Parts of a flower - Hibiscus

Nomenclature means 'assigning the name'. In this activity we will assign names to the parts of a flower. In the picture below, we have a Hibiscus. A real yellow Hibiscus flower is kept near the activity.

This is a very Montessori style of doing an activity. We do all our work on the rug. It gives us space and hands move freely.

Nomenclature of a flower is also available in Montessori for everyone for $4.99. Or, like I said earlier that I rather make the set my self and save this money to buy some other Montessori material. Cards in the above image are hand made and laminated. Making cards is fun. I would simply take a picture of a flower from the internet and print it - 8 with outline and 2 colored flower or if you are a good artist then draw it by your hand, color the different parts of a flower as shown in the image( below are the close up images ), type the names twice - Calyx, Corolla, Stamens, Pistil and Flower. Print, cut into labels. So, in all we need -
1. 5 picture/label control cards, all laminated.
2. 5 labels with the names of the parts.
3. 5 pictures of the flower parts.

We also need a paper as the base, here we have green as to refer to plants, like plants are green and living thing. You can take any other color as you like it !

Picture/label cards on a green paper laminated, under it are separate picture and label cards.

Corolla is the red petal.

Stamen that produce the pollen and Pistil that produces the seeds.

This activity is very good for Kindergartners and other children who can read well, around 4 1/2 and above. See, like I explained in what's important - age or learning ? article that it's not the age that matters it is your child and his interest in the activity, that's important. I have done this activity with a 3 year old also and he had an immense fun while doing this. What I am trying to say is that any activity can be presented to a child in various ways. It is the child you have to observe and see his capabilities and interest or excitement at that time.

In brief, to a 3/4 yr old - you will first place the control cards(picture-label card) on the top of the rug from L-R, starting with the flower card. Then, match the picture card (card with only picture) by placing it next to the first control card on the right side. If it matches nod 'yes', place the card under it. If it does not matches nod 'no', pick another picture card. So, this activity is a matching activity for a child of 3-4 years old. They sometimes are able to match the labels by recognizing the shape of the letters. It works great and they love it.

For a child of 5 and above, you will do a matching activity as shown above. In addition, a child reads the labels first then match it. Labeling is done using the 3 period lesson where the teacher makes sure if the child remembers all the parts of the flower.
For example, a teacher says, "This is a Calyx." Child says, "Calyx." Teacher names all the parts and the child repeats after her. She then ask the child, "Show me (the last name she said, here it is) Pistil." The child points at Pistil. She ask to show all the parts. Once the teacher is confident that the child knows all the names she goes to the third period and ask the child pointing at the Calyx picture, "What is this?" 

definition cards.

Later, the child uses the definition cards and defines each part of a flower.

The child can also write these definitions on his science note book !! Look he got his first science not book :)

One sentence definition cards.

Enjoy !! If you have any questions please email me. Thank you.

1 - 10 with paper clips

This activity is a beautiful variation of Paper clips activity.
I took this picture when I went to my seminar in June'2010 by NEMTEC. Lots of girls shared their beautiful activities.

Materials - Beautiful various types of paper clips, card board shaped stars with numbers 1-10 stitched on it.
Aim - Learning numbers 1-10, concentration, co-ordination, order and independence.
Procedure - A child picks any one number, recognize it, then clips the paper clips matching with the number on the star (follow the steps as in Paper clips activity) . For example - #2 star will hold 2 clips, #5 start will hold 5 clips only and so on.
Control of error - Number of clips.
Variations -
1. Put all the cards in the form of a number line on the rug, say from 1-10 in order, from L-R on the top of the rug.
2. Take only 1-5 numbers.
3. Take different paper clips.
4. Separate paper clip for each number, for example - 2 strawberries paper clip for #2, 1 lion paper clip for #1 and so on.

Have Fun !!!!

Paper clips activity

I went to observe Cambridge Montessori School in Cambridge, MA, few years back. The school is beautiful and organized. I was able to observe the classroom of a friend, and couldn't stop raving about the activities and children. Children were so well behaved and such good listeners. I was very thankful to my friend for letting me take pictures of all those activities. The activity I am sharing with you is simple and can be done at home.

