C's Lunch Box - Sweet Potato Fries

 Top layer clockwise from left: Sweet potato fries left-over from dinner, egg white, strawberries, rye bread with egg yolk spread and sprinkled with cress, potato left-over from dinner, mozzarella cheese.

Bottom layer clockwise from left: Pineapple, melon, shredded carrots with raisins and raspberries with raisins.

Montessori Activity: Ladling Pasta

Age: From 1.5 years old

Activity Duration: 5-15 minutes

Preparation Time: 3 minutes

Objective(s): 

1. To train the child’s fine motor skills.

Materials:

1. 2 buckets, one filled with dried pasta
2. 1 ladle
3. 1 tray

Directions:

1. Demonstrate to your toddler by ladling the pasta from one bucket to another.

2. Encourage and let your child try it.

Cost: 

Ladle 5 DKK (1.15 SGD) from Søstrene
Big Bucket (20 DKK) from Netto

Additional Information:

Baby FECS (1y4m22d) shown a lot of eagerness to use the spoon during meal time. She refuses to eat, if we don't give her two bowls, so she can scoop food from one bowl to another. Out of meal time, here is a structured way for her to practice her accuracy by scooping the pasta from one bowl to another.

Montessori Activity: Rice Sensory Box

Age: From 1 year old

Objective:
1. To stimulate your child's five senses

Materials:
1. 1 transparent box
2. Base materials made of 2 packets of rice
3. Some small toys that your child like
4. 1 bowl and 1 ladle (optional)

Directions:
1. Invite your baby to pick the box off the shelf to the floor, helping her along the way.
2. Invite your baby to dig into it.
3. After playing, invite your baby to bring the box back to the shelf.

Additional Information:
Baby FECS tried this forthe first time today 12 July 2017 (1Y1M26D). After a while, she made too much mess out of it, as she pour the rice onto the floor. I had to end the activity. But  it turned to a fun activity for our Little FECS to help clean up by the mess with a vacuum cleaner:-)

 12 July 2017 (1Y1M26D)

Montessori Activity: Inserting Coins

For lesson plan, please see here:

http://www.familyfecs.com/2012/01/montessori-activity-inserting-chinese.html

11 July 2017 (1Y1M25D)

Montessori Activity: Mystery Box

Inspired by My Montessori Moments

Age: From 1.5 years old

Activity Duration: 5 - 10 minutes

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Objective(s):

1. To gives your child a fun way to practise in identifying and naming objects only through the sense of touch.

Materials:

1. 1 tissue box with a hole (I use a shoe box instead and covered the hole with a felt "curtain" to conceal the objects).

2. 2 sets of different objects such as apple, orange, animal figures, geometric objects such as cube, a pyramid, a prism, etc.

Directions:

1. Show your child the objects and name them one-by-one.

2. Put them in the box and close the box.

3. Ask your child to put his hands inside the box and try to find the item you name just by feeling it. He is not allowed to look inside the box.

Here is another variation of the game - the Mystery Bag

Video Demonstration:

http://www.ehow.com/video_4940979_matching-mystery-bag-montessori-activity.html

Additional Information:

J (3Y3M3W3D) tried this game today, and he enjoyed it. He was too quick at it, and picked one wrong item, but we had a good time laugh together.

References:

- Montessori Play and Learn by Lesley Britton
- http://mymontessorimoments.com/2011/04/19/your-tissue-box-repurposed-into-a-mystery-box/
- http://www.suite101.com/content/the-montessori-mystery-bag-a182138

 

Montessori Activity: Pasta-Based "Food" Sensory Box

Age: From 1.5 year old

Activity Duration: 5 minutes

Preparation Time: 3 minutes

Materials:

1. Some letter magnets that match the beginning letter of the food
2. Some plastic fruits, vegetables and meat
3. 4 - 5 packets of dried pasta of 500g each
4. 1 Transparent tub
5. 1 spade
6. Some containers or pots, preferably same colour as each of the fruit such as red, green, yellow and orange.

Directions:

1. Mix them all together and let for your child to scoop, dig and play.

2. Sort the food according to colour into the pots.
3. Show your child how to match the letter with the fruit, e.g. w is for water-melon.

