Summing it up

BabyDoll can somewhat do simple mental sums. She is especially good with numbers within 10. She is able to figure out that 5+2 is 7, or 5+3 etc. But oddly, she cannot do 18+2 or 50+2 LOL. I think the bigger numbers intimidates her.

 

To be able to do simple addition and subtraction, the child must be very strong in her number order. She must know what comes before and after a number. With that she should be able to do simple sums like 5+1 or even 14+1.

 

Obviously, Doll isn't strong in her number order when it comes to numbers beyond 20. I felt she just needed a macro view of the number order.

 

I could use my Daiso blocks but I was too lazy to arrange 100 blocks of wood. I recalled I made this colourful 100 board for Sonshine and decided to use this instead.

 

 

 

I rummaged through my shelf and was overjoyed when I found it!

 

I simply used colored paper to make each row and divided each row.  I then used circular sticky labels and stuck on the paper. I wrote down the numbers on the labels and viola it is done!

 

 

 

 

Here's how I helped Doll 'see' and make sense of simple addition above 30. I wrote down the sums.

 

Let's take a look at 63+2

 

 

I gave her a counter, a male fairy counter that is. And told her that 63+2 means, she already has 63 sweets and I gave her 2 more. I had her place her counter on the number 63, the number she had to start with. And told her since she needed to add 2 to 63, she needs to move her fairy up 2 spaces. You will notice this is a bit like playing a board game.

 

It helped her very well. She continued to the rest of the sums I wrote for her.

 

 

by She also dabbled on more sums on her Kindy book. She did herself by using the number chart above.

 

 

Comparing readers

I have five sets of purchased readers and one set of readers that Doll brings home from school. Unfortunately for my pockets, I don't use them all. I discovered some were not suitable for teaching Doll to read while some others were right up my alley. Here is my comparison of the readers I have at home. (All of my readers are purchased from Popular bookshop)

 

 

This set of readers focuses on sight words.

 

 

 

As you can see, at the top right corner of each booklet, there is an indication of which sight words a book is emphasizing.

 

 

The other reader set I own is the 'First Little Readers'. Its target audience is for beginning readers. I suppose that means those who already have some foundation in reading.

 

 

A peep inside one of the books.

 

These two sets are very similar. Most of the words are repeated throughout the books. I bought these readers as I had thought it would be a good start to teach Doll new words.

 

Now, here is why I have stopped using these two sets for Doll. First, I felt that these readers are not suitable for beginning readers. The words used are too sophisticated (for the lack of a better word) for young readers. I was expecting more like 'This is a ball, this is a doll' type of sentences. But alas it isn't (see picture above). This means, the child must already know quite a good number of words before embarking these readers. Or otherwise, it means the teacher has to spend a lot of time drilling on one book before she can move on to the next. It can be quite tedious.

 

 

I found that the books introduce too many new words in a particular book. Although the sentences structure is more or less the same, but the new words only appear once throughout the book. For instance the above picture, the sentence structure on the two pages are the same except for the words 'dragon' and 'astronaut'. So these two words are newly introduced words but they only appear in those two pages.

 

I would not recommend it if you are teaching a very young reader to read. When I say young, I mean like he or she is just starting out. These readers are not suitable for these group of children. Constant drilling may be required and this may bore and tire the child.  I may use it for more mature readers to further increase their reading vocabulary. Or those who learns to read easily by sight, like my son.

 

 

For the same reasons, I do not like the readers Doll's school uses. I thought the introduction of new words were going at too fast a pace especially for children who is just learning to recognise words.

 

 

However, it has proven to be quite effective for Doll so far. Doll is learning to read from these readers, surprisingly. I credit it to the teachers who constantly read the same book to the kids for a term, day in day out. And even, extracting some words to teach the children and drilling in the words everyday.

 

Now that is my point, such readers require massive amount of work and time. For the teachers to do this in school is ok but for lazy parents like me, it is just too much work.

 

 

 

 

The other reader I own is Bob books. I used to scorn at these books when Sonshine was learning to read. I thought it was too simple, boring and too slow. Also because, he didn't learn to read by phonics more by sight words. But now that I have a different learner in Doll, I cannot help but think this set of reader is fantastic. In fact, it propelled her into reading.

 

I  highly recommend Bob books for children who are learning to read by phonics. These are especially suitable for those who are learning to blend CVC words. These books give very good opportunities for the child to practise blending and also give them the confidence in reading. When Doll realised she could read the entire book all by herself, it gave her massive confidence in reading. After this, Doll's reading went up by many notches.

