December Songs

December is a holiday season everywhere. It's a feel good month :) Lots of children look forward to it for having fun in decorative malls with the Santa, singing Christmas carols, other winter songs and making the snowman.

In schools too, children have their recitals or sing and song shows where they sing along with other students and make their parents, family and teachers proud.

Just that I don't run out of my memory in future, I am listing the collection of Christmas and winter songs/lyrics below, for you and myself.

Jingle bells -

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way
Bells on bob tails ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to laugh and sing
A sleighing song tonight

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

A day or two ago
I thought I'd take a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
Was seated by my side
The horse was lean and lank
Misfortune seemed his lot
We got into a drifted bank
And then we got upsot

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh yeah

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

Let it snow ! Let it snow ! by Dean Martin -

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping
And I've bought some corn for popping
The lights are turned way down low
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

When we finally kiss good night
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you'll really hold me tight
All the way home I'll be warm

The fire is slowly dying
And, my dear, we're still goodbying
But as long as you love me so
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Santa Claus is Coming -

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He's making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town 

Frosty the Snowman -

Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal.
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,
He was made of snow but the children
Know how he came to life one day.
There must have been some magic in that
Old silk hat they found.
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around.
O, Frosty the snowman
Was alive as he could be,
And the children say he could laugh
And play just the same as you and me.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Look at Frosty go.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Over the hills of snow.

Frosty the snowman knew
The sun was hot that day,
So he said, "Let's run and
We'll have some fun
Now before I melt away."
Down to the village,
With a broomstick in his hand,
Running here and there all
Around the square saying,
Catch me if you can.
He led them down the streets of town
Right to the traffic cop.
And he only paused a moment when
He heard him holler "Stop!"
For Frosty the snow man
Had to hurry on his way,
But he waved goodbye saying,
"Don't you cry,
I'll be back again some day."
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Look at Frosty go.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Over the hills of snow.

Deck the Hall -

 Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la. 
 Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Don we now our gay apparel, Fa la la, la la la, la la la.  
Troll the ancient Yuletide carol, Fa la la la la, la la la la.

See the blazing Yule before us, Fa la la la la, la la la la.  
Strike the harp and join the chorus. Fa la la la la, la la la la. 

Follow me in merry measure, Fa la la la la, la la la la. 
While I tell of Yuletide treasure, Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Fast away the old year passes, Fa la la la la, la la la la. 
 Hail the new, ye lads and lasses, Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Sing we joyous, all together, Fa la la la la, la la la la.  
Heedless of the wind and weather, Fa la la la la, la la la la

Rocking around the Christmas tree -

Rockin' around the Christmas tree At the Christmas party hop,  
Mistletoe hung where you can see, Every couple tries to stop, 
 Rockin' around the Christmas tree, Let the Christmas spirit ring,  
Later we'll have some pumpkin pie, And we'll do some caroling.
You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear,
Voices singing, "Let's be jolly, Deck the halls with boughs of holly", 
 Rockin' around the Christmas tree, 
 Have a happy holiday, Everyone dancin' merrily, In the new old-fashioned way.
You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear, Voices singing, "Let's be jolly, Deck the halls with boughs of holly", Rockin' around the Christmas tree, Have a happy holiday, Everyone dancin' merrily, In the new old-fashioned way.


[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/rockin-around-the-christmas-tree-lyrics-christmas-carols.html ]

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year-

It's the most wonderful time of the year
 With the kids jingle-belling
And everyone telling you
Be of good cheer
It's the most wonderful time of the year
(Wonderful time)

It's the hap-happiest season of all,
With those holiday greetings
And great happy meetings
When friends come to call
It's the hap-happiest season of all

There'll be parties for hosting
Marshmallows for roasting
And caroling out in the snow
There'll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories
Of Christmases long, long ago

It's the most wonderful time of the year
There be much mistletoe-ing
And hearts will be glowing
When loved ones are near
It's the most wonderful time of the year, ooh ah

Woah, there'll be parties for hosting
Marshmallows for roasting
And caroling out in the snow (out in the snow)
There'll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories
Of Christmases long, long ago

It's the most wonderful time of the year (most
wonderful time)
There be much mistletoe-ing
And hearts will be glowing
When loved ones are near (loved ones are near)
It's the most wonderful time (wonderful time)
It's the most wonderful time (wonderful time)
It's the most wonderful time of the year
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Feliz Navidad - Song in spanish.


Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Prospero año y felicidad.

Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Prospero año y felicidad.

I want to wish you a merry christmas
I want to wish you a merry christmas
I want to wish you a merry christmas
From the bottom of my heart.

I want to wish you a merry christmas
I want to wish you a merry christmas
I want to wish you a merry christmas
From the bottom of my heart.

Translation :
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
Prosperous New year and Happiness.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer -


Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Had a very shiny nose,
And if you ever saw it,  
You would even say it glows.
All of the other reindeer Used to laugh and call him names;  
They never let poor Rudolph Join in any reindeer games.

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,  
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?

Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee, 
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
You'll go down in history.

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,  
Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen., 
 But do you recall?  
The most famous reindeer of all?  
 

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 
Had a very shiny nose,
And if you ever saw it,  
You would even say it glows. 
All of the other reindeer Used to laugh and call him names; 
They never let poor Rudolph Join in any reindeer games.

Then one foggy Christmas Eve, 
 Santa came to say, 
 Rudolph with your nose so bright,  
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?
Then how the reindeer loved him  
As they shouted out with glee, 
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,  
You'll go down in history.

from- lyrics.mode.com

Montessori circle time songs

We all know that there is nothing better than learning through songs. I strongly believe in starting and ending the day with the circle time. I will either present some group activity or simply have a good music time in the circle. Collecting music for the circle time is the hardest and most challenging job for me. All these years I wished if there was a place online where I could just click and get all the Montessori songs.

To make life easier for all the teachers and parents, below are some fun and educational songs -

Start the day song -

1. Start the Day (Original Author Unknown)
Sung to tune: "Merrily we roll along"

Clap your hands to start the day, start the day, start the day
Clap your hands to start the day,
How are you this morning ?
Stomp your feet to start the day, start the day, start the day
Stomp your feet to start the day,
How are you this morning ?
Wiggle your fingers to start the day, start the day, start the day
Wiggle your fingers to start the day, 
In the same way, you can do various actions, or ask the child for an action :) 

2. God Bless America -

God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home.
Video - You'll love this video. Thank you You tube.

The Continent Song -
There are many many ways this song can be sung. It's your choice, which ever you like better.

1. Tune : merrily we roll along.

There are 7 continents, continents, continents,

There are 7 continents and I can name them all.

North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica.

Video -

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_5VCx8iqE0&feature=related

2.  Video -

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDO7FTIj3HU

The weather song -

Tune: Clementine

What's the weather

What's the weather

What's the weather like today

Tell us (Matthew) what's the weather

What's the weather like today

Is it sunny (make big cirlce with arms above head)

Is it cloudy (cover eyes with hands)

Is it rainy out today (rain fingers)

Is it snowy (act cold)

Is it windy (windy arms) today ?

7 Days in a week song -

Sunday , Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
There are 7 days, there are 7 days, there are 7 days in a week. 


Video - 

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f77PWrBd8HM

Months of the year songs -
1.  Video -

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5enDRrWyXaw&playnext=1&list=PL6CC81AB0E5AB1C28


2. Video -

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ3msC5pSk0&feature=related

Dinosaur Song 

ALL AROUND THE SWAMP

SUNG TO: "THE WHEELS ON THE BUS"

THE PTERANODON'S WINGS WENT FLAP, FLAP, FLAP,

FLAP, FLAP, FLAP, FLAP, FLAP, FLAP.

THE PTERANODON'S WINGS WENT FLAP, FLAP, FLAP,

ALL AROUND THE SWAMP.

