The ABCs ,123s and more- Week #2

Here's what we did this week with Babydoll:

 

 

Besides tracing the number, i used these boards to play a game with doll. I lay these cards onto the floor and instruct her to stand on '2!' or '3!' or '1!'. It's a game to her but it's a fun way for me to know whether she's knows her numbers or not!

 

Sorting wooden blocks by color. Her favourite.

 

 

Sorting the bears from the smallest to the biggest.

 

She loves this too. It is my way of exposing her to counting. I am not expecting her to count yet, this is just to start her off and at the same time help her to recognise the numbers.

 

I made the silhouette cards using tracing paper and black cards for sonshine when he was a toddler. I still remember that it was extremely tedious to make. Tracing paper is a fragile paper so cutting out the animal shape was no easy task! Wow! The things i do for my son! Anyway, these cards were meant for the kids to match the  animals cards to its corresponding silhouettes.

 

I also made these sandpaper letters for sonshine to learn writing. Another tedious DIY project of mine! Tracing & cutting the sand paper was challenging! But i just LOVE the end product and proud that i made it. :)

 

I have taken them out for babydoll. She's tracing the letters as we say out the sounds.

 

 

 

I am pleased that babydoll has learnt her letter sounds! Well, short for 2-3 letters but she gets most of them! However, i am not proud to say she learnt all of them from the media (Leapfrog Letter Factory). Oh still, she learnt them all in a flash- i do not need to go through letter by letter, saves me lots of time!

 

 

So now, i am just going through the letter sounds over and over again. I think she knows the name of the alphabets too...i am not sure but that's not important now. I used my DIY sandpaper letters and Melissa Doug letters and have her sort them. As she sort them, we say each of the letter sounds.

 

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5 Things I love about Montessori method

I am a HUGE, HUMONGOUS, fan of Montessori- here's why:

 

1. The child is an active learner

 

In a regular school setting, the child is expected to sit passively and listen attentively to the teacher yaking away. But in the Montessori setting, the child is an active learner, working on manipulative while the directoress (teacher) is the one who's siting passively, watching & gently guiding the child. It is quite clear under which environment the child learns better. In Montessori, it provides a natural setting for a child to learn as it is more hands on & hence fun.

 

2. There is no homework.

 

Need i say more?

 

3. No lengthy explanations needed.

 

In a regular school, the teacher would give lengthy explanations on concepts filled with charts, pictures, words etc. But in Montessori, you don't need to tell the children how to do it, you just need to show them.  The trust is in the child to pick up the concept as she works on the activity. For instance, the pink tower. The teacher does not need to tell or explain to the child which block is big, which is small. As the child builds the tower, she will eventually pick up the concept of big, bigger, small, smaller etc.

 

4. The child is never tested. 

 

A mother shared with me that she believes there is no need to test a child. As long as we are able to prick their interest in learning, they will naturally learn and pick up concepts. I have to admit, i LOVE to test my son- because i want to know how much he really knows. I think this is the typical Singaporean syndrome. We want to see worksheets/test papers because we just NEED to know how well our children is doing. But this mother is so right. There is really no need to test a child; why test the child to force her to learn (& killing her interest in learning) when we should be nuturing her love for learning so that she will be self motivated to learn?

 

Therein lies the beauty of Montessori. The lesson is the 'test', the 'test' is the lesson. By observing the child work on the activities, the teacher/parent would instantly receive feedback on how much the child knows. Just by observing- there is no need for tests to prove it.  What's more, Montessori work is designed to look like play. The child does not necessary know she is learning. It is a perfect balance between work and play- that's why learning is fun for Montessori kids.

 

5. Each child learns at her own pace.

 

In a regular classroom, the teacher teaches one chapter for all without a care if child A doesn't know how to read yet, child B doesn't know his numbers but child C already knows how to read and recognise numbers. The slower child is expected to keep up- inevitably making her feel inadequate, the faster child is expected to 'slow down'- making her feel stifled. A child should never learn under such circumstances. Learning should be easy and fun.