 

 

Another set of readers I used to roll my eyeballs at is the Peter and Jane series. I had forgotten this was the same reader my teachers used in school to teach me to read. Because of Doll's learning style, I had re-discover the beauty of this series.

 

 

Why is this set of readers so popular? Unlike the first two readers I mentioned, Peter and Jane books start off with very simple words. Words that a child can easily relate to. The new words gradually appear and get repeated (like crazy) throughout the book.

 

I like that they restructure the sentences using the same words. This erases the possibility that the child is memorising. Let me explain. For the first three readers I mentioned, the sentence structure is the same throughout a book. When a child 'reads' it, like when Doll comes back and rattle off her school readers, it makes one wonder if the child is memorising the words (because it get repeated) or she can really read each and every word.

 

However, in Peter and Jane series, the structure changes but the words are the same. So it forces the child to really look at the words rather than going by the 'rhythm' (like reciting nursery rhymes).

 

I guess each readers have it strengths. My comparisons are solely based on Doll's learning ability. For her learning style (need repetition and lots of practise), she needs Bob books and Peter and Jane series are the best fit. However, the first three readers are excellent for children who read by sight and pick up reading easily, like my son. To find out which readers suit your child best, you got to know what kind of learner he or she is and then pick out the readers that is most suitable. Well, I had to do a lot of trial and error on that as one can see! But I am glad that I have finally found what works for Doll! Yay! 

 

 

Reading Mandarin with Wood

One of the things I am adamant to do is to expose Mandarin to Doll. We don't speak Mandarin and are not fluent in the language. Because we are not a mandarin speaking family, it is natural that Doll is adverse to the language.

 

Mandarin is a difficult language to learn because it cannot be decoded phonetically. The words are pictorial so, it is either you know the word or don't know the word. The other challenging thing is a word can morphed into a totally different word in its pronunciation and meaning with just a few added strokes. It does not help that the intonation of some words are very close to one another.  To learn Mandarin, the only way to go is to memorised the symbols and its sounds. (Psst, that is why I also believe we can learn to read English the same way- purely by sight. It is equally effective)

 

So anyway, before Doll started school this year, she rejected Mandarin books and had little interest in it. Thanks to the exposure she gets in school, we are fortunate that she is liking the language and sometimes attempts to speak in it, albeit gibberish.

 

And so, this opportunistic mama capitalised on her growing interest and quickly swoop in to teach her.

 

So here's what I have been doing.

 

 

Doll's school uses these mandarin readers to teach the kids. I notice most kindergarten uses these series too. I don't think the teachers expect them to really recognise the words. The thing is I disagree with their teaching style. Somehow the kids memorises the book without really recognising the words. That is like a thorn in my flesh. I cannot accept that. So whenever Doll brings these readers home, I would make sure she recognises each and every word. Since she is already familiar with the book, it is easier for her to remember the words.

 

But the good thing is, by term 3, she is beginning to consciously remember the words. Makes my job a lot easier. I just need to revise with her.

 

 

 

I also use these babies to teach her simple words and expose her to the language sentence structure. I like it because the words are repetitive and very simple. It helps that that fonts are large, somehow it makes it easy on the eyes.

 

We have completed two books and we are on our way to our third.  

 

 

I bought this cylinder of Chinese wood blocks for Sonshine actually. But I never got the chance to use it because I couldn't find the right time to use it with him. So I kept it for the longest time until now.

 

 

The set includes wooden blocks with Chinese characters on them. The purpose is to combined the characters either at the side or top or bottom to make a word.

 

Doll learnt these two words in our own reading books. I took these out to give her a visual on how different these two words are. Good thing, she is not confused and could read these words instantly.

 

 

And so my brains got itchy and I realised I could also use my Daiso wooden blocks to make my own! The silly thing is that that set does not have all the words I need. So I made my own.

 

And here's my advice.

You don't have to buy the learning aid at all. You can make your own, it is cheaper and more satisfying!

 

 

Again, these were the words she has learn in her school. Since these words look so similar, I made these blocks to help visually discriminate the words. Again, she did not seem to need it as she could read the words however how I slide the wood block.

 

Onward with our learning!

 

 

Counting to 100

Apart from reading, Doll has also been dabbling in a little bit of counting.

 

I am sort of a lazy parent. I always like to take short cuts. The thought of teaching her the numbers from 1-100 number by number tires me. So I thought of a way to get this done quickly.

