Encouraging Sorting Activities

I was recently visiting with my next door neighbor as we watched the kids play.  She has a two-year-old daughter and like many mothers of toddlers is on the look-out for activities that will keep her daughter busy.  My friend knows I use containers filled with rice or beans to help keep my children busy. We got to talking about how to make this type of activity work for toddlers. The trick is to use sorting objects that are not going to be choking hazards.  Frankly, I kind of avoided this activity until my kids’ compulsion to taste everything they touched subsided.  It was later than you think.

Also, although this seems odd, I wouldn’t recommend using beans in the container if the activity is for toddlers.  Maybe it’s just my toddlers, but beans can get lodged in orifices.  Rice is a lot less likely to get stuck somewhere unpleasant. In any case, here’s some sorting objects that might work for your kids.

Good objects to start out with would be the large-sized Legos (like these Ultimate LEGO DUPLO Building Set).  These Legos can be sorted by color or by size.  This can also be a good way to support learning colors.  Obviously, any other large-sized block will work.  These Legos were just really popular with Dylan and Anya.

I would also suggest trying some silverware in the rice.  Again, it’s big enough to not be a choking hazard.  Also, the differences between forks, spoons, and butter knives are apparent enough that sorting will be relatively straightforward for a beginner.  As your toddler gets better at sorting you can add in the two different sizes of spoons.  My kids got experienced enough with this that by the time they were three, I had them unload the silverware from the dishwasher for me and put it away.  I’d pull out all the unsafe utensils, set the silverware basket on the counter, scoot a chair up to the drawer, and let them be mommy’s helper.  It was great!  They are a lot less enthusiastic about it now, but it was good while it lasted.

Other things that may work depending on your toddler:

1. Assortment of large, unshelled tree nuts (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, etc.)
2. Barrettes or hair bows
3. Straws (sort by color or cut up and then sort by length)
4. Large pompom balls
5. Other small toys like matchbox cars or action figures

Do you have any other suggestions on helping toddlers learn about sorting and practice fine motor skills?  What’s working for your kids?

Tags: fine motor skills, math, sensory activities, sorting, toddler

Puzzles

We just spent the evening at Grandma’s house putting together one of my favorite puzzles from my own childhood. My family had several of the 300-piece 2 by 3 foot sized Disney movie poster puzzles. We did the Jungle Book one on the kitchen table. It was fun to work together as a family on a project, visit with grandparents, hear about our great-grandparents, and share brownies when our work was done. It’s interesting to see how the two kids each participate in this kind of a project.

Anya is still too young for this big of a puzzle, so she helped me make brownies while everyone else started out. Once we got the brownies in the oven, Anya hovered around the table “helping” each of us in turn. She found pieces that seemed to match what we were working on. If we told her two pieces fit together, she would fiddle when them until she figured out how they fit. She lasted about 20 or 30 minutes this way, and then grandma brought out the crayons and markers and coloring books for her.

Dylan is much more persistent. He worked on the puzzle with us the entire time, but he definitely was getting bored at the end. The promise of a brownie kept him with it though. He was good at picking out all the pieces that went with Baloo and the bananas. He would stay with a piece, turning it and matching up colors until he found a place it fit. He understands the concepts of putting the edge pieces together first and using the picture on the box as a guide for the whole puzzle. And, using his dad’s iPhone, here’s his proud picture of our Sunday night project.

This is the sort of night that provides all kinds of educational benefits but no one even noticed. Lots of laughing, talking, and lovely brownies. A night well spent!

Tags: anya, dylan, fine motor skills, math, puzzles, social skills

What’s Your Family Contribution?

With the beginning of new school year and a perceptible increase in the chorus of “I want” that I get to listen to each day, I have begun reconsidering the allowance system in use at our house.  The current one is, “We-Tried-Last-Year-But-They-Didn’t-Understand-So-We-All-Forgot-About-It-Because-It-Was-Easier.”  Maybe it’s time to get back up on that horse. Also, the thought of a free iPhone, courtesy of out friends of at Capital One and Parent Bloggers, has got me thinking overtime!

My biggest challenge with allowances is what the kids should get paid for and what they should just do because they have the rare privilege of being part of our family.  I looked over the Tessy and Tab Preschool Money Manger Kit that was reviewed recently at Parent Hacks. (I submitted a hack that they used in conjunction with the review, if you were curious). In any case, one thing I liked about their system was that, in order to have an opportunity to earn money, there were three things kids had to do as their “family contribution” each day. Particularly, I liked that one was “Be kind and behave.” I think that’s a completely fair expectation.

