Homeschooling Infants/ Young Toddlers 9-18 months old

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

In this post homeschooling young toddlers 9-18 months old will be explored insha'Allaah. The ages will be covered in two groups: 9-12 months old, 12-18 months old.

Homeschooling Your 9-12 Month Old Child

At this point baby may be reaching for specific objects of interest, be able to search for objects that are no longer in sight, dropping things intentionally and repeatedly (toys from a crib), using his/her thumb to pick up objects, enjoying seeing self in the mirror, transferring objects from one hand to the other and babbling as if speaking.

Alhamdulillaah your little one is also fast approaching the time when he/she will begin speaking. Insha'Allaah baby has been read to every day and lots of conversations have taken place between the parents and their child. These are the building blocks of language acquisition. If you haven't already, you may wish to begin filling baby's vocabulary with many new words that he/she will eventually use insha'Allaah. Describe the environment using adjectives, verbs and nouns to help baby learn how to eventually communicate about the world we live in with words (i.e. You have a blue and white cup. There is a red and yellow sail boat on it.).

Also at this point, your baby may no longer take his/her morning nap and this time can be used for presenting engaging activities that will help build essential skills insha'Allaah. 

At this age, baby's activity schedule may include the following: 

Click on image for larger view

Picture Creative Commons: Ella's Dad

•  Hide & Seek:  Pick one of baby's toys and a blanket. Show the baby the toy and place it under the blanket, leaving part of the toy still showing. Invite the child to find the toy. 
•  Shape Sorter: Standard shape sorters may be developmentally inappropriate at this time but you can easily make your own with a shoe box and 3 simple shapes (i.e. circle, square, triangle). Cut out each shape in the shoe box, making sure that no other shape can fit in the space of another (i.e. the circle can't also fit in the space for the square). Show the child how to compare each shape to the shape in the shoe box before correctly matching the shape and inserting it into the box where it belongs. 
• Stacking Measuring cups: Using kitchen measuring cups, show your child how to correctly stack the measuring cups inside of one another. Invite the child to stack the cups independently. 
• Sorting Activity: Use two objects that are dissimilar (i.e. combs and brushes). Try to make sure the objects are dissimilar enough for baby to distinguish them from one another. Show the child how to sort them (i.e. all brushes go in a basket on the right and all combs go in a basket on the left). It is helpful to have a picture in each sorting bowl/basket to assist the child. 
• Using a Spoon: Put cheerios in a bowl, in front of the child and on his/her right hand side. Next to the bowl of cheerios, place an empty bowl. Using a child sized spoon show the child how to use the spoon to pick up a cheerio and place it in the empty bowl. There is no need to speak when showing the child how to do this. After showing the child how to transfer a few cheerios from one bowl to another, invite the child to do the activity independently.

Homeschooling Your 12-18 Month Old Child

Baby is now more mobile and learning at an amazing pace masha'Allaah. Quran, athkar and teaching baby authentic sunnan are as important now as they were when baby was an infant. Baby is now learning a tremendous amount of information using his/her five senses and this is an opportune time to begin teaching him/her about Allaah's creation. 

Baby can now show active interest in picture books, claps his hands, shows preferences for food, toys, etc., begins to pull himself/herself up into the standing position and move about the room using furniture, puts many things into his/her mouth, eats finger foods, and drinks from a cup.

At this age, baby's activity schedule may include the following:

• Teaching vocabulary that helps them understand and identify things in the world. This idea, for example, is very kid friendly. Children can learn about the weather but also practice fine motor skills and learn how to take objects out and put them back in to a pocket. This activity can be used to teach the words/concept: "In" and "Out".

