Sunday, February 27, 2011

Mother Nature


Nature gives a child a sense of wonder and a joy of discovery. Teaching a child about nature can be as easy as exploring your own backyard or spending a day on a nature trail.

Bringing the wonders of nature into a child’s realm is easy. Even the busiest city has creeping, crawling creatures and things that bloom and bud. Experiencing nature will make your child understand scientific facts which cannot be just explained through books. Children who are exposed early to nature and it's beauty develop an attitude of respect towards environment. The first step in getting any child interested in nature is to educate her about the world around her.

Ways to help your little one get interested in the natural world can be :

Nature walks -
Take your child frequently to the park or the garden around the house explaining about birds, clouds, trees, soil etc. Children need no encouragement to love nature; everything for them is magical and interesting. The bugs, flowers, the bees, all capture their imagination.

Gardening -
Encourage your child to help you in maintaining the garden, talking about pesticides, tools, water sprinklers, fertilizers, etc. Maintaining a small garden, or just watering plants can be a very satisfying and a fun filled activity.

Plant a tree -
Make your child sow seeds of plant. Tell her, it is her plant. Sit back and observe the way she takes care of it and enjoys watching it grow.

Eating Vegetables -
Growing, cooking and eating of vegetables from the kitchen garden can be very exciting. It can be a good chance to explain about the life cycles and the food chain that we are part of.

Short Hiking Trips -
Children love being in the woods. Short hiking trips into the wild, will produce life long memories of the sights, sounds, smells and sensations found there.

Plan family vacations -
Plan family vacations around national parks. These vacations are fun because the trails through them are easy and well worn.

Discuss and talk -
Share your sense of wonder, but without making it sound like a teaching session.

When you have managed to get the little ones interested in the natural world, it is easy to encourage them to protect and respect it. Talk to them about garbage recycle. With older kids, you can talk about how we can protect our planet, and do our bit, within our neighborhood and on a larger scale. You may well be amazed by some of the innovative ideas they come up with and enjoy putting them in practice.

Have a nice day.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Phonics : The long vowel sound /i/

A long vowel sound is the one that says its name.

E.g :

/a/ as in cake
/e/ as in elect
/i/ as in bike
/o/ as in note
/u/ as in cute

The long vowel /i/ words used in today's story are :

Bike, ride, mile, rise, wipe, fine, hike, site, wise, line, life.

Sample word 'Bike' :

Following our regular study pattern, write the word on 'bike' on a plain card. Start by saying the /b/ sound. As you slide your fingers from the letter 'b' to the letter 'i', lay stress on the long vowel sound of /I/. Keeping the two vowel sound rule on your mind, say the /k/ sound, while skipping the /e/ in the end.

Story for the long vowel sound /i/:

My Bike.

I have a bike.
I can ride a mile on it.
I rise and wipe my bike to keep it fine.
I can hike on my bike to the site.
My bike is a wise bike.
It can ride on a line.
I like my bike.
It is my life.

Take care.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

The Solar System


Toddlers love to gaze at the night sky . The moon is the favorite object of admiration for most little ones. Just by standing in the moonlit night and showing the changing shape of the moon and disappearing stars will kindle your child's interest in the solar system.

To get your little ones curious about the Solar System:

~ Get some glowing stars and planets to decorate your kids room. Stars and planets are the easily available decorating themes for children’s rooms. Try getting their night clothes and bedspreads with star and moon prints.

~ Try showing them the various constellations in books, and whenever you get lucky, show them in the sky. Start by explaining them the names of the various constellations and then their formations. It can get very interesting.

~ Visit the planetarium. It will be an enjoyable learning trip. Although they may not understand much, they will be fascinated by the magnitude and movement of the stars and constellations.

~ Explain the Earth’s position in relation to the Sun, and how it determines the weather and the seasons. Some children will get very interested in the weather and the seasons, which will give you an opportunity to show them books and answer all their questions.

~ The phases of the moon will not escape your child’s notice. Spend some time finding simple explanations to their questions. This can be a good time to introduce the clock and the calendar to your child.

A little knowledge about the Solar System can take your child's imagination, a very long way.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Phonics : The long vowel sound /e/.

A long vowel sound is the one that says its name.

E.g :

/a/ as in cake
/e/ as in elect
/i/ as in bike
/o/ as in note
/u/ as in cute

The long vowel /e/ words used in today's story are :

feat, deal, eat, pea, tea, read, seal, meal,

Sample word 'Beat' :

Following our regular study pattern, write the word on 'seal' on a plain card. Start by saying the /s/ sound. As you slide your fingers from the letter 's' to the letter 'e', lay stress on the long vowel sound of /e/. Keeping the two vowel sound rule on your mind, skip the /a/ sound and directly pronounce the /l/ sound.

The Two Vowel Rule :

When the two vowels sit next to each other in a single word, the first vowel says it's name, (that is, the long sound), and the second vowel remains silent. There are exceptions in this rule, but they need not be taught at this stage.

So, when you pronounce the word 'Seal', vowel 'e' will say it's long sound, while vowel 'a' will remain silent.

Story for the long vowel sound /e/:

The Deal with the Seal.



I have a Seal
It can do a feat.
It can read.
I give it a deal.
It has to eat a pea in his meal.
The Seal eats the pea.
I will give it some tea.
The Seal has a big meal.

Take care.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Is it the right age?


One of the common dilemmas that parents face today, is about the right age to start teaching toddlers, beginning with basic concepts, such as shapes, colors, numbers etc. "Is it too soon, or should I let her keep going as long as she is interested and is having fun?"

The answer to this dilemma is that if your little one is interested, happy and having fun while learning, then it is definitely the right age.

