tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82071160796683774532023-11-16T05:05:42.975-08:00Montessori BeginningsOur journey of learning inspired by Maria Montessori.Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.comBlogger376125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-25779241011188701392014-08-31T16:23:00.002-07:002014-08-31T16:23:42.261-07:00Meet Frank<br />
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I found a tutorial for this adorable mouse and when I showed it to L she just had to make it!</div>
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While I was doing another project she spent the afternoon felting up the head. She felted the nose and eyes and I helped with the ears and tiny paw. </div>
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L was thrilled to have this little guy as a new addition to her room. A relatively simple needle felting project for a Sunday afternoon and so effective.</div>
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I you would like to try it yourself the tutorial is from <a href="http://pipspoppies.blogspot.ca/2012/02/how-to-make-panel-mouse.html">Pip's Poppies</a>. While you're there take some time to check out her other amazing creations. Truly inspiring.</div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-71506363757363376852014-07-06T16:54:00.001-07:002014-07-06T16:54:42.799-07:00Big Changes-Again!<div style="text-align: center;">
As I've gotten older and wiser in my years one of the things I've learned is that things never stay the same. This is especially true when you have children.</div>
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Just when I thought I had our near future neatly planed out and packaged up for the next few years life went and threw us a curve ball. Not a bad curve ball by any means it just curved the other way.</div>
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We as a family have decided to take L out of her Montessori elementary and start to homeschool her in the fall. This also means that I am no longer able to continue on with my work as a Montessori assistant. There were many, many factors that led us to this decision and although we will be sad to leave the school we are also both really looking forward to getting back to working and learning together as we did before she entered school when she was three.</div>
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We have already started work on several projects and as you can probably guess I've started a new blog to track and document or progress. There are so many amazing homeschoolers that blog and share their ideas and experiences and they have played a great part in our decision to homeschool. </div>
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So if you are interested in the new adventures of L and I then please go ahead and check them out at <a href="http://youwanttolearnaboutwhat.blogspot.ca/">You want to learn about What??</a></div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-39166883036664957782014-07-03T19:23:00.001-07:002014-07-03T19:23:38.828-07:00Potty LearningThere are many different opinions and techniques out there for getting your child potty trained. I have two children and the approaches I used for each child couldn't be more different!<br />
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When L was born we lived in England. I'd always believed before I had children that I would use cloth diapers mainly for environmental reasons. When I first got to England and saw their appalling lack of recycling and care for the environment (sorry Brits but for someone coming from Vancouver Island that is how I felt) I decided that I would take the easy way out and go with disposables like everyone else.<br />
I happily changed L's diapers until at 19 months I figured she was ready to start on the potty. After much research I decided on the "cold turkey" approach. This involved buying big girl panties, a potty and a potty book. On the "potty" day we first read the book and then had a discussion about how she was a big girl and that she could now use the toilet like Mommy and Daddy. There were no rewards or bribes, just a general understanding that this is what grown up people do.<br />
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L took to it pretty quick and after a week we pretty much had it down. After a few months and the novelty had worn off we had a bit of a regression but in general it was pretty straight forward.<br />
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You can read about our experiences <a href="http://montessoribeginnings.blogspot.ca/2009/06/when-it-rains-it-pours.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Fast forward several years and we now have child number 2. Since L I had done a lot of research on Montessori A to I and realised that cloth diapers were not only good for the environment but also aided potty learning as the child can feel when they are wet.<br />
We were already living in Canada when LJ was born so I took the plunge I'd always promised I'd do and we cloth diapered.<br />
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When I started looking after Sweetpea LJ was 10 months. She was already being put on the potty so I decided to try LJ. He went on after meals and before and after naps. He very quickly caught on to what he was supposed to do and we caught most of his poos. Read about our adventures <a href="http://montessoribeginnings.blogspot.ca/2013/03/potty-party.html">here.</a><br />
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I think the main reason we all stuck with this is because of the cloth diapers. Yup it's way easier to clean poo out of a potty than a cloth diaper! <br />
We continued on with this no pressure method of potty learning until LJ turned two and then I made the switch the underwear. We've had some accidents but seriously a month later and he is telling us when he has to go and I'd say we are officially potty trained during the day. Yay!<br />
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So the question is was either method better or easier? I'd say nope. Each one worked for our family at the time. I think there is way too much hype and pressure about potty training just like there is for child rearing in general.<br />
My advice would be to take whatever approach works for you and your child and to remember that it is a natural, organic process that will happen when the child is ready.<br />
<br />Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-25018456317379547982014-07-03T19:06:00.000-07:002014-07-03T19:06:12.830-07:00African Canvases<div style="text-align: center;">
We made some art for the kids bedrooms over the weekend. I've wanted to do more resist paintings for some time now and we finally got around to it.</div>
