Closer look at the hand washing station

Thanks for your comments on the handwashing post.  I am happy that it has inspired many of you to give it a go!

As promised I wanted to show you the hand washing station that E is using.  Hopefully, that information can be helpful to people that are almost ready to give it a try.

I have used a part of our play kitchen to safely hold the wash basin.  It works, E loves it, and associate handwashing with a sink.

He was showed how to pour water in the basin (with assistance), to use soap to wash his hands, and then rinse in the basin.  His favorite part?  Putting the dirty water in the bucket.  Yes, he loves to pour!
The hand brush comes from Michael Olaf, and is perfect for hand scrubbing if needs be.

Stored under are material for dishwashing that we will be starting soon.  E is allowed to explore the material right now, so he'll already be familiar when we start.

How did you set up hand washing in your home with a toddler/preschooler?

Tel que promis, je vous montre un peu plus en détail le coin de nettoyage que j'ai aménagé pour E.


Sur le dessus du meuble, j'y ai mis tout ce qui est nécessaire pour que E puisse se laver les mains de façon indépendante:  un plat pour se laver, un savon, une brosse à main, un pichet qu'il utilise avec un peu d'aide, et une serviette pour s'essuyer les mains.


À l'intérieur du meuble, se trouve le matériel nécessaire pour des activités de nettoyage.  Un bassin d'eau en plastique, diverses brosses (dont une à légumes) et un sceau pour disposer de l'eau sale.


E adore ce coin, qui lui permet beaucoup plus d'aisance dans ses mouvements que lorsqu'il est sur un banc.


Et vous?  Comment avez vous aménagez votre environnement pour faciliter ces tâches de nettoyage?

Practical life with a Montessori toddler - Hand washing

Hand washing is E's new thing.

I try as much as I can to make sure the activities that are done here, are done in their proper place. My oldests washes their hands in the tiny bathroom that is just right by the kitchen.  But as much as I tried to set an adapted environment for E to follow along, I quickly noticed that it just didn't work.

So I set up that station in the kitchen to facilitate the task until he gets just a little bigger.

Hand washing is a fine practical life activity, because it requires many skills, most of which E has been practicing a lot lately.  Pouring, rubbing, lifting and carrying a container of liquid...  I feel washing his hands is the culminating point of all of this work, and a meaningful tasks he loves to carry out. (and feels proud accomplishing!)

This sequence went really fast, it all happened in about 2 minutes.  I didn't have much time to help him.  As soon as I gave him the pitcher, he was on his way.  I was able to help him pull off his sleeve right before the last picture.  I was amazed to see him pour the water on his own in the basin (that is his first time doing so!).

And after a good wash, he finished by emptying the basin in the bucket.

as you can see in the right lower corner, he did drop a little water on the floor

and so with a towel, he managed to clean his spill.

Tomorrow, I'll show you his hand washing station  in more details.
(and if you look at his feet, you should have a fairly good idea of what other practical life activity I'll be talking next. )

How do you manage hand washing with your toddler?  I'd love to have more ideas on how to facilitate transition to the real sink too!


**********************************************************************
Se laver les mains. 
C'est une tâche que E adore.  


Je tente toujours, autant que possible, de faire faire les activités de vie pratique dans les endroits logiques en fonction de l'activité.  Mais après maintes tentatives, je ne suis toutjours pas parvenu à organiser un environnement  facilitant cette tâche dans la salle de bain, endroit où les 2 autres font cette tâche.


J'ai donc décidé d'organiser un coin nettoyage dans la cuisine, et je dois avouer que ça été reçu avec succès.


J'adore le lavage des mains comme activité de vie pratique parce qu'elle englobe plusieurs étapes et donc plusieurs manoeuvres qui doivent être maitrisées par l'enfant pour réussir son travail.  E travaille sur plusieurs de ces étapes depuis longtemps déjà, et je crois que si cette activité est un succès, c'est parce qu'elle est apparu juste au bon moment.




Lors que j'ai photographié la séquence vue plus haut, tout est allée tellement vite, que je n'ai pas eu le temps d'intervenir d'aucune façon.  Normalement, E m'attend pour vider l'eau dans le plat, mais cette fois-ci, j'imagine qu'il était prêt à tenter le coup lui-même, et avec succès je dois avouer!  


Une fois le lavage des mains terminée, il a jeter l'eau dans la chaudière, et comme il en a renversé un peu sur le plancher, il a sorti la serviette pour le ramasser. L'acte n'était pas parfait, mais il savait comment la compléter!