Young children are interested in the world around them and building on that interest means - not pushing your child. One of the most important things we can do as parents, is to offer an environment, rich with learning opportunities. If you give your child ample opportunities to explore their world, they are bound to get curious and will be interested in learning more.

Toddlers grow and learn everyday. By the age of two, they have learned several important lessons about their world. The everyday activities you perform with your children have academic implications too. The books that you read to your children and the songs you sing, have a lasting impact on their education. While having fun at home, if you can start teaching, it is a win-win situation for the parent and for the child.

Three things to remember:

~ Keep it fun. Make learning a game and your child will always enjoy what you have to teach her.

~ Keep it light. Educational products and activities that are designed in form of games, are not only wonderful, but also make learning interesting for the little ones. For example, children are likely to learn faster, if you have an alphabet hunt at the supermarket.

~ Embrace the teachable moments. A teachable moment is an opportunity to teach that occurs in normal, everyday life. Do not schedule lessons and force educational activities on your child. When the opportunity presents itself (and it will countless times in a day), take advantage and use it for a lesson. For example, simply putting on socks can be a lesson in right and left, colors, or counting!

The time when you and your child are in the car, for example, can be wonderful teaching opportunity that many parents overlook. If you are united after a day's separation, you can share stories about your day and in this process, work on vocabulary and literacy skills as well as teach your child about the world around them. You can use cars and trucks to teach colors, road signs to teach shapes, vehicles and so on.

Mealtimes can be wonderful teaching opportunities too. Counting can be easily taught by asking her whether she wants to have two bananas or one apple. Shapes and colors can also be taught by asking questions as "would you have square sandwich or a round burger". As a child grows older, you can teach alphabets, as "M for milk".

Next week, we shall continue to discuss various concepts and ideas in a toddler world, and the various ways to teach them the same.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Phonics : The long vowel sound /a/

A long vowel sound is the one that says its name.

E.g.

/a/ as in cake
/e/ as in elect
/i/ as in bike
/o/ as in note
/u/ as in cute

A long vowel is denoted by a diacritical mark called a macron (¯), which is a line above the vowel.

A vowel sound is long usually under these conditions:

1) When a vowel is placed at the end of a small word or syllable, it usually says its long sound, as in 'no' and 'me'( with exceptions e,g word 'to').

2) When a word contains two vowels, the first vowel is usually long, and the second vowel is usually silent. e.g., bake.

3) When two vowels sit next to each other in a word, the first one vowel makes a long sound and the second vowel is silent, e.g coal.

The long vowel /a/ words used in today's story are :

bake, cake, clay, shape, date, plate, tray, play, rain, pray, say, way, maze, train, gay, and day.

Sample word 'Cake'

Following our regular study pattern, write the word on 'cake' on a card. As you slide your fingers from the letter 'c' to the letter 'a', lay stress on the long vowel sound of /a/. Then complete the word using the other letters.

Story for the long vowel sound /a/:

The Cake, Rain and Train.



I bake a cake.
It is made of clay.



I give it a nice shape.
In it, I put some dates.



I put it on a plate.
I take plate and put it on the tray.



I go to play.
But it rains!



I pray and say, "go go rain, no no rain.
I am on my way to play with the maze,
I play with the train,
I have a day."

Take care.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Making the time spent with your little ones, 'enjoyable'.


At times, it is difficult for parents to spend all day with their little ones without getting bored or worn out very quickly. Here are a few tips that may help you make those testing times interesting;

Be enthusiastic:

Your enthusiasm is crucial. Your child can sense your mood. Playing with your little one half heartedly will not help. If you are not interested in a toy or activity, then it will not be interesting for her too. Haven't you noticed how children always want to play with toys that others are interested in playing with?

Laugh:

Laugh and be silly. Once you start being silly and funny, you won't have to think of what to do next, as the fun will follow.

Active participation:

Instead of just watching what your toddler does, engage her in an activity that you start yourself. For e.g. you may ask her to line up all the toy cars for a motorcade or have her put her dolls in a cheerleading pyramid or may ask her to put all the blocks in a bucket and then dump them out like a dump truck.

Go back in time:

Think about something that you wish you could have done when you were a child. Here's your chance to do it! Did you always want to play with your sisters favorite doll and comb the dolls hair or wanted to play with your brothers truck collection? Start doing all that and you will see that your little one will be eager to join.

Allocate responsibilities:

Give her a task. Ask her to bring all of the magazines over to you and keep them at place. Or see if she can stack all of her board books in a pile. Every time she completes a task, celebrate with a hi-five or a tickle session.

Take a break:

After your toddler starts to play on her own, keep a magazine nearby and take a reading break while she is busy playing. She'll let you know when she needs your attention, interaction, or direction. Till then, relax.

Hug and kiss:

Give hugs and kisses. It is fun to add some affection into daily activities. You'll enjoy the hugs and your child will too. You'll build a bond that will be life long. And it will make her want to interact with you all the more and have fun at the same time.

Children want to have fun all the time, but they want an adult's guidance and interaction to make it enjoyable. Otherwise, they will bounce off the walls wondering what to do with themselves. And that is going to be difficult for both of you.

Friday, February 4, 2011

The Run in the Sun

Story for the Day

The sun is up.
I am in a hut.
I run in the sun.
It is fun.
I see a pup.
I give a bun to the pup.
The pup cuts the bun.
A bug is in the bun.
The pup hugs the bug.
The bug runs on the mud.
The pup runs in the hut.
I run on the rug.

Illustrations for the story






The sun is up.
I am in a hut.





I run in the sun.
It is fun.






I see a pup.
I give a bun to the pup.






The pup cuts the bun.
A bug is in the bun.






The pup hugs the bug.
The bug runs on the mud.






The pup runs in the hut.
I run on the rug.

Download, print and solve this worksheet.

Take care.