The Kavanaugh Report

Time is a tricky concept for young children. This is especially for those in the first plane of development, that is under age 6. Often, time is just too abstract. Their days are numbered by the sun, by their routine, or by a familiar rhythm. They don't have a whole lot of time or attention for numbers on a calendar or clock. While this changes slowly as children get closer to the second plane of development and their powers for abstract thinking increase.  But, even understanding all of that, the world runs on clocks, calendars and schedules. And, as a Montessori family, I want to help orient my first plane children to our family's schedule. The reality is there are certain days of the month or week that are special. And, celebrating and honoring those days is for everyone!  How We Use Calendars with Our Young Montessori Children First, we want to make our discussions of time as concrete as possible for our young children. I don't just want to talk about numbers on a page,

I'm going to admit this right off the top, I'm not a huge music/audiobook person. I think I'm mostly overwhelmed too easily by the noise of daily life that I'm not the first one reaching to add more noise. But, my children, on the other hand, are HUGE audiobook and music people. There is always someone in this house listening to a book, blasting music, or wishing they had the device that one of their siblings is using so they can do one of those things. 🫣😆 After far too many fights over who was going to use our smart speakers (and listening to a toddler scream at it in vain) I decided to get a  Yoto player for our home. This was nearly a year and a half ago and it is still one of the most popular things in our house. Everyone from my toddler to my teen uses the Yoto. I'm so glad I purchased it and foresee it being popular for years to come. Yoto Players and Cards We Love as A Montessori Family I get asked very frequently what cards we love and what are the best M

The other day at dinner we had pickles as a side option. As we were eating, my 5-year-old gets up, goes to the kitchen and comes back with a cutting board, knife, and fork. He serves himself a pickle, puts it on his cutting board, holds it with the fork, and slices it into tiny bits before ultimately eating it. I laughed to myself because it was so classically a first plane of development Montessori kid thing.  Days earlier, my 2.5-year-old was in the garden gathering vegetables into one bucket. She came inside and separated each type of vegetable into it's own pile, washed them each, dried them, put them all into a clean bowl (together) and into the fridge. Again, I laughed to myself. Both of these might lead out adult brains to ask, "why?" They both seem like overly complicated ways to approach regular tasks. Just eat pickle. Just wash all the vegetables together. Get it done quickly and efficiently. I think many adults, look at these examples of Montessori and think &q

We live in such an amazing time for children's toys. There are so many options that you really could spend every day playing with something new. (PS, don't do that!) As a Montessori parent, I want to add toys that stimulate my children's senses, make them think, but will keep them engaged over and over again. Gear toys have been one that has fit those criteria for my children and for me.  Gear toys are often this unique combination of open ended toys (they can be put together in many ways) but that also have correct (more close ended) ways that they need to be put together in order for them to work. I love that these toys set the stage for deeper learning about mechanics and engineering that can be foundational to other learning later on.  (Using jumbo gears at a local library)  In our house, it's my 7-year-old that really loves gears and gear related toys. We have had several options over the years that have been loved by several of my children. Everything from toddle

Following a wonderful summer at home with all of my kids it's really become apparent how big a lot of my children are getting. Their days as young children are far behind them and they are all really coming into their own. Watching my big second plane kids play and explore, though, has really led to me to one conclusion - they don't need a Montessori playroom anymore. No, our Montessori home needs a makerspace. On my Instagram stories, I said, "if I only had bigs I would get rid of our playroom and make it into a makerspace."  And while I would love to just give up the playroom for them, I still have some really little first plane children at home too. They need and use the play space, so for now I'm just dreaming of a makerspace. I'm starting to store away a few ideas for when this will become a reality in our home.  A Montessori Friendly Makerspace At Home Of course makerspaces are really popular in museum, library and school settings so specific furniture f

