually is because there are so many so-called called Montessori School these days?
Are you a parent who is homeschooling or contemplating to homeschool your toddler according to Montessori philosophy and wondering where to start or what to do next or what materials to get and what do those Montessori materials are meant for?
Are you an Early childhood educator or a preschool or daycare owner or a teacher who wants to know more about Montessori and wants to incorporate the philosophy in some sense in your school?
Are you a Montessori trained directress and or looking to set up your own school?
Then you are at the right place!
The K Junction has teamed up with Benmont Montessori, an authentic Montessori House Of Children in Pune (India), to bring to you this awesome super informative & one of a kind series of videos called the tour of a Montessori House of Children.
You can check out the teaser videos of all the areas before signing up if you wish so!
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!
It was me 2 years back who sowed the seeds and would patiently wait for the greens to grow. Now it's my toddler's turn :)
My then 25-month-old son sowed Fenugreek seeds and we harvested fresh and lovely Fenugreek leaves after few weeks. He said he will eat methi paratha with those tender methi leaves! He loves it! And that is why I chose Fenugreek so that he is able to appreciate the process from start to end - from sowing seeds to watering the plant to seeing micro greens to seeing mature leaves to harvesting to actually consuming it happily.
He now knows how important trees and plants are for us, specially in hot summers these days, trees provide us shade. And of course, that plants give us food.
This generation kids need to know the importance of going green so much more than our generation for obvious reasons!
My now 26-month-old son sowed Spinach seeds recently, here is a sneak peek of our cute gardening exercise.
Gardening in itself teaches a lot to kids of all ages, starting from toddlerhood! Let us look how does it benefit -
Multisensory Learning
Montessori focusses on learning through multiple senses because that is how toddlers learn! While gardening, kids can touch & feel the soil, seeds, water, leaves. They can see beautiful colors of nature. They can smell the earth & the plants & flowers! They can hear the lovely birds chirping on the terrace & the wind blowing. And of course, they can eat what they plant (conditions apply)
Motor Skills
As seen in the video above, a lot of large & small muscle movements are required end to end. A great way to enhance gross & fine motor skills while working in nature, no frills activity, no activity box needed!
Sequencing
A very important skill to master, in addition to using puzzles or printables to teach the lifecycle of a plant, it would be great if we can give toddlers a hands-on experience of the same. They would remember this for ever then.
Science
According to the age, we can talk about basic science concepts like photosynthesis, composting, worms, insects etc. And further, we can supplement it with book readings. This can be a starting point of deep conversations with the toddlers. They are super curious & answering their questions related to gardening would be fun science lessons.
Life Lessons
Caring & Responsibility, patience, cycle of life, confidence, focus - all these deep & profound lessons can be learnt while gardening, taking care of the plat & seeing it grow.
Healthy Eating
If kids grow their own food, and are involved from end to end, they are likely to eat better & of course healthy.
Hands On Maths Lessons
From counting number of seeds to sow to measuring the right depth to sow the seeds to counting petals in a flower or leaves in a green to measuring the height of a plant, maths is everywhere. And gardening in every way is helping the child to sharpen his maths skills.
Bonding
A Sunday morning sowing seeds with mom or dad - the child will always cherish such beautiful memories. Gardening gives us a chance to bond beautifully with our kids & have great conversations.
Relaxation & Mindfulness
Gardening for me is like a meditation. It is therapeutic. It relaxes & helps us to become mindful of our surroundings our nature. And it is the same for kids too. Read my post HERE about 6 ways to develop mindfulness in kids.
I would love to know how & what did you do with your kids in your terrace garden! Hop on to our facebook page or closed facebook group to be a part of this parent-tribe :) And do not forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel, I would love to see you guys in my next video!
A traditional Chinese puzzle made of a square divided into seven pieces (one parallelogram, one square and five triangles) that can be arranged to match particular designs. Arranged correctly, the shapes can be fitted together as a large square, rectangle, or triangle. They can also be arranged in a variety of complex shapes.
The relationship among the pieces enables them to fit together to form many figures and arrangements. However, the tangram is more than a seven piece square. When it comes to tangrams, the challenge is to arrange the pieces to form additional shapes. The seven pieces can be arranged to make anything form a rabbit, to the alphabet, to a person. "The tangram is the opposite of a jigsaw puzzle. Instead of fitting the pieces together in only one way, the seven tangram pieces can be arranged to make a great number of different figures" (Bohning, G., et al., 1997, p. 4).
