A stab at teaching geography update!

Hello readers,

We certainly are having fun doing this little project. I will add some more photos for you to have look at. Thanks for following.

Putting Uruguay on the map

Cutting out the flag and a few flora and fauna

Gluing it on

All put together

Colouring in the legend to match the country.

Next on the list is Paraguay and that will complete the bottom half of South America.

A stab at teaching Geography!

Hello Readers,

I am the first to admit that I am a geographical moron. I can't follow a map if I tried, I get lost without landmarks and I struggle to find any country on a map except for my own country and a few of the other big ones. But put me in a shopping centre in any place and I can find my way around so go figure...

So I decided I would try very hard not to impart this geographical nonsense onto my daughters and take a giant leap at teaching (my eldest) some geography. So I decided I would start with a map of South America and have it blown up to quite a large size (the size A0) this was quite cheap to do. My husband found a black and White picture of a map with all the border outline of all the countries. I kept one in tact and I cut the other one up into its individual countries to colour in and then stick on the map like a giant jigsaw puzzle. By making it one giant jigsaw puzzle it has allowed Miss S to find where each country goes on the map. I hope by doing this it will cement it in her brain

I also allow Miss S to pick the country we work on. I then print off the countries flag and some pictures of  Flora and Fauna which is native to that particular country (with names if I can find it). I then get her to cut the pictures out and glue them on to the country we are working on. Miss S has enjoyed this because she loves animals and plants and it helps teach a little about each country's uniqueness even though it is on the same continent.


This has also been a great exercise not only in in geography but it has also allowed me to teach Miss S what a legend is and how to read a legend. I am slowly getting Miss S to colour each country in a different colour we then colour the box on the legend the same colour. This is a great opportunity to then explain that by colouring the box next to the name of the country we help other people be able to find things on a map to.

Below are some photos of our project. Miss S completing Brazil. We have since then completed Bolivia and Argentina.

The Map

Coloring in the first country Brazil

We took turns colouring in

Gluing the flag

Cutting out the flag

Cutting out native flora and fauna

Sticking the native flora and fauna on

Brazil all done

Sticking Brazil on the map

Colouring in the legend to match the colour of the country

Progress with little Miss A

Hello Readers,

Well since deciding that it was best to take an Early Learning break with Miss S it has allowed me to spend more time with Miss A who is absolutely thriving at the moment with all of her Early Learning.

Miss A has finally gotten in to DVDs and is happy to watch Your Baby Can Read and is thriving. A is picking up so many new words and really enjoying the whole YBCR process she giggles and smiles when it I put it on and s doing the actions to the words to. It is great to see her thriving the way she is. A has been consistently doing LR most days of the week since she was about 5 months old. I have not tested her at all and I was beginning to wonder if it was working at all.but with the recent introduction of YBCR she has just flourished she is also really enjoying baby signing time as well.

I have also introduced home made flashcards which she doesn't enjoy as much as the DVDs but that is okay her sister is enjoyng them (Its the only thing Miss S will do)  So by default Miss A sees them to. I am just amazed by Miss A's progress she has had her ups and Downs and throughout her first year of life she was not 100% health wise I am so pleased to see her doing so well.


Happy Teaching


Kimba

The importance of reading to your children if you want them to be great writers

Hello readers,


I recently purchased the Primary Arts of Language K-2 programme for writing which came with a lecture by Andrew Pudewa about the 4 languages of Arts which is listening, speaking reading and writing. The lecture is very, very interesting and well worth listening to.

The first thing that stands out to me the most in this lecture is the importance of reading to your children which I always new would help in when it came to teaching your children to read but I did not correlate it to helping them to become excellent writers and communicators. The one thing through this lecture that is repeated over and over again is the importance of reading aloud to children above their reading level and reading to them until they are in at least in high school or refuse to have you read to them anymore.

So why read to children above their reading level? Pudewa suggest that even if the child does not understand what is being read it allows the child to hear new language, new ways of writing sentences and paragraphs, syntax and grammar. It also ables the parent and the child to discuss what is gong on in the book. It also stretches the child as a reader and does not allow them to get stuck at one Reading level for the rest of their life.  I also love the idea of reading to my children and having the words of a beautiful book wash over them and just have a trickle down effect over my child.

Pudewa also believed that reading aloud to your children also helps in the development of good listening skills. A skill sadly today majority of us lack even as adults. Pudewa blamed the busyness of life as the enemy to poor listening skills because we no longer have the time to devote to reading aloud anymore. Listening is one of the fundamentals of becoming an excellent communicator because without decent listening skills you can not form a decent argument or debate

So how do you help your child to become a great communicator/writer

• Read, read, read to your child as much as you possibly can
• Read classic books and build your children up to longer texts here is a list
• Don't just read books read articles from well written and respected magazines and journals.

Hope this inspires you to get reading with your kids.

Happy Learning

Kimba.

Hello Readers,

I just thought I would share an update with you, while I have been able to do some early learning with my DD most things have completely come to a stand still. This has not deterred me as she is still allowing me to at least read to her quite a bit actually but we are having a lot of disciplining issues at the moment :\ Miss S is very stubborn and even trying to attempt anything with her comes out as an all out argument. She even has issue with me saying its time to get dressed and waiting for any period of time and expecting everything right now. So my husband and I are working on that with her at the moment.

On the other hand my little DD2 is booming along and her signing and reading are coming along beautifully. She is recognising many of the words from Your Baby Can Read and we are diligently doing Little Reader everyday. I look forward to updating her progress more.

Happy Teaching

Kimba

Following the child learning to let go and change the curriculum when needed!

Hello readers,

Lately my eldest dd has been really, really resistant in the early learning department so much so that after trying every tactic in the book and getting increasingly frustrated I have decided to take a break from the curriculum we were following and I am going to work for on the arts, wink program and sports.

I have broken the cardinal rule of enjoying the process and become the drill and kill parent which I hate. I have also become increasingly frustrated with her and feel like I am being played so all of my time and attention is on her rather than her sister. Miss S will ask to do a workbook I will get it out then she will sit there and not do anything or I will go to put it away and she s NO NO NO I WANT TO DO IT. So half of my day is spent is this power struggle. So today I called it quits and said no more, no more game playing and no more power struggles. I will leave the books out but I will focus more on the arts and sports plus wink which I will start doing and if she wants to join in she can.

At the moment it has almost become impossible to teach her and my ever increasing frustration levels are not helping. I need a break to, I need to enjoy her again. I am looking forward to enjoying more time teaching her sister and working with her which I can now do because I wont be locked in a power struggle with Miss S.

I hope the break will be refreshing for us in general and a new direction will help us both. She is still happy to read to me and be read to so not all is lost but I will keep you updated.

Kimba

Learning to swim

Hello Readers,

Since it is summer here in Australia, I thought it would be an appropriate time to talk abut teaching your children to swim. My Husband and always knew from the start that both of our children would be learning to swim as soon as they were old enough.

At the swim centre that we attend they start children as young as 5months  and as soon as both the girls turned 5 months old we had them in the water. Or should I say back in the water (As they already had spent 9 months in a liquid environment.).

Miss A (approx 5 months old) awaiting her first lesson. You can already see she is excited

So why teach them to swim at such a young age? My parents live near the beach and my husband believed it is imperative that they were both water confident and they knew how to swim for their own safety. Me: I learnt to swim at a young age and I have no fear of the water unlike my dad who is terrified of water and says it is only for drinking and bathing (hehehe) I shouldn't laugh but my dad was born in England.

I Love  Swimming My eldest dd awaiting her lesson

. I know Glenn Doman says in his book "Teach Your Child To Swim' That nearly all Australian babies are taught how to swim not because of its early learning benefits but it is a big cultural thing in Australia to teach your kids to swim early. Most of my mum's group have their children in swimming lessons. There was also a big campaign in Australia (around the late 80's early 90's)  as most toddler deaths are due to drowning in backyard pools, so there was a big push to teach your children to swim at a young age for their own safety as well as the parents doing First Aid.

