23.10.11 - 3 letter words

Just tried out some 3 letter word matching game for S. I am not sure if I'm doing it the correct Montessori way as I did not attend any Montessori training.

I had not printed the words yet, and just trying it out first by writing the words. S managed to match the words. He knows the sounds of the vowels, but doesn't really know how to blend the letters together, so sometimes he just guesses based on the first letter. He just turned 5 last month and hasn't yet learned to read, but I am in no hurry, understanding that all children learn at their own pace. I know that he will read sooner or later.

Rice Sensory Tub

At first I thought of making a sensory table. Then I recalled that I had an unused dressing table stool with wheels at the bottom. The cushion seat could be removed. The children used to remove the seat and stand inside the stool and imagine that it was a vehicle. It fitted the red rectangular container nicely.

This link explains the benefits of a sensory table/tub.

S who's turning 4 said, "Mummy -- Cannot play with rice, rice is for eating, not playing". Hmmm, I wonder where he learnt that. He sounded really like a grandmother! I guess, it's not in the Asian culture to play with rice. 

Washing rice activity

E is a very kinesthetic child, and loves to touch and feel things with his hands. I got him to feel rice and to wash the rice. He didn't like it when the wet rice stuck to his fingers.

Washing bottles

One day, the kids got bored and wanted to help wash bottles. They got up onto a stool and started to wash their milk bottles with the bottle brush. They enjoyed playing with the soapsuds.

Cutting banana activity

I made a banana cake the other day, and here is E cutting the banana. He loves using the butter knife and cutting things such as bread, grapes, bananas, etc. He's quite skillful at cutting at 2 years 3 months. His elder brother doesn't like to use the knife to cut. I think it's because he doesn't like to dirty his hands.

Montessori inspired transferring activities

I call all these activities Montessori inspired activities as I do not have any formal training in the Montessori curriculum. All my knowledge of Montessori are gleaned from the internet. Below are some transferring beans activity that the boys did. It is to help them practice their fine motor skills and helps with concentration.

Spooning activity

Dry pouring activity

Pegging activity

I thought of this idea when I went shopping at Tesco. I bought a small circular hanger with clothes peg and got S to practice his fine motor skills by pegging his socks. This is a simple and inexpensive activity. He did very well, with full concentration.

Homemade Sandpaper Letters

I've just competed making the sandpaper letters. It took me 3 days and around 2 hours each day. I spent a lot of time researching as to the type of font and font size. I settled on Century Gothic, bold. However, it's not as difficult as I thought it would be.


Items required:
Sandpaper (fine)
Cardboard / Mounting board (also used by frame shops)
UHU glue / Art Gum (rubber cement)
Penknife
Scissors
Fonts


I printed the letters and cut the shapes out with a penknife and scissors. I then traced the letters onto the back of the sandpaper. The I cut the sandpaper letters and glued them onto a mounting board which I bought from Tesco for RM5.90. I used pink background for the consonants and blue for the vowels. I didn't ruin my scissors although I read that some people did. The end result was of comparable quality as that of sandpaper letters sold by Montessori suppliers in Malaysia.