J Summary (7Y0M23D): Playing with Marble Run

28 March 2016 (7Y0M23D): Ever since Joshua started primary school, he hasn't had time to play with this toys. Kids are just like us adults, with a heavy schedule. 

It is a holiday today, and in between going to a birthday party, it is nice to see him taking iniative taking out his toys and playing with them. We were supposed to do Chinese, but I relented and decided not to interrupt his play.

At this age, he needs less and less assistance. He is just building it on his own.

Fun with Marble Run

 

J got this as a Christmas present from farfar and farmor. He didn't that he liked it, but after it was set up, he had a lot of fun with it yesterday and today throughout the day.

 

 

Marble runs from Amazon:

 

Homemade Marble Run

 

Inspired by Apartment Therapy

 

We just built an IKEA table and have cardboard packaging lying around. Before throwing them away, what can we do with those cardboards and the tubes from paper kitchen roll?

 

I found this creative idea from Apartment Therapy. Joshua (3Y5M20D) had a lot of fun seeing all the marbles rolling down... getting a taste of the force of gravity in a fun way.

 

Warning: For younger children, supervise closely to make sure that they don't swallow any marbles.

 

Here is a video we have taken:

 

Montessori Activity: Teaching Pattern Recognition with Marbles/模式识别

Age: From 3 years

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.
4. To revise colours in a new way.
5. To encourage counting.

Materials:
1. 1 container containing marbles of 5 different colours of 7 marbles each
2. 1 suction pad
3. 1 pair of tweezers (optional)
4. 1 tray

Cost:
1. Suction Pad: 10 DKK (2.23 SGD or 1.78 USD) from Tiger
2. Marbles: 7 DKK (1.70 SGD)

Directions:
1. Demonstrate by making a row of marbles of a certain colour, e.g. blue.

2. Start each of the rows with a new colour and ask your child to fill the row with the respective colour.

3. As your child does it, he may comment on the colour and start counting the marbles. If not, you can take the opportunity to comment on the colour and encourage him to count the marbles.

Additional Information:
Pattern recognition is one of the basic Maths concept, along with sorting ability. I have been exploring ways to sensitize Joshua to patterns, and slowly getting some success. This is one of the easiest pattern, and today (3Y16D). I got the level of difficulty and challenge right. Joshua could recognize the goal and the pattern and he went on to complete the whole pad on his own.

However, we were missing a light blue marble to complete the last slot, otherwise it would be perfect. I was thinking that we would just live with it, than buying a new bag of marbles, which I was tempted to. But Florian actually suggested that we will go and buy another bag of marbles so that we have the last light blue colour marble. So... maybe... I will just do that :-)

You can get the materials from Amazon:

Encouraging Good Behaviour in Children with Marble For A Cause Jar

Idea adapted from the book On Becoming Pre-Schoolwise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam

Age: From 5 years old

Objectives:
1. To encourage and celebrate good behaviour of children and promote harmony at home

2. To teach Fruit of the Spirt - Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, failthfulness, gentleness and self-control - in a fun way

Materials:

- 1 jar
- 1 bag of marbles enough to fill the jar

- some stickers and a ribbon to decorate the jar

- Label for the jar with words "Marble For A Good Cause"
- A Fruit of the Spirit chart to define what each of the Fruit of the Spirit is in action and to give an example of each of them (not done yet, to be done)

Directions:

1. Whenever anyone catches another family member doing something good, he gets to put a marble into the jar on behalf of the person. 

2. Explain to your child what it means to be "doing something good." According to the authors, Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam, the following actions are eligible:

- following through on a task is faithfulness.
- Not crying when a treasured candy is dropped and crushed in a carnival stampede is self-control.
- Playing nicely together for a prolonged period of time brings much-treasured peace.
- Sharing a new birthday present with another onlooker demonstrates love.Explain to your child what it means by "doing something good," e.g.:

For me, here are more examples:

- helping someone cross the road
- if you see someone falls down, helping the person up
- showing honesty, i.e. returning the change to the cashier, who gives you more change
- being kind to someone who is new in the class, outing or group
- talking with someone new, making he/she feels at home
- saying thank you sincerely and warmly to someone who does something nice for you
- showing someone consideration, even though you know that it is actually your turn
- comforting a child who is crying without being prompted
- cheering someone's day up
- showing appreciation for someone without prompting
- your child washing dishes without prompting
- cleaning up mess without prompting

3. Explain to your child too what is considered as ordinary chores and not under the category of "doing something good," e.g.:

- mommy washing dishes without being asked (our Little FECS wanted to put a marble into the jar, because I wash the dishes. If this is considered, than the jar will be full in no time!)