There are other benefits to learning to swim at a young age to and here they are.

Miss A enjoying her first swimming lesson with her Daddy

Miss S is now in the water without a parent but loves swimming

• Babies less than a year old except the water more readily
• Fear of water is acquired as children grow older: the longer a child is kept away from water the more likely they are to develop a fear of the water
• Babies can exercise more muscles in the water, they are less restricted by gravity and their ability to sit or stand. This increased strength often manifest in early acquisitions of physical skills like walking.
• Swimming improves babies cardiovascular fitness. Although babies are limited in how much they can can improve their endurance. Swimming does have a beneficial effect.
• Early mastery of water movements gives children a head start in learning basic swimming skills.
• Water helps improve co-ordination and balance by forcing babies to move bilaterally to maintain their equilibrium.
• Warm water combined with gentle exercise relaxes and stimulates babies appetites. They usually eat and sleep better on swimming days
• Doctors often recommend swimming as the exercise of choice for asthmatics. For many asthmatics, exercise produces bronchial hyperactivity. Swimming stimulates less wheezing than other forms of exercise, possibly because the warm, moist around the pools is less irritating on the lungs.
• Babies flourish in the focused attention their parents lavish on them during swimming
• Swimming provides babies with lots and lots of skin to skin contact with their parents which psychologists say may deepen the bond between parent and child. (Both my girls swim with their dad. We have made swimming their special thing with Daddy)
• Learning to swim is not only fun, healthy activity but a safety measure as well. (Drowning is the major of accidental death in under 5 in Australia and many who don't drown are left with permanent brain damage)

Eagerly awaiting instruction

Learning from Sue the teacher

Fun on the mat

Enjoying time with Daddy. Miss A's first lesson

Pretend Play: Important or not????

Hi Readers,

I recently read the book, Montessori: The science behind the genius which is an excellent read for those of you wanting to know more about Montessori education.  In the book the author goes into to great depths about the theory of play as we know to be important versus what Dr Montessori's own observations were. ( I will refer to Montessori as the education system and Dr Montessori when I am writing about the lady herself.)

Dr Montessori's observation was that children when given the choice to play dress-up or 'do-work' as she called it she observed the children choosing to do the 'work'. She believed that because the children were able to do things for themselves such as prepare their own food and drink were able to clean and look after themselves and that didn't need to engage in pretend play as they could do the things adults do for themselves.

Now from my own observations from watching my eldest daughter go from a day care environment to a Montessori environment I would say Dr Montessori's observation is right on. My eldest Daughter loved nothing more than the dress-up box at day-care and playing house in the home corner or role-playing. At the Montessori school she attends she does not want to play pretend at all but wants to get straight into work. (Which amazes me) and on top of this is already asking me when she is going to go back to school (but that is another blog).

What do the experts say about Pretend Play. Experts believe that pretend play is hugely important especially in cognitive and social development. In social development especially when a child engages in experimenting with emotional and social roles experts believe the child learns to take it turn,  share responsibility and creatively solve problems. I think t also helps to teach empathy "by taking a walk in someone else's shoes' so to speak The experts believe it also builds self-esteem by learning they can pretend to be anything they want. With cognitive development each pretend play situation allows the child to problem solve the situation they are'in'. It also helps with language development where children can come up with stories and phrases you never thought they knew.


What do I think? To be honest I lean more towards Dr Montessori's observation of children as I have observed what Dr Montessori observed with my own child and to be honest all the things  the experts say pretend play does, it can all be taught in any social situation we may find ourselves in with our children Having said that, I have absolutely no problem with pretend play at all. My eldest daughter has a box full of costumes and even a Dr's kit  which has a real working stethoscope (Which I am very excited about) A pretend kitchen at home and with pretend food and all the accessories that go with it. She loves it. I think a little bit of both worlds will give the biggest cognitive benefit of all. and at the end of the day it is something to think about for your own home learning environment.

