Let's Explore

DIY Felt Board (Fun Learning Materials) ~

2011-11-29T21:52:00.001+08:00

School Holiday Art & Craft ' projects:

咳，上个星期去Daiso 败了很多东西回来。Felt 就是其中一样。今天吃过晚饭后女儿和我一起动手做Felt board 。妍惠一向很喜欢做手作。当看见这些我为所准备的材料，她迫不及待地要马上完成它呢！哈

以下只是一部分的‘工作’，孩子们明天一大早要去爱馨绘本乐园参与科学营所以今天的工作就只有这些~

童年时期最重要的是安全感，不是上补习班。跟在父母身边，眼睛看到父母所看到的，耳朵听到父母所说的，这些都是他长大以后在环境中用得到的讯息。他从小已经在做未来的预备了，这些活的知识对他以后ＥＱ和ＩＱ的发展会很有帮助。童年经过很多补习的父母自己可以静下来想一想，当年这些补习是否必要？有多少是望子成龙的虚荣心？有多少是孩子真正需要的知识？其实大部分出社会所需用到的知识是补习补不来的，风度和教养就是最好的例子。

学校假期为什么应该还给孩子，还有一个很重要的理由：替孩子聚集人脉资源。童年时一起穿开档裤的朋友是长大后最好的朋友，而人一生中非常需要好朋友的扶持，快乐的童年奠定后来乐观进取的人生观，有这种人生观以后才可能成功。所以不要相信学太多以后新的装不下这种迷思，学习的效果不在存了多少，而在如何应用手边有的知识。

美国的电视节目《马盖先》就是个很好的例子，他很会就地取材来因应环境的需求，他学了很多东西但是他的大脑并没有因此而爆满，因为他的新知识都能与旧知识挂上钩，好像前面说的光盘片一样，相关的东西都组合在一起了，随时可以灵活应用，这才是学习的真谛。学校假期应该是给孩子休息一下、喘口气的时间，希望孩子能利用这个机会读一些自己喜欢的书，开拓自己的视野，提升自己的境界。

载自《品格决定未来》洪兰教授

妍惠拍的~

Useful Info :http://www.feltboardstories.com

We now know that there are so many educational benefits to using flannel board stories, or, as we used to call them,flannelgraphs. Some of these benefits are only now becoming recognized for their importance as we learn more about how critical it is to have a multisensory approach to learning. Felt board stories are so valuable in teaching children of all learning styles and multiple intelligences.

The use of Story Time Felts by students of all ages encourages a wide range of sensory experiences:

Visual - sight, spatial perception, color recognition
Tactile - touch, texture
Fine Motor - hand/eye coordination, manipulation
Auditory - hearing, listening
Linguistic- speaking, listening
Intellectual - cause and effect, problem solving, patterning, sequencing, math skills
Spiritual - values, love, religious study, worship
Creative - imagination, make believe, music, drama
Life Skills - health, hygiene, manners, relationships, dressing appropriately

And the reason to use Story Time Felts specifically? All Story Time Felts products...

are of tip-top quality
are washable
are durable
won't tear, crack, or break
provide hours and hours of "hands on" experience
encourage creativity
have realistic looking figures rather than cartoonish ones
develop science skills
develop math and number skills
develop alphabet skills
encourage listening, retelling, and creativity
are inexpensive
are long lasting
have high educational value
allow you to relax while your children enjoy working with the figures, knowing they can't damage them or be hurt by them

孩子的假期

2011-11-25T15:06:00.001+08:00

快放学校假期了，许多父母已在打听哪些补习班最好，要让孩子学校假期中去补习；也有父母不赞成孩子学新的东西，怕新的会干扰旧的学习；甚至有妈妈说课外书不要看，她不要那些学测不考的东西占满大脑空间，使课本没地方存。这些都是不对的观念，有些东西是越用越多的。

我在美国上神经发展课时，有一天老师问我们：“你有一颗红苹果，别人用黄苹果与你交换，现在你有几颗苹果？”我们异口同声地回答：“一个。”老师又问：“你有一个实验设计，别人用他的实验设计和你交换，现在你有几个实验设计？”我们回答：“两个。”老师说：“好，现在告诉我，当像金钱这种有形的东西越用越少时，什么东西是越用越多？”我们恍然大悟地回答：“神经回路。”因为只有脑里的东西不会因使用而减少，大脑用得越多，神经回路的联结越密，与人交换意见越多，思想越周延，点子也越多，越能触类旁通，举一反三。所以，大脑是要用的，它不会因为你用了而减少，反而会像生利息一样，越用神经的密度越多，思想越灵活。因此，绝对没有学了某些科目就把大脑空间占满了，使孩子不能学其他科目这回事。

大脑不会因为已经装满了就塞不进新的东西，它反而像可复写式光盘片（CD-RW），新档可以把旧的盖过去而不另多占空间，你可以一直修正你的档案。只要孩子愿意学，父母可以尽量让他自由发展。但是所有的学习都与动机或兴趣有关，如果没有兴趣，孩子的确会对你说，读不下了，头要爆炸了，这时我们知道他已对同样东西达到饱和点，应该立刻改换别的项目才会收到学习的效益。至于婴儿为何不能给予太多的刺激，否则反而有害，是因为婴儿还没有自主移动的能力，如果给予太多刺激就像把一个人绑在椅子上，强迫接受环境噪音一般，会痛苦不堪的。在这种情形下婴儿通常会身体扭动，把头转开，哭叫抗议。因此，在孩子的教养上，适可而止是非常重要的。

童年时期最重要的是安全感，不是上补习班。跟在父母身边，眼睛看到父母所看到的，耳朵听到父母所说的，这些都是他长大以后在环境中用得到的讯息。他从小已经在做未来的预备了，这些活的知识对他以后ＥＱ和ＩＱ的发展会很有帮助。童年经过很多补习的父母自己可以静下来想一想，当年这些补习是否必要？有多少是望子成龙的虚荣心？有多少是孩子真正需要的知识？其实大部分出社会所需用到的知识是补习补不来的，风度和教养就是最好的例子。

学校假期为什么应该还给孩子，还有一个很重要的理由：替孩子聚集人脉资源。童年时一起穿开档裤的朋友是长大后最好的朋友，而人一生中非常需要好朋友的扶持，快乐的童年奠定后来乐观进取的人生观，有这种人生观以后才可能成功。所以不要相信学太多以后新的装不下这种迷思，学习的效果不在存了多少，而在如何应用手边有的知识。

美国的电视节目《马盖先》就是个很好的例子，他很会就地取材来因应环境的需求，他学了很多东西但是他的大脑并没有因此而爆满，因为他的新知识都能与旧知识挂上钩，好像前面说的光盘片一样，相关的东西都组合在一起了，随时可以灵活应用，这才是学习的真谛。学校假期应该是给孩子休息一下、喘口气的时间，希望孩子能利用这个机会读一些自己喜欢的书，开拓自己的视野，提升自己的境界。

载自《品格决定未来》洪兰教授

以下是我趁假期还未开始就去几间店铺为孩子“搜索”一些适合他们在假期用的物品（和活动照片）：

如果妈妈不在家...

2011-11-05T14:19:00.000+08:00

星期六，难得我不必上课留在家里陪我三个瓜玩游戏。我喜欢和孩子玩“想象”游戏。今天我们玩的游戏是“如果妈妈不在家...早餐要怎么办呢？

咳，孩子一听到这个主题就很兴奋了! 惠惠和淇淇就马上‘计划’她们的菜单了。

今天，她们为自己准备的早餐是《营养鸡蛋面包》。妈妈只是在一旁拍照，完全没有给与她们帮忙。虽然已不是第一次准备早餐了，但她们来俩依然感觉很有新鲜感！

哈，一下是她们在‘制作早餐’的一些画面~

惠惠正把热腾腾的鸡蛋用叉子敲破和剥下壳。

刚为孩子添购的日文杯子~ *.*

“准备就绪，马上行动” ^^ 哈~

认真做事的姐姐~

馋嘴的淇淇先把饮料喝了！哈 \0/

鸡蛋搅好后加入一些美奶滋~

再加一些橄榄butter~

搅一搅~~~

“搅拌一下~”

我们是“最佳组合”！嘻嘻~

涂在面包上...

啊！！！我要吃咯~ （幸好没有蛀牙:P )

呵呵，自己准备的最好吃了~ >.<

谢谢哥哥为我们准备的番薯糖水！

惠惠迫不及待地要拿出来给家人分享她和妹妹所准备的早餐！

More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/focusyou/sets/72157627931365845/

Habit Training in the Early Years–Early Years Homeschooling, Part 2

2011-11-05T13:20:00.000+08:00

Via :http://simplycharlottemason.com

A few weeks ago I was in the mountains of Colorado and noticed an unusual lamppost. This lamppost was made from a tree. But that wasn’t the unusual part. The unusual part was the complete curly-que that the tree trunk made right beneath the lamp. It looked like one of those silly straws that have a loop in the middle.

Someone had trained that tree to grow in that direction when it was just a sapling. Sure, full-grown trees can be trained to grow in certain ways, but it is so much easier to shape a tree when it is young and pliable.

Charlotte Mason expressed the same principle this way for parents: “What you would have the man become, that you must train the child to be” (Vol. 2, p. 15). The Early Years are the perfect time to concentrate on forming good habits in our children. It is never too late to instill a good habit, but how much easier it is if we instill good habits right from the start!

Of the sixty or so habits that Charlotte recommended, two should be top priority for parents of preschoolers: the habit of Attention and the habit of Obedience. Here are more of Charlotte’s thoughts on the matter.

Realize your child will not simply grow out of his faults.
Let’s face it, our little ones are often cute when they do wrong. But parents cannot afford to laugh at ugly tempers or disobedience. “They say, ‘The child is so young; he does not know any better; but all that will come right as he grows up.’ Now, a fault of character left to itself can do no other than strengthen” (Vol. 2, p. 87).
Be consistent.
The key to instilling any habit is repetition. The more times our children do the right thing, the easier it will become. Soon they will be able to do the right thing without stopping to think about it. But if they do the right thing once or twice, then are allowed to do the wrong thing five times, we have wiped out any progress in that new habit and have to start all over again. Therefore . . .
Help your child do the good habit as many times as possible.
How does that look practically? Here’s an example for each of those two top habits.
- Attention: Encourage your child to look at an object a little longer each time.
  “A baby, notwithstanding his wonderful powers of observation, has no power of attention; in a minute, the coveted plaything drops from listless little fingers, and the wandering glance lights upon some new joy. But even at this stage the habit of attention may be trained: the discarded plaything is picked up, and, with ‘Pretty!’ and dumb [silent] show, the mother keeps the infant’s eyes fixed for fully a couple of minutes—and this is his first lesson in attention. Later, as we have seen, the child is eager to see and handle every object that comes in his way. But watch him at his investigations: he flits from thing to thing with less purpose than a butterfly amongst the flowers, staying at nothing long enough to get the good out of it. It is the mother’s part to supplement the child’s quick observing faculty with the habit of attention. She must see to it that he does not flit from this to that, but looks long enough at one thing to get a real acquaintance with it” (Vol. 1, pp. 139, 140).
- Obedience: Expect and insist on prompt, cheerful, lasting obedience every time.
  “This is the sort of thing which is fatal: The children are in the drawing-room, and a caller is announced. ‘You must go upstairs now.’ ‘Oh, mother dear, do let us stay in the window-corner; we will be as quiet as mice!’ The mother is rather proud of her children’s pretty manners, and they stay. They are not quiet, of course; but that is the least of the evils; they have succeeded in doing as they chose and not as they were bid, and they will not put their necks under the yoke again without a struggle. It is in little matters that the mother is worsted. ‘Bedtime, Willie!’ ‘Oh, mamma, just let me finish this’; and the mother yields, forgetting that the case in point is of no consequence; the thing that matters is that the child should be daily confirming a habit of obedience by the unbroken repetition of acts of obedience. It is astonishing how clever the child is in finding ways of evading the spirit while he observes the letter. ‘Mary, come in.’ ‘Yes, mother’; but her mother calls four times before Mary comes. ‘Put away your bricks’; and the bricks are put away with slow, reluctant fingers. ‘You must alwayswash your hands when you hear the first bell.’ The child obeys for that once, and no more.
  “To avoid these displays of wilfulness, the mother will insist from the first on an obedience which is prompt, cheerful, and lasting—save for lapses of memory on the child’s part. Tardy, unwilling, occasional obedience is hardly worth the having; and it is greatly easier to give the child the habit of perfect obedience by never allowing him in anything else, than it is to obtain this mere formal obedience by a constant exercise of authority” (Vol. 1, pp. 163, 164).

Yes, we could list pages and pages of other practical tips, but start with those two. Put them into practice consistently and see how those new habits will train the direction of your child’s life.

Other Habit Training Resources

We’ve previously done two series of articles on habits. As always, you can go back and read our past posts/e-mails on our blog. If you would like to read more about habits, check out the Smooth and Easy Days series or the Laying Down the Rails series.

Charlotte’s writings are chock full of habit training counsel and practical tips. We’ve collected all that advice into one place, organized it, and added some ideas from our own experience in Laying Down the Rails: A Charlotte Mason Habits Handbook.

If the thought of a 250-page book overwhelms you right now, our quick-start habits workshop is a great place to grab the simple principles of habit-training along with lots of practical ideas to get you started. The Laying Down the Rails Workshop is available on DVD, CD, or mp3.

阿惠毕业咯！

2011-10-12T19:13:00.001+08:00

终于等到这一天了！阿惠毕业了~

心情是....感动...还是感动！而且亲自为她拍摄毕业照更是难得的回忆啊！T.T

www.happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com

Benefit of Sand and Water Play

2011-09-29T23:57:00.001+08:00

Children's explorations with sand and water help build various skills. By sifting sand and pouring water, children improve their physical dexterity. By joining others in blowing bubbles or making a sand castle, they develop social skills. At the same time, they enhance their cognitive skills as they explore why certain objects sink in water and others float.

Sand and water can be used as two separate activities. Each one on its own provides children with many learning opportunities. As a liquid, water can be splashed, poured, frozen and evaporated. As a solid, sand can be sifted, raked, shoveled and dumped. Play with each substance separately can be used to foster children's socio-emotional, cognitive, and physical growth.

However, when we combine sand and water play the children's experience is enhanced by the creation of a third medium -- wet sand.
Wet sand play allows children to encounter principles of math and science firsthand. When children mix sand with water, they discover that they have changed the properties of both: the dry sand becomes firm and the water is absorbed. The textures of both materials change, too. Unlike dry sand or liquid water, wet sand can be molded. Individually and together, sand and water play can be used effectively to challenge and soothe children's minds and bodies.

P/s:below are 2008's album, enjoy~ >.<

more info :
http://www.littledreamers.com/

幼儿的教养

2011-09-19T23:36:00.004+08:00

幼儿的教养

在教养上，幼儿期教育的方式最重要的是身教。一九九二年意大利研究者在猴子的大脑中发现镜像神经元，当我们看到别人做某件事时，我们大脑中做同样那间事的区域会活化起来。这个发现很重要，因为这表示它是同理心和模仿的神经机制，也让我们看到模仿是最原始的学习，父母一举一动都会在孩子的大脑中留下痕迹，我们不要孩子抽烟，自己不可抽烟；不要他喝酒，自己不可喝酒；不要他赌博，自己不可赌博。学习是上行小效的，不可不慎。

幼儿期的学习是个内隐的学习,孩子不知道什么学的，父母也不知道什么时候教的，但是刺激已出现，反应就会出现。这个内隐的学习效果长久，它不像外显的学习，明明学习过法国的首都巴黎，过两天就忘了，它们是完全不同的神经机制。人格的形成是个内隐的机制，所谓人格是一个人对事情的看法，形式风格，两者都是在孩子小的时候打下的基础。所以幼儿教育最重要的是教品德，不是教知识，父母不必急着送孩子去补习班学才艺、学写字，应该把孩子带在身边让他学习做人做事的态度与方法。

因此幼儿期最重要的是学纪律，因为一个没有纪律的孩子是无法受教的。所谓纪律不是打骂，而是从小养成良好的生活习惯，起居有定时、饮食有定量、行为有定则。目前发现教导孩子最好、最容易的方式是念书给他们听,透过故事情节详细地描述引发孩子的同理心，感同身受后，情绪的力量会将这个记忆送入孩子的长期记忆，使他们碰到同样情景时，有个可以效法借镜的例子。一个故事不能使孩子感动，情绪的力量便不能发挥出来，故事便会听过就忘。我们从失忆症病人看到，强烈的情绪仍能穿透失忆症的高墙。

科学家对情绪的持续研究，让现在儿童发展学家知道情绪的发展是幼儿期最重要的一项工作，它是人格的基础。中国人过去所说的“胎教”，其实就是母亲的情绪，研究上已知的母亲的情绪若是紧张，身体中会分泌大量的压力荷尔蒙，透过血液影响胎儿的发育。在所有的情绪中，最重要的是安全感，幼儿必须与照顾他人的形成联结（bond）,使他可以百分之百相信照顾他的人，他才会尊照这个人的指示去做。在以前，照顾婴儿的人几乎一定是母亲，现在因为双薪家庭，常会把孩子抱出去托婴，研究上知道照顾孩子的人不能一直换，父母与保姆照顾孩子的方式也必须一致，孩子才不会无所适从。

我们看到有安全感的孩子将来敢去探索，也不怕失败，因为知道底下有张安全网拖着，这个安全感不是二十四小时黏在孩子身边，而是孩子需要你时，你需要在他身边及时伸出援手。过去有许多双薪家庭强调他们给孩子“quality time”，说每周虽然只有两个小时陪孩子，但这两个小时是高品质的，父母亲放下工作，全心全意带着他出去玩或陪他玩。现在发现这种不叫quality time ，因为没有顾到孩子当时的需求，很多时候，父母有时间要陪时，孩子却想独处，就像孩子拿功课来文父母，父母忙，没有时间教，等父母忙完有时间教时，孩子已经不想学，动机时间已过。

孩子是上天给父母的福赐，我们希望孩子成为什么样的人，我们自己必须先变成那样的人，而且必须表里如一才能赢得孩子的尊敬。在孩子成长的过程中，物质上的享受不是那么重要，所以父母不必拼命加班以求给孩子更好的物质享受，但心灵上的满足感却是不可缺的，孩子必须知道父母是爱他的才有安全感，才会有自信。所以父母给孩子最好的礼物是陪伴孩子成长，监督他、保护他、引导他走上正途，成为一个有用之人。

父母同时还必须给孩子一种基本的谋生工具，那就是阅读。阅读像是敲门砖，可以打开人类知识之门。当一个孩子有健全的人格，又有阅读的习惯时，他就有面对未来世界必备的条件，世界虽大，他已可任意飞翔，他的人生可以掌握在自己的手中。这正是为什么我们说安全感与阅读是父母给孩子最好的礼物，其余的不过是锦上添花罢了。

待续...