Materials - some colorful paper clips and small pieces of art paper or any kind of paper. In the image papers are cut from the edges using the zic-zag scissors.

Age - 2 and above.

Procedure - A child picks one paper and a clip out of the tray. He places the paper in front of him. Using dominant hand pincer grip, he flips 2 metal handles other side, squeeze open and clip the paper in it.

Aim - The child learns to control and balance his hand movements. It encourages concentration, independence, order and co-ordination.

ENJOY !!!

Fun with Math

We all know the memory game. I used to love playing it as a child and now with children.
In this activity, I have emphasized only on numbers from 11 - 20 for 4 year old children. I made 2 sets of cards with the numbers 11-20 written on them, so each set consists of 10 cards with the numbers 11, 12, 13, 14....20 written on each, and the second set matches the first. You can make some variations by numbering the cards based on what your child may require practice with. It could be either from 1-10, or 51-60, or 21-30 and so on. The sequences can be made more challenging as deemed fit, for example : 10,20,30...100, or, just even or odd numbers. So, you have to observe your child and determine what they need to practice. I have used only 10 numbers because it is easy to make and consumes less time. Maintaining the sequence order is important as it helps children who sometimes skip numbers.
I have used yellow art paper, cut into squares of 2"x2"  - the art paper is thick enough so that the number is not visible when it is upside down. Alternatively you can write the numbers with a color pencil or a pencil and optionally laminate the cards. Markers are dark and wet and may be visible from the other side. This activity can be worked with 2 or more children. 

Step 1

 Step 1 : All the cards are mixed up well with numbers facing down. The first child chooses a card, flips it open, memorize the number. He flips open another card and sees if both numbers match.

Step 2

Step 2 : If the numbers do not match, he flips the cards back, and the second child gets his turn.

Step 3

Step 3 - And, if the numbers matches, the child gets to keep both the cards. That child DOES NOT get another turn. You have to tell the child that the idea is NOT who the winner is but who can memorize most of the numbers.
This activity is a memory game and we are encouraging a child to try to remember numbers, not gaining the most cards.
Children do understand that they are not playing to 'win' the game but helping each other to memorize numbers. Yes, they can help each other but the rule is count until 10 before they help. I love this activity because it is a good way to socialize, get along and make new friends. Children work together, learn and have fun.
Control of error : Each number has it's match.

Lets do some Science activity !

Thanks to http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/ we get some insight to all those activities that children may find very interesting and fun to do, at the same time they learn about things around them.


Stem Nomenclature cards - A good time to introduce this activity will be around Spring when the trees are just budding and children can see the parts naturally. Else whenever your child is ready - so keep observing, s/he may be getting ready !

You can buy this card set from the website http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/Parts-of-a-Stem-Nomenclature-Cards_p_193.html or you can make them by hand. I like to make these cards by myself in the form of a small book. I had also noticed that children love to own things, for example - a pen, a book, a lunch box, cards and small things like these. They love to say to others, "This is my book." or, "Look, I made this for my daddy." They have a sense of owning small objects. Specially if is made by them. So, I try to keep things in my classroom that are easy to make by children themselves. It is just me, but you can do it the way you want to.

We will make 2 books, one for control of error and second an exercise book. Take eight 5"x5" sheets of paper for each of the eight parts: stem, main stem, secondary stem, node, internode, axil, main bud and secondary bud, draw one stem on each paper, just an outline. Make a blank space under the stem, this will be used by children to label the part, staple all the eight papers together from the sides, so as to make it look like a small book. This is an exercise book for your child. For the second book, you can either photocopy or trace the stem from the first. The idea here is to make the exact same stem to avoid any confusion in the child's mind. In the second book, I color that specific part of the stem matching the label, as shown in the image, to isolate and highlight the name.The images below will help with the positions of the other parts of the stem -

image taken from www.aquascapingworld.com

This activity can be done by children of 3 yrs and above, with some variations. A 3 year old will color each part of the stem as shown in the control of error book, the teacher names the part of the stem verbally while he repeats after her. Younger children love to color and they will ask for these books a lot of times.To your surprise they do remember the names of the parts of the stem and will tell you while you will be in your garden, "I saw a node on the stem." Later, they want to know so much more about it. They will all be full of questions : when's, what's and how's. Be prepared for all those questions, for example, When will the node grow ? How long will it take ? :) Inquisitive minds !!