Demain, je vous montrerai en détail la station que j'ai monté pour lui.  


(et si vous regardez bien ses pieds, vous aurez une bonne idée d'une des prochaines activité de vie pratique que je vais présenter...)


Et vous?  Comment avez-vous organiser le lavage de mains pour votre bambin?

Pratical life with a Montessori toddler

E has changed a lot lately.  I can see he is going through a quick phase of development ever since he started walking back in September.  It is amazing how freeing his hands has enabled him to grow, to learn, to mature.  The hand really is the medium through which the brain learns.  I think it is safe to say that E is well into toddlerhood.

I love this period.  I have always did, but more so since I got acquainted with practical life activities for toddlers.  These are the activities through which I have seen/ am seeing my toddlers grow and flourish.  I have seen them learn, and concentrate like never before.  I have seen and I am seeing now the pride in their face, and that is priceless to me.  It is worth every bit of effort and time that I put into this with them.

For the next few weeks, I'll be talking about practical life with my toddler a lot.  Why?  Because this is what is going on here.  Even the oldest are taking part of this, this is how seriously we are taking this :)


E a beaucoup changé dernièrement.  Il progresse très rapidement dans tout, depuis qu'il a commencé à marcher en septembre passé.  M. Montessori dit que la main est l'outil du cerveau pour apprendre, et je dois avouer que depuis qu'il a libéré ses mains, ses apprentissages sont exponentiels.


J'adore cette période.  je l'ai toujours aimé.  Mais je l'aime d'autant plus depuis que j'ai connu les activités de vie pratique.  Ce sont les activités qui font le plus de sens pour l,enfant de cet âge.  Elles lui permettent de réellement se construire, de prendre part à la vie de la maison.  Ce sont les activités qui emmène le plus de fierté chez mes enfants.


Dans les prochaines semaines je vais beaucoup traiter de ce sujet, puisque c'est le thème en vigueur présentement chez nous.  Même les plus vieux mettent la main à la pâte et sont soucieux d'aider E dans son développement.

The light table

I have had so many questions about this, that I think I'll answer everything with a post dedicated to the subject.

The light table has come into our house a few months ago.  Light tables are not a material that is used or inspired by the Montessori philosophy, but rather in the Reggio Emilia one.

About a year ago, I was acquainted with pedagogy during the playful learning space e-course that I took.  I have been reading a lot on Reggio since, although I have to say that information is scarce about it.  I find that there is a lot of Montessori influence in the Reggio philosophy, but the big difference is in their use of art.  They uses what they call the 100 languages of children: art as a medium for learning.  M and E have 2 extremely artistic personalities.  And I know that Montessori was not a pedagogy based on self expression through many mediums, but rather through work.  My children are flourishing within the Montessori philosophy we are living by.  But I also wanted to incorporate more means of expressions, ones that my youngest were keen on using, and this is when I thought Reggio might be an interesting approach for us.  I have so much more to read and learn in Reggio, and I am definitely the best person to deeply explain the basis of this pedagogy.  If you want to find out more on Reggio, I suggest that you visit:

Mariah's blog: Mariah's approches are deeply influenced by Reggio as she had the chance to visit and live in Reggio school in Italy.

The site of Reggio education : which contains a mine of information about the schools

And other very good articles about the subject, this one being an excellent one

All of this to say, Reggio has been tainting our days for a while now.

Back to the light table.

I have no regrets getting this for the children.  They all use it very differently, but they all use it.  A LOT

X (the oldest)

My oldest is a mover.  A doer.  He needs to go, move, do, create, try, miss and try again.  He never stops.  Concentration is hard for him.  But when he plays on the table.  he is absorbed.  It really helps him stop and concentrate truly on what he does.   It amazes me every time.
On the table he build.  This is his passions: trucks, loaders, cranes, blocks, building...and so every time he has a chance, he sneaks to the atelier without E seeing him and he builds. (E loves to play with X on the table, but X likes to have a minute to do it alone sometimes)

M (4 yo):

She creates:

things that are beyond my imagination, or at least beyond what I thought she could do or rather that she could imagine.  She loves to use this table to experiment all sorts of things: paint, pattern making, window crayons, name it.  She tries things and looks at the result.  It seems to fill a desire to explore that she was able to express before.


