Chinese New Year Gold Coins

You can’t miss these glittery, gold coins during the Chinese New Year season! These gold coins are supposed to signify prosperity and good luck. My little one was drawn to these coins straighaway! Besides being a great chocolate treat, these coins can be used for learning in 5 great ways!

1. Counting Numbers

Simply use the coins for this Math Montessori idea! Teach your child how to count by using one to one correspondence according to the number cards shown!

2. Dollars and cents

Show the money equivalent by matching the dollar value with the right number of coins. This is a great to teach value of dollars and the different dollar denominations!

3. Creating shapes!

Get creative by making different shapes with the gold coins! Your imaginative little one may just surprise you with different shapes to make up a picture!

4. Letter shape and recognition

You can also create letter awareness by asking your little one to make different letters! This enhances your child’s letter recognition and interest in the alphabet. Along the way,you can also teach phonics sounds!

5. Comparison of quantity (more or less)

You can also use these beautiful coins for comparison of quantity! Simply stack up quantities like 3 coins and 8 coins and introduce concepts like ‘more’ or ‘less’ by asking your child to compare the different quantities. This helps your child to make visual discrimination of the different quantities.

Goldilocks & Three Bears- Counting Bears

Learning Counting with little bears!

This is another extension activity based on the much-loved book “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”

One of the main concepts we can draw from this story is the Math concept of quantity in counting. The number 3 is a repetitive number mentioned in the story- 3 bears, 3 bowls, 3 chairs and 3 beds. So to reinforce my girl’s counting skills, I came up with this simple thematic activity of having her to count bear biscuits on a number chart, and then having her to eat it all up upon completion of the activity!

To prepare the learning tray, simply print out or draw squares to represent the quantity for each number. The number chart aids the visualisation and comparison of the quantities for each consecutive number. You can get bear biscuits or any small treats for the little one to enjoy.

    

My little girl was really motivated to get started upon seeing her favourite snack! She placed the first bear biscuit on the chart with number one and I counted with her. She practiced her one-to-one correspondence skill by placing one biscuit one at a time as she counts. For young preschoolers who are beginning to count, you will have to model the counting with them. Over time, they will be able to assign one number to one object. This chart also aids their visual discrimination of the varying quantities, and concepts of more or less.

        

 

My little preschooler sure had a Beary good time with the little bears!

 

Sandpaper Numbers

Background

Montessori Sandpaper Numbers are individual cards containing numbers in raised sandpaper. This is one of the core Montessori activities which familarises children with the look and formation of each number, and adds to their muscle memory of the numbers in preparation for writing. Maria Montessori recognised critical periods in a child’s development where tactile and senses are most sensitive, and created multi-sensory materials such as sandpaper numbers and letters. They are designed to teach symbol recognition and writing by integrating touch, sight and sound.

According to the Montessori approach, children are suited to be introduced to sandpaper writing from the age of 2.5 years to 4. When I first started my girl on the sandpaper letters, I was amazed at its effectiveness of these tactile numbers. When she looks at the numbers, traces them with her two first fingers, and says out the numbers, she receives visual, tactile and auditory input all within the same exercise. This kind of sensory input helps the child get the information into her long term memory.

Instructions on how to use sandpaper numbers

1. (Optional) Have your child wash her hands with warm water. This helps their hands to be sensitive to touch.

2. For new beginners, show them how to feel the numbers, using a light continuous touch of the index and middle fingers of the dominant hand, and to hold the card steadily with the other hand.

3. You will first demonstrate by tracing the number with your fingers, then say out the number. Do this 3 times

4. Have your child repeat what you did. Allow time for the child to practice tracing the numbers

Tip: I like to start with numbers with straight lines first (like 1, 4, 7), followed by those with curves.

Tracing numbers on a cornflour tray.

A nice practice tool is the cornmeal tray. Choose a tray or dish with raised edges and pour in a thin layer of cornflour. As they trace out the sandpaper numbers, they can repeat the same marks with their finger in the cornflour tray. These help your child to familiarise herself with the directionality and motion of writing the numerals in a sensorial manner.

