Our parents' generation worked hard to make sure that they could offer us a chance at a better future than theirs. Our generation grabbed that opportunity to make sure that we could provide the best for our children too. The combination of better monetary resources and availability of a variety of options for our children has meant that we are able to give them all that is deemed necessary for their holistic growth and well being.
This starts at an early age. Parents invest in various learning aids and toys and books as per their child's age and development needs. We see many ads and reviews for many different kinds of products. But, did you know, your household itself can provide many of the learning aids which your toddler needs? In fact, if you look closely, the household can actually be considered one big learning aid, with many smaller aids to facilitate learning on all possible fronts?
Unlike many other learning institutes, the focus of Morning Glorie's online homeschooling program in India is on the use of objects easily available in the household for simple yet effective learning, bundled with fun. The idea is that instead of investing in fancy aids and gadgets, parents can invest in the actual pedagogy, and at the same time, spend some quality time with their child at their level.
In this post, we will share a list of 10 different objects which can be used for at least 5 different kinds of learning outcomes, and are easily available in all households.
1. Different Types of Dals
2. Spoons
3. Forks
4. Bowls
5. Glasses
6. Coins
7. Aata
8. Rice
9. Bottle Caps
10. Toothpicks
To illustrate our point, we will share with you how the humble chana can be used in 5 different ways.
Meet the humble chana
Be it brown chana or the kabuli chana, many households in India will have these as part of the pantry staples. And even if you don't, if you look at it as an investment for your toddler's learning, then it is a very economical thing to invest in.
Here, we are sharing 5 different activities which can be done with the chana, with 5 different kinds of learning involved.
Mathematical Skills
Bring the chana in a bowl. Bring an empty bowl and a spoon. Use the spoon to help your toddler count while transferring the chana from one bowl to the other.
Experiential Learning
In the same activity as given above, help your child understand the difference between full and empty, half full, quarter full etc as they are transferring the chana. This is also helps build strength in their hands and fingers, as they learn to grasp the spoon and feel the weight of the chana on the spoon.
Lifecycles
Do an activity around sprouting the chana to help your toddler understand lifecycles as a concept. At the same time, you can also help them understand textures, as raw chana is hard, whereas sprouted chana is soft. At the end, you can have more fun together by creating a healthy chana chaat with them which you can eat together.
Gross Motor Skills
Help your child balance a chana on a spoon and walk with that spoon from end of the room to the other. Once this is mastered, add a level of complexity by having them walk with said spoon in the mouth.
Fun with Shapes
Help your child identify shapes by building them with the chana. Circle, square, triangle, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon and any other shape can be built with the chana. A fun way of doing shapes while also working on fine motor skills.
These are just a teaser - I can share at least 5 more ways of using chana and every other object mentioned above. Children really do not need fancy learning aids. Learning with the help of familiar objects is far more effective, as you can put them to many different uses, while also talking about their real life uses, perhaps chatting with your child about how you enjoy chhole-bhature together.
This is not just a way of learning, but perhaps more importantly, a way of living as well. This is a way of incorporating sustainability in learning - no wastage, the objects can be reused over and over. This is also Morning Glorie's way of respecting our earth and doing our bit to leave the right legacy for the future generations.
Experience our online homeschooling in India to understand how we bring in a cohesive structure to our unique way of learning.
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