E (18 months):

Oh, what can I say about him:

he has all sorts of sensorial experiences on there.  He seems more aroused to all activities I set up for him when they are on the table.  He gets more concentrated (or at least for a longer period of time) and he keep asking for more

most of his pouring, sorting, transferring activities are done on the table, and he actually set them up himself (!!)

he goes in the table, takes the jars he want to work with, sometimes get some cups to transfer from, sometimes spoons or other material that is available to him

and he just goes:

His absolute favorite activity on there are hands down the window markers

and those blocks are also very well loved

the colors are appealing to him.


FAQ:

• Where did I get my light table? : in my local teacher store.  But they are clearly starting to be available at more places, I am starting to see them everywhere.  But for a lot of information on light tables, panels, including how to do it yourself, I suggest that you go read Play at home moms's blog.  They are doing tremendously interesting stuff with all this!

• Do I only set activities up for this, or do I let my children use it as they want?  I do both.  But if I see they are having an inspiration for something, even if I had set something up for them, I try to encourage their creativity and join them in their work

• How is this Montessori?   It is not.  As I have been saying for a while, I have been influenced by other philosophy and I am trying to incorporate what feels right for us into our days.  But I like how this really helps my children express themselves, helps their creativity, and also they concentration.  X become so calm and settled when working on the table, he always tell me how he feels good after.  I think it brings him closer to the period of intense concentration M. Montessori talked about in the absorbent mind, and it helps him learn to concentrate to longer periods of time.   I am considering using this table to help him through academic material he has a harder time to go through.  I am sure it will be somewhat beneficial to him.

As you can see this is a topic that I am currently passionate about.  I hope to be able to share more about it soon.

If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask, I will be delighted to answer them.

E's toddler room

Life has been going faster then I have.  BUt after a few days/weeks of trying to be on top of things, I am finally getting there.  Only to know that I'll have papers to grade starting next week...ugh.

Talking about trying to catch up, I'm almost caught up with replies.  Thanks for your patience!

Today I felt like giving you a tour or E's room.  Now that we are well into toddlerhood, I had to adapt his room to his newly acquired skills, and trust me, the acquisition of skills goes faster then the response I am producing.  After he started walking last september, his development has taken strides that have left us speechless.

The first and big change that we needed to make was to have E sleep in a child size bed.

He has been able to climb into our *very* high bed for months now, and so having a bed off the floor was just the natural next step for him.  He loves it.  He climbs easily in it, he loves to go at any moment of the day to just sit in it.  I have found myself countless times, since this bed has made it's appearance here,  looking for E through out the house because he was making no noise whatsoever, and more then half the time, I found him there, sitting in his bed with a book.  (let's not talk about the other half of the time shall we?)
The non matching green blanket that is on his bed is the blanket he has chosen himself.  It is a woollen that we used to have at home when I was a child.  I have no idea why he loves it so much, but it was clear that this was the blanket he wanted on his bed.  So we respected his decision.  He sleeps only with this blanket (he HATES being covered, he despise it really) and so bed making is rather easy.  I would like at some point to only have a big comforter on the beds of my children so bed making would be easier.

The dressing area was also redesigned

I added a shelf in the module so that I could have a space for diapering material, without interfering with his dressing area.  it works well so far.
The other thing that I add and that we both love is the mirror.  It is big enough so he can see himself, it is at the right level and he loves to look at himself in it while we are dressing up.
In the drawers I have all of his clothes, and in this dressing are (the side with the rod) I usually get out 2 outfits, and he chooses the one he want for the day.  I always leave a pair of indoor shoes (padraigs) at his disposal, and also a woollen vest in case he is cold.  The vest is being currently used to learn to put on and off the hanger.

The reading nook is still there.

this was something I had set temporarily until I had find a better seating solution for this area.  But I have yet to find the said seating solution, and every time I have tried something else, E was very upset about it.  SO obviously he is happy with this arrangement.  He has a strong preference for the orange pillow, which he always asks for if I sit by it by mistake.  He truly loves this nook.

And finally his activity area has evolved according to him

New material, new set of images.
I am planning to soon change the shelving setting.  I would like to use this as a bedside table in order to have a shelving system that would provide a little more space for material.
Kylie has posted this yesterday, which is fabulous and that is not too far away from here :)

She has also posted about the shelf she uses for Otis, which I have adored from the first moment I saw.  But this one is a little far away... I might use it as an inspiration for a 3 shelf high module though.

And of course the Oeuf mini library remains high on my list, but I have to admit that I am put off by the price...
so we'll see

Have a good valentine's! :)

L'atelier

This is a project we have been working on for a LONG time.
It is the project I had decided to tackle when I embarked on the "Playful learning space" e-course, I guess almost a year from now.  I am glad that I did, it really made a difference in the way I parent, and in the way I set up my house.