Writing numbers on a mini-blackboard with chalk

This is probably one of the my preschooler’s favourite writing activity. After learning how to trace the sandpaper numbers, she will attempt to repeat the same writing motion on the blackboard with a chalk, which brings her a step closer to using a pencil on paper in future. Use thicker chalk if possible for their tiny hands, as it encourages better pencil grip and makes it easier for them to practice writing.

For this, I prepared a writing tray, with the sandpaper numbers on one side and the mini blackboard on the other.

My preschooler started tracing the number 7, and repeated the writing motion on the blackboard tray. She did not get it right the first few times, but with a lot of encouragement and modeling from me, she could eventually produce writing that resembled the number closely!

Where to get sandpaper numbers & letters:
I bought mine online from Enrighten.com locally and they deliver it to your place

Mark making- Sensory Writing Tray with Flour

Mark-Making

Mark making is an important pre-writing skill for young toddlers. Too often, parents make the mistake of giving their children writing tools too early in their development in hope that they will pick up writing as soon as possible. Children between 2 to 4 years need lots of pre-writing activities to hone their fine motor skills, finger dexterity (how well we handle small objects with our fingers) and lots of mark-making activities to prepare them amply for formal writing.

What is mark making? It is the process where children make early scribblings, often imitating the way adults write, and learn to assign meanings to the marks they make on paper, or any writing surface. For example, you often observe toddlers doodling on paper, and they are able to tell it represents (though you can’t make it out!).

Good sensory information is important for hand skills, especially for young children, as their brains take in these input and stimulate their hands for coordination and precise control. Making marks with their fingers also develops their wrist control and directionality of their writing. For the beginning stage of mark-making, it is a physical activity of engaging the concrete materials with their hands, and it progresses gradually to making more definite, precise, resembling recognizable letters when their muscle control gets more developed.

For young toddlers who are not ready to do formal writing, encourage them to do mark-making with their fingers on the sensory tray. You can use:

1. Sand or coloured sand dust

2. Flour

3. Salt

4. Dough

5. Small beans

6. Shaving cream

Rae’s Mark-Making

Here you see Rae having fun doing mark-making in her sensory tray with flour. She draws lines to show directional marks, with continuous movement of the hand. Making curves and enclosures are important pre-requisites for forming letters and numbers. She also creates dots to make symbols and representations of abstract ideas.

Here I asked her what her initial marks represents, and she exclaimed, ” A snake is moving in the grass!”. To encourage her to make more marks, I prompted her further by asking her, “is it just one snake?” She said her snake friends are coming, and she quickly represented that idea by drawing another few more lines. I then asked, “Besides snakes, who else are her friends?”. She then added another mark signifying a bird in the sky who had flown in to join her snake friends on the grass!

Hence you can see from Rae’s example, her scribblings are her way of communicating meaning and sharing her ideas with others ( which is the purpose for writing). We can help our children develop an interest for writing by encouraging, praising and valuing their ideas expressed through mark-making!

Dice Game to teach numbers and addition

To continue the series of using the Dot Method to teach quantity, this post is on using dices to match the quantity with the correct numbers.

You just need to place a few dices in a jar, and some number cards, and you are ready to play the game!

           

To start the game, I got Rae to toss one dice and identify the quantity shown on the face of the dice. Then she has to match the dice to the correct number card. She continues tossing one dice at a time, and repeats the matching.

To challenge her thinking further, when she finishes tossing and matching the dices with the number cards, I got her to look at the cards and dices, and asked her which number has the most number of dices that matched. She took a while to decide which number card has the maximum number of dices, but when she finally exclaimed it was number card Three, I was beaming with pride at my little girl’s milestone of understanding the math concept of comparison. There! The joy of being involved with my child’s learning! 🙂

              

Number bonds for more advanced learners

To teach number bonds for more advanced learners, just shake two dices in a little jar, and ask them to identify the two quantities shown.

