How to Encourage Bible Verses Memorization for Toddlers?

I think it is high time I put more emphasis on Bible verse memorization with Joshua. The importance of Bible memorization could not be over-emphasized in helping a child to digest and hide God's word in his heart - also for myself.

I have however been neglecting this area and I would like to work harder on it. I have been unable to do so due to limited time, competiting activities (Montessori Practical Life activities, academic pursuits, physical activities, music activities, social activities, work commitments, etc. etc.) and the lack of planning. But this is no excuse. All other activities should not be taking higher priority than this all important work in a child. I have to re-focus and put the first thing first.

But how do I fit into a very tight and limited amount of time that I have with Joshua as a working mom? I found this extremely challenging. It is also equally challenging for me to find suitable Bible verses for toddlers and to remember to use it after finding them. I also wish there would be illustration accompanying the Bible verses to make it more tangible for young children.

If you are blessed to be a stay-at-home mom (which I wish I am), you could make your own Bible memory verses suitable for toddlers or search the internet for free resources. But I find that many such sites are hard to navigate, and very time-consuming. I sometimes give up half way through navigating them. But if you are a working mom, and face the same time constraints as I do, I think I have found a very good book called "ABC Bible Verse Book". I am really so excited about it!!!

Here are some ways that I could work Bible memorization in with this short and simple book:

1. Read a verse as a opening or closing for dinner time.

This would only take one at most one minute. A child's attention span at this age is at most three minutes. Thankfully it does not require so much of my time to incorporate such "lesson" into Joshua's christian development and academic education. I have to constantly be reminded of this, so that I am not over-ambitious with my expectations.

Here is an example of a verse and its simplicity:

2. Use the verse as discussion point during dinner.

I have been wanting to find ways to be more positive when making conversation, as if I am not self-guided and self-reminded, topics could degenerate to talking about work problems at the dinner table, making it very heavy-going and irrelevant for Joshua. I pray and hope to improve on this with the grace of God.

3. Stick to only one or two verses for the whole week.

I have the tendency to change lessons too fast and too soon. I need to remind myself that repetition works for toddlers and preschoolers. So I will try to stick to one or two verses for the whole week. I have read about how some toddlers only two years old are able to easily remember and memorize verses, when repetitions are provided.

Advantages:

The advantages of this book are:

1. It is a board book and perfect for toddlers to handle it without fear of tearing or damaging it.
2. It contains only one verse a page in very short simple sentence suitable for very young children.
3. It ties in with phonetic and alphabet learning, helping me to kill two birds with one stone.
3. It has very attractive and cute illustrations that appeal a lot to me.

Disadvantage:

There is some use of ye, thou, thee, etc. Some people consider this a disadvantage, but after using the book, I find that they actually make the verses rhyme better, making it easier to memorize.

I am looking forward to put Bible memorization back on track for our family with Joshua.

You can also get this book from Amazon:

Montessori Activity: Learning Number Recognition with Thomas-the-Train Number Puzzle

Printables from http://www.veterantoget.dk/media/1611/opgave4x.jpg

Age: From 3.5 years old

Objective(s): To teach number recognition and number sequencing concept in a fun way.

Materials:
1. Print 2-3 sheets this from http://www.veterantoget.dk/media/1611/opgave4x.jpg
2. Pencil
3. Eraser

Directions:
1. Demonstrate it on your sheet, saying, "Each dot represent one number. Let's try to connect the dots according from 1, 2, 3.... We start with 1. What comes next? Yes, 2. Can you find the number 2's dot?.What comes after 2?...

2. Invite your child to try on his own sheet. Mark his progress and try again on another fresh sheet if needed at another occasion.

Additional Information:
I am constantly interested in fun and varied way to teach numbers and Basic Maths. I happened to find this free resource from the Danish vintage train website. I think this may be too advance for Joshua right now, but he loves Thomas-the-Train. I will save it for future use.

