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Goop Recipe
Sensory awareness goes hand in hand with creativity. While exploring and experiencing with art activities, children are lead on a sensory...
Dec 14, 20162 min read
Spring Art Activities for Toddlers and Pre Schoolers
Spring has sprung! Although the recent nip in the air might have you believing it still might be cold, we are certainly headed in the direction of warmer weather. To celebrate the season we have some art and crafts you can do with the kids at this time of year. First up we have a lovely flower made out of paper plates. You cut each flower progressively smaller and attach them altogether in the middle. The kids can then paint them. For a vase use a plastic bottle. What’s real
Sep 18, 20162 min read
Paper Bag Kite
This is a fun activity for children, not only in making it (exercising fine motor skills) but it is a lot of fun for them to run around and enjoy the streamers running behind them (gross motor skills). What you’ll need: -paper bag (plain brown kind, I got them from West Pack Lifestyle Centre) -paint and or crayons -streamers -string Method: Start by getting the kids to paint the bags. It’s important though to let the bag stand up vertically if you want to paint all the sid
Aug 31, 20161 min read
“I bought a flower” Cute Video
This child shows how cute she is as she describes how and where she bought her flower and how she intends to take care of it. #cute #video
Jul 8, 20161 min read
Best Cooked Salt Dough Recipe Ever
You will need: 1 cup salt 2 cups flour 4 teaspoons cream of tartar 2 tablespoons cooking oil 2 cups of water Powder paint or colouring...
Jun 16, 20161 min read
Practical Life Activities in Your Home
Pouring beans Practical life activities are one of the most essential you will find in any Montessori classroom because they introduce the child to the basic functions that they will need in everyday life. So, how can these activities help my child? Coordination Practising control of movements Fosters independence Concentration Working from left to right How can parents get started at home? Pouring bells All children are at different levels of skills and have different intere
Jun 16, 20165 min read
A Mother’s notes of a gifted child’s behaviour
Gifted children commonly learn basic skills better, more quickly, and with less practice. They are better able to construct and handle...
May 29, 20161 min read
Sensory Activities for Preschoolers
Sensory activities for preschoolers are very important for giving them a concrete experience of the world, where the process of playing with the material is more important than any particular outcome. Children learn better when they engage with all their senses and we also know that they have a lot of fun with it. Here are some fun sensory activiites: You can have a dry sensory container filled with dried beans, coffee beans, coffee grounds, unpopped popcorn kernels, or smal
May 28, 20162 min read
Bugs Made From Cooldrink Bottles
These cute little bugs are made from small cooldrink bottles and apart from being fun to make, are a ball to play with too. You will need: Cooldrink bottle Styrofoam ball for head Pipe cleaner for feelers Coloured foam for the wings Glitter and sprinkles to decorate the wings Google eyes Glue Paint Method: Assemble the bottles Paint the ball head Assemble your bottles. Glue the styrofoam ball to the opening of the bottle. Paint the ball for the head and glue the google eyes
May 22, 20161 min read
Happy Families
What makes a happy family? Belonging It is important that each member of the family feel that they are loved, that they belong and that they matter. Being a cohesive family could mean that you spend every spare minute together doing family activities but keep in mind that everyone is different. Creating a strong family unit is great but each person should be allowed the space and freedom to explore the activities they think they may enjoy. People are more courageous and more
May 16, 20163 min read
Car String Painting
String painting is a lot of fun to do with little kids. It is a decorative way to paint a simple picture and looks great if you mount it afterwards on a contrasting colour card. You will need: Pieces of string Bowls of ready made paint A cut out paper car How? Cut out a shape for your child and place in front of your child. Dip a piece of string in a bowl of paint and carefully place it on the shape. Lift the string from the paper and continue with a new piece of string dip
May 16, 20161 min read
Owl Bird feeder from Milk Cartons
If you ever wanted to make a cute bird feeder out of recycling material, here is a cute idea: an owl bird feeder. This concept was taken from the blog Red Ted Art and you can see their feeder made from a juice carton here. You will need: -A milk carton (or juice) -Scissors or knife to cut the carton. -Paint: if you want it to be outdoors you may want to use acrylic paint. I used a more durable paint for the white undercoat and then the kids painted on top with poster paint.