星洲日报副刊特约报道

2011-09-18T20:54:00.001+08:00

非常感谢《星洲日报活力副刊》的特约记者把我的这八年来‘想说’的心声和祈使都写出来了！感谢所有给于我们机会的贵人。感激感恩，希望世界变得更美好！

和孩子一起学做月饼真幸福！

2011-09-13T23:58:00.000+08:00

星期日的中午，我和孩子趁牛爸去Redang Island 做Project aware不在家，我带着三个瓜到好友Felvin家学学做月饼。其实烹饪这学问是我一直想学但一直学不好的“大学问“。幸好我有问军事一直都在旁细心地教导我和两个女儿。我们一边做月饼、一边闲聊着“孩子经“。我们都度过了一个充实又有意义的哟一天！幸福就是那么简单了！当然最重要的不忘给孩子增添一个难忘的《童年回忆》啦。在此非常感谢Felvin 的“拔刀相助“！嘻嘻~ 感恩啊！ *《孩子的教育从家里开始》：www.happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com

多让孩子在大自然中学习

2011-08-20T12:11:00.006+08:00

大自然是孩子最好的教育园地，儿童心理学发现，儿童的智力发展是成熟和相互作用的结果。在儿童的学习过程中，他们不仅仅是被动的受体，面且是积极主动的有机体。把儿意放置于一个他完全陌生的新环境中时，即使没有成年人的指导或对环境的安排，儿童也会自己去寻找刺激，积军自己的经验。这也说明，儿童在学习过程中占主导地位。

要让孩子多到丰富多彩的大自然中去开阔眼界，明媚的阳光、新鲜的空气、千变万化的自然景观、包罗万象的科学知识是大自然为孩子们健康成长而送给孩子们的最好的营养品。让孩子多接触大自然，不仅可以健壮孩子的身体，而且可以扩展孩子的眼界，让孩子学到无穷无尽的知识。

心理学家发现，人在潜意识中看到的事物可以对大脑产生长久的影响。科学家认为，无需特别注意，人的大脑也在下意识地接受各种有用的信息。把孩子带到大自然的丰富环境里，不仅能够给孩子的各种感觉器官带来各种各样有益的良性刺橄，促使孩子的感觉器官和大脑神经系统的发育。而且，当孩子处在丰富的环境中时，虽然他可能不会对周围的一切都全神贯注的投入，但事物不断地从眼前经过，人的感觉器官在对这些事物进行处理的过程中，人的大脑一直处于工作状;物体的某种特定的特征，比如动作或颜色，能够刺激人的大脑细胞，使大脑细胞兴奋起来，大脑就不自觉地将它们的特征记录下来。当某个并不令人特别注意的事物不断地在眼前出现时，很可能会给大脑中留下深刻的影响。在大自然的丰富环境里，各种有用的信息和知识不断地输入孩子的大脑，孩子们在下意识中接受这些信息和知识，大脑在下意识中
把这些信息和知识结合起来并存储在记忆里，这样的学习对孩子来说是毫不费力的，但很有效果。

对于处于学前教育期的孩子来说，学习或积累知识不是这一阶段孩子主要的学习任务。所以在对孩子进行早期智力开发时，关注的重点不要放在教育行为的结果上，而是要更多地放在教育行为的过程中，不只是注重孩子掌握知识的情况，更要注重孩子学习的动机、兴趣、态度和习惯，积极引发孩子探求未知的内动力，调动孩子自主学习的积极性和主动性。

把孩了带到大自然丰富的环境里去，天然环境里丰富多彩、千姿百态的形、声、色等自然景观将为孩子的教育提供真实的、鲜明的、活生生的丰富物质条件:广阅的自然环境中充满无尽的科学知识，孩子在对自然臾秘的广泛接触和不断观察与探索中，获得直接的、具体的经脸体会，激发起他们的好奇心和求知欲，调动他们自主学习、探索、思考的积极性，在他们的心里及早播下科学的种子。

《两个人与三个小孩的旅行》
http://www.familyeutravel.blogspot.com/

《孩子的教育从家里开始》
http://happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com/

此文章在自于宝宝地带《育儿知识》。

父母对子女成长的作用

2011-08-17T22:58:00.000+08:00

父母对孩子成长起着至关重要作用，其中所包含的不仅仅是对孩子的抚养，更重要的是父母对孩子性格的影响和心理品质的培养起到着重要作用。

父母与孩子之间血缘关系和亲缘关系的天然性和密切性，使父母的喜怒哀乐对孩子有强烈的感染作用。孩子对父母的言行举止往往能心领神会，以情通情。在处理发生在周围身边的人与事的关系和问题时，孩子对家长所持的态度很容易引起共鸣。在父母高兴时，孩子也会参与欢乐，在父母表现出烦躁不安和闷闷不乐时，孩子的情绪也容易受影响，即使是幼儿也是如此。如果父母亲缺乏理智而感情用事，脾气暴躁，都会使孩子盲目地吸收其弱点。父母在处理一些突发事件时，表现出惊恐不安、措手不及，对子女的影响也不好。如果家长处惊不变、沉稳坚定，会使子女遇事沉着冷静。家长与孩子朝夕相处，对他们的情况可以说是了如指掌，孩子身上稍有什么变化，即使是一个眼神、一个微笑都能使父母心领神会，故此做为父母通过孩子的一举一动、一言一行能及时掌握此时此刻他们的心理状态，发现孩子身上存在的问题，通过教育使不良行为习惯消灭在萌芽状态之中。这对孩子的健康成长也起着十分重要的作用。

我想孩子在成长中最需要的是爱。父母向孩子传递爱的信息，是孩子的需要，许多孩子对爱的需要远胜于一两件玩具礼物。但父母如何表达自己的爱呢？轻拍孩子的肩，临睡前给孩子一个吻，与孩子道别时跟他挥挥手，在孩子回家时给他一个问候。这些都是在向孩子表达“我爱你”。同时，也让孩子传递这种爱，让他们爱父母，爱他人，把爱具体化。

在孩子健康成长的道路上，同样需要你提供一些做人处世的规矩，以便让他懂得凡事不能为所欲为，使其懂得自我约束的重要性。父母应当做遵守纪律的表率，并把遵守纪律的行为传递给孩子，让他们共同遵守，养成习惯后做到自觉遵守。

你传递给孩子最重要的信息往往不是用语言方式来达到的。在孩子的整个成长期，他都会模仿父母的行为，并以此为楷模。因而身为父母的要时时提醒自己，孩子正在观察自己。尤其是3～6岁正是孩子的好奇期，只要他们感兴趣的事情，便会像“录像机”那样，将其他人的一言一行完全拷贝下来，存档处理，并在适当时机表达出来。在这段时期，孩子相处最多、接受最多信息的，是来自于父母的言行。因此，家长必须十分注意自己的一举一动，要想为你的孩子树立一个好的榜样，父母必须做到以身作则。

儿童的自尊是通过父母对他的尊重培养出来的。体罚是对孩子的一种不尊重，冷嘲热讽或试图改变他的个性也是对孩子的不尊重。尊重孩子，就必须将孩子视为独立人格的人，允许他发展自己的爱好和追求。即使孩子的发展与家长为他设计的目标并不一样，或者他的有些表现家长很难理解，但也应该尊重他的个性。关心孩子，并不是什么都替他做主，应鼓励他独立思考并勇于探索，让他知道家长随时都在关注着他。

尽早开始培养孩子良好的健康习惯。要达到这一点，父母的行为是很重要的。父母坚持刷牙、健身或注重饮食健康，都是在给孩子无意中灌输一种观念，要照料好自己的身体。懂得健康的重要性。

所有那些肯学习的父母都在无形中为孩子树立了一个榜样，但也应该注意不要拔苗助长，超过了孩子的承受能力。对孩子来说，压力过大会影响他们学习的内在动力。与孩子一起欢笑，能让他看到事物轻松和愉快的一面。不要总是对孩子一本正经，笑声能让我们更加热爱生活。

孩子需要同龄玩伴，通过与自己年龄相仿或略大的孩子玩耍，孩子能学会妥协、同情和合作，还会发展出一些新的技巧、兴趣、责任心等等。不要限制孩子与同龄人的接触，家长所要做的是适时地给他们一些指导。

父母自身的文化知识水平，影响到家庭对子女的知识和能力的传递。这种传递对于孩子将来的成才，可能不起决定性的作用，但其影响是十分重大的。

同样在生活中，父母亲对孩子成长所起的影响作用是不同的。母亲对于孩子的爱是其健康成长的关键要素。

母亲在孩子成长的最初阶段承担与孩子进行最初的情感沟通，孩子通过母亲的一系列行为使其基本的感觉能力得到锻炼，孩子的情感得以发展，对孩子人格的健康成长起着直接的诱导作用。同样的母亲还是孩子学习语言的最初刺激来源，使母亲在孩子语言能力的发展和形成上起到了至关重要的催化作用。同时母亲还是孩子最初的人格行为的影响者。对孩子人格基调的基本形成起到了潜移默化的作用。

母亲对于一个孩子有着无与伦比的影响。母亲对孩子的了解是从母胎里就开始的，任何人都不可能像母亲那样对影响的孩子的外部环境如此清楚，也不可能对孩子的一举一动有深切的把握。长期共同生活形成的母子感通、母子情结是母亲和孩子不可分割的纽带，而母子之间无可替代的信赖感，让母亲比谁都能更及时地把握孩子的想法。

父亲对子女成长的也具有关键性及重要性。因为孩子的成长如果完全由母亲把持，肯定不利于孩子少年时期的健康成长的发展。不仅会使男孩“女性化”，女孩的性格也会更加的柔弱。当然如果只是由父亲单独培养教育子女，同样也是不利的。父亲行为不管是好是坏，都将对孩子产生极大的影响。

父亲在孩子个性形成和行为塑造方面，起着非常重要的特殊作用。因为男人一般具有实践丰富、心胸开阔、性格刚强等长处，这对子女是一种优势。在孩子成长过程中，母亲为了孩子的事情常常想与人商量，或者仅仅想向人诉说，在这种情况下，丈夫应与妻子共同商讨解决问题的办法，做一个好的倾听者，这就是做父亲的责任。而作父亲的常常忽略了自己做父亲的责任，他们把辅导孩子作业、参加孩子学校的家长会、以及对孩子的品德教育等都推给母亲，自己则忙于工作，对孩子的许多情况都不了解。曾有一位心理学家研究表明：女孩子缺乏父爱则数学不好，而男孩子缺乏父爱会产生情感障碍。当然这种说法也许有些极端，但是，也从一方面反映了父爱对于孩子成长的重要性。

曹靖 (教师) 2010-04-08

冠胜与同学一起朗诵诗歌Part 2 《烟孩子》

2011-07-12T18:29:00.002+08:00

" 一大群烟孩子约好...工厂的烟囱、升降机一开...森林的熊熊火花一亮！车子的汽笛一响~ 他们就出来狂欢！四处乱窜 Yeah~~~ 烟孩子把天空图脏了，地球爷爷黑着脸...生气！烟孩子把雨水搅酸了，花儿皱这脸..哭泣~ 烟孩子把空气弄辣了，我们红着眼叹气！唉~~~ 烟孩子呀！烟孩子！请你乖乖留在家里，别再捣乱啦！不然全世界都不会喜欢你~

小学的假期作业《观察绿豆》

2011-03-15T09:42:00.000+08:00

冠胜日记：
放学后，就很兴奋地拿出老师给的假期作业《观察绿豆成长》，家里没有绿豆了，牛爸只好带我出去买。回来家后，我便拿出小碗盛了半碗清水，就把绿豆投入水中，放好了，接着我就专心致志做起了作业。　　
大概过了一个钟头，他好奇地去看了一下，绿豆有的好像很不高兴，泡在水里竟然皱起了“眉头”，有的还是硬邦邦的，像块小石头，像是不肯屈服，看来是和他对着干。我就在心里对自己说：“看你跟我顽皮到什么时候，等着瞧吧！”　　我又去做自己的作业了，吃完饭，我又去看他们有什么变化。哈哈！这些硬的“小石头”也跟着皱起了眉头，那些早已皱眉的，现在胀得鼓鼓的，像吃了饭，喝足了水，看来是被我治服了。今天太晚了，不写了，明天再观察。　　　　　　

Yen Hui do a fun craft! * Friction Woodpecker *

2010-11-01T23:43:00.000+08:00

给孩子的《童年礼物》

2010-10-23T10:40:00.007+08:00

冠胜绘本即将出版了！！！

冠胜的自制绘本《序》
雪州皇城艺术家协会会长吴亚鸿

绘本,是孩子最喜爱的图画书。它是采用绘画和文字结合的图书创作。
在欣赏与阅读绘本的基础上,教育者应该和孩子一起阅读，一起感受书中的故事。“每个相同的故事，都会因为阅读声音不同而不同，每幅相同的画面，也会因为观察角度的不同而不同。” 因此，教育者应该把绘本所表现的图与文，透过自己的感受，把书中美好的一面，用真挚情感的声音来讲述。这样，绘本的美感，才会体现出来，才能通过它去引导孩子对美的认知和喜爱，进而培养自主阅读的兴趣。在阅读中感受快乐，获得心灵滋养。

洪丽香老师，就读于马来西亚学前教育学院CECE(Diploma of Early Childhood Education)。早期加入博雅艺术中心儿童美术师训课程，以优秀成绩修业。从事儿童美术教育多年的她，自己本身很喜爱绘本，她说，“幼儿的早期阅读方式与成人不同。绘本朗读，是幼儿聆听的教育活动。为幼儿朗读，让幼儿先用“耳朵阅读”，培养他们获得阅读的乐趣与感觉。这样的学习会令幼儿心神荡漾，乐在其中。”因此，在日常生活中，丽香老师经常为自己的三个孩子讲故事，引导他们画图画，启发孩子们的创意思维。

最近,她的长子冠胜，在自动自发下完成了“鼹鼠的彩虹”绘本，令人惊喜。尽管年纪还小的他，尚未正式掌握文字的运用，但仍然可以从他的“图”和“文”当中，看到孩子对绘画与文字的兴趣和敏感度。
为了引起孩子的探索兴趣, 并激发孩子的创意思维，丽香老师和她的另一半尤明裕先生，决定为孩子出版首册绘本“鼹鼠的彩虹”。

鼓励是最好的动力，父母的支持更是成功的阶梯。我想，“鼹鼠的彩虹”会永远地在冠胜一生中，留下一道美丽的彩虹。

Created own Picture Book by Eu Kuan Seng 7 years old

待续。。。。。。。。。

All copyright reserved.no copy and paste here.Thanks
http://happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com/

如何与孩子说绘本？

2010-10-22T23:51:00.001+08:00

刚才去给几个好友的孩子说《冠胜绘本》小孩们很喜欢^^
其中一个爸爸说，绘本很少字，光是图画他们不会讲。我回到家赶快上网找了“虫虫姐姐说故事录影”与大家分享。当中可以让我们学习如何说绘本哦！大家一起打造快乐绘本家庭吧～

一些贴士：

1)共度时，依照故事内容改变音调变音或加入音效，可以吸引孩子的注意，让孩子更喜欢阅读。
2)在孩子翻页时回应孩子，替故事增加重复性与预期性，孩子会在“动作一回应”的循环过程中理解并喜爱与阅读。
3)孩子喜欢自己翻书，爸妈可以配合孩子翻书的速适时回应孩子，帮助孩子理解故事的内容。
4)和孩子一起实际操作、尝试故事的内容，让孩子将阅读与生活经验连结。
5)和孩子一起动手动脚扮演故事的情节，能让孩子更融入故事中。
6)孩子常会对书中特别的细节感到兴趣或提出疑问，爸妈可以和孩子讨论、延伸并丰富孩子的语言。

www.happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com

* Friction Woodpecker *

2010-10-21T09:21:00.008+08:00

The Woodpecker experiment is all about friction.
The rubber band increases the friction of the straw, stop it from dropping down.

Material brought from my best friend,Science Explorer.
For more information, please call 016-4130338.

www.happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com

Fun Alphabet

2010-10-18T19:50:00.002+08:00

Make own book by children

2010-10-11T17:20:00.001+08:00

Children are enjoying with their own creative book ! I am allows children to write and illustrate their own story here! Great to share here :)
Making books has been my passion for the past few years. We use recycled materials and keep the process as simple as possible—no rulers allowed here. I believe we are all creative beings. I encourage you and your child to celebrate that creativity with books of your own.

* Children are sharing their creation here >.<

our home education blogs :
www.happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com

our video memories:
http://www.youtube.com/user/leesiang1

2010-10-03T17:12:00.001+08:00

Dear children ,home lessons for this week!

1)Where seed come from?
2)From seed to plant?
3)How plants grow: what do living things need to survive?
4)In what direction do seed grow?
5)What is inside a seed?

The goal of this thematic unit is to develop an understanding of many types of plants and their characteristics.It will include lessons on plant parts,what plants need to grow,kinds of plants,and plants we use and eat! Let's fun! ^^

Time lapse radish seeds sprouting, top and roots growing

Plant Projects with Kids

2010-09-29T10:00:00.005+08:00

Article By Judy Sedbrook, master gardener, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, Denver County

There are few things children enjoy more than digging in the dirt and making mud pies. They are fascinated by looking for worms and bugs and love to water the garden and anything else in the near vicinity. Children also enjoy planting seeds, watching them grow and harvesting what they have grown. By cultivating their curiosity about these things, you can help them to develop a love of nature and gardening. They will also enjoy the special time they get to spend with you.

Encourage their enthusiasm by planting seeds that mature quickly and are large enough for a child to easily handle.

Vegetables are a good choice for young children. They germinate quickly and can be eaten when mature. Some popular choices are radishes, zucchini, pumpkins, carrots, lettuce, peas, broccoli and potatoes Children may even be encouraged to eat vegetables that they have grown and would otherwise avoid. If you have enough room in the garden, gourds are a good choice. After harvesting, they can be decorated and used as birdhouses or autumn table decorations.

To add interest and color to the vegetable garden, you might want to add some flowers such as marigolds, nasturtiums and sweet peas. Be sure any flowers you plant are non-toxic.

Children love to choose the seed packets or starter plants for their garden and should be allowed to do the planting themselves. They can then proudly say it is "their" garden. After the planting has been done, be sure to put the empty seed packet or plastic insert in the soil next to the plants to mark their spot.

It is also important to include the child when deciding where to put the garden. This can be a good time to talk about what is required for a successful garden. Teach the young gardener that growing a healthy garden begins with good soil. Explain that plants, just like people, need to eat and drink. Make sure that the chosen spot gets enough sun and has a readily available source of water. The garden should be located where it is easily accessible to the child and can be admired by others.

When a place is chosen, remember to keep it small. Measuring out a "yardstick" garden keeps the size easily manageable for most children. If you live in an apartment or don't have much space, gardening in pots and containers can be fun and productive. Allow the child to use his or her imagination in choosing containers to be used as planters. Just about anything that holds soil and has good drainage can be used as pot.

Watering and weeding their garden may not hold as much interest for children as the planning and planting did. Garden tasks will be easier to remember if you put a garden calendar in your child's room or on the refrigerator. That way he or she can take charge of completing the tasks and crossing off the days when each task has been completed.