References:
http://www.veterantoget.dk/media/1611/opgave4x.jpg

Nursery Lesson Plan: The Bible Is Right and True - 20th May 2012

Lesson Plan

FIBC Nursery (0-4 years old)

Date: 20^th May 2012, Time: 1 – 2.15pm

Concept Area: Bible – The Bible Helps Me Know the Right Things to Do

Bible Verses: 2 Timothy 3:16, Psalm 33:4 “…For the word of the LORD is right and true.”

Teachers: Elaine, Chen Ying and Stephen

12.45 – 1pm: Preparation Time

·         Teachers to arrive 10 minutes earlier to prepare and set up the room.

·         Bring a jug of water.

·         Mark Attendance.

·         Fill in Food Allergy Alert Chart for new children.

1-1.30pm: Early Arrival Activity Time

Activity Station 1: Reading Bible Story Foam Books (for children younger than 2 years old)

Activity Station 2: Making Bible Figurines on Popsicle Sticks (for children from 2 - 4 years old)

Activity Station 3 (Contingency): Colouring Letter B for Bible and Handwriting Worksheet

1.30 – 1.40pm: Bible Lesson & Story Time

Gather the children to sit around in a circle.

Bible Lesson

Do you know what this is? (Hold up a Bible)

This is the Bible.

The Bible is the Word of God. (Point to your lips)

Do you like to listen to bedtime story? Just like you like to listen to story, God has told His story in His word.

The Bible tells the story of God’s love for His people, about Jesus dying on the cross to forgive our bad behaviour and give us new lives.

The Bible tells us who God is.

We see God’s goodness and His character revealed in the Bible.

How do we get to know God?

We get to know God by reading the Bible and by praying.

God teaches us what is true through the Bible.

The Bible helps us know the right things to do.

Bible Verses: Psalm 33:4 “…For the word of the LORD is right and true.”

What does God says about His Word?

When we memorize God’s word, it will help us to do the right things.

Can you say after me, Psalms 33:4 “…For the word of the LORD is right and true.”

Bible Story: Daniel and the Lion

Today, we are going to read a story from the Bible from the book of Daniel chapter 6 with the Bible figurines that you have made just now:

Daniel loved God more than he loved anyone. Give yourself a big hug.

The king wanted Daniel to stop loving God. The king put Daniel in a cave with the lions so they would eat him. Can you roar like a lion? (Make hand sign for lion and make roaring sound)

God took care of Daniel. The lions didn’t hurt him. They played like they were big kitty cats. Say meow like a kitty.

You probably won’t meet any lions today, but whatever you do, God will take care of you. Show how God loves you. Give yourself a big hug.

Pray: Thank you, God, for taking care of me. Amen.

1.40 – 1.50pm: Singing

Use musical instruments, hand motions and songs as follows:

·         The B-I-B-L-E

·         Read Your Bible

·         Read, Read, Read Your Bible (To the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”)

·         The Bible is God’s Word (To the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”)

·         Jesus Loves Me

1.50 – 2pm: Snack Time

·         Ask the children to queue up.

·         Ask the older children to give out the cups, plates and rice snack.

·         Sing the “Say Grace Song”

·         Ask each child to recite: “The Bible is right and true.” Psalm 33:4

·         As the children to help to clean up before moving to game time.

2 – 2.10pm: Game Time (if there is time)

Game: The 10 Commandment Hopping Mat

Contingency Game: Run-&-Freeze

A great exercise for movement and body part identification in this version of FREEZE. Say, “RUN” and ask the children run freely until you say, “FREEZE”. After they are frozen, call out only one body part for them to unfreeze and move. For example, say, “Wave your right hand.” or “Kick your left leg.” The children will of course move other parts while doing the activities called out, but for the most part the rest of his body will be still. Start the fun over each time by saying “RUN” and then “FREEZE”.

