Tag Archives: Montessori Education

Bay Area Haunts for Your Young Ones

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Whether you have just moved to the Bay Area or you are looking for new places to take the kids, there are plenty of Bay Area haunts for the whole family to enjoy. Here are just a few you may want to check out.

Bay Area Haunts for Your Young Ones

  • Inside the Children’s Creativity Museum you will find a fun hands-on museum in Buena Gardens. Join in on the activities, run and jump in the colorful playground or visit the historic carousel that is just a few minutes away.
  • In Oakland, you will find the unique Museum of Children’s Art. This is a museum that only displays the work of children. For a small fee, your kids can join in on one of the studio sessions. The museum itself is free.
  • The Seymour Marine Discovery Center is a great place to visit if you have kids that are interested in all that happens under the sea.
  • The Bay Area Children’s Theatre offers great adaptations of all your favorite children’s books.
  • Want to visit a farm and teach your children about history? Ardenwood Historic Farm is the place to visit. This is a Victorian era working farm that includes pigs, sheep, rabbits, chicken, turkey, goats, and cows.
  • Want to feed the Otters and Bobcats? CuriOdyssey at Coyote Point in San Mateo is the place to visit. Plus, they offer daily feedings.
  • The Oakland Zoo is less crowded than the San Francisco Zoo and is a great size for little ones to get around by themselves. Rides are additional but offer plenty of extra fun for the kids.
  • The Bay Area Discovery Museum is also a great place to visit. There are great playful permanent exhibits, an art studio and plenty of activities to keep the kids interested.
  • The Tech Museum in San Jose is another great place worth checking out. Social robots, exploration galleries, and a fun play zone make this a great place to spend the day. There is a cafe on site if the family gets hungry.

If your child is curious, independent and loves to explore the world, the Montessori style of education might just be a perfect fit. If you would like to learn more, come and take a tour or contact our staff at Montessori School of Fremont, who will gladly answer your questions. At our Montessori schools, we pride ourselves on helping children grow in all areas of their life, providing a safe space to grow and explore.

When Should Your Child Stop Napping?

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Nap times are needed by both parents and children when children are young. For the children, it helps with the growth emotionally, physically and mentally. For the parents, it is a time to get things done or to recover from a busy morning. Naps are a wonderful thing, but maybe your child has stopped taking them, and you are worried they still need them or maybe you are wondering at what age does a child stop napping.

When Will My Child Stop Napping?

On average, many children stop napping altogether when they are nearing 4 years old. This is certainly not an age that is set in stone, in fact, many kids 4 and over continue to take naps. There are signs that your child may be ready to give up their nap; these include:

  • Restlessness and fidgeting at nap time.
  • No afternoon meltdowns when a nap is missed.
  • Consistent energy levels and attitudes.
  • Too much napping makes it hard for them to sleep at bedtime.
  • A consistent struggle to get your child down during the day.

If your child is at the stage of consistently showing the above signs, then nap time may be coming to an end.

How Much Should My Child Nap?

In general, your child likely needs the following amount of sleep during the day:

  • 0-6 months: 3-4 naps with a total of 2-4 hours at a time
  • 6-12 months: 2 naps a day with a total of 1-3 hours at a time
  • 12-18 months: 1-2 naps a day with a total of 1-3 hours at a time
  • 2- 3 years: 1 nap with a total of 1-3 hours
  • 4-5 years: 1 nap with varying durations

If your child is constantly fighting nap time yet you still feel like they need a nap for their physical and emotional health, there are a few things you can do to make napping a little easier.

  • Stick to a nap routine so your child knows when nap time is.
  • Put your child down to nap before they are overtired.
  • Keep the room quiet and dark – you may want to use a noise machine.
  • As they get older, read together at the beginning of nap time.
  • Don’t keep them up later at night thinking it will help with nap time – this can have the opposite effect.

If you feel your child is ready to give up their naps but you both still need a little down time, turn nap time into quiet time. Teach your child that it is time for reading or quiet play. This is a great transition and can allow you to have the time you need without fighting nap every day.

Here at Montessori Children’s House, we believe that children need downtime to be at their best.  To learn more about Montessori education and the programs we offer, contact us today and schedule a tour.

Kid Friendly Halloween Alternatives

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Whether you just don’t care for Halloween or you are looking for some alternative ways to have fun in October, these kid-friendly Halloween alternatives are sure to be a hit with the whole family!

Fun Halloween Alternatives that are Kid-Friendly

  • Give Instead of Receiving – This activity can actually be done anytime of the year. Have your children help you bag up some candy, then deliver them to friends and family. No tricking here – just treating!
  • Host a Harvest Party – Instead of scary Halloween decorations and costumes, have a harvest party. Do some fun fall crafts, bob for apples, create a caramel apple bar, and have fun celebrating the season.
  • Decorate some Pumpkins – Whether you do this as a family or you have a fun party and invite some of your children’s friends over, decorating pumpkins is always a big hit. You can paint, draw, stick on googly eyes or carve, whatever makes it enjoyable for everyone.
  • Host a Neighborhood Chili Cookoff – A fun neighborhood block party doesn’t have to be fancy. Ask everyone to bring a pot of chili, set out a table, some bowls, spoons and voting cards. Let everyone taste and vote on each pot of chili. The winner gets the knowledge of knowing their chili is the best, until next year!
  • Pumpkin Bowling – For this fun activity, you need a big round pumpkin and 9 gourds that will stand up on their own. You can play this one on the footpath or in your driveway.
  • Pumpkin Chunkin – If you have ever been to a pumpkin throwing event, you might just get the appeal. If you have a garden, large yard or a park nearby, host a pumpkin throwing competition. Have prizes for different age groups and see who can throw that pumpkin the furthest. You may want to take it a step further and have friends and family create their own pumpkin throwing machines.