Here are some photos of Miss S 'engaging in some pretend play

Playing Doctor do her Dolly

The Camping Princess as Miss S put it  preparing something yummy meal with the sand

Miss S and Miss A both looking after their babies.

I am exhausted!!!! WHO ever thought that 3 year olds were worse than 2 year olds. My Eldest dd is A LOT of hard work at the moment. She is the Queen of the argument , and the Queen of Resistance. I almost need a holiday from her so I can refresh and have enough energy to do battle with her again.

Before I had children and my friends with children would say man I have had a hard day with my child. You say no and they go back and do it anyway. Take things away and they don't care and so on and so on. I would think "How hard can it be I work full time and your at home with the kids" 'It's not like your working" and then I had children of my own!!!  AND I HAVE NEVER WORKED SO HARD IN MY LIFE.  Being a parent really is the hardest job in the world and I know many of my friends go to work to escape and have a moment of peace or just to go to the toilet on their own.

Now I appreciate what Mums do. It really is hard work but it is rewarding. I just wish my 3 year old would grow out of this behaviour!!!!


My rant for today.

Kimba

My 1000 book challenge. Upping the anti on reading to the kids.

Hi readers



I have decided this year to up the anti on reading to my kidlets. I have entered into the 1000 book challenge on the Brillkids Forum. Of all the things I do for early learning this is the one I fail at the most or I am least consistent on and that is reading to my Kids. I find that I just do not make time for it in my  schedule of things to do. BUT this year that is going to change. Don't get me wrong I do read to them but it is just not every day and that is what I want to change.

The rules are.

• To be counted the books must be different
• Picture books with words count for my little dd but not my big dd
• Chapter books-each chapter counts as 1 book
• Repeat readings of the same book do not count.                                                                                                                                                             

So far I have read 16 books to Miss A and 11 books to Miss S and we are on track to reach 1000. It is approx 3 books a day. I am very excited about this and  hope to reach my goal.

Why is reading to children so important? From the website earlymoments.com

• A stronger relationship with you. As your child grows older, he’ll be on the move—playing, running, and constantly exploring his environment. Snuggling up with a book lets the two of you slow down and recaptures that sweet, cuddly time you enjoyed when he was a baby. Instead of being seen as a chore or a task, reading will become a nurturing activity that will bring the two of you closer together.
• Academic excellence. One of the primary benefits of reading to toddlers and preschoolers is a higher aptitude for learning in general. Numerous studies have shown that students who are exposed to reading before preschool are more likely to do well in all facets of formal education. After all, if a student struggles to put together words and sentences, how can he be expected to grasp the math, science, and social concepts he’ll be presented with when he begins elementary school?
• Basic speech skills. Throughout toddlerhood and preschool, your child is learning critical language and enunciation skills. By listening to you read One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, your child is reinforcing the basic sounds that form language. “Pretend reading”—when a toddler pages through a book with squeals and jabbers of delight—is a very important pre-literacy activity. As a preschooler, your child will likely begin sounding out words on his own.
• The basics of how to read a book. Children aren’t born with an innate knowledge that text is read from left to right, or that the words on a page are separate from the images. Essential pre-reading skills like these are among the major benefits of early reading.
• Better communication skills. When you spend time reading to toddlers, they’ll be much more likely to express themselves and relate to others in a healthy way. By witnessing the interactions between the characters in the books you read, as well as the contact with you during story time, your child is gaining valuable communication skills.
• Mastery of languages. Early reading for toddlers has been linked to a better grasp of the fundamentals of language as they approach school age.
• More logical thinking skills. Another illustration of the importance of reading to children is their ability to grasp abstract concepts, apply logic in various scenarios, recognize cause and effect, and utilize good judgment. As your toddler or preschooler begins to relate the scenarios in books to what’s happening in his own world, he’ll become more excited about the stories you share.
• Acclamation to new experiences. As your child approaches a major developmental milestone or a potentially stressful experience, sharing a relevant story is a great way to help ease the transition. For instance, if your little one is nervous about starting preschool, reading a story dealing with this topic shows her that her anxiety is normal.
• Enhanced concentration and discipline. Toddlers may initially squirm and become distracted during story time, but eventually they’ll learn to stay put for the duration of the book. Along with reading comprehension comes a stronger self-discipline, longer attention span, and better memory retention, all of which will serve your child well when she enters school.
• The knowledge that reading is fun! Early reading for toddlers helps them view books as an indulgence, not a chore. Kids who are exposed to reading are much more likely to choose books over video games, television, and other forms of entertainment as they grow older.