4. Ask your child what is w for? Answer: w is for watermelon. Put the watermelon and letter "w" together.

Additional Information:

I prepared this sensory tub for the nursery lesson plan this Sunday and let J play with it. J usually isn't so keen on sensory tub, but it seems that now that he is close to 3 years old, he is more interested in playing with sensory tubs. He played with it for the first time on 31.12.2012 and he played with it for one of the longest periods. This evening, he played with it again, preferring to scoop the pasta than anything else. He also sorted the fruit and vegetables according to colors.

Montessori Activity: Inserting Coins

Age: From 1.5 years old

Activity Duration: 5 minutes

Objective(s):

1. To train hand-eye coordination for toddlers
2. To inculcate the value of savings for pre-schoolers

Directions:

1. Show your child that coins belong to piggy-bank by inserting the coins into piggy bank. While doing so, tell them that piggy-bank is a tool for saving money.

2. Invite your child to try.

Additional Information:

It is a Chinese tradition to give angbaos (red packets containing money) as a gift to children. J is soon 3 years old and he is more aware of things. He was very thrilled to receive angbaos. However, he took the money out straight away and put it into his pocket, and said that he is going to go shopping to buy something with the money. I am amazed that at this age, he seems to understand the concept of spending, but I wanted him to save, not just spending money

So I decided to turn this into a "Montessori" style activity, but telling him that home of the coins he received is the piggy-bank.

This morning, J (2Y10M18D) had a great time dropping the coins into the piggybank. It is an easy task for him, considering that he is soon turning 3 years old, so I was surprised that he wanted to do it again and again. The good thing with this activity is that he stopped telling me that he wanted to spend those money, but kept dropping the money into the piggy-bank. I think it is teaching him a good habit.

Although inserting coins into piggybank is a motor-skill training more suited for 1.5 years old, they are not the cleanest objects for 1.5 year old toddlers to touch. However, since giving angbaos is a Chnese tradition, this Montessori style activity integrates very well with the angbaos tradition.

When J is older and can count, I would like to give him 5 piggy banks and teach him how to save the money for different purposes - one for spending, one for saving, one for God, one for charity and one for parents (filial piety) (see the post here).

Pretend Play: Vacuum Cleaning

Age: From 1.5 years old

Joshua watches us when we use the vacuum cleaner. He was very thrilled, when he had his own vacuum cleaner. Till this day, whenever we are vacuuming, he would take out his own vacuum cleaner and clean along wtih us.

This vacuum cleaner is actually rather useful as it comes with styrofoam balls which it can actually suck in, when you turn on the power. It trains his eye-hand coordination to be able to suck in the styrofoam balls. This toy is not a necessity, and I won't buy it new. But I saw it at the Flea market and bought it for 10 DKK (2.32 SGD or 2 USD) a the flea market. But if you wish to buy one, there is a nice looking one at Amazon:

Warning: This is not a toy for toddlers who are still mouthing.

Doodle Sketch

Age: From 1.5 year old

This is a very versatile toy that can be used for many purposes. Here are some ideas:

1. Doodling for the young toddler
2. Drawing for the toddler without creating a mess for mom
2. Learning about shapes for the pre-schooler
3. Practising hand-writing for the pre-schooler
4. Useful for car-rides by asking your child to draw what he sees out of the window. Use this instead of the videos :-)

Joshua loves this very much and return to it very often. So it is a value-for-money purchase. I consider this toy one of the best gifts.

IT is not necessary to buy the expensive fanciful ones. The simpliest one is often the best and most educational as it would not overwhlem or distract your child from his learning. Here is one I like from amazon:

Montessori Activity: Inserting Counters

Age: From 1.5 years old

Objective(s):
1. To train fine motor skills with regards to hand-eye coordination
2. To provide a fun way of teaching colours
3. To provide a fun way of counting
4. To teach sorting

Materials:
4 In a Line game

Directions:
1. Demonstrate to your child how to insert the counters one by one.
2. Encourage your child to try.

Cost:
10 DKK from Tiger

Additional Information:
My Significant Other told me that this is a game he enjoyed a lot, when he was a child. He was much older than J then.This game is good value for money. Although this game is for older kids, it grows with the child. For the young toddler, it can be used to train fine motor skills and teach sorting by colour. For the older toddler, it can be used to teach colours. For the preschooler, it can be used to teach counting. For the child, it is fun to play with another child to see who could have 4 in a line of the same colour.

J (2Y9M6D) tried it for the first time today and he played with it for 30 minutes, which is a long time. But he wasn't too keen to clean up by putting back the counters into the plastic bag. I had to be persistent. It was also too easy for him to insert in the counters. It would be more suited for toddlers 1.5 years old.