Objective
The objective of the puzzle is to form a specific shape (given only an outline or silhouette) using all seven pieces, which may not overlap. Over 6500 different tangram problems have been created from 19th century texts alone, and the current number is ever-growing.
How To Play With Tangram?
There are many ways to play with tangrams. The simplest way is to let kids create their own complex shapes. But traditionally, tangrams are treated as puzzles. The player is shown a target shape (in outline, or silhouette only) and then asked to recreate that shape using the seven pieces. There are tons of tangram patterns on the internet, something of THIS kind.
Rules Of Tangram
All seven pieces must be used.
All pieces must be flat.
All pieces must touch.
No pieces may overlap.
Pieces may be rotated and/or flipped to form the desired shape.
Why & How Is It Useful For Kids? (Starting From Toddler Stage)
It is very important that children explore with a hands-on, minds-on attack in a problem solving environment. Tangrams promote this idea through open-ended explorations. Through tangrams they are involved in manipulating and problem solving. Children are naturally curious so trying to solve a puzzle involving tangrams is going to provoke their curiousity and therefore be interesting so they will be engaged in what they are doing.
They help kids learn geometric terms and develop stronger problem solving skills.
They might help children perform better in general mathematics.
Tangrams help children develop mathematical concepts of fractions, spatial awareness, geometry, area, and perimeter.
By using tangram shapes, children learn the relationships between shapes.
Children learn that three basic shapes, the triangle, square, and parallelogram, can fit together to form many other shapes and figures.
Tangrams also helps to hone spatial rotation skills
Tangram helps to acquire a precise vocabulary for manipulating shapes (e.g., “flip," “rotate")
How To Introduce Tangram To Toddlers
I first introduced tangram to my son when he turned 2 years (20 days back). This is the time he had started showing a lot of interest in puzzles of every kind and building blocks. So he is in a sensitive period of enjoying open-ended play & logic/reasoning based activities. After exploring the pieces for quite some time in an open ended & free play manner, he has now learnt how to make a square using all 7 pieces.
Here is a quick video of my son making a square using tangram -
The next step is to make different kinds of patterns using tangram. I am going to arrange the pieces myself first based on the patterns floating around the net & then take pictures of the same. Print them out & present them to my son to replicate the patterns. I know there are so many printables already but the colors of the tangram pieces might be different in different printables & I do not want to confuse my son while he is arranging the puzzle. After he has solved such puzzles, I may introduce him to making the patterns by watching the just the outline/silhoutte. But this requires a lot more skill, so lets see when he is ready for it.
Where To Buy Tangram From
There are so many varieties of tangrams available in the market today, ranging from wooden to cardboard to magnetic one. Listing some of them below. I personally got it from a closed facebook group Ionica's Toys.
This is Day 18, the last day of "18 Days Of Christmass-ness" series, presented by The K Junction in collaboration with BabyChakra. We are ending this series today. The goal of this series was to have lots of fun & bonding with our kids & explore the festivities around us this December in the form of Christmas & New Year themed activities! Hope you have found this series useful for your child. Of course, you can come back to it any time of the year to do these activities!
HERE is the landing page of the series if you have missed any activity in this series!
DAY 18 - Today's activity is BAKING WITH KIDS
My 22 months old son was reading one of his books on his own & blabbering to himself. On a page, there was a cake. He stopped at that page, saw the cake for few seconds & then turned up to me saying, “I want to eat cake, I am hungry”, with those desperate eyes! Who could have said a no! He was adamant he wanted the cake right there & then and was getting impatient. So I thought let me involve him in the cake making process. That way he will get distracted from his “I want now, I want now”, learn that food has to be made & is not readily available. That he would appreciate the entire procedure when he actually sees & does it. And of course, with the benefits of practical life activities as Montessori tells us! We used THIS recipe.
Works on practical life, fine motor, sensorial, maths & sequencing skills.
For more details on what materials to use, how to do the activity step by step, age group, tweaking the activity for younger & older kids, time required for setup, if you can replace some materials with what you already have at home & related resources - Visit my detailed post on BabyChakra