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L painted a previously used canvas black. While she was doing that I looked through Google images for some giraffe and elephant silhouettes. I copied them into a word document and scaled them to the appropriate sizes. We then cut them out and traced them onto some black contact paper. Once we'd cut them out a final time we arranged them on the canvases.</div>
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L and LJ got to work painting over the whole canvas. L decided to make an African sunset and I just gave LJ colours that matched his bedroom.</div>
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All painted and waiting for them to dry before peeling off the contact paper.</div>
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Here are the finished products. I did a bit of touching up around the edges and then we hung them on their walls. I love this way of painting. So easy yet so effective!</div>
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Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-39523439521310301632014-04-21T20:20:00.001-07:002014-04-21T20:20:33.112-07:00Catching up-22 and 23 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I openly admit that over the last couple of months I've totally been neglecting taking pictures of my children. Yup I have been so busy taking a million and one pictures of my needle felting creations that I have forgotten all about my children. Well almost.</div>
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Here are a couple pics of things LJ has been up to.</div>
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Playing with his Very Hungry Caterpillar story stones. LJ loves to tell bits of the story with the stones and the one with all the food on he calls Saturday. Too cute.</div>
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Table setting. This is a favourite. It's hard to see but I traced all of the items in the place setting with a black sharpie so LJ know where to put them. </div>
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He then gets to take out his leek and pretend to eat it. Too much fun!</div>
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Land and water. I simply cut land and water shapes out of felt and put assorted animals in a box for LJ to sort. He enjoys this but knows them too well. He is such a joker that he loves to put the wrong animals in the water on purpose.</div>
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Of course decorating Easter eggs. He was so focussed on his work!</div>
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Not a lot documented. We've been playing with a lot of new "toys". I was lucky enough to do a toy swap with Sweetpea's mom. She has some really cool things. I will try and take some pictures of them for an upcoming post.</div>
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<br />Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-37521651492593176742014-04-20T19:57:00.001-07:002014-04-20T19:57:58.589-07:00Montessori for Me!I discovered the Montessori method when my daughter was about 12 months. The more research I did the more Maria Montessori's words resonated with me. I guess you could say I became pretty obsessed.<br />
I'd like to say that this was all for the sake of my daughter and now my son as well but being completely honest it is also A LOT for me. I LOVE MONTESSORI! Yup there I said it. I find the philosophy fascinating, the materials intriguing and basically all things Montessori just make sense to me.<br />
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Soooo as I wrote on my blog a few years ago I made some serious sacrifices and took the AMI Montessori Assistants training course in Vancouver. Those were two of the best weeks of my life. Yes my mind was blown over and over again and the course took me so much deeper into the real nuts and bolts of the philosophy.<br />
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However, I was never really able to put all of my research and training into practice. Ok I was able to observe my daughters class and was even lucky enough to substitute a few times but it never really gave me the full Montessori experience I was looking for.<br />
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Until now that is. Last week I started at my daughters school in one of the primary classes as a real Montessori Assistant!! and ohh what a learning experience it has already been. I am so completely blessed and lucky to have the epitome of a Montessori guide to teach me and guide me on the real ways of the Montessori philosophy in the classroom. <br />
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I have two months with this amazing woman in her class before I head off to another classroom in September and I am going to try and soak in as much as I can in that time. To say I am in blissful heaven is an understatement. <br />
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So yes now it is time for Montessori for me!Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-33041006365823657852014-03-25T19:55:00.000-07:002014-03-25T19:55:07.692-07:00The Very Hungry Caterpillar Story Stones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We had such a great time with the <a href="http://montessoribeginnings.blogspot.ca/2013/11/brown-bear-brown-bear-toddler-story.html" target="_blank">Brown Bear story stones</a> I made that when I saw these Very Hungry Caterpillar stones at <a href="http://www.thrive360living.com/2013/04/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-painted.html#.UzI_G9zxbwI" target="_blank">Thrive 360 Living</a> I knew they had to be my next project.</div>
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I made a small version for a birthday boy who was turning two. They were such a success and LJ was so interested in them that I made a larger version for him.</div>
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I bought a wooden box from the Dollar store to keep them in. At first I was going to paint a caterpillar on the outside of the box but then I realized I'm too cheap and would rather recycle the box for something else once we're done with these!</div>
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We love the Very Hungry Caterpillar book by Eric Carle so LJ was really into reenacting the story.</div>
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The front of the stones make up the green caterpillar and if you put them in order you can turn each one over as you tell the story to see what he eats. Sooo much fun!</div>
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Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-40005039311584535972014-03-16T13:20:00.000-07:002014-03-16T13:20:24.331-07:00When the kids start getting owly.....<div style="text-align: center;">
When the kids start getting owly.....give them an owl craft!</div>