Children should have their own tools to use in the garden. Child-sized rakes, hoes, spades, and gloves can be found in most garden shops, home improvement centers, and catalogues. Less expensive alternatives might include old, heavy kitchen spoons for digging and measuring cups for scoops.

Sometimes waiting for spring to plant a garden is just too long for a child. Many plants can be successfully grown indoors by children, including the pits and seeds of items purchased at the grocery store. Avocado pits can be grown in a glass in the window, and the top cut off of a pineapple and grown in a piepan can make a nice houseplant.

Herbs are a good choice to plant indoors for children. They grow fast and can then be tasted. With pruning, herbs will grow all winter and can be planted outdoors in the spring. If there's a cat in the house, children may enjoy growing catnip on a windowsill in a pot.

One of the most fun and satisfying indoor gardening projects is forcing flower bulbs. This is an easy, inexpensive way to keep children busy in the winter when they can't play outdoors and can be done as a family activity.

A Thematic Integrated Science Lesson

2010-09-24T11:55:00.012+08:00

My life of teaching practice at Happyland's pre-school;

Theme - The Living Earth
Unit Of Work - Plants in the environment
Lesson Topic - Parts of plants –function of the roots and stem
Learning Area- Language and Science
No.of children-
Duration - 90 minutes

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, children would be able to:

1. A science experience –How the plants get water.
2. Have the skills of observing.
3. Develop an interest in early science.
4. Enchance their communication skills.

Materials:
Straws;Food coloring(red),empty jar,sharp knife, cutting board; glass, water; a bunch of rose; carrots and a stalk of celery

Procedures

Circle time (20 minutes)

1. Let children sit in a circle.
2. Recall the name of parts of plants and observe yesterday planting.
3. Ask children take out their water bottle.
4. Give them a straw and suck the water.
5. Ask question:
• How to you drink water just now?
• We need water. How about plants?
• How do plants drink water?

Activity 1
Roots and stem experiment (25 minutes)

1. Show children carrots, rose, and celery, sharp knife, cutting board; glass, water; red food coloring.
2. Demo how to do the experiment
(carrots)
• Fill a glass half full with water.
• Add red food coloring in water.
• Cut the end tip off of a carrot.
• Put the carrot in the glass of water.
• Put the glass near a window that lets in sunshine.
• Watch the carrot for a few days(or few hours).

Activity 2
A Stem Experiment
Rose and Celery

Procedure:
Leave the leaves and cut the stalk at an angle at the base. Put it in a glass with at least several inches of dark colored water and ask children to predict what will happen in writing with a short simple sentence. You might start noticing the colored water rising in a hour or two.
Close:
When all the students agree that the water is going up the stem have the students write descriptions of what happened. Have the students draw pictures of plants that label the roots, stems and leaves. Stems carry minerals up from the roots in the soil to the leaves on top.

What Is Happening

The rose- called capillary action. The flower sucks up the water through a tube called 'xylem'.

The carrot itself is really what we call a "taproot." This is a big and main root that grows straight down into the ground. Along its sides, little roots grow, too. Some trees, plants and bushes have a major taproot; others do not. Roots are really important! They hold a plant in place when it is windy. They keep soil around the plant. And most of all, roots conduct water from the soil up to the plant.

Activity 2 (30 minutes)

1. Gather in circle
2. Provide them with carrots,rose and celery.
3. Have children to do the experiment.
4. Have children to predict and guess the result.
5. After experiment clean up.

Activity 3 (10 minutes)

1. Have children watch a short video about plants need water.

Round-up (5minutes)

Share their experience of experiments.

Photosynthesis Video from Simple Science on Vimeo.

Little Science Explorer (Home Education)

2010-09-23T23:25:00.006+08:00

The Importance of Early Science Explorer (young children) are natural explorers. Every waking minute is a new opportunity for a young child to see,touch, and do new things, making meaning of the exciting world around them. Because their natural curiosity is unfettered, early explorations in science expose children to the rich knowledge that comes from investigating phenomena they encounter every day.

Make Own Picture Book by Eu Kuan Seng 7 years old

2010-09-04T11:52:00.012+08:00

http://happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com/

Rain rain go away....
Litlte mole said can you find me?? hehehe

*wink* I got a 'ideal' ! Let's me get some stones here....hehe

Hurrah! I got the stones and step on it!

Little mouse is walking slowly on the rainbow...

suddenly....

where is the rainbow???

Opps!...................no!!!!! wheep...........

???????? " what happend? "

Children are enjoying with their own creative book ! I am allows children to write and illustrate their own story here! Great to share here :)
Making books has been my passion for the past few years. We use recycled materials and keep the process as simple as possible—no rulers allowed here. I believe we are all creative beings. I encourage you and your child to celebrate that creativity with books of your own.

* All copywrite reserve*
no copy and paste here .Thanks ^^

冠胜的自制绘本《序》
雪州皇城艺术家协会会长吴亚鸿

绘本,是孩子最喜爱的图画书。它是采用绘画和文字结合的图书创作。
在欣赏与阅读绘本的基础上,教育者应该和孩子一起阅读，一起感受书中的故事。“每个相同的故事，都会因为阅读声音不同而不同，每幅相同的画面，也会因为观察角度的不同而不同。” 因此，教育者应该把绘本所表现的图与文，透过自己的感受，把书中美好的一面，用真挚情感的声音来讲述。这样，绘本的美感，才会体现出来，才能通过它去引导孩子对美的认知和喜爱，进而培养自主阅读的兴趣。在阅读中感受快乐，获得心灵滋养。
洪丽香老师，早年毕业于马来西亚艺术学院，后加入博雅艺术中心儿童美术师训课程，以优秀成绩修业。从事儿童美术教育多年的她，自己本身很喜爱绘本，她说，“幼儿的早期阅读方式与成人不同。绘本朗读，是幼儿聆听的教育活动。为幼儿朗读，让幼儿先用“耳朵阅读”，培养他们获得阅读的乐趣与感觉。这样的学习会令幼儿心神荡漾，乐在其中。”因此，在日常生活中，丽香老师经常为自己的三个孩子讲故事，引导他们画图画，启发孩子们的创意思维。
最近,她的长子冠胜，在自动自发下完成了“走上彩虹”绘本，令人惊喜。尽管年纪还小的他，尚未正式掌握文字的运用，但仍然可以从他的“图”和“文”当中，看到孩子对绘画与文字的兴趣和敏感度。
为了引起孩子的探索兴趣, 并激发孩子的创意思维，丽香老师和她的另一半尤明裕先生，决定为孩子出版首册绘本“走上彩虹”。
鼓励是最好的动力，父母的支持更是成功的阶梯。我想，“走上彩虹”会永远地在冠胜一生中，留下一道美丽的彩虹。

Make own Picture Book Story by Eu Kuan Seng 7 years old

Picture Book Maker

2010-08-26T14:55:00.007+08:00

Create your own children's book now!
Hui was enjoying with her first art book by own imagination. She was sharing with us ....

Hot Dog Booklet Video

Haha...Qiqi is sharing her art work ! 1st recorded >.<

picture book maker

Frobel 教育家: “当幼儿在游戏时，他们获得最佳的学习成果。”

2010-08-17T15:15:00.002+08:00

福禄贝尔( Frobel )教育家说：

“当幼儿在游戏时，他们获得最佳的学习成果。”

福禄贝尔（Friedrich Frobel 1782-1852）是牧师的儿子。1782年出生在德国一个美丽的村庄，在他出生九个月时母亲去世，父亲再婚，继母对福禄贝尔很冷淡。年幼的福禄贝尔由舅舅抚养长大，舅舅也是一位牧师，他无微不至地关怀孤独的福禄贝尔，并将他送入学校学习，让他和同龄的朋友一样，生活在幸福的家庭之中。

1797年16岁的福禄贝尔按照父亲的希望，学习几何、测量，当起了森林管理员，1799年进入“艾那大学”哲学系。1805年去葡萄牙开始教育生涯，他两次访问瑞士.J.H裴斯泰洛齐的伊韦尔东学院并在该校任教，他深受夸美纽斯（JO-Hann.amos Comenius 1592-1670）母亲学校的思想以及裴斯泰洛齐（Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi 1746-1827）家庭教育论的影响而成就其特有的幼儿教育思想。

1837年，年已五十五岁的福禄贝尔开始从事幼儿教育工作，同年四月，他邀请瑞士工匠紫格尔（Seigal）担任助手，开始为孩子制作“宠物”（Gabe gift）（即福禄贝尔教具），同时，动员家长制做教具，向家长讲解教具和手工的内容。1839年，他开设了幼儿教育辅导学习班，设置了游戏场所。1840年将此游戏场所命名为幼儿园，成为世界上最早的幼儿园，福禄贝尔也为此被后人誉为幼儿教育之父。福禄贝尔的幼儿园的概念是绿色家园，是让所有生命都健康成长，使幼儿与大自然和谐统一，让幼儿的生命经历变得丰富多彩，都能成为杰出人才。此幼儿园于1851年8月被当地政府以“幼儿园宣传无神论和社会主义”为理由，下达禁令，此禁令直至1852年6月21日福禄贝尔离世，也未被解除。

福禄贝尔七十一岁走完了他的人生之路，但他的教育思想却在世界广泛传播，直至今日他所发明的福氏教具，仍为孩子们所喜爱。在他逝世后，1861年出版了论文集《幼儿园教育学》。

福氏的实用教育方法

幼儿期的幼儿是如何来认知外界

　　幼儿看外界是是像雾一样蒙蒙浑沌的，由看到的东西及父母的话来认识事情，婴儿的感官的发展是从听觉、视觉，乃至四肢循序发展，这时期的保育，福氏在一八四四年出版“母亲的爱抚之歌”是从宗教精神的故事很详细地作为母亲教育幼儿之用的歌。又另外为了婴儿期和幼儿期的宗教心及身心健全及手脑并用之培养，设计了恩物（Gift）让幼儿由恩物游戏中来认知外界事物的教育。

人性教育的开始

　　当婴儿能自己表达感官和四肢的活动时，就是婴儿的后期，而进入了幼儿期的阶段。身体的保育、保护方面渐少，而精神保育方面逐渐增加。精神保育是指广义的教育。福氏提倡早期教育，即由父母的教育来开始的。创设幼稚园设计恩物，编写宗教故事“母亲的爱抚之歌”，福氏比以前所有的教育思想家更强调重视幼儿期教育的重要性。在心理学尚未发达的当时，他觉得先准备环境，在环境中让幼儿能够正确去观察认识事物的特性，相互关系、时间、空间关系。在心理学中，幼儿感觉到所有的东西和他们自己一样，都有生命，无论是木材、石头或植物、动物都跟他们说话、操作，所以我们常发现到他们自问自答，自言自语。

幼儿期的玩耍、食物、衣服

　　1823年著《人性教育》，他强调幼儿教育乃是由幼儿游戏中来辅导。玩耍、游戏是这时期之发展中的最高阶段。游戏，德语spiel 把个人内部本质的要求由内表达于外，游戏是一种喜悦、自由、平静、能够和外界平和，同时有第三者能和你起共鸣和同享的活动。游戏是善的来源。幼童很专心的玩，玩到疲倦，在游戏中体会牺牲、帮助别人、协力合作，也能增进自己的幸福，培养稳定耐心。如果观察幼儿玩到十分疲倦后，其睡觉的情形，实在很可爱，福氏创设幼稚园，主张游戏的重要性，在教育史上是第一位的提倡者。幼儿的食物不只影响身体的生长，也会影响精神生活、感觉生活和感情生活。幼儿期的衣服，要能让他们自由活动和玩耍，不要太长，穿衣服也会影响到精神、心理，所以父母要选大方简单的色彩，帮助幼儿身心健全地发展。

培养幼儿的自立心、好奇心

　　福氏说婴儿开始学走路，就是人的自立的第一步，要培养自立心，应从婴儿的练习走路开始。开始时大人会牵他的手走，或让他自己扶着墙壁学习走，渐渐地他要求自己活动时，会自己体会平衡，自己站立，（当其自立得到平衡的力量时，就会自己站立），平衡地走，所以不论学爬，自己站立，能平衡前进这是证明人依自然的顺序成长发展，而自立心也由其中产生出来。好奇心也要从小培养，我们观察刚学走咯的幼儿，见到树枝也会自己玩得很高兴。福氏说刚学走路的幼儿会到处找东西。一般的幼儿由寻找东西中认识东西的性质，所以，幼儿拿到一样东西，会专心观察各部分，转转看、摸摸看、打打看、闻闻看，放在口里尝尝看等。有时打坏，大人就责骂，但依福氏观点看，感觉方面，幼儿比大众敏锐，幼儿喜欢知道东西的内部，潜在力量，大人应依他们的需要，来满足他们，如此才是理想的教育法。

绘画活动的指导

　　福氏注重幼儿的玩耍，同时也重视画画。福氏说，画画活动是幼儿表现自我的活动，同时也是创造活动，是很重要的活动。画画活动的发展，是心情调和、思考、比较、判断、知觉等精神作用的发展，也能帮助幼儿的观察力，把握事物全体的力量，记忆力、想象力、发现力等，所以福氏重视幼儿的画画活动。幼儿在四岁时喜欢画，这是神赐给他们的创造冲动。福氏说，这乃是通过他们的游戏来表现的，对他们所看到的东西，想表现出来。福氏时常观察幼儿，从幼儿中学习，他感觉到幼儿的画画需要和语言连结，这样才能发展幼儿的能力，语言和画画是相互补偿和说明的。福氏说画画是站在语言的中间，彼此有共通的性质，用口说不出的，可用画来表现，在语言和画画来说，是有相反的性质，画画是静（死）态的，语言是动（活）态的，画是用眼看，语言是用耳听的，由于这种缘故，画画能力是直接的，和语言一样，同时要发展。

数的概念

　　在幼儿期是否应该教数目，有很多人争论，福氏在1826年著的《人性教育》提出数目的教法。由画画自然地进入数目观念和发展。幼儿由画画表现出来，由表现来观察事物，同时，他会把同样的种类、数目集合起来，例如：二个眼睛和二个耳，五只手指头和五只脚指头。由画画引导认识数目，同一种东西反复几次，就能够认识数目，由对数目的注意及认识，来发展幼儿内在算术的能力，知识范围也就会愈来愈广。在幼儿还不能分别多少、异同、大小的概念时，可由画画来引导幼儿认识数目。例如：二个大石头，三个小石头，四朵白花，五朵黄花。对于数目关系的知识，能提高幼儿生活，发展对数目关系的教育。福氏说：如果仔细观察幼儿，我们能发现幼儿由自然、具体的东西渐进入抽象的观念，幼儿由同样的东西，再三重复，例如桔子，桔子都是桔子，一个桃子，再一个......再来一个，很多的桃子，再来一个、二个、三个......这样在幼儿期也能数到十，要注意用口算不能断定幼儿已了解数一个与两个之间的关系，必须注意正确的指导。然后幼儿进入少年时代的过渡期后，才会再进入大人时期的思考、知识及技能期。而这些都是由幼儿期的萌芽开始发展的，福氏说，在人学习数目、形状、大小、颜色、韵律、形态，最初的萌芽也在幼儿期。

幼儿教育中父亲所扮演的角色

　　一般人说到幼儿教育，就直觉地认为这是女性的工作。福氏评价父亲在幼儿期教育的职责，也不否认父亲每日工作都很忙，但福氏说，不一定要特别找出时间来接触幼儿。幼儿看父亲做事或帮忙爸爸做事的时候都是很好的机会，真正关心儿女的父亲，一定可以从他所从事的各行各业中，来引导儿童学习各种知识。如农夫通过他的锄子、车子；开面粉工厂的父亲通过制粉机，商人的儿子通过买卖算钱来学习计算数目......，无形中使幼儿学到了许多知识。福氏说幼儿时常追求、喜欢知道很多事，不论父亲在那里，看到父亲就喜欢在父亲周围玩玩、看看。因此对他们所提出的问题，要给幼儿恳切的回答，如果一时的责骂，就是破坏他们的成长，犹如切断刚要萌发的嫩芽。这样，福氏强调父亲对学龄前幼儿的教育之重要性。一个父亲必须及早指导幼儿对事情的正确想法，通过作业、活动来引导他们勤劳精神、活动精神及家庭、社会的美德。也要在他们生活所遭遇的事情中来引导他们的科学知识、道德心及宗教心。以上简略介绍福氏部分的思想发展经过，供给各位作参考。　　

本文仅提供福氏生平与思想之一部分，尤其是与我们最密切关系之一部分，尚有许多思想未能详述。总而言之，福氏的教育理想乃是从他生活体验中得来。他的一生就一个学习的过程，孜孜不倦，不耻下问，因此他本身就一个活的教育典范。福禄贝尔七十一岁走完了他的人生之路，但他的教育思想却在世界广泛传播，直至今日他所发明的福氏教具，仍为孩子们所喜爱。在他逝世后，1861年出版了论文集《幼儿园教育学》。

1、和传统数学比较

　　传统数学大多以计算为主，唱数、数数、认数字、计数大多是以计算能力为主，在高科技和电子计算机普及的情况下，这个能力的意义不大，实在不必花费孩子太多的时间。由于一般家长不了解学习数学的意义，所以常认为学会计算能力，便是最好的最直接的成果了。更糟糕的是孩子倾向记诵，对计算本身的结构，孩子根本不了解，便背九九乘法表及功文式数学，孩子对加、减、乘、除的意义，几乎完全不懂。

2、和蒙特梭利数学比较

　　医生出身的蒙特梭利，教学方法和福禄贝尔有很大的不同，如果说福禄贝尔倾向柏拉图式的ldea type ，探究宇宙本质结构，蒙特梭利则属亚里斯多德式的生物经验法则，着重在经验组成的逻辑结构。蒙特梭利属十九世纪末人士，现代科学正在启蒙阶段，加上本人是医生，了解人类的思考架构，源自神经的感觉学习，所以蒙特梭利各学习方法，都是以感觉学习为基础。相对福禄贝尔重视本质，教学直接由数学切入，蒙特梭利比较着重人文，数学区只是学习区的一种而已，不过蒙特梭利在感官区中，似以数学教具为其重点，显示她也肯定数学是一切学习基础。蒙氏教具的操作，重感官经验的累积，故大多有一定过程，操作上也有一定的标准方式，更以此来培养孩子的秩序感，再进入逻辑化的数学世界。相对福禄贝尔的游戏显得自由多了，孩子可以自己观察，找出自己的方法，更能发挥其创造能力。因此，一般孩子大多认为福禄贝尔比蒙特梭利好玩多了。

3、和建构数学比较

　　建构数学（Construction mathmaties）是建构主义学派所发展出来的数学教学法。和福禄贝尔相同，建构数学也认为数学是宇宙建构的秩序，数学是科学的基础，也是探讨宇宙奥秘的工具。不过，建构数学比较重视实际生活上的应用。由实际经验所能学习到的，去累积数学思考的通则，进而做更细腻和更广泛的观察。　　因此建构数学解题、破题的过程，比答案更重要。建构数学的基本概念是正确的，但由琐碎的应用问题着手，又缺乏宏观的宇宙秩序为基础，反而让人觉得像是考益智问题，而欠缺对数学整体架构的认知。如孩子能够事先有福禄贝尔的认知，在进入建构数学时，就不会如此慌乱、难懂而容易被误导了。

