Based on the key Montessori principle that children learn best through active experience, Teach Me to Do It Myself presents simple activities through which children explore and develop their skills. These skill areas include sensory perceptions, body coordination, language, understanding of numbers, and movement. This practical, color-illustrated parenting book is filled with activities and instructions for overseeing children as they carry out a variety of learning activities. Most activities will seem simple to parents, because once mastered, adults perform them automatically. However, toddlers experience a sense of accomplishment and self-worth when they learn to perform them independently. The many activities start with dressing and personal hygiene, then go on to include . . .

Activities are described in detail and include checklists of needed items, as well as variations and related activities for children to try.

Maja Pitamic has over 25 years' experience teaching children of varying ages and backgrounds. She has a degree in Art History and Montessori Teacher Training, and her specialization is in Early Years teaching. She has worked with children who have special educational needs, developing their skills through dance, movement, games, and gymnastics. It is through her association with the parents of her students that Maja has realized the need for a practical workbook for parents and their children.

TEACH ME TO DO IT MYSELF

Do you need a practical workbook to help give your child a great start? Teach Me To Do It Myself is exactly that -- an essential workbook with step-by-step play routines that you and your child can enjoy together, and that enables your child to develop an early set of life skills.

Teach Me To Do It Myself provides a unique opportunity for you to involve yourself in the development of your child's coordination, awareness, and self-esteem.

Here are just a few of the skills your child will learn:

Your child will learn a wide range of skills, including:

Washing Hands -- What could be more fundamental than washing and drying your hands, and yet many children start school without this basic life skill. Imagine how proud and confident your child will feel if she knows how to wash her hands when asked to do so.

Hint -- Using a sink can be quite tricky for a child at first, so start with a bowl of water instead.

Learning Height and Length -- This activity uses paper rods to introduce the concept of length, as your child builds a stair of rods from the shortest to the longest. Your child will be required to estimate the length of each rod and where it fits into the stair.

Hint -- You can discuss the same concept by showing photographs of family members and their varying heights.

Nursery Rhymes -- Nursery rhymes will introduce your child to words that rhyme, and children find this a very exciting aspect of language. The fact that your child may not understand the original meaning of the rhyme will not deter his enjoyment of it.

Hint -- To make your child aware of the rhythms in the words, try saying the rhyme with your child to a clapping beat.

Introducing Money -- As a child I used to love "playing store" and the children that I teach still love this activity. It gives them a realistic experience of addition and subtraction, as well as being a good introduction to the concept of money.

Hint -- This activity affords an excellent opportunity for extending language skills, so have some fun with it. If you are the shopkeeper, mention any special offers and encourage your customer to make a purchase. If you are the customer, comment on how nice the store looks and what tasty-looking foods are on display.

Floating Liquids --This is a wonderful visual experiment to show your child how liquids have different densities. Children find this experiment fascinating because the liquids form a layer in the jar according to their density.

Materials Needed -- You'll need a large jar, flask, or bottle, corn syrup, glycerine, water with food coloring added, sunflower oil, and olive oil. As each liquid is added they will separate into different layers.

Seven worksheets are provided at the back of the book for the following activities: