Freedom

I recently spent a week in China on my summer holiday, which was lovely, but also very frustrating. Frustrating because I seemed to have no freedom when it came to what I wanted to do on the internet. I couldn't check my work or Gmail emails, couldn't share photos or videos from my trip on Google Plus or Facebook etc. It reminds you of how important freedom and the ability to make your own choices are, when your freedoms are taken away.

Freedom is a big part of a Montessori classroom, having this freedom allows the child to develop self-control and self-regulation.  The children are encouraged to seek out activities of their own interest, to engage with these activities for as long as they need, and to manage their own daily routines and activities. Rather than being herded from one activity to the next in groups, children individually choose activities that spark their interests. This individualized approach enables children to control their own choices, movements, and activities.

Another great thing about your child having the freedom to choose what they would like to work on is that it means they will be doing something that they are interested in, something that captures their full attention, which in turn develops their concentration span. It might look like your child is just playing, but they are developing one of the most important skills that they can. In the classroom everything we do is geared towards developing their concentration span or dependent on the child being able to work away and concentrate for extended periods of time.

To ensure your child is extending their concentration span, make sure your child has plenty of activities available to them that spark their interests and capture their attention. Montessori said that at this age children have a tendency to be fascinated by small objects and that they seemed to capture their attention, so fiddly little activities seem to be a great option, the popularity of Lego is evidence of this.

I just had to take the photo below, despite his toilet training related nudity! Jake is in love with vehicles at the moment and he had spent such a long time, taking these cars off their shelf and arranging them in a line all next to each other. I have no idea why he chose to do it or what was so satisfying for him to keep taking cars out and lining them up so carefully, but the concentration and desire to work without any encouragement or direction was fantastic to see and he was clearly very happy with his handiwork! It might look like just mindless play, but I was thrilled to see him showing an interest in repetition and precision, two human tendencies that the child should naturally have. Without repetition and precision your child will not excel at things that need practice and take time to learn, so naturally it is something that we should be overjoyed to see them exhibit as well as foster whenever we can. When you see your child working away busily and so absorbed that they have no interest in what you are doing, you know you have hit the jackpot (and not just because you get a few minutes to do something uninterrupted!).

 This all said, the freedom and choice is not unlimited in the classroom. We only put activities into the classroom that we believe will help the child develop a desirable skill, the adults are still puppet masters, subtly manipulating what the children learn. People talk about 'learning through play', I believe all play leads to the children learning something, we choose what they learn through the toys and activities we make available to them. Question what is your child learning from each toy you buy. Most of the time if they love something you can put it to good use teaching them all kinds of things. Playing with a bunch of little cars seems fairly uneducating, but there is a lot you can do with them, learn colour names, sort them by colours, match colours, count them, enumerate with them, learn the names of different parts, different types of vehicles etc. Following your child's interest will always help them to be more interested in what you are teaching, so use it to your advantage. 

There are also certain skills that we would love for the children to acquire and want to integrate into their school day. We hope that the children are always keen to try everything, but often children are lacking in confidence or have insecurities about trying some things. We rule out the option for negativity by giving them a few options rather than a yes/no question. For example, if we think a child would benefit from developing their fine motor skills, rather than asking 'would you like to come and do some drawing with me?', we can tell them that we really would really like to do an activity with them and ask if they would like to do some writing with us, or some drawing? Usually with an option of one or the other, rather than the option of refusing to try, a child will happily make a choice and come away from the experience feeling like they had the freedom to choose what they wanted to work on. 

If your child seems to be worried or reluctant about trying something that you would like to do with them, try giving them some options to choose from. Even if it is a few jobs you need to do in the day like load the dishes or hang out the clothes, ask they what they would like to help you do. I think young children are very frustrated by not being in control, Jake is very much like this and desperately wants independence and freedom, resisting really strongly and showing great frustration when I try to control his movement or take away his freedom. Little reinforcements to make them feel in control should help to reduce their frustration at feeling like they are not in control. If your child is also strong willed enough that fighting it seems to be a waste of time, give it a try to make them feel like they have control over their life and have the ability to choose their own direction.  

Repetition and learning the numbers

If you have met me, you have probably heard me banging on about routine and repetition! I really believe that at this early age, everything keeps coming back to routine and repetition. Anything you want your child to achieve must be integrated into their daily routine and done again and again until they have perfected the skill. If you do it once a day you can achieve it infinitely faster than once a week, not only because of the extra repetitions, but because there is such a little amount of time between practices for them to forget.

For example, I can see that if I play a little letter game with Jake (my little one) it will take about a month and a half for him to really know them. In contrast, I have seen many children who play a little letter game once a week and realistically they are lucky if they have it mastered in a year. This is not only because to get in those 45 practice sessions it takes 45 weeks, but because they spend so much time relearning what they have forgotten over the week long interval.

Do you want your child to learn things swiftly and with ease? Do you want them to have their confidence boosted by seeing rapid development and progress? Then, basically all you need to do is stick to practicing whatever it is they are learning for a few minutes every day! It doesn't really seem to matter if you just do a tiny bit every day, whether it is just playing a little letter game for two or three minutes, counting to ten a few times over the course of the day or riding a scooter up and down the path for a few minutes. Whatever it is, if you stick to it you will see results.

Luckily, as you may have noticed, children love repetition, whether it is that picture book they want to read over and over or that repetitive song like ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ that they never get bored of singing. They thrive on repetition, on the predictable, because it makes them feel secure and successful, because they know what is going to happen. Children also seem to begin to accept that whatever it is that they are doing every day, is part of everyday life. They don’t question it, they just get on and do it. That is what I find with things like writing, the children who do a bit of writing at home every day are keen, have no fear and will just sit down and get on with it. Children who don’t practice every day are much more likely to see it as something to be worried about, have insecurities, which I guess are somewhat founded, because without that constant repetition, they don’t see progress anywhere near to that of a child who is having a little practice every day.

At the moment, one of the things we are focussing on doing a little of every day is recognise the numbers. One of the resources that I think is good for this is a numbers puzzle, like in the photos below. They are very cheap, easy to find in toy stores or on ebay for around $10 (search wooden number puzzle). We play a game where I/he takes them out and I tell him what they are. Then when they are on the table I ask him to find me a certain number, so he can find it and the put it into the puzzle. He is very good at finding the numbers, but still can't name them all, which is typical. You need to play finding games a lot, until your child is so confident and then they will be able to tell you the names of the numbers. 

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So, Jake is not the easiest, most placid of children! The above game we play while he is having a snack or eating a meal, because the game keeps him busy enough to sit down and eat, and the food keeps him in one place so he is paying attention to the activity! He can sit down and work when he is interested and absorbed by an activity, but loves to be on the go and like a lot of boys/ children in general, learns better when he is on the move. I had some leather offcuts given to me and I have cut them up and written numbers on them. I pop the squares on the floor and tell Jake to find a number. He finds it and jumps on it, then we jump up and down the amount of times that the square specifies. Good counting practice while we are at it and he loves it. 

Because 6 and 9 are easily muddled by the children a fun game is holding up the six and saying 'silly, silly six, standing on his head with his feet in the air', then lie down with your little one and put your feet in the air, mimicking the six shape. They think it is great fun, giggling away. Then hold up nine and say 'sensible number nine, standing up straight with his head at the top and feet on the floor' and have them stand up being a nine. 

Jake loves cars and driving little ones around so we use them to practice enumerating. We put the numbers out on the mat, I ask him to find number one, then we set it out and go and get one car from the shelf and so on... Use whatever your child likes and hopefully it will keep them involved and interested!

    

  

I know too much screen time isn't good and Jake won't sit still for long to watch a tv show properly anyway, but if he is eating or in the car he is absorbed by it and I think, why not? A very repetitive, but I think potentially useful tv show for children is the preschool prep series. They all seem to be on youtube nowadays or you can buy the dvd/ download them. This is the youtube link for the numbers show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8kZRuLcS5M They also have ones for colours, and for reading etc. 

Jake is great at counting to ten now, if you want to practice rote counting, integrate it into everyday life. Count every stair as you climb them, every block as you build a tower, every step as you cross the road. 

Enjoy, I am counting on you to make numbers a tonne of fun! 

Developing organisation

Hope you all had a great Christmas!

As your children are showered in new toys, I wanted to remind you of yet another first world problem, having too many toys…

Having a selection of toys to choose from is fantastic, it allows your child to find things that they are interested in, which will keep them busy and concentrating for extended periods of time. This builds their attention span, develops their self-control and the self-discipline to work hard because of an intrinsic desire to do so. This joy of exploration and learning, as well as an extended concentration span, are the building blocks of your child’s lifelong learning.  

Too much choice is another thing though. It isn't easy to make a choice if there are too many options. Not easy to keep track of what is there and what they really enjoy. It also starts getting harder to be organised, to have order – externally and internally. It seems that a much better option to having a mass of options on offer all the time, is to have a select amount, which can be rotated with new activities when they seem to have lost interest in them.

A rule of taking one out, for every new one that goes in might be a good plan of action here. Not gone forever, but a rotation of sorts, where you have a box in the garage and subtly tuck away the old toys that your child isn’t interested in anymore. I am sure that if they haven't outgrown it, something you bring out again in a month will be met with a new level of interest as they see it as something new and exciting again.

When your child starts preschool the first things that they will need to learn is the ability to make a choice as to what they would like to work on and how to keep a tidy and organised environment. Other than respect for the environment, the main rule in the classroom is that the children can only have one activity out at time. Before they start something new, they need to put away their rubbish and pack away all the parts of their previous activity. This is an example of a shelf of practical life activities at school: 

Every activity has space and is clearly set out on it's own tray/ container. This makes it easy for the children to know what is involved with each activity and know where to put everything away again. 

 I am trying to prepare Jake for starting school and being able to keep a tidy environment at home by replicating this kind of set up. The photos below are of his play area, where he has a table and a large mat area to do activities on. I can see that the two smaller shelves are set out in a way that helps Jake to keep things tidy. They have activities on trays or in small baskets and it is easy for him to see what he needs to take out and easy for him to understand what needs to go back on the shelf before the next activity is started.

Big bins don't make it easy to see what is in there, encourage your child to tip it all out to see what it contains and lead to collections of odds and ends that can be just chucked in...

Organised shelves with open trays make it easy for your child to make a choice, easy for them to put everything away and stay organised.

The larger shelf is far less successful, the problem is with the big blue boxes. These seem to become the go to place for odd items, a jumble of bits and bobs. These toys either don't get used because they are in a big jumble and not very visually accessible or they get tipped all over the floor and a big mess is made so that Jake can see what is in them or find what he is looking for. It would be much better to have all of their contents put away in the shed and brought out when there is space for them to have their own tray, where they could be presented in a more accessible way. I am cleaning out these boxes, except for the one with Duplo, and changing this space and I invite you to take a look at your children's play area and edit any areas that you see as not helping your child make a choice or maintain order. 

     

    

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Pre writing skills

So much of what we do in the classroom is subtly helping to develop the child’s hand strength and coordination in preparation for writing. I found it quite fascinating when I first began my teaching degree how much you could prepare your child for writing, without ever actually doing any writing. When a child has been exposed to all these activities and given the opportunity to develop their hand strength at a young age, they start writing and just excel! That gives them a lot of confidence, they take great pride in their new skills and have a really positive attitude towards writing. In contrast, the child who is lacking in strength and coordination trudges along, not really being able to progress very fast when they begin to write and that is a lot harder, a lot less motivating. At the end of the day, what we are looking to foster in our students more than anything else, is a love of learning, and everyone loves what they are good at, what comes naturally, without pain or struggle. We probably all remember the children in school who would waste the majority of their time procrastinating, saying ‘I hate writing’ or ‘I can’t do it’. With the right preparation, that will never be your child, they won’t need to be hampered down with insecurities and can get on with perfecting their skills with the knowledge that they can do it and they are good at it.

I am told by parents of kindy children that some of the children in their child’s class still cannot hold a pencil correctly! This is also quite common with young children when they start preschool, where the child has gotten into a firm habit of holding their pencil with a fist, with their hand upside down or a number of other strange ways. The way to overcome this is through constant moving the child's hand back into the correct position and reminding them of how to hold it, until the habit is broken. However, it is much easier for them to learn the right way to begin with, rather than unlearn old ways.

Essentially, any activity where the child is forced to hold objects in the ideal pencil grip, is a great to way to prepare them for writing.

• Chalk or crayons, broken into little pieces, so that they are too small to be able to be held in any way other than than with the tips of their fore fingers and thumb are ideal. If you don’t have a chalk board you just need a paved/ concrete outdoor area that can be hosed down once they have finished. The older children love to have such a big area to get creative as well, and seeing them working can be great inspiration for little ones. Once a good pencil hold has been established, any drawing or coloring in is a fantastic way to get their hand strength and coordination going. 

 

•          Puzzles with little knobs

•          Any small fiddly activities such as Lego, where the item is so small it must be held by the tips of fingers.

 

 

•  Pegs! Great for developing concentration as well. When my mum introduced my little one to a bowl of pegs he spent a solid hour putting them all around the bowl and taking them off, again and again, totally absorbed in his work. It is even better if you can organize it so that they can help you hang real clothes on a low line and put pegs on it. I can halve the time spent hanging and taking down laundry by giving Jake a little basket to hang out, while I hang out larger things on the big line and he feels like he is really involved and I guess gets that satisfaction from being a productive member of the family! I have seen lovely little hills hoist play washing lines online that would be so cute and perfect for this if you want something a bit more pretty. This is just the cheap and quick option, about $10 from Kmart for the drying rack and a peg basket with pegs.

 

• ​     Beading, starting with big chunky beads and as concentration and skill increases, working towards smaller beads. You can talk about colors or make patterns as they get more skilled.                                                                                                                                                  
  

-          Spooning, whether it is feeding themselves or as an activity

 

-         Using Tongs to serve food. At the Montessori playgroup we attend the children serve themselves a snack using tongs, they love it! There is a lot of heaping up plates unnecessarily so that they get to use the tongs a bit more...

-  When they are really good at using things like tongs and pegs, move it up to tweezers for a good challenge. If you can get your hands on a sunflower the dried up middle part of the flower is really interesting for the children, they can really get up close and examine it all, pull out the little seeds and peel back their shell. It is fascinating to them to think each of those little seeds can grow a whole new enormous sunflower with so many new seeds! 

  

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If your child is using an iPad or tablet be aware that while it might be developing other things, it isn't developing their pencil hold. I have had students that have had great little games on these devices and spent a lot of time on them. Some of them have been fantastic at reading and spelling, but didn’t have the hand coordination to be able to write more than the most basic letters. I think that if your child is really keen on using a tablet, than a stylus pen would be a great investment, so that they are practicing holding their pen all the time that they are using the device. 

Developing independence and confidence in the kitchen

I have a little boy who is almost two, who I hope will be ready to start preschool in about half a year. He is not yet the perfect student(!) and so as we work our way down the path towards beginning preschool, I thought I would update you every week on what we are working on, to give you ideas on ways to prepare your child for a really successful start to school.

Aside from his social development, there are two main areas that I think my son could benefit from in regards to preschool preparation, two areas that so many children need help with when they start. The first is developing his concentration and work cycle (that is, the ability to choose an activity, complete it and then put it away/ tidy up after it)  and the second is learning things like his numbers, colors and letters, which will allow him a great base to build on and help him to really excel academically.

I find that we spend a lot of time with most children when they start, helping them to develop their concentration and a work cycle. Having independence and concentration is one of the most important skills you can help your child develop, something that will really give them the ability to succeed at anything they do. The self-confidence your child can gain from being able to become independent is also priceless. Children who have had everything done for them seem to give up on bothering to try, in the end they draw the logical conclusion and decide that they are obviously useless, dependent on an adult to do everything for them and lose all confidence in themselves. Take a step back and encourage your child to work independently on their job without your input or even presence. Allow them to have ‘work’, have a purpose and feel self-empowered! I never want to hear a child say 'I can't do it' or 'you do it for me'. Montessori's motto was 'help me do it by myself' and that is just what we need to do for our children.

The kitchen is a great place to start working on developing these skills. Children love getting involved in the kitchen, the minute I try and do anything, mine will start moving a chair over to the bench so he can climb up and start interfering with anything I am doing! He is never happier or more inclined to eat his food, as when he is involved with the preparation.

Cutting food up is a great activity that can be part of any child’s day. It will build their hand 
coordination, strength and concentration. Try to incorporate cutting and food preparation into your child’s life, have them cut up a snack or place a small bench or table in your kitchen and have them cut vegetables for meals that you are preparing. They will take great pride in being part of the process and it will boost their self-esteem and independence.

 

Cutting a banana with a wave chip cutter

Cutting apples with a Kiddi Kutter knife

Always remember little victories build confidence and protect your child from experiencing frustration and defeat. It never hurts to practice things that they are good at, it is merely reinforcing their skills and perfecting them, so work in little steps, starting easy and adjusting the difficulty as needed.

Step One: Give your child a small butter knife or a wavy chip cutter and a soft material such as a banana. Show them how to cut it on a chopping board and place the pieces on a plate as they are cut. As they gain skill and confidence give them things that are a little harder to cut such as cheese or melon.

Step Two: Replace the butter knife with a knife that works on a sawing action such as a ‘Kiddi Kutter’ knife. It is now possible to cut harder food like apples or carrots, but not their fingers!

Step Three: Once your child has the hand strength and coordination to use a knife you can introduce a sharp knife, obviously under careful supervision and instruction. Warn your child about what can happen if they cut themselves and show them how to cut carefully. If they do cut themselves be careful not to overreact, just remind them how careful they need to be when cutting.

Pouring is another skill that children love to practice, mine will keep practicing, back and forth, until all the water has ended up on the table! Regardless, he is gaining skill, coordination, independence, developing his concentration and feeling the confidence that comes with all of that! If you want to increase their ability to work independently, put everything they will need on a shelf so that they can get out all the things they need and cut up food whenever they feel hungry.    

*Where to get the gear: Ebay is probably the cheapest and least running around for Kiddi Kutter knives, which we love. I would recommend Kmart for anything breakable so that no one needs to be too upset when something gets smashed! Breaking things is part of the process, it is the only way they learn why they need to take care and look after their things. If they only have plastic things that can be thrown around, they will tend to continue to be rough and careless with it, whereas once they have smashed something you can see a whole new level of care coming into play. 

                                                   
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