LEARNING THE BASICS

I started teaching M. the days of the week. It seems silly to make her know by heart a series of names that doesn't really have a meaning for her; so I draw her week, drawing what she is more likely to be doing each day, colour the days in different colours and drew a little portrait of M. on cardboard which she can move to a different day every morning and stick it with blue-tack.
First I taught her that for every day we will associate a colour, made a little rhyme for it which she could easily learn. Then I sang for her the song of the days of the week until she learnt it. In the end I made a time-line chart with the days of the week in the way I've explained above.
At every circle time we have we repeat the names of the days of the week, then I ask her which day she thinks today is, and then I ask her to go and move her little portrait and put it on today slot.
It is a success: now M. can say the names of the days of the week and has a minimum understanding of what they mean for her.

WORM FACTORY

This is a fun-science activity for children to understand what worms do and how they help to mantain the soil rich and help the flowers and plant grow.

You need:
- a glass jar
- some sieved soil
- dead leaves
- earth warms
- a dark cloth

1) hunt for some worms with the children (they must be big mature warms!), 4 or 5 should be enough
2) put them in a container with the soil you found them in
3) get your jar
4) fill the jar with one layer of about 3cm of soil, then spray some water and fill the jar with another 3 cm of soil, spray some more water, leave only about 5 cm from the top
5) put your warm in the jar
6) cover them with the leaves
7) cover the jar with the dark cloth and put it in a dark place

After a couple of days go and observe the jar. there should be worm tunnels, you should see some leaves dragged into the soil.





When you have finished the observation relise the worms in the garden...the soil they where housed into will be very nutritious for your flowers!

World project

I didn't have the time to write, nonetheless we have been very busy with all our activities and project.
M. is now attending a Montessori nursery 2 mornings a week, at home I am trying to keep the nursery routine, even if ours is more relaxed! I am doing "circle-time" where I teach numbers, shapes, colours, and different topics in a fun way, we also have "story-time" and if M. is up for it "music and sing time".

I have been working on my world project. I found Montessori children and foods cards on e-bay for real cheap, then I added some of my own, found in magazines and real photos we took of people and food we encounter every day. I have also took M. twice to events about world food where we also could taste some of it, even if M. is not always quite keen!

It surely made her aware of differences and similaraties between herself and other children, it also made her aware that people from different part of the world do not live or eat the same food as us. She found this topic very interesting and she often looks at the pictures.










I have also made the Europe puzzle, but this one was more difficult to make than the World Puzzle, didn't come as good, and because there are so many pieces, it is also quite difficult for Muhajiza.