2.10 – 2.20pm: Clean up Time

·         Clean up together and sing the song “Time to Clean Up”

2.15pm: Parents pick up kids

Resources & References:

- http://www.christianpreschoolprintables.com/files/BibleABC/bibleb.pdf

- http://www.biblestoryprintables.com/files/Daniel/BSPMinibookDanielLions.pdf

- http://www.biblestoryprintables.com/files/StoryFigures/DanielLions1.pdf

- http://www.biblestoryprintables.com/files/StoryFigures/DanielLions2.pdf

- http://www.biblestoryprintables.com/files/StoryFigures/DanielLions3.pdf

- http://www.biblestoryprintables.com/files/StoryFigures/SSNoah5.pdf

- http://www.christianpreschoolprintables.com/files/BibleVerseCards/Bible_Verse_Cards_Bible_color_Flash.swf

- http://utah4h.org/files/publications/publication/pub__1984425.pdf
- http://www.biblestoryprintables.com/TutorialBibleFigures.html
- http://www.biblestoryprintables.com/TutorialBibleminibooks.html
- http://lapbooklessons.ning.com/

J Summary (3Y2M) - Loves Strawberries

When we went strawberries picking when J was 1 year old, he gobbled up strawberries happily. From 2-3 years old, he went an about turn and gave me quite a hard time with fruits and vegetables. He just didn't like strawberries. We planted strawberries last year, but he didn't finish tasting one full strawberry. Now at 3 years old, he has found liking for strawberries again and are eating them happily. He is also happy eating raw carrots. It shows that as parents, we perhaps should not worry about the children not eating fruits and vegetables, if we have introduced them to him, when he is a baby. We just need to patient and one day, the prodigal son would return home to find the goodness of fruit and vegetables again.

He also likes banana, honey melons and can tolerate peas, broccoli and raw baby spinach. But I found a way around by hiding them in his super porridge every morning.

However, I still could not get him to eat tomatoes. For some reason, I just didn't introduce tomatoes to him, when he was a baby. And until today, he hasn't developed a taste for it. He still does not like avocado.

The 10 Commandments Hopping Mat

Objective: To provide a fun and active way for young children to learn the 10 commandments

Materials:
1. 1 dice
2. 1-10 homemade disposable number mats
3. Masking tape
4. 1-10 commandment flags. The following are child friendly version:

1. Love God
2. Don't worship other gods
3. Respect God's name
4. Rest on Sunday
5. Love your mommy and daddy
6. Don't hurt anyone
7. Keep your ways pure
8. Don't snatch someone's toys
9. Always tell the turth
10. Don't wish for your friend's toys

Directions:
1. The children take turns to roll the dice and jump the number of space indicated by the dice.

2. When the child stops, he picks up the respective 10 commandment flag, and the teacher reads it out.

3. The child rolls the dice again and repeat until he hops to the no. 10th commandment.

4. The next child's turn to roll the dice and hope.

Additional Information:
I made this game and hope to try it out at the next Nursery lesson.

J Summary (3Y1M29D) - Visit to Odense to See Thomas-the-Train

J is now three years old, and could understand what Thomas-the-Train is. Today, we travelled 170km or approx. 2 hours to Jernbane Museet (http://www.jernbanemuseet.dk/) in Odense to see the Thomas-The-Train, because we know that J would love it.

My friend and her husband, did the same, bringing their children there. We brought along our friend and her daughter with us. Her dad wasn't there, and I could see that he was clearly missed. He reminded me of my dad. I remembered how as a child I also missed my dad, when I saw other children having their dad around on excursions.

Another friend, whose wife could be in labour anytime soon, travelled this distance also to bring his son there, because his son loves Thomas-the-Train.

Over there, we met another friend, who also travelled the same distance to bring her children there.

I marvelled at how we parents would inconvenience ourselves to travel such long distance and spend  so much time on the journey, in order to bring our children to a fun place, because we know they would enjoy it. Such is the love parents have for their own children.