- Our Little FECS washing the dishes only when asked

4. When the jar is full, the family chooses something fun or special to do together, e.g.:

- going to a theme park i.e. Tivoli, Legoland,
- going to a cafe for a tea time or a special treat,
- going out for a special meal together e.g. hotpot at fattycow.dk
- going to a movie together,
- sharing a big ice-cream together,
- boat ride,
- horse-riding, 
- going for a trip in a caravan, etc.

5. To avoid over dependency on rewards, some ground rules could be established as follows:

No one gets to put a marble into the jar, because he has done something good (I broke this rule). Someone else has to notice another's goodness. It allows opportunity during dinner for family members to share the good things other family members have done. When mom and dad agree that the thing mentioned is worthy of a marble, then the child gets to put it in the jar.

6. There must not be complaining if a child's good deed goes unnoticed to teach that sometimes life would be unfair. But we should be willing to do good things, not for the praise of another man, but simply because it is the right thing to do.

7. It is good to have a journal book to jot down the good thing each marble was dropped into the jar. Otherwise, it is easy to forget by dinner time.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional Information:

I am now on a mission to encourage my ADHD nephew JN, to give him a hope and a future that truly ADHD could be controlled and to get him on a good start and on the right course. But we had challenges between the brothers, R and JN, as they were very rude to each other this morning. JN meant well, but talked to R very harshly, such as: "GO AWAY", when R kept coming to disturb us, when we were re-organizing the study room to make it more conducive for ADHD children. Then R got angry and they started to fight!!! Oh dear, that was tough for me! I taught JN that he should stood down to R's level, looked R's in the eye and say "R, we are very busy right now, and thus we cannot have you here. Would you mind going out of the room please? When we are done, we would love to have you back with us" He tried.

By this evening, positive things happened that was a great encouragement to me. JN accidentally broke the lego model truck that R built. JN said sorry immediately. And R said that it was ok. As it was during dinner, I asked R to serve the Danish salmon sandwich (which I had prepared) on a plate to JN and he did. And JN said thank you. They had managed to be kind to each other.

I had in mind to introduce the Marbles for a Cause Jar, whereby if one member in the family did something praise worthy or kind, and someone spotted it, that person could put a marble in the jar. When the jar is full, the kids all get to get a special treat. Amazingly, I managed to find a cute jar this morning while cleaning up. A short walk in the neighbourhood that JN led us to the marbles easily, and I purchased them. And I could use the above incident as an example to explain our game to them. I put 4 marbles into the jar for the good actions by R and JN. Thank God for His help and faithfulness with all the challenges here. I have succeeded today and had a productive day, which I know it could not have happened without God's faithfully watching over us.

13.2.2012 Update

Today, the children all get to put in a marble each, for completing their homework, for getting the spelling test all correct (Cherilyn) and for JN, my ADHD nephew, I thought he deserved to put in 2 marbles instead, as he did the past year English exam paper without too much nagging and actually had completed more questions than I had expected him to do so, although I did not tell him that. That, in itself, was a major achievement and a giant step progress. It gave me great encouragement for deciding to make this trip here. My heart is filled with praise and thanksgiving for yet another answered prayer on my third day here. It brought great encouragement to me. Indeed, my labour has not been in vain.


References:
On Becoming Pre-Schoolwise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam

Montessori Activity: Teaching Counting & Numeral Recognition with Cups & Counters

Idea from Teach Me to Do It Myself

Age: From 2.5 years old (Level 4)

Activity Duration: 5 - 10 minutes

Objectives:
1. To teach counting in a simple, logical and systematic way that can be grasped by toddlers.

Materials:
1. 55 marbles (or counters, buttons, coins, pebbles, stones, etc.)

2. 10 cups

3. Numeral cards from 1-10

Directions:
1. Point to 1 and ask your child to put that number of marbles into the cup above the card for 1.

2. Repeat for all the other numerals.

Note:
If you notice that your child has put in an incorrect number of marbles into a cup, do not correct him on the spot. When he has completed the activity, say, "Let's check that we have the right number of marbles in the cups." When you are counting together, allow him to discover that he has made an error in his counting.

Additional Information:
Joshua tried this on 10.10.2011 (2Y7M5D). He was more focus with scooping the marbles into the cups than putting the correct number of marbles into the cups... well...

Montessori Activity: Transferring Marbles with Tweezers/Overførsel med Pincet/使用镊子[shǐ yòng niè zi]

Age: From 2.5 years old

Activity Duration: 5-15 minutes

Objectives:

1. To train the child’s fine motor skills.
2. To teach focus and concentration skills.

Materials:

1. 2 bowls (preferably of equal size and colour)
2. Approx. 10 marbles (keep it simple, not too many)
3. 1 pair of tweezers
4. 1 Tray

Directions:

1. Demonstrate to your child by picking the marble slowly one at a time with the tweezers.

2. Encourage and let your child try it.

Special Warning:

1. Supervise closely with marbles and don’t start with a toddler who is still mouthing. Remove and store away immediately after activity.

