Tuesday, 29 March 2011

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Montessori Activity: Mini Construction Site Sensory Box



Age: From 2 years old

Activity Duration: Unlimited

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Objective(s): To develop the 5 senses

Materials:

1. 1-2 Tractors
2. Storage box with lid 60 x 40 x 18 cm (approx. 30 litres capacity)
3. Pebbles (you can also use dried beans)
4. Sand
5. Grass and twigs (optional)
6. 1 paper bowl to act as a hill (optional)

Directions:
1. Put this together with your child if he is old enough, if not put it together and then present it to him.

Cost:
Tractor: 20 DKK (4.80 SGD) from Tiger.
Pebbles: 9 DKK (2.15 SGD) from IKEA.

Additional Information:

J (2Y24D) loves to play with tractors right now, and I decided to create a "stage setting" for the tractor for him. I got inspired from Nuturing the Tender Years. Spring and summer is coming, but unlike many Danes, we don't have a garden. Thus, this would be a good alternative for J to play outdoor at our balcony, and we can just cover it with the lid when J is not playing with it. I was lacking the base material - sand, but Daddy came back from his office retreat near the seaside with a plastic bag of sand for me this evening - so that was perfect :-) We look forward to the weekend to let J play with it... or maybe not...

I just realised that I am so happy with my work of art, that I am a little reluctant to let J play with it, as he is sure to mess it up. But that's ironic as I catch myself: this was created to let J play with it, and not to stand like a vase and look nice. But now that it is created, I am finding myself withholding it from J...

I have got to learn to learn to let go...

Update 3.4.2011:
This weekend was rainy, thus, we didn't let J play on at the balcony (perhaps it was my excuse of keeping this as nice as vase). Hopefully, next weekend, I will pass the test of letting J play with it.

Update 10.4.2011 (2Y1M5D):
The weather was very nice, warm and cooling today - perfect to play outside. While waiting for the chicken poxs scare to disappeared, J stayed at home today, instead of going to music and church. I brought out the mini-construction site that I have made. J preferred to dig the sand instead. Then he got bored, and he preferred to play with water. He didn't play with the truck at all! Sweet Daddy showed him how to collect the pebbles in the sand and sort them according to colours, but that didn't interest him much. All in all, it gave us only some 20 minutes of respite, while I tried to prepare lunch. Wished J could entertained himself more by playing on his own more at the balcony, but it was better than nothing.

References:

http://nurturingthetenderyears.blogspot.com/2009/12/mini-construction-site.html

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