Quiet Time Activities

Quiet Time Activities

When kids stop taking their daily naps, quiet time activities are the perfect replacement for them to get needed down time. They are great solutions for your child when you can't get them to lay down for a rest. Activities should be simple and not involve a lot of energy.

Life often finds us getting caught up in hustling about from one activity to another as we try to maximize the amount of activities we can get out of each day. This constant movement can have a negative impact on your child. Montessori preschool teachers find it important to implement "quiet time" into their day with children. It provides the kids a time to just "be" and slow down.

Your preschool child needs time to stop and just gather his or hers thoughts and look at what they are experiencing. They need a time to just sit rest and quietly observe and explore their world. When a preschool age child is given a balance between activities and quiet time it helps them feel more relaxed throughout their day. With the relaxed feeling comes an opportunity for being able to learn better. It will improve your child's ability to understand information easier when it is presented to them.

Silence Game

The Silence Game is a favorite in the Montessori classroom setting to help your child relax and receive some quiet, down time from his or her learning time. It takes practice as preschool aged children have relatively short attention spans. They will find it hard to stay still for more than 30 seconds. They can learn with practice to relax, absorb and appreciate what is around them.

To play the game, choose a time when children are calm and tell them you are going to play a game. Let them know it is the Silence Game and it means they have to keep their bodies still and their voices quiet: no talking. They have to listen very carefully for their name and when they hear it; walk quietly to the person who calls their name.

You will notice how quietly the children walk towards the person. If some of the kids are having trouble staying quiet, make sure you call the names of a few quiet ones as this is sure to get their attention. You will soon see how aware the kids become when they find out the game is going to be played; as well as, how quiet the environment around them becomes.

Activity Bags

Grab a stack of bags and fill them with different types of activities. Three ring pencil pouches are the best to see what is in each bag and gives your child a chance to pick one that holds a particular interest for them. Place a piece of card stock in each to give it some stability.

Ideas to put inside the bags:

• Fun designs can be made with pipe cleaners.
• A magnifying glass with a variety of small objects to look at and discover.
• Cookie cutters can become great stencils when included with crayons.
• Aluminum foil can make great reflective art when combined with markers.

Montessori schools use these types of activities to encourage your child to relax which enables them to learn. If you are looking for quality afterschool care in Milpitas for your child, contact Daystar Montessori today. Our mission is to encourage your child's development by giving them an awareness of their environment and independent thought. See how we can help your child grow and become a self-directed learner.

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Reaching Your Potential in a Montessori Classroom

When your child enters the Montessori school, they enter a learning environment where the primary goal is to have them reach their full potential. This will be achieved through an education plan that is not just a means to an end, but rather an aid to life. They will create a learning environment that allows for creativity, innovation and individuality where the lessons are not generated from a curriculum, but rather through natural development.

A Montessori school lays the foundation for your child's future and no matter the age, ability or economics there is a place for your child to come and grow into a confident and successful learner. As a student in a Montessori school your child will be motivated and enthusiastic to learn. They will become better socialized and able to solve their own conflicts. Other potentials reached will be to become fluent in reading and understanding mathematical concepts and gain a confident self-esteem.

Your child will reach his or hers full potential through the Montessori principles of using movement to enhance their learning. They will learn while applying "hands-on" to lessons, not sitting at a table or desk while instructed. They will be in mixed age groups that will allow them to learn from children older and younger and encourages them to observe and relate to their differences.

The Montessori school uses teachers as guides who will lead your child through their education and development. They will observe how your child is interacting and how well they are going through the lessons to know when your child is ready to be presented with new information and experiences. Allowing your child to be successful before placing new challenges in front of them will give them a feeling of self-esteem. They will view themselves as being able to succeed and by this get a feeling of confidence and self-worth. The confidence they will build in themselves will enable them not only to continue learning but want to continue learning and achieve their full potential.

Contact a Montessori school in your area today and ask for a tour. Find out for yourself what they can offer your child and get them started on an education plan that will allow them to be the best they can be.

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The Power of Learning by Doing

Your child is a unique individual and his or her education should be unique to accommodate their learning style. When your child is allowed a certain amount of freedom to learn at their own pace; their natural curiosity will be encouraged. This type of learning environment brings them wonderful results in learning that will stay with them over a lifetime.

The Montessori environment believes in the power of "learning by doing" and allows students to use their natural curiosity, guided by their teacher to discover and learn about the world around them. At a local school in your Bay Area is a Montessori setting for your child to enter a classroom that will allow them the freedom and provide them the tools to find answers to their own questions.

