Transferring activities, I’ve mentioned before, have a lot of developmental value in them. They can be done in different forms depending on the level of difficulty our Munchkin is ready for.

In the past, we have done a Transferring activity, transferring balls from one ball to another with a strainer.

This time to up the difficulty and also to fulfill My Munchkin’s development need, I did this DIY of Transferring with Tongs.

Things needs to make this DIY are:

1)Two small bowls preferably similar ones and of natural material (I used glass bowls);

2)Pom Pom balls of different colours

3)A pair of child size tongs

4)A tray

What do we do? Put the pom pom balls into one bowl and keep both bowls in the tray along with the tongs. This goes on to their work shelf. As always, a presentation of the activity must be given. Show your Munchkin how to use the tong to pick one pom pom ball from the bowl and transfer it into the other bowl. Repeat the same with a few more pom pom balls and then left your Munchkin take over the activity.

Simple and easy to make, isn’t it?

Age: 20-22 months (even earlier / later depending on your child’s motor skills)

Purpose: Helps develop hand eye coordination and pincer grip as well.

My Munchkin loves these simple activities, which are easy for me to make. They are great for her development as well.

Do you make similar DIYs for your Munchkin?

Ho! Ho! Ho! This is a lovely DIY and can be used as DIY gifts too this season.

I wanted to introduce My Munchkin to Play Dough for quite some time but I was sure that I would not use the commercial ones, as you know everything goes into their mouth.

So I researched on loads of different ways of making it and finally found one that worked well for me, and it is just SO SIMPLE to make at home.

What you would need is:

1)  1 Cup of All Purpose Flour (Maida)

2)  ¼ Cup of Salt

3)  ¾ Cup of Water

4)  3 Tablespoons of Lime Juice

5)  1 Tablespoon of Oil

6)  Food Colouring

7)  Food fragrance oil (optional)

What you need to do once you have your ingredients in place?

In a nonstick pan, mix water, oil, and lime juice and heat over medium flame. Add food colouring (whichever colour you choose to use) and food fragrance oil, if using (I did not use any) to the mixture.

Note: When you do not use the fragrance, there will be a little smell of the lime. My Munchkin and I am okay with it so I continue not using this ingredient.

In another bowl, combine the flour and salt.

Once the water mixture become hot (it should not boil), slowly add in the dry ingredients (flour and salt mixture) and keep stirring it in.

Continuously stir this mixture until all the ingredients combine. If you feel any part is sticky, flatten it with your spoon and flip it over and then mix again. It should start forming into a ball (make sure not to overcook it). 

Remove it from the heat and on to a plate and let it cool down a little bit. Next, start kneading the dough for two to three minutes.

The entire process probably takes 5 minutes.

Voila! Your Homemade Play Dough is ready to use.

While kneading you will feel how soft this is to use. One batch of these should make about 450-500 gms of Play Dough.

Store it in the refrigerator in an airtight box and it will stay for a minimum 3 months. So you can make 3-4 colours at a time and keep it.

Age: Whenever you feel your Munchkin is ready. You can start as early as 1 year old (I started at almost 20 months but also because I was looking for the perfect recipe). 

Purpose: Extremely good for gross motor development and also open ended play.

Tips: You often may have a problem that all the colours are mixed up or because they are not put back in the box they dry out. What I do is, I have small boxes (50 gms roughly) where I remove only a little dough at a time and give My Munchkin to play. This way it lasts for very long.

Also initially I would recommend to give only 1 colour at a time, so as to not overwhelm them, and then later increase to two colours and so on.

So hurry and start making your own Homemade Play Dough and share some pictures with us.

With this I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round, Round and Round, Round and Round….

Does your Munckhin have a favourite rhyme? My Munchkin seems to love a lot of them and we hear and sing a lot of them all day long. In fact, I catch myself humming them even when she’s asleep sometimes!