4、福禄贝尔中的美学精神

　　福禄贝尔最了不起的是他把宇宙的秩序、数学结构和美学做了完整的结合，让我们真正领会到宇宙是最完美的主体。最美丽的声音，我们称之为天籁，大音乐家的音符，也大多由数学学派中呈现出自己地超级美感。　　这些美学都隐藏在数学对称，均衡等秩序中，有些时候，秩序的破坏也会出现另一种美感，福禄贝尔教具的延伸，可以让孩子在认识基本数学的规律中，建构出美学的基础。其实，福禄贝尔最重要的是自我回馈及延伸体系，虽然也有一些固定的教学法，但主要精神似是游戏，孩子在游戏中找到属于自己的方法，也真正做到了自己教自己…… 　　数学是宇宙的语言，如果真有外星人到地球来，唯一能做为沟通工具的便是数学。数学的基本架构，便是微积分——微分和积分，分类便是微分，集合是积分，所以幼儿数学教育一样要从分类和集合建构起。福禄贝尔教具，虽不特别强调数学教育，但它本身便是数学，特别是从本质的高等数学概念着手，福禄贝尔本人也一再强调，他的恩物表现了宇宙的和谐性、均衡性及创造性，不但在形、量、数上，建构严谨的逻辑观念，延伸上呈现相当完整的美学概念及创造空间。

Montessori “：幼儿通过感官活动，幼儿获得最佳的学习成果。”

2010-08-17T14:28:00.013+08:00

蒙特梭利（Montessori ) 意大利著名幼儿教育学家说：

“幼儿通过感官活动，幼儿获得最佳的学习成果。”

= 教育理念 =

兒童之家的教育理念：

（一）兒童獨立性的尊重：只有獨立的人才能享有自由。兒童的好動性是他的特色，大人不要橫加干涉或禁止，師長千萬別「指揮」或「命令」孩子，要讓他自己指揮自己，自己聽從自己的命令。尊重兒童的獨立性，兒童就能自然的活動他的筋骨，健康的身體隨之而至。

（二）肅靜與活動：尊重兒童的獨立性，並非讓他為所欲為，且不可讓孩子以為安靜、順從、聽話、被動就是好事；而活動或工作就是壞事。蒙特梭利的教學法強調兒童主動探索，並著力於設計啟發性的教學情境和[教具]，讓兒童藉由具體操作來學習，不只是聽講。

（三）精神勝於方法：蒙氏希望她的学生不要「主動」的想去「教」孩子，應該做個「旁觀者」來注視孩子的一切行為。唯一必須人為的就是設計或製作許多教具，甚至鼓勵孩子盡情的遊玩及操弄，就是對兒童最大的尊重。因為蒙特梭利方法的真正老師，就是兒童本身。

（四）個人自由先於社會紀律：自由第一，秩序只是其次。傳統教育強調「群性」，而蒙氏注重「個性」。蒙特梭利在[1932]年向[英國]的[蒙特梭利學會]發表的文章當中強烈痛責孩童受束於大人，比奴隸及工人都不如。蒙氏畢生心血強調：「解放兒童，是教育工作者的使命；因此，兒童個人自由，應列為優先考慮。」

（五）童年期的秩序感：蒙特梭利發現兒童的行為特徵之一，就是秩序感。一般人都認為孩子的房間或遊樂場一定亂七八糟，把玩具或紙屑丟的滿地都是，大人也因此相當頭疼，並認為這是孩子的嚴重教育問題，想辦法要及早培養孩子整齊清潔的習慣。然而蒙氏相信，小孩之所以無法將屋內安排得井然有序，始作俑者是大人。兒童本有順乎自然的秩序感，只是大人以「權力」予以弄壞而已。

The Montessori educational philosophy believes that the educational method, to be effective, must support and address the nature of the child. The nature of the child is not a theoretical construct, but based upon Montessori's detailed observation of the child.

Based upon her observations Montessori came to understand the inner nature of the child:

The child is a dynamic, curious person that has an inner need to know the the world. The Montessori classroom has a multitude of fascinating materials from which to select.

The child comes to know the world through the senses. Consequently, experiences that develop and refine the sense are fundamental to knowing the world. Further, because knowing the world comes through the sense activities must concrete and have "manipulatives" (i.e. toy or game-like). The curriculum area of sensorial in the Montessori classroom aids the child in the development and refinement of the senses and the many manipulative materials in the classroom allows the child to explore and learn.

The child auto-educated. Essentially, the child constructs knowledge through physically manipulating the environment. The physical manipulation, or handling of the environment, allows the child to construct mental images. Mental images lay the foundation for later abstractions. The Montessori teacher does not teach, but rather provides experiences for the child to construct mental images.

The child learns that which is of personal interest. It is important, therefore, for the child to have freedom to select activities that are highly interesting. The Montessori classroom contains hundreds of colorful, exciting materials that are of interest to children.

The child repeats activities until they are fully mastered. The Montessori class schedule has long, uninterrupted times in the morning and in the afternoon for the child to concentrate on activities.

The child is orderly and focused. The Montessori classroom is calm, respectful and peaceful. This atmosphere meets the child's inner need for an atmosphere that supports concentration. The Montessori classroom is orderly and encourages the child to maintain an orderly environment.

Based upon the inner nature of the child the role of the teacher is defined:

The teacher observes the child to determine what is of interest to the child.

The teacher prepares the environment to meet the observed needs of the child.

Based upon the nature of the child and the observed needs of the child the environment is prepared to serve the child.

關於台北蒙特梭利幼稚園

KARL WETER'S EDUCATIONAL LAW

2010-08-17T11:55:00.000+08:00

这是一本中外教育史上的奇书，其德文原版藏于哈佛大学图书馆内，据说是美国的惟一珍本。而且从问世至今，凡是有幸读到此书并照书中方法去做的父母，都成功地培养出了极其优秀的孩子。

举拙小语：我非常推崇此书，但可惜在各种小说充斥的书城中却找不到他。为了解决大家暂时购买不到的问题，我不惜花费大量精力和时间做成本网络版，供大家在线阅读，学习。当然，精力有限，错误在所难免，请大家多多包涵、指正。如果此举侵犯了某人的权益，在您电子邮件告知我后我将尽快将它删除。恭祝您能在此书中找出有效的教子良方，早日教子成才。

珍藏于哈佛大学的孤本(代序)

卡尔·威特是19世纪德国的一个著名的天才。他八九岁时就能自由运用德语、法语、意大利语、拉丁语、英语和希腊语这六国语言；并且通晓动物学、植物学、物理学、化学，尤其擅长数学；9岁时他进入了哥廷根大学；年仅14岁就被授予哲学博士学位；16岁获得法学博士学位，并被任命为柏林大学的法学教授；23岁他发表《但丁的误解》一书，成为研究但丁的权威。与那些过早失去后劲的神童们不同，卡尔·威特一生都在德国的著名大学里授学，在有口皆碑的赞扬声中一直讲到1883年逝世为止。
卡尔·威特能取得这番惊人的成就，并不是由于他的天赋有多高超——恰恰相反，他出生后被认为是个有些痴呆的婴儿——而是全赖他的父亲教育有方。卡尔的父亲把小卡尔长到14岁以前的教育写成了一本书，这就是《卡尔·威特的教育》。书中详细地记载了卡尔的成长过程，以及自己教子的心得和独辟蹊径的教育方法。该书写于1818年，大概是世界上论述早期教育的最早文献。但这本书问世后并未引起人们重视，几乎绝版，保留至今的只有很少的几部了，哈佛大学图书馆里藏有的一册据说是美国的唯一珍本。因此，如今看过原书的人极其少，老卡尔·威特的教育理论只散见于受他启发的一些教育论著诸如《俗物与天才》、《早期教育和天才》等书中。然而，正是由这些残章断片生发出的教育方法，培养出了近代像塞德兹、威纳·巴尔及维尼夫雷特等无数世界级的通过早期教育成长的典范。
现在本书已由京华出版社翻译出版，以满足关心孩子教育的人们了解这本书的愿望。如果这本被埋没已久的关于早期教育的书能够给我国的年轻父母有所帮助，通过它培养出更多优秀的人才，那将是本书作者最大的欣慰。

2001年5月
Karl Weter's Education Law

Lev Vygotzky

2010-08-17T11:43:00.001+08:00

Lev Vygotzky was a child psychologist, developmental psychologist and developer of an education system around his theories and ideology. Vygotzky's idea was where Bruner derived his ideas from; he was one of his followers. Like Bruner, Vygotzky believed that a child has great potential if pushed to his/her limits and taught by a capable instructor.

Vygotzky's teaching strategies excluded standardized testing and included children as teachers of their peers. He believed that a child should be pushed and that those that are excelling should be used to help those that are lacking behind. He also believed that it is the teacher's responsibility to assess their students' progress and capabilities. Another one of his strategies was that encouragement should be offered to a student "in such a ways that he/she can practice their skill" ("Lev Vygotsky"). The fourth tactic is to promote and supervise the child's personal language. The fifth strategy is to set education in a meaningful framework. And, lastly, the sixth strategy is to "transform the classroom with Vygotskian ideas" ("Lev Vygotsky").

"Lev Vygotsky." Wikipedia. 2009. Wikmedia Foundation

Jerome Bruner ：“提供幼儿机会，让幼儿发掘本身的学习动机。”

2010-08-17T11:35:00.002+08:00

布鲁纳 ( Bruner )美国心理学家和教育家说：

“提供幼儿机会，让幼儿发掘本身的学习动机。”

Although Jerome Bruner is different than Jean Piaget, he also has three "modes of representation" ("Jerome Bruner"): enactive, which is action-based; iconic, which is image-based; and symbolic, which is language-based. However, different from Piaget, he does not keep these modes in defined stages; instead he believes them to be overlapping and loosely chronological. And, starkly different from Piaget, Bruner also believes that anyone at any age can learn many things as long as it is taught to him/her in an age-appropriate manner. Therefore, his main focus is on learning and ones capabilities, and not on what a person can or cannot do at a specific, given timeframe.

Those three modes are in the area of learning and categorizing, but he also believes that there are two primary modes of thought: narrative and paradigmatic. Narrative thought processes are in the form of story-telling, some times similar to a soap opera; and paradigmatic thought is structured and logical.

His overarching theory is that people categorize everything. His understanding is that people interpret everything around them in terms of similarities and differences. Similar to Bloom's Taxonomy, Bruner believes that the brain is simply a system of coding in a "hierarchical arrangement of related categories" ("Jerome Bruner").

"To perceive is to categorize, to conceptualize is to categorize, to learn is to form categories, to make decisions is to categorize."

- Jerome Bruner

"Jerome Bruner." Wikipedia. 2009. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. Web.28 May 2009.

FB友说:每个做父母的都应该去上儿童心理学,你认为呢？

2010-08-17T11:27:00.005+08:00

艾瑞克森 ( Erikson) 教育家说：

“幼儿需要爱、安全感、受保护，因此我们先必须满足他们的需求，他们才会相信他的保育者和教育工作者。”

我和朋友在上着学前教育课程，科目包括儿童心理学，它能让我们更了解孩子们的心理、心智、体能等个发展。每一个小孩都是独特的个体，他们来自不同的家庭背景、文化与教育背景。。然而，我们是否只能用“一种方法”来教导单纯的孩子吗？
我们时常会和教授“提议” ，不妨让现今未来妈妈和老师们（准备教育小孩的大人）提供他们一个了解孩子的心理学系~ 读了心理学，就会明白为何不同的孩子，需要用不同的方法。。共勉之~ 以下是其中一位心理学家;

Erik Erikson 把心理的发展划分为八个阶段，指出每一阶段的特殊社会心理任务;井认为每一阶段都有一个特殊矛盾，矛盾的顺利解决是人格健康发展的前提。艾氏认为，每个阶段心理、社会发展课题的完成、危机的解决，就会产生积...极的品质，反之，就会产生消极的品质。

　　(一)基本的信任感对基本的不信任感(0—1.5岁)

　　信任与不信任

　　婴儿时期：这是获得信任感而克服不信任感阶段。所谓信任，是婴儿的需要与外界对他需要的满足保持一致。这阶段的婴儿对母亲或其他养育者表示信任，婴儿感到所处的环境是个安全的地方，周围人们是可以信任的，由此就会扩展为对一般人的信任。婴儿如果得不到周围人们的关心与照顾，他就会对外界特别是对周围的人产生害怕与怀疑的心理，以致会影响到下一阶段的顺利发展。

　　(二)自主感对羞耻感与怀疑(2—3岁)

　　自主与羞怯、疑虑

　　婴儿后期：这是获得自主感而避免怀疑感与羞耻感阶段。个体在第一阶段处于依赖性较强的状态下，什么都由成人照顾。到了第二阶段，儿童开始有了独立自主的要求，如想要自己穿衣、吃饭、走路、拿玩具等，他们开始去探索周围的世界。这时候，如果父母及其他照顾他们的成人，允许他们独立地去干一些力所能及的事情，并且表扬他们完成的工作，就能培养他们的意志力，使他们获得一种自主感，能够自己控制自己。相反，如果成人过分爱护他们，处处包办代替，什么也不需要他们动手，或过分严厉，这也不准那也不许，稍有差错就粗暴地斥责，甚至采用体罚，就会使孩子产生自我怀疑与羞耻之感。

　　(三)主动感与内疚感(4—5岁)

　　主动与内疚

　　幼儿期：这是获得主动感受而克服内疚感阶段。个体在这阶段的肌肉运动与言语能力发展很快，能参加跑、跳、骑小车等运动，能说一些连贯的话，还能把自己的活动扩展到超出家庭的范围，除了模仿行为外，个体对周围的环境充满了好奇心，知道自己的性别，也知道动物是公是母，常常问问这，动动那。这时候，如果成人对于孩子的好奇心以及探索行为不横加阻挠，让他们有更多机会去自由参加各种活动，耐心地解答他们提出的各种问题，而不是指责，那么孩子的主动性就会得到进一步的发展，表现出很大的积极性与进取心。反之，如果父母对儿童采取否定与压制的态度，就会使他们认为自己的游戏是不好的，自己提出的问题是笨拙的，自己在父母面前是讨厌的，致使孩子产生内疚感与失败感，这种内疚感与失败感还会影响下一阶段的发展。

　　(四)勤奋对自卑感(6—11岁)

　　儿童期：这是获得勤奋感避免自卑感阶段。儿童的智力不断地得到发展，特别是逻辑思维能力发展迅速，他们提出的问题很广泛，而且有一定的深度，他们的能力也日益发展，参加的活动已经扩展到学校以外的社会。这时候，对他们影响最大的已经不是父母，而是同伴或邻居，尤其是学校中的教师。他们很关心物品的构造、用途与性质，对于工具技术也很感兴趣。这些方面如果能得到成人的支持、帮助与赞扬，则能进一步加强他们的勤奋感，使之进一步对这些方面发生兴趣。

　　(五)自我同一性对角色混乱(12—18岁)(识记)

　　青年期：这一阶段的核心问题是自我意识的确立和自我角色的形成。青少年对周围世界有了新的观察与新的思考方法，他们经常考虑自己到底是怎样一个人，他们从别人对他的态度中，从自己扮演的各种社会角色中，逐渐认清了自己。此时，他们逐渐疏远了自己的父母，从对父母的依赖关系中解脱出来，而与同伴们建立了亲密的友谊，从而进一步认识自己，对自己的过去、现在、将来产生一种内在的连续之感，也认识自己与他人在外表上与性格上的相同与差别。认识自己的现在与未来在社会生活中的关系，这就是心理社会同一感。

　　(六)亲密感与孤独感(18—25岁)

　　成年早期：这是建立家庭生活的阶段，这是获得亲密感、避免孤独感阶段。亲密感是人与人之间的亲密关系，包括友谊与爱情。亲密的社会意义，是个人能与他人同甘共苦、相互关怀。亲密感在危急情况下往往会发展为一种互相承担义务的感情，它是在共同完成任务的过程中建立起来的。如果一个人不能与他人分享快乐与痛苦，不能与他人进行思想情感的交流，不相互关心与帮助，就会陷入孤独寂寞的苦恼情境之中。

　　(七)繁殖感对停滞感(25—65岁)

　　成年中期：这是获得创造力感，避免自我专注阶段。这一阶段有两种发展的可能性，一种可能是向积极方面发展，个人除关怀家庭成员外，还会扩展到关心社会上其他人，关心下一代以至子孙万代的幸福。他们在工作上勇于创造，追求事业的成功，而不仅是满足个人需要。另一种可能性是向消极方面发展，即所谓自我专注，就是只顾自己以及自己家庭的幸福，而不顾他人的困难与痛苦，即使有创造，其目的也完全是为了自己的利益。

　　(八)自我整合对绝望感(65岁以后)

　　成年晚期：自我完善——悲观失望，这是获得完美感，避免失望感阶段。如果前面七个阶段积极的成分多于消极的成分，就会在老年期汇集成完美感，回顾一生觉得这一辈子过得很有价值，生活得很有意义。相反，如果消极成分多于积极成分，就会产生失望感，感到自己的一生失去了许多机会，走错了方向，想要重新开始又感到为时已晚，痛不胜痛。于是产生了一种绝望的感觉，精神萎靡不振，马马虎虎混日子。

Study links:
http://fac.hsu.edu/langlet/lectures/dev/Erikson/erik_erikson.htm

Jean Piaget

2010-08-17T11:21:00.004+08:00

皮亚杰（Piaget) 教育心理学家说：

“幼儿需要很多的双手操作活动，他们从尝试与错误中学习。在游戏为本的活动中，幼儿能进行实验与确定发现。”

Piaget is best known for his stages of cognitive development
Jean Piaget discovered that children think and reason differently at different periods in their lives. He believed that everyone passed through a sequence of four stages. Although every normal child passes through the stages in exactly the same order, there is some variability in the ages of the children at each stage.

Congnitive Theory A Revolutionary Idea

Jean Piaget was a child psychologist, professor, author, and biologist. Though he had many academic interests, his primary focus was the child psyche. He did a lot of research in the area of child psychology and his conclusion is what is known as Piaget's Stages of Mental Development. He recognizes four main stages in a child's life:

the Sensorymotor Stage (ages: birth to two),

the Preoperational Stage (ages: 2-7),

the Concrete Operational Stage (ages: 7-12), and

the Formal Operational Stage (ages: 12-15).

The Sensorymotor Stage, says Piaget, is when infants and babies are more concerned with learning about the physical world, objects, and their own physical development. The Preoperational Stage is when a child is learning and developing verbal skills, including reading and writing. The Concrete Operational Stage is when a child is beginning to understand abstract concepts, such as numbers and relationships. And, finally, the Formal Operational Stage is when a child "begins to reason logically and systematically" ("Jean Piaget").

