I love children's books about the natural world. Today I am sharing a few children's gardening books that are particularly beautiful and that have inspired me to take action in our own home. Easy Peasy: Gardening for Kids - This is absolutely the most beautiful children's gardening book. The illustrations are so bold and vibrant. This is also a little whimsical and supports reusing materials from the home and making do with what we have. Includes 20 activities that promote gardening anywhere and everywhere (pots, containers, balconies). Extremely easy to follow. Also contains non-activity pages that include facts and information... Read more →
Are you looking for something new to make with your children? I love making Gnocchi with Otto (36 months). I set the activity on his low cooking table so he can reach everything he needs. Bringing the activity down to the child's level is a good idea if possible. It tells the child 'this is your baking'. The child takes the lead and I am there to help and guide when needed. Gnocchi is great for children who like to get their hands dirty and for those who love play-dough. The Gnocchi dough needs rolling and cutting and this rolling... Read more →
Today I want to share some of the language materials we have on our shelves. My son is 3 years (36 months) old but age is not so relevant here. You will find these activities are potentially useful for children from 2 to 4 years. Children's interests and ability with language materials vary greatly. It's important that we meet the child where they are at and not feel that we need to rush this very important stage in development. Here are four activities that we currently have on our shelves: Rhyming Activity with Objects - I've presented this in a... Read more →
Now that Otto is three I would like to see him further develop his tripod grasp. At this age I won't step in and correct his grasp but I but will prepare the environment including the materials to support him. Due to their unique shapes and designs these crayons support the child's developing tripod grasp, they really help the child to strengthen their hand muscles and work the fingers. These aren''t perfect the child can still hold some of them with a whole hand grasp but overall I've seen an improvement with my child's grasp when using these crayons. Crayon... Read more →
There are lots of good reasons to include items from nature in our art trays. Nature items have different textures and smells and provide a different experience to using paper or other stationary items. Using items from nature also: demonstrates resourcefulness - using what is readily available in the environment promotes creativity and out of the box thinking promotes learning about seasons and seasonality - what resources are available and when respects our natural environment leads to further exploration and new ideas/discoveries in using nature in art Here are eight nature based trays we've used recently. Drawing on Paperbark -... Read more →
At what age do you give your child a camera? Or perhaps you wait for the child to show an interest? I've found that a child as young as three is capable of using basic camera functions including the skills to point and click with some thought and accuracy. We gave Otto a camera for his third birthday. While he loves to use it there are many educational benefits to using a camera at this age. When using a camera the child learns how to capture and document events, places, people, their work and what is going on around them.... Read more →
Are you looking for some fresh magnifying tray or activity ideas for your children? Here are ten that we've tried and enjoyed with my preschooler. Magnifying Glass with Matching Large and Small Cards - as this activity is new to us I've only put out three cards and they are really for observing. Later I will present all the cards and allow the child to match. This is so cute, my preschooler loves looking at the little images with the magnifying glass. Cards found here. Children's Binoculars - with an easy carry bag and a note 'take me on a... Read more →
Today I want to share six lovely, practical Montessori inspired bedrooms. There is no one right way to design a Montessori bedroom, our needs and likes are different, our families and homes are different. Let's take a closer look. This is such a big space and I love how the owners have been able to incorporate lots of different zones including zones for reading, dressing, sleeping and playing. I also love the use of natural earthy colours. There is lots of colour in this room but it still feels warm and soothing. This rooms just looks so cozy. The materials,... Read more →
I noticed Otto loving the geoboard at his Montessori toddler group a couple of weeks ago so I thought it might be time to get ours out of the cupboard. Previously he had been using the toddler geoboard (#2) but perhaps now we could try a larger one like our standard geoboard (#4) or our transparent geoboard (#3) on the light table. At this age the purpose of using the geoboard is for the child to: get to know the material and how it works - for the child to become proficient in using the material so that it can... Read more →
Otto (36 months) is now cutting and using scissors with greater accuracy. To help him further improve his accuracy and also improve his fine motor skills we've introduced a range of cutting strips. I love using cutting strips with images as they also help promote language development and they are much more interesting for the child to use. At this age I like to use cutting strips where there is a bit of a gap between the images as they are easier for the young child to use. Here are some of our current favourites. Construction Vehicles Dogs Cars &... Read more →
It's easy to prepare an activity and put it on your shelves. It's much harder to prepare an activity that meets your child's developmental needs and is also attractive to the child. My toddler doesn't love pasting and he will walk past most pasting trays. I know pasting is a valuable skill so I set out to make some pasting trays that he will actually use and enjoy. I recently watched a video of a Montessori guide who suggested cutting out images for the child to paste from magazines and wrapping paper. My magazines didn't have many useful images but... Read more →
I've been inspired to try some woodwork with Otto since reading Learning Through Woodwork: Introducing Creative Woodwork in the Early Years by Pete Moorhouse. Otto turns three this month so I wasn't sure how to start. Learning Through Woodwork contains good tips for introducing woodwork and it has lots of beautiful photographs of children 3-4 years old working with wood. The author believes that the preschool years starting from three is the ideal time to start woodwork! This feels entirely in line with the Montessori way of thinking. Today I want to share three ways I've introduced woodworking to Otto.... Read more →
We love our Mystery Box, you can see our DIY version here. The idea is very similar to the Stereognostic Bag, the child uses their sense of touch to identify the object/s in the box. The box works well for toddlers as it's harder for them to peek. Using only their hands the child develops their stereognostic sense, the child uses touch to form a mental picture of the object until they can identify or name the object. Recently we have been using mystery boxes (or feely boxes) in a slightly different way. We have been using two smaller boxes... Read more →
We know that toddlers can act crazy, often operating at great speed in unpredictable ways. However, we also know that toddlers are capable of considered and controlled movements, they are capable of being accurate and precise. Toddlers can concentrate and they can determine risk. My toddler loves to jump off steps and stairs. I can see him working out the risk... 'is this too high?' as he decides to jump off the second step rather than the third. Occasionally, he miscalculates and hits the ground a little too awkwardly or too hard, this is good feedback and will assist him... Read more →
Why would we want to make a letter writing tray for our toddler or preschooler? A letter writing tray provides young children with the opportunity to write letters or draw pictures as gifts for friends and family and it introduces the child to the letter writing process including using names, possibly addresses and envelopes. It teaches children about written communication in a real, practical and meaningful way. This may also be a good way to introduce thank you notes or even cards for celebrations. I recognise the wonderful fine motor skills used here too. My toddler loves this tray and... Read more →