Most important is that rhymes are only sung to her, with her and we do not play them for her on our phones, laptops, etc. We actually have a zero screen time policy for her at home. To be completely honest, we do not manage it 100% and she does watch a little bit when we are on the phone or someone else is (but this is also limited to just a few minutes). I may have mentioned this in a previous article but this is a big reason that she loves reading and it is a big part of her daily activity, also a big source for her increasing vocabulary.

So our main routine has been the same this month with a lot of shelf work repeated so we had lots of Play Dough, Blocks, Books, Matching Cards to Animals, Outdoor Activity, Riding her Bike Practical Life (help with chores done at home) and so on.

We have a construction site close to where we stay and she enjoys watching all the Construction Vehicles at work with the Bulldozer being her favourite. We took her to a spot in our compound which was close to the site and she enjoyed watched the bulldozer at work.

Did we introduce anything new this month? Yes, we actually did introduce two new activities, as below:

Threading Beads

A very good activity for hand-eye coordination. We bought this one online and recommend choosing big beads, so as to avoid any threat of choking, and also it would be easier for them to bead initially. There are many beads that come along with the pack but we initially kept the thread / string in a basket along with 3 beads each of just the primary colours – red, blue and yellow (you can even start with lesser beads if you feel necessary). I presented the activity to her the first 2-3 times she used it and then left her to work. She is still getting a hang of doing it. I try to observe her whenever she works with it to check if she would need another presentation or is moving ahead or needs a slight change. I will have to just wait and watch.

DIY Colour Sorting

By Colour Sorting, I do not meaning learning names of colours. In Montessori, we do not teach names first (on the contrary, they come last). The first step is to show the child how to pair objects of the same colour. We did a simple DIY for this (will upload complete details soon) where My Munchkin has to match the pom poms to their respective colours. She had a lot of fun doing this activity and she enjoyed doing it over and over again.

She got a complete hang of it and managed to do the activity herself in a couple of tries. I plan to add in some more colours soon.

Did I teach her the names after she paired them correctly? No! It is still early for that, we can start this in probably another 6-8 months. Yes, she does know names of a few colours but those have not been taught too her, rather picked up from reading time and regular conversations we have.

Do you enjoy making DIYs for your Munchkin? Do share some with us, would love to have some new ideas.

The last two weeks or so have been a crazy rush of too many things happening at the same time. As you can imagine, having a toddler around you doesn’t always help things go faster. My apologies for the delay in posting an article.

We did not introduce many new things to her this month and worked on her ‘Care of Environment’ skills as well are outdoor activities. But there is so much indirect learning that has been taking place and you can notice it your daily activities.

Indirect Learning

As you may have read in many of my blogs, reading is a big part of our schedule. No matter how busy or tired we may be, we make sure to spare at least ten minutes to read. Honestly, My Munchkin makes sure one of us reads to her so it’s not an option anymore (and we love that!).

So what exactly do I mean by indirect learning? Absolutely everything. Infants and toddlers learn from everything in their environment – the language, habits, culture, food preferences – everything! Like Maria Montessori says, the child has an Absorbent Mind and takes in everything they see, hear, feel, smell.

My Munchkin has developed a lot of her vocabulary through books we read and general conversations. Does this mean we are teaching her things and making her repeat after us? Not at all. These are regular conversations like we adults have or have with older children – just talking about things, explaining what we are doing, talking about things around us. We read a book just how it’s normally done with older children too and read it again if she asks us to (which happens most of the time).

We make a big mistake of underestimating children and thinking they need to be taught things whereas in reality they need to experience things and that helps them learn all about it.

Sticking on Paper

A simple activity for hand-eye coordination. I picked up stickers from the Supermarket of different animals, vehicles (things she recognizes). Gave her a sheet of stickers along with a blank piece of paper. Presented the activity to her by showing her how to remove and then stick on paper and left her to work.

Balance Bike

We have been trying our hand on the bicycle and after a lot of research choose something on the Montessori principles (after we were convinced this was the best choice). We decided on getting her a balance bike (a cycle without pedals). We have this for sometime now but have just about started using it. I will wait for sometime before giving a complete review and experience. Till then, you can read about it and always contact me if you have any doubts about the Balance Bike and I would be happy to help.

