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How to Get Your Toddler to Make Dinner
It was a grey and rainy afternoon. Zach had just woken up from his nap and my husband wouldn't be home for two more hours. I had a sinus infection and had no desire to move, but explain that to a toddler...
I had to make something for dinner, so while Zachtrashed explored the kitchen cabinets I pulled out a bean curry I had made the night before. It needed some greens, so I quickly chopped up some kale. I was about to toss it into the pot (hello, automatic pilot) when I realized something:
bored …
I had to make something for dinner, so while Zach
bored …
Not Knowing
Feeling stressed out about answering your children's questions? My newest post on MariaMontessori.com might be the answer you're looking for!
Show & Tell
It might seem like Montessori parents like to show off what their children can do: "Look, my baby can drink from a glass! My toddler can slice a cucumber!" But honestly, our excitement has nothing to do with bragging. At least for me, sharing my son's accomplishments is about telling other people: "Look what YOUR child is capable of, and imagine the sense of competence YOUR child can develop!"
Parents who are new to Montessori often observe a classroom and think: "My child would never fit in. …
Parents who are new to Montessori often observe a classroom and think: "My child would never fit in. …
Why Boring is Good
You might think that the home of a Montessori teacher is like a miniature classroom, with shelf after shelf of perfect little materials and not a plastic object in sight. That might be true for some teachers' homes, but not for ours! We have a little cupboard that holds a few activities: musical instruments, a basket of containers, nesting cups, and a couple of books. He also has a Ball Tower, a basket with assorted balls, a push toy, and a couple of stacking toys. That's pretty much it.
Sometim…
Sometim…
The Zen of Cooking with Toddlers
You know that useless, in-the-way feeling you get when you’re a guest at someone's house and they won't let you help? I've always wondered if that's how young children feel in their own homes when we exclude them from practical tasks. We buy them little kitchens, wooden food items, and plastic tea sets, but perhaps what they really want is to participate in our daily activities!
Case in point: One day, around the time of his first birthday, Zach began screaming and pulling at my pant leg while …
Case in point: One day, around the time of his first birthday, Zach began screaming and pulling at my pant leg while …
A Place for the Potty
We have two of the world's tiniest bathrooms, so when I decided 7 months ago that I would help Zach develop toileting awareness, I had to find a way to incorporate potties and clean & dirty underwear bins into pretty tight spaces. Our arrangement has worked out beautifully, which is great because I spend a big chunk of my day kneeling by the potty! We use the Baby Bjorn high backed potty, and I got the underwear bins at the Container Store. We keep a couple of books on rotation between the p…
Protecting the Natural Mind
It's one of the questions that divides Montessorians: What would Maria Montessori think about children and technology? Some tend to think that Dr. Montessori - as a forward thinker - would embrace technology and incorporate it into the classroom. Others take the opposite viewpoint, arguing that although technology has evolved at a rapid pace over the past 100 years, brain development has not. They feel that the classroom should only offer activities that support the way children's brains natural…
Prepared Environment
During the first few years of life, the child's environment has to be constantly modified to support his changing needs. The first twelve months weren't such a challenge: mobiles gave way to hanging rings, then a few toys at ground level to encourage rolling over, followed by rolling objects to encourage crawling. A bar offered opportunities to pull up and cruise, and a push cart provided the necessary stability to encourage walking.
Now Zach is just shy of 14 months old, walking steadily, and …
Now Zach is just shy of 14 months old, walking steadily, and …
Fantasy/Imagination/Reality
There seems to be a huge amount of confusion surrounding the concepts of fantasy, imagination, and reality, as well as their relationship to creativity. It seems like every few weeks I get asked a question related to this. I recently received a comment from a reader, and I wanted to share it - and my response - in hopes of clarifying some of the confusion around these concepts. Click the link to read the comment and my answer...
http://thefullmontessori.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/supporting-inde…
http://thefullmontessori.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/supporting-inde…
They're Watching...
In the past couple of days, even with a really bad cold, 13-month old Zach has made huge leaps in the "sequences" department. Last night he took his sandbox shovel to the open dishwasher (while I was loading it), put it in the top rack, pushed in both racks, and closed the dishwasher door. I thought he was going to pull out the silverware, as he tends to want to do, but I waited a moment before leaping to action and just stared, slack-jawed, until he closed the dishwasher door and toddled off.…
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