 

She knows her numbers from 1-30 and I sensed that she saw the pattern ie. after every tenths you start with a 1,2,3 etc. To give example, after 20 is 21, 40 is 41 and so on. What she did not know is what comes after the ninth etc. 39, 49, 59,79.

 

 

 

 

Instead of making her count from 1 to 100, I used my favourite DIY number blocks. I laid out the blocks in sequence, but I left out the tens column. Laying out the blocks gives her the visuals to the number order.

 

I showed her where to place the tens. I also showed her the pattern. I showed her that after the 40s it is the 50s and then 60s etc. It was easy for her to grasp because she knows her order from 1-10 (I hope I am making sense here).

 

 

 

I also made my usual printables as a follow up to help her drill deeper into her . >O<

 

 

I also got her this book in haste. I am fortunate that she enjoys doing such 'work'. She automatically asks for it when the brother is doing his. Ah, the beauty of peer pressure.

 

 

But I soon realised she cannot quite do the whole book. I had wrongly thought that kindergarten 2 level is about counting and simple additions. But I was wrong. There are questions similar to number bonds. So it looks like we have to sit out on this one for awhile. 

'Wood' you read with me?

I am narrowing my learning with Doll to just reading and counting. I am slowly accepting that I have barely enough time nor energy to do anymore than that with her. Here's what I have been up to.

 

 

I absolutely love Daiso wooden blocks! This idea was birthed when I saw my good friend's post over at Playhood. I just had to make my own! I used these blocks to teach Doll phonics and reading. All I had to do was stick the labels on each block of wood and write down the letters.

 

This week we are learning the words within the 'ad' family.

 

First, I had her sound out the 'ad' word.

 

 

I took out the consonants and have her sound out the individual letters before combining it with the 'ad' blocks. We sound out the words together.

  

 

 Besides phonics, I am also teaching her to read by sight. While she is able to read simple sentences, but I want to speed it up.(I am surprise by some of the words she knows. Must have been picked up during our read aloud time together) So I purchased this series of readers from Popular book shop (even though I have tons at home already). I am using these books to work on her reading. I am pleased that she is able to read some books on her own. Now, we have to tackle the other books.

 

 

 

As usual, I always go for books with simple sentences with repetition.

 

 

I made labels for her to learn the new words. I must say she picked up the words pretty quickly. Must be her sensitive period now.

 

Come and Frog with me *croak*

I am very grateful to Doll's kindergarten teachers. They are doing a fantastic job teaching her how to read, write and study thematic topics. She's having a lot of fun learning at school too. That explains why I have been pretty laid back with the home teaching.

 

But recently I was suddenly inspired to make some frog theme activities for her.

 Bouts of inspirations like these does wonders!

 

 

Doll's teacher will go through the day of the week with her class everyday. To the point where, she can read almost all the days in words. I made this matching 'Days of the week' cards to help her reinforce her reading.

 

 

To make it interesting, I threw in the 'lily pads' into our sensory box. Doll makes the frog jump according to the day of the week from Monday to Tuesday to Wednesday etc.

 

 

I bought this Safari Toob a long time back. So I took it out and have Doll find the matching poison dart frogs to the card.

 

 

I printed these free Frog Nomenclature cards from here. First I have her match the picture cards.

 

Later, she matches the word cards to the pictures. She can't recognise the words on the cards so she's expected to compare the spelling of each card and determine if they are the same. I would also read aloud each word card as she picks.

 

Learning parts of a frog. 

 

I managed to borrow two very interesting reads on frogs from the library.

 

As we flip through the pages, we try to spot some familiar looking frogs :).

 

 

Doll was taught writing alphabets and numbers in school. She's learning them very well and can write most letters and numbers independently. Still, I created these cards for her to practise her writing and hopefully, remember the spelling of the words :D.

 

 

Learning a simplified frog cycle. Matching the correct figurine to the right cards.

 

 

Since our last math learning, she now understands that 10+3= 13. I whipped this up just for her to practise and reinforce what she learnt. This time no visual aids, all done mentally and from recalling what she learnt the last time. 

 

 

If you need more ideas, there are lots more ideas on this theme over at Living Montessori Now here. Lots of free printable too!

 

Have a croaking good time!

 

 

 

Bitten by the math bug!

 

We have been hit by the math bug! Here are a series of math activities I have been working on with Doll.

 

 

The hundred board was getting dusty! I took it as a call to bring it out and have Doll work her numbers from 1-40 (just to refresh her memory).

