The gravity table

Meet an old lego table that we received last summer. My kids are not fans of legos, and my husband could not understand my interest in such a table when it was offered to us. But I just saw the potential of this, a table with a central hole? There is just something to do with this for sure.

And so came the first idea came after seeing E test the consistency of gravity by dropping food beside his chair, and looking at it fall. I felt the need to redirect this activity for the sake of my floor, my own sanity, and the obvious necessity for E to do it, and this is where the table comes into play

I just need a few items to drop, the table, and a basket to receive, my best find is still an old laundry basket.

As for the items to throw, I have been using pretty much anything, blocks, stuff toys, stuffed blocks, nature things of all kinds that cannot break.

The table is just the right height for him to lean on it, and be able to look in the hole, to his great satisfaction! So he drops whatever he wants in there, and looks at it in the basket through the hole.

After I showed E to pull the basket, and retrieve whatever item he wants to drop back.

Needless to say it is a winner

AND

the dropping at the table has noticeably diminished.

L'an passée, on m'a donné une table de légo de seconde main. Quoique les légos ne soient pas un très grand hit ici, j'étais complètement emballée envers cette table à la grande surprise de mon conjoint, qui ne comprenait pas mon enthousiame évident. Une table basse avec un trou en plein centre? C'est certain qu'il y a quelquechose à faire avec ça.

Et le premier quelquechose m'est apparut comme évident lorsque j'ai vu E tester la gravité pendant un repas. Il prenanit un morceau de sa nourriture, se penchait au dessus de sa chaise, le laissait tomber, et regardait ce qui arriverait. J'ai tout de suite compris que je devais rediriger ce comportement, le plus tôt sera le mieux.

voir image 1

J'ai donc trouvé des objets, qui pouvaient être laissé tombé dans le trou de la table, ainsi qu'un panier pour les lancer dedans, j'ai fini par prendre un vieux panier à linge. Pour ce qui est des choses à échapper, j'ai utilisé un peu n'importe quoi, et je crois que ça rend l'activité intéressante.

voir image 2

La table est just la bonne hauteur, pour qu'il puisse rejoindre le trou, et également regarder dedans. Alors après qu'il y ai échapper un objet, il se penche par en avant, et le regarde par le trou. Lorsque tout les objets ont été lancés, il tire le panier pour ramasser les objets qu'il désire refaire tomber.

voir image 3

C'est un succès , il adore

ET

il jette beaucoup moins sa nourriture par terre

que dire de plus!

Kitchen organization part 3 - E's space

E's newly acquired independence is one of the biggest factor that motivated me to do this move. I realized that our old setup was not safe for him since he had easy access to glasses, and breakable plates and bowls.

But what really got me going is the fact that I realized that he was sometimes thirsty, but failed to ask (or to make us understand that he needed a drink). And so came the idea of having a spot just for him. At first, I thought about giving him the entire drawer that was devoted to my 2 oldest. But because of the very nature of a drawer, he couldn't see his sippy, and was asking for a drink, rather then go for himself. I wanted to find a way to display his things, so he could see them easily if he needed them. And so came the idea of the shelving.

My objectives here were to have him be able to help himself for a snack and a drink, and put his plates and utensils within his reach so that when he is able to walk, he can star helping us set the table with his own thing.

E's shelf now reside under our kitchen counter. This was a lost space. And as you can see, it is really near his independence chair and our kitchen table. At the same time it is just at the entrance of the kitchen, so I am really happy with this emplacement. (the kitchen is behind me in the photo)

1. étagères sous le comptoir

On the shelves I added the bare minimum. His bowls, and utensils on the first shelve, his sippy cup on the second and a soon to be ready pile of little cloth to clean the table. Finally on the third row, there are his snack bowl, and a spot lest empty to put a basket for carrying once E starts to walk.