Piaget's Stages of Mental Development

His Early Life
Jean Piaget was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, on August 9, 1896.
As a child he was very indpendent and took an early interest in nature, especially the collecting of shells. He attended After high school and after attended the University of Neuchâtel. Constantly studying and writing, he became sickly, and had to retire to the mountains for a year to recuperate. When he returned to Neuchâtel, he decided he would write down his philosophy.

After receiving a degree in zoology from the Univ. of Neuchâtel in1918, Piaget's interests shifted to psychology. He studied under C. G. Jung and Eugen Bleuler in Zürich, and then in Paris at the Sorbonne. He worked with Alfred Binet in the administration of intelligence tests to children. In reviewing the tests, Piaget became interested in the types of mistakes children of different ages were making.

After returning to Switzerland in 1921, Piaget began to study the reasoning processes of children at various ages; which lead him to developing his Cognitive Theory. By the end of his career, he had written over 60 books and many hundreds of articles. He died in Geneva, September 16, 1980, one of the most significant psychologists of the twentieth century.

"Jean Piaget." MSN Encarta. 2009. Microsoft Corporation

Visual art and Expressive art learnings

2010-08-03T15:57:00.011+08:00

有些朋友会说：绘本那么‘少字’ 不值得买。而且又贵～
我会告诉他们，你们少买几件新衣，吃少好料就行了呀 >"<
也顺便‘传教’：绘本是长远的投资。绘本是孩子的财产。绘本往往幽默却最能潜移默化地将知识与正向概念内化到孩子心中！
不但如此，绘本除了教导文字还可以学习艺术，数学概念，体能、情绪、社交、道德、认知及语言等（儿童各方面的发展）

其实我们应该强调的是全儿童发展。上述五项发展是受到同等重视的。
五项发展之间亦存在相互影响以及互相辅助的作用，它们之间的关系应受到关注。

在此分享几个通过绘本进行其他学习领域的绘本学习课程 ^^

http://happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com/search/label/Storytelling

Part 1 -storytelling 《跳舞》绘本跳舞(启发精选世界优秀畅销绘本)

other PictureBooks here :)
http://happylandpicturebook.blogspot.com/
other lesson here: HappylandChildrenArt

红泥巴书评
内容简介：
喜欢舞蹈的女儿不知道，她的爸爸一直都在看着她，从她小时候扮演一个玉米，到她成为台上美丽优秀的芭蕾舞者，到她恋爱出嫁，有了自己的家。爸爸一直微笑着看着她。直到爸爸生命最后一刻，舞蹈着的女儿仍然不知道，爸爸总是微笑地看着她。
这个故事的作者灵感来源于他自己的女儿，然而图画中的女孩确实却有其人的。绘者受画中女孩子的父亲所托为他画了女儿的画像，而这个女孩和母亲丧生于一起车祸。本书内外所蕴藏的故事与情感让每一位度过这本书的读者动容。作者的文字细腻深沉，绘者的图画更是显示出非凡的功力，写实的描画、凝重的色彩、潇洒的笔法，将这个动人的故事演绎的一如交响乐般宽广宏大。

Part 2 -Body movement (games)

materials prepared: card boxes ,marker pen ,scissors, small clips.

LET's FUN !

D.I.Y Scouring Pad Alphabet !

2010-06-24T22:00:00.004+08:00

Children learn best through these scouring pads alphabet because, the surface is rough that can stimulate children's senses through touching!

When we're teaching them (early years),hold their hand and trace the scouring pads ALPHabet ! Must Try *.* very effectively~

Why Young Children Learn Music

2010-06-21T11:04:00.002+08:00

The study of music at a young age increases the quality of the child's early life experiences. Music can soothe, stimulate or entertain children. It provides pleasure, joy and an outlet for creative expression; it helps develop listening and auditory discrimination skills; it contributes to motor skill development (both large muscle and small muscle); and it increases the range and flexibility of the voice. Music can soothe emotions, invite enthusiasm and bring immense pleasure to the listener.

Eight Cool Things Music Does for Kids

1. Confidence and Poise: Music making offers children a chance to perform with and for others, and to develop confidence in their ability to make presentations for groups.

2. Perseverance and Commitment: As children become more skilled in singing, moving and playing instruments, they can see and hear the results of their efforts.

3. Coordination: The many movement activities associated with music experiences develop both small muscles and large muscles. The awareness of internal steady pulse, coordinated with external movements, helps children regulate their behavior.

4. Self-respect and Satisfaction: As musical skills develop, children feel a strong sense of satisfaction in their progress and develop a feeling of self-respect that transfers to other situations in life.

5. Creativity and Self-expression: Music experiences often invite individual creative responses and encourage children's imagination in other creative endeavors.

6. Pride in Achievement: Sharing music with peers and family reinforces the value of each child in the classroom, and children develop a sense of pride in their musical achievements.

7. Concentration and Problem-solving: Learning about music requires concentration and focus. When children are asked to analyze, compare and contrast sounds, they are actively engaged in problem-solving experiences.

8. Fun and Relaxation: Singing, moving, playing instruments and listening to music are all enjoyable experiences. Music making can provide hours of personal entertainment and relaxation throughout one's entire life.

在一个年轻的年龄增加了孩子的早期生活体验的质量研究音乐。音乐可以抚慰，刺激或招待儿童。它提供的乐趣，喜悦和创造性表达出一种，它有助于提高听力和听觉辨别能力，它有助于对运动技能的发展（包括大肌肉和小肌肉）和它增加的范围和声音的灵活性。音乐可以舒缓情绪，热情邀请和愉悦，带来巨大的听众。

8个很酷的事情，音乐确实为孩子

1。信心和风采：音乐制作为儿童提供一个机会，以执行与和他人，并发展他们的能力，使艺术团体的信心。

2。毅力和承诺：随着孩子的歌声变得更熟练，移动和演奏乐器，他们可以看到和听到他们的努力的结果。

3。协调：许多运动与音乐有关的活动经验，同时发展小肌肉和大肌肉群。内部稳定的脉冲的认识，与外部动作协调，帮助孩子调节自己的行为。

4。自我尊重和满意度：作为音乐技巧的发展，儿童在他们的进展感到满意的一个强烈的责任感和发展自我尊重的感觉，要在生活的其他情况下转移。

5。创造力与自我表达：音乐创作的经验往往邀请个别的反应和鼓励儿童的创造性的努力在其他的想象力。

6。在成就感到自豪：分享音乐与同龄人及家庭强化了每个孩子在课堂上的价值，并开发出儿童在他们的音乐成就感到自豪的感觉。

7。浓度和解决问题：关于音乐的学习需要集中，突出重点。当孩子被要求进行分析，比较和对比的声音，他们正积极参与解决问题的经验。

8。娱乐和休闲：唱歌，运动，演奏乐器，听音乐，都是愉快的经历。音乐创作可以为整个人的整个生命的个人娱乐和放松的时间。

Resources: http://www.carpentersmusic.com/should_learn

Edwin Gordon, a preeminent music educator and researcher, states that "Music aptitude is a product of both innate potential and early environmental experiences. . .regardless of the level of music aptitude with which children are born, they must have early formal and informal experiences in music in order to maintain that level of potential. Otherwise, the level of music aptitude they may be born with will never be fully realized in achievement. . . . (a child's) innate music aptitude, be it high or low, will diminish, possibly vanishing to almost nothing, without an early stimulating music environment." ( "All About Audiation and Music Aptitudes," Music Educators Journal, No. 41, Sep. 99)

埃德温戈登，一个杰出的音乐教育家和研究员指出，“音乐aptitude是一个潜在的产品既有先天和早期环境经验。。。不论音乐性向与该儿童出生水平，必须尽早正式和非正式的经验在音乐中，以维持这一潜在水平。否则，音乐智能水平，他们可能是出生时将永远不会完全实现实现。。。。（孩子）的先天音乐天赋，无论是高或低，将会减少，几乎没有可能消失无刺激的早期音乐环境。“ （“所有关于Audiation和音乐性向，”音乐教育杂志，41号，9月99）

Soup Is For Learning

2010-06-10T22:57:00.002+08:00

(Sharing too!)
Preschoolers can help parents prepare soup and experience sharing while they cooperate to complete a task. You'll be surprised at how much learning takes place!
You will need:
A large pot with a cover, vegetable brush, vegetable peeler (optional), knives, cutting board, measuring cup, a ladle/big spoon, soup bowls and a stovetop.

Ingredients can include:
4 cups water, 4 vegetable or chicken bouillon cubes, and a variety of vegetables; carrots, potatoes, corn, peas, onions, zucchini etc.

Preparation: Wash and scrub the vegetables (peeling is optional). Cut into 1" pieces. Pour water into the pot, and add the bouillon and vegetable pieces. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour.
Preschoolers help by:

Choosing their favorite vegetables to put into the soup (making decisions)
Scrubbing vegetables (muscle coordination)
Measuring water and pouring into the pot (pre-math skills)
Placing vegetables into the water
Listening for the timer (anticipating an event & listening skills)
Setting the table (counting)
When youngsters set the table they learn to:
Count objects correctly
Follow simple directions
accept responsibility
Match one-to-one when counting
Enjoy eating the Learning Soup!

Young Children Early Mathematics Activities (share links)

2010-06-09T22:25:00.003+08:00

Logical thinking Activities:

* classify blocks by size

* Sort crayons, markers, and pencils into containers

* Compare sets using more and less

* Sorting buttons, keys, coins, pasta, cereal, fabric or paper scraps, marbles, balls, stamps, postcards, jar lids, leaves, shells, playing cards, etc. and explaining why

* Sorting zoo and farm animals for storage

* Going on a shape or color hunt.

* Give children a small card with a number on it. Put a large number card on the floor and ask children with the matching card number to hop, jump, etc., then place their small number card on top of the big one. Continue until everyone matches their numbers.

Seriation Activities:

* Create graphs of snack time choices or how many kids walk or ride the bus

* Voting

* Differences in food

* Comparing number of sunny days, cloudy days, etc.

* Hang pieces of yarn in front of the room and ask which is the longest or which is the shortest. Have the kids arrange the yarn by lengths from shortest to longest

Measurement Activities:

* Measure shoes, height, length of table, etc. with yarn or hands

* Sizes of containers

* Blocks to build towers with length or height equal to other objects

* Number of steps it takes to get somewhere,

* Measure ingredients for cooking .

Shape Activities:

*Hunt for shapes throughout the room

* Pass around a shape and have children look at it and feel it with eyes open and closed

* Have children hunt for shapes in a magazine and paste them on a page

* Have the children make objects using a variety of shapes

* Have ten cutouts of all different shapes and envelopes with that shape in them, kids place shapes into their corresponding envelopes

* Trace shapes, then color them in

* Place one of each shape on a magnetic board or flannel board. Have the children look through a basket of shapes and place a shape next to its corresponding match

* Select several sheets of paper and draw one large shape (can also use numerals). Set out 20 inch long shoelaces or string. Invite the children to create the shapes or numerals by placing the laces on top of the shape or numeral on the construction paper sheets.

* Use pieces of masking tape to make large outlines on the floor of a circle, square, triangle, etc. Let the children take turns walking, crawling or hopping around the edges of the shapes. Or ask the child to first identify the shape before walking around it.

Numeral Activities:

* Have the children tell how many of each body parts they have. How many noses? How many eyes, ears, chins, fingers, etc.

* Select five index cards. On the left-hand side of each, write a numeral from 1 to 5. Then, on the right side, punch a matching number of holes with a hole punch. Let the children take turns counting the number of holes in the cards and naming the matching numerals. For older children, give them paper squares with numerals and let them punch out matching numbers of holes.

* For each child cut the numeral 1 to 5 out of posterboard. Set out glue and small objects, such as buttons, toothpicks, cotton balls and circle stickers. Help them glue matching numbers of small objects on their posterboard numerals. (1 toothpick for the numeral 1, 2 buttons for the numeral 2, etc.)

* Cut five apple shapes out of cardboard. Cut one finger hole in the first shape, two in the second, and so on. Color the apple shapes red and mark each one with the numeral that matches the number of holes in it. Let your children take turns choosing an apple shape, sticking their fingers through the holes and then naming the number of "worms" they see.

* Number the inside bottoms of six paper baking cups from 1 to 6. Place the baking cups in a 6-cup muffin tin. Give a child a box containing 21 counters (pennies, small buttons, beans, etc.). Have the child identify the numerals in the bottoms of the paper baking cups and drop in the corresponding numbers of counters.

* Divide a paper plate into six equal sections and label the sections from one to six by drawing on sets of dots. Write a numeral from 1 to 6 on each of six spring-type clothespins. Let the children take turns clipping the clothespins to the matching numbered sections on the circle.

* Select five index cards. Write a numeral from 1 to 5 on each card. Give the cards to a child along with 15 paper clips. Have the child choose one card at a time, name the numeral and then attach that number of paper clips to the card.

* Make a blank book for each child by stapling 10 pieces of white paper together with a colored paper cover. Write "My Counting Book" and the child's name on the front. Number the pages in the book from 1 to 10. Let your children look through magazines or catalogs and tear or cut out small pictures. Then have them glue one picture on the first page of their books, two pictures on the second page and so on.

Opposites Activities:

* rough and smooth-use rocks, fabric squares, etc.

* hard and soft

* Use boxes for the following opposites: big/little

* open/closed

* light/heavy

* thick/thin

* full/empty

* wide/narrow

* many/few

* far/near

* first/last

Pattern Activities:

* Look for patterns on leaves

* Working with simple patterns in their bead and block construction

* Building patterns with two colors of Unifix cubes or pattern blocks

* Constructing a pattern with two colors of napkins at snack time

* Clapping the rhythms of their name

* Coloring every second or fifth or tenth day on a calendar of days in school

* Exploring patterns in wallpaper

* Create patterns using sponge printing, collage materials, geometric shapes or wrapping or wall paper

* Find patterns on the United States flag

Color Activities:

* Glue a colored button to the bottom of a 6 cup muffin tin, using 6 different colors in each tin. (Have the same number and same color of buttons off to the side.) Encourage the children to match the colored buttons to the ones in the tins.

* Try guessing how many of the same colored buttons, beads, etc., there are in a glass jar, then count to see who came the closest.

* Cut red, yellow and blue cellophane into desired shapes. Have the children glue the shapes on sheets of waxed paper, overlapping the edges of the cellophane as they glue. Attach construction paper frames to the collages, if desired. Then hand them in the window to let the light shine through all the colors.

* For each child put a small amount of red liquid tempera paint and a small amount of yellow into a Ziploc storage bag. Seal the bags closed. Then let the children squeeze their bags to mix the colors and create orange. Follow the same procedure using blue and yellow paint to make green; red and blue paint to make purple, etc.

* Cut a 12-inch circle out of white tagboard and divide it into eight sections. Use crayons of markers to color each section a different color and draw matching colored dots on eight spring-type clothespins. Then let the children match the colors by clipping the clothespins around the edge of the wheel on the appropriate sections.

* Cut two squares each out of six different colors of construction paper and glue the squares on twelve index cards. Mix up the cards and spread them out face down on a table. Let one child begin by turning up two cards. If the colors match, let the child keep the cards. If they don't, have the child replace both cards face down exactly where they were before. Continue until all the cards have been matched. Then let the child who ended up with the most cards have the first turn when you start the game again.

* Use red, yellow and blue yarn to form three circles on a carpet (or cut circles out of construction paper). Set out red, yellow and blue wooden beads. Then let the children sort the beads by placing them inside the matching colored circles.

* Cut six squares out of different colors of construction paper and insert them in the sides of a plastic photo cube. Do the same to a second cube, using the same colors. Then let the children move the cubes around to find the matching pairs of colors. For variation, use one cube as a color die. Let the children take turns rolling the die and then naming the color that comes up.

* On a piece of paper for each child, attach several different colored self-stick dots in a row to start a pattern (red, blue, red, blue; orange, yellow, green, orange, yellow green, etc.) Then give the children more dots and let them continue the pattern across their papers. When they have finished, start a new pattern on each paper, if desired.

* Turn a shoebox upside down and cut two parallel rows of slits in the top. Draw different colored dots on the ends of one set of tongue depressors and matching colored dots on the ends of another set. Insert one set of sticks in one of the rows of slits. Then let the children insert matching colored sticks from the second set in the appropriate slits in the other row.

* Make colored eyeglasses by cutting frames out of desired color of tagboard and glue matching colored cellophane squares over the eyeholes. (Use red, yellow and blue and combine the colors to make green, orange an purple.) Then attach pipe cleaners to the sides of the frames and bend them to fit over the children's ears.

* Place a small mirror in a glass of water and tilt it against the side of the glass. Stand the glass in direct sunlight so that the mirror reflects a rainbow on the wall. Name the colors with the children (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple). Explain that sunlight contains all these colors mixed together, but when it hits the water (or raindrops in the sky), all the colors are separated.

* Cut large squares out of selected colors of construction paper and spread them out on the floor. Then ask the children to perform different actions by giving directions such as: "Jason, can you put your foot on a red square? Brian, can you jump over a purple square?" Finally, ask everyone to find a square to stand on and let each child name the color of his or her square.

* Cut small matching squares out of different colors of construction paper. Place the squares in a paper bag and have each child draw out a square. Play music and let the children move around the room to find their "color partners" by matching up their colored squares. Then have them hold hands with their partners and circle around the room. After everyone has joined the circle, stop the music, collect the squares and start the game again.

Link from:http://members.tripod.com/~Patricia_F/mathscience.html

Early Mathematics Simple Activites

2010-06-01T01:19:00.007+08:00

Early Mathematics for Pre-school Children

2010-05-07T22:40:00.003+08:00

For many adults, sadly, the idea of mathematics is associated with anxiety, confusion and failure.

For young children this is not so .Their experience of life is not divided up under subject headings and they encounter mathematical ideas and concepts as part of the whole enjoyable and fascinating process of finding out about and making sense of the rich, mysterious world they live in.

In math as in everything else, children‘s understanding is based on personal experience and experiment .Children have to observe and explore the concrete world., using their senses, before they can deal with abstract ideas .They learn about space first of all by moving through it; about numbers by handling numbers of things; about variable quantity by seeing for example that their dinner is ‘all gone’.

Mathematics should include in pre-school because of it’s a subject that is learnt as a mental activity and it is to do with numbers requiring skills to make sense of sums or computation exercises. As children grow and develop their mathematical activities .The youngest children explore, begin to group and sort objects, and make comparisons. Then, they maybe ready for labels for their mathematical thinking and for recoding their discoveries using mathematical symbols. Through the early children years, mathematics should continue to be a manipulative activity by McCracken, 1987

Early mathematics for pre-school children is a subject area that promotes children‘s thinking .Again, children’s immediate environment is full of number concepts .Through exploration and discovery ,they learn about sizes ,shapes, differentiation and discrimination of mathematics concepts like , equal ,the same as, light, heavy ,small ,big,high,low, long, short ,bigger then, smaller than and so forth.

Two daily classroom or activities always doing in our preschool and homeschool are play sand and water. Children learn math effectively through sand and water:

Learning the language math by being encouraged to think about full and half full; about more and less; about larger and smaller.