Apr 21, 20162 min read
Quick Salt Dough Fridge Magnets in the Microwave
I’ve made salt dough before at my previous school and my memories of it involved a long time of watching the thing in the oven and a few possible burns as well. With my first holiday program project being salt dough magnets I was keen to find an easy and effective way to get this done. I found a salt dough microwave recipe and I’m going to share it here along with a few tips of what I discovered along the way. You will need: 1/2 cup of salt 1/2 cup of water 1 cup of flour M
Apr 15, 20162 min read
Paper Plate Letters
This is a tactile art activity used as an extension to teaching your child phonetic letters. You can also write your child’s name on the plate, use a different plate for each letter of your child’s name or write short phonetic words for your child to practise reading. You will need: A paper plate Sponge Sand, rice, maize meal, couscous etc. to sprinkle on the letter. A bowl of food colouring diluted with water, Glue String How? Using a sponge , dip it into the bowl of di
Mar 31, 20161 min read
Things That Parents Can Do With Their Children
Refrain from doing for a child what he can do for himself. Organise your child’s things in appropriate containers and on low shelves. Whatever your child is doing, encourage him to work with one thing at a time. Help him become aware of sounds. Eg what begins with ‘a’ (say phonetic sound eg a for apple, c for cat, e for egg) this will also assist him at school with the I spy game and sandpaper letters. Aid your child in absorbing a sense of beauty: take a walk in your garden.
Mar 20, 20163 min read
How To Make An Easter Egg Basket Out of a 2 Litre Container (Cooldrink or Milk)
You will need: An empty 2 litre cool drink container A sharp knife ( for adult use only) Scissors ( Adult use only) Paintbrushes Colorful...
Mar 20, 20161 min read
What To Do When Your Child Has a Fever
These notes were taken from a course on first aid and CPR run by Survival CPR and led by Sr Belinda Yu. This is a run through of exactly what to do when your child has a fever. First of all, it’s a good idea to have a reliable measurement of temperature. Sr Belinda recommends that you have both the mercury and the electronic scanning one. You can pick up if a child is not well if they aren’t being their normal self or they are cranky or sweating. Normal body temperature is be
Feb 21, 20162 min read
How to Make Coloured Rice
Children enjoy sensorial activities and feeling rice between your fingers while enjoying the novelty of the colours is sure to be a hit. Here is a recipe for how to make coloured rice. You will need: – 1 cup rice – Food colouring – 1 tablespoon vinegar – Ziplock bag Method: Pour one cup rice into a ziplock bag. If you don’t have a ziplock bag handy you can also use a freezer bag tied up with a knot on the top. (One mom also used an old margarine tub) Add drops of food colouri
Jan 30, 20161 min read
Parenting Tips and guidelines
Refrain from doing for a child what he can do for himself. Organise your child’s things in appropriate containers and on low shelves. Whatever your child is doing, encourage him to work with one thing at a time. Help him become aware of sounds. Eg what begins with ‘a’ (say phonetic sound e.g. a for apple, c for cat, e for egg) this will also assist him at our school when we play the I spy game or introduce the sandpaper letters. Teach your child precise names. eg hibiscus no
Feb 23, 20153 min read
I Spy Game
The main aim of this game is to make your child aware of the PHONETIC sounds in spoken language and to make the process of exploring sounds and words fun and exciting. Please teach your child with phonetic sounds only. Writing of letters must be lowercase. Stage 1 Choose 6 to 10 objects that will be easy for your child to sound out phonetically . E.g. “p” for pen, “b” for book, “c” for cup etc. Place these objects on a tray or table . Pointing to each object ,
Feb 23, 20153 min read
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