2. Contenu des tablettes

A word on snack bowls and sippies:

E learned to use a sippy a few weeks ago, when we left for our trip. He had never used one before. And he still doesn't use one 99% of the time. The only time he does is when he drinks on his own. The sippy will dissapear as soon as he is able to pour himself a drink. But at the table, he drink using the gin glasses shown here

Snack bowls: There are 2 of them. The one with the handle contains cereals. There is a lid on the top that is slit many times to retain (well as much as it can) the food within the container. It does work to minimize spills. But again, I only put cereals in there. The second container is a bowl with a snap lid that is rather easy to open and close. I showed him how to open and close it before I left it on the shelf. I usually put finger size bites of veggies and things that can be there for a few hours at a time. When it is empty, (I normally) don't leave it there.

L'indépendance que E démontre et qui augmente de jour en jour est la cause principale des modifications que je devais apporter à la cuisine. Puisqu'il avait accès au tiroir que j'avais organisé pour les plus grand, et que celui-ci contenait de la verrerie ainsi que des assiettes en céramique, je devais déplacer le tout pour assurer sa sécurité. Par contre, une autre point a été la goutte qui a fait débordé le vase: le fait que E avait souvent soif, mais ne demandait pas à boire (ou ne parvenais pas à se faire comprendre). J'ai compris qu'il était donc important qu'il soit en mesure de répondre a ses besoins lorsque ceux-ci se faisaient sentir.

J'ai tout d'abord voulu utiliser le tiroir pour y mettre ses choses. Mais un tiroir étant ce qu'il est, il ne voyait pas en permanence son gobelet, et l'oubliait lorsqu'il en avait besoin. Ça devenait donc évident que je devais trouver une solution qui permettrait que ses choses soient à sa vue, d'où l'idée du meuble.

(Voir image no 1)

Le meuble est sous le comptoir de cuisine. C'était un espace perdu de toute façon. Il est situé tout près de la table à manger et de sa chaise. En même temps, il est juste dans l'entrée de la cuisine, donc un emplacement parfait.

Sur les tablettes, j'y ai mis le minimum. Sur la première tablette, ses bols et un panier d'ustensils en bois. La tablette du dessous est pour son goblet d'eau et les chiffons (qui ne sont pas encore tout à fait prêts). Et finalement, la dernière tablette loge les collations et un espace laissé libre pour un panier d'osier a poignée pour transporter ses choses à la table, lorsqu'il sera capable de marcher.

(voir image 2)

Une note sur les collations et le gobelet.

E n'a appris a boire au gobelet que tout récemment. Le goblet n'est utilisé que pour être laissé sur la tablette et lui permettre de prendre une gorgée lorsqu'il a soif en dehors des repas. Au repas, il boit avec les verres en vitre vu au dernier billet. Sitôt qu'il sera en mesure de se servir lui-même à boire, le gobelet disparaîtra.

Il y a 2 contenants de collation. Celui avec les poignées a un couvercle coup en forme d'étoile qui permet a une petite main de rentrer dedans et prendre une poignée du contenu, sans que celui-ci n'en sorte si la tasse est échappée. Ça fonctionne relativement bien. Ce plat là contient seulement des céréales. L'autre est un contenant avec un couvercle hermétique qui y est fixé. J'ai montré à E comment l'utiliser avant de le mettre sur les tablettes. Celui-ci contient généralement des petites portions de nourriture à manger au doigts comme des légumes, qui peuvent rester quelques heures à la température pièce

Vider / Emptying

C'est clairement l'activité du mois. Vider.

C'est une période qui n'est pas très difficile à reconnaitre. Un panier de linge propre plié oublié à la porté de petites mains retrouvé vidé (et oui, bien sur, complètement déplié) est un bon indicateur...

C'est une période qui peut être frustrante, les moindres recoins de la maison sont souvent retrouvé vidés de leur contenu, contenu, qui est bien sûr laissé à trainer. Mais cette période du vider est tellement importante, qu'il faut laisser à l'enfant qui se construit la chance de la vivre pleinement.

