Blog

One Block, Two Blocks, Red Blocks, Blue Blocks!

A block or a brick usually does not inspire any excitement among the adults. In fact, these words are commonly associated with the terms indicating stupid/dull person. And yet, the children (and Egyptians ๐Ÿ˜€) can use them in the most imaginative ways. A set of blocks is a versatile tool in the learning process. Starting with counting and colour recognition, blocks are a great help all the way up to early multiplication and division. (Read More)

Diwali: Festival of lights and SHAPES ๐Ÿ˜€

Ball-shaped ladoos, dimond-shaped shakarpali, circular chakali and anarasa……….. and the list goes on! These mouthwatering food items remind us of Diwali or Deepavali. Diwali (line of lights), as the name suggests is a festival of lights. And yet it will not be wrong to call it a festival of SHAPES. (Read More)


Storytelling and Mathematics

What does storytelling have to do with mathematics? … If I say they are related, many of you will stop reading further. But, believe me, storytelling and teaching mathematics are very much related. (Read More)


Speak, Read and Write: Can we achieve proficiency in Multiple Languages?

In the multilingual countries like India, speaking multiple languages is very common. School system also encourages learning of at least two languages from the very beginning. Many times, children find it difficult to learn many languages simultaneously. Child becomes proficient in one of the languages, while other languages take a back seat. Is this really necessary? Can children achieve proficiency in two or more languages? (Read More)

Removing the Box

Why is space black? Why do we have elections? Why do we have to follow the rules?........ So many questions! When you are in the company of young people, be ready for one of these rapid-fire rounds every now and then. (Read More) 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Picture Sorting to Recognize Devanagari Letters ๐Ÿ˜€ ๐Ÿ˜€

Image
How many letters does English have? 26 . And how many are there in Indian languages? Around 50 in Devanagari script! And how do we usually start learning these? Well, most of the times, we make children write endlessly. After all that mindless writing, we expect them to remember so many letters and start reading. Is that a reasonable expectation? Imagine yourself learning another Indian language (with different script) in the similar manner! I believe there is an easier alternate method to relate sounds with letter symbols. Introducing letters in play form is fun with long-lasting impact on young minds. I am going to elaborate this activity for Marathi letters. However, a similar activity can be set up for any language. The steps are as follows: Choose three to four letters (consonants) that occur commonly in your language. For instance, I have chosen เคฎ, เค•, เคธ. Now, think of three to four words starting with those letters. Here, take the words that are names of animals, flowers,...
Read more

Let's Go Shopping

Image
  During this long ‘Stay at Home’ phase, one thing missed by many is visiting local markets, stores and malls. Kids are no exceptions! So, why not take a detour from our daily routine and do some toy shopping with kids ๐Ÿ˜‰. And it will not be strenuous. In fact, it is entertaining and at the same time educational. Let’s do shopping of toys and school stationary.   As we all know, just going to the store without having a shopping list can be a disaster, particularly with kids ๐Ÿ˜†. So, keep the list ready. The subscribers can download the free worksheet here: Let’s Go Shopping!   And take the help of kids to find out the total cost for each set. They will be interested in knowing which one is the most costly and the cost of the sets that include their favourite toy ๐Ÿ˜€  The concept of money can be introduced while kids practise simple addition and multiplication.  ๐Ÿ˜‡๐Ÿ˜€
Read more

Twist in the Tale: Monkey Makes UNEQUAL Division

Image
There is an age-old tale from India about a monkey and two cats. The two cats fight over butter and while pretending to make the equal division the monkey eats up all the butter. (If you are not familiar with this tale, see here for  Hindi / English .) This tale is perfect starting point to learn about even-odd numbers and equal divisions. So, the sequel to the original story goes like this… Main Plot: The monkey is now transformed and likes to genuinely help others. One day, the monkey sees two children fighting over the toffees. When he offers to help them, the children say “We know all about how you cheated the cats. So, we don’t want your help”. The monkey finally convinces them to let him help. And the children deposit all their toffees with the monkey. The monkey is able to divide them equally if it’s an even number. When an odd number is encountered, the monkey takes away one candy and then divides equally. And so, the concept of remainder is introduced. ๐Ÿ˜€ Tips for Enacting...
Read more

Vasant Panchami: Spring has arrived!

Image
  Vasant Panchami or Basant Panchami marks the beginning of the spring season. This festival is a celebration of new life and learning. Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, is worshiped in many parts of India during this festival. Let’s continue our learning with these spring-themed activities during this festival. Spring-themed Shadow Matching This google slideshow activity is fun for kids of all ages. All you have to do is open the file in the ‘present’ mode and choose the correct options! Enjoy this free resource – Spring Shadow Matching Spring-themed Coordinates Activities If you are a regular reader of this blog, you must have already guessed that we absolutely love ๐Ÿ’“working on the coordinates activities! And here are some more. Spring Coordinates Activities . (Available for the subscribers. You can become a subscriber for free using the link on the home page.) These activities include drawing flowers with the coordinates.  This set also shows how to plot lin...
Read more

Puzzled over Shapes

Image
  Happy New Year!   The new beginnings are enchanting, and mysterious. And so are the puzzles. Math puzzles are fun, fascinating and at the same time, educating. Puzzles about geometric shapes particularly fit this description. Children learn shapes at every early age. They also point out the real life objects that resemble these geometric shapes. But, when we move beyond this basic knowledge, many (including myself ๐Ÿ˜‰ ) think that geometry is a difficult and dry subject. How can we make it interesting? Well, most of you must have guessed the correct answer by now, PUZZLES. They provide an opportunity to understand various relations between shapes with visualization. Puzzles can keep kids busy for hours during the school holidays or remote-learning days ๐Ÿ˜€ . Here are some puzzles involving triangles, and rectangles to make this new beginning exciting. Find the Number of Triangles: The initial learners of geometric shapes will find this puzzle stimulating. They have t...
Read more