The problem is that my husband disagrees (strongly I might add) about connecting that expectation with an allowance. He even suggested that some days of the month (gasp!) I might be a bit grumpier than others and more prone to deciding the kids didn’t cut it that day. I think the word he used was “arbitrary.” Just possibly, there could come a day that they did all their “work,” and mom decides it doesn’t matter because there wasn’t enough “Be kind and behave.” Obviously, this would never happen to me. Obviously…

So there is a (teensy) possibility that I should consider his reservations and figure out another more unified way for us to handle this. But, I’m kind of stumped. I want the kids to learn that we all contribute to family life. Particularly, I need to teach that our biggest contribution is our choice to treat each other with love and to follow the family rules. So, if we fail in that what should the consequence be? Should our family contribution NOT be connected with an allowance at all? What chores or jobs or behaviors are simply expectations and which ones can be associated with your allowance job chart?

Ponder, ponder, ponder.

First, it occurs to me that my kids are still young, so concrete, specific, and achievable expectations are most likely to be successful. In that case my husband it right: “Be nice and behave” is probably too nebulous for them to really know when they are successful. After all, all of us apparently have off days when we’re trying hard, doing our best, and still coming off as grumpy. Doesn’t that count for something?

Then, there are some other things that I just expect my kids to do without getting paid. Even though Tessy and Tab think it’s ok, I’m not ok with paying my kids to dress and brush teeth. Ewww…no choices there…we just do it. I also think that we can expect everyone to put away their laundry. I don’t tell Dylan and Anya how to put away the clothes in the drawers, so pretty much it’s all just stuffed in. But, I do expect at least that much, and I’m not going to start paying for that. Maybe I’d pay for neatness. Dunno…have to think about that.

So, I’m thinking that “Be nice and behave” is going to be a separate family expectation with a separate set of incentives and consequences. The current family contributions and earning opportunities are probably going to be along these lines:

Contributions:

1. Dress, bathe, brush teeth
2. Pray and read scriptures personally and with the family
3. Complete homework

Daily Earning Opportunities:

1. Clean bedroom (Bed made, toys put away, desk cleared, laundry put away)
2. Swish and Swipe a bathroom
3. Help Mom with Daily Zone Cleaning
4. Clean up dinner

I’m also considering paying them for each additional 20 minutes they read beyond what is required for their homework. Not sure on that one yet. And, there may be some special weekend opportunities that go along with yard work.

So comments? suggestions? magic fairy dust to make this work? How does your family balance the idea of a family contribution against an allowance or jobs for pay chart?

Tags: allowance, anya, chores, dylan, math, money

Teaching Kids About Money

I read an article about kids and money at CNN (which unfortunately no longer appears to exist online–otherwise I’d link to it).  While most of the article deals with late elementary and older children, there was this comment that struck me:

“Kids need to get involved with money and they need to handle it,” said Bob Nusbaum, a financial planner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who said exposure can start as early as age 4 or 5. “Parents need to involve their kids in financial decisions as soon as they are old enough to grasp it.”

I absolutely agree with this, but to be successful, parents need to have some realistic expectations of the process and what four-year-olds grasp.

First of all, money is an abstract concept. Even after parents pair the concept of $1.00 with the concrete example of 2 candy bars, money remains arbitrary and abstract for a while. Patiently keep working with your child and keep things as concrete as you possibly can. With repeated exposure to money concepts, children get better and better at associating the concrete and abstract.

Let them handle their own money. Begin teaching coin recognition. At first, kids will think that dimes are not worth as much as pennies because they are think that value relates to size. Practice names of coins, sorting coins, identifying coins by the front and back, and how much each are worth.

Use money to teach about delayed gratification and savings. If your child wants a treat at the store, ask if they have the money for it. And then hold firm if they don’t have enough! You can do it!! When they get money, teach them to save first. This works better if your child has a realistic goal to save for, such as an inexpensive new toy. Make a big deal about it when they save enough to purchase the toy, and reinforce how good it feels to achieve this kind of goal. Here the purpose is to pair the external reward of the toy with the internal reward of feeling good about savings and reaching a goal.

Also, you might consider starting out with relatively small amounts of money. Children will want to play with their money or get it out and count it or show their brother or something else like put in their mouths and accidentally swallow it. You’re going to feel more patient if they only loose a quarter or two and not a ten-dollar bill.

And, as I promised in the video, here is the picture of our family’s bank box. It’s what we use to help the kids understand the value of the various coins and how to exchange them for different denominations.

Finally, the question of if and how you provide your child an allowance tends to be a debate among parents and child development specialists. Everyone has an opinion and a reason why it’s the best opinion. My opinion (like you care): what works for your family is the right thing for your family. Be flexible as you figure out what’s “right for your family” and then ignore everyone else, secure in your knowledge that you’re doing the “right” thing.

So what has been “right” for your family? Leave a comment and help me find my way with allowances and a seven-year-old. Give the rest of us some ideas to try out.

Tags: math, preschool

Cooking with Children

These are my favorite child-friendly cooking websites. If you think I’ve left one out please leave a comment and share your favorites with us. Or if you have a great recipe to make with kids, share that as well.

Kids Cooking Activities

Cooking with Kids

Alphabet Recipes

Picture Recipes

Help with Picky Eaters

Tags: early elementary, math, preschool, sensory activities