There are plenty of fun non-traditional and non-scary ways to celebrate this wonderful season – all it takes is a little imagination and some friends and family to help you celebrate.

If you are looking for a school that can help wake up your toddler’s imagination Montessori schools could be the perfect choice. Call Mission Valley Montessori today and  take a tour to find out why our schools are different to other preschools in the area. We focus on blending fun with learning, helping your child discover the world at their own pace.

Fun Summer Math Projects for Toddlers

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Before your toddler starts kindergarten, it is a good idea that they have some basic math skills. The summer before school begins, there are a few fun math projects that you can do with your toddler to help them learn these basic skills.

Counting With Egg Cartons

This is a great game to teach children to count, and you likely have all of the necessary items right in your home.

You Will Need:

  • An empty egg carton
  • A bag of M&M’s

Number the spaces in the egg carton from 1-12. Have your child place the number of M&M’s in each numbered hole. If they get all of the answers right, they can eat the M&M’s as a reward.

Number Recognition Game

This game will teach your child to recognize numbers 1-9. It is also fun.

You Will Need:

  • Bag of balloons
  • Laundry basket

Blow up 9 of the balloons. Number each balloon and place them on the ground. Give your child a number and have them find the balloon that coincides with that number. Have them place the balloon in the laundry basket. This time, give the child a number again and have them find it in the laundry basket. When your child finds the balloon, they can pop it.

Counting in Nature

This game will give your child a chance to get some fresh air while they are building their math skills.

You Will Need:

  • A notebook
  • A pen

Before your nature hike, make a list of things in nature for your child to find. The list should include one item, then two of another item, three of another item, and so on. The game ends when your child has found all of everything on the list.

Grocery Shopping Fun

You can make your weekly grocery shopping trip, and turn it into a learning game.

You Will Need:

  • A supermarket trip

While you are shopping, but your child in charge of putting items in the cart. For example, you can tell your child to get 5 cans of vegetables. They would need to count out the 5 cans and put them in the cart. You can even add some subtraction to the game, and tell your child to get 7 potatoes, and then take 3 away.

Funny Money

This game will not only teach your child to count, it will also introduce them to money and budgeting.

You Will Need:

  • A package of play money
  • Post-It notes
  • A sharpie marker

Write money amounts between $1 and $9 on several Post-It notes and stick it on various items around the home. Have your child choose the items that they want to buy, and pay you for each item with their fake money.

The Day Star Montessori Children’s Learning Center applies the educational philosophy and methods of Maria Montessori, M.D., a renowned Italian physician and child educator. For our Montessori children math is more than rote memorization. Our children learn the base 10 system with cube material that is properly scaled. For more information on math for toddlers, contact us today.

 

Fun Bugs and Insects for Kids

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In a Montessori education, your child will learn about living and non-living plant-life as well as animal life. There will also be lessons on animals and their groups including their babies and where they live. In the summer, there are opportunities to study fun bugs and insects that do not fit into an orderly curriculum.

Seeing nature close up

This activity will expand your child’s experience with the natural world. They will develop sensory skills, language, practical life skills, the ability to observe quietly, and a respect for living things. Your child will go out to a grassy area with a magnifying glass and look for interesting things. They can look at simple things such as a blade of grass or rock and see the difference looking at it through the magnifying glass. As a model of respecting our earth, your child will be encouraged to look at items where they are and not pick them or take them from where they are found.

Other interesting things are observed such as; tiny plants, dandelions, sticks, and insects. When any of these items are found; your child is encouraged not to disturb their existence and to observe them where they are found. Your child will be allowed to investigate their world at their own pace and are only guided when they seem unsure of what to look at next.

Observing bugs

There are often bugs found inside like spiders or ants that can be caught with little bug catchers. This gives children the perfect chance to observe them close up and then teaches them to respect living things by releasing it back outside. There are then endless ways to introduce your child to a wide variety of fun bugs in our world. Using plastic bugs in pairs they are mixed up and the task is to match them in pairs, with printed cards of different butterfly species the children then match miniature pictures to the larger ones, through plastic versions or printed colorful cards the children will learn what are insects and what are not, and many other fun activities introducing your child to fun world of bugs

Learning in a Montessori environment

The Montessori environment is a child -centered educational approach. The approach values your child’s human spirit and their development as a whole person; social, emotional, cognitive, and physical. In the classroom, your child, the teacher, and the learning environment will create a triangle that encourages independent learning in a fun and individual process. Teachers encourage freedom within limits, provide a sense of order and allow your child to discover information about the world around them with a hands-on experience.

Your child’s education through Montessori will develop their potential and prepare them to understand and appreciate learning and their world. If this sounds like the kind of education you want for your child, you will love the Montessori approach. Contact our Mission Valley Kindergarten to schedule a tour of our school.