Arranging 123s/Nummersortering/字母分类[zì mu fēn lèi]

Age: From 2.5 years old

Activity Duration: 10-15 minutes

Objective(s):
1. To train the child’s fine motor skills.
2. To teach numeral recognition in a fun way.

Materials:
1. 1 container of numeral magnets
2. 1 whyte board

Directions:
1. Arrange the numbers in a row on the whyte board from 0 - 9.

2. Introduce the number by pointing to them one-by-one or by singing the number song and pointing to them one-by-one on the whyte board.

3. Demonstrate to your child by looking for the '1's for example in the container and placing them in a line below the first '1' or asking your child to pick a number and find the place where it belongs on the whyte board.

4. Encourage your child to try to with all the other letters.

5. As your child place the number, encourage him to say the name of the number.

Cost: Alphabet magnets: 27.04 GBP (55 SGD) (I believe you can get these much cheaper in Singapore).

Additional Information:
This is a  variation of the arranging letter activity. J (2Y7M25D) tried this today and he enjoyed it. He completed arranging all the numerals in the containers, but with some help and hints from me, such as, to turn the number to face the right way.

You can also buy the letter magnets and the whiteboard from Amazon:

Montessori Activity: Teaching Basic Counting to Toddlers with Glass Stones

Age: From 2.5 years old (Level 3)

Activity Duration: 10 minutes

Objective(s):
1. To teach counting.
2. To train number recognition

Materials:
1. 1 - 5 number magnets or 1-5 number cards in a container
2. 15 glass stones or just small stones in a container
3. 1 tray

Directions:
1. Demonstrate to your child by putting out the number magnets or cards in order from 1 to 5, reciting the name of the number as you go along.

2. Allocate 1 glass stone, count 1 and place it in front of the number 1 magnet. Then allocate 2 glass stones, count it a loud and place it in front of the number 2 magnet. Do the same for the rest of the number.

3. Put back the materials into the respective containers and encourage your child to try.

Additional Information:
J could now say from 1 to 10 in Mandarin Chinese (however he keeps missing out the number 4). He also could count from 1-2, and occasionally 3. So I thought I will try out this activity and see how it goes.

Montessori Activity: Sorting Numbers/Nummersortering/数字分类 [shù zì fēn lèi ]

Age: From 2 years old

Activity Duration: 10-15 minutes

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Objective(s):
1. To train the child’s fine motor skills
2. To train number recognition

Materials:
1. 1 big bowl of 4 sets of numbers 1-4 number magnets
2. 4 small rice bowls of same colour *
3. 1 tray

* It is important that the colour of the 4 small bowls are the same, so as not to confuse the child that it is number sorting and not colour sorting.

Directions:
1. Demonstrate to your child by sorting one set of the number 1-4 into each of the small bowls first.

2. As you go along, recite the name of the number.

3. Encourage your child to try to sort the other 3 sets of the number 1-4 by putting each of numbersinto the correct bowl allocated for that particular number.

4. Pour back all the numbers into the bid bowl and repeat.

Additional Information:
J (24M7D) tried it today. At first, I made the mistakes of using colourful bowls and he got confused. But I changed it to all white rice bowls and he got it right immediately. He really enjoyed it and wanted to play more, but we have to leave for music class. J now recognizes the shape of each number from 1-4, can count from 1-3 rather well and starting to count the 4th item.

Keep it simple and don't overwhelm the child. Try 1-3 for younger toddler or 1-5 for older toddler.

This is a fantastic book providing hands-on guide on Montessori activities that is practical, simple and easy to follow. The book also provides lots of ideas on using simple equipment that you can find at home. I found this idea in this book:

You can also buy the number magnets from Amazon:

6 November 2019 (3Y5M20D): C tried this for the first time today. She could sort them very well. It was also a very good opportunity to teach number recognition. Although she could sort them, I don't think she could recognize the numbers yet.