While there is a very large number of international schools in Dubai that offer a Montessori curriculum for kids, there are many things that can be independently undertaken to help benefit the child that small. Given below is a list of 15 such activities.
15 Independent Kindergarten Activities
1. Talking To The Kids
While a Montessori curriculum in a Dubai international school will benefit small kids in a structured and organized manner one can help them develop further by taking time out to talk to the kids regularly.
This can be done by the parents, grandparents and others who are in regular contact with the children outside school.
The children will not initially understand all of what is being spoken about but will begin to make sense of it, the more practice one gives them.
2. Giving Them A Lot Of Playtimes
For children to develop both their cognitive and motor abilities, it is important that they spend a lot of time playing indoors and outdoors.
They could play with their toys, with children their age, with their parents, siblings and so on. The idea is to let them express themselves and thereby develop as individuals.
3. Spending Time Outdoors
Spending time learning in classrooms is all very fine, but going outdoors and being with nature is extremely helpful in allowing children to express themselves with abundant joy and therefore learn much better.
Besides, it is very good from their physical health point of view.
4. Get Them To Paint
Painting and art have been used for instruction since times immemorial.
Get the little ones some paint and lots of paper and encourage them to express themselves freely.
Some of what they paint will not make sense initially, but the children will benefit from being able to express themselves.
5. Identifying The Names Of Objects
We have to remember that the world is a new place to the little ones and we can get them to understand it better by identifying the names of objects every day.
This will help them understand and connect with the world around them better and better with each passing day.
6. Get Them To Sketch
Buy the little ones some sketch pens and sheets of paper and encourage them to sketch. They could shade in existing shapes or simply use it the way they see it fit.
This will encourage creativity and enhance their cognitive abilities.
7. Encourage Them To Ask Questions
Children that age are very inquisitive and curious and desire to make sense of the world around them and will therefore ask a lot of questions.
This has to be encouraged and not suppressed on account of wanting to discipline them.
8. Act As Enablers
When it comes to children, the adults in their life need to act as enablers and facilitators and there should be no attempt to step in and “show them how to do it.”
Let the children make their own mistakes and learn.
9. Give Them A Stress-Free Atmosphere
Children learn best when they live in a happy and stress-free atmosphere.
Providing them with that is absolutely essential for them to grow and develop in an optimal manner.
It is very important for parents and guardians to shield them against any negativity by keeping a warm, happy, fun and secure environment that the child will thrive in.
10. Storytelling
Reacting instinctively to a story or tale is hardwired into human consciousness.
Reading or telling stories to children makes them learn and develop and make sense of the world around them. The more we do this, the better it is for them.
11. Role-Playing
Children love play-acting and putting up a performance. That is their way of connecting with the world of adults.
One can create little games where they are assigned roles like that of a policeman, doctor and soldier to help figure out the world that they live in.
12. Music
Exposing children to music-singing, handling musical instruments and understanding rhythm and beats is very conducive to children’s physical and mental development.
It, therefore, makes sense to use music to help small children develop their faculties.
13. Dance
Children take to dance quite instinctively. Dancing is good for children, not just as an outlet for all their pent up energy, but also helps them hone their motor skills.
Besides, some might discover that they have a natural affinity to it and take it up seriously.
14. Sports
This is one of the best ways to help children that small not just hone their motor skills, but also learn about team spirit, coordination and rules.
These are skills that will be of great use to them in their lives ahead.
15. Craft Activity
Involving small children in activities like pottery and sculpting is a great way to both fire up the imagination of little minds and give them the right kind of exercise to develop and hone their motor skills.
Conclusion
All children are naturally gifted with tremendous potential. Providing them with the right kind of enabling atmosphere at a very young age helps them realize that.
Most kindergarteners have something or the other going on in school to help them grow and develop.
However, it is the myriad extracurricular activities that they undertake away from school that play an equally if not more important role in their growth and development.
The activities mentioned above our time tested and scientifically validated as being conducive to the growth and development of kindergartners.
It is important to remember that children that small have to be dealt with in a manner that is very different from the way that one would deal with adults and even older children.
Their mental and physical capabilities are at a very nascent stage, they need a lot of tender care, love and encouragement to develop and grow.
There are special ways of getting a message across to them and the methods described above are among the most effective ones of those.
At the end of the day, there is nothing more satisfying and gratifying than to help little ones come into their own.
