Monday, June 11, 2012

Our Version of Thermic Tablets

Z is 2 years 10 months old

Montessori thermic tablets are used to develop a child's awareness of different temperatures of different materials based on their heat conducting properties. So while metals and stones are cool to the touch since they are good conductors of heat, porous materials such as wood, felt and cork aren't since they don't conduct heat very well. 

Though I don't own a set of thermic tablets, I thought it would be a good experiment to do with Z since she loves touching and putting things to her cheek to feel them. I quickly raided my stash for the things that would provide the sensorial experience I wanted, and assembled this basket of materials for her to explore.



Z would take each item, place it to her cheek and then say if it was cool or not cool. These were the various materials and textures we used.


Felt (not cool)
a thin felt block made by folding a long strip of block into a rectangle and then sewing the edges.



Stone (cool)


Steel (cool)
This is a metal 'soap' to wash off the smell of garlic from your hands (this is just a marketing gimmick, you can use a metal spoon in the same way very effectively) I spotted it in Daiso many months ago, and wanted to buy it purely for the sensorial experience. This was my chance : )


Glass (cool)
Some souvenir I had from ages ago, I let Z handle this only when I am around .


Wood (not cool)


Cork (not cool) and Rubber (not cool) 
These are not pictured in the basket as they were added later.

Z enjoyed placing the materials to the cheeks, she also explored the textures and traced the edges with her fingers. The basket will be in her shelf for a week or so, but I will keep bringing out regularly to add variety into her sensorial experiences.

Linking up with:

Montessori Monday 






Sunday, June 3, 2012

DIY Egg Sequence Puzzle


Z is 2 years 10 months old

I was browsing on Pinterest the other day when I came across this simple yet beautiful puzzle on windmill.net.au



It immediately caught my fancy and I love that it is a bit challenging since there are 2 things to sort by size, the egg and the egg cup. Since it would be too expensive for me to buy, I tried making one for Z.  Here's my DIY version -

The cardboard came out of a used box. I drew the eggcups freehand. For the pieces to fit in perfectly, I knew I had to cut them out directly from the inset frame. This was a very slow and long process.





Stuck the inset frame onto another piece of cardboard




 2 coats of acrylic paint


Decided to add 'knobs' so that it would be easier for Z to handle. I tried push pins but the pointy bits were poking out from behind the pieces so I settled for some cylindrical beads


Traced around the 'knobs' on the cardboard pieces and cut a hole through only the top layer of the cardboard so that the knobs would get a hold. Used a glue gun in the hole and around the knobs at the base. Modpodged all the pieces once the glue was cold. I decided to add black dots at the base of the egg cups so that Z wouldn't get confused as to their orientation.


Here's the finished piece! Tried trimming off some overhang at the top of the egg in the yellow cup but ended up cutting a small chunk . Darn!




The puzzle was slightly challenging for Z, but she did enjoy herself. 




Linking up with:

For the Kids Friday