I remember my own dad and wished that he would have had the chance to do the same with us. He could not afford it, nor did he have the time. Apart from Chinese New Year, I had little recollection of him bringing us out for excursions. This was why Chinese New Year was so special and precious to me as a child, because that would be the only time in a year we got to go out as a family with my dad along. How I cherish those memories.

It also makes me more determined to spend time with J. I am glad that Daddy has the same wishes.

I also realize that it is a privilege that Daddy and I could go on regular excusions with J. It does come with a price - the sacrifice of career indirectly. The time you spend on your family also means the time you could not spend elsewhere, which means the time you could not spend on professional development, that would benefit your work and career and get ahead of competition. Today is a Danish holiday, but not for my workplace. The kindergarten is closed today. I took leave from work today instead, so that I can be off with the family. I could have hired a baby-sitter and go to work. I chose not to hire a baby-sitter, but took leave instead. It is a luxury that not many could afford. It is a choice that one makes. I am reminded that until the present day Daddy and I have been very blessed to be able to make such a choice and have the peace of mind to stick with it. We cannot guarantee what the future hold, whether we can still make such a choice, but as long as we can, we are grateful and we are grateful to God for today.

Montessori Activity: How Plants Drink Water

Age: From 3 years old

Objective(s): To give your preschooler a taste of Science

Materials:
1. 4 stalks of Anemone or other white flowers
2. 4 food colouring
3. 4 transparent glasses or vases half-filled with water

Directions:
1. Ask your child to add a few drops of food colouring to the water in the glass and stir it with a chopstick or teaspoon.

2. Ask your child to put in a stalk of flower.

3. Leave the flowers for a few hours or overnight.

4. Ask your child what he thinks may have happened during the night. To help him understand the concept, you can compare it to him drinking from a straw. Tell your child that the stem of the flower is like the straw.

Additional Information:
It is spring time in Denmark. The forests are carpeted with small white flowers all over. It is really an amazing sight... the beauty, peacefulness and simple joy that they bring when you stand in awe of their presence is a very special feeling. For a moment, it makes you forget all the problems, and simply imbibing in the sight, admiring the beauty of God's creation. What a gift it is to be able to experience this in person. It makes me count my blessings.

These small white flowers are called Anemone. They only come out at the very first sign of spring, before the trees sprout their leaves. And they last for about 2 weeks, usually between mid to end April. So we have to hurry in order to catch them in their bloom. When the tree leaves come out, they will crowd out and block the sunlight from reaching the Anemone, and these small white flowers will wither away as quickly as they came.

We have been wanting to go and see the Anemone in bloom, but we have been very busy with other activities. There is only last bit left, but finally we went to Geels Skov, a very enchanting forest near Holte this evening with Joshua. We could afford to let Joshua go to bed a little later, because tomorrow is a Danish holiday - Big Prayer Day -  and the kindergartens are closed. I have thus taken the day off from work.

We plucked some of the Anemone, before they wither away and brought it home for a little Montessori activity for Joshua. It was actually Florian's idea. Then I went to my Montessori book for inspiration on lesson plan. We put each of these small white flowers into four different colour water. Show it to Joshua and asked him to guess what would happen to the flowers, when he wakes up in the morning? He could not guess it. We told him that the petals will change colour. Joshua was very excited and requested to put these flowers near him, so that he could see them, when he wakes up tomorrow morning.

As with all experiments, you sometimes succeed and you sometimes don't. Fortunately we did this with a few flowers, and only the blue one succeeded. The other flowers were too tired to drink in the water. But at least we have one successful experiment. Next time, we have to go earlier in the season.

References:
- Teach Me to Do It Myself by Maja Pitamic

Geels Skov

Geels Forest is rich in oltidsagre, and a few places you can with the naked eye glimpse of the old high-backed fields. The woods consist of approx. 2/3 deciduous and 1/3 pine forest, operated with timber production and recreation in mind. Deciduous forest rejuvenated, except oak, solely by natural regeneration while coniferous forests rejuvenated by planting, usually after the harvest of old pine forest. The pine trees that are planted today are predominantly Douglas and larch.What can you see? The forest is pretty hilly. The soil consists of sand and clay that quickly alternates between the sites. The squirrels and the birds mostly live in trees, are commonly found.