 Found at: Folksy: George & Lily's Shop

• Matching shapes to their outlines: Use cookie cutters. Trace the shape/outline of each cookie cutter onto pieces of square paper. Demonstrate how to match each cookie cutter to its outline and then invite the toddler to do the same.
• Learning to drink from a cup: Provide your child with a very small cup (one that holds about 1 teaspoon of liquid). Show baby how to hold the cup and drink from it. After demonstrating, invite baby to do the same.Provide lots of opportunities for baby to practice this and expect spills.
• Putting lids on and taking them off: Give your little one a pot with its matching lid (already on). Show the child how to remove and replace the lid. Invite the child to so the same. As the child becomes proficient, introduce another pot and lid (in addition to the first one). 
• Pincer Grasp practice: Use a clean empty coffee can or a basket with a smooth rim. Use clothes pins and show the child how to use the pincer grasp to open the clothes pins and place them, one by one, on the rim/edge of the coffee can. Show the child how to remove them and place them into a basket on the right (or left is your child is learning in English). Invite the child to do the activity by him/herself.
• Matching Colours: Use paint strips (many hardware stores have these available for free in the paint department). Get two sets of each colour. Cut each strip to isolate each primary colour and mount them on stiff cardboard or small wood pieces (found at craft stores) making sure only the colour is showing (i.e. not the colour of the wood underneath or a border from the cardboard). Start with two colours (i.e. red and blue). Place all of the colour cards on a workmat (in no particular order but so that no two matching colours are next to each other). Make sure the child is facing the workmat (i.e. next to you, in your lap). Pick up one of the blue colour cards and silently put it next to a red card. Say, "The card I have is the colour blue. This card (point to the red card) and say, "This card is red. They are not the same colour." Then move the blue card next to the other blue card. Pause, leaving the two cards next to each other and say, "Both of these cards are blue." Leave the blue card next to its match. Do the same thing with the red card. Mix the cards up again and invite the child to match the colour cards. As the child shows mastery of the concept introduce another primary colour (i.e. green).
• Teach the parts of the head/face (i.e. head, ears, nose, mouth): Touch your nose and say, "Nose. This is my nose. Can you point to your nose please?" and repeat with the other parts.
• Two piece puzzles: Take pictures (without living creatures and that do not have faces in them) and mount them onto stiff cardboard or cardstock. Cut the pictures into two pieces to make 2-piece puzzles. Introduce the activity using only one puzzle. Present the puzzle as a complete puzzle. Then take the puzzle apart and show the child how to put the puzzle together again. Intentionally place the pieces in incorrect positions (so that the puzzle is not accurately put together) before putting it together correctly again. 
• Put it in and take it out: Take a piece of fabric or felt and sew a pocket onto it. Take a small toy and show the child how to place the object into the pocket and remove it again. Invite the child to do the activity (like the picture of teaching about weather above).
• Vocabulary Building: Reading books that focus on introducing vocabulary words that are related to: names of pieces of clothing, different animals, colours, etc. 

Click on image for larger view

Activities such as those mentioned above do not need to be long in their presentation and can last a few minutes or several. If your child wishes to continue with an activity allow him/her to do so uninterrupted but if you notice the child has lost interest, end the activity and take the child with you as you clean up the materials and put them in their correct spot.

Insha'Allaah this has been helpful to those who have children in this age range and if your child is one years old, you may find the following book helpful. In it you will find activities suitable for children ages 1-3 with clear instructions about how to do each activity, what is needed and possible extensions where appropriate. 

 

Child's Play: Montessori Games and Activities for Your Baby and Toddler

Three Part Cards: Shapes

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

3-Part Cards for Shapes

Shapes included are: 

- Circle

- Crescent

- Diamond

- Heart

- Hexagon

- Oval

- Parallelogram

- Pentagon

- Rectangle

- Star

- Square

- Trapezoid

- Triangle

All of the shapes are the same colour to allow the child to focus on the shape they see on each card and not be distracted by different colours.  

Print on cardstock and laminate for durability. Download the cards here (English) and here (عربي) insha'Allaah. You can find more information here about how to use Montessori 3-Part cards.

Enjoy insha'Allaah!

Spring Flower Arabic Colours Matching Game

Assalamu alaikum,

We have seen some stunning flowers lately alhamdulillah. Just beautiful, vibrant colours that Allah has placed in His creation. To compliment what we have been seeing, I made an Arabic colour matching game using painted wooden flowers and popsicle sticks for the stems.

I painted wooden flower pieces different colours. All of the flowers are the same type to allow the child to focus on colour instead of variation in flower designs. Then I took popsicle sticks and wrote the names of the colours in Arabic on one side. On the back of each stick I painted the corresponding colours of the flowers (this is the control of error in the game, more on that further down insha'Allah) - one stick to match each flower.

The flowers in the bottom right hand corner are gold, silver and yellow but due to the lighting you can't tell.

To play, all of the flowers are laid out. The popsicle sticks are then placed on the table with the colour sides facing down. The child will see only the colour word written in Arabic. The child is then invited to match the 'stem' with the correct flower.