THE TYRANNOSAURUS REX WENT GRRR, GRRR, GRRR,

GRRR, GRRR, GRRR, GRRR, GRRR, GRRR,

THE TYRANNOSAURUS REX WENT GRRR, GRRR, GRRR,

ALL AROUND THE SWAMP.

THE TRICERATOPS' HORNS WENT WENT POKE, POKE, POKE,

POKE, POKE, POKE, POKE, POKE, POKE,

THE TRICERATOPS' HORNS WENT WENT POKE, POKE, POKE

ALL AROUND THE SWAMP.

THE BRONTOSAURUS WENT MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH,

MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH,

THE BRONTOSAURUS WENT MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH,

ALL AROUND THE SWAMP.

THE STEGOSAURUS' TAIL WENT SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE,

SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE,

THE STEGOSAURUS' TAIL WENT SPIKE, SPIKE, SPIKE,
ALL AROUND THE SWAMP.


Video - The wheels on the bus go round and round

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2dCO3enPfk&feature=related

Thank you to all the people who shared their precious videos on you tube !
Hope you all will have fun learning through music.

Indoor fun !

I remember when I was a kid, I used to join 2 chairs upside down and cover them with a sheet to make my fantasy tent. There were times when I used to live in my tent like, eat, sleep and study. I used also play with friends and family in it. Living/playing in the self-made tent is one of my favourite memories from childhood :)

Why not we try our best to give our children these everlasting memories too. Now-a-days there are so many creative and fun tents available in the market.

In our school, we have lots of fun indoor tents for children to play in winter (mostly). These tents, also help in developing large motor skills. Yes, we have running, yoga and playing outside as other large motor activities, but in some places where we have to compromise on going outside due to harsh cold weather, blizzards or hurricanes, these tents come in very useful. Some interesting tents are:

Picture taken from the website. So calm and serene and a great idea to encourage learning the guitar !

Picture website. Children love this. They get to crawl and hide and have fun !

where to buy this, click here. Yayyy !!!

Picture courtesy. and you can accommodate this inside your home !

Picture courtesy. Love this one too !

 These tents are available in all the department stores in the children's section. Check the link here for more options ! It is so much fun being a child !


Have fun :)

Nurturing the Spirit

Nurturing the Spirit: In Non-Sectarian Classrooms

by Aline D. Wolf

 

 

 

 

It is a big conflict in my mind that there are so many people who are unable to understand the benefits and the structure of the Montessori classroom environment. The Montessori activities are designed based on the scientific methods of control and error, observation, logical reasoning and those that we can use in our daily life. The classroom structure influence independence, freedom, co-ordination and involves activities that encourages a child to help in concentrating. I wonder, why some people are unable to recognize the value of these fundamentals ?!

 

It is not too hard to accept or believe that every spirit need to be free and independent. Yes, knowledge plays an important role but is feeding the knowledge makes more sense or creating an environment to nurture the mind, heart and spirit to retain that knowledge makes more sense !? So far, Montessori classrooms has the most advanced knowledge based activities than any other day care. It gives children from the ages 3-6 years old an opportunity to do Science, Geography, History, Multiplication, and reading books with 8-9 letter words, all at the same time !

 

This book "Nurturing the Spirit" is a very good way to understand the basics of life, nurturing and building the environment for our children. It tells us how the child grows independently with defined freedom and absorbs all the knowledge from the classroom, house, and the environment where the lives.

Thank you for Reading !

Blogging, on break !

image by http://portfolio.kevinthom.com/artistic/hands_compel

My apologies to all readers ! Due to Tendinitis on my right hand wrist, I am unable to Blog. It has been over 2 months now, and seems like forever, it is getting better, but I still have to take cautions, by abstaining from typing and doing other strenuous activities.

Thank you for your co-operation. I will get back to writing as soon as possible.

Regards,
Divya

Start early

I should mention this, that my teaching career was started with being an assistant infant/toddler teacher and this experience was an eye-opening experience for me. Unfortunately, I do not have my personal pictures to share with you but thank goodness for some beautiful blogs on Montessori infant/toddler training and Google that I can share my experience with the help of these pictures.