Ceci ne veut pas dire qu'il faille laisser les petites mains vider n'importe quel tiroir si cela nous irrite. Mais il y a différentes façon de permettre à l'enfant de répéter le travail qu'il désire faire, sans pour autant perdre patience.

Le truc: la redirection, *pour une activité équivalente*

Emptying. Clearly the flavor of the week, (and dare I say month?) A period that is not easily passed under silence. A basket of freshly cleaned and folded laundry forgotten at the level of littles hands eager to work was our signal (*sigh*). Loud and clear my friends, loud and clear!

It is a period that can be rather frustrating, as contend of drawers and cupboards start to spring everywhere on the floor. And of course, since the period of putting back has not started, it is left there. But this period is so important, that it is important to allow the child to really live it as he needs to.

That doesn't mean that little hands can empty whatever they want (well, that could mean that) if we don't want them to. There are different ways to allow the work to take place without going ballistic on the clean up that it implies. (and for a clean freak like me, that is possible!)

All I have to say is redirection, redirection redirection, for a similar activity!

Quelques idées que nous avons appliquées ici:

Here are a few ideas that we are using here to allow E to work :

- Les tiroirs qui sont à la hauteur de E ont été remplis de trucs avec lesquels il peut "travailler"

Drawers that are at his level have been emptied and filled with material he can work with

il a un attrait particulier pour les tiroirs de la salle de bain. Nous en avons vidé le contenu, et j'y ai mis des rouleaux de papier de toilette qu'il peut sortir comme bon lui semble

He has this particular liking for our bathroom drawers. I emptied them, and added toilet paper in it.

-Un panier de bas disparate:

unpaired socks

Son préféré! J'ai accumulé tous les bas qui ont perdu leur paire, ou ceux qui sont troués (et donc à jeter) dans un grand panier qui peut sortir à volonté. C'est presque aussi bon que le panier de linge tout propre

that is his favorite.

It is almost as good as clean and freshly folded laundry

-Le panier de recyclage:

Recycling bin

Rempli de bols de plastique du commerce, ou d'autres objets non dangereux (*quelques* feuilles de papiers, boites de carton propres...) fait un excellent panier à vider ( et explorer en même temps!)

Filled with plastic buckets, SOME pieces of paper, cardboxes, it is perfect in the kitchen, and also works as a mini discovery box

-Un panier de carrés de soie:

silk basket

parfait pour ensuite faire une partie de coucou

also useful for peekaboos

- Paniers de jouets

Toys basket

c'est ici qu'on recycle les hochets et autres jouets qui ne sont plus vraiment utilisés. E ne les manipules pas vraiment, il fait seulement les sortir du panier

this is the place were we are re-using the rattles and other toys that are out of rotation. He doesn't really play with them, he just wants to get them out of the basket.

-Boite de carton avec papier d'emballage

Cardbox with wrapping papers

-Panier de livres:

Book basket

Celui-ci est associé au petit pot (ECing) mais il sert également à vider

THis one is paired with the potty ( we are ecing) but it is also used as a emptying basket (and he loves to flip the pages too)

Nous avons posté les paniers un peu partout dans la maison, et surtout aux endroits névralgiques, c'est à dire:

endroit ou un tiroir ou un autre contenant à vider est attirant pour E

endroits ou nous passons le plus de temps

Nous avons également barré les endroits qu'il lui sont interdit: paneaux et tiroir (et toilette...) contenant des choses qu'il ne doit pas avoir accès.

We have left the baskets everywhere in the house: even corridors. We tried to leave them in hot spots:

places where there are drawers and cupboards that we don't want him to play him, but are attractive to him (redirection!)

places where we spend loads of time together

We have also used child locks to secure the spaces we don't want him to explore: drawers, cupboards, toilet (...) and such

have a good sunday :)

Bon dimanche :)

Activités Mai pour E, 9 mois

J'accuse un peu de retard sur l'organisation des activités du mois puisque l'activité principale est ceci:

I am a little late in organizing May'a activity because of this:

Nous travaillons a faire le matériel de perle, ce qui nécessite beaucoup de temps. Alors je dois avouer que nos temps de travail sont plutôt occupés à couper enfiler tourner, et recommencer. Oubliez les feuilles de travail pour faire apprendre l'escalier de perle de couleur pour les enfants, enfiler des dizaines ou plutôt des centaines de perles sur une baguette est suffisant pour se rappeler que rouge=1, vert=2, rose =3...etc...

needless to say, which is very time consuming to make...Forget the worksheet to have the kids remember the bead's stair, putting hundreds of them on a wire is more then enough to remember.