Cost:

Marbles: 7 DKK (1.70 SGD)

Additional Information:

J tried this today 5 October 2011 (2Y7M0D) and he could do it, although with some struggles. But he got tired towards the end, and cheated by transferring the marbles with his hands.

Montessori Activity: Transferring Marbles with Tongs

Age: From 2 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 colours.
4. To teach counting.

Materials:

1. 1 water-colour pallet
2. Approx. 5 - 7 marbles (keep it simple, not too many)
3. 1 small container
4. 1 pair of tongs
5. 1 Tray

Directions:

1. Put the marbles on the pallet's slots and transfer it into a container with tongs.

2. Transfer the marbles back to the pallet one-by-one with the tongs.

3. Encourage your child to try.

Additional Information:

J (2Y5M17D) tried this activity today and he could do it well without much struggle. Then he got bored with it :-(

Montessori Activity: Transferring with Scoop/Øse Kugler/舀弹子 [yǎo dàn zǐ]

Materials

Age: Generally from 2 years old (but all children are different, and you can try out some of the activities for younger or older children).

Activity Duration: 5-15 minutes

Preparation Time: 3 minutes

Objectives:

1. To train the child’s fine motor skills
2. To teach focus and concentration skills.

Materials:

1. 2 bowls (preferably of equal size and colour)
2. Approx. 10 marbles (keep it simple, not too many)
3. 1 scoop (I use the mini wooden salt scoop here, but you can use a deep spoon)
4. 1 Tray (optional, I didn't use it here)

Directions:

1. Demonstrate it to your child by transferring the marble slowly one at a time.
2. Encourage and let your child try it.

Special Warning:

1. Supervise closely with marbles and don’t start with a toddler who is still mouthing. Remove and store away immediately after activity.

Cost:

Total Cost: 12 DKK (2.90 SGD)
Marbles: 7 DKK (1.70 SGD)
Mini Wooden Salt Scoop: 5 DKK (1.20 SGD)
Bowls: Free as you can use any bowls at home

Additional Information:

J turned 2 years old last Saturday, and after I have settled his nutrition, got into a good routine after getting back to work, got settled in the day care, got him settled in the music class, I have now surplus energy to set another goal. This year 2011 and J’s year 3, my goal is to start Montessori activities, focusing on the Montessori’s Practical Life. I am glad that after two years, Florian is getting more and more supportive of the engrossment I am devoting to child development, and he is participating more and more and in the process enjoying it :-)

I tried this activity with J (2Y0M4D) for the first time during bed time by demonstrating to him this evening. At first, he took the easy way out by pouring the whole bowl of marbles into the other bowl. Then he used his fingers to transfer the marble to the other bowl one by one… arrrgggh. Finally, he used the scoop successfully repeatedly – hurray!!! Towards the end, he got tired, and used his fingers to transfer the marbles again. Then I ended the game. It was very fun, and I was glad that J enjoyed it, as if not, he would have moved on to something else.

I read about this activity from other blogs and am so excited to try it! I bought the marbles from BR Toys for 30 DKK for a pack of 30. You can also get a pack of 10 for 6.60 DKK from Søsterne Grene, but each ball is multi colour and not distinguishable. I intend to use the marbles to teach colours, thus, I prefer the ones from BR Toys. The scoop cost approx. 5 DKK from Søstrene Grene too. I bought the teak-wooden bowls from Søstrene Grene for 20 DKK each, because I was vain and like to have the neutral colours, but you don’t have to do that. Any bowls will do.

References:
http://mymontessorimoments.wordpress.com/2010/08/25/developing-practical-life-skills/

6 November 2019 (3Y5M20D): We tried this for the first time today. She enjoyed it very much. She could do it very well, but at the same time still find it enjoyable to do. At some point, she did try to pour the whole bowl into the other bowl, like what J did. With this, today started the formal Montessori activity with C that will continue through and become a more regular part of our regular evening routine. It is thus the start of a more regular school time. The only thing is that it is hard to put her to bed early. We usually start this activity at 7 pm, and try to finish by 7.30 pm. However, school time can continue on to 8 pm, if she wishes to continue to do more. It becomes a dilemma for me - should she sleep or should she continue school time. I really try to limit to 7.30 pm, but we do often continued until 8 pm. We normally do all the Montessori activities in Mandarin. Apart from reading English books, school time has been conducted in Mandarin.