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It's spring break for us here so L is home. Yippee! For two days last week I was also looking after two other children. A 3 year old girl and a 6 year old boy both from L's school.</div>
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It was so much fun and I'd planned many crafts for them to do.</div>
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One of them was this owl craft. I found the idea on Pintrest but can't seem to find the original link.</div>
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This is so simple to do and once I showed L (6) how to do it she could whip them off all by herself in no time.</div>
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What you need is some air drying clay.</div>
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Roll some into a small ball and flatten it into a pancake.</div>
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We did ours on wax paper.</div>
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Then take the top of a marker or straw and use it to make half circles on the bottom half of your clay pancake.</div>
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Then fold over both sides of the pancake for the wings.</div>
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Fold the top of the pancake over for the head and pinch the tips if you want more pointy ears.</div>
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Use the marker lid again to make two eyes. We used the inside part of a pen for the smaller inner circles. We used a knife to make the triangle nose.</div>
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There you have it the easiest, adorable little owls.</div>
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We let them dry over night and then the children painted them. Even LJ painted my prototype!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTNF9WA1Dm3754H3ACSMNqt2Nrz4l_93rMgfGijHaez5tQfQ8iX228rQVDt8xZ8F2WNO93K9n29_SDmc9AWvmlXZb6EL-lgIAsurs9iNOIJ03z0nM5xkNNAQ269FprswJGGtSXjEL636B/s1600/IMG_1112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTNF9WA1Dm3754H3ACSMNqt2Nrz4l_93rMgfGijHaez5tQfQ8iX228rQVDt8xZ8F2WNO93K9n29_SDmc9AWvmlXZb6EL-lgIAsurs9iNOIJ03z0nM5xkNNAQ269FprswJGGtSXjEL636B/s1600/IMG_1112.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Once the paint was dry I covered them in a layer of Modge Podge and glued magnets on the backs.</div>
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Perfectly adorable additions to our fridge!</div>
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<br />Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-87733007876700321052014-03-11T22:53:00.001-07:002014-03-11T22:53:45.501-07:00LJ at 21 months-activities and practical life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
LJ is turning into quite the little person. He is a major chatterbox just like his sister and has to be part of every conversation! </div>
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He is also a total jokester. His favourite joke is to change the words of songs. One of our favourite songs to sing is Mama mama I want a Mango. At the end the song goes kiwi, kiwi, kiwi, kiwi, quince. Well he thinks it's the greatest joke going when he sings kiwi, kiwi, kiwi, banana!! or apple or any other type of fruit! We also are big into the potty humour. Everything has either chicken poo or pee or panda poo on it!??</div>
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I'm also pretty positive he knows most of his colours but if you ask him he will deliberately tell you a different colour! If he chooses to name them he does it correctly. Seriously cheeky little monkey!</div>
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We have been doing a few works but mostly practical life activities.</div>
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Here are a few activities LJ had on his shelves.</div>
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Magnetic and non magnetic. LJ really enjoyed experimenting with which objects stuck to the magnet and which ones didn't. At this point this was just an activity of experimentation and discovery.</div>
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Tonging.</div>
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I wasn't sure if LJ would get the hang of this but after a few tries he did get it and enjoyed moving the objects back and forth.</div>
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Placing beads onto a bath fish thingy. Yup those little fingers are somehow always wet and sticky and they were just too wet and sticky to release those little beads so it ended up being a bit frustrating. He did stick with it for a while but I had to help him get the beads off his fingers sometimes!</div>
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I seriously love this age because they are SOO enthusiastic about housework!! I really wish it would stay. L has seemed to have lost that lovin' feeling!</div>
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While L was vacuuming the house LJ was desperate to help so I got out the dust buster for him and he loved being able to vacuum along side his sister.</div>
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I needed to do some serious cleaning in the kitchen so I set LJ up with a scrub brush and a small container of soapy water. He was super serious about this job and scrubbed down his chair for over HALF AN HOUR!! My guy loves to wipe and scrub!<br />
L didn't want to be left out so she got out her own scrub brush and water and scrubbed down the rest of the chairs.</div>
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Thanks to some <a href="http://ittybittylove.blogspot.ca/2014/02/adventures-in-table-setting.html" target="_blank">Itty Bitty Love</a> inspiration LJ is also now very successfully pouring his water at every meal. I also find it very surprising that he doesn't just pour the whole jug into the glass but pours a little bit at a time and drinks it and then pours in some more!</div>
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Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-38399121703776423382014-03-01T12:34:00.002-08:002014-03-01T12:34:37.177-08:00GIVEAWAY TIME!!Hi all. I'm doing a giveaway right now on my Jen's Felted Jems Facebook Page. Please head on over to enter to win a custom made Owl, Fairy, Mermaid of Forest Family!!<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/#!/jensfeltedjems?hc_location=timeline" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/#!/jensfeltedjems?hc_location=timeline</a><br />
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Good Luck!</div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-60104958374088755692014-02-14T17:08:00.000-08:002014-02-14T17:08:03.517-08:00Jen's Felted Jems<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am so excited to introduce you to my latest project which has been taking up quite a bit of my time lately. I fell in love with needle felting several years ago and loved to make things for the children. I had so many people ask if I sold them that I decided to try my hand at opening up my own Etsy shop.</div>