Care of Environment

Should we get plants? Is it the right time? What if she puts the mud in her mouth? What is she pulls out all the flowers and leaves? Is she ready?

Some of the many questions we had for a long time and kept delaying it. But this month we finally got some for our house and we are so happy we did. My Munchkin is daddy’s a little gardening helper. She helps him water, sits and watches when he plants new ones. She did not do any of the things we were worried about. In fact, she reminds us every morning that they need to be watered and brings the watering can to help her father.

Plants at home instill in children a core value to care of other plants and tress in our society, city, and country, everywhere. And I am sure you agree this is the need of the hour.

Apart from plants, My Munchkin knows where the duster, broom, mop, etc are kept and quite often uses them to clean the house. For example, when she spills water, she brings the duster to wipe the water. Children watch us or house helps clean and they learn from them. It is very natural for them to want to broom or mop and wipe something and it is important that we let them do this. It is an urge they are fulfilling and it is also helping them learn to keep their environment clean which is something that helps in the long run.

What does your Munchkin do for Care of the Environment? Do you have Plants that they help care for? Do they enjoy cleaning the house too?

Transferring Activities are something we do in various ways and most of the time what keeps My Munchkin occupied while I am in the kitchen.

Some of the transferring kitchen activities she does are:

1)Transferring cut potato or vegetables into a bowl of water;

2)Transferring from bowl of water into a colander;

3)Picking up peels or remains of the vegetables that are being cleaned and putting them into a bowl which later we throw into the trash.

Based on her involvement in the above, I made her a transferring activity for her shelf. This one involved transferring balls from one bowl to another.

Things needs to make this DIY are:

1)Two bowls preferably similar ones;

2)Small table tennis balls – I used a dozen;

3)A tea strainer – you can also use a big spoon

What do we do? Put all the balls into one bowl and the tea strainer or spoon into the other. This is kept together on the work shelf or play area. Show your Munchkin how to use the strainer or spoon to scoop a ball from the ball and drop it into the other bowl.

If your Munchkin is like mine, then be ready to find balls in different corners or the house and some just disappear as well.

Age: Around 16 to 18 months (or as needed)

Purpose: Helps develop hand eye coordination.

It is simple things we find and can make at home that actually help in our children’s development. Everyday activities are one of the best things to involve your child in.

Do you involve your Munchkin in your Kitchen activities?

Like most of the DIYs I do for my Munchkin, this one is an easy one too, made with things easily available. Threading activities can be done in various forms and at different levels of development. You can try this DIY with your Munchkin once you feel they are ready for it. Even if you introduce it to them and think they are not interested in it or find it difficult, remove it from their shelves / play area and bring it back again at a later stage (this would apply to almost any activity that is done with your Munchkin).

For this Simple Threading Activity, you need:

1)An empty baby powder container;

2)Wooden skewer sticks;

3)A basket / tray

4)Something to make a hole (I used a screwdriver);

5)A pair of kitchen scissors;

6)Sandpaper

First, I cut off the pointed edges of the skewers and cut them into half. Next, I smoothened both ends using the Sandpaper.

Next step is to check that the skewers go in easily. I had to push them in the holes so I made the holes on the powder container bigger. For this, I heated the screwdriver slightly on the gas stove and pushed it into the existing holes on the container to make them bigger. Once done, I tested all the holes to make sure the skewers went in easily.

Once both of the above were ready, I assembled them into the basket/tray and presented the activity to my Munchkin. I simply sat down with her, picked up a skewer and put into one of the holes. I repeated this a few times, and she joined me in the activity. She initially found it a little complex but managed to do the activity after a couple of tries.

Variation: This same activity can be done with ice cream sticks. In this case, instead of holes, you need to make slits in the container for the sticks to go in easily.

Age: Around 16 to 18 months

Purpose: Refinement of hand-eye coordination and grasp.