 

In Montessori, each child is taught at her level. Each child has the freedom to choose her work in the classroom according to her interest. Child A may be working on phonics, child B may be working on numbers and child C working on reading etc. No child is made feeling like she is any lesser or better than the other. Learning is free from stress and unnecessary pressures.

 

It is quite obvious to me which learning environment will the child excel in. It is sad that our local school education is going the opposite way clearly making learning so stressful and competitive. It is a sure way to kill any interest and love for learning. I wish for more Montessori system injected into our local schools.

I feel terribly heavy hearted that my son will be stepping into this system very soon. But my husband and i are agreeable that the moment we see sonshine cracking- we will be ready to pull him out of the school either to homeschool him or off we go to another country (for this, i am grateful that this option comes easy for us). Till then, fingers cross!

 

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Board games- Blokus

Photo credit: Google

 

Do you play board games?

I remember my childhood filled with board games! I always receive them for Christmas presents from my Uncles and Aunties. I was given Monopoly, UNO, Snakes & Ladders, Ludo, Scrabbles etc. I was very blessed indeed! For this reason, i am thankful i have another sibling who was always as eager as me to play!

As sonshine grew older, we introduced board and card games to him. He loves them all! We started with the simple UNO, then Snakes & Ladders, Monopoly and now Blokus. This is a fairly new board game to me, as in i don't think it ever existed during my childhood.

How to play?

Each piece comes in a tetris like shape. Some are shaped like a square (made up of 4 units), some 'L' (made up of 3/4 or 5 units) etc. Each player picks a color and connect their own color piece on the main board corner to corner. Each piece can only be joint at its corners but not anywhere else (side by side, top-bottom etc). The player who has the least number of pieces left is the winner.

This is a strategy game and requires some thinking. You not only need to find a space to joint your pieces at the corners but also strategically placed them such that you block your opponent. The idea here is to take up as much as space on the board as possible.

Sonshine loves this games to pieces (pun intended)! He plays this with daddy every night and takes each game very seriously. He gets very upset if he doesn't trash his fiercest competitor- his father.

Sonshine's best score was 3- which was really quite amazing for a 5 year old. I can't even beat him (my average score is 15-20, i know i am very bad). Only daddy can play with him head on (though daddy is already whining that it is very difficult to win sonshine these days). It is very interesting to watch him play, because he appears to place each piece down randomly & without a thought. But in reality, he has already mapped out his strategy as you make your move. Quite a scary opponent he is, if you ask me.

So, if you are looking for a strategy game but not too taxing on the brain, then Blokus is a must try! I recommend it to kids from 5 years and above.
 

Montessori- Sandpaper Numbers

 

"To introduce the symbols.." David Gettaman

 

You need:

 

Ten boards; on each board is the symbol of numeric 0-9 cut out from smooth sandpaper

 

Presentation:

 

Show the child to feel the numbers with fingers of the dominant hand. Trace the numbers the way you would write the numbers.

 

As you trace the number, name it and have the child repeat after you.

 

DIY

 

You can easily DIY this material but it is rather time consuming. You need to get sturdy card boards and sandpaper. Trace the numbers on the sandpaper, cut them out and paste it over the cardboard. (Sandpaper isn't very easy to cut though).

 

I didn't do this with Sonshine because by the time i own this set, he already knew his numbers. Still, i think it is a great way to introduce numbers and it lays the foundation on writing numbers. As the child traces the numbers, she not only learns the name of the symbols but also unknowingly learns to write each number.

 

I have began this with Babydoll. She can now recognise 2, 8 and sometimes 6 & 3, though not through Sandpaper numbers! LOL!  She learnt her numbers typically through everyday learning and seeing them in books and in the environment. Still, i use Sandpaper Numbers to reinforce what she knows and to introduce new numbers to her.

 

 

Week # 1 (Term 2)

Last week was school holidays and like any typical Singaporean family, we packed our bags and scoot off! So we didn't do any learning for the entire week obviously. We came back only on Sunday which also meant i was too exhausted to plan anything.

So Sonshine is let off for this week as well.

 

For Babydoll, i still have some materials (prepared earlier) that i could whip out anytime.

