Habitat Game

 

We recently borrowed a video on habitats from the library.  It was really well made, upbeat and engaging and there were even little quizzes after each segment which L enjoyed.  It gave me the idea to make this habitat game.

Such a simple concept but really effective in learning about and discussing different habitats.  I used five different coloured pieces of card stock to make the habitats and then put labels on them.  I printed out different animals from Google images for each habitat onto card stock.

 

I made up a bunch of different cards which say things like:

 

Place an animal in the tundra habitat

Place an animal in its habitat

Which is the only continent that doesn't have a grassland habitat?

What are two types of water habitat?

 

It's a fun way to learn and talk about different characteristics of habitats and their inhabitants.

 



Squatters

I've been looking for a second hand shelf to store Baby J's toys on in his work space.  Finally I found a cute little cubicle shelf at a charity shop for $3!  It will work perfectly for the time being.  I brought it home and put it in his workspace but........

 

 

before i could even wipe it down a family of gnomes had moved in!!!!

 

I opened the door and they were all trying to hide in there!

I thought it was so cute I told them (and L ) they could stay for a couple of days.

Patterns in Nature

We recently borrowed the wonderful book Patterns In Nature by Jennifer Rozines Roy from the library.  It explains all about different types of patterns and how they are all around us.  It also shows how we can make our own patterns from things outdoors and in our backyard. 

 

After reading the book together L was all set to go.  She grabbed her journal and a pencil and we headed out to the back yard.

Here she is copying down her big, little apple pattern into her journal.

 While L was busy with her journal I made this pattern on the clothesline then asked her if she could continue it which she did no problem.  She had a bit of a harder time copying it into her journal as she needed help with the spaces between the clothes pegs.



 We then moved out of the backyard and went on a nature walk around the neighbourhood finding patterns in ferns and other things as well as making our own.

Reading this book and talking about patterns opened up a whole new world to L and she is loving discovering patterns wherever we go now!



Dancers Mobile

The next mobile in the Montessori Infant mobile series is the Dancers mobile.  I was originally going to just eyeball all of the dancers and draw them myself but then I found a pattern and instructions here.  It made life a whole lot easier!

You are meant to use holographic paper for the dancers.  I used different coloured gift bags from the Dollar Store.  The whole thing cost $2!  I have to say it was a pain in the neck trying to hang and tie all of the pieces with the invisible thread but totally worth it in the end.

 

I introduced this mobile around three months and once again the little guy totally loved it!

 

At four months he's still enchanted by it.  Although there is another mobile in the series called the Flowing Rhythm mobile I think I'm going to call it a day!



Fighting a loosing battle

 

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Those are what Barbie's measurements would be if she was a real woman!!  Why am I posting this you ask?

Well the other day my not even five year old daughter was over at a friends house playing.  They have two little girls 4.5 and 6.  When she came home she was literally quivering with excitement.  "Look what I got Mommy!"  She was holding two Barbies in her hands.  " They GAVE them to me.  I told them I didn't have any Barbies and they said I could have these!!!!!!"

 

My heart skipped a beat.... I took a deep breath and my mind was racing.. how to respond, how to respond.......
I ended up saying wow isn't that nice of them.  Well you can play with them for a bit and then give them back.  Of course her response was.  "No Mommy they GAVE them to me to keep.  Their mommy said it was okay."  I repeated my first statement and then let it go.  All the time the wheels turning trying to figure out how to get them out of the house.

Now at this point you may be asking yourself what's the big deal?  They're only toys and she doesn't know about the fact that if Barbie were a real woman she wouldn't have enough body fat to menstruate or that her neck would be twice as long a any real woman or the fact that her feet are permanently on tip toe for high heels.  She's just a little girl who likes to play with dolls.
Well consider this.  My daughter is still not yet five and therefor she still has what Maria Montessori calls an absorbent mind.  This means she absorbs everything in her environment without even trying.  Montessori knew this and this is why she made her materials with exceptional attention to detail.  The pink tower may just appear to be a collection of pink cubes which the child stacks but the top cube just happens to measure 1cm3.  The rest of the cubes increase progressively in the algebraic series of the third power. Coincidence? No way!  Each material is so much more than it seems.  The child doesn't know this but is absorbing it all for later use.

Now think for a moment.  My daughter is touching, viewing and manipulating these plastic Barbies all while absorbing a female image which is completely unhealthy and unattainable.
When I told my sister this story she said.  We played with Barbies all the time and we're fine.  Hmm really?  You have no body issues at all now as an adult??

Anyhow the real question is how did I deal with it.  Well in the end I was talking to another friend who home schools her children and she suggested doing a trade.  The other day when L was over playing with her children all four children (including a boy) were playing with the oldest girls porcelain doll collection.  They played for hours pretending the dolls were sick in hospital,going to school, having tea parties and dressing them.
I just so happens that I had two porcelain dolls that I'd been saving for L from my grandmother.  I talked to L and said I had something much better than the Barbies and if she would like to return them I could bring out the other dolls.  We had a short talk about how the Barbies look nothing like real women but really at this age I don't feel it's right to have her start concerning herself with body image.  Well she was beside herself when I presented her with the two beautiful dolls.  She couldn't wait to return the Barbies which next to the dolls looked like cheap pieces of plastic.  My friend told me that you can find the porcelain dolls in almost any thrift shop for around $5.

