At one stage of my career I started created lots of educational materials. It all began when I learned about Montessori Principles of Teaching through the courses I studied via UK and USA. I was so inspired by these. They were like a magical recipe I could use to create lessons that clearly taught concepts and skills.

I collected things, bought various things with a plan in mind. I designed my own original ideas as well as extensions and variations. I’ll presume you know what this means and move on with my post. But if you would like to know more, feel free to type in a comment below.

I spent hours every day making materials. All kinds. I created games, designed lessons and activities. It was all very exciting. Until of course I had to move and wasn’t able to take everything with me. But I have photos and drawings of what I planned to make too. I hope that in the future I will use these drawings to do just that, and develop more ideas.

Lately I’m interested in nature and how valuable this is; especially for young children. Nature is the best place to learn and grow. With so many possibilities I will post some ideas as part of my next video series. Using nature to inspire lessons in the classroom is another way of inspiring children’s learning. I find that after a few days outdoors I only have to strategically place samples of what’s found outside such as sticks, leaves, shells, stones, and my child is drawn to these. It brings back to life the experiences she had.

Montessori inspired hand made materials created for my work with children aged 3-6 years. It’s important that learning goals are clear and the materials are beautiful so the child respects them.

The materials I prepared in this video teach Math concepts and prepares the child for reading. Indirect learning is what interests me the most because it provides lessons and activities developmentally appropriate for individual needs and interests.

If you’d like to know more or have ideas of your own to share on the topic feel free to comment in the box below.

Thank you

During my teaching days I remember how useful videos such as this one were. I could set it up the night before and students would be attentive and intrigued that their teacher created it. I used it as a model for older students to create their own.

Quizzes are a great way to entice interest in a topic. It also teaches how to ask questions. Developing responsible and useful ways to use computer technology is important.

You could use the video with a book about sea turtles. Pause the video after each question and find out the answer in the book. This is one example on how parents and teachers can use this video as a teaching tool.

After watching the video, set up a sand box and a cup of water with figurines of the lifecycle of a Turtle for children to act out the turtle’s story. Write it down or film it.

Adapt to the child’s interest and level.

I created this video because I find turtles interesting. They are mysterious creatures and it seems there is a lot more we can learn about them.

Years ago I taught a Grade 3 class and I entered my class into a Turtle naming contest. A real live one! Turtles are tracked by scientists to protect them and learn more about them. Ours was one of the winners and the turtle’s name we thought of was ZIG ZAG. I sometimes wonder how ZIG ZAG is.

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Quick and easy tips on how to combine the toys you have and every day things to create educational outcomes through simple play experiences. Perfect for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Perfect for busy stay home parents or working parents who just want to do some fun activities at home.

Adapt the activities to your child’s level. These can be repeated every day as your child learns different concepts each time the activities are visited. Focus on a different sense each time- for example, hear how each item rolls. Can you guess which object it might be? Close your eyes- how do they feel? How heavy are they? Possibilities are endless though here’s a place to start.

I show you how to set up your toys at home in an inviting way and to help your child learn. I also create activity sets which teach matching pairs, how things move, simple experiments, connecting ideas and learning new skills. Counting practice in different ways! We explore the relationship of matching pairs, and the idea of odd and even. Explore how different shapes are made by building, and how they move. E.g. A cylinder can roll. Share items with a friend. Find the relationship with sharing and adding!

What do 5 things look like?

Explore, explore, explore and have fun!

Try to keep this as verbal as possible. Lots of talking and pause at different words and repeat them. You could do some writing a different time such as chalk drawing squiggles. For older children write the numbers up to 5. Though do go back and do the hands on activities a lot more. Try to think of ways to extend your child using what you have- go outside and revisit the activities again finding other matching pairs found outdoors.

– Mix and match lego and blocks. – Dress up your teddy bear.

Transport things from one place to another.

Sensorial boxes of all kinds and add a magnifying glass

A breakfast tray or a small trampoline outside to use as an activity table.

Pre-trace a puzzle to colour or paint. Later create a book.

Lay parts of a puzzle to create a play experience. Use a cardboard box and change it to anything you like. This is called symbolic play.

Hide toys and find them again.

Watch the video for more ideas. I like to write ideas on a pieces of paper and post it on my fridge. Single words to cue me in over the course of the busy day.