For older children, place the sticks word side up. Invite the child to read the colour name (or you can read it for them insha'Allah) and then invite them to find the corresponding flower to match. The child can check their answers by simply turning the stick over to see if the colour on the opposite side of the stick matches the flower they matched it with (Control of Error).  

For younger toddlers, you can simply have them match the coloured sticks to the correct stick and tell them the name of the colour in Arabic.

You can use cut out flowers from magazine or you can make flowers from construction paper to play this game. Your stems can be made from cardboard, construction paper or whatever is handy and will work insha'Allah.

Enjoy insha'Allah!

Snowy Day Activities For The Little Ones

Assalamu alaikum,

I'm working on simple activities for the little ones that relate to the fantastic landscape that awaits them outside alhamdulillah. So far, this first activity has been a hit alhamdulillah. I just made 10 snowballs out of yarn (that only took about 20-30 minutes alhamdulillah). I used yarn because infants and toddlers, up until about 18 months old, put most things that are in their hand into their mouth. The yarn snowballs are too large for the mouth insha'Allah and can't be swollowed insha'Allah.

I then covered a can with solid blue paper. With a work mat (to delineate work space), sit with the child on the floor. Tell the child that you will put a snowball into the can and demonstrate this by placing one or two snowballs into the can. Invite the child to place a snowball into the can. The child (ages 12 -15 months) picks up a snowball one at a time and drops it into the can.

I added language and math to this activity by counting aloud each time he/she puts a snowball into the can. This way, the child becomes familiar with the numbers and also increases vocabulary insha'Allah. I also added a little fun to the activity by doing something special when the child placed the 10th snowball in the can (i.e. a hug, an enthusiastic 'jazakum Allahu khayr!', etc.).  It's amazing how the child anticipates the number 10 and starts giggling even before they put the snowball into the can..hehe.

This activity is for the older tots (24 months and older). Place the snowflake number cards in a basket and the child can go to the activity and take the cards out, line them up and place the appropriate number of yarn snowballs under the corresponding numbers insha'Allah.

The third activity is a counting activity also. You need an empty, clean egg carton box. Cut off the last two compartments for 1-10 counting activities such as this one. With a black marker (or you can buy those blank circle stickers and write the numbers on them and stick them into the bottom of the compartments insha'Allah), write the numbers 1-10 in each compartment (one number per compartment). The child then places one snowball in each compartment and says aloud the number he/she see in the compartment they are working with at that moment (or the teacher/parent) can do the counting insha'Allah.

Insha'Allah, I'll post a few more snowy activities later in the week and there will be a small colouring book included insha'Allah.

Here are the snowflake counting cards I used (there are Arabic and English number cards insha'Allah).

Snowflake Counting Cards - Arabic

Snowflake Counting Cards - English

Enjoy insha'Allah!

Shapes Game for Toddlers

Assalamu alaikum,

I put together this game for toddlers (and kindergarteners) to learn their shapes insha'Allah. I intentionally did not put the names of the shapes on the game cards so that the cards can be used regardless of what language the toddler is being taught in insha'Allah. I designed the game to be one that the toddler can be an active participant in with his/her family (and get some learning in all at the same time (smile)) insha'Allah.

Here is the game insha'Allah and the directions for play are under the photos insha'Allah:

The Game Cards (front and back view)

The Game Pieces

How to play insha'Allah:

1 - Get all of the game cards and place them face down in a stack on the floor or in a basket insha'Allah. For older toddlers and Kindergarteners, I recommend printing two sets of game cards and maybe two sets of game pieces too insha'Allah. However, if the child is just learning their shapes, print only one set to eliminate confussion and/or frustration insha'Allah.

  

2 - Place the game pieces face up on the floor insha'Allah.

3 - Each player takes turns picking a card from the basket (or stack). He/she has to find the shape from among the pieces on the floor that matches the shape on the back of the card he/she has selected insha'Allah.

For young toddlers you can invite them to pick a card and then you name the shape on their card insha'Allah. Invite the toddler to find the shape from among the game pieces on the floor. If he/she picks the wrong shape simply say, "Jazakum Allahu khayr. That is a ______ (whatever shape they picked). Please find the _______ (whatever shape is on the card they have) insha'Allah". If the child is having difficulty, invite the child to place the shape game piece onto the shape on the back of the game card and see if they match insha'Allah. *Note: for toddlers around 15 months (or older) who are just being introduced to shapes, it is a good idea to start with two or three shapes (including the cards) at first and add more as the child becomes more skilled with the activity insha'Allah.

