how we montessori

Peg Practice

While writing the last post about cutting with scissors I was reminded about Otis's attempts to use a peg. Using a peg would also be a good for strengthening hand and finger muscles in preparation for using scissors and one day writing.

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The above photograph is a month or so old (I featured it previously as a Photo of the Day). Whenever I hang out the laundry Otis helps to set up this small hanger and he will hang socks and some of his clothes. I have previously shown Otis how to use a peg but thought it might be time to set up an activity on his shelves so he can practice whenever he wants. 

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This below is a standard pegging activity of putting the pegs on the outside of the bucket. I like the aesthetics of our wooden pegs but these plastic pegs are much easier to use. I found that it was beneficial to start with putting all the pegs on the bucket and let Otis remove them. He cannot put the pegs back on the bucket but he has worked out how to use them. 

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Just to keep it real - there were times when Otis just pulled the peg apart. It's all exploration!

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Learning to cut with scissors - our first step

I have put a 'cutting tray' on Otis's shelf in the Art Centre. Today I demonstrated sitting next to him. I used Caspar's scissors which are the same as his. The red strips are heavy weight paper that I had left over from teaching Caspar to cut. Although Caspar was introduced to scissors at an older age and got it straight away. The idea of using the slightly heavier paper is that a child can hold it and it will stay straight making it easier to cut. The lines are probably unnecessary at this stage. 

After demonstrating and allowing Otis to explore the scissors I helped him to put his fingers in the scissors and helped him to cut by putting my hands over his. He loved every moment of cutting. I could take my hands off and he was able to keep cutting, moving the scissors himself for a few seconds. We also tried some fringe cutting which I remember Caspar loving. 

I really enjoy moments like this. Teaching my little one a new skill. We put the tray back on the shelf and will leave it for another day or so. It was also fun to observe Otis. He had the strength but needs to work on the coordination to put it all together. Using tongs has been a good precursor to cutting as I'm sure it uses the same muscles in the hand. 

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Two boys - one room

Before Otis was born I had his floor bed in this exact location - in Caspar's room. I have always wanted my two children to sleep in the same room, to share a bedroom. Except as Otis's birth got closer I struggled to see how it could work. I couldn't completely baby proof Caspar's room. Was it safe for a baby to sleep in the same room as a pre-schooler? The baby could get stuck under Caspar's bed. So before Otis was born I put his bed in a separate room and set it up as much as I could as a Montessori nursery. 

Once Otis became mobile bedtime became stressful. Otis would get out of bed and go into Caspar's room. Reading bedtime stories often resulted in me carrying one child back to their room asleep. There was a lot of running in between rooms. 

A few months ago I asked Caspar if he would like to share a room with Otis. He liked the idea so much that we move the furniture straight away. Now they share a room and bedtime is much easier and simpler. Although it involves reading A LOT of bedtime stories. 

Lock Box

Do your children like locks? When Caspar was young we put a lock on his cubby house as he loved locks so much. He always wanted to use the lock on our letter box. When he was a little older I gave him a lock tray using locks from around our home. 

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I wanted to show you Otis's lock box because if it wasn't for Montessori I would never have thought to give my child a toy like this. He can open about six of the ten locks. Inside there are compartments so it's fun for the child to hide things. Can we call it a practical life activity? It certainly keeps those little fingers moving, pulling, twisting... opening!

 

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School Spring Fair

It was Spring Fair today. Phew, we are exhausted. How about you?

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What is your greatest toddler frustration?

What is your greatest toddler frustration? For me it's not toilet learning, bedtime or dinner. It's walking with Otis. 

Like Maria Montessori wrote a child of this age will walk from one item of interest to the next. Otis has no interest in getting from point A to point B. I have come to the realisation that I don't need to and shouldn't be carrying Otis at all anymore. But my frustration gets the better of me. As much as possible I leave time to allow for Otis's wanderings but it's getting ridiculous. I have realised that I have given him freedom without any limits. Allowing Otis to walk doesn't mean that he can walk in any direction or take any path he likes. I need to set some limits and give him some level of responsibility.

I really hit me when I read this section in Montessori from the Start (Polk Lillard and Lillard Jessen) recently.

When we are getting out of cars, crossing public parking lots and streets, or walking on busy sidewalks, it is tempting to pick young children up and carry them to our destination. We recommend a different solution. Take your child firmly by one hand so that she must walk by your side, holding your hand. A fourteen-month-old child, having just found freedom to move on her own, typically resists this constraint at first. However, she is much less likely still to be resisting at age two or three years than the child who has not been asked to walk quietly by your side earlier and to hold you hand from the beginning.

Yes, absolutely Oits needs limits and discipline now or I am going to have a two year old running amok every time we are out in public. I have used safety as an excuse to carry Otis. Like so many things Montessori, time and patience now is an investment for later. If Otis can learn to walk with limits such as staying by my side and holding my hand when necessary it's going to be better for all of us.

