What Makes A Toy A Montessori Material & Skola Toys Recommendation & Review (VLOG)

I am an ardent Montessori follower & by now you must have known that I follow Montessori (combined with other philosophies) with my son at home. We do Montessori inspired activities at home, we have a Montessori shelf where I keep his activities & he absolutely loves his shelf. We do have some Montessori materials at home & I am always on a look out for Montessori inspired toys.

What exactly is meant by Montessori inspired toys? Or What makes a toy a Montessori material?

• Made up natural materials like wood, glass, ceramic etc
• Simple looking with no flashing lights, buzzers or whistles
• Realistic looking, for example, no cartoon characters printed 
• Have "control of error" - Self-correcting nature of the toys which means that if the child has put anything in a wrong way in a certain toy, he will himself be able to notice that due to the self-correcting nature of the toy. 
• Fosters independent play
• Has a specific purpose for the child, for example, it may work on the child's fine motor skills, dexterity, sensory inputs, language, gross motor skills, life skills, cognitive skills, creativity, science, maths skills etc.

I just want to take this opportunity to share with you a great brand that I recently found, which makes Montessori inspired wooden toys - SKOLA TOYS. 

The team at Skola Toys believe that play leads to exploration, exploration leads to discovery and discovery leads to learning. Toys like these stimulate the child's senses by opening up a fascinating world of colours, shapes, numbers, alphabets, science, geography & more! Skola Toys are designed for children between 0 & 8 years, and are self-correcting that enable children to learn independently without adult intervention. They have specific learning objectives that are achieved through a natural process of playing - that constitutes their unique Skola Learning Grid.

Skola Toys are made of wood that have a natural appeal to a child & result in the child being engaged with the toy for long periods of time. The paints used are child-safe too. 

I have these two Skola Toys that we love - Stacking Gears & Snowflake Threading Toy. You can watch the detailed review of both of them in the videos below.

Do not forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more such videos on toys & books recommendation & review, Montessori inspired activities & parenting.

You can explore more of these awesome Skola Toys on their website HERE. They also have a Facebook Page that you can follow HERE.

You can also get an exclusive discount of 15% on all Skola Toys (for a limited period only). Just visit my facebook group HERE & the pinned post has the discount code. You need to use that code when you shop from their website HERE directly.

I hope you found this post useful. I will be posting more about Montessori materials in the future. Until then, Happy Parenting :)

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Baby Sebamed Sun Lotion Review & Launch Event Coverage

Babies are precious & so is their skin - fresh & delicate like a dew! As a mother, I always try to find out the best for my son's skin. Something which is free from chemicals as far as possible & which is dermatologically tested, specially for baby's skin. The concern is all the more justified because a baby's skin is 20% thinner than adult skin. The skin barrier is not fully developed & harmful bacteria can easily enter the skin if the barrier is damaged, which in turn can cause moisture loss, redness, rashes & itching.

When I was invited to the launch event of Baby Sebamed Sun Lotion on 19th March 2017, I was more than excited to be a part of it for the simple reason that I had heard some real good reviews about Sebamed products & lately I have been feeling the need of a sunscreen lotion for my two years old son & I thought this would be a good starting point to choose one for him! I must say, I was not disappointed at all with the product. And there cannot be a better way to welcome the summers with we moms being reassured that our babies' skin is safe when they go out in the sun :)

To start with, I must say that the event was a LOT of fun for moms as well as kids (0 to 6 years). There were presentations about Sebamed, their research, their findings, there was music, dance, games & small lovely gifts for the kids & the most important part of the event was the Yoga Session for moms & kids. 

This event made an entry into the Indian Book Of Records for more than 50 kids & moms doing Yoga together, along with a trained Yoga instructor, under the sun!

I am so happy to be a part of this awesome record, along with my son!

About Sebamed

Sebamed is one of the world’s leading skincare brands from Germany, researched by a dermatologist, with over 50 years of rich experience. It has a presence in 85 countries worldwide & has over 120 products. Their philosophy is to use botanical ingredients & ensure stringent quality standards. Their products are recommended by dermatologists, Paediatricians & Gynaecologists in India & across the world.

Features Of All Sebamed Products

• pH 5.5 - Alkali-free & soap free
• High quality and high purity of ingredients
• Developed and recommended by dermatologists
• German engineered
• Dermatologically and clinically tested 
• Biodegradable, no animal testing
• Free from mineral oils and harsh chemicals.

