I wouldn't know what to choose for a boy, and Daddy chose a car racing track for J's 4th year old birthday.
It is something that Daddy liked and played as a child. Daddy was back from his overseas trip and father and son had a great time together playing with the birthday present. So this is a classic toy that most, if not all boys, would love. There isn't much educational value to it, but it does train your agility.
You will need good control in terms of the speed so that the cars do not run off track and can go around the loop. So that would be good training :-) So at least this satisfy mommy's criteria that every toy has got to have some kind of "educational" value :-)
We bought it from Toy R Us, but it is also available from Amazon:
As today is Singapore National Day, our School Time is geared more towards activities related to it.
Special Time with Daddy:
Since we managed to finish dinner by 6pm today, Joshua had a spin in his electric toy car from grandpa from Singapore and practised his judgment of distance, direction and control...
Montessori Time:
Joshua arranged his self-made counters into a line. We also it into the number 5 and practised number recognition.
Blanket Time:
We read Chinese Tang Dynasty poems. Joshua recited by heart one of the poems, which we took a video of:
Desk Time:
We did colouring of the Singapore flag with oil pastel together. It could be a very boring task, but the challenge of colouring the background without taining the stars and the moon made it interesting.
From this activity, Joshua practised concentration skills, ability to persevere and follow through to complete a task, pencil grip and control of precision. I helped him to erase those parts that he overshot the line.
By then Joshua was already very tired, but after he saw how I colour around the stars, he got very motivated and went on to complete the colouring.
Bedtime:
We prayed for our nation Singapore, for wise leaders, for peace and prosperity, for the warm racial harmony that we built and for God's protection. We prayed for Florian would one day go to church with Joshua and I and get to know God in a deeper personal way. We recited a couple of Tang dynasty poems and sang the Singapore National Anthem.
P.S. You might notice that Joshua was dressed in red and white, the colour of the Singapore flag. This was to mark the Singapore's 47th National Day today :-)
Objective(s):
1. To teach traffic safety and the ability to read traffic signs.
2. To teach obedience at a young age.
Materials:
1. Homemade traffic signs - red light, green light and orange light
2. 1 toy car
3. 1 string or ribbon for demarcation
4. 1 carpet (optional)
How to Make?
1. Cut a circle of approx. 11cm in diameter and laminate it.
2. Stick a ice-cream stick behind with scotchtape.
Directions:
1. Explain to your child the concept of red light, green light and orange light.
2. Hold up the red light and ask your child whether the car should stop, go or slow down.
3. Change the traffic sign and ask your child to manipulate the car according to the traffic light.
Tips:
Don't feel disappointed, if you don't have a child carpet street rug. You can still implement this game easily. Just use the string to demarcate the line on a plain floor as shown in the picture below:
Additional Information:
J is at an age, where he can understand traffic signs. I teach him when we cross the road, but I just want to concretise it more with this activity. I got this idea from a Chinese Montessori book I bought in Singapore from the Popular Bookshop (www.popular.com.sg).