For older toddlers and kindergarteners you can make the game more challenging by requiring that they name the shape in addition to finding the correct game piece that matches their card insha'Allah.

4 - If the player picks the correct shape, he/she gets to keep his/her card insha'Allah. They return the shape game piece to the floor insha'Allah. If they pick the incorrect shape game piece they must return the card to the stack insha'Allah and place the game piece back on the floor among the others. The game ends when all shapes have been picked correctly and there are no more cards to pick from. (This step is recommended for children 3 years and older insha'Allah. For children under 3, decide what you and your child are comfortable with as far as what happens to the card when they pick the correct game piece insha'Allah).

To make the game I printed the game cards out and mounted them on poster board material. I then glued the shapes onto the back of the game cards. I printed a second set of shapes and mounted those on poster board material too. I laminated the cards and game pieces so that they last longer insha'Allah.

Here are the files for the game insha'Allah:

Shapes Game (includes game cards & pieces)

Shapes Game Pieces (game pieces only - no cards)

Enjoy insha'Allah!

Two-Piece Puzzles for infants 15 to 18 month olds

assalamu alaikum, This activity is for infants 15 to 18 months old. Puzzles have long been a favourite activity for children but puzzles aren't just fun, toddlers benefit from working with puzzles in many domains. Working with puzzles:

• Helps develop & improve hand-eye coordination
• Helps develop spacial skills
• Helps develop children's ability to recognize shapes and sizes
• Lays a foundation for later math skills that will be important in geometry (which falls under spacial relationships skills)

Making your own puzzle is simple and amazingly quick alhamdulillah. I've designed some very simple templates to get you started and I've provided some photos of different masaajids from around the world. The pictures are under Creative Commons and you can find these all over the web alhamdulillah.

For toddlers it is recommended to start out with a two-piece puzzle and as the child gains experience and skill, you can introduce three piece puzzles insha'Allah. I'll do my best to design some three and four piece templates and upload them to my site in the FREEBIE section insha'Allah.

The directions about how to make the puzzles are included in the file insha'Allah. If you are a teacher or a mum with more than one little one masha'Allah, I recommend you use Mod Podge for photographs to preserve the puzzle insha'Allah. Have fun and enjoy insha'Allah! Here is the link for the file insha'Allah: Islamic Toddler Puzzles

Sorting Activity for infants 15 to 18 months old

assalamu alaikum, 

This activity is for infants 15 to 18 months old insha'Allah. Alhamdulillah, infants at this stage are now able to tell the difference between different colours, sizes and shapes. This is a prime opportunity for a parent to help their infant work on these skills by providing fun, quality activities for their child insha'Allah. Insha'Allah this one qualifies (smile). Directions: Take several solid colour hijaabs (square & rectanlge), the under-piece that many sisters wear under their hijabs (circle), a few sets of black gloves (if you wear them), 4 to 5 siwaak, as many kufis as you can find at home insha'Allah, and other similar items.

• Try to vary the colours and shapes as much as possible insha'Allah.
• Tell your child that you are going to play a sorting game. Explain that sorting means putting things that are alike in the same pile/stack. Provide a circle for each category to aide in the activity (optional).
• Label each circle (i.e. hijabs, siwaak, etc.) or by colour or by shape insha'Allah.
• Talk with the infant about the attributes of the objects before you place one in the circle (i.e. "This hijab has a square shape. Let's put it in the cicle for things that are square or Where do you think we should put this?"). Read the titles of the labels to the infant as you place the object in the circle insha'Allah.
• Place one object in each catagory together but withdraw yourself from the activity once the infant has engaged in it. Once they've demonstrated they know what to do, move out of their visual range and observe. If they place an object in the incorrect circle do not intervene. Allow the infant to continue and when they are done discuss together how they have sorted the objects. Talk about why an incorrect object does not belong where it was placed and allow the infant the chance to self-correct (i.e. place the object in the correct circle/stack).
• Try encouraging the infant to sort the objects according to a different attribute when they have demonstrated that they understand the activity insha'Allah.

Have fun and enjoy insha'Allah!