Fine Finger Play the Montessori Way

My sister recently visited. As usual, we had a  blast! I love it when she comes. She is full of jokes and laughs which are key ingredients in FUN!

A highlight of her visit was our trip to the pumpkin patch at Yule Forest. Although A.J. was a little  standoffish when it came to the animals, he enjoyed the hay ride and the “idea” of the animals. I could tell by his repeating the word hayride along with making sounds of the different animals he saw.

After my sister’s visit, we painted our pumpkins and resumed activities to enhance A.J.’s fine motor skills. 

We focused on the three-finger (pincer) grasp and added an activity to strengthen his circular wrist motion.  

Here is what we did.

Three-finger (pincer) grasp activities included: Stringing beads, using a ladle for scooping the beans and placing Cheerios around spaghetti sticks.

I love his concentration!

Hey Mom! Look at what I did!

He used a ladle to scoop and transfer the beans using the three finger pincer grasp and also did this activity using his whole hand to transfer the beans.

I was totally impressed by this feat! But even more so by his determination to keep trying until he succeeded!

By the time we did the cheerios activity, I must admit that I was a bit tired. My patience was becoming short and I really wanted to stop after a few tries. A.J. however was determined to keep going until he placed all 10 cheerios on the thin, easily breakable, spaghetti stick. Despite my urging to try again later or perhaps tomorrow, he pushed through. I was so proud of him! More importantly, he was super proud of himself!

Circular wrist motion – Using a wisk

Whisking yolks for scrambled eggs

Amira has been observing our activities, too!

What other fun fine motor skill development activities have you done?

Pray, Persist & Prosper,

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A.J.’s Special Drum Video

And now for a commercial break! Watch A.J. drum at 14 months-24 months of age in this 1 min. 32 sec. video clip. Enjoy!

Pray, Persist, & Prosper

7 Ways to Plant Smart Money Seeds In Tots

Okay, so I blinged up the photo a bit and got carried away with the gold chain and big watch. But I thought it was so funny.

Once A.J. started putting items in the grocery cart without a care in the world, my husband and I knew it was time to start teaching him about money. This week we learned how to identify coins. We also went grocery shopping in our homemade store.

Below are some of the items in our store.

I placed the items on a shelf.

For the first session, I chose items that cost only pennies and attempted to get him comfortable with saying the word cents. We are off to a good start.

This week’s focus was on the penny, so for one of his art projects, he colored a picture of a penny. I love how proud he is of his work!

Other ways we are teaching about money besides:

1. Identifying coins

and

2. Purchasing items from our makeshift grocery store

are

3. Donating to our church. He doesn’t do it yet, but we allow him to put our envelope in the basket. Once my husband and I figure out how he will earn money around the house, he will start donating some of the money he has earned.

4. Paying for his haircut. Each time we are buying something for him, he has to physically give the money to the clerk. A good place to start is when he gets his hair cut.

5. Saving in his money bucket and in his bank account. He always accompanies us to make deposits.

6. We will use this money chart later to help him understand the value of the coins.

7. Lastly, we will teach him ways in which he can earn money.

This is just the beginning, but I’d say we are off to a good start.

What creative ways are you helping your little one learn about money?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

A Miracle is Born!

That’s right. I had a little girl on September 15, 2012 at 12:27pm. She weighed 7.5oz and was 20 inches long. We named her Amira Cole Hadley. Amira means princess and when you say her first and middle names together it sounds like “a miracle.” She is a precious, beautiful gift. Her big brother A.J. is adjusting well to his new role, too.

It’s been a while, so you may notice that I cut off my locks after wearing them for 10 years. I love the freedom of wearing a short crop. Now it’s easy to wash and go! But now I need to update my profile picture. In the mean time, I’m back in the spirit of blogging and hopefully can take pictures of A.J. engaged in learning activities. Taking pictures became a distraction, so I had to stop. I think he will be able to stay more focused now that he is a bit older, as in two years old.

Stay tuned!

Pray, Persist & Prosper!