The middle of Geels Forest Holtekollen stands out very clearly with its height and it was there we saw the anemone.

How to get there?

From Holte train station, you can get directly into Geels Forest, and from there take a pleasant stroll through the woods and finish at Virum train station.

Parking:

Cars can be parked in parking spaces at Vangebovej at Kings Road at the top of the Geels Tray or by Holte Station Avenue.

Mountain Bike Trail:

A new mountain bike trail in Geel Forest was opened in 2009 by the Danish Forest and Nature Agency. Here you can find the track:

http://www.singletrack.dk/component/content/article/68-sjaelland/261-mtb-geel-skov-lyngby

Public bonfires:

Fireplaces may be used freely. Bring your own charcoal or sank burn the forest floor. Turn off the fire when you leave the fire.

References:
http://www.naturstyrelsen.dk/Naturoplevelser/Beskrivelser/Hovedstaden/Geels_skov/

A Pair of Prayerful Hands for Children

Rochelle taught me this today, which I would like to share with everyone.

Age: From 2.5 - 5 years old

Objectives:
1. To teach the concept of praying to God in a fun way.
2. To teach counting.
3. To train fine motor skills with cutting with scissors.
4. To provide opportunity to practise writing skills in a fun way for the older children.

Materials:
1. 1 piece of construction paper
2. 1 scissors
3. 1 pencil

Directions:
1. Tell the child that as usually when we pray, we fold our hands. Thus, today we are going to make a pair of hands.

2. Fold the paper into half.

3. Trace the hand of the child very closely to the edge of the folded side of the paper so that you only get to cut it on 3 sides, with the left hand side as the folded side untouched.

4. For older children, let them cut out the hand themselves. For younger children, help them to cut the hand.

5. Open it up like a book. Take this opportunity to revise Maths with the children, and invite them to count the fingers. For younger children, count the 10 fingers with them.

6. Tell the child we are going to list down 5 - 10 people whom we could pray for this coming week.

7. Ask the child who he would like to pray for and invite your child to write it down for each finger. For younger children, write down for them the names of the peope he would like to pray for. For older children, it is a chance for them to practise writing :-)

Additional Information:
This is a fantastic idea from Rochelle that I learned and I would like to record it down. The pair of hands above is traced from Joshua's left hand. I asked Joshua who he would like to pray for and we talked about the following people:

1. Amy
2. Anna
3. Jeffrey
4. Jesus
5. Chen Ying
6. Daddy
7. Mommy
8. Farfar
9. Farmor
10. Ye Ye in Singapore
11. Nai Nai in Singapore
12. himself

Joshua was so thrilled to show it to my Superstar, when we reached home, that he did not take off his shoes, but rushed straight in to Daddy.

We were going to my Superstar's parents' place for dinner, and before we leave, Joshua said WAIT, and ran to pick this to bring along and show to Farfar and Farmor.

We don't have enough fingers to write all the names down. This evening, I hope to take this pair of hands out and use it to pray with Joshua.

Thank you to Rochelle for such a fantastic idea :-)

Heritage Education: Teaching Chinese Character in a Fun Way

Age: From 2.5 years old

Objectives:
1. To teach recognition of Chinese characters in a fun way.

Materials:
1. 1 set of 8 name card size cards with picture and the Chinese characters.
2. Another set of 8 name card size cards with only the Chinese characters.

You can make your own, or if you are a working mom and do not have the time, you can buy a set here:

http://www.betterchinese.com/ProductDetail.aspx?CurriculumID=1&ProductID=4

It contains simplified Chinese characters used in China and Singapore, pinyin and English translation for billingual children.