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So here it is </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/JensFeltedJems" target="_blank">Jen's Felted Jems</a></span></strong></span></span></div>
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As some of you may have already discovered you can visit the shop by going to the Etsy button on the right sidebar of my blog or you can go directly to <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/JensFeltedJems">https://www.etsy.com/shop/JensFeltedJems</a></div>
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You can also find more pics and information on my Jen's Felted Jems Facebook Page.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Giveaway coming soon!!</span></div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-61840526089543266482014-02-12T17:39:00.000-08:002014-02-12T17:40:26.780-08:0020 months Practical Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span id="goog_1710257658"></span><span id="goog_1710257659"></span><br />Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-78710281032620692892014-01-15T20:53:00.000-08:002014-01-15T20:53:21.774-08:00Water works -20 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had all these big plans for doing so many works and activities with LJ after Christmas and so far I've just been a total slacker!</div>
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I did manage to set up these water activities one afternoon while I was trying to clean the kitchen to keep LJ occupied.</div>
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This is the first time he has experimented with pouring water other than the bath tub. I put two jugs into a baking pan with about 1/4 cup of water and a cloth to wipe up spills. Funnily enough it took him a few tries to figure out he had to switch containers each time he emptied out the water. He kept trying to pour out of the same container even though it was empty.</div>
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He also enjoyed just pouring the water into the pan so he could wipe it up. </div>
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<br />I showed him how to squeeze the water from the cloth back into the container.</div>
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I changed it up a bit for him by giving him two bowls and a sponge. I added a drop of purple food coloring to the water to make it a bit more interesting and for him to be able to see the water he still had to soak up a bit easier. He transferred the water from bowl to bowl several times before we moved on to the next activity which was pouring into a funnel. This actually turned out to be a many step activity because he had to remove the funnel and pour the water back into the jug and then place the funnel back onto the container which was quite a challenge.</div>
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I remember at this age L was pouring her own drink at meal times from a tiny jug. I think LJ needs a lot more practise before I'm going to let him loose with any unsupervised water!!</div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-5159221270938316942014-01-03T16:23:00.000-08:002014-01-03T16:23:11.405-08:00On the shelves-19 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. It was very busy at our house with lots of family visiting and fun was had by all. </div>
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I did manage to get a few works on the shelves for LJ in December.</div>
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Melissa and Doug pattern blocks. </div>
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I got these off of the used children's items site I belong to for a very reasonable price. They come in a wooden box with several different wooden frames. I just take out one at a time which has pictures on both sides. I put it along with the shapes it needs into a basket for LJ to do. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajYTNDVpC1xABrIpxRSWPtVJoCy23rax3mgWWZ6m7-tKg6pedB4yvlja8x5c1VPEYj60HZ5ivEqTuztTD9_lZVQEoczE08zVTyxsWc3g9qaQ5S7Vi4LvfMiUMxeyvBy5gnV2puSUPrdot/s1600/IMG_9332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajYTNDVpC1xABrIpxRSWPtVJoCy23rax3mgWWZ6m7-tKg6pedB4yvlja8x5c1VPEYj60HZ5ivEqTuztTD9_lZVQEoczE08zVTyxsWc3g9qaQ5S7Vi4LvfMiUMxeyvBy5gnV2puSUPrdot/s320/IMG_9332.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mystery Bag</div>
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Although we have been using the mystery bag for exploration for a while now we have only just started using it for stereognostic recognition. I put an assortment of known objects into the bag. LJ pulls them out and names them. He then puts them back into the bag and I ask him if he can find a certain one without looking. He enjoys playing this game and is usually successful.</div>
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Putting Cheerios into a pill container. </div>
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I bought a seven day pill sorter for my pills and vitamins but before I put it to use I gave it to LJ to sort Cheerios into. He had great fun opening the sections to get the Cheerios in and out.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKzX3AwuPOlUrGjprh6oAx-9PvGOnAzbNAaIt29RbJAhqiIXJCeNoC28UcM4cpxtBoez4TnRhQtkSF57CAIIPbwGftbbttONO4VV9leFjFe-yDE9zcmLPAJqqbWCjCXYaWJNoQmOdq_Es/s1600/IMG_9340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKzX3AwuPOlUrGjprh6oAx-9PvGOnAzbNAaIt29RbJAhqiIXJCeNoC28UcM4cpxtBoez4TnRhQtkSF57CAIIPbwGftbbttONO4VV9leFjFe-yDE9zcmLPAJqqbWCjCXYaWJNoQmOdq_Es/s320/IMG_9340.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We even managed some Christmas themed activities.</div>
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Here is a Christmas mystery stocking with a tiny snowman, red ribbon, needle felted Christmas tree and several candy canes. </div>
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Pushing colored pompoms through the correct hole and then retrieving them from inside the shoe box. LJ was pretty random on when he chose to match the colors.</div>
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We did several Christmas crafts together but this one worked the best with both children. Simply gluing tiny pompoms onto a pine cone to make Christmas trees.</div>
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They both enjoyed this activity and they turned out nicely!</div>