I have started giving Otis a choice. When we are out (typically from the car park to school/shops etc) I help him down from his car seat and hold out my hand. Usually he will take it and it's only moments later that he will let go and run off. I give him the choice he can hold my hand and walk by my side or I can carry him. Mostly he opts to hold my hand but there have been times where he will sit on the path thinking about it. I have on occasion picked him up and he has kicked his legs demanding to be put down. So I again give him a choice, hold my hand or I can carry you.  Honestly I have difficultly following through with many types of discipline but in this case I'm slowly seeing results which is encouraging me to continue. 

It's also a nice reminder to allow Otis to observe his surroundings. In all of our usual surroundings (school/local shops) I ensure Otis has plenty of time to sit, play where possible and watch the goings on. For example after we have crossed the road together we might pause and watch the tuck go by or watch the garbage truck empy the bins. It's reinforcing safety and that freedom comes with limits. 

 

The Three Period Lesson - it's really effective!

The advice I have received is you can start presenting a three period lesson as early as you like. A toddler might only get as far as the second period especially if they aren't very verbal. Honestly the only reason I haven't used it earlier with Otis is because I kept of forgetting the steps, the periods. Every time I thought about it I missed a step and it didn't make sense. So I did something I haven't admitted before and printed out a cue card!

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I was prepared to stop at the second period but I was totally surprised by his willingness to verbalise the name of the items. I have actually found this a great and really effective way to expand his vocabulary. Otis doesn't say a lot of words so each new word feels like an achievement. Out of this lesson I presented today the tractor is the only name that has stuck but still I think that is fantastic.

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These little cars and trucks are stored in a basket in our living area and are played with everyday. These are the exact trucks Otis was observing at three months.

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If you read a few blogs you'll find that everyone presents this lesson a little differently. I won't tell you how it should be presented but the card contains the steps and words that I like to use. A couple of tips include to use items your child is already familiar with and choose the time you present this wisely. In the last two weeks Otis's rhythm has changed and he now concentrates best in the afternoon. Actually this would be a good lesson to present before matching work if your child wasn't already familiar with the names of the items. 

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If you have a younger child you might be interested to read how Jodi presented a three period lesson to Logan at thirteen months at Monkey Toes Montessori.

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School holidays language work round-up

I know there are a million language activity ideas out there but what activities do we actually do in our home?

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During the recent school holidays Caspar was interested in writing and initiated most of these activities. The above activity he did not initiate as it was prescribed by his speech pathologist. I thought it was such an interesting idea I wanted to share it. I haven't been worried about Caspar's grammar but his speech pathologist thought it was time he was accurate with the use of he/she. Caspar was presented with two A4 sheets, one of a girl and one of a boy. He was then given a set of cards depicting a person doing something. Caspar was required to say what the person was doing on the card ("she is ..." or "he is ...") and then match it to the girl or boy. 

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I love the imagination of the child. This sign says POLICE and is to let me know that behind this door is the police station. Caspar engages in role play and would often write illegible signs. I'm so happy the time has come that I can actually decipher the signs.

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Numbers are important too. In addition to using the sand tray and this book Caspar has been recording the temperature everyday. It's good practice and Caspar is naturally inquisitive about the weather. We recently received a copy of the letter work book which Caspar has been using too. 

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We made a lot of books for Otis using our homemade journals. With some I wrote the words and Caspar drew the pictures. The above book originated from some printables from Montessori Print Shop where the child can match the word to the picture. Instead of simple matching Caspar glued them into a book. There is no control of error doing it this way so Caspar would come to me to check before gluing. It makes for fun bed time reading!

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Copy work with chalk. We have a chalk board and chalk outside. Over the two weeks Caspar often asked me to write down words for him to copy on the pavement. It's hard work to apply pressure to the chalk and form the letters. Caspar was also writing his own words and asking me to read them, they were all made-up words and I did my best to sound them out. 

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I think it goes without saying but Caspar did a lot of reading during the holidays too. He found a series of comics books that he really enjoys and I often found him tucked away hiding and reading. I love the school holidays as the uninterrupted days allow for catching up and spending time together that just doesn't happen during the term. 

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Matching with more and DIY cards

After my last post I decided to give Otis the opportunity to do matching work with a greater number of items. With a refrigerator full of food matching fruit and vegetables (once again) looked like a good option. This was good, physical work for Otis. I want to mention that we do this work together and Otis doesn't always complete his matching work or get it right all the time. 

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This matching work could also be used as a language activity as I realised Otis doesn't know the names of all of these vegetables. My floor was clean and we have or will eat all of these foods.

