The Pink Tower

The Pink Tower is the iconic Montessori material. Often called the ‘symbol of Montessori’, it is a welcoming sign in any Montessori environment, and a favourite with educators globally.

Part of the sensorial area, it is comprised of 10 pink wooden cubes, in 3 different dimensions. The smallest being 1cm cubed, and the largest being 10cm cubed. The cubes progressively get bigger in the algebraic series of the third power. This means the second cube equals 8 of the first (23), the third cube equals 27 of the first (33) and so on.

Purpose
Introduced into the Montessori environment when children are 2.5 – 3 years old, the Pink Tower has multiple purposes.

Firstly, the Pink Tower helps a child build a concept of size in three dimensions. This includes working on visual perception, and awareness of dimension, both leading to an understanding of size in the environment.

The Pink Tower also helps develop a child’s fine muscular coordination. The activity stemming from this material work on the perfection hand movements, and the coordination of movement.

Finally, the Pink Tower is a Montessori material which helps prepare children for abstract mathematical concepts. This includes preparation for spatial volume, and the cube root.

The Pink Tower is a perfect example of how Montessori materials require children to use multiple sense at once. They are created in such a way to compliment a child’s stage of development, where they use all their senses to learn.

Mother’s Day 2023

Today, we joined the world to celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8). It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
We had Muffins with our Mothers this morning and also recognised the most inspiring mothers in Hadassah Hall.

We are truly thankful to God for all Hadassah Hall Mothers. The true Queens in Asaba. The Mothers of the Twinkling Stars!
May God keep and protect you, may He restore every blessing that was lost, may your homes be fruitful, may your children blossom and may their destinies be great…
May the grace of financial expansion be evident upon your life. May your pockets never run dry, and may plenty be found in your household.
May you walk in good health and may your life be long and blessed. May you achieve progress and growth in all that your hands touch. May you have a good name…a name associated with testimonies and miracles.
May God cause life to be good to you…
In Jesus name.
#InternationalWomensDay
#HadassahHallMothersDay

World Book Day 2023

On Friday, 3rd March we joined lots of other children all around the world in celebrating World Book Day.
The children spent time with Grandma Erewa, who enthusiastically read African stories and folktales. They talked about the pictures, retold or predicted what might happen in the stories and even talked about different parts of the book for example the front cover, blurb and the author and illustrator and what they do.
There were also so many lovely books on sale.
Looking at books and listening to stories is so important for young children. It not only helps with their literacy and gets them ready for reading but also encourages listening skills as well as prediction, reasoning and higher level thinking by encouraging them to ask questions and make links to their own lives.

Cooking Club: Plantain MoiMoi

Plantain Moi Moi is one delicious meal you should try this week. 

Plantain Moi Moi also known as Ukpo Ogede to some ethnic groups is one of the Nigerian plantain recipes prepared with (over-ripe) or ripe plantains.

With this food, you can avoid food wastage by utilizing the (ripe) over-ripe plantain instead of throwing them away.

Ingredients

1.2 pieces of overripe or (ripe) plantain

100g plantain flour

 1-2 cooking spoons of palm oil

1 teaspoon ground crayfish

1 onion

Pepper and Salt (to taste)

 1 seasoning cube

Warm water

Uma (Moi-Moi) leaves

Directions

1. Put the plantain flour in a bowl, add a small quantity of water and mix till you get a medium consistency.

2. Wash, peel and cut the overripe plantain into small pieces.

3. Grind the crayfish, cut the onions and pepper into small pieces.

4. Blend the overripe plantain pieces, plantain flour batter, onions, crayfish, pepper, and stock cube with just enough water to allow the blades of the blender to move.

5. Pour the smooth blend into a sizeable bowl.

6. Add salt and palm oil. Mix thoroughly till well combined.

7. Set a small quantity of water in a pot to boil. When the water boils, place a base for the Plantain Moi Moi wraps into the pot. This can be scrap pieces of aluminium foil, a stainless steel stand or leaf stalks from the Uma leaves.

8. Scoop the mix into folded Uma leaves, just as you would with beans Moi Moi.

9. Gently place the wraps in the pot of boiling water and cook for 20-25 minutes.

Add water along the way if necessary.

10. Leave to cool down completely to set before serving.


Beef Burger

Ingredients

1 small onion, diced

500g good-quality beef mince

1 egg

1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 burger buns

All or any of the following to serve: sliced tomato, beetroot, horseradish sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, handful iceberg lettuce, rocket, watercress

Method

STEP 1

Tip 500g beef mince into a bowl with 1 small diced onion and 1 egg, then mix.

STEP 2

Divide the mixture into four. Lightly wet your hands. Carefully roll the mixture into balls, each about the size of a tennis ball.

STEP 3

Set in the palm of your hand and gently squeeze down to flatten into patties about 3cm thick. Make sure all the burgers are the same thickness so that they will cook evenly.

STEP 4

Put on a plate, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge to firm up for at least 30 mins.

STEP 5

Heat the barbecue to medium hot (there will be white ash over the red hot coals – about 40 mins after lighting). Lightly brush one side of each burger with vegetable oil.

STEP 6

Place the burgers, oil-side down, on the barbecue. Cook for 5 mins until the meat is lightly charred. Don’t move them around or they may stick.

STEP 7

Oil the other side, then turn over using tongs. Don’t press down on the meat, as that will squeeze out the juices.

STEP 8

Cook for 5 mins more for medium. If you like your burgers pink in the middle, cook 1 min less each side. For well done, cook 1 min more.

STEP 9

Take the burgers off the barbecue. Leave to rest on a plate so that all the juices can settle inside.

STEP 10

Slice four burger buns in half. Place, cut-side down, on the barbecue rack and toast for 1 min until they are lightly charred. Place a burger inside each bun, then top with your choice of accompaniment.

Fitness Party

Did you know that having a healthy, warm, and supportive environment for kids in the early days can help them develop better social skills and build character?
Children don’t come with an instruction manual, and it might be hard sometimes to steer children in the right direction, but ensuring a healthy environment and setting up a platform for your child’s future is crucial.
Their health is dependent on what we know and do for them. The best practice is good practice.

Career Day ’23

The school is the gate opener for every child to reach their dreams for the future. Aside from imparting significant lifelong skills to the learners, the school should also be the instrument to lead and guide to fulfill life’s purpose. In line with this, Hadassah Hall has successfully conducted the CAREER DAY having all children to choose and dress up in the costume of the dominant career in their family. 

With the brilliant ideas of the entire school staff, the children and their parents enjoyed the day by visiting different career booths. The children experienced what it’s like to be a Lawyer, Pharmacist, Doctor, Fashion Designer, Nurse, Business Woman, Banker, Engineer, Policeman, Chef, Pilot and many more. The children had fun engaging in different activities that surely increased their awareness and appreciation of various careers in the community, including a special presentation by a Community Helper: The Policeman.

We are thankful to parents for their support in making the event a success.

God bless Hadassah Hall.