At an early age your child will develop concentration, independence, coordination and develop a sense of order from a classroom setting designed for them to "learn by doing". As your child is given the freedom to investigate the world around them with the guidance from their teacher they become confident and enthusiastic self-learners.

At a local school in your area you can find a Montessori program for your son or daughter that will allow them to learn in an educational playground. Our classrooms are created with a variety of developmental activities that stimulate your child's growth in many levels; academically, physically and emotionally. By entering your child into this type of self-directed learning method, rather than the traditional classroom setup found in most local schools; you will be giving them the opportunity to grow and learn through things that actually interest them and encourage learning.

In the Montessori learning environment your child will have the freedom to move around the room, they will not be confined to a desk listening to someone give them information. They will move around and discover different workstations created with educational materials that correlate to the lesson of the day. They will continue to be active as they set up their work area by choosing which learning activity interests them, physically using the items to create their lesson and then clean up area when they finish. This form of independence will create a totally enjoyable learning experience. 

Contact a Montessori in your area today. Schedule a tour and see how much of an impact they can make in your child's education.

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Teaching Kindergarteners About Our Forefathers

Teaching kindergartners about our forefathers and their legacy gives the youngsters the opportunity to learn about our nation and the groundwork and vision that went into the founding of our fine nation with its outstanding democratic ideals and beliefs. 

In addition to Independence Day, another major day to celebrate is Constitution Day, which falls on September 17 each year.  When it falls on a weekend, schools and other institutions observe it on an adjacent weekday. For example, in 2016, September 17 falls on a Saturday, so Constitution Day will be observed on Friday, September 16, with. U.S. Constitution Week occurring on September 16 through the 22.

That is an excellent time for Montessori students to be treated to worksheets and printables of appropriate coloring pages, symbols, vocabulary words, and to learn about and see pictures of a learning experience such as the Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was placed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on August 30, 1974.

Kindergarteners will be fascinated to see pictures of this magnificent fourth-tallest United States statue at 81 feet tall after having been reduced from 150 feet. It is also the world's largest monument made out of solid granite. It took more than 70 years to complete in the 1800s and was finally dedicated on August 1, 1889. Its components teach us how we can preserve America as an example of liberty to the world.

This monument has large but intricately carved figurines with very detailed facial features. The overriding tall figure of Faith stands at the base of the pedestal, and four seated statues represent Morality, Liberty, Law, and Education. Flanking these figures are smaller engravings representing more components, inset into the base are four marble dioramas depicting activities of the pilgrims, and two plaques list the pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower.

It is unfortunate that this impressive historic monument is more visible from the sea and is often overlooked by visitors because it is located on a hill in a small park in an unknown residential area. There is a circle drive around the statue and you can park and walk up to it. You can view teaching preschoolers about such important history if you schedule a tour of one of the Montessori schools in the Bay Area.

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The Value of Play

Play-based learning allows your child to express their creative side. One of the favorite things for two-year-olds to play is imitating what they see you doing. Give them a broom and they will work beside you, find a rake their size and you'll get some fun times together gathering leaves. This is a great age where pretend play will blossom. Play-based learning is perfect for this stage and can be achieved through many items: toy cars, dolls and a farm with animals. All of these will help your child stimulate their creative side. 

When your child has reached a level where they have gained confidence and developed language skills, it will become easier to engage in some great play times that will actually be learning experiences. You will have the chance to teach patience, counting and taking turns; three concepts that are extremely important for children to achieve to enable more enriched social encounters. Your child will benefit in a Montessori environment where they will be given hands-on activities based on what they are interested in. They have the options of interacting in a play kitchen, science area, water table, space block or the reading nook with teacher guidance to play and interact.

With the guidance of a Montessori teacher, your child will be introduced to play-based learning by using real-life simulation. Their playtime will include real like items that have been designed to their appropriate height. These items will be things seen in everyday life such as; kitchen items, tableware, tools and more. They will play with others while actually receiving a learning experience for appropriate social skills and how to get along with others.

Preschool time is when your child should learn emotional and social skills so they are ready to go onto academic learning later. Play-based learning is exactly what will help your child develop these skills in a setting that is organized with a plan and routine for their day. The Montessori preschool program prepares your child for kindergarten by giving them a sense of confidence and teaches them how to interact with adults and other children in different settings.


Contact a Montessori school in your area today and get your child started on the right path for their future. Enter them into a play-based learning environment to enhance their social and language skills as well as independence and self-confidence.

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