The Kavanaugh Report

We seem to live in a culture obsessed with safety, or at least I do. There seems to be a million different rules for how to keep babies and young children safe in our dangerous world. And, incidentally, a product you can buy to make your world a safer, better place. Baby proofing has become a whole industry of toilet locks, bumper pads, locks, and covers.

This can be sort of a challenge for Montessori families. Montessori emphasizes the freedom of movement, the need for young children to explore and manipulate their environment, and generally just trusts kids with "dangerous" objects {like knives, or working tools} from a much younger age than most mainstream parents. In Montessori, it is the adult's job the prepare the space to make it safe and accessible to children, not our job to place roadblocks to exploration in our home.


But, this doesn't mean that Montessori homes don't take precautions to keep babies safe. But, it has to be balanced with these other Mon…

It's been a long week here, Gus has been super sick with some sort of bad cold/flu-ish symptoms. With a high fever, we have been at home, snuggling our days away and pretty much not doing anything else. These kinds of weeks are always so hard, not only because it's awful to see your baby sick, but also those little bodies want to just keep moving even when they know they are super sick. They can go through periods where they just don't feel good, but they just have to do something. This can be especially challenging, if you don't let your toddlers use screens. 

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So, I thought I would share a few ideas on how I entertain my sick toddler who is stuck and home and needs some rest. I'm sure there are more that could be added to this list! Books, books, and more books. We spend tons of time cuddled together reading. Peek-a-boo with play silks Warm baths with lots of cups for pouring Cuddling, lots of cuddling. Babywea…

Practical life is the corner stone to Montessori at home. Giving children the opportunity to independently work at the practical tasks that they are draw to in their home is such a gift. Outside the Montessori world, it's sadly one that many families never give their children. 
Yet, mainstream parenting (and toy companies) seem to understand a child's desire to participate in practical tasks. Except, they don't make it real, or practical. A whole host of pretend toys is available for most practical tasks. You can get pretend vacuums, pretend cleaning tools, pretend watering cans, and pretend food. All pretend. All meant to entice a child to fulfill their natural desires to participate in practical tasks. But, do they really? Are play kitchens Montessori?

In Montessori, it's different. We invite children to real and purposeful work. In the words of Maria Montessori, "We are completely on the wrong track when we believe that expensive tows should keep a child happy…

You guys know how much we love to read around here! Sorry I haven't done one of these posts in awhile. To be honest, we just haven't been to the library as much as we typically go. We have had some rotten illnesses circulating among us, then with the holidays we just didn't make it. Don't worry we have still been reading, just from our personal collection in addition to these few library books {thank goodness for online renewal!} 
Here's a look at the books we enjoyed these past couple of months! 



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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory* | Albert the Fix-It Man | A Field Full of Horses | Shadow Chasers | Niko Draws a Feeling | The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade | Lemonade in Winter: A Book about Two Kids Counting Money | Wet | Sister Day!
* denotes elements of fantasy

This time, Henry's favorite was hands down Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This was a special book we only read to him and he loved it. At n…

If I could sum toddlers up in a couple of words they would be exploration and movement. Everything young toddlers do includes these two words. They are constantly exploring, constantly moving and often blending the two seamlessly into a flurry of activity. As babies get older, they become interested in all of the things in their environment, and our role becomes to let them have the time and space to explore. 

As young toddlers, there is a sudden curiosity about what is INSIDE objects. They want to open, they want to close. They want to figure out exactly how things work and what is hiding inside. There is just an interest interest in every day objects and their functions. But, it isn't always possible to let your toddler explore every single thing you have in your environment. This is where an open/close basket can come in handy. 

An open and close treasure basket is so simple and easy to put together. Just gather a variety of regular objects that open and close. The types of objec…

It's that time of year where everyone is trying to figure out what in the world to do with all these new toys they have. Do you put them out? Do you store them for later? If you put them out, what do you do with all the old things? It can be really frustrating, especially since we know that too many toys can be a big problem in a Montessori environment. 

The answer to this problem is toy rotation. This idea that you put out some toys now, and then store the others. You then rotate the toys as needed so that your children have things that fit their interests and present the appropriate amount of challenge. But, what does that practically mean in a Montessori environment? I'll tell you right away what it does NOT mean - rotating your toys on a specific time schedule. 
Keep some of these ideas in mind as you think about rotating toys!  Sense of Order Young children (birth to around age 6) are in the sensitive period for order. They have this incredible sense of order that can be…

My kids love to work in the kitchen! They especially love to work in the kitchen when they are making sweet treats for themselves and for the whole family. One thing that they make over and over again is cinnamon rolls! I have been asked to share this recipe time and time again, because it is so perfect for children to make independently.

See Nora in action making these rolls here. And here!

Now, if you are looking for a gluten free, sugar-free, healthy treat, this is not your recipe. They are still delicious but a sometimes treat for our family. These easy cinnamon rolls are something that my family has been making since I was a little child. It was one of my favorite desserts as a kid, and now that tradition has been passed to my children. That means, that some of these instructions are more guidelines than hard and fast rules, so feel free to adjust to fit the needs of your family. 
This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.  Ingredients - You'll Need Bisquick Baking …

I wasn’t specifically going to write about what my kids got for Christmas this year, because I simply ran out of time before the holiday. But, I went on Instagram and did a live video recently about the books that my children received this year. And, I got so many direct-messages asking me to write a post about what my children received. 
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So, here’s a look at a few of the Montessori friendly materials my kids had under the tree this year. The good thing about doing this after the holiday is that I can share their most favorite choices! Books
Each Peach Pear Plum | Tracks in the Snow | Counting on Community | The Planets | The Shirley Hughes Nursery Collection | Snow Comes to the Farm | Animals in Winter | The First Snowfall | Windows | Singing in the Rain | Geography from A to Z: A Picture Glossary | The Street Beneath My Feet | This is How We Do It
I have been collecting books over the last couple of months to give  to the kids at …