Do you feel bad when your child says, "I'm bored!"? Sometimes we feel like we have to constantly be available to entertain our child/ren. We have children because we want to enjoy their company, share experiences, watch them grow, and support them when needed. And we can also create inspiring environments that our children can use to develop themselves, with us there alongside them as their guide, not their entertainer. THE ENVIRONMENT We can use our home environment to help: 1. By … [Read more...] about “I’m bored!” and what we can do about it
Montessori activities
Kindling the child’s interest
Is that something you think about? How we can kindle the child's interest? After class today I was catching up on some podcasts while preparing for the next session and I always love listening to a new episode of the Montessori Bookclub Podcast with Jana Morgan Herman. I was honoured to have Jana visit our classes back in 2015. She is one of the most well-read and experienced Montessori educators and always finds the most wonderful treasures from the Montessori archives. Jana reads parts … [Read more...] about Kindling the child’s interest
Grace and courtesy – learning to say please, thank you and sorry
In Montessori you may have come across the kind of old-fashioned term “grace and courtesy.” Grace and courtesy might otherwise be known as manners but most broadly is how we teach our children what is acceptable in our society. Whilst we do learn grace and courtesy lessons to give to children in our Montessori training, grace and courtesy will not be the same for every family or community. Grace and courtesy will be culturally responsive. That is to say that these may differ based on … [Read more...] about Grace and courtesy – learning to say please, thank you and sorry
What are stereognostic bags?
Back in this blog post of my favourite activities for 2.5 years olds, I promised to come back to stereognostic bags to show you how they work. These bags help children to develop that sense of feeling around an object to work out what it is just as we can put our hands in our bag to find our keys or glasses. These bags are often called mystery bags, but I do love hearing 2.5 year olds picking up “stereognostic bag” just as easily. These are great for developing their stereognostic sense, … [Read more...] about What are stereognostic bags?