J Summary (5Y0M10D) - Doing Laundry for Real for the First Time

At this age of 5, J loves to help with household chores. He (5Y0M10D) was doing the laundry for the first time. He was very excited to put the detergent into the washing machine, closing the door and turning on the button. We wonder how long the novelty will last. But for now, we are enjoying it :-)

 

 

 

Avocado Banana Milkshake

Left glass with goji berries, right glass without goji berries

Makes 2 glasses

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 avocado
2. 1/2 medium banana
3. A handful of nuts (cashew nuts, almonds and/or pecan)
4. 1 cup (250 ml) milk
5. 5 goji berries (optional)

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients together, fill up with milk to a cup and blend well.
2. Serve

Additional Information:

The banana sweetens the milkshake without having to add sugar. We tried this today for breakfast and Daddy and J love it. J likes his with goji berries. I like it without.

Montessori Activity: Knobless Cylinders

Age: From 2.5 years old

Objectives:
1. To observe and grade by height and/or size.
2. To give the child preliminary concept to mathematics.
3. To train the eye to fine differences in dimensions 
4. To recognize difference and similarities (when using more than one set) 

Materials:
1. 4 sets of knobless cylinders - red, yellow, green and blue boxes

Directions:
1. Show your child the red box or let him choose a box and have him bring it to the table.
2. Take out the cylinders and put in front of you in random order.
3. Scan the cylinders by finger and select the thickest cylinder.
4. Arrange the cylinders into a stair from the thickest to the thinnest, saying "This cylinder seems thicker."
5. Show your child how to put them back into the box.

Video Demonstration:

http://youtu.be/akCnCbade-c

http://youtu.be/WfuXh91jNfg

http://youtu.be/zyIo6SYO48c

http://youtu.be/xh0l6zv8ucs

http://youtu.be/vv9O5Gj-azo

Variations:
1. Grade 2 boxes.
- Take out the red and green box.
 - Grade the red as in Presentation 1.
 - Take out all of the green cylinders and encourage your child to arrange them from shortest to tallest  in front of the red cylinders.
- Repeat with Red and Yellow Boxes, Green and Yellow Boxes, The Red and Blue Boxes, Green and Blue Boxes and Yellow and Blue Boxes
                   
 2. Grade the red cylinders in reverse, and this time in front of the green cylinders so you are now comparing them in the other direction.

3. Superimpose one over the other but always keeping the one with the larger base on the bottom.

4. Grade 3 boxes at one time.

5. Grade 4 boxes at one time.
                     
Language:
No language is required, but you can say, "This  cylinder looks taller, this cylinder is wider."
Set 1 and 2:
Large - Small  Large - Larger - Largest  Small - Smaller - Smallest 
Set 3:
Thick - Thin  Thick - Thicker - Thickest  Thin - Thin - Thinnest 
Set 4:
Tall - Short Deep - Shallow  Tall - Taller - Tallest  Deep - Deeper - Deepest  Short - Shorter - Shortest  Shallow - Shallower - Shallowest

Control of Error
Visual - it is up to the child to learn from their own observations and make the correction on their own.

Additional Information:
The knobless cylinders have been sitting on our display shelf for months. I have not had the time to review the lesson plan. This evening, J (5Y0M9D) asked to play with the knobless cylinders today. He started with building models with it - rocket, vending machine, fortress for a good 20 minutes. While he was doing it, I was reviewing the lesson plan. Then we watched a youtube demonstration together. I asked him if he would like to grade them according to height and size and he said he would. So he started working on the knobless cylinders building them into towers.

References:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Muq048nnMYE
- http://www.infomontessori.com/sensorial/visual-sense-knobless-cylinders.htm
- http://www.montessorialbum.com/montessori/index.php?title=Knobless_Cylinders
- http://montessoricommons.cc/knobless-cylinders/
- http://www.montessoriworld.org/sensfile/sknobles.html
- http://mymontessorimoments.com/2011/02/25/knobless-cylinders/
- http://www.montessorialbum.com/montessori/index.php?title=Knobless_Cylinders
- http://www.mommymoment.ca/2011/12/how-to-use-montessori-knobless-cylinders.html
- http://educationofours.blogspot.dk/2011/07/fun-with-knobless-cylinders.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_sensorial_materials

He started stacking it not in any particular order.

That was his rocket

This was his "vending machine" for soda, milk, juice and saft vand

Could not remember what this was

This I think was his fortress

The Montessori knobless cylinders are available from Amazon:

The Solar System

 

Our finished work :-)

 

 

We are learning about the solar system. Today was my day off (now that I am working part-time) and J had been asking me to do this activity, which I could not find a full lot of time. 

 

1. We start by making a mobile of the solar system:

 

We sat down and started this - making a mobile of the solar system and painting the solar system. It is a great way to learn about the solar system:

 

 

Painted from 15 March 2014

 

2. Along with it, you can start with an introduction to the solar system with a book:

 

 

3. Sing a song on solar system:

 

The Solar System Song

 

 



http://youtu.be/Wd_EIdZrvaU

 

4. Watch some videos on solar system:

 

The Solar System

 

Viedo from National Geographic:

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/science-space-kids/solar-system-101-kids/

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZH_MgzGB7E

 

The Sun

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2PtPoloR1g&list=ELbPlF5gcEX-I&index=3 

 

Mercury



 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESA52j_U9NM&list=ELbPlF5gcEX-I 

 

Venus

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5fmzYquvCQ&list=ELbPlF5gcEX-I

Earth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6TAk9vpTxc&index=7&list=ELbPlF5gcEX-I

Mars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_BgfTfbcR4&index=8&list=ELbPlF5gcEX-I

Jupiter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpxwcJ7XteU&index=9&list=ELbPlF5gcEX-I

