BambinoLUK

Ian had started on the BambinoLUK system when he was around the age of 3.  These books were supposed to help in the training of logic/critical thinking, as well as to improve concentration skills.  

He could do the easier exercises back then, but needed some prompting on the more difficult pages.  Because of our inconsistency in letting him work on these books, he only (and finally) finished the last book this month, just months before turning 6.  At this point, he could easily complete most of the exercises without help, so he found it immensely enjoyable and confidence-boosting.

Cheap Homeschooling: Dressing Frame

I made a simple buttons dressing frame for Ian to learn how to button and unbutton.  What it had cost -  a $6 frame, scraps of cloth, huge buttons that I found amongst my scrapbooking materials, and about an hour of work at the sewing machine (my first attempt to sew button-holes with this machine).

He has started practising on it for the past 2 months or so, and it was only recently that he started to apply this skill in real life.  Now, he is able to take off his school uniform, although he still needed a little help buttoning it up in the morning. 

Once he is more dexterous with this skill, perhaps I could try to let him learn how to tie a ribbon?

Cheap Homeschooling

I read a book on teaching Montessori at home and found some of the exercises very interesting.  Taking reference from the book, I created my own DIY number rods (the real ones retail from $50-70 depending on the size).  Effort and cost?  About 2 hours of a Saturday night, and less than $2 for a corrugated board.  The rest of the materials were lying around at home (markers, scrapbooking scraps, glue).

We also got him a pair of tongs and fluffy balls for him to practise his dexterity with fingers. Surprisingly, he was able to use the tongs quite well, and thus we decided to introduce the Combi learning chopsticks.  Here is a short video of him using it (you will need to tilt your head a little)...