Topic -Fruit.So many ways of teaching concepts in preschool

Aim: To teach recognition and names of  some fruits to non English speaking children

Methods: Stories, games, activities, rhymes, book reading

Activity 1- Story: Tweet bird
Materials needed: Models/flash cards There was a tweedy bird which was very hungry.So he went to the peacock and asked for some food.The peacock gave him some mangoes.The bird ate all the mangoes.Then he went to the parrot.It gave him some apples.[ Like this it goes to different birds and the birds give different fruits-as the child keeps learning. This should be done while showing the models /pictures of birds/fruits]

Learning Benefit:  Recognition of fruits and birds

Activity 2:Rhymes

Materials needed: Models

Pluck the mango fruit  from the tree and put it into the basket. [to the tune of here we go round the mulberry tree] Add bananas ,oranges , pine apples/strawberries,[ pluck them off the bush,] .
Method: while saying the name of the fruits I always insist on adding the word fruit so that children will categorize them as fruits and will not confuse with vegetables. while singing this rhyme we can show flashcards/models.Include colors of different fruits, number of fruits for counting, prepositions and acting it out]

Straw berries are red and sweet [improvise to include colors of different fruits [to the tune of London bridge]

 Activity 3:Story- A very hungry caterpillar

Materials needed: Book , Models, big Flash boards of  #s

 SHOWING written 1-2 along with fruits[children learn to recognize # along with fruits

Learning Benefit:  Recognition of fruits, Caterpillar life cycle

Activity 4:Prewriting-

Materials needed: worksheets ,crayons.

lines color to fruit ,# to fruits, alphabets to fruits

Learning Benefit:  Recognition of fruits Prewriting

Activity 5: Alphabets

Materials needed: , big Flash boards of  fruits with names  & alphabets written , pictures without words & words without  pictures ( so that children learn to recognize word s and also match them to fruits )

Activity 6:: Big/small

Materials needed: big and small pictures of each fruits

Matching pictures of big fruit with small fruit

Activity 7: Colors

Materials needed: Models, big Flash boards pictures of colors and also fruits

Matching colors to fruits

Activity 8: Thinking skills

Materials needed: Models /pictures

1.Sorting green and red apples. Learning Benefit:  Recognition of  apple fruit colors, sorting skill

2. Matching fruit to fruit and two halves of a fruit Learning Benefit:  Recognition of fruits.

3. Sorting different fruits into groups. Learning Benefit:  Recognition of fruits, sorting skill

4. Treasure hunting fruit. Learning Benefit:  Recognition of fruits, detective skill, fun

5. What fruit is missing?Method :Place the models of same # of fruits in two baskets. Start by removing one by one.Child to identify the missing fruits.

 Learning Benefit:  Recognition of fruits, detective skill

6.Gradation- From Biggest to smallest or from smallest to Biggest

Learning Benefit:  Recognition of fruits, gradation skill

7.Pattern : With two fruits. Learning Benefit:  Recognition of fruits, sorting skill

Activity 9 : Book Reading - Count with Dora,

 Materials needed: Book , Models, big Flash boards of  #s, animals

Learning Benefit:  Recognition of fruits, numbers and animals.

Activity 10: Book Reading-Recorded pictures of different fruits in G.K books.

Materials needed: Book

Learning Benefit:  Recognition of fruits,

Delivering learning responsibility to children

Montessori is all about Delivering learning responsibility to children themselves and not taking it in our hand. Whenever the adults interfered by too much caring for the  child , it ended up in disaster. When we feel responsible for  feeding the children, putting them to sleep, entertaining them, they always returned it with either over doing or being finicky .We should learn to let go. The same goes for learning also. Children have vast capacity for observation, vocabulary and absorption. All we have to do is provide them with a suitable atmosphere conducive for learning and step in only when anything is not put to proper use.