Here is another good option from Amazon with very nice pictures, the Chinese pin yin and English translation:

How to Play?
1. Display all the picture cards face up on the table.
2. Put the word cards in a pile face down.
3. Ask the child to pick the first word card, turn it around and read the Chinese character to him.
4. Ask the child to match the Chinese character to the picture. He gets to keep the pair.

Additional Information:
As a working mom, I know my time will be very hectic and limited, once Joshua comes along. Thus, I have planned 4 years ahead. I bought and read most of the books as well as the teaching materials when I was expecting Joshua. The risk of such a strategy is that the things you bought may not be as new, but given my very hectic time constraints, it is a risk and down-side that I gladly accept. Joshua discovered it last week and asked to play with it. Finally I found the time this week!

I have classified it as from 2.5 years old, because for some children, you can already start this at 2.5 years old. My friend's son, Daniel, could already recognized 40 - 100 Chinese characters between 2.5 years old to 3 years old (Whoever said that learning Chinese is difficult! I found it hard to believe, especially from my fellow Singaporeans with that complaint. It is all in the attitude of parents.) For Joshua, it suits him better to start this at 3 years old as I devoted his second year to Montessori Practical Life. Joshua also has to juggle three languages, thus, he was not ready to start any sooner.

Joshua (3Y1M22D) tried this yesterday and he enjoyed it very much. He was not very good at it initially, but quickly understood the concept. However, he is looking more at the pattern than really reading the Chinese character. That is nevertheless a start. Amy and Joshua played it today. It went very well. Amy is a very motivated and determined girl, amazing at her age. After this trial run, we hope to introduce this game in our next Chinese playgroup.

J Summary (3Y1M21D) - My First Self-Made Gift to Mommy

This is the very first home-made work that J gave me. It is a braclet he stringed himself today at the kindergarten. It was his second week there.

Daddy and J came home with it, very excited. Daddy said, "Mommy, J har en gave til dig." Then J came and gave it to me. It was very sweet. I wanted to take a picture and record it down for memory.

It brought me to think and wonder what my own mum's feeling was, when she received gift from me as a child. She must have felt the same.

J Summary (3Y1M21D) - It Is Jesus, Him Who Was On the Cross

Daddy asked J, "What made you such a sweet and sensible boy?" J replied, "It is Jesus, Him who was on the cross." Daddy pondered. Quietly I hold this in my heart.

For a moment I thought J would answer, "It is Mommy, of course :-)." Then I could elicit praise and appreciation from Daddy and congratulate myself for having such a filial son, giving me credit for all my efforts. But J did not. For a moment, my heart sank a little with disappointment... oops, here I could see my pride reigning its ugliness.

But my heart floated straight back up again. It at least took away all the pressure from me. I am not the one who made J sweet and sensible. God did.

Of course, the glory belongs to God. J had rightly and wisely answered the question, far beyond my amazement. So simple, yet so correct, from a 3 year old, speaking straight into my heart. Yet so profound to be understood and made Daddy pondered for a moment (After note: Daddy forgotten everything by evening time and when we talked about the incident, apart from remembering that J mentioned something about Jesus this morning.... ok... the depth of human's memory! Which is why I am recording it down now furociously in my blog, to capture every bit of memory).

In case this painted a distorted picture of J as a sweet and sensible child all the time, it is not always the case. J is a human like all of us. He can be mischevious like all 3 year old, especially so now that he has started kindergarten!

On the other hand, if Daddy was to ask J, "What made you such a naughty and self-centred boy?" What would J have replied? I hope he would not say, "It is Mommy, of course :-)" But the truth is, it is me! However hard I try to be, I fall way too short as a human being, to be able to set J a good example. Wretched as I am, I am so full of faults - proud, stubborn, strong-willed, self-centred and typical Chinese, as the Singaporean saying goes, "die die also must save face". How can I as a mom exemplify my life to be full of grace? Each day I tried, each day I failed. I say or write things which I regretted afterwards. How can I be sensible, wise and gracious as a mom? I haven't reach there yet, and far from reaching there. It can be discouraging, but I have to learn from J saying, "Mom, it is Jesus. Look to the Cross, Him who was on the Cross, Mom". God hasn't given up on me yet. For He is giving me opportunities each day to try again. Hopefully the failing is lesser and lesser.