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<br />Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-20779923041878423792013-12-18T20:12:00.000-08:002013-12-18T20:12:53.491-08:0018 months- On the shelves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Okay I have to admit I've been totally slacking the last about 5 weeks. We got out of our great routine and I kind of lost enthusiasm on making up activities. In fairness though I have been working on another exciting project which I will blog more about after Christmas.</div>
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Poor LJ he actually asks me for work and says "roll,roll, roll". Then I feel all guilty because he is desperate to do things.</div>
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These are some of the things he has been doing.</div>
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Matching.</div>
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This is great for vocabulary and matching. I hold all the cards in my hand and give him one at a time. He says what it is and then (hopefully) places it on the table. Once all the cards are laid out I hand him the matching one which he has to find. This is very easy for him now. They are kept in a little wooden box and he loves to take them out and put them back in as well.</div>
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Simply posting little hearts through a slot. Always fun.</div>
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Color tablet box one. I made these out of paint samples using the three primary colors to start. Once again the box is a big hit! It's funny when I did this activity with L years ago she was so gentle with the cards. LJs cards are all bent and twisted : ) I present a color and name it and then give it to LJ to place on the mat and say the name. Once they are down I give him the other one to match.</div>
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Sorting colored beads. Once again only using the primary colors. </div>
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I filled this glass money jar with water and put a shot glass at the bottom. Together we took turns putting coins into the slot and watching them sink to the bottom. I also enjoyed trying to get them into the shot glass, however I don't think LJ even realised it was in there. </div>
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Thanks to <a href="http://ittybittylove.blogspot.ca/2013/11/spooning-lentils-through-funnel.html" target="_blank">Itty Bitty Love</a> inspiration I sucked it up and got out the lentils to scoop and funnel. I have to say I was way more enthusiastic about this one than LJ was. Maybe we'll try it again in a month or so.</div>
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...and one of my all time favourite works. First drop fluffy pipe cleaners into a maple syrup bottle.</div>
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Then try to fish them out. Very carefully!</div>
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Oooh the concentration!!!</div>
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LJ just can't get enough of doing his work and I am the only one that is holding him back at this point. In the new year I am going to try to get back into that good routine we had going in the fall.</div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-43589750977237922692013-12-08T19:49:00.000-08:002013-12-08T19:49:25.927-08:00Snow Bath = Awesome!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
One of the activities that L and LJ had in their advent calendars was a "Snow Bath"</div>
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This was in L's words "Awesome!!"</div>
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I got the inspiration from <a href="http://www.bathactivitiesforkids.com/2012/11/frosty-returns-more-winter-bath-fun.html" target="_blank">Growing A Jeweled Rose</a>. If you want sensory bath ideas this site has them all!</div>
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So here is what I did. First off I put a drop of blue food coloring in the water and added a couple drops of peppermint extract. I found the perfect foam snowflakes at the Dollar store and added in a little reindeer and polar bear to play with. I set the mood by bringing in a bedside lamp instead of the bright overhead light and hung a few glowing icicles around the room.</div>
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For the snow I used shaving cream for them to paint the bath and themselves with and to make "real" snow I used baking soda with enough cold water mixed to give it a snow texture. This is sooo cool as it feels and looks like real snow and just melts in the warm bath water.</div>
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I cut out pieces of craft foam so they could make their own snowmen.</div>
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They played for ages and much fun was had by all. </div>
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I think we may just do it again!!</div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-69325700853973230672013-11-14T08:52:00.001-08:002013-11-14T08:52:59.694-08:00Brown Bear Brown Bear-Toddler Story Stones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
"Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see?"</div>
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We love this book by Bill Martin Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle</div>
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I thought it would be fun to make up some story stones for LJ and L to play with. It's been years since I made <a href="http://montessoribeginnings.blogspot.ca/2010/08/story-stones-and-august-nature-table.html" target="_blank">these Enormous Turnip story stones</a> for L.</div>
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This was one of those projects that sounded fantastic at the time but after about the fourth animal I was seriously wondering what was going through my head. Anyhow I pushed through and now we have these cute story stones to go alone with the book.</div>
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For those of you who are interested in making your own story stones I just used regular acrylic craft paint and then covered them with a layer of Modge Podge.</div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-183562828957102622013-10-29T12:18:00.000-07:002013-10-29T12:18:36.285-07:00LJ's Montessori Toddler Room <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We've been doing some re-arranging around here. Both L and LJ have moved on to another stage of development and we needed to make some changes in their rooms to keep up with their needs. </div>
