Some ideas on how to keep your children busy learning while at home.

Children can trace, (or at least try to)-- lines [straight, curvy & zig zag are good starters], letters, numbers. Any motion using the pincer grip is good for prewriting exercises.  So have lines drawn that they can put pennies or buttons on or draw a circular “road” and have them drive mini cars between the lines.  Or even a “road” in the shape of letters. They can draw a story picture & narrate it to you, or if they’re able they can sound out the words for their story & write it themselves.  Make a folder for all of their work & they can bring it to show their teacher when we reopen. All drawing is good (even if it’s mostly scribbling, because they’re very young,) you can ask them what they are seeing when they draw it & write that down.  Drawing (even scribbling) gets them used to motions needed to write properly, & hold the pencil.  They all start with the fist grip, then slowly, over time get to where they holding it properly, (however if they are older & still using a fist, please do show them the correct way to hold it.) Painting, coloring, drawing, using a glue stick, moving small objects around with their hands, grasping and moving objects from one place to another- all of these are prewriting exercises, & if you can add in other options, like color matching, or number recognition, you have several learning experiences all in one fun time of play. Also, to incorporate the sounds of letters, you can ask your child what they see that starts with the sound of ___ (whichever sound you want).  We always start with the short vowel sounds, when doing vowels.  Also have them point out the letters they recognize on anything that has writing.  Sitting and reading with your child also helps them to start to recognize letters & sounds. Also, practical life is a very important building block in children’s learning.  Some parents see it as just giving children chores to do, & don’t realize that getting housework done is a lot quicker & easier without a child “helping" most times.  The reason “chores” are given is to help the child learn and grow.  And usually they love being able to “help” their parents (or teachers) & most times it is also a wonderful together time, we just have to remember this is a learning process, it is not going to be perfectly done – for a fairly long time.  Things being done perfectly isn’t the point, it’s the process.  We introduce it to the child, show them the basic steps, then let them do it.  Dusting, sweeping, washing the table or chairs down, washing dishes, or loading the dishwasher (or helping- depending on age), cleaning up the table or easel after an art project, vacuuming, cleaning up a spill, washing windows (water & towel or water & squeegee), wiping down the front of the fridge or stove or dishwasher.  All of these things make them feel included in your life, but also help them to learn responsibility, and giving them focus, and a sense of accomplishment. If they miss something, don’t get upset with them, just gently ask if they got everything, or did they miss anything. For numbers, sometimes children enjoy just counting out loud, but a lot of practice can be done, just by having them help set the table (also a practical life job) count out the utensils, the plates, the cups, napkins- even adding all the items together, by asking how many things are on the table, and subtracting as things are put away.  You can do things like this throughout the day, how many flowers can they see in the yard, or how many birds are flying past the windows, how many yellow items do they see in their toy bins, etc.  You can incorporate sensorial concepts as well if you make a tray with either rice on the bottom, or some other grain, or flour or cornstarch, or sand, and have them practice making letters or numbers in the tray with their fingers. There are a lot of pinterest ideas as well that you can incorporate into your at home education time, or even just play time that becomes educational😊.  I have posted a board for TLC Parents with lots of options. There are also a lot of Youtube channels made by parents or teachers that give ideas on how to incorporate Montessori into your daily life, or just basic educational ideas to do at home. (https://pin.it/5IWXd9P) For the older children, they don’t need to trace anything, they can just write their letters & numbers & words for their stories.  Just remember, until they know how to spell (which is usually a bit later)  writing phonetically is fine, if they ask how to spell something- of course you may tell them, but if they just write it themselves, sound out the words & you will usually be able to figure out what is meant. In public school that is how they are encouraged to write, they worry about the correct spelling of the words once they reach 1st or 2nd grade. I hope this is helpful, feel free to respond, I am hoping all of our TLC families can interact on here. Via either the forum or this blog. Missing you all, stay safe & healthy! Miss Danielle