I learned a lot and have been reminded a lot from J's reply. It is like God repeating to me, "E, apart from me, you can do nothing. And on the cross, Jesus has died and paid for your sins. You have been forgiven to try again, and again and again." This indeed is the message of the Cross.

I pondered more. It made me realized the significance and importance of our Church Nursery Class. I believe J had learned a lot from it, to which I am really thankful to the teachers and helpers. It also made me realize that I need to pray more for our Nursery Class and our Sunday School, as at some point the head knowledge is transferred to heart knowledge, and that is the work of the God that none of us could do. We could not claim the credit and it also takes the pressure off the teachers. But God is definitely using us as tools. We need to pray, as it pleases God to see our desire for the heart knowledge to occur in each and every child in the Nursery and Sunday School. We need to look to the Cross to equip us for our work.

The Bible says in John 15:5

"I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Thank you J. What a privilege it is to be your mom and learn together alongside Daddy and you each day.

J Summary (3Y1M19D) - J's First Tattoo

After dinner, J was quietly colouring upstairs... very quietly. We were still having our dinner. We thought to ourselves, wow, how nice, he was happily entertaining himself.

We went upstairs... and saw that he had tried to paint his own legs with orange and pen mark!!! Didn't know to laugh or to put on an expressionless face. We didn't want to encourage him to vandalize things or vandalize himself. But we decided to take a picture of him for memory.

J is certainly getting more mischevious lately after entering kindergarten. Help with parenting please!

Montessori Activity: Recognizing Traffic Sign for Pedestrian/交通信号灯

Age: From 3 years old

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 mand and green man
2. 1 Duplo Lego man
3. 1 string or ribbon for demarcation
4. 1 street rug or carpet (optional)

How to Make?

1. Cut 2 circles made of black construction paper of approx. 14cm in diameter each.
2. Draw a green man and paste it in the middle of the circle.
3. Draw a red man and paste it in the middle of the other circle.
4. Laminate them and stick a ice-cream stick behind each sign with scotchtape.

Directions:

1. Explain to your child the concept of red man and green man.

2. Hold up the red man and ask your child whether the person should stop or cross the road.

3. Change the traffic sign and ask your child to manipulate the lego man 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:

I adapted this idea from a Chinese Montessori book I bought in Singapore from the Popular Bookshop (www.popular.com.sg).

Montessori Activity: Recognizing Traffic Sign for Drivers/交通信号灯

Age: From 3 years old

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).

Montessori Activity: Playing Hide-&-Seek with the Stop-Watch (3D)

Idea adapted from the book "Phonemic Awareness in Young Children"

Age: From 2.5 years old

Objective(s):
1. To stimulate the development of phonemic awareness in children.
2. To further train your child's ability to focus their attention on specific sounds of interest.
3. To develop the child's ability to concentrate and focus.

Materials:
1. Ticking clock, alarm clock or stop-watch
2. Blind fold (optional)

Directions:
1. Show the child the stop-watch, start it and let him be familiarize with the sound.

2. Stop the watch and tell your child that he should cover his eyes, while you are going to hide the stop-watch.

3. While your child's eyes are covered, find a hiding place for the stop-watch and start it.

4. Ask your child to open his eyes, listen very carefully and try to locate the stop-watch.

5. During the search, everyone must be as quiet as possible.

Tips:

For younger child or child who is not so sensitive to stop-watch, try hiding a musical box until the child is familiar with this game. Then re-introduce the stop-watch.

Additional Information:
It takes discipline to introduce language activities to Joshua. I haven't been that discipline and consistent with it, as I find the Maths activities more fun and interesting to implement. But I will persevere on. This is quite an easy activity to do, so I will try to do this tomorrow.