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

J sorting the counters into red and green

J having fun with Daddy

Montessori Activity: Sorting Fruits & Vegetables by Colour

Age: From 1.5 year old

Activity Duration: 5 - 15 minutes

Materials:
1. Some toys fruits and vegetables of different colours - red, orange, yellow and green.
2. 1 tong or ladle
3. 4 glass jars
4. 1 tray

Directions:
1. Demonstrate by sorting a fruit or two according to colours, naming the colour of the fruit/vegetable as you go along.

2. Encourage your child to try.

Additional Information:
Perhaps the developmental window period of sorting is over now for J since he was 1.5 year old, when he loved sorting. J had long lost interest with sorting activities. But I was busy and did not have the time to prepare other Montessori activities. To my surprise, he was very happy with this activity and repeated it within a day or two, which never happened with sorting activities now. I think it was because he loves pretend play-kitchen and food!

Montessori Activity: Inserting Pipe-Cleaners

Idea from Cherry Blossom Adventures

Age:  From 1.5 year old

Activity Duration: 5 - 10 minutes

Objective(s):

1. To train fine motor skills with regard to hand and eye coordination in a fun way.

Materials:

1. 10 pipe cleaners
2. 1 draining basket or salad spinner basket
3. 1 tray

Directions:

1. Demonstrate to your child how to insert the pipe cleaners. Talk about the colours, count the pipe cleaners, etc.

2. Encourage your child to try.

Additional Information:

I didn't have the time to plan more Montessori activities and ran out of activities this morning for J. Then I remembered this very creative idea thanks to Cherry Blossom Adventures for sharing and since I have the materials, I took it out for J (2Y7M11D). This really is an activity for younger toddlers about 1.5 year old, and is too easy for J. Nevertheless it was a saver as it was fun for him and I could occupy him for a few minutes on the potty while Daddy cut his hair.

References:

http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2011/08/08/tot-school-jungle-zoo-animals/

Updates with Baby FECS

9 July 2017 (1Y1M23D): Baby FECS tried this for the first time today. She couldn't insert the pipe-cleaners yet, but she did try. After 30 seconds, she lost interest.

Montessori Activity: Zipping & Unzipping Zippers

Age: From 1.5 year old

Activity Duration: 3 - 5 minutes

Materials:

1. 1 purse with zip
2. A small thing to put inside the purse to attract the child
3. 1 tray

Directions:

1. Show your child how to zip and unzip the purse.

2. Encourage your child to try.

Additional Information:

Last night, Daddy FECS and I were cleaning out our shelf and we wanted to throw away this old purse, but it too was screaming out "Montessori, use me! Use me!". I thought before we throw it away, I will turn it into a Montessori activity teaching zipping. I am excited to try this activity with J!

Updates on 4.9.2011 (2Y5M30D):
J tried zipping and unzipping the purse today, and he could do it well.

Montessori Activity: Styrofoam-based Fruit & Vegetable Theme Sensory Box/发泡胶触觉箱

Age: From 1.5 year old

Activity Duration: 5 minutes

Preparation Time: 3 minutes

Materials:

1. 10 letters
2. 10 plastic fruits
3. Styrofoam balls
4. Transparent tub

Directions:

1. Mix them all together and provide ladle and spade for your child to dig and play.

2. Show your child how to match the letter with the fruit, e.g. w is for water-melon.

Warning:

Not for babies who are still mouthing. Supervise closely.

Additional Information:

The package I bought from Amazon came with many styrofoam balls. Thus, I have decided to recycle them and use them as the base for September sensory tub.

Montessori Activity: Stamping

Inspired by 1plus1plus1equals1

Age: From 1.5 years old

Activity Duration: 5 - 15 minutes

Objective(s):
1. To train the child's fine motor skills.
2. To teach the concept of stamping - pressure of pressing and release
3. To teach colours

Materials:
1. 1 stamping set
2. 1 paper

Directions:
1. Demonstrate by taking the stamp, dipping it into the ink pad and stamping it on a paper.

2. Encourage your child to try.

Cost: Stamping set: 20 DKK (3.90 USD or 4.70 SGD) from Tiger

Additional Information:
I am running out of activities to do for Joshua. Thus, I am very glad to find this. Joshua (2Y5M16D) tried it this morning. He had quite some fun, though it is not his favourite.

References:
http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/2011/08/tot-school-letter-oo-part-2.html