When I say eye-opening experience, it means that I had never seen a 6 month old drinking milk from a glass before, in fact, I never knew that it was physically possibly to carry a glass with those tiny little hands ! Yes, I witnessed it because I helped the child do it. Of course, we had everything to the size of all the infants, for example, little chairs, tables, utensils.

I think, it is the process you go through when you are living with your child and know your child. It was like, I was growing and learning with this particular child, we were like best friends. No matter if the child was just 6 months old, we were communicating with each other, there was a connection and that's what, I think, every child wants ! For me lesson learned - start early !

While I googled for an image of a child drinking milk, I found this image and this little girl looks exactly the little one I helped then. Image courtesy- Montessori ici

So, this experience opened my mind and made me realize that no child is too little to do anything. Thank goodness for the Montessori infant/toddler curriculum that they have it written, to start early with a child of 6 months old and above, with sitting on their cute chairs, stop drinking milk using their bottles and eat their food on the table. Well, it is a process, you have to believe in that this is possible.

I am emphasizing on the process because most of us expect results or look for results. This thing comes in our mind, say, "Hey, this happened with her child why not with my child!" We have to follow the child and we go through a phase or a time and that is also called a process. We are all growing and for every growth we need a motive/goal/dream/something to learn. I have friends and know some parents who have real hard time transitioning their children from bottle to the glass. In the end, they leave up to the school teacher to do that hard effort !!

I strongly suggest parents to try practising at home the same process too, by using infant size utensils and furniture, role modeling by giving examples of your self because they see you drinking milk from the glass. By the time, the child is 8 months old, s/he will be having fun being an independent and a happy being.

Start early !

When children are not 'listening' !

picture taken by me -  Walnut Park Montessori school

I have this trouble all the time, and I say to myself, "What do I do they are not listening?" And the idea pops out, "Why not make them walk on the line !" Aha ! This idea came as a blessing. This we can try after all the other ways we have tried on them as I mentioned on my blog 'Listening ears'. A walk on the line is not only helping them to listen but also, with co-ordination, order, movements, building up balance and knowing their body.

Children here simply walk on the line where you may be walking in the front. I make the walk more interesting by telling a story sometimes. If the children had been really loud then I gently ask them to walk on the line very quietly. We name it as a silent walk.

There are ways to make the walk interesting - walk with your hands on the side, hands next to your shoulders, behind and up OR, walk with a basket, tray or a plate in your hands. After 2-3 rounds of walk, you can  hop, jump, gallop, run and skip on the line. There are lots of music you can play while children are doing walk on the line activity. I came across with this website called Montessori Mozarts and it is great, they have sample music to listen too ! You can also play some folk music from around the world. Look here - a beautiful Around the World: International Folk Songs CD ! You can also play fun children's music or any of your favorite instrumental music.

ENJOY !

Scooping

This is a good activity that you can use during the apple season. Look at the presentation, it is very important that an activity looks beautiful and attractive to a child. Apple bowls, matching red mat and the cute scooping spoon, are all so inviting. You can buy these apples from stores like Micheal's, Walmart, Target or any of your local art & craft store. These materials sometimes are seasonal, so make sure you visit one of these stores seasonally.

The child uses her dominant hand, scoops an apple from L-R, one bowl to another and back to the 1st bowl. Helps with managing an order, concentration, eye & hand co-ordination and independence.
 

Here, the child is repeating the scooping process. Notice that she scoops one apple at one time. This emphasize on concentration and order. The child is encouraged to use only his/er dominant hand. The second hand is used to pick the fallen apples only.

The child is patiently scooping the apples from one bowl to another bowl.

Now, scooping the apples to place them on the left bowl, as to make it ready for the next child. Remember, that the child has to always begin the activity from L-R. We read and write from L-R, the number line begins from L-R.

Control of error - scooping from left to right, tilt of the scooping spoon from the tip.

Variations-

these are candies, to my surprise children did not recognize this at all, but if they do you can direct them to work and not eat

Pink stones

Enjoy creating good activities !