This way they learn much better and faster. So lot of care should be taken in preparing the environment, taking care to provide appropriate good quality materials according to the children’s age, capability and readiness. No over/under doing. In an environment that is natural, airy, comfortably furnished, enough brightness and moving space.

Until the child settles down materials displayed can be practical life objects and building blocks.

Initial learning materials can be for learning shapes and color, matching and gradation, look and tell story picture books /cards. Children can learn lot of vocabulary from this.

A story telling session based on what the teacher wants to impart .The instructor can also act out a scene ,a story/rhyme [that is based on reality] with lot of props.

Toddlers and learning

Teaching children between 2 to 5 is not like teaching older children. Children of this age learn naturally by absorbing the surrounding, through conversations and play, more than by instructions. Their attention span is limited.
 They do not know the concept of  obedience or sitting in one place for the given length of time.  They are learning subconsciously at this stage .The teachers need to be very tactful, should know how to captivate a child’s interest and present lessons repeatedly in various modes without tiring the children.The networking of the brain is fastest in the first 3 years. So teachers should take best advantage of this period and stimulate their natural inquisitive interest in learning and desist from formal teaching.

I personally believe that learning is a natural process and should be taught that way without making the children as if it is some kind of a task,at least for this young in age..Children show a natural enthusiasm for learning everything around them.To keep it alive there should be absolutely no force.Some parents by being too very insistant take the joy out of learning like they do it out of eating. Of course they do this because they care too much.Most problems arise in these areas ,when parents try to push more than the child's realistic     limits.

Children learn easily when a subject is presented in the form of a story,song ,games or when you discuss with them in a casual way inter mingling the facts you want to present.Also most important is that they work with their hands, see with their eyes ,hear the names ,sing the topic,and involve as many senses possible.The key word is experience.

Things children love to do


1. Dancing

2. Music

3. Conversation

4. Stories

5. Helping adults

6. Exhibiting their knowledge

7. Imitating adults

8. Appreciation

9. Being listened to

10. Group games

11. Rhymes

12. Painting

13. Carrying heavy items

14. New techno crafts

15. Slates and chalk


16. Sand play

17. Water play

18. Ball play

19. Building blocks

20. Dolls

21. Toy cars, trains, etc

22. Make belief play

23. Love to simply run around

Teaching the Montessori way

Montessori realized the first 3 years of a child life as the unconscious creation of the mind. She called this as the psychic embryo, since so much mental development occurs after birth. At this phase the child absorbs it’s surrounding unconsciously. The second phase of life is a conscious development that is from 3 to 6 years. She believed that ‘the most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. For that is the time when man's intelligence itself, his greatest implement, is being formed.”
Montessori said the child from birth to six years has an “absorbent mind”. At this period the mind absorbs knowledge effortlessly almost anything from it’s surrounding. Thatis why it is important to provide a calm, peaceful uncluttered surrounding that is aesthetically appealing to the senses. Also children need to gain information about everything around them. Rules for social adaptation clearly set, consistently and firmly followed.

Very young children are sensitively attracted to certain activities and keep on repeating it for a certain period of time with concentrated attention. This period is well known to a Montessorian as the sensitive period since so much mental development occurs after birth. For example, children in a sensitive period for order will be drawn to activities that involve ordering. They are motivated to act this way in order to satisfy a psychological hunger necessary for its inner development. Any interruption at this period will end this developmental phase prematuredly

People whom the little child comes into contact with, need to keep this in mind and must be sensitive to their inner needs and assist the child in taking full advantage of this period and aiding to unfold his/her natural inner capabilities to optimum capacity .By the age of 3, the child has already laid down the foundations of his personality The child has enormous creative enegy. Early childhood education helps the child utilize it to his/her best.