An easy to make DIY that is very good for your Munchkin’s development. Do let me know if you try it.

We have not had many new additions this month on our shelves as My Munchkin still enjoys working with the same ones she has. The things I did introduce were completely based on my observation of what I saw her do.

She’s been starting to express herself through a few words and lots of expressions. We make sure to always talk to her properly and not baby talk, give her names of things she looks at, eats, plays with and more. This will only help us once she starts talking. We are a multi-lingual family so we have tried to introduce her to all the languages spoken at home and in the family.

Books

My Munchkin loves books and enjoys being read to. You will often find her on the sofa or bed or chair looking through a book. We have to read to her daily and most often she chooses the book she wants read herself.

Maximum Effort

After having mastered walking, My Munchkin now looks for ways to develop her strength and carry big and heavy objects. This is what Dr. Montessori referred to as ‘maximum effort’ where a child experiences an inner need to carry heavy objects or oversized ones when walking in order to reach their full potential. As parents, we should acknowledge this need for theirs and provide them with opportunities to fulfill this urge. Simple things like carry a full bottle of water, a big cushion/pillow, a big bag. Here you see My Munchkin in one such case.

Walks

This has been a routine from the time My Munchkin was around 3 months old. We go for an evening walk daily – she has progressed from lying in the pram, to sitting in it, to holding things and walk, walking by herself and now beginning to run around. She thoroughly enjoys her evening walks and playtime, looking at the plants, birds, going after the cats and calling out to them. Here you find her searching for the cat that just ran past her.

Pulling and Putting Things in a Box

We had a phase where My Munchkin would find the wet wipes box, open it and start pulling out all the wipes. She would climb onto the dining table and pull out tissues from the tissue box. So I made a DIY activity for her based on this using an old tissue box where she could pull the scarf out and put it back in as well (of course she just pulled them out most of the time).

Basic Shapes Puzzle

We added basic shapes to her shelf this month. She mastered this very quickly so it looks like we need to move her on to another one soon.

Basic Threading Activity

This is another DIY I did for My Munchkin for developing her hand-eye coordination skills. Since she mastered the Coin Box activity this would be the next step from there for fine motor skill development. A DIY for this will follow soon. Till then watch her concentrate and work with it.

What have you been doing with your Munchkin lately? I would love to hear about it.

Tracking toys are great in providing children with the means to develop certain skills. These come in various forms like a ball tracker (most recommended), even a racing car tracker and a few more. They are priced high which is why I tried a DIY version of it.

For the DIY, I used 2 old plastic bottles, sandpaper, chart paper, cardboard and glue. I first cut our the base and lid of the bottle and then cut the bottle into half so I ended up with 4 halves in total. I cut the edges to round them up and then smoothened all the cut parts with the sandpaper to make sure they do not hurt My Munchkin.

Next I stuck the chart paper (I used yellow colour) on to the cardboard. This does not have to be very big, just enough to have the entire tracker fit into the frame. Once I had a study frame, I placed the bottle halves on the frame and temporarily stuck them with tape. I adjusted each one so that the ball would be able to roll from one to the next without falling out. Once I was sure of the placement, I glued them on with my glue gun.

I tested it a few times. The second and third row bottles were too broad at the end so the ball fell out at times. I put a rubber band around the base of these to solve this problem. Next I affixed this onto the door where I planned on putting it up. I also attached a plastic glass at the end so that the ball falls into it, instead of rolling all over the place.

Age: This can start as early as 10-12 months

Purpose: There are many things that the tracker helps develop.

-Develops visual tracking skills, which indirectly help them with reading later on.

-Auditory tracking from the sound of the ball falling.

-Builds concentration

-Develops hand-eye co-ordination.

It is quite a fun activity and very easy to make. Watch how it works below:

Do let me know how your Munchkin enjoys this DIY once you make it.

From starting to walk independently to gaining more balance and equilibrium, My Munchkin has been on her path of perfecting her walking skills. A visible difference in coordination can be seen as she tries running a little as well now.

