This is one week from KONI, for a child of about three. Five lessons, one a day, each with what to prepare, how to present it, and what to watch for.
It is a sample, and it is the same for everyone who reads it. In KONI the week is built from what you have observed, and it changes as you record what happens. This page shows you what a lesson looks like. It cannot show you which one your child is ready for.
Start with Monday. If a lesson doesn't fit the day, leave it. One thoughtful activity is enough.
Monday: Transferring with a Spoon
Purpose
Help your child strengthen hand control by scooping and transferring dry food between two bowls.
What to prepare
- Tray or mat; 2 small bowls; child-sized spoon; dry material such as cereal, beans, or dry pasta; small hand broom/brush.
How to present it
- Set up the tray with the left bowl full and the right bowl empty.
- Show your child how to scoop from the left bowl to the right bowl with slow, single scoops using the child-sized spoon.
- Continue until all the dry material, such as cereal, beans, or dry pasta, is transferred from the left bowl to the right bowl.
- Invite your child to take over and repeat the scooping and transferring process.
- Later, switch the starting side so that the right bowl is full and the left bowl is empty. Show how to brush any spilled grains back into the bowl.
What to watch for
Spills on tray or table show spoon was too full or moved too quickly; one bowl clearly empty and the other full shows completion.
Afterwards
Over time offer smaller grains, different spoons, or invite the child to scoop cereal into their own breakfast bowl.
Ready when: Child can scoop and pour with a spoon using two hands. Take care: Avoid very small pieces if your child still mouths objects; supervise closely with under-threes.
Tuesday: "Please" and "Thank You"
Purpose
social grace; courtesy; consideration for others
What to prepare
- A small object to pass (a cup works well).
How to present it
- Invite your child and explain that there are kind words we use when we ask for something or receive something.
- Model asking, "May I please have the cup?" holding out your hands.
- Your child passes you the cup. Say, "Thank you," and they may answer, "You're welcome."
- Role-play passing an object back and forth, using "please" and "thank you" each time.
- Notice together how these words make requests feel kind.
- Encourage using them throughout the day.
Ready when: the child speaks in short phrases and enjoys back-and-forth exchanges.
Wednesday: Word Study: Animal Sounds
Purpose
Learn the precise words for the sounds animals make — bark, meow, neigh, roar.
What to prepare
- Animal picture cards (the photo cards or the drawn animal cards)
- Optional, for a child who is already reading: the Animal Sounds word cards, animals in one colour and their sounds in another, with a control card
- Recommended book: Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? (sound book)
How to present it
- Gather the paired cards: animals in one color and their sounds in another (dog/bark, cat/meow, cow/moo, lion/roar, horse/neigh) and the control card.
- Lay three or four animal picture cards in a row in front of your child.
- Point to the first picture and name the animal: 'This is a dog.' Then give the sound word and make the sound: 'A dog barks. Woof.'
- Invite your child to say the sound word and make the sound with you, then continue down the row, one animal at a time. Say, 'These are the names of the sounds each animal makes.'
- On another day, point to a picture and invite your child to tell you the sound word and make the sound.
What to watch for
The control card shows every animal beside its sound; you check the sound words against it, and a child who is reading can compare their pairs to it at the end.
Afterwards
Make the sounds together. Watch nature videos and listen for new animal sounds. Add cards for new animals as you go (frog/croak, sheep/baa).
Ready when: Child can name common animals and is interested in their sounds.
Thursday: Counting Everyday Things (1–3)
Purpose
Help your child count small groups of everyday objects as a gentle first step into numbers.
What to prepare
- 3 small identical objects (blocks or cars or spoons or stones); small tray or mat.
How to present it
- Place 3 identical objects in a straight line
- Touch the first object and say "one," then "two," then "three," moving slowly and clearly
- Invite the child to touch each object while you count together
- Ask "How many are there?" and re-count if needed
What to watch for
If objects are skipped or counted twice, the number said will not match how many you can see; the child can re-count more slowly and notice where their finger or voice lost track.
Afterwards
Repeat with different sets of objects around the home such as 3 apples, 3 socks, or 3 cars. When 1–3 are solid, you can later extend to 4 and 5 in a new lesson.
Ready when: Child can recognize and point to small groups of objects. Take care: Avoid very small items that could be choking hazards for younger siblings; keep objects on a stable surface so they do not roll away.
Friday: Discriminating Grains: Progressive Exercises
Purpose
refinement of the stereognostic and tactile senses; sorting by touch
What to prepare
- A tray with a bowl containing a mixture of two (later three or more) kinds of grains or small objects that differ clearly in size and shape (e.g. large beans and small peas), plus one small bowl for each kind. A blindfold.
How to present it
- Invite your child and bring the material to a clear space on a low table. Show how to pick up one item with the pincer fingers, feel it, decide which kind it is, and place it in its own bowl.
- First sort with eyes open; then, once your child is confident, close their eyes (or use a blindfold) and sort the mixed grains by touch alone, placing each kind in its bowl.
- Progressive exercises: begin with two very different kinds, then move to three kinds, then to kinds that are more alike, making the discrimination finer each time. Check the sorting by looking when finished.
- Use language: the names of the grains/objects and words for their qualities (big, small, round, flat, smooth, rough).
What to watch for
the child opens his eyes to check that each bowl holds only one kind
Ready when: Child can identify shapes and has experience with basic tactile exploration. Take care: Stay beside the child throughout. If your child still puts things in the mouth, choose larger items (such as walnuts and large pasta shapes) instead of small grains.
One list for the week
Everything the five lessons need, gathered in one place.
From the kitchen
- A tray or mat
- Small bowls: two for Monday, and one for each kind of grain on Friday
- A child-sized spoon
- Dry cereal, beans or dry pasta
- Two kinds of dried beans or peas that differ clearly in size and shape
- A cup to pass
- A small hand broom or brush
From around the house
- Three small identical objects: blocks, cars, spoons or stones
- A blindfold, or a scarf
To print
- Animal picture cards for Wednesday
What comes after a week like this?
In KONI, what you noticed decides. You write a line about what happened; KONI suggests what may come next and tells you why. You decide.