Order, Co-ordination, Concentration and Independence

A child pincer grips a bead and place it on the plastic pockets. See that he is picks up only 1 bead at a time. Helps to develop concentration and co-ordination. Notice that the child also picks the bead from L-R, this is order.

Number of bead are equal to the pockets on the plastic mat, which also adds as the control of error and reinforce concentration. When the concentration is re-inforced, encourages independence because the child gets to sit on this activity for a long time and is able to do it by himself without any help. If you start this activity at very early age like 2 years, a child will get familiar to these personality characters of himself/herself that early.

Now, the child pincer grips each bead and place them on a small white leaf saucer. This re-inforce order and co-ordination, for order - the child is directed towards the white saucer to place the beads. So, the order is from basket to the plastic mat to the white saucer and then to the basket again. In the next step, each bead goes back to it's place one at a time, this encourages co-ordination. Notice how neatly child is doing the activity. Children love to do this activity but sometimes because parents and teachers do not understand the benefit of the process of this activity, they discourage them to go in this area - Practical Life (see curriculum). I strongly encourage everyone to emphasize a 2-3 year child on this area for at least 4 months.

Child pours the beads back where he started from - the basket.

Activities that can help O.C.C.I ( order, concentration, co-ordination and independence) are squeezing, scooping, pouring, pounding, twisting, grasping and stringing. These activities are very easy to make at home. It will help your child to concentrate, co-ordinate, order and be independent. Try practicing at home for few months and you will see the difference right away.

Have fun !

Jiggling rice

What fun when you jiggle rice and find a star fish, pine cone, cute eraser, a rock, and other cute objects. This is one other activity that helps a child's hand and eye co-ordination, develops independence and order. It also helps more control over holding objects and the develops hand muscles.

Materials - Plastic jar half filled with rice, some objects(could be your child's favorite things) and a cute bowl of your choice. All the objects are hidden inside the rice.

Procedure - A child tries to open the lid of the jar. You can guide him/er by telling to open from L-R, hold the jar tightly and roll the edges of the lid from L-R. Most of the times children are able to open this lid but if the child is petite then you may have to help by opening it half way, let him/er open completely. Place the lid on the side. Child puts his/er right hand and jiggle into the rice to find one object, place each object in the container on the side.
Note : The child takes only one object at one time.
Once each object is out in the bowl, child returns them back inside the rice in the jar and hides them. Close the lid.

Control of Error - Jar's lid open only one way L-R, Number of the objects.

Enjoy jiggling !!

Enrichment of Vocabulary

Letter to picture. Activity shown in NEMTEC.

This activity assists us in getting to know the child, his/er vocabulary, thoughts and if the child remembers his/er phonetic sounds. We will show each picture to the child and  have a conversation about what a child thinks of the picture, if she remembers seeing it somewhere and so on.
Here, we have pictures of different animals but you can choose your kind of theme, it can be objects in the house, birds, picture of the nature or random pictures, whatever you can find. Make sure you have pictures for each letter from a-z. We have added wooden cloth pins to each letter.

For example - We take a picture of a tiger. We ask a child, "What is this?"; "Have you seen it somewhere?"; "What does this animal eat?"; "Do you see the black stripes on his body?" Most of the time a child may know about a tiger. If a child is new to an object then introduce it by giving examples from daily life or related to the object. Then, you try to connect the letter to the picture and say, "This is t t t tiger. Lets pick a cloth pin for this picture ! See every cloth pin has a letter on it. Which letter does the tiger begins with ?" Let the child find the cloth pin for the picture. Child pins the cloth pin. Use the same process with other letters. Try to keep the order of letters based on the concrete to abstract thinking or say easy to hard, for example -

a, m, t, s, c
e, n, j, p, v,
i, f, w , l, k
o, h, d 
u, g, b, r, q
x, y, z

Children of all the ages love to do this activity. 

Feelings and growth

"Curiosity in children nature has provided, to remove
         that ignorance they were born with; which, without this
         busy inquisitiveness, will make them dull." --Locke [1913 Webster].


