Parents always beam with pride when their children learnt something new, especially when they did it way before they are expected to do so. I am no tiger mum and I am not in a hurry to see my kids don the mortar board. But then, I still want them to learn the necessary skills as young as they could.
A group of mummies were talking about Montessori activities and referred to a certain blog where the writer blogged about those activities she prepared and taught her kids to do. There was one particular that caught my attention, learning to count by putting the correct amount of marbles beside the number. I was keen to try it out as my girls have already known one to ten, but I doubt if they really know what the numbers mean.
AsI have a little boy who just knew how to crawl and put everything within his reach to his mouth, using marbles doesn't seem to be a good idea. Imagine if we missed out some marbles and my boy swallowed it? So, I modified the counting chart to a big one using manila card. The chart is an easy one to make. Just label it as 'Numbers' and draw the correct number of squares beside the number. The kids are supposed to place the correct number of marbles onto the squares. I don't really like the idea of confining learning within the four walls, thus, I got the idea of making them count using stones at the outdoor. We have unlimited supply of stones in our garden.
Once the charts were done, off we went to the garden. The squares couldnt accommodate large stones, thus, I made my girls sorted the smaller ones. This way, they also learn the concept of sizes in the process. The girls had so much fun doing it and even asked me to keep the chart properly so that they can 'play' again next time. But then of course, they do run here and there, admiring the fish and all, before completing the whole chart. Kids will always be kids. :)
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