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movement
BOTW: Good-Night Yoga
On a recent date night at a local bookstore (exciting, I know), my husband came across Good-Night Yoga: A Pose-By-Pose Bedtime Story. Neither of us practice yoga, but we'd been trying to find activities we can do as a family in the evenings that will engage both a three-year-old and a seven-year-old AND that will help us transition peacefully into the bedtime routine.We've been reading and yoga-ing with this book a couple of evenings a week for the past month, and it's become on of our...
The Power of Simplicity and Trust
The fundamental concept for the educator [and the parent] is not to become an obstacle in the development of the child.
-Maria Montessori, The Child In the Family
One reason I love to blog is because it gives me the opportunity to connect with many amazing parents. After I wrote the post about Zach's experiences with the Jaramillo soup, I began an e-mail correspondence with a reader (let's call her Adriana) who felt the soup was right for her three-month old son (let's call him Charlie). We...
The Basket of Known Objects
The Basket of Known Objects is one of the most simple and effective Montessori activities for babies. It promotes exploration, language, sensory development and movement... Best of all, it's 100% FREE!!
As its name implies, this activity requires placing 4-6 safe objects that you find around the house into achild-sized basket. It can be introduced around the age of three months, or when you see that your child is beginning to grasp objects. If your baby can sit up against pillows, you can...
As its name implies, this activity requires placing 4-6 safe objects that you find around the house into achild-sized basket. It can be introduced around the age of three months, or when you see that your child is beginning to grasp objects. If your baby can sit up against pillows, you can...
He Likes to Move It, Move It...
I had the good fortune of capturing Zach on video while he worked on his gross motor skills. (Please pardon the wonky camera angle; I didn't want him to know I was filming him.) I want to share what I recorded because I feel it illustrates several key principles for supporting the development of movement...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhZOv680Q9k
Motives for movement:The development of movement is two-pronged. There is an evolutionary drive to move that comes from within the child, but it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhZOv680Q9k
Motives for movement:The development of movement is two-pronged. There is an evolutionary drive to move that comes from within the child, but it...
To Walk is Noble
A recent post on How We Montessori addressedthe importance of letting toddlers walk when they show enthusiasm for it. Yes, a walking toddler slows you down, but what's your hurry? Parents are always claiming that they want to stimulate their child's intelligence, and yet they put a stop to the ONE activity that will most enhance cognitive growth - purposefulmovement.
It has always driven me NUTS to see three-year olds being pushed in strollers. Have you looked at a child's face when he's...
It has always driven me NUTS to see three-year olds being pushed in strollers. Have you looked at a child's face when he's...
The Items In Our Basket Go Round and Round
Zach just turned 7 months and he's on the move! I'm intrigued by how much effort he puts into his movements and can only imagine how difficult it must be to drag yourself around a room when your arms won't hold you up reliably, your legs tuck under you but then splay right out again, and your head weighs the same as the rest of your body. Regardless, our little boy continues to grunt and inch his way towards whatever catches his attention.
To support this developmental phase, I've placed in...
To support this developmental phase, I've placed in...The Realities of a Floor Bed (i.e. You don't always get to call the shots with a Montessori child)
This week, Zach came to the exciting realization that he could transport himself across a room. Using a combination of army crawling, slithering, and rolling, he covers the span of his bedroom in mere seconds. His new-found ability has made me appreciate the genius of the floor bed even more, but it has also reminded me that nature is in charge here, not me.
Yesterday we had to go to L.A. for the first half of the day, so poor Zach basically spent 5 hours in a car seat (mostly asleep)....
Yesterday we had to go to L.A. for the first half of the day, so poor Zach basically spent 5 hours in a car seat (mostly asleep)....
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