You must have noticed, many times I mention that every child is unique or age does not matter when it comes to learning. Learning totally depends on each child.

There were times when I wondered, how every child could be unique and I do get my answer. It's the child's urge and the intense interest in a certain object that makes him/er unique. Not every child likes to read a book or play with the dolls. Some children may have similar interest and can form a group but still, it is every child's own essence, demeanor and psychic aptitude that defines a child's uniqueness.

By understanding this, will lower our expectations from our children, will help us step back and start to observe them. This will not only enlighten us but will let children recognize their capabilities, interest and sensibility towards an object. They may suddenly enjoy learning Math or Language or Science. It is not the competitive environment that encourages them to learn but it's the inquisitiveness, urge to know the unknown, the fun and passion in doing an activity makes them unique or for some people, makes them the best.

It's their moment to discover happiness in learning, sharing and growing. We should encourage them by creating an environment filled with love, security and compassion. Let not time be the limit but let the light of knowledge embrace your child. We should direct the child to feel the need of learning by giving an information about the world, people, community and nature. We, as parents and teachers should devote attention towards a child's feelings. Encourage them and be their strong support.

Blessings to all those nurturing hands !

Multiples of 5

Multiples of 5

Control of error- numbers on the white star.

At the seminar in June, 2010 at NEMTEC, I came across this activity by one teacher and I loved it. Such a good way to help a child learn the multiples of 5.

Materials - Choose any 11 felt color cloths. Cut ten different felt cloths into 55 stars where each color is equal to numerals 1-10 that indicates multiplier and shows how many times a multiplicand will be multiplied. Number 5 is the multiplicand and one star is equal to number 5. The 11th felt color has the numbers 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 written on them, this will be our answer.

Aim - To learn and work with and understand the multiplication tables.

Age - I have done multiplication with a child as young as 4 years old so I would say 4 onwards. See, every child is unique. Some children learn multiplication by 6 only. And this is totally OK. They are more interested in other areas of learning. Some children just want to do Math or Language. It's their sensitive period towards that subject.

Control of error -

• The multiplicand number 5 where one star is equal to 5.
• The 55 stars in 1-10 different colors.
• The numbers on the white stars.
• When 1 star = 5 then 2 stars will make it 10; 3 stars will make 15 and so on.

Here, you tell the child that you are doing the activity named multiples of 5.  Place all the white stars with answers on top of the rug. Then, place one red star under 5 and say, "One star is equal to number 5." Carry on placing stars 2 - 10 under the following answer stars. Child by now is smart to figure how to find stars from numeral 1-10, i.e, which color has 2,3,4, 5...10 stars.
This is a point where a child has already learned the decimal system, i.e. the formation of complex numbers, addition and multiplication by the bank, the stamp box and the multiplication by the bead board. All these are the Montessori material activities. But if your child already knows addition then this is a good activity to introduce multiplication. It's more fun.

Enjoy !

Thank you Readers

Just realized that it's been 1 month 2 days since I started to write this blog. And, I have got so much of support from all of you. I thank all of you readers, people who wrote comments and all my subscribers and followers. It feels great that I had been heard in just a short time. I feel so happy that my thoughts and feelings are acknowledged by the comments and subscribers. It feels good that I had been able to help some people with my activities. Thank you Henry Cate from http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2011/05/carnival-of-homeschooling-memorial-day.html for making my blog what's important - age or learning ? so popular. Thank you so much.

I love being a teacher and it gives an immense satisfaction to my heart when I help a child see his/er inner capabilities and let them know that they can do any challenging work and see them blossom so well !

All your support is encouraging and motivates me to express my thoughts and share more activities. Thank you everyone :) I highly appreciate your support.

Weekend, vacation and Science !

For most of you, it is a beginning of the summer vacations. I am so glad that summer is here finally after 6 months of long long winter !

Summer is a good season to do outdoor science activities, for example, exploring plants, insects and doing living and non-living activity is so much fun! The activity which I will show you now is a multipurpose activity. So, it has living and non-living objects and enhances vocabulary. It is nicer to do this activity with a group but it could also be done with 1 or 2 children.