If you’re like me, you might like to start journal or a blog. Do it and let’s connect, share ideas and build a better education in the home for our children.

For more play dates subscribe to my Youtube channel and for more information and to make comments or ask questions please do so below. And you can also follow my blog: https://playdatewithmaria.music.blog/

A simple experiment that can last all morning. Combine play dough to stick parts together. Toddlers love this play experience.

A folded up gym mat or anything that makes a slat works for this exciting play experience. Collect different sized balls, lids, cylinder blocks and containers and simply let them go from the top to watch them roll down.

A wooden toy car or truck that shows the wheels and how they are made is displayed for reference. Try rolling it too. Let’s now make our own wheels!

The lids are too thin and so we stick two together to make it roll better. Watch the shape of makes as it rolls. This isn’t shown in the video but you could roll the lids in paint to visually see the patterns better. Using play dough is a great way to introduce sticking without glue.

Try sticking the lids into different blocks and roll. What happens? This is really great fun and your child will learn a lot. He/she will gain confidence by leading his/her own play. Your child will then be telling you what to do.

Which shapes cannot roll? How can we change shapes to make them roll? These are great problem solving skills.

I recommend using what you have. Often we worry too much about this and it becomes an obstacle. Collect containers and other useful materials. Involve your child with making the play dough.

I hope you enjoy this activity. Which part do you like most? If you do try it I’d love to hear how it went.

Thank you for watching.

Playing with lego is fun and these large ones are great for developing toddler’s fine motor and gross motor skills as they learn.

Today I demonstrate how to use lego to teach Maths. Before starting I sort the lego pieces into size and colour. This makes it easy to see what I have, and get to know the dimensions of each piece. We can use these pieces to compare, count and measure.

By familiarising themselves with the dimensions, children can build and design different structures. They compare lengths, add and subtract, and count on. They estimate and test which pieces may or may not fit. Using knowledge such as symmetry they can build stronger structures. They learn about fractions, exploring halves. They count. The skills are endless as they enjoy creating!

Children learn to control their movements, hand-eye coordination, visual perception, and other skills needed for building. They practice crossing the midline, pincer needed for writing, gross motor and fine motor skills. Thinking skills, problem solving skills, imagining, planning, preparing, visualising, and sorting.

The many skills that lego teaches!

Sorting, counting, comparing lengths, comparative language, colours, size, construction, adding and subtracting, making a strong base and building, exploring change, shapes, less and more, perspective, visualisation, hand-eye coordination, hand strength, concentration, and pincer finger hold (this is what’s needed to hold a pencil later on).

Am I missing anything else?

As a Montessori trained teacher I used Montessori principles in this play based lesson. For toddlers, I model doing it and at any time the child can take over. Older students can play side by side creating their own designs.

Avoid going to pencil and paper. If you need a record of the child’s work, take photos or a video. Tablets are a great way to do this then when the child is ready he/she could create a video to illustrate his/her own learning.

Written extensions include tracing the lego or drawing the pieces. Include a ruler and/or draw on graphed paper. Or blank paper with a free hand. Create the addition concepts, make the shapes and colour the patterns. Keep it open ended and this will serve itself as a an activity appropriate for different levels.

Keep it fun.

Translate this over to using blocks and other types of construction material.

If you do try This, I’d love to hear how you went with it. Leave a comment below. Thanks!

The letters in the video are Victorian cursive and you could use what you like. I’ve integrated hands on play based ways to use the alphabet. The felt gives a sensorial experience which helps remember letter formation and sounds as the child traces each letter and says the sound.

I’ve used Montessori principles to create activities/lessons that can inspire story creation through play. Use the toys you have and add to the collection as your child shows interest. It’s a fun way to categorise things around him/her. Later you could use pictures and write words though I stay hands on for as long as the child is interested. Don’t rush into the abstract too soon.

Use this for the letter of the day and locate where it is on the alphabet. Use different combinations and order of letters. What you choose to do depends on learning goals and the child’s interest. Follow where this leads your child and adapt it to his/her level.

Use this in association with Montessori moveable alphabet or a different set. Try magnets and place the alphabet on a magnetic board. I believe that children need to be exposed to different kinds of print and capital letters. You could also match capitals with lower case letters. Focus on letter sound not the name to avoid confusion. Once the child knows the sounds he/she can blend words and then introduce the letter names. The possibilities are endless. You can use this for any age.

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