The Kavanaugh Report

At 13 months there is so much change in Teddy! He is very much leaving his baby days behind and moving into toddlerhood. With that I've noticed lately that the toys he is reaching for on the shelves have changed as well. I love observing him, taking note, and making changes accordingly! While he is super into gross motor movement (especially throwing), Teddy is also ready for some more challenge. I see him working his wrist and finger movements, I see him ready for some more logic challenges, and more language opportunities!

Here's a look at the toys that are in and those that are out! 
This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. What's OutThese are the toys that I have noticed that Ted seems to have lost interest in. Some of these may make a reappearance later on but some are ready to be retired altogether. 

Object Permanence Box - Ted finally seems done with this toy! It's been on his shelves since he was around 8 months old, so it has seen a lot of use! This p…

I feel like Teddy was just born yesterday and I was just sharing our playroom space with his movement area. The movement area is a prepared space for Montessori babies. But, in reality, Teddy is a busy 13-month-old now. He doesn't need or want a small prepared space, or cozy corner. His needs have changed and with it so has his play space. 
To responding to his changing needs, I switched up our entire playroom recently. Instead of a small defined area meant to help keep him safe, my changes prioritized his need for more movement, materials, and practical life work.

This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. MovementAs he started to walk, I knew that he would need more room to move. I arranged the space to maximize open areas. He needs room to run, to roam, to push, to spin, to throw, and to climb. While the movement area allowed for a lot of baby movement, Teddy is ready to take those skills to the next level and put them to use throughout the entire house! 
Making sure his…

Young toddlers (1-year-olds) are busy little humans. They are wandering, exploring, hauling, pushing, pulling little mobile people. At 13-months, I sometimes, I wonder if Teddy has sat down at all, all day long. Most of the time, I'm pretty sure the answer to that is "no." This can make mealtimes at his weaning table fairly interesting. But, today, I wanted to talk about something other than movement - I wanted to talk about manners. As babies turn into toddlers, and start becoming bigger and more capable, there is the question of manners. 
What happens when your young toddlers shoves their banana into their cup? What happens when they stand up at the table? What happens if they wander away? What happens if they dump their water? What happens if they throw their food? Or play with their food? 

This post contains affiliate link at no cost to you.
While there can be a big leap in our toddler's abilities as they start to grow, it is important to remember that they are stil…

Nicole and Amy are celebrating 30 episodes of Shelf Help this week with a question and answer session. We are answering a bunch of questions about budgets, getting spouses on board with Montessori, sound games, and so much more. 
Shelf Help will return from Fall Break on October 26.  Show Notes:Nicole's Instagram | Amy's InstagramHow To Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori WayMaria Montessori Speaks to ParentsTag Toys Ball TrackerRadio Flyer Walker WagonWhat are Montessori Sound Games and Language Objects?How We Approach Montessori Sound Games + Some TipsSound games - a.k.a. Montessori “I Spy”Entertaining a Toddler with Morning SicknesPrime Day DealsThe Most Important Aspects of a Montessori Home
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If you are interested in finding Shelf Help in a podcast app, it is available on Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google.



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In a Montessori school, kids are constantly moving. Maria Montessori called her method an "education of movement" because learning happens with and through movement. In this Covid world of virtual schooling, that movement becomes a lot harder to come by. Especially if you are attending a Montessori school virtually, like Nora. While her school tries to balance the amount of time they are on a virtual call and the amount of time they are away from screens, she is spending SO much more time than I would like on a screen. Typically as a screen free family, she wouldn't have any daily screen time. Now, we're looking at a couple hours a day. 

With this virtual model, her need to move hasn't just disappeared. Nor has the need to learn through movement. So, I've been trying to offer her some concrete ways to keep her body engaged in the digital learning. I've found that if her hands stay busy she is much more likely to pay attention and learn from the virtual cla…

Young toddlers are so fascinating when it comes to movement. As soon as they start to do something, they have to do it bigger, harder, and faster. Maria Montessori observed this phenomenon and talked about the importance of allowing toddlers to reach maximum effort. It's not that your toddler just loves to move, they need to exert themselves fully, testing out new skills and pushing the physical limits. 
Now that Teddy has mastered the skill of walking, it's time for this same maximum effort work to begin. As a fairly new walker, Teddy has one thing on his mind - pushing, pulling, and carrying all the things. 

It's super interesting to observe because I feel like half the time he likes to carry something around to help him balance, and the other half I think he likes it cause it makes it harder to balance. I just love this age. But, anything Teddy can carry, push, or pull, he is into it! In fact, he spends most of his day doing just that! 
Thankfully, these needs are really e…