Like I had said that presentation is very important. For this activity, we need paper bags equal to the number of children including yourself, colors/crayons, art paper and a pencil. Give away some paper bags to children which they can color as they like, to make it more interesting add some craft materials like sequences, glitter, stickers etc.  When the bags are ready and looking pretty, we will try to create a suspense. So, whisper, " Do you know what we will do with this bag? " Children will think and share their ideas. Say, " We will all walk outside, remember - 'walk', and pick up anything you see on your way. When I call everyone, we will have a circle time with your things in your bag kept safely. Do not open your bag !" Children will ask you questions, and fun begins.

Here, the pictures I took are from my training at NEMTEC. We girls got all sorts of things. I did this with children too and we had lots of fun !

So, we are in the circle, and teacher says, " In my bag I have a twig ! I can do anything with a twig. It does not eat, sleep or walk. It does not need air and water.  So, it is a non-living thing. If you have a twig or a branch keep it here." pointing at a column and label it twigs. You can also label them as Living and Non-living things as a variation. Follow the same step by taking things, talk if it is a living thing or a non-living thing, and label them. For a living thing I would ask questions like, " Does it breath ? Does it walk ? Does it need air and water ? Do they reproduce ? " So, I have to make a child's mind think and wonder, and s/he should be able to give the answer. If they do not give any answer then I would compare a living and a non-living thing in front of them. Ask questions gently, and let them think.

there is everything in here.

Counting how many children got that object

Somebody found this big mushroom. Children will get different insects too, so a good place to do this activity is outside in a garden or a park.

Children sometimes get their favorite objects from the garden like my favorite object is a rock. And I share this with them. I tell them," My favorite non-living thing is a rock ! What is your favorite non-living thing ?" So, I am playing a game with them keeping the non-living and living things in my mind. We talk a lot about living and non-living objects while playing. I give some important information about a rock formation or how the leaf gets it's color or anything I would know at the back of my mind.

You can also read a book on living and non-living things. Some books are :

By Elizabeth Rose

What's Alive? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld explains how to tell the difference between living and nonliving things

by Carol K. Lindeen

What is a Living Thing by Bobbie D. Kalman

OR, you can sing a Am I Living ? song ( Tune : Are you sleeping ) !!!!!!!!

Am I living, am I living?
Yes I am, yes I am.
I need food, air, water.
I do reproduce, I do have young.

Am i living, am I living?
No I'm not, no I'm not.
You don't have to feed me,
Air and water aren't needed.
I don't reproduce, I don't have young.

Have FUN !!!!!!

Sounds - Spirits of the Alphabets

The following is a list of letters and the phonetic sounds made by each, as represented in a phonetic word. Sounds, not names, should be taught very early in the Montessori classroom.

A as in ant said as 'ah' with your mouth stretch as if you were smiling.
B "   " bat    "   "  'b-ah'
C "   " cat    "   "  'c-ah'
D "   " dog    "   "  'd-ah'
E "   " red    "   "  'aeh'
F "   " fun    "   "  'ph'
G "   " gas    "   "  'gh'
H "   " hat    "   "  'hh'
I "   " it     "   "  'eh'
J "   " jump   "   "  'jh'
K "   " kiss   "   "  'kh'
L "   " lost   "   "  'el'
M "   " mud    "   "  'mm'
N "   " nest   "   "  'n'; it is not 'na', as I have seen lots of teachers presenting this way, yes, one has to remember the region as every country has it's way of speaking sounds. Still, I strongly think teaching correctly is very important. So, I say 'n' with the tip of my tongue touching the roof of the mouth right behind the teeth, let it stay there and make a sound 'n'. I do not leave my tongue until the sound 'n' is made, then close your mouth.
O "   " ox   said as  'oh'
P "   " pot    "   "  'p-ah'
Q "   " queen  "   "  'k' ; stretch your mouth as if you were smiling.
R "   " run    "   "  'rr'
S "   " sat    "   "  'ss'
T "   " top    "   "  't-h'
U "   " up     "   "  'uh'
V "   " van    "   "  'v-ah' ; stretch your mouth.
W "   " wet    "   "  'vh'; half mouth opened.
X "   " x-ray  "   "  'ks'
Y "   " yes    "   "  'y-ah'
Z "   " zip    "   "  'zz'