It is also a great way to teach reading to. I like to run my finger under the words to show which way  we read from left to right it is also a great way to increase vocabulary. I look forward to keeping you updated with my progress.

Happy Teaching

Kimba

Welcome to a new year

Welcome back everyone to a new year of  Early Learning.   I hope for it to be an exciting year with me sharing what I am doing with my two little dds.



Today was the first day we got back into early learning with both my daughters. The lead up to Christmas has been hectic to say the least and was almost impossible for my eldest daughter to concentrate with the impending visit of  'Santa' and then we had people come stay with us for the Xmas/new year period so we had a holiday from our daily routine.

So what's in store for 2012 alot actually. This year  want to focus more on Right Brain Education especially with my eldest and work on photographic memory, speed reading and speed math as well. I will be mainly doing this through the Wink Programme from Right Brain Kids and  will be continuing to do flash cards with my youngest. I will introduce the wink Programme when my Eldest daughter starts showing signs that she is willing to listen. Lately she has been very difficult and loves an argument.Since the programme requires you to be able to listen and follow instruction I will have to wait until a certain Miss is a little more amenable.

My Husband and I are also focusing more on Music and have bought Miss S a piano keyboard and some software to help teach you the piano if Miss S really takes to it we will get her lessons.  have written about the importance of Music before and I will continue to write about Music as time goes on.

I will continue to keep going with her reading and writing. I am planning on doing the 1000 book challenge which is me reading 1000 books to my kiddies this year.It works out to be approx 3 books a day, which is very do-able.  I have already read 6 to them today and I plan on introducing small chapter books to my eldest for me to read to her and also working on reading comprehension. Miss S writing is slowly getting there. We are continuing to do workbooks and I am trying to get her to write a shopping list when we go shopping. She does about 3 words and then has had enough.

As with Maths we will continue to do workbooks but I plan on doing Jones' Genius Maths which she is now ready for. I look forward to dong that with her.

Well that's it for now



Signing out,
Kimba

Little Reader Chinese Review.

Hi Readers,


I have had the pleasure of doing a review on Little Reader Chinese. Now Chinese is a language I would love to teach my girls. It is very different language from English and as time goes on I believe it will be a great asset to have as China position themselves to be the next 'world power' and I think having Chinese as a language will be a huge advantage to my girl's future.

Little Reader Chinese certainly helps in making that process of learning a language easier. Do I expect that my girls will become fluent in Chinese by watching this programme? No I don't. I am aware that interaction is needed between real people to learn a language do I think it will give them a good grounding in Chinese?Yes I do which is why I will recommend the program to people.

So here are the pros's

• A complete programme where all you have to do is press play
• Native Mandarin speakers used so your child hears exactly how the words are pronounced.
• Your choice of Traditional or Simplified Chinese to teach your child
• The programme also teaches phonics which certainly helps me as I am trying to learn along with my child. It shows each letter in English and how it is pronounced in Chinese.
• The programme works exactly the same as the English version and it starts by teaching single words, than couplets, than phrases, than sentences. It is all set out perfectly so you don't have to worry about making adjustments.
• If you know Mandarin yourself you can customise the content to suit your needs if you wish.
• There is no Pin Yin attached to the Chinese character so your child learns to read the character rather than its English phonic alternative. I believe this to be a huge positive as I am trying to learn Chinese and I rely heavily on the Pin Yin to be able to pronounce the word rather than learning how to read the character its self. 
• Reasonably priced it certainly wont break the bank purchasing this product.