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This is another matching activity Otis has on his shelves. There are only three objects but he is familiar with all three and I thought this would be a good starting point. When I started preparing activities like this for Caspar I was hesitant because I knew I wasn't doing it or presenting it in a purely Montessori way. I've let go of that now because I have accepted that I'm not a teacher but a parent and I don't place unrealistic expectations on myself. I think we all work with the information that we have and the resources we have and by doing this we are doing the best by our children. 

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I made these cards at home with my digital camera and ink jet printer. Except for a bit of reflection these were easy to photograph. I put the utensil on a white piece of paper on a table outside (in a shaded but bright area) and took the photograph looking down. I made sure in each photograph the utensils were the same size, in the centre and printed on gloss paper. I prefer gloss over matt. Gloss looks a little more durable but these are not water proof. If you have a little dribbler like I have keep them away from dribbling on the paper. You could use contact or laminate if you want. 

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Other items can be more difficult to photograph. Even with the help of Otis.

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I love these model Australian birds. I have two sets so Otis can match the models and also match to the cards. I have printed these with a border but my printer will print to the edge if that's the look you prefer. You can tell they are DIY, they're definitely not perfect. I use a Mac and use iPhoto to blur the edge (corner point) where the two background pieces of paper meet in the photograph. 

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It's a matter of compromise. I recently had the opportunity to see in person some cards from Michael Olaf and they were gorgeous, nice to hold and really high quality. 

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With matching work there are so many options!

Sorting and Matching

I'm not sure if it's related to Caspar being back at school or to his stage in development but Otis is going through his materials at a great pace. He is using a lot of materials everyday although he might only do the activity once or twice which might last only one or two minutes. In some way this is really frustrating as he appears to be concentrating less and acting like he is in a hurry.

Above Otis is matching some small model animals. Most of his matching activities to date have been matching identical items such as model animals or fruits and vegetables. 

Today we started a sorting activity with nuts. Otis cannot sit still and there is no way of making him, it's a matter of embracing it. He was still able to sort the nuts while jumping and moving around. I would love a sorting tray, some empty bowls could have worked well too. 

Today I also introduced matching household items to identical picture cards. I knew that he would be able to do this and really could have introduced it months ago. This was fun as he did sit still to explore the items before sorting. Otis did this many times as he enjoyed setting up the activity and placing the cards at the top of his mat. I only put three items in the basket but I now realise this was a gross underestimation of his ability. I think he could easily manage 9-12 objects. What do you think? Perhaps the work I have been presenting him (or making available on his shelves) isn't challenging enough. Time to make some more cards! 

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The Period of Maximum Effort and Undertaking Intelligent Activity

I recently published a photograph of Otis lifting a heavy rock in the Photo of the Day. I couldn't remember exactly how Montessori referred to this stage. This stage when children find opportunities for maximum effort. It appears that Otis is right at the peak of this stage. 

Maria Montessori's words (from The Absorbent Mind) are so relevant. It was only yesterday that I took this series of photographs. 

Observation shows that at the age of one and a half a new factor appears of great importance to the development of both arms and feet. This is the development of strength. The child who has become active and skillful feels himself strong... Instead of merely walking, the child likes to take very long walks and to carry quite heavy things.    

The hand which has learnt to grasp must train itself to lift weights and to move them. Here is a child of one and a half clutching in his arms a huge jar of water which he manages to support, but keeping his balance wtih difficulty and walking very slowly. 

But Otis is doing more than carrying a container of water.

We may put it like this: the child's intelligence can develop to a certain level without the help of his hand. But if it develops with his hand, then the level it reaches is higher, and the child's character is stronger... those children who have been able to work with their hands make headway in their development, and reach a strength of character which is conspicuous.

Therefore, it is clear that we must not carry the child about, but let him walk, and if his hand wishes to work we must provide him with things on which he can exercise an intelligent activity. His own actions are what take the little one along the road to independence.

He is undertaking an intelligent activity on his road to independence.  

By observing Otis at the tap I realised I only need to loosen the tap slightly for him to be able to operate it himself. The Montessori mantra here is to provide the least amount of help necessary. A slightly loose tap and Otis can fill his watering can and water the carrots. This is significant because Otis isn't just watering a plant, he is watering food that we will eat and he's doing it by himself - with his own hands. 

I have no training in Montessori so I'm hesitant to write too much about how to observe a child. I've learnt from being a parent that sometimes it's easier to observe one part of the child at a time. While taking these photographs I was observing Otis's hands. I totally block out noise and almost lose consciousness of what is going on around me. I focus on his hands, what he is touching, how he is touching, what his hands are doing, what works and what doesn't. Observing his grip, his fingers, his wrists, his movements.

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The take home message for me and this eighteen month old is not only to provide activities for the hands such as puzzles and toys but to provide intelligent activity where he can exercise maximum effort. I cannot think of a better way to fulfill this than with practical life activities. Also by observing I can determine the exact amount of help required so that I can provide the least amount of assistance necessary.

