My children love pasta so I was thinking of a way to teach my preschooler the names of different types of pasta. We could use the correct terms when cooking or serving the pasta, we could use the correct names when ordering pasta delivery or when eating out. We could also use a three-period lesson to teach the different types.
My preschooler doesn't love three-period lessons and I found some three parts cards that looked suitable. Instead of using all of the three-part cards, I've used just the first card and made up some matching work. The physical matching is easy, but it's a way of teaching him the names. I knew my preschooler would be attracted to it as he can hold, look at and interact with the pasta. This is a very tactile way of learning.
He's in the pre-reader stage but knows most letters, so the initial letter gives him a big hint at the name. The child gets to feel the pasta as he says and remembers what it's called.
We are using Pasta Shapes Three Part Cards by Hudson Academy.
As we buy more pasta I'll add more cards. I'll be looking for different types next time I go to the supermarket. Perhaps this will also have the side effect of us cooking and eating more varieties of pasta.
My two older children often play chess against each other and I was thinking it's time for my preschooler to learn. His brothers are more than capable of teaching him, but I thought it would be fun if first, he knew all the chess pieces by name. I love these simple chess cards, they also help to develop visual discrimination skills, some of the differences in the pieces are subtle.
We are using the Chess Pieces Three Part Cards by Montessori Factory. These Montessori Chess cards that include definitions would be a good follow-up.
While I was printing out cards I also made up some currency matching cards. We could use play money but here we've used real coins and notes. The images on the cards are not to scale and some of the images are different, for example featuring older notes. But that doesn't matter so much for this age group. We don't use a lot of physical currency day-to-day, so this was super fun, we can look at the numbers and animals on the coins and the coat of arms.
We are using the Australian Currency Three Part Cards at Simple Living Creative Learning (free download). This I Have Who Has Currency Game (at Teachers Pay Teachers) would be a good follow up.
I've suggested these activities for 3-4years as they contain small parts.
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