Get your child involved with baking something the whole family can share. This helps them to feel they are contributing and helping their family. Baking involves fine motor practice, pouring, scooping and mixing. All vital parts of Montessori Practical Life skills.
Montessori Pro Tip: if you need to help your child, help them with the hardest part of the activity, not the whole activity.
Help your child to practice the sounds in their names. Think about what other things begin with the same sound. For example, if you have a son named Liam, what other things start with the sound ‘L’? You can also play sound I-Spy.
Montessori Pro Tip: use phonetic sounds when working with your children. There is a helpful link below.
Symbol and quantity. Make some number cards 1-10, using paper or card (approx. 4x3 inches). Get the children to lay them out and then go and find quantities of things to match. You could use buttons or crayons etc. Younger children can practice working on 1-5, or even 1-3.
Montessori Pro Tip: if your child gets mixed up, repeat the correct number and count with them when they have finished the activity.
Any sorting or grading activity will support Sensorial skill development. Use building blocks or lego and ask the children to order by size, or group by colour. Trace around the blocks – the children can then colour or push pin out the shape to create their own booklet.
Montessori Pro Tip: if doing a push pin work use an underlay such as a cork placemat.
Create an activity tub with your child. Put in spoons, tongs, jugs, scoops, cookie cutters, crayons, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, paper, etc. That way your child can go to the tub for materials any time they choose. This will help make them independent and they won’t need to keep asking you for materials.
Next week – How to make a mystery bag!
Article: Follow the link below to read more on Helping Kids Cope with the COVID-19 Pandemic by Dana Sparks.
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/helping-kids-cope-with-the-covid-19-pandemic/
Jolly phonics letter sounds American English
https://youtu.be/3LD7m3luv0Y