Saturn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shb39Ip04Gg&index=10&list=ELbPlF5gcEX-I

Uranus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBmHN4S6kqY&index=11&list=ELbPlF5gcEX-I

Neptune

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q4ruemi5uU&index=12&list=ELbPlF5gcEX-I

5. You can also draw the planets and sort them into rocks and gases:

 

You can get the Solar System Mobile Kit from Amazon:

More links and resources on solar system for children:

 

- http://nurturingthetenderyears.blogspot.dk/2011/05/science-unit-our-complete-solar-system.html
- http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net/2011/02/solar-system-preschool-beyond-pack/
- http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/PreschoolPacksSolarSystem.html
- http://homeschoolcreations.com/astronautpreschoolpack.html
- http://totallytots.blogspot.dk/2011/01/now-i-know-my-abcs-is-for-astronaut.html
- http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/Solar_System_Learning_Pack.pdf
- http://homeschoolcreations.com/files/Astronaut_Preschool_Pack.pdf
 

Creating A Culture of Service in Your Family

14 March 2014 (5Y0M8D) - Memory of J's Very First Volunteering Experience

I read about creating a culture of service in your family from the book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families" and it got me thinking. We are always doing activities and having fun with J, focusing on ourselves and our family. But it can also be fun to serve others, and we should inculcate this habits early in our children.

This is a great and fun way to create a culture of service in your family. You could also designate one day a month, where your family serve at a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter, or visit a old folk home, a children's home, etc.

With children in the children's ome, for example, you can:

1. Bring a less privileged kid out to the zoo
2. Let your child buy Christmas presents for the kids
3. Visit a kid at a children's home with your child

I am compiling a list of volunteering opportunities for Denmark and Singapore below and will return to this post to update it:

Volunteering Opportunities in Denmark

Here are a list of volunteer opportunities in Denmark:

http://www.frivilligjob.jobbank.dk/job/index.asp?act=find/0&max=10&virk=&udd=&fag=&opgavetype=&geografi=3,4,5,7,8,11,14,15,16,17,33,18,19,20,21,35,22,23,24,25,26,37,38,27,43,28,29,45,30,31&hjemme=&key=&postnr=

Volunteering opportunities in Denmark for families and kids at risk:

http://www.frivilligjob.jobbank.dk/job/34463/familiekurser-med/frivillige-til-familiekurser-med

Denmark Volunteering Site

Here is a volunteer job site for Denmark:

http://frivilligjob.jobbank.dk/

Josephine Schneiders Børnehjem

http://www.j-schneider.dk/jsb/

Red Barnet

http://www.redbarnet.dk/Bliv-frivillig.aspx?ID=2242

Grace Cafe Copenhagen

http://gracekbh.dk/nodherberg/
www.blaakors.dk

Bredebo Plejehjem

http://www.bredebo.ltk.dk/composite-8547.htm

Besøgsbaby

http://www.kk.dk/besoegsbaby

Venligboerne - Denmark's Friendly Neighbours

http://www.unhcr-northerneurope.org/news-detail/venligboerne

Sandholm asylcenter

https://www.facebook.com/anna.momsen.92/posts/10153308652351968?pnref=story

Singapore

If you are from Singapore, here is a place where you can volunteer:

Chan Su Lan Methodist Children's Home

http://www.cslmch.org.sg/volunteer.html

Touch Community Services

http://www.touch.org.sg/tcsi

http://www.statravel.com.sg/volunteer.htm

http://www.concern.sg/OverseasVolunteering

http://mercyrelief.org/web/Contents/Contents.aspx?Id=79

China

http://www.chinaconcern.org/go?gclid=CJO1poO1vcYCFULbcgod8-kIxA

Rest of World

Here are the links to more volunteering opportunities around the world:

Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa

http://www.motherteresa.org/07_family/volunteering/v_cal.html

Missionaries of the Poor founded by Father Richard Ho Lung

http://www.missionariesofthepoor.org/volunteers.php

Additional Information:

I am so thankful that God brought me my best friend CY, who recommended to me this activity centre for senior people in Copenhagen where volunteers are needed, where she is volunteering every Every Thursday, the centre opens up for the Chinese senior people in Copenhagen. She was so sweet to kindly offer to bring us there.

Today is my day off from work (now that I am on part-time). It gives me a chance to take J out of the kindergarten and bring him along :-) I am not sure if I will have so much follow-through, but at least, that is a start, so prayerfully, we can slowly become a family that serve others.

Today, on the first day of J's volunteering, it was a bright, sunny and cheerful day. God made it real easy for us. I took a picture of J on his first volunteer work as a memory.

Interesting, J suggested why don't we make dumplings for the senior people, and just on our way there, my friend smsed told me that they would be making dumplings that day. What a divine coincidence!

Actually, ironically, we received more than we give. J got a special treat of a theatre play by the senior people at the activity centre. J got to participate in making dumplings and also has been a good help in rolling the dumpling pastry. We also got to eat the dumplings. J had been very easy-going and patient to his credit, but I also got to see developmentally where he has to work on in terms of interacting with people. We have been blessed a lot more than we actually give yesterday.

You can read more about the Activity Centre for Senior people here:

Aktivitetscentret Sankt Joseph

http://www.aktivitetscentret.dk/22261398

The entrance to the building. Interestingly, it was where Daddy was born as a baby. It used to be a hospital

Inside the Centre

Making dumplings with my friend, CY, who is one of the volunteers

J helped to roll the dumpling pastry

The senior people doing some workouts - Danes and non-Danes all interacting together

A close-up of J all floured :-)

Helpers/volunteers in the kitchen

The lunch room as it was slowly being filled up

J enjoying his dumplings

Some of the senior people at the centre

The puppet theatre room

J got to enjoyed a piece of puppet theatre performance...

by the sweet ladies here :-)