Learning about conservation by seeing that the water which fills a tall narrow jug will also fit exactly in to a square plastic box and will then fill the tall jug again if poured carefully back into it.

Learning about capacity, as they pour dry sand or water to fill a container exactly without overfilling it, or fill moulds with damp sand to make sand pies, children see that different containers need different quantities to fill them and that each container requires the same amount each time. They can begin to make predictions about how much they need and can be invited to estimate, for example, how many of the yellow pots if would take fill the blue jug.

Learning about shapes, as they transfer sand water form one container to another .children can bee helped to sort out round ones from square ones; short fat ones from tall thin ones. They might find that they need to know words like cylinder. If they are provide with graduated measuring beakers they will see that things can be the same shape but different sizes.

Learning about quantity, children playing with damp and, setting up road systems and clearing tracks for cars or arranging rivers, valleys and mountains, are coming to recognize how much sand they need to build up the hill they want ;how many times the tipper truck will have to filled to clear ‘landslide’.

Learning about sets. When they come to conclusion about which things will float and which will sink, which materials absorbs water and which not ,which shapes will make moulds for sand pies and which will not ,children are dividing things into categories, which is a mathematical process.

The roles of the teacher/educators in enhancing children’s mathematical thinking are provide experience programs that further enhance children’s perceptions of themselves as competent, confident learners who ask questions, plan, reflect and predict. Programs must allow children to develop confidence to choose and experiment with materials, to play with ideas and to actively explore with all their senses.

Early childhood educators must foster cooperative learning skills and ensure that children have access to information through experimentation, questioning and consultation .Educators must pose challenges which encourage speculation and exploration of the unknown. Provide experiences which allow children to explore cause and effect and encourage children to review their action or thoughts.

Conclusion

Teacher support and promote early mathematics learning by learning environment, learning material and learning strategies.
Early childhood is when and where children begin to discover that math is all around them. They use, enjoy, and think about math and don't even realize it. Math activities are embedded in real-life activities and "help children develop language as they ask questions, develop fine motor skills as they touch and move objects, and improve social skills as they work" with parents and others on a problem (Fromboluti & Rinck, 1999). All children develop at different rates. Visually impaired students may need extra time to develop and learn, so it is extremely important that they are given opportunities to participate and learn at an early age. There is a great wealth of information on teaching mathematics in early childhood that is not specific to visual impairment. Nevertheless, many of these activities either need no adaptation or can be easily adapted. Just make sure that the adaptations are appropriate.

‘Always remember, Mathematics should not be split off from everyday life. Mathematics is everywhere’ by Bruce.1996)

* The natural place of anyone to encounter sand and water is out of doors.Here children can get down to work with buckets ,trucks and 'diggers' as well as having the experience of wriggling their toes in the sand....*

WHY IS PLAY IMPORTANT?

2010-04-01T11:07:00.001+08:00

Play is important because it helps children grow strong and healthy.
When children run, jump, roll, throw, catch, or swing they are building muscles. They burn energy that makes them tired and hungry. Physical play improves strength, endurance, and balance. Body coordination improves when children play in physical ways. Physical play helps
children sleep and eat better.

Play is important because children can learn about the meaning of things in the world.
Games help children learn what words mean, like "stop" or "go." Play with sand and buckets help children learn what "full" or "empty" means. They learn to collect and use information. They learn about time. They discover how things feel and taste. Children learn about art, science, math, music, nature, animals, and people when they play.

Play is important because it helps children learn about people.
While playing, children will learn to take turns and share. They will act out their feelings, listen and talk to playmates, and follow rules. They will try leading and following. They will start to understand themselves and others. Play helps them know what they like and what they don't like. During play they can pretend what it's like to be someone else, like a firefighter, doctor, mother, or teacher. They can pretend they are a baby or grandfather.

Play is important because it helps children learn and grow in a way that helps them feel good about themselves.
Children enjoy play. It is easier to learn when we are relaxed. We remember things we've done when the things were fun. Even when play is hard, children are excited when they discover that they can control their bodies and actions. "I did it!" means "I feel good about me." Good play offers children success.

Play is important because it is practice for being grown-up.
Children at play learn to pay attention and to stick with a job. They learn to face problems and solve them. Play helps them learn what is right and wrong. They learn to be good sports, honest, and not to cheat. Children develop their imagination when they play. They learn to follow directions. All these skills will be important when children become grownups.

KINDS OF PLAY

Did you ever think about all the different ways children play? You could make a long list, but it is easier to remember if we put them into groups.

ACTIVE, PHYSICAL PLAY
Children are supposed to be active. They will swing, cut, saw, pound, roll, spin, and run. They will have contests and races. They will form teams and play "red rover" or jump rope alone. Children need lots of space for playing ball, but not much space to play jacks. Children enjoy dancing.

DRAMATIC, IMAGINATIVE PLAY
This kind of play is make-believe play where children can act out their wishes: "I wish I were a princess; let's pretend we're going to the moon; let's play dress-up; I'll be a firefighter." Children can pretend they are anything - a person, animal, car, or even a banana! Children can act out stories, write a play, or have a circus.

CREATIVE, EXPRESSIVE PLAY
Children are free to create new things - pictures, designs, ways to do things. They paint, cut, sew, draw, build, twist, and write. They sing, hum, whistle, or beat a drum.

SOCIAL PLAY
Young children like to play alone, but around 3 years they will begin to play with others. Think of all the things two or more children can do together. Social play is interaction between children. Group games, races, talking to each other on toy telephones, and playing house are social activities.

MENTAL PLAY
Mental play is exploring and discovering. Words, numbers, touching, tasting, and seeing are part of mental play. Children use their minds to remember what cards have been played and plan how to win a card game. A baby learns that someone picks up what the baby drops from the high chair. It becomes a "game." Children count and read. They start collections; butterflies, stamps, insects, and coins and learn to classify them. It is fun to find a new thing to add to a collection. Children tell jokes and riddles about flowers on a nature walk, and learn colors from balloons.

Great articles to share : national network for childcare

Criteria For Selecting Story Books

2010-03-23T16:37:00.003+08:00

How do you choose story books?

a) Age level appropriateness

* language and words used -simple
* easily understanding
* familiar to experiences of child
* pictures--big,clear and colourful for younger children
* interesting

b) Plot

* interesting
* lots of action
* building to climax,some suspense
* problem solving, decision making
* conclusion satisfying

c) Style

* words,phrases--repeated,rhyming
* silly words
* suprise endings
* direct quotes
* children can participated by
>asking question
-direction
-problem solving
-opinions
-decision making
>Repeated phrase ,rhyming words
>Doing actions
>related songs/rhymes.

d)Values

* appropriate for today's children .
* the value from those old days to pass down to today's children .
* six-step approaches
* truth in the story

e) Storyteller's enthusiasm

* the storyteller should be enthusiasm in doing so .

自然 .... 可以那么有趣 ! (Fun Record book)

2010-02-02T16:06:00.007+08:00

最近忙得不可开交，都没抽空写部落;P
其实每一天都会继续给孩子们“交流、做手工、做观察记录、画画、做运动等等。。。。
但是都没机会放上来与大家分享学习....不好意思 >_<

今天终于可以拿出一儿时间，“报告”一下....
呵呵，有“追踪 ”我部落的亲朋好友都知道，昆虫主题我们已进行了快一年!( 还在继续的）
这只是延续的“笔记作业” ....
哈，观察了自然与昆虫有一段时间，总算可以交出一本简单又值得纪念的笔记本!
* 开心的是妈咪咯 >_<

与大家分享及共勉之 ~

p/s: 哪里需要改正的地方，请多多指教。

Previous activities about insects ! click and view

Happy New Year !! welcome 2010 ^_^

2010-01-01T01:37:00.000+08:00

Wishing YOu All Merry Christmas ! ^_^

2009-12-22T13:01:00.003+08:00

Health and Domestic Science

2009-12-11T14:30:00.001+08:00

Health is wealth. As human beings, in order to stay physically and mentally healthy, we need to eat right, exercise regularly and be able to deal with alleviate stress. We will be able to lead our lives well in terms of carrying out our daily routines be it at work or at home ease.

The same applies for young children .At home ,its parents who play a vital role in ensuring that their children are healthy .This can be done through the provision of a balanced diet and physical activities like bringing them outdoors to recreational parks to play. In school, it is the teachers who take on the role.

However, before they can do so, teachers will have to learn, understanding and acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in Health and Domestic Science. Upon gaining expertise in the area, teachers will then be able to educate children about the importance of health in all its aspects. For example teacher can plan appropriate lessons to promote healthy eating lifestyle through cookery.

Once the foundation is laid at a very young age, from then on children will be well aware and capable of taking good care of themselves in the later stages or parts of their lives. In the long run, this also meant that major health problems that our world has been facing like the current HIN1, HIV, and diabetes and so on will be minimized if not totally eradiated. Significant social issues like smoking drug addiction , anemia ,bulimia and so on will also be reduced if children know how the importance of caring for their bodies and minds.

As the future belongs to the children of today, educating them now was as early as possible will give them the wisdom to decide what kind of lifestyle they want to lead when they grow up. Schools and teachers can so their part in helping children understand and come to terms with health issues and to make choices and decisions related to them. For instance, children will have the voice to say no and put a stop to additives and chemicals used in the production of processed food which are harmful to health.

It is also important that teachers have a basic understanding of illness and disorders like epilepsy, asthma and diabetes .Not only will they be able to help children with these conditions, they will be able to support their families and enable the rest of the children to accept them for who they are.

Above are the reasons why Health and Domestic Science should be included in pre-school teacher education.

Reasons to Cook with Children

2009-12-01T23:33:00.008+08:00

simply baking

I am appreciating that Dr. Lee gave me a challenge for preparing egg’s project .Especially for young children. I plan my cooking lesson done with children. Qiqiwas three years old, we made hard-boiled eggs together. After the eggs had been boiled and cooled, I gave Qiqi an egg. She tapped the eggshell gently on the table until she had cracked the shell into many pieces, and for nearly twenty minutes she carefully picked the tiny bits of shell off the egg with deep concentration. After she finished, he looked up and beamed at me and said, “I did it!” Cooking can give children a deep sense of satisfaction and build their self-confidence. It can help them grow in the many ways!

1. Learn about nutrition and increase their willingness to try a new food
2. Develop valuable self-help skills and increase independence
3. Develop math concepts through counting, measuring, timing, and ordering events
4. Work cooperatively with others
5. Develop reading skills, recognizing symbols and words
6. Learn to follow directions and complete all the steps necessary to finish a task
7. Explore the world’s foods and learn about the customs of people from around the world
8. Learn science concepts: temperature, volume, how something can change when it is heated, etc.
9. Improve fine motor control through using hand muscles
10. Express themselves creatively

Cooking Together Makes Sense

Young children are sensory learners: They use all their senses to explore the world. Cooking gives children plenty of interesting sensory experiences every day. Children use their sense of touch to knead bread dough, tear lettuce leaves, and squeeze juice from an orange. The smell of vanilla, cinnamon, and onions are all powerful for young children. They hear the sound of corn popping or the soft hiss of water boiling. And of course they get to taste the different foods.

Take your cue from each child when trying out new foods. Do not force any child to touch, smell, or taste any food. It is natural for children to take their time in trying a new food. In fact, many children need to be presented with a new food as many as ten times before they are willing to try it. We can help children develop a healthy relationship with food by letting them discover what they like and don’t like to eat.

Getting Set for Cooking

When you cook with children in your kitchen, good organization pays off. Keep any special cooking supplies for the children in a box. The basics include measuring spoons and cups, mixing spoons, spatulas, a vegetable peeler, plastic bowls, a sauce pan, and a cutting board. If you store these items together, you can pull out everything that you need easily and quickly. If you work in a child care center, you may not have an oven available, but that doesn’t have to stop you from cooking with the children. Many recipes don’t require heating. You can also use a toaster oven, an electric burner, or an electric skillet. Families may be willing to donate these supplies if you explain what you are planning to do.
There are many recipe books for children, including those with picture recipes. Some have cute recipes, such as making mice out of a pear half. Others have more “adult” food. Both kinds of recipe books can give you great ideas for cooking with children. Don’t be shy to try something that seems more like an adult recipe than a kid snack. And don’t limit yourself to snack foods: Try breakfast foods and “anytime” foods.

Be sure to read over a recipe before using it. Here are some things to think about when considering a recipe:

# What skills will the children learn?
# Does the recipe include cooking skills that are hard for younger children?
# How many steps does the recipe have? How much waiting time will there be?
# Is this a good opportunity to teach children how to work together?
# How likely is it that the children will make mistakes that will affect the results? (Lumps in muffin batter aren’t much of a problem, but lumps in some cake batters could result in the cake not rising.) Is this recipe costly to make?
# Do you have all the supplies readily available, or will you need to make a trip to the store?

Cooking Skills

Even children as young as three can help with recipes with these skills involved.

Here are some of the many cooking skills you can find in recipes:

* Pouring - fill and pour from pitchers
* Stirring - mixing muffin batter
* Rolling with a rolling pin - flattening and thinning out dough
* Kneading- punching dough down
* Squeezing - squeezing fruit for juice
* Washing - cleaning potatoes and carrots with a brush
* Measuring liquid and dry ingredients
* Cutting with cookie cutters - pressing cookie cutters into dough
* Pounding - making graham cracker crumbs

As fine motor skills improve, children are better able to do these skills:

* Beating- whipping egg whites
* Grinding - grinding wheat for bread
* Peeling - using a vegetable peeler to remove potato skin
* Grating- grating cheese or carrots

Summary

Cooking can give children a great sense of satisfaction. When children cook, they are learning many skills, including math and reading skills as well as how to work together. They also get a chance to practice motor skills through things like pouring, stirring, and measuring. Cooking is a great sensory experience that children enjoy. When you prepare by having the basic supplies on hand and selecting some simple recipes, you are setting the stage for learning and fun through cooking.

A Word About Messes
Cooking with children can be messy! Children can pick up on our tension if we’re worried about messes. Then they could become nervous and afraid of making more messes and mistakes. If you are relaxed about messes and mistakes, the children will be too. If we teach a positive attitude towards trying to things and making mistakes, we are doing much more than just teaching cooking. So keep plenty of sponges handy and a smile on your face!

http://betterkidcare.psu.edu/AngelUnits/OneHour/Cooking/CookingLessonA.html

Toddler Milestones:Qiqi is Dressing Herself

2009-11-30T14:44:00.005+08:00

Freedom and independence are big parts of growing up. And as your little one grows from a dependent baby into a confident toddler who's ready to take on the world, she will want as much control over life as she can possibly get. So naturally, by the time your child is 2 1/2 to 3 years old, she will start to express the desire to dress herself. And this is a big step toward your child's independence.

You may also find yourself having to chase your toddler to get her dressed, sometimes because she thinks it’s great fun and other times because she is too distracted or busy to stand still. How you react will probably depend on your mood (and it’s not easy to be patient when you’re running late), but getting angry doesn’t help. Try joining in the game and moving it in the direction you want – that is, towards getting the clothes on.She may refuse to wear certain things because she doesn’t like the colour or the fabric or just because… As long as she’s not going to freeze, let her wear what she wants.

Watching your toddler grow independent and learn to dress herself is as rewarding as it is challenging. When you use these strategies for guiding your child through getting dressed, you can help her learn this important skill without losing your patience.

Fun Ways to Get Young Children to Eat Healthier

2009-11-17T10:07:00.001+08:00

Parents and caregivers have the sole responsibility to introduce healthy food choices to young children. Children learn from the meals you offer, the way you serve food, the way you shop, and the examples you set. They develop habits early that, once learned, can last a lifetime, so it's never too early to make a change. It's important to take every opportunity to promote a healthy active lifestyle. Try these ten creative ways to get young children to eat healthier.

1. Prepare Healthy Meals Together

Engaging children in the preparation of kid-friendly healthy dishes is so fun and so very messy, but children are more likely to eat something that they have helped to prepare. So, bring out those bowls, spoons and cups. While kids are helping, it is a good time to introduce portions, simple fractions and units of measure.

When you are finished preparing, show children how to set the table. Don't forget to dine together. Children who eat meals with their families tend to have better diets, not just because meals are planned, but because of the positive examples that are set at the table

2. Get Creative

Make silly food faces out of fresh fruit and vegetable slices, and come up with amusing, silly names for the healthy foods you prepare. Celery and raisins become "ants on a log," peanut butter and pretzels can be "mud on a stick," and spaghetti with tomato sauce can turn into "wiggly worms."

The golden word is "distraction." The apple wedge is a boat, and their mouth is a river. Peas are a food made out of green. You can become a consummate actor or a verbal Picasso to get them to taste something new.

3. Pack Snacks Together

Children can also benefit from packing snacks for the day, or packing for a picnic. When planning a long-term getaway, encourage them to help with bagging individual portions of fruits, chilled veggies, cheese sticks, crackers, trail mix, water, 100% juice boxes, and other good choices. These are the images they will carry with them throughout their day.

4. Take Children Shopping

Young kids love to play grown-up. On a real excursion to the grocery store, allow the children to pick a new fruit or vegetable to try at home. Let them weigh their choice, bag it, and put it on the conveyor belt. Once home, let them help you present it to the family. Try to avoid flying through each aisle like a secret agent on a mission. Slow down and turn shopping into a learning experience.

** Children were preparing their simple breakfast last morning.They were enjoying it so much ^^

more useful information:http://fatherhood.about.com/

Maslow and Montessori: Education of the Human Potential

2009-11-17T01:10:00.003+08:00

[The child] learns everything without knowing he is learning it, and in doing so he passes little by little from the unconscious to the conscious, treading always in the paths of joy and love. ~Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind

Abraham Maslow developed a humanistic approach to psychology in the early 1940’s. Rather than focusing on behavior as a result of stimuli and reinforcement or the psychoanalytical idea of unconscious instinct, Maslow focused on the capability of humans to reach their fullest potential. Rather than looking and trying to make sense of the dysfunctional brain, he searched for what it was that made humans exceptional. In a sense, he looked at what it was to be human.

Maslow created a set of hierarchical needs that best describe the growth of the human psyche. By analyzing the environment, he synthesized that given the right environment, humans will develop to their fullest potential, that of self-actualization. If the environment is not right, therein lies the potential for damage to the human spirit.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is usually portrayed as a pyramid, with the most basic needs providing the supporting foundation. He theorized that if these basic needs were not met the higher needs, such as loving others, contributing to society, and expressing unique talents, could not be actualized.

Maslow’s Hierarchy in the Montessori Environment

Educational humanism is a philosophy which believes that developing the human intellect is what makes humans stand apart from the rest of the animal world. Humanists, such as Maslow and Montessori, believe it is necessary to study and develop the whole person over the course of his or her lifetime. Teacher candidates in traditional training programs are often asked to look at how their classrooms and lessons are addressing Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The same can be done in the Montessori environment.

