Shortly after Gareth started paying more attention to the environment around him, I noticed he was intensely fascinated by the pictures I had stuck up around the changing area for Gavin when he was much younger. So fascinated was Gareth that he could be quietly occupied for up to 10 minutes and sometimes longer.
To keep Gareth occupied while I handled Gavin during bath time, or when I had to take him to the toilet, I started sticking up educational posters around the room that I bought from MPH Bookshop.
I would put Gareth into the Bumbo and plonk him in front of one of the posters. When he tired of one poster, I would rotate him around the room to look at the other posters. It would usually last him long enough for me to do whatever I had to do for Gavin.
Sticking up posters around the room was not only useful for Gareth. Gavin took an interest in them, too. Recalling how successful we were with the Thomas Alphabet poster that I made for him when he was very little, I decided to stick up the Glenn Doman Bits of Intelligence cards for Gavin.
The Montessori Method believes that you should let your child guide the learning process. By sticking up the Bits of Intelligence cards, Gavin is the one that tells me which flashcards he wants to learn. Lately, he has been particularly interested in Polygons and Organs of the Body.
Having posters and cards up around the room has a dual benefit – keeping Gareth occupied while I’m busy with Gavin and it also has an educational purpose for both boys.
MieVee @ MummysReviews.com says
My boy loves posters too. One mistake was having them on the wall behind our bed. When he fussed and saw the posters, he’d get all excited and awake! After shifting to sleep in a poster-less room, he sleeps with less distraction.
It is also very beneficial to get a world map up. I also like “Good Habits” poster which teaches all the ‘wash hands before meals’ values.
Mephala says
I’ve started Blue Tacking pics on the wall too. Jack especially loves his art work on the wall. 😀
Shen-Li says
MieVee – yeah, posters are very BAD when you want them to sleep…
Our “good habits” poster has been good for Gavin, too, particularly the bit about greeting people when he sees them.
I have a world map poster which has an activity I’ve been doing with Gavin – you stick pictures of animals on the world map according to where they live. It’s a good enough map for now, but when we move to our own place, I would like to get him a globe for his room though.
Mephala – yeah, Gavin loves to see his artwork up on the wall, too. I usually stick them up in the bathroom after he’s finished painting and leave them up until we get a new painting.