As for our older kids ( 5 and above ), they color the part of the stem, write the labels and remember the names. Later, I add some definition sheets for each part of the stem which children can use for matching. You can also buy definition booklets from the website - http://www.maitrilearning.com/books.html or make your own or you can tell your child verbally. For a 5 year old, this exercise helps to enhance their vocabulary, introduction to Botany, learning names of the parts of the stem and realizing that there is a life in the plants and that we should take care of them and not hurt them.

Yes, I will add the Science and Geography curriculum soon on my blog ! Thanks for your patience.

what's important - age or learning ?

Montessori Children's House (Pre-school) has children of different ages from 2 1/2 to 6 years, sometimes 7 years old if they decide to repeat 1 year. It is most of the time misunderstood as a playschool or a daycare. Not many people know that this is a Montessori pre-school or as we call it a Children's House is a place where children have challenging activities that are fun to learn. Children work and have fun. The older children help the younger children, and, younger children watch and observe the older children. School is like their fun ground where they learn, experiment, teach and explore activities. Our Montessori classroom is a place where children can learn using their hands on the activities. It's learning using trial and error methods. Each activity has a control of error that lets the child correct any mistake himself. The activities are self explanatory. Although teachers are there to present the activities to the child one on one. Yes, we give lesson to each child one on one. We also have group activities. It is fun.

While I am talking so much about activities why not talk little bit more about children and the areas they love to learn. Before I tell more about the activities, I'd love to mention this to you that once I had a 4 yr old boy in my classroom who would read more than 8 letter words, he was very curious and ambitious. He would amaze some teachers and parents with his learning and grasping capabilities. He would encourage me to introduce him to most challenging activities. Oh ! there had been so many days when he had cried badly just because he was not getting to do a multiplication problem or when I would explain to him that he need to wait for a few days to learn the next challenging activity. Yes, we do have children who either learn too soon or too late. Two opposite ends and this what makes my job more interesting.

My point here is that all the activities despite having the age appropriate norm may vary with each child. You have to observe the child to introduce an activity. You don't want to discourage or encourage a child with something too challenging for him. There is no activity that says a child of 5 years old should know this. I have seen children of 5, who would not know to read but they would have the most beautiful hand writing in the classroom. And that is OK. Those children catch up later. 

The thing we have to worry about is that if the child is able to give a logical reasoning to the objects around him, for example – why we wear warm cloths in winters and not in summer, is able to understand and associate to things around him. Those are the areas we work hard with, the rest the Montessori curriculum is so advanced it gives all that stimulus of learning. Look at  Things to Know for the Montessori curriculum !

Language learning is FUN !!!!

I was so fascinated by the Montessori curriculum of the Language area, in fact, ALL the areas. As I mentioned before that we have 6 areas in the classroom - Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language, Geography and Art. We can add History, Science and a Peace Corner depending on the size of the classroom and the teacher.

Anyways, so there would not be one day that I had not wished, to be a Montessori child. It is the best thing that the child can have. Everything starts from L-R and we write from left to right. Everything is about motion, action, logical reasoning and having fun while learning. Who wouldn't love to play with sand ?! AND, learn to write at the same time ! The activity below is something that I love to do with children ( starts around 3 yrs - depending on the child ), when it's time to introduce sounds and letters.

Sand box.

It's a box that contains some sand. The sand here is non-toxic and safe for children to work with. You can buy it from - http://safesand.stores.yahoo.net/index.html. Or, from a nearby art store, just check if it is safe for children (most of the time sand available in the stores is safe).

 

So, what I do here is, look at the child and draw his attention. The important thing here is you need to sit at the child's dominant hand side. For example- if a child writes with his left hand then sit on his left hand side and vice-verse. The reasoning behind this is that the 2 of you should look at the activity with the same perspective. Remember, the child is always watching you. So, you draw his attention, gently with your 2 fingers, trace the letter 'a' and say,"This is 'ah'(twice)." Shake the sand and perform the same step again. Offer the child to do the same. They are waiting to do this !

Let him work on this for a while and then say "Show me 'ah'(twice)." Child will trace 'a' on the sand :) Yayy !! I am usually very happy at this point. But it is still too soon, maybe ?! At this step, I kind off play with him little bit more. I would ask him to show me the letter 'a' turning the sides of the box, or I will make up a story where he would have to show me to write 'a'. The reason why I do this is that I want to make sure the child associates with the sound I am saying, recognizes it and then can trace it on the sand correctly. Most of the children take a while to recognize and associate with sounds and trace it correctly. It may take days, while with other children it may be faster. See, every child is unique and learns with his capability. And that is why you help him to repeat this activity until he is confident. It's a process and a way to bond with the child. It is fun :)

Once he surely knows and can associate with the sound 'a', and has repeated the first 2 steps again and again, then, you trace the letter on the sand, and say "What is this?" he says, "ah." Now I am happy for sure and say to him, "Look ! you have learned your first letter :)" The child is also delighted and happy with his hard work and achievement. He may want to learn more sounds. And, there you go. Follow the steps-

1. Name the letter.

2. Associate and recognition.

3. Recall.

We also, call these 3 steps - the three period lesson :)

hm, fingers !

From the beginning, I have seen children move their fingers as if they are trying to catch a star :) As they grow, the grip of their fingers gets stronger. We believe that the movement of fingers helps the brain to work faster. I have seen this on myself a lot. If I am continuously typing, my thoughts are loaded, while when I am not then my mind is so relaxed. Even when we cook, our mind is always rushing at full speed.

It's the same with children. The brain is more active and extra charged if the fingers are always wiggling. Hm, I know, you are thinking of the benefits !! Well, there are lots of benefits. But before I go there, I always wonder why people are so result oriented ! Like, lots of times people would skip the process just to see the result. Most of the time they want to know the outcome/benefits/result, nobody really give a thought to the process.

On this note, just to give you a slight hint that Montessori education is all process oriented rather than result oriented. We all observe the child's actions from the beginning, like each step he takes, follow him and guide him through that process. The development of the brain and other internal organs only become stronger when they are continuously in action or say repeatedly practicing. Oh ! let me not divert from my title. So, fingers gives the brain the motive to grow and to be more curious. Wiggly fingers help the child to develop a pincer grip. It is when you a carry an object using your fore finger and thumb.

image taken from www.dicesetter.com

A Pincer grip eventually helps the child to hold a pencil, colors, and carry other objects like a tray, a bowl, a spoon, and everything else. A child begins to develop control over his body. Gradually, learns to balance his movements.

Below are a few beginner activities that can help develop a pincer grip via squeezing.

Activity 1- Squeezing koosh balls

Koosh balls in a basket

Koosh balls are harmless, soft, rubber balls that are easy to grasp and you can clean them with water or just wipes. This is a good activity for a child between 1 year - 3 years. Children simply squeeze these balls, it is a good hand muscle exercise :) Of course, develops their grasping capability, pincer gripping, and control over the fingers. They simply have to squeeze them.

Activity 2 - Tower of cubes

The Pink tower/Tower of cubes/Stacking cubes

Children love this activity. This activity keeps children busy for hours. It is a great exercise because they get to walk to the tower to get each cube one by one, to the rug, but you can do the same thing at home, either on a carpet or in their play room or anywhere they are comfortable to work. The motive is, they should get each cube one by one and spread them randomly, choose the biggest to smallest cube, again, one by one and stack them from big to small. This activity helps to observe, compare, contrast, discriminate, gives reason, helps them decide, solve problems, make judgements, create order, that goes from biggest to smallest and appreciate sequential quantities. That's why I love Montessori education and every time I talk about it, I always feel so lucky to have it in me and that I can share it with others and pass it on to children.