We have been having more outdoor time with her as she enjoys being able to exercise her new skills. As every other Munchkin, she loves the park. We have a small sand pit in our park which we would avoid putting her in earlier as she put everything in her mouth. This month we let her explore the sand pit, sitting close by just in case she decided to taste the sand. The sensory exploration of sand was new to her and she took her time, picking some and trying to hold it in her hand over and over again. She also used some of the toys other children had trying to collect sand.

My Munchkin got another shelf as we were falling short of space for materials/toys with just one. This meant an addition of things for her to play/work with. Our new additions in Month 16 are highlighted below.

Opening and Closing of Boxes

This is a DIY with various boxes that My Munchkin could open and close by herself. This is the perfect age for such an activity and it keeps them occupied for quite some time. I will post a DIY for this soon.

Farm Animals

We had farm animals on the shelf earlier as well, but then I came across big ones that looked like the animals actually do. So I replaced them with the smaller ones we had on the shelf and what a difference it made! My Munchkin was super excited with this set.

Pop Up Toy

A great toy for hand-eye coordination as well as colour recognition. The baby presses down each of the heads and they pop out of their places. It is a fun activity for them. They develop their coordination when putting a finger on each head and pressing it down to pop out. Also, when they put the pop ups back into the holes on the stand. Initially, they will not match the colours as it takes time for them to pair colours. This skill comes closer to 20months or so.

Vehicles

We added some cars and a digger she received as gifts. My Munchkin loves see the cars pass by and also watches a construction site close by so recognizes the digger, cement truck and more.

Pull Toy

We added a pull toy as well to encourage her to walk at home too. This is not very Montessori but My Munchkin seemed to like it. We made sure it was not one of the noisy battery operated ones when purchasing it.

Tracker Toy

This was another DIY we did for her as the actual one is very expensive in India. I will admit I ended making this late and so My Munchkin did not play with it as much. More on this and the DIY in the coming blogs.

Shape Sorter

A very simple shape sorter with the basic shaped of circle, square and triangle. Children enjoy this one a lot and there are many options available. I suggest to take a simple one that focuses on just the shapes and there are no other distractions.

Do not be surprised if your munchkin just lifts the lid and puts all the shape blocks inside (instead of putting each one through the respective place on the lid). This is quite normal with most children in the beginning. To be honest, that in itself is commendable as they figure a way to complete the activity.

Did your Munchkin play with a shape sorter? Did they do the same as My Munchkin? I would love to hear about it.

The Infant Coin Box is a Montessori material found in the 0-3 years environment. It is generally given to children around 13 months of age. I did a DIY for the Coin Box and introduced it to My Munchkin in Month 12 to see if it interested her and it did.

For the DIY, I used an empty pickle container – Mother’s recipe 1 kg pickle jar to be precise. Additionally, I took a small bowl, around 20 plastic tokens/coins and a basket to fit all of this in. I washed the pickle container properly and removed the stickers from it. To make the coin slot on the top, I heated a knife and pierced it through the lid. I repeated this step a few times to make the slot big enough for the token/coin to go through easily. With a filer, I filed any rough edges that were left around the slot to make sure they do not hurt My Munchkin.

Once the box was ready, I assembled it with the container in the basket. Next to that I kept all the token/coins in the bowl. This went on to her shelf. I make sure there are 2-3 tokens/coins in the container at all times to encourage her to do the activity.

When ready, I presented her the activity by showing her how to take the basket from the shelf and then take a token/coin and put it through the slot. As mentioned, I introduced My Munchkin to the activity in Month 12 and noticed her having a difficult time with it. So I removed the lid from the container and let her use it open. This helped a lot and she found it easier to do and was interested in it.

I put the lid back on a month later to see if she could manage the activity now and she was able to do it this time. The Coin Box could keep her occupied and she would want to repeat it a couple of times.

Age: Generally around 13 months of age.

Purpose: Helps in refining hand-eye coordination.  

Do you think your Munchkin would enjoy the Coin Box activity? Do give it a try and let me know how it goes.