Key USPs of Baby Sebamed Range

• pH 5.5 helps in the development of acid mantle
• High concentration of botanical extracts nourishes baby's skin
• No irritants, so better tolerated from day 1
• 0% irritant reactions & 0.000003% allergic reactions
• Clinically proven efficacy

And now, about the brand new product that they launched - Baby Sebamed Sun Lotion

Instructions For Use

• Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before exposure to the Sun.
• Reapply frequently to maintain the protection, especially after bathing.
• Avoid exposure to the Sun between 11 am and 3 pm.
• Use hat, shirt, sunglasses and sunscreen suitable for child protection.
• Can be used for babies of 6 months & above

Pros

• pH 5.5 
• 98% UVA protection
• Skin protection with Vitamin E
• Natural formula providing intense hydration
• Oil-free, non-greasy, does not leave any residue, gets absorbed in the skin easily
• Alcohol-free
• Free from paraffin / parabens / PEG bonds
• Water & sweat resistant - which means we can apply this when we go for swimming this summer!
• SPF 50 - which is pretty high & hence makes the effect of the sunscreen even better

Cons

• No perfume - this looks like a limitation but actually it is good because there will be some chemicals going inside the product if an artificial perfume is introduced in it
• Pricing - It is priced at 1400 INR for a bottle of 200ml, which is on a higher side but given the USPs, I think most parents would not mind going this extra mile when it is about the skin safety of their children

You can know more about their products HERE. 

All Baby Sebamed products are available on major online stores like Amazon, FirstCry etc. 

The Event

The description of this launch event cannot be complete without pictures, so here they are - an absolute fun filled beautiful Sunday morning at a venue that is one of the best in Mumbai - Radio Club, Colaba. 

The view of the sea & tons of boats was one of the interesting elements for almost all the toddlers there. They were glued to the windows watching the boats & playing with the balloons, making friends with each other.

There was a quick presentation about the skin care & Sebamed brand from the experts.

Followed by the product launch, and that too by the children :) It is a kids' product at the end of the day!

We got to try the sun lotion too!

Kids were super happy with the games, music & dance session that followed.

Then we all headed out together in the sun to set out a unique record! Something that has not been done so far - 50+ kids & moms doing Yoga together under the sun with a certified Yoga instructor! 

This has gone into the Indian Book Of Records, yayyy!

Some photo booth madness by my toddler ;) Yes, he is officially a record breaker now!

And a wonderful talk by the celebrity Dermatologist, Cosmetologist & Trichologist, Dr Simple Aher, on the importance of skin care.

All in all, a very well spent Sunday morning with lots of takeaways about skin care, information about the Sebamed product range & a sumptuous lunch to end with :)

Hope this review will help you in choosing the right skin care range for your child. 

Happy Parenting :)

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What Are Prewriting Skills & How To Develop Them In Young Toddlers - 12 to 30 Months

Do you think you should start paying attention to your child's writing skills only when they start to write alphabets & numbers?

The answer is NO. It actually starts very early! Your child is already preparing himself to be able to write in future & you can aid his preparation with what is called "pre-writing exercises". I have compiled some really easy to do activities that can be done using simple things at home. They are engaging, educational & enriching.

What are pre-writing skills?

To put it simply, these are the skills that children need to develop, to be able to write. For example – holding a pencil, using a pencil to move around on the paper, ability to draw something, copy or colour it, ability to draw different lines, patterns, shapes etc. The skills encompass; hand and finger strength, directional movement, hand position, pencil grip, proper usage of large muscles like elbow and shoulder, proper usage of small muscles like wrist and fingers, hand-eye coordination, bilateral integration, object manipulation and so much more!

The best place to start prewriting activities is your home. You really do not need to invest in expensive materials to develop the mentioned skills. As complex as they sound, the skills are not very difficult to master. Provided you give the muchneeded exposure and stimulus to your child.
In the article linked below, I am sharing some prewriting Montessori inspired activities that you can do with young toddlers (12 to 30 months)

Check out my entire article on BABYCHAKRA HERE.

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Hands-on Educational Activities For Toddlers & Preschoolers & Toy Recommendations (VLOG)

My 2 year old son is currently so much interested in doing puzzles & open ended play with blocks. So I set up him Montessori shelf with interest led activities. Take a look in the video below for ideas & some great toy recommendations too :)

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Repurposing Jigsaw Puzzles - What To Do When Your Child Is Done With A Puzzle?

Are you wondering what to do with the jigsaw puzzles that your child is done with / mastered solving? Here is a simple idea how you can repurpose those puzzles & create a new activity with increased complexity!

Do you have any other ideas on how you can repurpose them? Please do share :)

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The Story Of Holi - Song (VLOG)

It is HOLI season here! And every festival has a legend behind it. We as parents should teach our kids the story behind every festival to make them culturally rich individuals. 

The story of Holi was weaved into a Hindi verse form by my father, he is a tremendous writer! He wrote this poem in just 5 minutes in the lunch break at work yesterday. I wanted to create a song out of these lovely lines, especially for kids because kids love music & they tend to remember facts via music in a much better way. So the singer/musician in me tweaked the lyrics slightly here & there while composing a simple tune for it & sang it. So here is the song/poem, whatever you want to call it. 

Do make your kids listen to it this Holi season :) I would love to have your feedback!