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Tomorrow I will put a small bucket outside. I think he will enjoy filling, transporting and watering out of a bucket also. 

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A Pouring Activity

Otis began pouring his own drink at 13 months (you can see how we went about it here). At the time he was about 50% accurate, about half of the water made it to the glass. Now at eighteen months it's still pretty much the same - lots of spills.

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This little pouring activity is easy to set up with two little jugs, a tray and something to pour. We've used dried beans but there are lots of other things your could use; dried pasta, rice, beads, water etc. The tray is good to store the activity and to collect most of the spills. 

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When Otis pours himself a drink he likes to repeat the pouring process and will pour from jug to glass, glass to jug over and over. This is why I like this activity for him right now - he can pour until his heart is content!

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An opportunity to practice the pincer as his picks up each spilt bean and puts it back into the jug. 

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Keeping it real. There is a bit of this too.

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Montessori Services (based in the US) has a great range of Pouring Sets which are good to look at even for those of us overseas. They demonstrate what I would call an ideal set-up and have lots of pouring ideas. I love the glass pitchers which give the child the opportunity to observe the entire pouring process. 

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Tomorrow is Otis's first day at our Montessori Parent-Toddler class. I'm more than a little excited!

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LOVE

I guarantee your child will love these. They super easy to make. I made circles of the same size so the children could focus on the colours but it would be just as easy to cut out different shapes for the children to 'build' on the window. I find this more of art expression than learning about shapes or colours. 

How did we get to this point? After making the Fun Colour Window Shapes (which I totally love because the black frames make a real statement) I laminated cellophane and then later tried contact and cellophane. Contact and cellophane didn't work so well as there were too many bubbles. At the stationary store I looked for coloured transparent contact which I thought would work well doubled over and cut out on the window. I couldn't find any contact that would work but I did find some colour plastic document pockets. I looked at colour plastic page dividers but the plastic pockets worked out to be more economical. 

To make these shapes I cut the coloured plastic document pockets at the sides to flatten them out. I traced around the outside of a small bowl with a pen to make a circle and then cut out all circles with scissors. I put the circles in a container by the window and invited the kids to play. 

To apply the circles to the window they need to be slightly moist. I lightly sprayed the window with water. They are easily applied and reapplied without any mess. Otis loves putting them on but also loves peeling them off.

They look great in the morning sun when you can get the coloured reflection inside on the floor. 

Beautiful. 

Can you laminate cellophane?

After making the Fun Colour Window Shapes I was left wondering could they be laminated. I had serious doubts, I thought the cellophane might melt in the laminator. I put one shape through the laminator and it worked fine. The cellophane was a little wrinkly but the shape was super tough and would stand up to any toddler. I didn't like it though. After being laminated the cellophane didn't make that lovely crinkly sound and it felt nicer to hold when the frame was just cardboard. Keep in mind my cardboard/cellophane/unlaminated versions are crinkled and a little torn from Otis using them and laminated ones would probably last forever. 

I also tried laminating plain cellophane which worked well. Again some crinkles and a few bubbles. My laminator did overheat and needed to cool down completely in between laminating each sheet. Otis likes to play and of course carry around these colour water bottles but was completely uninterested in colour matching. Because Otis is not interested in using them together I will keep the bottles and cellophane sheets separate. Perhaps use them them as a language activity in a basket on his shelves. Do you remember our Little Water Bottles, wow that was a long time ago, Otis was only seven months old.

These laminated cellophane sheets look good in the window, you can cut them to any shape and they are perfect for colour matching and colour blending activities. I'm even wondering if we can use them for Christmas decorations, perhaps window bunting?

New activities for Otis at 18 months

This week I've been short on time so make it easy for myself I thought I would post pictures of some new things Otis has been doing. He is now eighteen months old but I want you to know that age is not a good indicator of skill level. All of these materials Caspar used at a much later age, perhaps closer to two years. Otis likes threading which could be why so many threading activities feature here. He uses a stacker and the threading activity with the container and matchsticks almost everyday. 

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The top photograph is a wonderful idea from Pinterest using pipe cleaners and an upside down colander.

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This is a very cheap shape puzzle I found at the supermarket many years ago. This is on the edge of his skill level. He can thread the circles only. So he's comfortable using it as he can accomplish the circles and over time will work on threading the other shapes. 

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This is a Montessori inspired Kid O puzzle. This is also on the edge of his skill level. Usually he will take them all out and put them back getting only one or two back in the right place. 

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I was surprised that Otis has so much success with this threading activity. Often people will start threading with large beads on something straight like a chopstick. Otis takes a long time but he gets it. So good for building his concentration. Many of his puzzles he only works on for a minute or two (if that) but he works at this for much longer. 

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And sometimes when you have your camera out you capture a magical moment. Otis has never built a tower so high or been so engaged with this toy before. He just kept on going, really concentrating. 

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