 

Just like when Sonshine was a toddler, I accidentally found out Doll could do simple addition and subtraction. One day, she told me that after she drank one bottle of Yakult, there would be xx remain. Curious, I asked her if she had say, 8 bottles of Yakult and mummy drinks 1, how many would there be left? She yelped out '7'! I threw her more questions like these that require her to either add or substract by ones and twos. I soon realised she is getting the concept.

 

Wanting to seize this sensitive period of hers, I hastily drew up the above activity. She had to draw two cards and add them up with the help of animal counters.

 

 

Also, I thought it was high time that she tried her hands on the teen board. It is not my intention to teach her place value at this point, but I wanted her to see the pattern. What better way than to use Montessori materials!

 

I showed her that each of the yellow string of beads has ten beads. And if we add say one bead, the total becomes 11 and on and on. By the time I hit 13, she wanted to do it herself and I let her.

 

Much to my surprise, she grasp the concept almost instantly. Later even without the teen board, she could tell me that 10 + 6 = 16 or 10 + 9 = 19. She even figured out that 10 + 10 = 20!

 

I love montessori!

 

Over lunch, I would try to do a quick activity or two. Some time this week, I took out the number counters and we fiddled with it. I showed her that the number '2' has a partner (see the round counters) whereas '3' has no partners. She got curious and took out the other times in search of which numbers have partners or which do not have. We sorted out which numbers have partner and which do not.

 

If you have not figured out by now, I am taking a step forward to teach her about odd and even numbers. I still think she is not ready so I introduced to her the terms 'partners' first. Hopefully, it will help her understand the terms odd and even better later.

 

I got these huge dice and played with her over lunch. Sometimes we would count and add the numbers. The other day, we each took a dice and we rolled to see who gets the bigger number. I introduced the terms 'more' and 'less' while playing. I simply asked 'who has more?' or 'who has less?'.

 

Ah, I feel so at ease with math. I just love math home learning with my kids!

 

Post Term 1

 

I mentioned earlier that Doll returned home with two books from school. One book in Mandarin and the other in English. She rattled off when I asked her to read but I knew she was reading it off her head i.e she didn't truly recognise the words.

 

True to myself, I refused to let this go and decided to strike while the iron is hot. Since she has the words in her head, I thought what best time than now to teach her to read these words. And so, we embarked into our reading journey!

 

 

 

This was the Mandarin book. The photo is a little blurry- whoops.

 

A peek inside the book. I was alittle surprise that the school used this book; I thought it was a little too wordy and challenging for a nursery student.

 

(Some readers may ask me where to purchase this book. I have not seen it in any retail shop. I reckon that the publisher only sells these books to school specifically not to individuals.)

 

Like most Chinese readers, the book came with word cards and to my pleasant surprise, picture cards too! I LOVE IT!

 

However, I quickly found fault with the given cards. The characters are not separated into individual cards. For instance, "糖果" is printed on one card. If we use this, the child may read the words as one- she may not recognise the individual words i.e. "糖" or/and "果" if we split the characters up.

 

And that explains why I made my own cards with each character printed onto a card. :I Just as I suspected, Doll didn't know how to read when I split the characters up.

 

And the beauty of splitting the characters is that I can shuffle the cards and have Doll searched the lot and build a sentence, one character at a time. As you can see, I am a stickler for reading every single word. I refuse to acknowledge that she can read until she can clearly read each and every word with or without the accompanying characters.

 

I have to say, I would never have thought to introduce these words at nursery level. I think my primary two boy cannot even read words like "辣椒". But oh well, I am grateful that the school did in a way.

 

Here's the English reader she brought back. I had to cut away the top part of the book as her name is on it.

 

A very apt book, repeated words and simple.

 

Like the Chinese cards, I made my own word cards. It didn't come with any learning cards. Again, I split the words. The words that appear on the book are 'painting, playing' etc. I want her to recognise the root words i.e  'paint, play'.  

 

Lastly, because of the book she recognises the word 'at'. I seized this chance to try blending phonics with her. I prepared an 'at' word card and whipped out my DIY movable alphabet.

 

I placed the consonants that make up words with 'at'. I showed her that if 'C' is in front of 'at', it sounds out as  'K' + 'at" which makes 'cat' and so on. She did wonderfully well to my surprise (because I am not a believer of phonics, truth be told). All of a sudden, she could read 'mat', 'sat', 'rat' etc. Also, she can now spell the words without any visual aids.

 

And so, I am somewhat a bought over by phonics. I am quite impressed. Hmmm.