 

 

 

Classified pictures. Inspired by Monkey toes Montessori

Aim of these cards is to help the child get a sense of her environment.

 

Babydoll of course knows most of the household names, but i made them anyway just for fun. I also added a few other items that she doesn't know like 'water dispenser', 'ladder' etc.

 

I made it into a game where i would hold up a card and ask her 'where is the sofa?' And she would run to the sofa and point. She loves this hunting game and always play it with a huge grin on her face.

 

 

 

I photocopied some picture cards, laminated them and cut each picture into half.

 

It is a matching game where doll had to match the other half.

 

 

And this was something i made in a spur. Babydoll had to match the correct number of counters on each card. As she places them, i count along and with great enthusiasm I call out the number.

My Pride, my worry

My trial and tribulation belongs to.. none other than my son. Yes, sonshine, my pride and also my source of worry.

 

Let's backdate this to when he was 2.5 years, then he was barely saying a word.

 

I worried.

 

When he finally spoke, his pronunciation was off- no one but us could understand what he was saying. He was already 3-4 years old then.

 

I worried.

 

When he finally got most of his pronunciation right, we soon discovered he was an introvert child at school. Too introvert. He didn't (still doesn't i think) interact with his classmates although he parallel plays with them.

 

I worried.

 

Today, he speaks in sentences but his sentence structures come out in mess. Sometimes it comes out with a totally different meaning he had originally intended, grammatically wrong. Don't get it wrong, he can manage simple sentences like 'i like school because..., i don't like this toy, i like lego better..., please help me, i can't do it..' Generally, he can speak clearly and coherently.

But the moment when he needs to elaborate a thought (think telling a story), he gets all wired up and the sentences all come out wrong.

 

I worry. I am still worrying.

 

I have sent him to see therapist and professionals. Funnily, he performed very well during the examinations. So well that the therapists almost scorn at me for over-worrying and none wanted to 'waste time' with any follow up therapy with him.

 

But i still worry everytime he struggles to speak in proper sentences. Especially when he is turning the dreaded 7  years old next year. How is he going to tackle composition? Let's not even talk about Mandarin!

 

Perhaps my expectations of him is too high? Well, i think not. Especially when i listen to 4 years old rattling effortlessly.

 

Yet, when i think back at how he once struggled to say a word proper to where he is now-speaking in full sentences, i know i should be thankful and rejoice. It is also through looking back at his vast improvements year after year that assures me that he will only get better. So at one point, he preferred to be alone. Today, he is playing & interacting with peers and even with friends whom he only met the first time. Although he is still very selective with his friends, it is a wonderful sign that he is beginning to come out of his shell. To heck that he isn't speaking as well as his peers, to heck with compositions (i'll just prepare myself for lots of parental signatures)! The important thing here is, he has improved and will only keep improving.

 

This is where i will hand my worry over to my Lord. I just know my Lord will turn sonshine's weakness into a strength one day. I just know that Jesus will use my son's weakness to confound the wise. I can't wait for that day!

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Favourite local reads

I love to read blogs written by local moms.

I love to see what's up with them and how they mother their kids.

It is the kaypoh (busybody) syndrome in me.

Like many, i have a few blogs that i check in frequently.

 

I love them because they are unconventional, funky, creative and just different from the typical rat-racing moms. Some of them very often provoke me to re-think my parenting ways. I love how uncommon, untypical they are. Some of them are very intellectual. I secretly aspire to be like them but ah, i am no where near them for i lack courage & intelligence! :( For others, they simply allow me to snoop into their lives, giving me fresh perspectives as to how other moms are the same but different as me. :)

 

So anyway, here are me fav local blogs in no particular order

 

Jayne Chua

 

The Bottomsup Blog

 

Love our children now

 

Ingspirations

 

Our little Smarties

 

Of kids and education

 

Mum in the making

 

There are of course many others i pop over regularly. I find each blog give me different views, inspirations, 'knock on the head', humour at different times. So i find the very wise thing to do is to keep blog hopping and keep getting inspired by other fellow Singaporean moms.