Book Rotation

There is no more important activity for preparing your child to succeed as a reader than reading aloud together. Fill your story times with a variety of books. Be consistent, be patient, and watch the magic work.

By the way, have you heard of book rotation?

🌟Reading and seeing the same book is beneficial to your child, however we want to expose them to all sorts and variety of books as well. I’ve been rotating books ever since Kareem was a toddler and I continue to do so until now.

Here is how to do it:
1️⃣Rotate the books on the same day each week.
2️⃣Put books that are on the bottom shelves on top and vice versa. Put books they don’t see much in the front row and the ones in the front at the back. It becomes a little ritual they really look forward to!
3️⃣If you have more than one child, try to have a shelf or space for each of them.
4️⃣Let your child choose what books to rotate helps increase their interest and shows them they have say in some decisions.
💞What’s old is new again. You don’t have to have a collection of children’s books that resembles a small library. When a book is brought out that’s been stored away for a month or so your child will most likely have a completely renewed interest in it.

It Is Ok NOT To Share

This article is written by Maha Ghazale, a Play Therapist, a Circle of Security Parenting Facilitator and an Autplay Therapy provider ( specialized in Autism and Other developmental disabilities). Maha uses play as a therapeutic method to help kids with emotional and behavioral difficulties reach their inner potential. She also offers sessions for parents to help them learn new ways to connect with their children. You can follow her on Instagram at:  https://www.instagram.com/mahaghazale/

“Sharing is caring”. We generally hear ourselves say it when children fight over toys, food, or anything that sparks their attention or interest, but bear with me as I challenge this belief and say: It is ok NOT to share. 
Sharing things fall under the category of generosity- and I am all about nurturing it- However, the way we approach sharing is generally misleading. 
As a positive parenting advocate and a child therapist when a child is immersed in their play and forced to share, this child’s play is interrupted, and he or she are forced to give something up. The child is learning that sharing is annoying, and generally an unpleasant thing to do. When we impose sharing, the parents are the ones sharing, and not the child.

Imagine this scenario:
You are engaged in an art project. Suddenly someone comes up to you and asks to take the project from you and, therefore, disrupt your creativity, curiosity, and interest. How would it make you feel? 

It is our job to teach children about limits regarding other people’s space and to teach them patience when it comes to waiting for their turn. Let the child keep a toy until he is “all done.” 

Turn-taking ultimately is sharing. The key is that its child-directed turn-taking.: Instead of setting a time limit on using the toy, teach your child to use the following words: “I’ll give it to you when I am done.”
For the waiting child, this can be frustrating triggering few tears, or meltdowns- Do not let this discourage you, instead: 

Acknowledge: “I know you wanted this toy now.”

Communicate: 

• “Oh, I know it’s hard to wait.”
• “I understand/feel your frustration, or
• “You can be mad, but I can’t let you take it until X is all done.”

– Target: “You can choose another toy until X is done playing.”

It is our job to help children learn how to control behavior and feel safe to express intense feelings as we direct them towards ways to work through those emotions. 

Like any skill, the more practice the child gets, the more they will be able to master impulse control.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRACTICAL LIFE SKILLS

This article is written by Chaimaa from MINI MINDS.

Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/miniminds_learnthroughplay/

Chaimaa is a mother to a two year old and a teaching enthusiast with 13 years Teaching experience in a top private Kindergarten in London, Chelsea. With this, her aim is to support all families with resourceful, Montessori inspired, stimulating and fun activities. 
She also runs The Balloon Workshop. A class which provides seasonal themed classes in exclusive family venues across London! A class that cultivates creativity and imagination from 18 months right up-to 6 years.  

Practical life activities include the everyday routines and practices of life:
Pouring and scooping, laying the table, arranging flowers, dressing oneself, cleaning, being helpful, preparing snack , habitual courtesies, and many more. These are exciting tasks that are visibly part of every day life that are empowering to master. 

Montessori saw that very young children are frequently frustrated in their attempts to do things for themselves and that what they need is to have specific exercises, as closely linked to real life as possible, that allow them to master the tasks that they see going on around them in everyday life. 
Such as:
Pouring

Scooping/transferring 

Spray cleaning

Baking

 Feeding pets & Watering plants

Gardening

Peeling fruit

Pegging

Cutting exercises

Chopping fruits 
Practical life in Montessori is a purposeful activity and develops order, motor control, concentration, coordination, and independence.

Invite your child in activities you think will interest and benefit your child at the moment.
BENEFITS:• Attention to detail• Practising sequencing • Developing logical thought patterns• Increasing sense of independence • Improving fine motor skills• Developing a sense of pride • Showing respect for self and the environment • Developing self esteem, self confidence  and self control • Expanded concentration 

GARDENING 

RESOURCEFUL DIY ♻️

COLOUR MATCHING 

CUTTING EXERCISE

MAKING PLAY-DOUGH

TRACING LETTERS IN FLOUR

CHEERIO THREADING

TREE LACING WITH CHEERIOS

CUTTING FRUITS

You can adapt any of your daily life activities to fit the ages and developmental stages of your children. Life skills, are life skills after all make them all fun and enjoyable to learn.