Here are the lyrics of the song in Devnagri script - 

असुरों का राजा हिरण्यकश्यप

वरदान मिला बना अजय

अत्याचार करता प्रजा पर

सब पर फैला उसका भय

बेटा प्रह्लाद भक्त था

इश्वर का वो भक्त था 

राजा को नही भाता था

अपने घमंड में पिता पुत्र को

मार डालना चाहता था

बहन होलिका को वर था

कोई जला नहीं सकता था 

कैसी भी हो आग मगर

कोई जला नहीं सकता था

हिरण्यकश्चप के मन में वो 

विचार गंदा आया था 

होलिका के गोद  में जलती 

आग में बेटा बिठाया था 

लेकर प्रह्लाद को गोद में

जलती आग में गयी होलिका

हुआ नही प्रह्लाद को कुछ भी

राख हो गयी स्वयम होलिका

ईश्वर भक्ति की जीत हुई

यूँ सबने होली मनाई थी 

 त्याग और भक्ति की जीत पे

पिचकारियां चलाई थी 

आपस की दुश्मनी भूल कर

 गले सभी मिल जाते हैं

हर साल फाल्गुन पूर्णिमा को

मिल के होली मनाते हैं।।

आओ करें हम सब ये फैसला 

प्यार से धरती सीचेंगे 

सभी जात  और सभी धर्म को 

एक सामान ही देखेंगे 

आओ करें हम सब ये फैसला 

प्यार से धरती सीचेंगे 

Wish you a very Happy Holi & Happy Parenting :)

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Holi Themed Fun Hands-On Activities For Kids

We did some #holi themed activities, basically had fun with colors!

Painting with bursting water balloons (arts & gross motor)

Painting with syringe - a mini pichkaari (arts & fine motor)

Holika dahan at home (science experiment)

Marble painting (arts & gross motor)

Making eco friendly colors - Click HERE to know the recipes.

Letter matching activity (language)

Book reading

You can read more details about the activities here at My Article On BabyChakra

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All You Wanted To Know About Tangram Puzzle - And How To Introduce It To Toddlers

What is A Tangram

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.

• Tangrams can teach kids about spatial relationships. 
• 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.




Source - wikipedia, parenting science, Jody Andrea Blog

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How To Encourage Creativity - Open Ended Art Projects For Kids

Open ended art projects are very essential for the expression of the child! They help sp much in encouraging creativity & imagination in children of all ages! They also serve as great prewriting exercises. It gives the toddlers exposure to different textures & finger grips. A great sensory activity.

It is not about the end product of such art exercises but the enrichment during the art making process. It is therapeutic for even adults. Try it out some time :)

Here are 4 engaging & open ended art projects for kids of any age, starting from toddlers!




To facilitate arts in my home for my toddler, I had recently set up an arts corner for him. Check out this video how you can do the same in a budget friendly way!

Happy Parenting :)

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Toddlers As Surprise Packages - They Learn As They Play - How They Self Learn

Self discoveries of a toddler, do I really need to teach him or even interfere? :) I'm just sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the observations and conversations of this curious mind!

Shadow

A (my 2 years old son, walking after dinner in the society premises along with me) : mumma, shadow shadow! [And he walked along, the shadow disappeared and shifted to another position because of the new street light positioning]. Mumma, shadow gayab! Oh, shadow is here now! [And he walks ahead and continues to discover how shadow size and positions are changing]

Music Instruments 

He takes out all the music instruments he has, from the polythene and does some research on each one by one carefully listening and engrossed how the same instrument makes different sound when played with hand or stick, when hit on the leather or wood, etc etc.  This goes on uninterrupted for some 15 minutes and then he arranges the instruments in some fashion and asks his dad to play dholak and he chooses to play the manjeera. My home grown bhajan mandali )

Indian Classical Music Concert

We managed to take our son to an indian classical music concert last weekend - Panchatattva - that had maestros like Pandit Jasraj, Sanjeev Abhyankar and the likes. He attended the program for 1 hour 10 minutes to our SHEER surprise. BTW thanks to Surekha for her post, I pushed myself to bravely decide that my son is old enough to attend a live show. He particularly saw solo instrument performances of tabla, mridangam, kanjeera, flute and some vocals. The experience was so enriching that after we came back home, he wanted to again attend the concert. When asked, he enacted how do you play a flute, a kanjeera, a mridangam, tabla. As a musician myself, what could I have asked more for!

Wood And Fire

We did a bonfire at home on our terrace with family as a part of holi celebrations... Holika dahan. He observed and commented that after burning wood, it is finished! And became black powder. Smoke is rising from fire. Some great science lessons coming in for free :)

Awareness About Air

He has been telling us about air since long now, for example fan is giving air, AC is giving cool air, air is blowing (while playing outdoors). But today while travelling on our bike at night, he said, mumma cool air, I'm enjoying it mumma. And then the bike slowed down and he said mumma air is finished now. Again when the bike gained speed, he said, mumma air has come back again! He was beautifully making connections about the relation between the speed of the vehicle and the impact of air.

Toddlers are everyday surprise packages! Their curiosity and ability to learn from anything and everything amazes me :) We need to follow the child's lead, give them ample opportunities & exposure & enjoy!

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