I just love the preschool years, there is so much exploration, learning, and just watching your child become a fuller version of themselves. It's in these years that our children develop strong individual interests. They want to explore with their senses, still love familiarity, and are ready for new experiences. At 5-years-old, there can be a broad range of interests, skills, and desires which can make it difficult to have a one-size-fits-all gift list. But, in this Montessori friendly birthday gift list, we'll get some really great choices that new 5-year-olds will really love!  I'm shopping this list right now as my fourth child. Somehow my tiny baby Ted is turning 5 in just a couple of weeks. It feels like he was just born yesterday.  Montessori Favorites for 5-year-old Birthdays Here are some great Montessori friendly toy choices for a new 5-year-old. Remember when you are making choices to keep your individual child's interests in mind. Here are some Montessori fr

There is a pervasive myth in Montessori circles, especially online, that children start to read very early. That Montessori somehow seamlessly launches children into reading in their preschool years with very little effort. And, while that might be true for a selection of Montessori preschoolers, it has not been true for my children. Reading has been a longer journey* for most of them, it's something that has required a lot of conscious effort. I want to normalize that in Montessori spaces.  (tracing a sandpaper letter with R2-D2 toy!) Montessori is lovely for children that learn easily and quickly. It allows them to move at their individual pace and work on more challenging work as they are ready. If they are ready to start reading, they can! No one and nothing holds them back, and that is truly a gift. But, the same is true for those children that need a little more time to learn a particular skill. They have the freedom to repeat as much as necessary. To return to work on their

Two-year-olds get all my love. They are just the most interesting, passionate, funny, and loving little people. And when they are put in an environment that is created just for them, it is incredible how capable they are. Our days at 2-years-old follow a pretty predictable rhythm of activity that allow our toddler to focus on the activities that call to her. Through her chosen activities she is able to meet her developmental needs. And, its really a joy to watch. Remember, that each two-year-old is going to be unique. And, every family is unique. So the exact materials that my child is working with may not meet the ones that your's is interested in. Make sure your observations of your child's needs drive your shelf choices.  Montessori Toddler Favorites 25 Months to 27 Months I've broken Penelope's skills, activities, and favorite toys by general category, but at this age there aren't clear lines between activities. So while art activities work on fine motor skills

Maria Montessori talked extensively about the importance of the hand to human development. Our hands make us unique. Our hands give us the ability to express our intelligence through action. As a result, Montessori environments will have a lot of opportunities to refine hand movements through both fine and gross motor work. Watching this work unfold is really quite special. And, it's been particularly fascinating with my left handed child.  Out of my five children, one is left handed. So I wanted to share some of the observations I've made and some of the ways we have prepared our environment for left handed success. I do want to say that I am far from an expert here, so this has just been my personal experience. As always, you should base your actions off of your own observations of your child, and their unique developmental needs.  Parenting a Lefty with Montessori As a righty, married to a righty, with four other righty children, we were surprised with it became clear that T

It's not secret that I love nature play at home and in the world. Nature play has so many benefits for children and adults. While nature itself provides so many amazing materials to play with - hello water, flower petals, and pinecones to name a few - it is fun to have a few materials to enhance the play. These toys have broad appeal for lots of ages. I will say that many of these things have been thrifted so always try your thrift store for unique outdoor accessories. Unlike many other areas of our life the toys found in our nature play area , are almost exclusively made from plastic or metal. We skip glass and wood materials that are more likely to break or not withstand the elements.  If things get dirty, I just set up a little cleaning station play with soapy water and some scrub brushes. That invites the children right in and everything is cleaned up in no time.  The Best Montessori Friendly Nature Play Toys for Outside There are so many wonderful choices when it comes to natu

Natural playscapes and nature play areas continue to be one of my favorite things for children. There are so many benefits to allowing our children to play in nature, that I just see no downside. Nature increases their physical strength, sensorial awareness, increases concentration and so much more. As a Montessori parent, I want to encourage my children to be outside as much as possible, even in our cooler climate. And, as a result we have been slowly adding a nature play area to our yard.  In phase 1 of our project , we added large rocks, a gravel river, and a children's garden. Over the last two years, we have expanded on our nature play area to include a larger section of our yard. So, I thought it was time for another tour.  Montessori Nature Play Area at Home A quick reminder that the changes we made from phase 1 have happened over two years. Landscaping work takes a lot of time, can be expensive, and can be limited by seasons/climate. So, it's been a lot of dreaming, pla