Get them to count the total number of dots shown on both dices, or ask them to do mental addition of the two numbers. Then match the sum total number to the correct number card. You can also introduce number bonds statements “One and Five Make Six”, or addition sentences like 4 + 3 = 7

I remembered using this method to teach addition and number to my class of 6-year olds, and it was an engaging game especially in a small group of children in class. They took turns to shake the dices in the jar, and they did mutual checks on each other’s answers. As a teacher, I couldn’t be happier, when I see my pupils enjoy applying the concepts in a game.

I also remembered one pupil being ingenious when he suggested using the dices in a jar for a game of snakes and ladders! How creative! 🙂

                      

Dot Method Part 2- Playdough and Sticker Dot book

As mentioned in an earlier post on the Dot Method, one of the ways of learning the concept of quantity for numbers is the dot method. This method teaches children to use their visual perception to identify quantity of objects by sight.

1. Play Dough & Buttons

As a follow-up on the using the Dot Method to develop perception of quantity by sight, I prepared a learning tray where Rae gets to interact with play dough and buttons.

           

You can use the dot cards and ask your child to create the same dot pattern by pressing the buttons on the play dough

2. Sticker Dot Book

Another fun activity to get your child to get familiar with identifying quantity of objects by sight is this hands-on activity of creating her very own Sticker Dot book. You can ask your child to use sticker dots, or other kinds of stickers such as foam stickers to create a  dot book.  Stick the number of stickers according to the number shown on each page. When the book is completed, you can use the book to go through with the child, so as to reinforce the dot method. It is also perfectly alright if your child prefers to use one-to-one correspondence method to count the number of stickers on each number page. Rae loves pointing out the numbers and counting in this number book she has created!

                  

The Dot Method for Teaching Numbers

One of the ways of learning the concept of quantity for numbers is the dot method, which originated from Glenn Doman. According to them, children have the innate ability to identify the quantity by sight. Using the Dot Method such as Dot flashcards can strengthen your child’s ability to perceive actual numbers by sight. (Though I believe it is also important to use one-to-one correspondence when counting quantity of objects).

You can do rote counting showing the dot flashcards and then ask the child to match the number number to the dot cards.

Or you can make your own, using index cards and dot stickers (available from Popular Bookstore)

To reinforce the dot method, you can paste dot labels on disposable paper plates, and each plate has increasing number of dots from 1-10.

I got Rae to count the number of dots, say out the number and place the beads one by one on the dots to match.

Other than using beads, you can use poms poms, flat marbles ( which won’t roll away!), small pebbles, beans or other counters that you have!

This matching activity actually prepares your child to learn one-to-one correspondence which is an important Math skill for counting.

After you observed your child has given sufficient practice with the games above, you can then use the different paper plates and ask your child to estimate the number of dots on the plates.

With lots of practice, your child will be able to perceive exact quantity of dots in no time! 🙂

Suitable for 20-36 months

Fish Crackers- Bar Chart

Something fishy is going on! :9
You can create a bar chart for your child to place the fish crackers according to the numbers. It becomes a visual aid for your child to understand the quantity represented for each number. It also helps in your child’s comparison skills for numbers. You can also use a muffin tray to teach counting! 🙂

Fish Crackers-Counting Game

Snack time need not be boring! Create a counting game with fish crackers! Print out fish tanks and let your child do the counting as she puts one cracker at a time onto the fish tank! You can also use a muffin tray! 

Using the tongs hones your child’s finger grasp skills, and learning to count help build the Math concept of one-to-one correspondence. Plus the gratification from this activity? Your child gets to eat the fish crackers!

Using Diffusers To Teach Counting

Don’t know what to do with your used diffusers or medicine bottles? You can turn it into a counting game. Alternatively you can paint toilet paper and use coffee stirrers 

Tip: Count slowly as you put each stick into the bottle to model the counting in order to teach the math skill of one-to-one correspondence. For a child who is learning how to count, it is perfectly normal for him to rattle off 1-10 from rote memorization when it’s only 5 sticks! Keep modeling the counting and be encouraging 

Early childhood Devt:
Numbers can be a very abstract concept for the child. This hands-on activity helps concretise your child’s understanding. The child develops the skill of one-to-one correspondence by learning to assign one number to one object. This skill precedes the understanding of the quantity that each number represents. It also helps the child to make visual discrimination of more and less.