I understand for some people it is very hard to send their children to a Montessori school because either they are too far to reach or there are none in their town. A good variation to the Pink Tower is the famous stacking cubes that you find in every toy store.

image taken from toys r us - http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3472513

Wonder, if you have any ideas to make something on your own. If you do, then it would be my pleasure to get some idea from you. Until then, ENJOY learning :) !

Words

In my last blog, I talked about listening and how we can help a little mind to focus and concentrate. Focusing and concentrating are the terms too subjective to explain in few words. There are various methods and activities by which we can develop these skills in a child. Wonder, if you noticed when I was talking about, how I share my day activities with the child, followed by his. It's one way how we all communicate. The key word here is communication. In other words, sharing. These are few of my favorite terms - share, care, communicate, growth, build, knowledge. Every word has such a deep meaning to it and life just goes on, we will never end explaining the meaning of such words.

To begin with, lets first talk about sharing/communicating. I'll go with sharing. We share and care ! A child is still like a gentle flower that is still budding and with time it'll blossom. Sharing helps him to give his mind some knowledge. Like the way his skull is growing, his veins are forming the wide web around the brain, along is flowing the knowledge he is getting from his environment. The child is listening, is concentrating, something is happening there, the knowledge is creating a stimulus and the reaction is soon to come. Your gentle and informative words are creating a space in his mind to know more and more. He begins to focus on your lips, the way you are talking, concentrating to absorb all the information. And, there his soft gentle words comes in the form of questions filled with curiosity. Your child may be mimicking you. That's how they learn, grow and socialize. It's the beginning of building a relationship.

I always try to keep sharing as a part of my daily schedule, either at home or work. I am sure you must be doing the same with your friends and family. I emphasize a little more with children. For me, it's very important to share with children. That's how I know them, and vice-verse, we create a connection. There should be a connection to help, guide and direct them. Even if I have to make it as an activity. In Montessori curriculum we do have a sharing stone activity which some schools do it either once a week or everyday, in the circle time.

Children love to share things, for example, they would tell about the dinner with their parents somewhere, mom will take them to the grocery store, their weekend plans, they'll go for a haircut, they'll have an ice-cream and lots more. It's a circle time and everyone loves to listen to every child patiently, either 2 1/2 years old or a 6 years old. Everyone is focusing and concentrating. It's a great activity. Try doing this at home. Keep sometime aside where you and your child is just simply sharing. Remember, at this time we are not guiding or helping. Yes, if we need to set some values during the conversation, it has to be shared and expressed and not expected from a child who may be still wondering what you really mean by the word 'should ' !

We also have a Show and Tell day once a week, also, a part of a Montessori Language curriculum. On this day, children are allowed to share something from the home. One day, one student shared his newborn little sister with us in the classroom. Goodness, what a beautiful sight that was :) Oh ! one student got her 2 cute little puppies (Beagles) to show to her friends ! They get anything and everything to share with friends. Aren't children the most beautiful :) They are !

Tiny hands. Really ?!

There are lots of good things about Montessori curriculum. One of it is the 'house keeping shelf' in the Practical Life area. That is a pure life saver. It is simple, attractive and you get everything at one place. Infact, I was so convinced that I wanted to have one at my home. I always suggest people to have this, if not the exact one but at least partially. The other day I was walking in IKEA and saw smaller version of the house keeping area. I love that too. It is small and convenient. People with bigger homes and apartments can nicely afford the one I have it in the picture.