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The first thing we did was to move the <a href="http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/80253814/" target="_blank">Ikea bunk bed frame</a> that L was using into LJ's room. A little modification and it makes the perfect toddler bed(and climbing frame)! LJ is still able to enter and exit easily either by the little door or by just climbing over the edge but it is so perfect because it contains him while he is sleeping. LJ watched the whole move and was absolutely beside himself when he realised that this was now going to be his bed!!</div>
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I love that he is now old enough to have blankets, stuffies and pillows. It makes his sleeping space so much cosier. </div>
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Beside his bed is a basket of books.</div>
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LJ's shelf area hasn't changed all that much. I keep a few activities for him which he does when he wakes up or when he's not quite ready to sleep and sometimes he just spends time in his room on his own. I've also moved the ball tracker into his room. </div>
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Although the ideal thing is to hang artwork etc. at your child's level I have tried time and again only to have it torn down and either ruined or risking an injury. So in the end I settled on hanging this beautiful wool village scene I got from Ecuador just a little above his reach. It is so colourful and vibrant and LJ can see it perfectly from his bed.</div>
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The other big change in LJ's room is the dressing area. We have gotten rid of the change table and replaced it with this little shelf. On the top we are trying out a little care of self area. LJ can brush his hair and there is a little bowl that I put a tiny bit of water in for LJ to use for his washcloth. I am trying out the mirror as well to see if he will leave it be or have it off the wall all of the time!</div>
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On the bottom shelves I put out his outfit for the day. I will leave giving him a choice of two outfits for a couple more months or I know he will just try to put everything on!</div>
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Once again there is a tiny stool to sit on while getting dressed but at the moment he just uses it to jump into his bed!</div>
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He also has his laundry basket where he puts all of his dirty clothes.</div>
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So there it is. Still very simple and uncluttered. It is also still my favourite room in our house, so calm and peaceful. Now if only I can get L's room to have the same feel.....</div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-15918601716862586042013-10-25T22:20:00.001-07:002013-10-25T22:20:47.297-07:00The Montessori Payoff<div align="center">
I wanted to write a post to record a special moment that happened in our house the other night. </div>
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L has been helping in the kitchen since she was a toddler and has been a Montessori child almost from the start. Sometimes it has been supremely challenging and exhausting allowing and including her in everyday events such as cooking dinner. Granted she does not always help. Sometimes she just plain doesn't want to and sometimes I'm just way too tired and don't have the patience but for the most part she does something.</div>
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Over the past year I have tried to give her more and more responsibility when making meals. The other night all of the hard work and perserverence came together.</div>
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One of L's favourite dishes to eat and help make is soft tacos. In the past she has grated the cheese and carrots, chopped spinach and put the tortillas on the plate. Recently I have taught her how to use the can opener and cook the refried beans on the stove.</div>
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This specific night I was super tired and just couldn't get my but off the couch to start dinner. I asked L to get the beans and can opener out. She yelled at me from the kitchen that she's done it and I still didn't feel like getting up. I asked her to get the carrots and cheese out of the fridge. All I could hear was angry protests from the kitchen. I relaxed for a few more minutes.</div>
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When I finally got my but off the couch and dragged it into the kitchen I was blown away. L had opend the can and had the beans cooking on the stove. She'd gotten out the grater and had grated all of the toppings and put them on a plate and had gotten the tortiallas ready. In a nutshell she had made dinner for herself and her brother ALL BY HERSELF without being asked. She took the initiative and just did it.</div>
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Ahhhh I was soooo proud and so was she!</div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-29250495885189438602013-10-25T22:06:00.000-07:002013-10-25T22:06:09.202-07:00Practical Life - 17 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I'd forgotten just how wonderful this age is. LJ wants to do everything for himself and I am trying to give him as many opportunities as I can. I can remember L at this age being the same. It must be so wonderful to have every experience be so new and novel and so exciting to realise you can now do so many new things by yourself!</div>
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Helping to prepare carrots from the garden. LJ is scrubbing and taking his job very seriously and L is topping and tailing. I find LJ is always much more focused when he is working with his big sis.</div>
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This used to be L's cupboard but she's now tall enough to reach everything if she uses her stool so it's been passed over to LJ. I have set it up so he can set his own table. On the top shelf are all of the items he needs for his table setting and the bottom shelf holds all of the aprons. I have to admit that just like the Montessori shelves I only allow access to this cupboard at meal times and keep it closed with an elastic the rest of the time or he'd be in there constantly.</div>
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LJ loves to be one of the family and put his dirty dishes in the dish washer then push the drawer in and close the door.</div>
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Now that Sweetpea is not with us LJ eats all of his meals at the big table with me or the family. He is still able to set his table. He brings over the items and at the moment I arrange them for him but soon I will introduce a place mat that he can put his setting on.</div>
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I got this super cute little laundry basket for LJ's room. He can carry it himself when it is empty and he's been putting his dirty clothes in there for a while now. So many times when I come in to his room after his nap he is in there trying to put on all of the clothes in the basket and has probably been awake for ages!</div>
