Hi,
I have noticed that there is a lot of information on when to start children on certain skills according to what is the norm. For example, tying shoes at the age of… etc. What if I want to get my child started on skills earlier than the preschool age and would anyone know about how I can jumpstart my daughters development through activites etc…
Thanks in advance wink
Brittany
Hi Brittany,
There are some montessori things you can buy that help with teaching practical life skills. They are boards which allow children to practice doing up bottons and tying shoe laces etc etc. try Bambino Montessori http://www.bambini-montessori.com/our_products.htm or http://www.alisonsmontessori.com/Montessori_Practical_Life_Materials_s/1.htm?searching=Y&sort=13&cat=1&show=200&page=1
or you can make them your self I have no idea how. ALso a good thing to do is put your tea towels in a wash basket and show your daughter how to fold each one up bit by bit progress to harder things. A great book for montessori IS How to raise an amazing child. Has exactly how to teach each of the practical life skills.
Hello Brittany,
The biggest realizations I have had in this regard are just give them opportunities to try and don’t be afraid to allow them to fail, make a mess, break things, and experiment in general. As parents, these are things easiest avoided for US, but for kids, this is precisely how they learn. And you can help them learn in controlled settings too.
For example, if you want them to begin writing earlier, you can allow them to trace sandpaper letters in the Montessori fashion, and I read that you can use whipped or shaving cream to let them draw with their fingers. I had always avoided this on account of the mess. Then I realized, we could simply use shaving cream on the wall of the bath to let my daughter “draw” with her fingertip, and I could rinse it away. It really helped develop writing and drawing skills, along with giving her a pen and not freaking out when she drew on the walls twice. Of course I let her know it was unacceptable, but I didn’t take away every writing utensil in the house for six months. It’s just a wall, and she doesn’t do it anymore. Her fine motor & writing skills are amazing, she was able to form actual letters before she was 2.5 and draws people with heads, arms, legs, eyes, and mouths. Had I taken away all of her pens after the “wall” incident like many parents would have, it would have been a huge detriment to her development. The other thing we did was around age two, only offer thin markers/pencils/pens that encourage a proper grip. I previously offered the thick ones but they are just too big for her little hands to hold properly and it encourages a fist type grip. Oh, and dry erase mazes helped to. You can slip the maze pages into plastic sleeves and put them in a three prong folder, making a dry erase book than can be reused.
So, this is just one example that if you provide the right opportunities and they are ready to take it to the next level, they will. I have introduced things that she had no interest in, so I put them away for a bit and tried again a month or two later. Also, getting the kids involved & letting them watch/help with whatever you’re doing is great too, especially in cooking. Playdough is excellent for developing cutting skills with a child safe knife, rolling the dough into logs and demonstrating how. It’s good for math too, as in “Let’s cut the log in half!” or thirds or whatever. With my son, I have seen that he has very different strengths and weaknesses than his older sister, but I have encouraged his development earlier in general by simply offering opportunities sooner. This is because I let him do whatever his sister does for the most part, at least on a modified level.
Drawing on the walls how well do I know that one, so they do make paint that can be wiped off that you can paint on the wall to avoid a big mess. I start homeschooling at 6 months of age with flashcards, when they are able to hold an object. Dry erase boards are great to start with, however, you can use a highlighter instead of the markers because some of the markers will bleed onto objects and causes a stain. There are many things that you can do; big foam letters to carry around, felt letters, foam puzzles, even if they make a mess with shaving cream, you can use powdered sugar and water and a little food coloring for paint, and you can use sugar and water to make a glue as well, however, some food colorings will stain as well. These activities we do, we even write in pudding! There is a website that I like it is www.hubbardscupboard.org FREE that has tons of great ideas, and I think the website is http://www.handsonhomeschooling.com/ to purchase that gives great resources, and www.adaycare.com. to purchase as well.
You can also look into making your own hands-on items if you have the time. I make all kinds of things for my little ones out of recycled items. We make books, puzzles, felt items, games out of recycled cans, and so on.
We also use Toddler Time from www.abcmouse.com at that age. My daugher is 9 months and she loves this program, and you can use BK as well. I did for my older son 4 now and he could recite a complete sentence before he was 1 year old using BK Little Reader.