Every Montessori activity helps the child to auto educate with inbuilt control of error. This puts the control in the hands of the learner and protects the young child’s self-esteem and self-motivation. Their muscular co-ordination improves. Because of this developmental need, children are drawn to activities that involve movement and especially to pastimes that demand a certain level of challenge

.The sensorial materials were created to help children in the process of creating and organizing their intelligence. The materials worked upon should not be too easy or too frustrating. Then only it will encourage repetition. Each scientifically designed material isolates a quality found in the world such as color, size, shape, etc. and this isolation focuses the attention on this one aspect. The child, through repeated manipulation of these objects, comes to form clear ideas on abstractions. What could not be explained by words,[abstract facts ] for e.g. dimensions,  the child learns by experience, working with the sensorial materials The child is presented materials and activities in a way that it does not distract from the purpose. Given freedom and time, they choose purposeful activities over frivolous ones

In our school the child is provided a prepared environment: where everything necessary for his/her development is included in a safe atmosphere. These include order reality, beauty and simplicity. She/he is given opportunity, to experiment, and experience with the senses

In Montessori’s view all humans are intuitively inclined to
 Exploration
 Orientation
 Order
 Abstraction
 Work
 Self-perfection
 Communication
 A spiritual life

Montessori did not believe in reward or punishment. Disciplining by external control does not withstand. The child learns to discipline itself by developing its inner control and by the development of the will

Children love to do things for themselves and in Montessori schools they are encouraged to be self-dependent. Making their own choices is the first step towards independence. An understanding Montessori educator encourages this. Willpower or self-control develops from making and executing ones choice.

In Little Folks the children are provided with lot of interesting books. They are told stories .Conversation is aimed at developing the grasp of English language and knowledge of the world around them. Phonetics and both upper and lowercase alphabets are taught. Teaching maths and language are through simple and fun activities.Lot, of experience in classifying. gradation, memory games. Comparison, matching and contrast simple geometry, graph, and set theory exercises are given so that in later years it will be easier for them to accept these concepts

Learning in the kitchen-1

Kids love to stay around the mother.Most of the time the mother will spent her time in the kitchen and kids end up there too.This time can be utilised for great fun and learning experience.At the same time kids can also be made proud of taking responsibilities.Kids as young as 2 years want to  do all that adults do .You can give them opportunity to   arrange vessels according to height order,carrying  from the dishwasher to the shelf [good motor exercise]and sorting as per size and shapes ,for example spoons plates basins.Good chance for your child to experience heavy and light,deep and shallow ,narrow and wide.They will  also be noticing the plate is circular,tray is rectangle and glass is cylindrical.

Can measure the cups of rice ,and quantity of water needed .At the same time their gross and fine motor muscles will also be exercised along with balance gained in learning to measure things exactly and without spilling.Vegetables and fruits come in different colours and shapes,sorting them is a great arithmatic exercise;while learning their names adds to vocabulary bank.Number of chairs per person at the table,number of plates for each member of the family,things that complement like dabara and tumbler or cups and saucer.

learning in the kitchen-2( cont)

Learning to be responsible while helping is another bonus.This can be extended to other activities like folding clothes ,[if very young sorting according to users/cloth variety like towels,pairing socks ,uppper and lower and under garments ]   dusting,polishing their shoes[Children as young as 3 and a half can dothis].All  this will help in knowledge gain and dexterity and they will not turn out to be mere bookworms but  masters of their surrounding also.you will stop viewing them as troublesome and begin to see them as great help.
                   While going out you can talk about everythng that come your way,counting # of trucks,following the colours of traffic light ,meaning of signals,helpful vehicles like  ambulance,fire engines.How a slow bullock cart hinders the traffic and stray dogs might cause accident.Important landmarks[ like hospital,college,church,temple and little explanation about who work there], on your way home,road maps to your home,What to do in case he gets lost ,how he can come back,the importance of memorising address and telephone numbers,[for still younger children parent's and street names.]
 In future years childrn both male and female will be taking care of themselves.Already  availability of manual help is dwindling.So why not let them be self dependent.You can also do simple easy recipies like sandwiches together and carry on to more complex items