The Kavanaugh Report

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that Teddy has been showing up more and more in his undies in stories and in recent months. Starting when he was around 15 months old (so solidly walking and standing) We slowly started making the shift to undies during the day. I wanted to share a little about the beginning of our potty learning journey and what gains we have seen.

Typically, I would keep my babies bare-bottomed for a long time before using underwear. But, I found with distance learning and big kids on zoom, that was hard this time around. It was too difficult to ensure Teddy wouldn't wander in front of the camera naked or that the big kids would remember not to have their screen on when upstairs. So, he's been in undies more than any of my other kids were at this age. 


A few things to know:  Our goal in using undies at this age is only to give Teddy the opportunity to use the potty and to be aware of how his body is working. I have zero expectations for when he will …

Themed shelves for every holiday? Weekly shelf rotations? Open ended toys? In this week's episode Nicole and Amy discuss toy rotations in their Montessori homes. We talk about how we approach toy rotations, themed work, and our rotation rhythms. From our own observations, to actually choosing toys, we talk about everything toy rotations. 
This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. Show Notes...Nicole's Email ListToy Rotation in Our Montessori HomeWalking through a Toy Rotation - A Step-By-Step GuideRotating Toys - Montessori Baby Week 16What if My Child isn't Using Montessori Work Correctly?Horizontal Ring SliderWhich Open-Ended Toys are "Worth it?"Way to Play RoadsSchleich Animals  Thanks for joining me for today's podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share and leave a review in your favorite podcast app.
If you are interested in finding Shelf Help in a podcast app, it is available on Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google. 
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There are so many amazing things that children can do in the kitchen! Practical life work really is the center of a Montessori home. At 17-months, Teddy is just starting to get to the point of being interested in kitchen work. Mostly, he still just wants to eat everything that we are using (which totally normal and fine!) 

One kitchen task that he has been super interested in and engaged with has been sprinkling! It all started when Gus came home from school asking for bananas with cinnamon - a common snack in his classroom. Well, Teddy loves bananas so he was all over Gus' snack. So, I was trying to think of a way that Teddy could also get involved in making the snack for himself and it hit me - sprinkling. He could use his fingers (where Gus just uses the bottle) to put cinnamon on for himself. Eventually, I added chia seeds to this snack for a little protein and healthy fat. And, ever since then it's been a favorite snack here for all my kids. 

Anyway, this simple snack has g…

Play silks are one of the most used playthings in our home. From Teddy through Henry, every single one of my children uses play silks daily. They can be anything - capes, bags, dress up, forts, jump ropes, or play scenes. I'm constantly in awe of how much creativity and play they spark. Morgan and I often joke that we could get rid of all of our toys except the play silks and our indoor swing and our kids would find hours and hours of entertainment. 

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But, over the years, we have had some trouble figuring out the best way to store the silks in a way that helps to keep them organized and accessible. For a long time, we kept them all in one basket, but what would happen is that the kids couldn't find the *exact one* they needed and would dump the basket out looking for it. This would lead to the entire collection of play silks scattered throughout the playroom in an overwhelming heap. Come clean up time, no one wanted to restore…

At 17-months-old a lot of the practical life that Teddy engages in on a daily basis is centered around self-care. In fact, a lot of his day is centered around self-care tasks. He's busy learning how to take his clothes off, put them on, brushing his teeth, wiping his face, "brushing" his lack of hair, potty learning, and feeding himself. Over the last week he's taken a very big interest in putting on shoes and Gus' snow boots. These practical tasks are often the most important work that a 1-year-old can be doing. It's this work that grounds his day. 
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In order to make this work possible we have to prepare our environment for success. Within the prepared environment, Teddy is free to choose this work as he feels called. One change we made some weeks ago was completing his self-care station in our bathroom for Ted. The small towel bar has been in the bathroom for standing diaper changes for some months. The lit…

Deciding on a school can be difficult choice for many families. In this week's episode, Nicole and Amy talk about what they look for when deciding on a Montessori school for their children. They examine some of the "must haves" and some of the things that would give them pause about specific schools. They also have an honest discussion on the pros and cons of public verses private Montessori schools.  Show Notes...Montessori Public Policy InitiativeAMI School LocatorAMS - Find a SchoolNational Center For Montessori in the Public SectorPublic Montessori is a Thing!  Thanks for joining me for today's podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share and leave a review in your favorite podcast app.
If you are interested in finding Shelf Help in a podcast app, it is available on Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google. 
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