Now, I'd like to say that every child comes from a different family, with parents from different regions. Accent generally does not come from the way you learn the sound but the way you hear a complete sentence/word. There are parents with concerns for a child forgetting his/er regional accent or language. And, I always tell them that it's the environment that effects the accent not what or how the child is learning a sound. What I am trying to say is that one should not impose on a child to speak one way or the other. Let the child feel comfortable with his/er language. Create a happy and loving environment for a child and you see how quickly a child grows academically, physically and emotionally. Follow the child, observe him/er and then give directions with appropriate methods of learning.

All these sounds are presented with the Three Period Lesson, one by one. DO NOT rush to teach the sounds. Let the child have fun while learning. Check the lesson plan of presenting the sounds in my blog Language learning is FUN !

Have fun with sounds !

Sorry for adding this video last minute. It is a great song for children to learn letter sounds ! Enjoy !

Tracing

Tracing is one of my favorite activity for the beginners, say 2-3.5 yrs old children. It involves lots of fun while learning to hold a pencil, control over writing, improve hand and eye co-ordination, independence, concentration, order, drawing a straight line, forming letters in future and creating a work log. Tracing is also a part of fine motor activity curriculum.

Lots of children love to take their work home, and it's nice to give them some paper work once a while, to show off. Tracing activities fulfill all the purpose. Some classrooms have the privilege to use the tracing table as shown in the picture, while others use laminated pictures into cards and clip the tracing sheets over, that's fun too. Whatever works for you !

I, most of the time suggest tracing activity to a child who has concentration difficulties and cannot sit at one spot for more than a minute. Tracing, as I mentioned above helps in developing concentration which is also fun to do. So, it helps an active child to devote his/er energy in creating an object that s/he dreamed of, later, take home to show parents and family. It encourages the child to direct his/er mind towards creativity and learning new forms of objects, lines and printing letters. Most importantly, for all the children, it helps them to learn to write from left to right.

For a quite child too, I love this activity because it helps him/er to communicate, co-ordinate, concentrate and work with other children. They do tracing activities and then show their creativity to their friends in the classroom. It builds their confidence, helps to socialize and work together.

To help you,  you can print printable sheets from : http://www.lilbunnyhops.com and http://www.kidzone.ws/

Enjoy !

A hug a day keeps tears away

copyright - Divya Jain

True, hugs can be magical. Some children love to be hugged all the time while others when they do a challenging work. It's interesting to notice how children can be so unique. One child will give you a hug every day, other will need a hug when s/he is sad and other will just simply hug you because you look beautiful. Wonder, if you noticed that hugs are so natural with children as compared to us, the grown ups !

We should not forget that we have a child or children around us. Children who are so pure, innocent, fragile, tender, and naughty at the same time. They need to know all the time that they are not alone, and the hard work they are doing has been done with others too. It's like that there is a solution to every problem and the hug gives all the answers. It is an old saying that "your heart knows it all." What we have to do is be connected to our heart and let the mind, heart and body be in sync. This sync somewhere motivates to focus, stay calm and think again. And, we get our solution to our problems. But somebody should be there to hug, to tell that it's ok.

Children have curious minds and they are always learning from their environment. And there will be moments when they will need a little direction, help, guidance and limits, it's like how we have road signs on the road to tell us when to turn right/left only or a speed limits. The same way we create an environment around children by giving directions and forming limits. Both ways, they need a hug. Limits frustrates anyone, children too and they need a hug to tell them it's ok, and that's how we learn and help maintaining discipline.

A hug tells it all. It gives children strength, hope, smile, happiness and there life suddenly becomes beautiful. So, keep your hugs always ready for your child/ren.