Con's

• On the odd occasion there is a sound file missing with the word but they can be easily remedied by a quick email to the BrillKids team who are more than willing to help.

There are now numerous studies done on the benefits of being  Bi-Lingual if I was to invest in anything I would invest heavily on my children being fluent in another language. A great book to read is the Bi-Lingual Edge written by two linguists and it is a great reference for 'how to' teach a second language when you don't speak one.

I hope this review has been helpful for you and you can make a decision on your next resource educational resource.

Kimba.

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of Little Reader Chinese 6 months curriculum in exchange for my honest review.

Hello Readers,

As the year draws to a close and the busy Xmas period begins I have started reflecting on what I would like to teach my girls next year. Bit by bit I'm starting to work things out in my mind. I have decided to work on more practical life things with Miss S and start helping her to develop her independence. I am a devotee to the Montessori method of education and I believe in the teaching of children to take care of themselves. I still do alot for my eldest and I am taking away from her the chance to do things for herself and feel good about it. I guess I am having a hard time letting go and allowing her to do some things on her own. I guess it is a mother's prerogative to have a hard time of letting go of her baby and letting her grow up.

My other goals are to have her reading and writing independently and well on her way to a good and solid understanding of maths. In the second half of 2012 I will introduce the wink programme and start right brain training, which is something I am really looking forward to.

My littlest  I will continue to do flashcards, show words, and step up the signing with her. I have found it harder to be consistent with the signing the second time around, and read more to her.

Well it is very late and tonight I'm feeling particularly tired.

Watch out for my Little Chinese review!!!

Kimba

What a month.

Hello long lost readers,

I have had a busy month this month with my littlest dd. She has been not been a well girl this month with 8 trips to the Dr's plus a trip to the hospital. She is getting better and has certainly picked up but her poor little chest keeps playing up.

I have continued with my early learning with my older one and we have been working on four Kumon books. Doing a couple of pages each day and working our way through it.

Just a small update to let you know that I have not disappeared.


Kimba

Asthma!!! Asthma, Asthma

Hi Everyone,

So over the last six weeks I have been back and forth to the Doctor over my youngest DD's breathing. She has had a wheeze that she has been unable to shake and now after today since we can't get her wheeze under control she starts a prednisolone for 5 days tomorrow. I can tell you right now that I am absolutely not happy about this at all. I do not like the idea of my 11 month old baby on steroids. I am now on a constant search to help her get better. I have a strong family history of Asthma and I do not fancy trips to the hospital in the middle of the night or a life time of steroid treatment to keep it under control. She also seems to have a dairy allergy as well.




I am also concerned as she is coming up for her 12month immunisations (MMR and approx 4 others) and I am very, very concerned about this. I feel at this point of time that she is not well enough to take the on-slaught of bugs on  (as I feel) a compromised immune system. I am not against vaccination I just want to make sure she is 100% well before I do go ahead with it. In Australia we are lucky enough that we can conscientiously object as long as we have a talk to the dr about it first which is more like an intervention than it is a talk. (It is not the first time I have voiced my concerns).

I guess right now I am trying to get my thoughts down and see what the pros and cons are. I am very afraid that the immunisation right now could possibly make things worse for her and having it a bit later might be better for her or not at all. I wish this was an easy decision to make. I feel if I don't, I don't just hurt her if she gets anything but I could possibly hurt the community around her (Herd immunity) If I do do it and her immune system can't take it I could possibly make things worse for her own health.


My little Miss is causing me a lot of worry and I am losing sleep over it. If any one could point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated. I am now looking at natural health/western health alternatives to her asthma and my dilemma with immunisation?


Thanks In advance

Kimba