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The going out area. I set up this special area especially for LJ in our laundry room. He can reach the hooks to get his jacket and is able to put on and take off his own boots. I help him with his jacket and start the zipper for him and he is able to finish pulling the zipper up or down. Every little bit he can do himself makes him feel so proud and confident. </div>
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I just bought the super cute stool for him to sit on but he's still not quite big enough so at the moment he is more comfortable sitting on the floor.</div>
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Allowing LJ the opportunity to do so many things for himself really makes him feel like a part of the family and a capable human being. I find that the only limitations he has are from me. These pictures represent the "ideal" or the good days. It does take a lot of work to keep the home environment "prepared" all of the time and sometimes it just doesn't happen. I don't always have the cupboard neatly stocked ready to go and a lot of the time Daddy will get LJ ready for bed and all of the dirty clothes will be left in a pile on the bathroom floor(and cloth diaper for that matter!). </div>
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I think the important thing is to be aware of our little persons needs and capabilities and try our best to let them experience that feeling of being able to "do it themselves" even if it isn't all of the time.</div>
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Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-91742920460922737792013-10-21T20:31:00.001-07:002013-10-21T20:31:22.631-07:00Toddler Art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It was high time to change the art in LJ's bedroom. I was excited to try something with both L and LJ this time.</div>
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I first found a silhouette of a frog and seahorse on Google images and printed them out. I cut them out and traced them onto black contact paper. Once I stuck them on the canvass I let the kids have atter.</div>
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As I was browsing the Internet I saw a brilliant idea for toddlers and painting. Instead of having them dip the brush into the paint pot and make a huge mess the idea is to just dab drops of paint all over the canvass for them to paint.</div>
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It worked a treat and LJ really enjoyed painting the canvass with very little mess and stress for mom.</div>
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L of course chose her own colors and animal for the canvass.</div>
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After the paint had dried we peeled off the contact paper and were left with beautiful artwork!</div>
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LJ loves the new art hanging on his wall and is constantly pointing to his painting and telling me it's a frog!.</div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-40810183233700746452013-10-07T15:21:00.000-07:002013-10-14T20:24:56.168-07:00Montessori Shelves-Table Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
LJ is in a good routine with his Montessori shelf works. I first introduced only works done on a floor mat to him and he has been really good at getting out the mat and unrolling it (with some help) and also putting it back at the end of his work cycle.</div>
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I thought it was time to add in some table works to the mix. I added a small place mat to his mat box. I like the idea of using a work mat for all of his Montessori works so he can differentiate between those and other toys he has.</div>
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I placed this spooning work on a small tray. It consists of a wooden bowl, plastic container with lid and a large measuring spoon. I used Heritage O's for the spooning because he still loves to put everything in his mouth and I thought it would be safer than beans. I also couldn't bear to think of the clean up if we used rice!</div>
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When he was first introduced to the work he went to eat one and I quickly said "Let me show you" and demonstrated how to spoon. He was delighted and from then on was only interested in spooning and not eating. He did this work the first time for about 20 minutes.</div>
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After several days of spooning I introduced pouring. He gets the idea but is not overly interested and does it a couple of times and then messes about with the Heritage O's. </div>
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The ever favourite pom poms in ice cube tray. LJ loves this one. I only put one table work out a day and always put it on the same tray so LJ knows which is a table work and which is a floor work. There still is some confusion though sometimes as LJ wants to do all of the works at the table. It is a work in progress.</div>
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I was surprised at how well he can manipulate the tray. He hasn't had one spill. I think it is because of the high edges.</div>
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Linked up to<a href="http://livingmontessorinow.com/" target="_blank"> Living Montessori Now's</a> Montessori Monday.</div>
Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-9227088526868587052013-10-05T20:11:00.000-07:002013-10-05T20:11:01.516-07:00Toddler Practical Life-Pita Pizzas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Tonight LJ and L made their own pita pizzas for dinner. It reminded me of when<a href="http://montessoribeginnings.blogspot.ca/2009/06/pita-pizzas.html" target="_blank"> L used to make her own pita pizza</a>. Seems like ages ago. This was the first time LJ has done this and I was amazed at how well he caught on and the lack of mess. </div>
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I had L set up a little table in the middle of the kitchen. It is the perfect height for LJ to stand and L to sit at. I prepared all of the toppings ahead of time and put them in little bowls. </div>
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Cleaning up after. My little guy loves wiping so much that he kept on going wiping down his chair the oven and the cabinets.</div>
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LJ's first pita pizza. A little Master Chef in the making I think!</div>