So one battle successfully fought and won by Mommy but as my husband said you can't keep the rest of the world away from her forever. For now at 4 and a half I can certainly do my damdest to try!



Baby J's Montessori Room

So this is Baby J's Montessori room.  I only came to the Montessori method when L was around 12 months so she had your typical adult oriented nursery (crib, change table, pretty decorations which appeal to adults!).  I was super excited this time around to be able to fully apply the Montessori approach right from the beginning.  So here is the tour...

 

View from the door.  The room is not very big but seems a lot bigger because it has only the necessary items in it.  I love this room so much!  It just radiates a sense of calm and order as soon as you enter it.  It is my little sanctuary from the chaos of the rest of the house and sometimes if I need a break or to de-stress I'll come into this room. 

This is how the room is now for Baby J at 3 months but it will constantly evolve and change with his ongoing development.  For instance once he starts moving I will remove the rocking chair and we will do something about the baseboard heater (any suggestions on baby proofing this?)

We use the rocking chair for just settling Baby J or spending quite time singing. I nurse him in the living room or on his floor bed at night.   I love how he is able to look out the window at the trees and sky.  On the window shelf are toys he will be able to use when he is older.

The floor bed.  This is an essential part of a true Montessori room.  The floor bed gives the child the freedom to move and explore at will.  Baby J has just started to move a bit when he sleeps so I've put a thick folded blanket at the side of his bed so there is less of a drop to the carpet.  I researched a lot of Montessori rooms on line before creating this one and was torn on whether to have the mirror and mobile by the bed or to just leave them for the work area.  In the end I decided I would like to have them beside the bed so that Baby J could entertain and engage himself when he wakes up or before he goes to sleep.  I have made a work area for him in the living room where I hang the more vibrant mobiles. 

I decided to use an acrylic mirror for safety reasons as Baby J will be in his room unsupervised at times.  This was much lighter than a real mirror and easy to put up.

 

The shelves.  I asked my husband to make this simple shelf for the room.  It is just the right size so that when Baby J starts pulling himself up he can hold on to the top shelf.  On the top shelf is a wooden rainbow stacker which Baby J will use much later but it is still beautiful to look at.  A canvass painting that L actually did when she was two and an ABC book of art work.  I like to prop up this book for Baby J to look at when he is on his tummy.

 

The bottom shelf holds items that he is using right now or will be using very soon.   Starting from the left are wooden teething beads, a crocheted rattle with bells in it, a basket with a wooden ring teether, a cloth rattle and a knitted fish rattle.  At the moment while Baby J is not moving I have put several of these items in a basket and keep them by his work area for him to use which is in the living room.  It's not practical to spend all the time in this room when L is around all the time.  Once school starts up again for her we will change things up a bit.  The items on these shelves will also change as Baby J gets older.

 

The changing area.  I debated on whether to get a change table or not but in the end decided that with the state my back is in it would be a good idea.  We got this change table second hand and just painted it white.  I like how it is so solid and heavy and also the storage shelves which work perfectly for all of the cloth diapers.  At the moment we are lucky enough to have six months of diaper service which is amazing.  Above the change table are two pieces of artwork.  I decided it would be nice if these could be L's contribution to Baby J's room.  We keep changing them as he develops but I always get L to participate in making them.

The closet.  At the moment we keep the doors open for convenience but once the Baby J is moving we'll keep them closed.  There are two shelves for his clothes.  I wanted them both to be low enough for L to be able to reach them to help pick out clothes and also the bottom one is low enough for Baby J to access when he starts walking and dressing himself.  The blue organiser holds socks, bibs, hats, blankets and towels.  I will also change this up once Baby J is able to get his own cloths.  I will be able to put things in the bottom two cubicles for him to access.

On the floor is the trash can for wipes, the charcoal filter nappy bin and the laundry basket.  There is also a top shelf where we store toys and clothes that he will use when he gets older.  At the moment the closet is set up for my convenience but I love how it will easily adapt to his needs when the time comes.

 

So there you have it.  It seems so sparse and simple, especially when I show it to other people but that is the beauty of it.  Nothing that doesn't have a purpose.  So far I absolutely love it and can't wait until Baby J is mobile and able to explore the room himself.  Then we'll see if I still love it! Ha ha. 

Please leave a comment if you have any ideas of how to baby proof the heater or if there are any other things you can see that may be a hazard once he is moving.

Can you see me now?

 I saw this super fun camouflage activity over at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational and just couldn't wait to try it out with L.  First we had to order the book   Where Else in the Wild? More Camouflaged Creatures Concealed … and Revealed by David M.
Schwartz from the library.  This book has great pictures of different animals totally camouflaged in their environmet.  It has a game-like feel as it gives the reader clues in a poem to help to detect the animal.  On the inside flap of the page it shows the outline of the creatures plus
gives a ton of info about the actual animal.  L loved this book and some of them were so tricky it took her a while to find them.  She was so eager to turn the page and find out if she guessed correctly.

 After reading the book together I asked L to get all of her animals.  She was super excited when I told her to hide them "camouflage style" while I closed my eyes (and nursed the baby, oh ya multi tasking!) Once she had hidden a ton of animals it was my turn to try and find them. 

This little preying mantis was my favourite find sneakily hiding on the actual book!  Once we both had a few turns being the camouflager I have to say I petered out(she could have kept playing all day)and told her to hide some for when Daddy came home. 
She even packed a bunch of animals in her backpack this past week for a trip to her Aunty's in Vancouver to play the game with her!