In terms of activities for your child please remember some key things for children of preschool age. Play is their language and they accumulate and assimilate information through play. There is so much you can do to support this as you are and have always been, their primary educators. We would recommend that a routine of some sort will help them get through their day, whether it is with you or with whoever can mind them. But physical activity, reading, jigsaws still remain extremely beneficial to your child. Within the house there are plenty of activities your child could do and will support them in areas covered in Montessori e.g. helping to unload the dishwasher, matching socks from laundry, sweeping the floor, setting the table for dinner. I am attaching a range of activities and online links you can use with your child in the coming weeks.
Have a look here if you would like some suggestions:
Activities
- Good hygiene practices with hand-washing, coughing and sneezing –
- Help make their bed – (Practical Life)
- Empty the bottom part of the dishwasher if you have one or dry items washed by hand – practical life
- Setting the table
- Clearing the table
- Unpack shopping
- Pour their own cereal/ juice
- Help in the preparation for cooking or baking
All of these things give children a sense of responsibility and also help in their organisation and are all part of the ‘Practical Life’ element of the Montessori Curriculum.
Mathematics
Maths around the house is very easy to do. Don’t forget weighing, measuring, playing with blocks, jigsaws are all mathematical activities as it provides the concepts needed for working Maths problems. Here’s a suggestion for a simple game
Have a shape hunt in the house or garden.
1 Draw a few shapes like circle, square, triangle, oval, rectangle
2. Ask your child or children to collect things in these shapes in bundles
3. Draw, colour and label the shapes
4. If they are feeling adventurous make them from cardboard
5. Send us a photo and we can put on the website
6. Have fun!
Literacy
Nursery rhymes, stories, I spy, card games and games like snakes and ladders all have valuable lessons in communication and memory skills all necessary for literacy.
Online Websites for Literacy, Maths, Science and More
www.weareteachers.com/free-online-learning-resources/
Physical play games
Live webcams from Melbourne Zoo
Live feed from Dublin Zoo – Penguins
Up-to-date ebooks – free from all public libraries!
If you or your child is not already a member of your local public library, now is the time to join! And if you are a member, but don’t use Borrow Box, there has never been a better time to start. Borrow Box provides eBooks and audiobooks for free to your phone or other devices without having to leave your home. The app has books for children and for young adults.
You may know that library branches are closed to patrons due to Covid 19, but you and your children can now join the library online and use Borrow Box straight away! Go to http://librariesireland.ie/join, complete the registration, set a PIN, and you’ll be able to log into Borrow Box and start downloading eBooks and audiobooks for free.