* Physiological – A Montessori environment is full of movement. Children are free to move about the classroom at will. In addition, the activities of Practical Life provide the opportunities to develop both gross and fine motor movement.
* Safety – The Montessori Environment is prepared with the child in mind. The classroom and materials are beautiful, simple in design, accessible to all children, and kept in a tidy, precise order. The Montessori environment is organized which allows the child to feel safe and secure, knowing his or her world is in order.
* Belonging – There is a sense of mutual respect in the Montessori environment. Children learn to develop friendship through the lessons in Grace and Courtesy by being helpful and kind to others.
* Esteem – Success builds self-esteem. The materials and lessons in the Montessori environment are self-correcting with a built in control of error. This allows the child to immediately see mistakes and learn from them rather on relying on others to point out his faults.
* Self-Actualization – Montessori said “No one can be free unless he is independent.” (The Absorbent Mind). By helping a child to develop independence and autonomy, the Montessori teacher is helping the child reach self-actualization or his full potential as a fully functioning member of society.

The Role of Education

Maslow and Montessori both felt that traditional education systems had the potential to be more of a hindrance than a help to development. Both recognized that children are to be respected as fellow human beings. Indeed, Maslow’s ideas on educating children coincide with Montessori’s own philosophy. He believed that education should help children:

* Be authentic.
* Transcend their cultural conditioning and become world citizens.
* Find their vocation and right mate.
* Know that life is precious.
* Be good and joyous in all kinds of situations.
* Learn from their inner nature.
* See that basic needs are satisfied.
* Refresh their consciousness; appreciate beauty and other good things in life.
* Understand that controls are good, and complete abandon is bad.
* Transcend trifling problems.
* Grapple with serious problems such as injustice, pain suffering and death.
* Be given practice in making choices.

~Abraham Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation (1943).

Is your Montessori environment meeting the needs of all your children? Observe closely and ask yourself how you are addressing Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs within your Montessori environment and what you could add to make sure you are reaching and following all in your care.

The word education must not be understood in the sense of teaching but of assisting the psychological development of the child. ~Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method

NAMC’s Upper Elementary Health Sciences manual contains further related information and activities.

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Happy 3rd Birthday To Qiqi

2009-11-16T10:57:00.000+08:00

Habits Training

2009-11-10T01:01:00.006+08:00

Beyond learning the academics, I am now working on building good habits into the two kids. One of which is for Seng to clean our dinner dishes and Hui is helping mummy do house chores.Now that they'd old enough to do a neater job.

"The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days; while she who lets their habits take care of themselves has a weary life of endless friction with the children." ~ Charlotte Mason

Letter Of The Week ! C c

2009-11-08T20:53:00.012+08:00

Caterpillar C !

There are so many children’s books with caterpillars in them that they are very familiar to most young kids. One of our favorite picture book is < The Very Hungry Caterpillar > by Eric Carl

1. Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of different color construction paper, color papers paint, a marker, glue, a pipe cleaner, and scissors.

2. Draw a big C with your marker on one piece of construction paper.

3. Have your child cut the slices

4. Add as many glue lines as you have paper slices.

5. Draw the eyes and mouth. Let dry.

7. Add the pipe cleaner by poking two small holes and threading it through.

A ' to do list ' for Level one * Toddlers and Preschoolers*

2009-10-29T16:43:00.002+08:00

Hope we can finish all lapbooks end of the 2011 *wink*
who are interest try to log in: http://www.homeschoolshare.com/

Lapbooks

1. 1, 2, 3, To the Zoo "Lapbook"

2. Angus Lost

3. Are You My Mother? Lapbook

4. Big Green Pocketbook, The (B4FIAR)

5. Carrot Seed, The (B4FIAR)

6. Corduroy (B4FIAR)

7. Feathers for Lunch

8. Goodnight Moon (B4FIAR)

9. Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb Lapbook

10. Hello Ocean

11. Honey Rabbit Lapbook

12. Humpty Dumpty Lapbook

13. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Lapbook

14. Jenny's Surprise Summer (B4FIAR)

15. Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear (B4FIAR)

16. Little Boy Blue Lapbook

17. Mrs. Wishy Washy Lapbook

18. My Blue Boat (B4FIAR)

19. Napping House Lapbook

20. Officer Buckle and Gloria

21. Over in the Meadow

22. Owl Babies

23. Pat-a-Cake

24. Play With Me (B4FIAR)

25. Pocket for Corduroy, A

26. Poky Little Puppy Lapbook

27. Quick as a Cricket

28. Runaway Bunny, The (B4FIAR)

29. Snowy Day, The (B4FIAR)

30. Three Little Kittens

31. Trains

32. Transportation

33. Yellow Ball

感动的留言..... 感谢一路上有您们的"陪伴" ！！

2009-10-27T19:26:00.010+08:00

Comments from my face book:

my yesterday status

今天带着孩子去琼园享用夜宵,遇到一些人，跑上前告诉我：“嗨，我在你Facebook 和Blogspot 看见你给孩子所做的homeschool project...我们很喜欢！也很感动你对孩子所作所为.......” 当时的我很感激他们那么地关心我们。。。但一方面我感到开始压力.....压力.......因为， “ 别人都在看/注意你在搞什么！！” :P 哎....哎... 是喜是忧呢？

Alston Ang:

我之前也有遇过。。感到错愕一下。。然后会很努力一直去做得更好。。但是当为别人而做时，东西已经变得不一样。出发点变了质。不再是为自己
Yesterday at 10:31pm

Felvin Chan:

你现在才知道meh? 很多人都问我说“你跟阿牛阿花还有happyland很“熟”的啊？他们教孩子的方式很特别hor...看到他们的孩子都学得很开心hor...“有些朋友还问我，你们是谁？我说你们在banting很多人认识的。嘻嘻！
何来忧呢？我也觉得Alston说得对！所以，不管别人怎么看，还是要继续做自己.....
18 hours ago ·

ThingThing Lee:

yes 丽香,做回自己. 出发点一旦变质,你会越做越不快乐.
18 hours ago

Shirlyn Tan Siew Mei:

每个教育者都有像你这种忧患，因为当你本身是一名教育工作者，别人都是先从你的孩子们观看，你孩子的一切就代表你的成功与否。但是切记，教育工作者也是人，也有不足的时候，你们只是比他人多了一些教育知识。。。所以别太介怀他人的想法。教育工作者也有瓶颈的时候的。。。。我非常支持你把教育孩子的方式放上来与大家分享。。。
10 hours ago

Mei Yong:

当然是喜啦！你的付出很多人都看在眼里。。。
9 hours ago ·

Valen Tan:

曾听过那么一句话：凡是抱着真心分享的心态，我们就不会对任何结果存有太在意的得失心。（共勉之...) 虽然我不认识 Shirlyn Tan Siew Mei, 但我非常认同她的论点...
9 hours ago · Delete

Adeline Chuasioking:

don't worry... gd thing must share, then only life become more meaningful.... beside tat, its a gd idea to let those PARENT learn frm u ma....hehe...
3 hours ago

Tan Sok Peng:

丽香，抱着平常心看待吧！别把它看成是种压力。看到你为孩子所做的一切，倍感欣慰。我可以看到孩子的天空是那么的蔚蓝、辽阔。如果多点像你这样的家长，那么，孩子就不会学的那么“苦”了！加油！！！
2 hours ago

Chui Fong:

独乐乐不如众乐乐。。。好的东西不防和其他人分享，绝对是好事来的。。！！！请不用担心。。。^0^
about an hour ago

Lim FeiChin:

你是应该觉得开心的！你把你为孩子教育所做的一切放上来，当然是因为你要和大家分享嘛，对不？不必在乎别人，尽量把自己想要表达的呈现出来吧！丽香，可见很多人都是在支持你的！加油吧！^_^
about an hour ago

To my beloved son

2009-10-14T16:29:00.002+08:00

This is the day you've been waiting for,
A day of excitement and pleasure,
Enjoy it!
And may it always be
A memory you'll really treasure.

***

Hoping you'll enjoy success
in everything you do
and that the very best in life
will always come to you!

***

It's a pleasure to wish
Luck and happiness, too,
For a graduate
As special as you!

***

Good Luck, Success and Happiness
And all you're wishing for!
May the years that are ahead of you
Hold all of these...and more!

By Blissful mummy *.* (photographer )

Qiqi can sort objects into groups. ^^

2009-10-06T10:08:00.005+08:00

what she learns?
Develops her ability to sort, order and classify objects according to colour, shape or size.

http://happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com/

Cognitive development is how your child acquires knowledge about her surroundings. This involves her...

* Memory

* Concentration

* Attention and perception

* Imagination and creativity

* Stages of learning 4 years
* Stages of learning 5 years
* Stages of learning 6 years
* Activities and equipment to help promote cognitive/intellectual development
* Your role to help develop your child's cognitive/intellectual development

Stages of Learning... 4 Years

Your 4 year old child...

* Enjoys counting up to twenty, and understands the concept of numbers up to three.

* Talks about things in the past and future.

* Can sort objects into groups.

* Has increased memory skills for e.g. he can remember a particular event, such as when his aunties and uncles visited several months previously.

* Can give reasons and solve problems.

* Often confuses fact with fiction.

Stages of Learning... 5 Years

Your 5 year old child...

* Produces drawings with good detail for e.g. a house with windows, a door, a roof and a chimney.

* Asks about abstract words... for instance... ’What does “beyond” mean?’.

* Can give his full name, age and address and often his birthday.

* Talks about the past, present and future, with a good sense of time.

Stages of Learning... 6 Years

Your 6 year old child...

* Begins to think in a more co-ordinated way, and can hold more than one point of view at a time.

* Begins to develop concepts of quantity... distance, area, time, weight, length etc.

* Is able to distinguish the difference between reality and fantasy.

* Is interested in basic scientific principles and is beginning to understand concepts like what happens to materials if it’s heated.

* Is increasingly influenced by cultural conventions in drawing and writing often combining his own personal symbols with letters from the alphabet.

* Is able to count accurately up to 20 times.

* Names days of the week in order.

* Can arrange objects in order of size.

* Is able to print own name.

* Tells month and day of birthday.

* Counts up to a hundred by repetition.

* Can predict what happens next.

Activities and Equipment To Help Promote His Cognitive Development

Your Role to Help Develop His Cognitive Development
To help develop your child’s intellect, you should...

* Choose activities that are practical.

* Check that activities are suitable for his current level of understanding.

* Repeat activities frequently.

* Break down concepts and activities into smaller steps.

* Look for different ways of presenting the same concept.

* Avoid him becoming frustrated and tired by an activity.

* Praise him for his efforts.

more useful information:
http://www.child-development-guide.com/

What Are Children Learning When They Play

2009-10-06T09:49:00.004+08:00

Circle Time

Generally teachers/parents begin this group time with a specific topic for discussion. It may be a topic related to a project the class is working on, or it may focus on a specific skill. For example, in the beginning of the year, the teacher may play games to help the children learn the names of each of their classmates. Students may also use the time for "show and tell." Teachers often also include music appreciation, group sings, and creative movement during circle time.

Some teachers hold circle time first thing in the morning as a way of organizing the class and the morning activities.

What's Learned These "chats" are an opportunity for the youngsters to learn how to organize their thoughts. As they talk about their experiences, children learn how to tell a story with a beginning, middle,and end. When a child learns the words to "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," this is an important part of a child's informal education. This is "shared knowledge"--that is information that society assumes you know. For example, other children assume you know the words to familiar folk songs.

Music Appreciation/Creative Movement

Children enjoy both listening to music and making their own. Whether it's a group sing-along, marching in a percussion band, playing a triangle, or making up new lyrics to old favorite tunes, music is the universal language. Creative movement, learning to move your body through space, in time to the music or while pretending to be a falling leaf, is a creative way to tap into a child's imagination and artistic side.

What's Learned Music helps children connect the outer world of movement and sound with the inner world of feelings and observations. Playing games or moving to music is a powerful first experience in theartistic process. Children learn music the same way they learn language--by listening and imitating.

Finger play promotes language development, fine-motor skills, and coordination, as well as self-esteem. Young children are proud when they sing a song and can do the accompanying finger movements.

Listening to music also teaches important prereading skills. As youngsters use small drums or other percussion instruments (homemade or store-bought), they can play the rhythmic pattern of words. They can learn to hear the differences between fast and slow, loud and soft, one at a time and together, etc. When they try new instruments, they notice how each variation changes the music.

Creative movement expands a child's imagination. It's also a fun method of physical fitness--an important goal of child development.

Art Projects

Some art projects are part of a theme that the class is studying. For example, as part of the seasons' curriculum, the children might gather pine cones, leaves, and acorns during a fall nature walk. They will later use them in art projects, such as to make leaf rubbings, to assemble in collages, or to use as decorations for picture frames.

A good art corner will be stocked with materials that can be used in a variety of ways for projects. There should also be easels for painting individually (although sometimes two children will work at the same easel to create a painting together).

What's Learned A good art project teaches a child that his creativity is limited only by his own imagination. By transforming everyday objects, such as empty paper towel rolls and egg cartons into sculptures, imaginary bugs, or spyglasses, a child discovers that he can create a world of play.

Using materials in an art project reinforces and expands on the information a child has already learned in other contexts. For example, let's assume that the art project of the day is to make rubbings of leaves collected during a nature walk the day before. If from a pile on the table, the child selects a dry leaf that crumbles easily, the youngster learns, in a concrete way, about life cycles in nature. Through trial and error, just like the scientist in a lab, the student might find that green leaves or shiny leaves hold up better for this art project.

Another art project might have the youngsters create a fall mural by pasting leaves, pine cones, and acorns on a large roll of paper. They might organize the project by sorting and classifying the leaves, by color, shape, and size. These are prereading and premath skills--as well as fun. In this same project, the group also learns social skills such as cooperative and group dynamics. Do the three-year-olds know this as they happily create a fall mural--probably not, but their teachers certainly do.

Art projects are also excellent for developing a child's fine-motor skills. It takes small-muscle control in order to manipulate clay, cut with scissors, paint with a brush, and color with markers or crayons. As these skills are practiced, they help a child gain mastery to cut with a knife, button his own shirt, and print his name.

Art projects build a child's self-esteem. The finished product, on display on the refrigerator, validates a child's sense of worth. It's another opportunity for a child to say "I can do it!"

The process, not the product, is the most important element of preschool art projects.

Outdoor Play

Running, swinging, climbing, jumping, hopping, biking, digging in the sand--outdoor fun is one of the favorite parts of any young child's day. A good preschool playground will have enough space and sturdy equipment that a child can use his imagination while exercising. For example, the jungle gym structure might have connecting slides, firefighter poles to shimmy down and then inch up, tunnels to crawl through, a swinging bridge that connects one side of the apparatus to the other. A child will use multiple skills and create dozens of scenarios as he plays on this one structure. There should be equipment for digging, hauling, building, and riding.

What's Learned Outdoor play refines a child's gross-motor (large-muscle) skills. The cross-lateral movement (right arm/left leg and vice versa) involved is critical to a child's later success in reading and writing. Playground time is also an opportunity to explore and manipulate a different environment.

Youngsters also love outdoor play because they can let loose their imaginations while getting physical. They can turn the jungle gym into a rocket ship, a castle, a firehouse--anything they choose.

Cooking

Children enjoy cooking. Sometimes they like the product, but even if they don't, they always appreciate the process. It's fun to do something that is a grown-up activity--and discover that kids can do it too!

Preschools often tie cooking projects to other themes the class is working on. For example, in the fall, a class may take a pumpkin and use it in a variety of ways. For a large pumpkin, the class may first decorate it with markers and use the pumpkin as a centerpiece on the classroom table. Later, the teacher will cut open the pumpkin and the students can estimate how many seeds are in the pumpkin. Later the class can count the seeds and compare the total to the estimates. The class can also roast the pumpkin seeds for snack, and finally bake pumpkin bread.

What's Learned Since cooking is a basic life skill, it fosters a child's sense of competence and independence when he can do it. Math skills are also an important part of the process as the cook needs to count and measure the ingredients. Cooking also refines small-motor skills as a child stirs, dices, and adds ingredients. It also teaches about nutrition-foods that are good for you and help you grow.

A child also discovers how things change if you alter the environment: liquid batter becomes a cake when baked; juice cups become popsicles when frozen. Cooking also helps a child's reasoning ability. He learns cause and effect. "If I don't put the juice cups in the freezer, they won't become popsicles."

Snack Time

What do you remember as the highlight of your own school day--lunch time and recess? It's not all that different for preschoolers.

Snack time is an important part of the preschool experience. Whether the food is provided by the school, or on a rotating basis by the parents, or cooked by the students themselves, snack time--just like mealtime in your own home--is an opportunity to "break bread," share, and communicate. The snack is usually simple, crackers or a piece of fruit and juice.

Snack time can also be an opportunity for children to try new foods. One little boy brought in the usual graham crackers and apple juice for the class snack, but also brought in his personal favorite green olives. Surprisingly, several of the children were willing to taste the new delicacy!

What's Learned Snack time is an opportunity for a child to learn social skills as she chats with her friend in the seat next to her. Passing out the snack and distributing a napkin and cup to each child teaches one-to-one correspondence and counting skills. Pouring the juice from a small pitcher to an individual cup requires small-motor control. Cleanup time after snack is another educational opportunity. Again, a child's sense of competence and independence are reinforced. Snack time is also an opportunity for a child toassociate mealtime with pleasant feelings.

Free-Play Activities

Free play sounds vague, but is very much a planned activity. The child has the freedom to choose among many different activities, but the teacher has created the classroom environment and arranged the choices the child will find. Free play is not time off for the teacher. On the contrary, she should be paying close attention to the children, interacting with them, offering guidance and help where necessary, noting progress and difficulties.

Here are some of the activities that a child may choose during the free-play period.

Building with Blocks

There's so much going on in the block corner that it's easy to understand why it is often the most popular area in the preschool classroom. It can also become the focus of incredible territorial struggles. Sometimes groups of children begin to act as if they own the space. Often boys dominate the area, making it difficult for girls (or boys who aren't members of the block clique) to enter. One study suggests that if a teacher positions herselfin the block corner for part of the day, girls are more likely to enter and use the area.

Building with blocks is lots of fun--and it teaches many skills that children will use later. One study indicates that many of the concepts learned from block building are the foundation for more advanced science comprehension. For example, a child learns about gravity, stability, weight, balance, and systems from building with blocks. Through trial and error, she learns inductive thinking, discovery, the properties of matter, and the interaction of forces. One researcher suggested that one reason you see fewer girls inadvanced placement physics classes in high school is because they are excluded (intentionally or unintentionally) from many of the "play" activities that build scientific framework.

What's Learned Blocks help children learn scientific, mathematical, art, social studies, and language concepts; use small-motor skills; and foster competence and self-esteem. Building with blocks also teaches life skills. Just putting away your groceries in the cupboard is using the same concepts of spatial relations, stability, and balance that you learned in the block corner.

Besides the scientific concepts discussed in the previous paragraph, blocks also are important in developing math skills. A child learns about depth, width, height, length, measurement, volume, area, classification, shape, symmetry, mapping, equality (same as), and inequality (more than, less than)--all from building with blocks.

Building with blocks also teaches art concepts such as patterns, symmetry, and balance. A child learns about symbolic representation, interdependence of people, mapping, grids, patterns, people and their work. A child gains prereading skills such as shape recognition, differentiation of shapes, size relations. Language is enhanced as children talk about how to build, what they built, what is its function or ask questions about concepts or directions. And dramatic play is also a part of block building as children create stories to go along with their constructions.

Finally, building with blocks fosters a feeling of competence, teaches cooperation and respect for the work of others, encourages autonomy and initiative.

It's not just building with blocks that is educational--so is cleanup. Sorting and storing blocks teaches classification and one-to-one correspondence, which are important math skills.

Dramatic Play

The housekeeping/dress-up corner should be stocked with play items and props that encourage young children to play make-believe. Look for pots and pans, stuffed animals, dolls (soft, unbreakable, washable, and multiethnic), toy telephones, hats, purses and tote bags, unbreakable tea sets, doll beds and carriages.

What's Learned Playing make-believe lets a child bring the complicated grown-up world down to size. Research demonstrates that children who are active in pretend play are usually more joyful and cooperative, more willing to share and take turns, and have larger vocabularies than children who are less imaginative.

Imaginative play helps youngsters to concentrate, to be attentive, and to use self-control. Think about how a child develops a game of supermarket. He must first set up the counter, put out the pretend cans of food, invite friends to shop, use the "cash register," and bag the groceries. All of these actions help a child to learn about sequential acts. He also has a story or script in mind that helps him to perform each of these steps in a logical and orderly way.

When children pretend they also learn to be flexible, substituting objects for those they do not have. For example, a child will use an empty paper towel roll for a telescope.

Through imaginative play, children learn empathy for others. Children will often act out a whole range of emotions when playing pretend, offering sympathy for a stuffed "doggie" that is hurt or for a doll that fell off a chair. We watch them scold a puppet for being naughty or tell a doll how proud they are because she used the potty.

Dramatic play encourages children to think abstractly, which is an important prereading skill. Children come to understand that words represent ideas.

Manipulative Toys

Children enjoy playing with a variety of toys that helps develop their fine-motor control. These toys include Legos, Bristle Blocks, Play-Doh, Peg-Boards, large beads to thread, and stacking and nesting materials.

What's Learned Manipulative toys help develop a child's fine-motor skills, which is a precursor to being able to write. Often these toys are also used in fantasy play. The beads that are strung become the necklace forthe "queen" to wear. The Play-Doh creations include cookies for the impromptu "tea party."

Cooperative Play

During the preschool day, you should see children who are playing by themselves, but you should also see cooperative play, small groups or even the class as a whole working on a project. The amount of cooperative play increases as the children grow older. Some of this play may be child initiated, and some may be teacher directed.

What's Learned Working together, whether it's on a block building or planning a tea party, helps children to learn to respect the ideas of others. They develop their social skills, and social competence is an underlying goal of early childhood education. Children in cooperative play learn to contribute to joint efforts. They also learn how to problem solve by working together to find a solution.

Sand/Water Table

Sometimes the rubber basin is filled with sand (some schools use rice or grits, which are less likely to get into a preschooler's eyes), and it's almost an indoor mini-playground. Even children who don't ordinarily dig in the sand at the beach will find it fun to measure, sift, and pour the sand from one container to another. When it's filled with water, the basin becomes a doll bathtub or a sink for toy china.

What's Learned A child has a practical math lesson in fractions when she pours a cup full of sand into a two-cup container. It explains the concept faster and more clearly than a detailed discussion or drawing. Her fine-motor skills are also being developed as she washes a tea set or maneuvers a cup full of sand into a sifter. Her eye-hand coordination is helped.

As anyone who has sat on a beach knows, sand and water play is soothing. It encourages children to explore and learn about cause and effect. (For example, what happens if I put a sponge in the water? What happens if I then squeeze the sponge?).

There is no right or wrong way to play with sand and water (except to throw it out of the basin), so each child experiences success.

Puzzles

The classroom should have puzzles that vary in complexity, five-piece puzzles, as well as 12-piece puzzles, and puzzles made of different materials. You should also find puzzles that interlock and those that have individual slots for pieces (for example, a five-piece puzzle of five individual animals).

What's Learned Puzzles require abstract thinking: the ability to see a space and envision what belongs there. Puzzles also require fine-motor control in order to place the pieces into place. Having puzzles for varied skill levels permits children at all stages of development to experience success.

Books

The book corner should have books reflecting a range of levels. There should be simple board books, as well as picture books with a story line. The area should be comfortable, carpeted, and perhaps lined with pillows. It should be a place where a young child can go and look through books by himself--as well as a meeting place for story time for the class.

What's Learned Children learn language skills from books. Whether they are looking at a book individually, or being read to as part of a group, when you make books a part of a young child's day you set the stage for a lifelong interest in reading.

Cleanup

Preschoolers don't yet know that grown-ups consider cleaning a nuisance. For them, it's another fun activity. It's not a question of efficiency. It's tempting sometimes for grown-ups to do the task themselves, rather than exercise the patience it requires to help a preschooler through a chore. But allowing the young child to put away the blocks, wipe down the tables, and put the toys back on the shelves is a valuable educational exercise.

What's Learned Preschoolers learn to sort, classify, match, and organize when they put the toys back on the shelf. A good preschool classroom will have low shelves and individual bins for small toys, so that the young child can easily see where objects belong. The bins will be labeled (which helps develop language skills).

Preschoolers learn that helping behaviors and orderliness are valued. They see that it's important to take care of their environment and that it's easier to find what you want when you put it back in its designated place. Cleaning up teaches self-discipline. Children learn how to follow simple directions. Working together as a class to clean up their room is another exercise in cooperation. As they work alongside their teacher and classmates, chatting and discussing the best way to approach the cleanup effort, language and social skills are being practiced. Preschoolers also enjoy feeling competent, independent, and responsible. With the instant feedback of a clean room and a job well done, a youngster's self-esteem is enhanced.

AUTHOR

Marian Edelman Borden is a professional writer and Journalist. A frequent contributor to magazines featuring early childhood education, her articles have appeared in American Baby, Healthy Kids, Parenting, Barney Family, Sesame Street, and the New York Times. She is also the author of In Addition to Tuition (Facts On File, 1996). Ms. Borden lives in Larchmont, NewYork.

Copyright © 1997 Marian Edelman Borden

中秋节快乐 ! * Happy Mid-Autumn festival * Wishing you all the best !!

2009-10-02T14:10:00.004+08:00

Birth of a baby

2009-10-02T00:11:00.003+08:00

* Happy Mid-Autumn festival * Wishing you all the best !!

2009-09-29T02:13:00.005+08:00

What can you do with 4 Kieda ?

2009-09-29T01:46:00.002+08:00

Imaginations by Qiqi (2 years...) ~~ skiing
Is fun right ?! so I am uploading here for her *unforgettable childhood memories* +WINK+

Toddler and Baby Development Stages 其实孩子不难带只要您"了解"孩子（分享篇）

2009-09-24T18:23:00.006+08:00

The Toddler and Baby Development Stages section gives information on the usual age developmental milestones are reached in the first five years of life.
A baby develops from a helpless being at birth and over the first five years he will gain independence in mobility, speech and language and he will develop his own personality.
Although every child is different, there is a pattern of developmental progress that they all will follow within a fairly narrow time frame.

There are 4 main areas of toddler and baby development stages:

• motor development - this is about body posture and large movements of the limbs and the developmental road to walking

• fine motor development and vision - this is about manipulative skills leading eventually to being able to do complicated manual tasks

• speech and language development and hearing - this is about language development, which is a key human characteristic. To read more about normal speech and language development, click here
• personal and social development - this is about the development of self and interactions with others

Do all children reach milestones at the same time?

No. Every child is an individual and, as such, your child will reach milestones at his pace. Try not to compare your child with other children.
Don't be concerned if a baby of 13 months is walking while your 13 month old is not or if a 2 year old is using sentences when your 2 year old is not.
On the pages that give milestone progress for each age band, there is a section on when to be concerned. Unless your child is demonstrating these characteristics, there is no need to worry.

What does it mean if a baby is not developing normally?
If a baby is not developing normally, it may be an indication that something is wrong. If a child is not reaching motor milestones, there may be something wrong with his neuromuscular system. For example, he could have cerebral palsy.
A problem with speech and language development may indicate a problem with hearing or may be a manifestation of a communication disorder like autistic spectrum disorder.
In either case, the earlier the developmental problem is picked up the better so appropriate intervention can begin. Of course, sometimes babies are just slow to develop without there being a major problem.

How will I know if my baby is not developing normally?

Mothers (and fathers) are very good at picking up some developmental problems and most countries have some type of well child checks where development is tested. You can also check the pages below for the milestones to expect at different ages.
See your doctor is you are concerned that your toddler or baby development stages are not appropriate, and, in particular, if you are concerned your baby does not see or hear.

Babies also exhibit primitive reflexes which are present from birth or shortly after and last weeks or months. If primitive reflexes persist, it can be an indication that there is a problem with the brain.

What can I do to help my baby's development?

The most important thing you can do as a parent for your baby is to provide a loving environment with adequate food and warmth for your baby.
Studies have shown that babies who have tummy time while they are awake reach motor milestones earlier than babies who do not have tummy time. So, make sure your baby has supervised tummy time while he is awake. Remember that the safest sleeping position is on his back.

Baby Developmental Milestones: Birth to 6 months

The following page gives the usual age at which different baby developmental milestones are reached during the first 6 months of life.
You will notice that the areas of development are divided into 4 main areas - motor, fine motor, language and social. These are the areas that health professionals use when assessing development. Some areas are more important at different ages - in the first six months, there is a lot of motor and fine motor development occurring. Speech comes later.

6 weeks of age baby milestones
Motor Development

At 6 weeks of age, if your child has reached normal developmental milestones, he will:

• lift his head up momentarily when is held tummy down (prone)
• put his head to one side if he is lying on his tummy (prone)
• have head lag when he is pulled from lying to sitting - so you need to support his head
• shows primitive reflexes like stepping and placing

Fine Motor and Vision Development

At 6 weeks of age, your baby will:
• fix and follow on your face
• turn his head and eyes to a light source

Speech, Language and Hearing Development

At 6 weeks, your child, if he is developing normally, will:
• respond to a bell or other similar noise
• stop whimpering (but not full blown crying) to the sound of a soothing voice
• coo responsively to your voice
Personal / Social Development
At 6 weeks, your infant will:
• suck well
• be starting to smile
• regard faces
3 months baby developmental milestones

Motor Development

At 3 months, your infant will:
• push up on his elbows when lying on his tummy (prone)
• still have some head lag when pulled up from lying to sitting but will have more head control
• take weight on bent knees when held in the standing position
• mostly have open hands

Fine Motor / Vision Development

At 3 months, your infant will:
• follow a face from side to side (so through 180 degrees)
• hold a rattle for a short time - will often bash chin with the rattle
• open and close his hands
• be very interested in his hands (hand regard)
• blink defensively

Speech and Language Development

At 3 months, your infant will:
• be vocalizing
• turn to sound especially familiar sounds like the sound of a spoon on the inside of a cup
• quieten to your voice

Personal / Social Development

At 3 months, your infant will be:
• smiling a lot
• enjoying bath time and other familiar routines

4 months baby developmental milestones
Motor Development

At 4 months, your infant will:
• no longer have head lag when pulled to sit from lying - so he now has head control

Fine Motor / Vision Development

At 4 months, your child, if he has normal baby developmental milestones, will be:
• playing with his fingers
5 month baby developmental milestones
Motor Development
At 5 months, if your child has reached normal baby developmental milestone, he will be able to:
• put his feet in his mouth while lying on the floor
Fine Motor / Vision Development
At 5 months, your infant will:
• reach for objects
• have a palmar grasp - so rakes objects with his hands and picks them up in his palm

6 month baby developmental milestones
Motor Development

At 6 months, if your child has reached normal baby developmental milestones, he will be able to:

• push up on extended elbows when lying prone (on his tummy)
• lift his head up when lying on his back
• anticipate being pulled to sit from lying by bracing his shoulders
• roll over - initially from front to back but then both ways
• take weight on his legs when he is held standing up
• sit unsupported for short periods in a tripod position - back slightly bent forward and arms forward with hands near feet

Fine Motor / Vision Development

At 6 months, your infant will:

• be extremely interested in his surroundings
• transfer objects from one hand to the other
• hold 2 cubes
• use both hands freely
• not be interested in objects that fall out of sight - no object permanence yet

Speech and Language Development

At 6 months, your child, if he is following normal baby developmental milestones, will be able to:

• babble using vowel sounds, eg. "goo", "ga"
• imitate sounds
• laugh out loud

Personal / Social Development

At 6 months, your infant will:

• take everything to his mouth
• put his hands to a feeding bottle
• still be friendly with strangers but will be becoming shy
When to be concerned

If your child has not reached the following baby developmental milestones or is demonstrating the following signs, see your doctor:

• not responsive to sound at 6 weeks of age
• has a permanent fist and not opening his hands at 6 weeks of age
• not fixing or following at 3 months of age
• not smiling at 3 months of age
• not sitting with support by 6 months of age
• not babbling by 6 months of age
• has a persistent squint at 6 months of age

TO Be Continue...
Infant Milestones: 12 months to 24 months
Toddler Milestones: 2 years to 3 years
Child Developmental Milestone Progress: 3 years to 4 years

Useful Resource from:http://www.baby-medical-questions-and-answers.com/toddler-behavior.html

Fun Colour wheel D.I.Y

2009-09-23T23:40:00.002+08:00

Kids love COLOUR ! So why not integrate some time into your day to experiencing " color " with your children with these free and easy lesson !

Kids are enjoying every moment ~
Let's explore our colour experiences!

Material needs:
1) Recycle or new paper plate
2)Poster color
3) Cloth clips
4)ribbon
5)Brush

http://happyfamilyeu.blogspot.com/

Qiqi and Yen Hui favourite song ^^

2009-09-23T20:12:00.005+08:00

Phonics Songs

2009-09-23T18:40:00.000+08:00

More Favorite Songs For Learning

2009-09-23T18:33:00.002+08:00

Kids's favorite author, Eric Carle

2009-09-23T18:18:00.001+08:00

The week of shapes learning

2009-09-17T21:20:00.003+08:00

Why every children play blocks?

Blocks help children learn

Creatively -- Blocks offer children the chance to make their own designs, and the satisfaction of creating structures that did not exist before. Beginning at the age of two, children may use a variety of blocks for pretend-play. Children may become life-sized actors in large block structures, or use figures to create dramas in miniature landscapes.

Children value their own block structures whether or not they represent specific things. Rather than asking a child, "What did you make?" say, "Tell me about what you made." This will encourage a dialog and offer the child new opportunities to explore.

Socially -- Blocks encourage children to make friends and cooperate. Large block play may be a young child's first experience playing in a group, while small block play may encourage an older child to work with others in solving problems.

Physically -- When children reach for, pick up, stack, or fit blocks together, they build strength in their fingers and hands, and increase eye-hand coordination. Around two, children begin to figure out which shapes will fit where, and get a head start on understanding different perspectives -- skills that will help them to read maps and follow directions later on. Blocks help kindergarten and primary grade children develop skills in design, representation, balance and stability.

Intellectually -- Blocks help children learn across many academic subjects. Young children develop their vocabularies as they learn to describe sizes, shapes, and positions. Preschoolers and kindergarteners develop math skills by grouping, adding, subtracting and eventually multiplying with blocks. Older children make early experiments with gravity, balance, and geometry.

Additional resources:

Hirsch, E.S. 1996. The Block Book.(Third Ed.) Washington, DC: NAEYC. #132/$5.

NAEYC. 1993. Block Play: Constructing Realities (video). Washington, DC: NAEYC.#838/$39.

Miss my old pre-school children so much ! lol

2009-09-17T02:02:00.000+08:00

给孩子上一堂大自然课

2009-09-15T23:23:00.007+08:00

" 今天天气好，我与孩子到附近的花园走一趟。
我顺手掐起一朵野花，叫道：“小子，快过来，我们一起看看这朵花。”儿子好奇地凑近。我一边解剖这朵花，一边向他讲解花的生长特点和作用。我告诉他：“这是花瓣，这是花蕊、花萼，还有随风漂洒的花粉，没有它，花儿最后便结不出果实……”有时草丛中会突如其来地蹦出一只蚱蜢，我眼疾手快地一把逮住它。这时候，我们两个就蹲下来，头碰头一起研究这只昆虫。我会把蚱蜢的身体结构、习性、繁殖等知识尽可能地传授给儿子。就这样，我通过一块石头、一草一木等实用素材来对儿子进行最生动的教育，这比学校里那些死板僵化的动植物课程直观多了。

其实只要有心，自然界的一草一木都可以随时成为教育的素材，自然界新诞生的一切都可以成为孩子认识与注意的对象。世界再没有比大自然更好的教师了，它能教给人无穷无尽的知识。可是非常遗憾，大多数的父母和孩子却未能好好利用它。

每逢节日，我都要带儿子到田野里去，摘下一朵花，拔下一棵草，砸碎一块岩石进行观察，窥视小鸟的窝，观察小虫的生活状况等。我利用这些实物向儿子讲述各种有趣的故事，涉及到动物学、植物学、矿物学、物理学、化学、地质学、天文学等几乎所有的科学领域。

儿子非常喜欢植物，他还用显微镜观察各种东西，同时，还画出有关各种事物的极其有趣的画画。
开始时他非常害怕毛毛虫，自从告诉他毛毛虫会变成美丽的蝴蝶之后，就不害怕了。我还向他讲述蚂蚁和蜜蜂的生活规律。

许多父母都为孩子的不良行为发愁。

依我看，孩子的不良行为是由于孩子不知精力往何处用造成的，这无疑是一种精力的浪费。我建议把他们都带到大自然中去，他们就无暇干坏事了。并且接触大自然能使孩子的心地高尚，自古以来和大自然感情融洽的人都是心地善良宽厚的人。与大自然接触不仅可以使孩子身体健壮，而且精神也会旺盛起来。

城市里的孩子多因远离大自然，很少呼吸新鲜空气而心情不佳或性格乖张。

有鉴于此，我尽量让孩子们多与自然界接触。"

Eu Kuan Seng 's simply drawing click here.Thanks

Simple Shapes learning

2009-09-14T11:13:00.007+08:00

Today our homeschoolings easy like 1,2,3 ! Let 's rock n roll!
Gather up our material:Brush,orange color ( Qiqi ' learning program),white crayon & paper.

first,draw variety of shapes on a paper .
Let's your child to color it using brush.
While waiting dry asked her to say the name of the shapes and display! ^^

C- -Carrot , & Cabbge ！

2009-09-13T20:55:00.009+08:00

Today, kids get an impulse to their own dinner.
In order for children to deepen understanding of the letters, we have found in the fridge they know vegetables - carrot and cabbage.
Today's menu are the ABC soup and fried cabbage!
There are a children's favorite too- Egg!

Children try to cook for themselves. Vegetables and vegetable. . .
Of course, know the name of a vegetable!

nutritious dish preparing by Yen Hui and Kuan SEng ^^