Aha !! What a delight ! From Top - bottom, L-R : there is a broom, dust pan - brush, dusting puff, small wooden dust pan-brush for cleaning dry spills on the table, plastic dustpan and brush, wiping towels, Q-tips, cottons, small hand made wipe (love them !), big towels and a bucket. You must be thinking why we need a bucket. Bucket is used to clean the water spilled on the floor. Wipe the water squeeze it into the bucket and pour it into the sink. Love it. Is this not such a great activity to let a child know to manage their work and be more independent.



There must be some parents thinking, why do those tiny hands need to work so hard ?! Why are the adults for ?! In lots of countries you get that help from paid helpers. There is always somebody else available for a child. But do you guys think of what will happen when they are teenagers or an adult, now they get all the support from you and you do all their work. They will be so used to of having that help all the time, they will never realize the importance of independence and taking charge of their life. Nobody is too small for any learning. Imagine, when dependence forces a child to be physically lethargic and lazy. When I was a child, there were helpers around me all the time and would do every single work for me. Even to get a glass a water there would be a person. It was hard for me to do my own work. Struggled in my early years. Now, I have learned my good lesson. But I would not want my child to struggle like I did. Would you ?



So, if we have an organized place like this, that also looks so attractive and simple to look at, anybody would love to work on their own. Yes, it will take some time till you make some ground rules and till everyone follows them at home. But, the process to get your goal is fun and brings people close to each other. Develops relationship, forms the personality. We all want to be happy, who does not ! And happy, clean home adds to your happiness. In the end, it's not just the home, you are making an independent person of your child here, giving him his happiness for life. I think it is the biggest gift of our life - to be independent.

Listening ears

It's a tricky thing to be a friend of a child. Though, I have not had any issue on this yet. Yea, sometimes with some children it takes a longer time and with others it happens instantly. I am not sure how it feels to be a friend of your own child, hm ! well, I can only imagine.

One activity that brings a child closer to me is reading a book or lots of books, a smiling face, low verbal tone and yes, I tell them what happened in my day either yesterday or today. I use phrases like, " You know when I was...", " It happened one day with me...", "Hey, I like that too...", "How about both of us...". It is like you have to talk about your environment and their environment. You have to relate to things in their life. Win their attention. Get them close to you by working with them, helping with their projects, giving them some work to help you. Let them know that you are so incomplete without them. They will love you for everything.
I do the same, and then, I'll speak once and the child follows - non-stop :) Seriously, you will realize how easy it is to talk to a child. It gives me pleasure to be somebody's listening ears. It is equally important that the child cherish to be a good listener too.

Basic requirements to be a good listener are concentration, interest, patience and compassion.

Musical bells not only educate about music but they have helped me to guide a child to listen to others. Children enjoy different sounds. A few minutes of peace is what they need, with the soft tinkle in their ears. This develops their concentration, helps them to focus on different sounds and of course, educate them the basic keynotes of music eg, C, D, E, F, G.

The Rainshakers - You can buy these from different stores and you get loads of varieties of rain shakers. This is a great tool to develop interest and concentration. Children sit with this for a long time focusing on each bead and noticing the way they rattle on turning upside down. Don't miss out that smiling delighted face when they are with rainshakers.

I always want a child to relax and calm down before he can understand how important it is to listen. These tools are a great help. After this, we sit and talk. The child is more focused and calm at this point. Being at peace helps a lot to be compassionate and gentle in nature.
It is not likely that every child may like to use these tools. Well, at that point the following the child helps a lot. I just simply observe a child's actions and needs from afar. When opportunity comes I gently come across and give a hand to help. It works, try !

images taken from www.lakeshorelearning.com

Story time !

Whenever I say this, there is spark in the environment and children try their best to finish their work and settle down in the circle to listen to the new story.

This is one of my favorite tasks - to pick the 'right' book for the day. The good thing about Montessori teaching is that it is based on your observations and following the child. Simple as it is ! So, I do that and see if the classroom is quiet or loud. Ah !! those days are hard to control. Talk about testing your patience or adding more anxiety. It's a whole new blog. Well, next time. Either ways, quiet or loud. Hm, did I say 'quiet'. Well, no, children are not mostly quiet, their mind is always working. Yes, they mellow down a little bit. Oh ! let me not divert from what I was saying. Ok, so picking the book is the most interesting thing depending on the mood of the children. If they are calm and have been concentrating well then I would pick a book like 'We all Sing with the Same Voice - by Philip Miller'. Circle time converts into singing time. Love it. The songs are great, have a good message and go well with the environment:) So beautiful !

