Montessori Activity: Teaching Basic Counting with Stones

Age: From 2.5 years old

Activity Duration: 10 minutes

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

Materials:
1. 5 bowls with number cards from 1-5 in each of the bowls.
2. 1 container with 15 small stones in a container
3. 1 tray (optional)

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

2. Allocate 1 stone, count 1 and place it in the bowl containing the number card 1. Then allocate 2 stones, count it a loud and place it in the bowl containing the number card 2. 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:
Joshua (3Y1M2D) tried this today. He needed some clues and prompting to get the right number of stones into the bowls. This showed that he has still not mastered the recognition of numbers, although he could count very well now.

This is a variation of the game here. I find that using bowls to contain the stones make the teaching more concrete for young minds. You can also use other items such as marbles, instead of stones.

If you are fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom, you can make your own number cards. For working moms who are short of time like me, I took the short-cut by buying it from Singapore.

You can buy it from amazon:

Montessori Activity: Transferring Stones with Pliers/使用镊子/夹子[shǐ yòng niè zi/jiā zi]

Age: From 2.5 years old

Activity Duration: 5-15 minutes

Preparation Time: 3 minutes

Objectives:

1. To train the child’s fine motor skills.
2. To teach the concept of squeeze and release.
3. To teach the names of different colors.
4. To teach counting.

Materials:

1. 2 containers (preferably of equal size and color)
2. Approx. 10 - 15 stones (keep it simple, depending on the age of your child)
3. 1 pair of pliers
4. 1 Tray

Directions:

1. Put the bowls on the tray side by side with the pliers on your right and fill the bowl on the left with stones.

2. Show your child to transfer the stones with the pliers from the bowl on the left to the bowl on the right. Say "open" and "close" as you use the pliers. Count as you go along filling the bowl with stones.

3. Switch the bowls so that the bowl with the stones is back on the left and encourage your child to try.

Additional Information:

I bought the tool set for IKEA to keep until J is older. However, he saw it and wanted to play with it. So I took out only the plier (as naturally the rest of the tools can be too dangerous for his age right now) created this activity.

We went to granny's place this morning and did not do our usual Montessori activity. When we came home, J repeated that he wanted to "玩游戏", meaning he wanted to do Montessori activty. So I set up this activity. He could transfer the stones without problems, but he lost attention within 2 minutes. I knew that he was very tired, as it was 2.30pm, and he hadn't had this nap. So we stopped the game, and I told him that we are going to nap. He was very happy and cooperative. I pushed him out in the pram and he slept within 5 minutes. He was really tired.

This incident reminded me once again the importance of sleep to a child's mental and learning development.

I also made the mistake of putting too many stones into the container. That was too overwhelming for J.

Montessori Activity: Teaching Basic Counting to Toddlers with Small 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 typed or hand-written cards in a container
2. 15 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:

Why pay so much for Montessori materials when you can use glass stones. But why pay for glass stones, when you can use ordinary stones (unless you are vain like me, and bought those glass stones)!!!

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 Stones & Beans

Adapted from the book Montessori Play & Learn by Lesley Britton

Age: From 2 years old

Activity Duration: 5-15 minutes

Preparation Time: 3 minutes

Objective(s):
1. To train the child’s fine motor skills.
2. To teach concept of different sizes - small, medium and large.
3. To stimulate the child's brain development during the sensitive period through touch.

Materials:
1. 1 large bowl containing the big stones, small stones and beans (I use soy beans here)
2. 1 large bowl for the big stones
3. 2 small bowls for the smaller stones and beans
4. 1 tray (optional)

Directions:
1. Sort one set of the stones and beans into each of the bowls.

2. As you go along, say the size of the stones.

3. Encourage your child to try to sort the other 4 sets of the beans by putting each of them into the correct container/bowl allocated for that bean.

4. Pour back all the beans into the big container and repeat.

Tips:

Once your child is familiar with this game, you can use a blind fold and ask him to sort the stones and beans by feeling them.

Additional Information:

J (2Y2M8D) tried this yesterday evening and really had a lot of fun with it. He asked to do it again and again, and we spent 15 minutes on the game.

References:
Montessori Play  & Learn by Lesley Britton

Montessori Activity: Heavy & Light Sensory Box

Age: From 1.5 year old

Activity Duration: 5 minutes

Preparation Time: 3 minutes

Objective(s):

1. To stimulate and develop the 5 senses.
2. To introduce the opposite concept of heavy and light.

Materials:

1. 1 transparent storage box approx. 40 x 30 x 16cm
2. 5-10 feathers
3. 1 bag of pebbles

Directions:

1. Mix them in the box.

2. Let your child hold the contrasting weight and feel of the pebbles and feathers without saying anything.

3. Then describe the feeling, the touch and the name of the sensation to your child, for example, stones are heavy and feathers are light.

4. Point to your child the picture in the flash card and the words of heavy and light.

Cost:

Total cost: 35 DKK (8.40 SGD)
Feathers: 20 DKK (4.80 SGD) including other materials in a hobby set jar
Bag of pebbles: 9 DKK (2.15 SGD) from IKEA
Storage box: 100 DKK (24 SGD) for 3 in Jysk
Chinese flash cards from Singapore Popular Bookstore in Bras Basah