The Kavanaugh Report

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

One day I would love to be one of those pregnant woman who just loves pregnancy. They just float around glowing, and feeling great. Instead, I'm one of those people that spends half of my pregnancy on the floor of the bathroom. When you already have children, it's really hard to be that sick for that length of time. Morning sickness can really put a damper on your ability to show up as a prepared adult in your Montessori home. 

Summer is in full swing here and it is my favorite time of year. The season is so quick here that there is no chance we are staying inside to work on our Montessori materials. No way! Instead we prepare our outdoor space for Montessori inspired work for my preschooler and toddler. While all my children are free to use these shelves my older kids are usually too busy running in a pack of elementary kids through the neighborhood to pull work off the shelf.  Outdoor Activities for Your Montessori Home   Here are the choices that I've made for this summer. While rotating the work might help to keep a bit more interest in the shelf, realistically I rarely change much on these shelves over the course of the summer. I might change some little things here and there, but the bulk of this will remain same over the course of the summer.  Flower Arranging A total Montessori classic that makes our outdoor shelves every year. At this point, it's pretty simple setup that all of my children en

Montessori toddler spaces really can look so many different ways to match the ascetics of the family. They can be colorful or more plain, small or large, focused only on kids or shared with adults. Every family will find their unique take on how to make their space work for their children. But, with that in mind Montessori toddler rooms do have some similarities. They should be accessible to the children, allow for independent work, be orderly, and include elements of beauty.

Four-year-olds are so intriguing and at such a unique place in their development. In my experience, they become increasingly social, more interested in academic subjects, and deeply engaged in pretend play. This combination can make for so many interesting conversations, experiences, and interests from your 4-year-old. This combination can also make for some difficulty in quiet time. Sometimes they can play for long periods of time, and sometimes they really crave more social interaction.  I've found that children that might have played quietly alone for quiet time at 3-years-old can sometimes struggle a bit at 4. So, we make a few adjustment to accommodate as my kids get older.  Montessori Parenting at 4 - Quiet Time As my children need more, quiet time has to offer more in order to meet their needs. For us this means, changing locations when needed. We leave it open to try his bedroom (where there is more open ended materials), our playroom (with more academic and single purpose

With five kids sometimes it can feel like moving mountains to get everyone in the same place at the same time. And it can feel especially hard to feel like we are all on the same page in understanding the plan. And overtime one of our most valuable things we have incorporated into our regular Montessori parenting is having a family meeting. These meetings are our opportunity to go over the things that will happen in a given day, week, or situation. Sometimes these are a way to increase cooperation between ourselves and the children , or explore a problem that has been happening in our family.  Now, I don't think the concept of family meetings is exclusive to Montessori. While Montessori herself never talked about, family meetings are similar to class meetings, and meetings between students/guides (second plane and older) that are staples in Montessori programs. They are definitely worth a try if you feel like you could use more cooperation from all the members of your family.  Tips