Actually, I believe this activity would be also good for children with ADHD, to train their concentration skill.

I highly recommend this book "Phonemic Awareness in Young Children" by Marilyn Jager Adams et al from Amazon. It provides a very organized approach to teaching language, which I like:

Montessori Activity: Mommy Mommy, Where are you? (3C)

Idea adapted from the book "Phonemic Awareness in Young Children"

Age: From 3 years old

Objective(s):
1. To encourage the child's willingness to listen sensitively and thoughtfully, according to the book "Phonemic Awareness in Young Children".
2. To train the child's ability to locate the source of a sound.

Materials:
1. Blindfold
2. Musical instrument such as a flute (optional)

Directions:
1.  Tell your child you are going to play a game with Mommy, and that he is to sit in the centre of the room with his eyes covered.

2. Mommy goes to any part of the room and makes an animal sound, for example, moo, bow-wow, chip, bzzz, etc.

3. Ask your child to point to the direction where the Mommy is.

4. In addition, ask your child to name the part of the room to which Mommy has gone and indicate whether Mommy is lying down on the floor or standing on a chair. The purpose is to pinpoint from where in the room the sound is coming.

5. When the child has figured out from where the sound is coming from, mommy and child change role and the game is repeated.

Tips:
You can also use sounds other than animal sounds such as sounds tied to a particular theme being studied or musical instrument such as a flute.

Additional Information:
This is another version of hide-&-seek game which is more targeted to the purpose of language training.

I highly recommend this book "Phonemic Awareness in Young Children" by Marilyn Jager Adams et al from Amazon. It provides a very organized approach to teaching language, which I like:

Fun Activities to Promote Math Skills for 3 Years Old

Just to file this down in my blog from Babycenter:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_fun-activities-to-promote-math-skills_64460.bc?scid=mbtw_post3y_1m_1w:1279&pe=MlV5WWE1aHwyMDEyMDQxMg..

Montessori Activity: Teaching Counting with 4-In-A-Row Counters

Age: From 2.5 years old

Objectives: To teach counting objects in a fun way

Materials:
1. 1 counting worksheet (Confessions of a Homeschooler has a fantastic one you can download here)
2. 1 bowl containing 4-In-A-Row Counters
3. 1 tray

Directions:
1. Demonstrate by putting one counter on the label called "One" and two counters on the label called "Two", saying, "Joshua, this is one, it gets one counter... this is two, it gets two counters. This is three, how many counters should it gets?"

2. Encourage your child to try to do the same for the remaining labels "Three" to "Five".

Additional Information:
Joshua (3Y1M18D) and Amy tried this today and completed 1-5, but got impatience with 6 - 10. Amy was more determinded and interested in it though.

You can get 4-In-A-Row game from amazon:

Montessori Activity: Teaching Pattern Recognition through 4-In-A-Row Counters

Age: From 3 years old

Activity Duration: 10-15 minutes

Objective(s):
1. To get the child ready for Maths.
2. To teach logic and number pattern recognition.
3. To train the child’s fine motor skills.

Materials:
1. 4-In-A-Line

2. 1 tray

Directions:
1. Make a row of pattern using the 4-In-A-Line counters, for example, alternating between red and green counter as one of the easiest pattern to start with for 3 years old child.

2. Encourage your child to try to make the next row repeating the pattern you have just made.

Additional Information:
Recognizing patterns is part of the pre-school kindergarten curriculum in Singapore, and I saw such a problem sum from the Singapore pre-Maths book. I got inspired to turn it into a fun and educational Montessori activity, after browsing those books.

Here is another variation to teach pattern recognition in a concrete way, rather than using a 2-dimensional Maths book and another way to play the 4-In-A-Line game. I occupied him with this small Montessori activity to buy myself some time and to get a little peace. He could repeat the pattern for 2-3 rows. Thereafter, he got lost, and then it was time for breakfast :-)

You can get 4-In-A-Row game from Amazon: