Thursday, April 2

Toddler Activities

Loud and Quiet Shakers: I put these together to offer an exercise in discriminating between sounds and tried to gear them towards loud and quiet. I have them out on a tray and my daughter shakes them one at a time.

Water Transfer With a Sponge: This is a traditional lesson for a 3-6 year old class. My oldest daughter used it early on and so we don't use it in our Montessori room anymore. I was interested to see how my youngest daughter would do with it. I use a sponge cut in half for her smaller hands and she wears an apron for this work. I began by filling the bowl on the left with water about 1/4 full.

I demonstrated by placing the sponge in the water and carefully lifting it and moving it to the other bowl. Holding my hand about level with the edge of the bowl, I slowly squeezed the sponge and waited for the last drop to fall. I then returned the sponge to the bowl on the left and repeated. My daughter transferred the water from one bowl to the other and back using the sponge. Of course, it all ended with her picking up a bowl and beginning to pour. We cleaned up together (as best she could) using the towel provided. Initially, I thought about putting the bowls in a plastic tub, which would contain any pouring that goes on.

1 comment:

Erin said...

My youngest would have a blast with those shakers! He loves to make music out of everything he can find. :)