Saturday 28 January 2012

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Montessori Activity: Sifting Beans/筛豆豆



Age: From 3 years old

Activity Duration: 5 - 30 minutes

Objectives:

1. To train fine motor skills
2. To teach counting in a fun and concrete way

Materials:

1. 1 medium smart box for flour and beans
2. 1 large smart box to contain the mess
3. 1 adult sieve
4. 1 container
5. 1 ladle or spade
6. 1 cup to contain the beans
7. A handful of beans – can be red beans, mung beans, black beans, soy beans etc.
8. 500g flour

Directions:

1. In the smart box containing flour and beans, show your child how to scope it into the container.

2. Show your child to put the ladle back to the flour smart box.

3. Show your child to pour the flour from the container into the sieve.

4. Show your child how to sieve the beans (J likes to put his hand below and it looks like snow falling down on his hands. He wanted me to do the same).

5. Count the beans found after sifting one-by-one as you put them into the cup.

6. Repeat again and encourage your child to try.

Additional Information:

It is winter now and there isn't much chance to play with sensory materials such as sand. There hasn't been so much snow in Denmark either. So I decided to let J play with flour. He used not to be so thrilled with sensory stuff, but things seem to have changed. He enjoyed it a lot. I found this idea from Lori of my Montessori Moments.

Initially, I thought that it would be too difficult to control and implement the sequence above. But then J (2Y10M23D) suggested it himself by putting back the ladle into the flour container, without me telling him to. I notice that he likes a systematic approach to doing things.

I know I wrote that my new year’s resolution is to do less Montessori and to focus more on Bible and academic activities for J, but here I am today, back to Montessori. It shows that I am not very academic ha ha... and J as well.

References:


Sometimes mess provides a good opportunity to teach - Joshua helping to clean up his own mess after playing

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