Sharing beautiful things: This is a slideshow that shows a gorgeous Montessori Infant/Toddler classroom.
There are lots of ideas to be gleaned for setting up a comfortable, beautiful, purposeful, and fun learning environment for your infant or toddler at home insha'Allah.
Enjoy insha'Allah!
wow... mashaAllah that is amazing.
ReplyDeleteI have a three year old niece that is very smart mashaAllah, but if she doesn't know something she gets very embarrassed and loses interest.
Any tips on how to help her?
dear sis NeverEver,
ReplyDeleteFor your niece: when new things are placed for her to explore, does anyone model how to use them first? This is called a 'presentation' in Montessori education and essentially all it is, is an adult showing the child how to use the toy (or other object), using slow, deliberate motions and talking very little to allow the child to focus on the movements needed to use the toy (or other object) independently insha'Allah. Try that and insha'Allah, that will eliminate the embarrassment that arises from not know how to do something and waallahu alim.
shukran for the advice :-)
ReplyDeleteThe main problem is learning more abstract concepts like letters, numbers, names of colors and shapes, etc. If she knows it, she gets excited but if she doesn't know it then she will just turn off. How can i get her to learn it before she turns off?
Afwan. Ah, I see. Can you please tell me how these concepts are being introduced/taught to her? Is it being done in a straight forward manner (i.e. this is the letter a) or are the concepts being presented in game fashion?
ReplyDeleteSome of both when possible. We have some puzzles with wooden letters that fit into slots and some pre-school type workbooks. She is very good with all puzzles and matching the same letters, but she doesn't generally remember the letter name. Also for numbers, I count for her a lot (like when we get spoons or cups for hte dinner table or counting books or doing scavenger hunts where we find 1 shoe, 2 windows, etc.)but she is having trouble starting from the beginning and counting in order. She likes to start with four lol. We have some flash cards and this is where the problem is most noticeable. If she knows the card she is SO excited, but if she doesn't, she is done with the game.
ReplyDeleteAlso she doesn't like to do any activity more than about 10 or 15 minutes
Jazakillahu Khayr dear sis NeverEver. My first suggestion is to limit/reduce the amount of time you do the activity. 10-15 minutes is the amount of time a kindergarten student can usually remain on task. If your niece is focused for 10-15 minutes than masha'Allah!
ReplyDeleteThe average child usually does not know the entire alphabet and the sounds the letters make until they are almost 4 years old. It does not sound like she is "behind" schedule and waallahu alim. The same applies for the numbers. It is common that children around her age start counting from 4, 6, 2, etc.
I would suggest that you/your family try reading her books that have alphabet themes/counting themes in them insha'Allah. This is a very safe teaching method. The child has little opportunity to feel embarrassed that he/she does not know the letter or number b/c the story is telling him/her what the letter/number is. As she learns the story, she may begin to finish the sentences with you/for you. If not, invite her to say the letter/number part of the sentence as you read. For example, in Chicka Chick Boom Boom, you would say, A told B, and B told C, "I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree." When you've read the book to her a number of times and she is familiar with the story, you can read, A told ___ (ask her to say which letter) and continue on. Try your best not to make it seem as if she is being tested. Read the story in a fun, excited way and when you get to the part that you want her to fill in, get excited and look at her expectantly and when she gets it...cheer and keep reading. You may even want to suspend the flashcards for a while and keep the learning as a game for now (i.e. the puzzles, rhymes, etc.). Certainly continue counting spoons and cups for the table, this is wonderful barak Allahu feki.
There are many wonderful books that teach the alphabet and numbers this way. You can find the words to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom here: http://support.selectsoft.com/manuals/ChickaChickaBoomBoom.htm#q12 insha'Allah.
If she is nearing the age of four and you still notice that she does not know the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes and she is not counting in order, then I would recommend speaking with a local pre-school teacher to get her advice insha'Allah. As she would be able to meet your niece, etc. she may be able to tell you if there is cause for concern and waallahu alim.
Insha'Allah, this is helpful, if not pls. email me and we can discuss this in more detail biithnillah. Jazakillahu Khayr.
Jazakillah khair, Thank you so much for this advice. Truly, I just don't have enough experience to tell at what level a child should be by a certain age. The learning games sound really great and inshaAllah I will look for more of these and the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom story. She loves for us to read to her, so InshaAllah we can incorporate this without making it seem like a test :-)
ReplyDeleteAgain, shukran jazeelan for the time and advice, inshaAllah I will let you know how this works for us. Barak Allah feek wa As-salam alaikum
Wa iyaki wa jazakillahu khayr dear sis *smile*. I hope that it helps insha'Allah. And not to worry, there is sooo much information out there that to keep up with the levels for kids can be overwhelming at times. Insha'Allah, I'll try to post some books that teach numbers and alphabet in fun (halal) ways. I hope to hear that Allah has made it easy for your niece insha'Allah.
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