When I signed up for the e-course, I knew this was the room I'd be working on.  And I knew it was a bog project.  I took all the time I needed to imagine what I wanted out of this room, to gather the material I needed, and to make it attractive for the children.  I tried some things that didn't work, and turned it around until it clicked for everybody.  And I am glad I did.  Because I often find a little one working there, silently, and completely absorbed in something he/she wishes to do.

The room itself is not perfect.  I wish it would be a bit bigger to be able to fit in all the crazy wonderful ideas I had for it.  AND don't get me started on the flooring that I HATE with a passion.  But I worked with the room I had to make something we'd be able to enjoy together.

And this is the result:

The art section:

this is M 's favorite section.  It was hard to organize as I had to keep in mind that I have kids with really different ages, and abilities.  So I used wall space to put items I wouldn't want E to use right away, but keeping them available to the oldest.

The IKEA storage under the shelves contains material that all children can use.

On top of it, there are 3 empty containers that usually contain modelling dough, but they have been cleaned this weekend, and are waiting for a fresh batch of coloured dough.  E LOVES to play with that, so this is why it is stored at his level.
There is also a wooden plate on top.  This is a section I have kept to put pre prepared activities for E.  Right now, we has a glue activity that he loves using.

Painting material:

Drawing material:

Stamping material:

There is a drawer containing modelling dough accessories, and one containing all sorts of papers to be used.  The last one contains material to cut and glue.

These are the shelves for the exclusive use of the oldest...for now.  They contain paint, sand, glue, natural material to make collage, and material to explore (second shelve from top)
On the last shelve, I have put 3 bins with storage for materials that I don't want the kids to use.  It is out of their reach.


I have had a couple of questions already, so using my fellow blogger Kylie's idea, I'll use the labeling method to explain further: (thanks for the idea Kylie!)

On the right side of this shelving, there is the table:

it is a temporary table until we find the right one.  Cost us almost nothing to make, and does a wonderful job for now.  Right over the table is the art display wall.  They can show drawing or other work they have made.

At the left of the art section, I have the activity section:

this is the place where I currently store all sorts of activities the kids love doing.  THis is X's spot.  Most of the baskets contains activities he does.  Except the last right lower shelve.  THis is a sewing case and a knitting basket that M adores.

I have put a carpet on that side of the room, well partly to hide the floor...(yes, that I hate) but also to be comfy working on the floor.  I have left a part of the floor uncovered for all the messy activities the kids do in there.  I have to admit that this is it's only advantage: it cleans well, and I do not care one bit if it is stained.

The nook on the left hand side of the photo is a reading spot.  I didn't know whether it would work, but it really does.  It was a lost space that I didn't know what to make of.  But after seeing the children go "hide" in this place many times, I decided to put cushions and a basket of books...the rest is history.

Finally, near the door, I have E's favorite spot:

a sensory table of some sort. I used the table we had in the living room before we renovated it.
On the top, there is a light table.  There is not one day that passes that E doesn't do in this room to play with the table.

I have stored in the table everything that we use to play with the table:  blocs, gems, window crayons, material to pour (which is very VERY popular right now with E).  The mirror really entice E to play.  I see him looking at himself while he works there.   The window crayons are his very favorite thing to play with on the light table.


This concludes the tour.  I hope you enjoyed it.

There are so many thing I would have liked to put in there, and I see this as an unfinished product, as I am sure it will evolve (it is constantly evolving) into something else.  I am sad not to have more space in there but I rather be grateful to have a space for them to be and do what they want to.


Thanks again Mariah, for the e-course, I really loved it, and it is still very inspiring to me.



Sorry, the photos are not very colorful, it is rather dull outside today, and it has been like that for over a week...

Pédagogie scientifique 3 - language

Si vous voulez avoir une copie de la partie grammaire de la pédagogie scientifique tome 3, les liens sont de nouveaux actifs.

MAIS

dépêchez-vous, puisque les fichiers sont volumineux, et ils sont présentement sur mobile me, qui sera bientôt fermé par Apple.  Je ne sais pas si je serai en mesure de retrouver un endroit pour les partager, et c'est trop gros pour être envoyé par courriel

Voici le lien:  http://thefreechild.blogspot.com/2011/05/pedagogie-scientifique-tome-3-grammaire.html

amusez-vous!