Pick your book thinking of your child and not what you want him to do or follow. Most of the time we expect lots of things from our children and those thoughts become like a pair sunglasses on our mind. The real child would not reflect your thoughts so strongly. You will be thinking to choose the 'right' book rather than thinking about where the child is emotionally and what he needs at that time. May be he does not want to listen to a dinosaur book or some funny book. May be he wants to know something and he is curious. And for what I know - children are always always curious, (ok, there are exceptions to it) but most of the time they want to take charge. Yes, they want to talk to you like adults. They see you talking to your friend or family and in their mind - the absorption is happening and the curiosity is popping. It is very important that you follow your child. Observe him while he is around you, for example - how he is moving his head, did he look at that shelf or did he look at the t.v. What did he look at ? What is he wondering ? Wait for sometime. May be he will say something. Usually, children find their way soon. But not always, so now, this is your moment. You enter here nicely, gently. Your senses are connected with your child. Offer him activities, for example- how about reading a book ? How about we do some thing together ? And then follow his reaction looking at the books you offer. If your observations are correct, he will pick your choice right away. The getting your observations right comes with time. Some people are natural while others need to try hard. It works. And life becomes so beautiful suddenly. Nobody knows what is the trick to observe and follow the child. As for me, I simply try to connect with the child. Try doing it, it works well. Keep your tone as low as possible, come close to his ear and speak like a friend ! See you made a new friend :)

Books for children

Some people say that a good book is your best friend. I think a good book is a gateway to the world. Sitting in one corner of the library we can see the world, travel in our imaginations. Aha ! Imaginations ! Now, it is our very big responsibility to guide and direct our child's imagination. Montessori philosophy abstains every child from a fantasy world. For some people this could sound contradictory but I have explained this in my next blog. Reason behind is that the child's brain is growing at a fast speed, it's absorbing knowledge from the environment. For him to serve the community, family and be a strong independent person it's important to know facts. Facts that can be understood with a logical reasoning. Hm, wonder if fairy tales give some logical reasoning to their stories ! So, we have to enlighten a child's brain, sooth his heart with the facts of the world. Our world which is so beautiful. It has flowers, waterfalls, mountains, animals, family and friends. Aha ! Our beautiful world ! 

Below is the list of books which can reflect the facts and beauty of the life and are perfect for a child.

The Kissing hand by Audrey Penn,

We all Sing with the Same Voice - by Philip Miller

Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers - by Mary Ann Hoberman

 

Goodnight Moon - by Margaret Wise Brown-

How Things Grow - From Seed to Dandelion

How Things Grow - From Tadpole to Frog

Earth Science - Set of 6 Books

Three Young Pilgrims - by Cheryl Harness

A Little Bit of Winter - by Paul Stewart

The Runaway Bunny - by Margaret Wise Brown

In November - by Cynthia Rylant

Waiting for Wings - by Lois Ehlert

Hands Are Not for Hitting- Martine Agassi Ph. d

How Things Grow - From Seed to Pumpkin

When Uncle Took the Fiddle - by Libba Moore Gray

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf - by Lois Ehlert

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - by Eric Carle

 

Lifetimes By Bryan Mellonie

TrueLove - by Babette Cole

Letters and Sounds - by Rosemary Wells

Light the Lights - by Margaret Moorman

When Sophie gets angry - really really angry by Molly Bang

Look Whooo's Counting - by Suse Mac Donald

On the Go -Book about the transportation.

Stop, Drop, and Roll - by Margery Cuyler

When Winter Comes - by Nancy Van Laan

We're Different, We're the Same - by Bobbi Jane Kates

Fall Leaves Fall