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<br />Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-59322415349652906722013-09-26T13:40:00.000-07:002013-09-26T13:40:39.650-07:00Montessori Shelves and Using a Work Mat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Little J is sixteen months now. L is back at school and we have managed to get back into some kind of routine.</div>
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Now that LJ and I have time in the morning to ourselves I have set up specific shelves for his "Montessori" works. There is really not much difference between these activities and the ones in his <a href="http://montessoribeginnings.blogspot.ca/2013/09/little-j-15-months-activities.html" target="_blank">cubicle shelves</a>, however what is totally different is the process in which he does them.</div>
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I wanted to introduce a separate area so LJ could understand that anything taken from these shelves needs to be done in a certain way.</div>
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As you can see on the right of the first picture he now has a basket with work mats in it. When first introducing a new work on these shelves I introduced the use of a work mat. LJ gets the work mat and I help him roll it out. He then goes to the shelves and selects a work. It is important that he takes the whole basket or work and brings it over to the mat. He then must take the work out of the basket to do it. After he is finished he must put the work back into the basket and return it to the shelf before selecting another work. </div>
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At this point I am not so interested in the actual works he is doing as the whole process. What is important is that LJ knows he needs to use a work mat to do one of the works on his Montessori shelves. It is also important to take the whole work over to the mat and of course to return it to the shelf. I was quite surprised how quickly LJ took to the whole process. Of course I am there to give him a gentle reminder to bring the whole basket or to help him remember to put the whole work away before getting another but in general he does really well. I am also there to supervise if things start to go a bit "crazy" I just sit back quietly and observe and only step in if I must say if he starts walking away from the mat with part of the work.</div>
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I generally keep four different works on the "Montessori shelves" and rotate one out every couple of days. I've also found that once his Montessori work time is over (which is decided by himself) I remove the baskets from the shelves. I've found that this helps in not having him continually go back to them and take pieces out later in the day. If he would like to do more work and we both have some free time then he will get his work mat out and point to where I keep the baskets.</div>
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The "Mystery" Bag. Later on this is used to stimulate the stereognostic sense by having the child locate a known item in the bag without looking. At the moment LJ is just using it as a bag of discovery although I think he will be soon ready to try the "mystery" aspect.</div>
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Color matching. I got these little wooden cups and bulbs from the craft store and painted them as shown. The object is to match the colored bulb with the pot. I decided to just paint the inside of the pots with the color to make it more of a challenge. LJ mostly loves to manipulate these and sometimes matches the colors depending on what type of mood he is in!</div>
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We are blessed with living very close to a wonderful market that has goats on the roof, fresh fruits and veggies, yummy ice creams and best of all tons of super cool wooden toys. I have to restrain myself every time I go there to not buy up the store!</div>
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This adorable little fishing game came from the market. LJ loves it and so does L. This is quite a process to set up as he has to remove the "water" then add the fish before he can go fishing. Once he has caught a fish he must put it in the red bucket. LJ does this work several times throughout the morning.</div>
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Lacing beads. I wasn't sure if he was ready for this but low and behold he is! It took him a little while to work out after several demonstrations but he is now able to make necklaces. I taped a piece of straw onto the end of the shoelace with yellow tape to help LJ push it through the bead and also for him to easily locate the correct end.</div>
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I introduced a basket of wooden African animals along with smaller plastic animals for matching. LJ knows the names of all of them so I figured matching wouldn't be much of a problem. I made the mistake of saying can you find the mommy zebra. Well that started off a frenzy of mommy and baby kissing as well as LJ kissing all of the mommy animals. Seriously too cute!</div>
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LJ loves to roll up his mat and put it away. We sing a little roll, roll, roll song as he does it.</div>
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<br />Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8207116079668377453.post-49762347234002044812013-09-23T09:28:00.000-07:002013-09-23T09:28:46.991-07:00Autumn ChangesMidway through August I realised that I needed to make some changes before September came along. Although we had a wonderful summer and the weather was amazing it was also exhausting for me.<br />
Ever since having LJ my health has just not been as good as it was before. I had to make the excruciatingly hard decision to not take Sweetpea back this autumn. I realised that it was just too exhausting for me and I really need to take time to work on trying to get my health back as much as I can.<br />
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So it's just going to be LJ and I again now that L is back in school. It was very sad to say goodbye to little Sweetpea and I'm also sad about not being able to do all of the Montessori activities I had planned over the summer, however I know in the long run that I made the best decision for me and my family.<br />
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L has started Montessori elementary and so far she loves it! I get these convoluted stories about what happens at school and it's impossible to decipher fact from fiction these days. The other day when I picked her up she said to me " Mommy I am respectful of my clothes". Haha not something you are going to hear from a regular grade one child I'm sure. Now if only she'd respect them enough to not leave them all over her bedroom floor!Montessori Beginningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10326059314563267510noreply@blogger.com1