Par contre, l'apport de E n'étant pas possible dans notre beau projet, lui demande, et se trouve au besoin des activités lui permettant de continuer son développement. Alors une pause d'enfilage a été nécessaire pour modifier et organiser quelques activités plus adaptés.

But our little E not being able to help us is asking, and is finding himself activities allowing him to continue with his development. So we had to make a pause in our bead making to organise a couple of activities for him to enjoy

E a maintenant 9 mois. Il est possible de noter de gros changement chez lui depuis les dernières semaines/mois.

Terminé le temps des hochets et des jouets, ses actions on maintenant un but dirigé, et on voit qu'il pratique encore et encore une facette de son développement. Alors hochets et jouets ont été mis à l'écart, ou ont été utilisés à d'autre escient.

He is now 9 months. Over is the time of toys and rattles, we can see that he really is working on specific parts of his development, over and over again. Rattles and toys have been put aside or used differently

Changement dans le mobilier de la chambre pour suivre l'évolution- la chaise berçante a maintenant été remplacée par une table qui succite l'intérêt de se lever

Table and chair have replaced the rocking chair to follow E's evolution.

MOTRICITÉ/ MOTOR:

Les jambes / legs:

La motricité est encore beaucoup à l'honneur dans les derniers temps. Maintenant, c'est la station debout qui est travaillée. E a maitrisé les transitions sur le ventre- a 4 pattes- assis depuis un bon mois déjà, et il se lève depuis qu'il a 8 mois. Il pratique beaucoup sa balance, mais ne se sens pas encore prêt à se lâcher.

Nous avons donc mis des objets intéressants à manipuler sur des tables, chaises et autre meuble à la hauteur de E lorsqu'il se met debout. On note que ses jeux et son travail se fait de plus en plus en station debout depuis

Motor skills are being practices over and over every day. E now likes to work standing up after mastering crawling, sitting and all transitions in between. He works a lot on balance, but he is not ready to let go yet.

So we have put at his disposition interesting objects to manipulate on low tables, chairs and other pieces of furniture that are within his reach.

tablettes plus haute pour permettre à l'enfant de se lever pour prendre les livres

bookshelf with higher book to reach at

Les mains / hands:

Le travail avec les mains s'est beaucoup développé. Au lieu de mettre automatiquement les objets dans sa bouche, il trouve de nouveau but à ses mouvements.

Work with his hand has become more complex. He is not just putting things into his mouth anymore, we see him have other and more complicated purposes

- vider des paniers ( et pas encore remplir... on commence à avoir hâte...) - un billet sur le sujet bientôt

-tourner des pages d'un livre

-tapper sur un objet avec un autre

-ouvrir et fermer - les tiroirs, des boites facile:

boite avec couvercle facile à ouvrir

box with easy lid

-empty baskets (and not fill in, a complet post on this soon)

-turn pages of a book

-tap on an object with another one

-open boxes, drawers...

Maria Montessori disait que c'est par les mains que l'enfant se construit et devient un homme. Alors nous jugeons important de laisser à E le soin de choisir l'activité qui lui convient, tant que celui-ci n'est pas dangereux pour lui.

SENSORIEL/ SENSORIAL:

Les images le fascine ses temps-ci.

Images are fascinating to him right now

-Nous avons monté un petit album photo qu'il aime bien feuilleter

-Plusieurs paniers de livres sont disposés un peu partout dans la maison dans les pièces communes

-Nous changeons les images de sa chambre régulièrement pour garder l'intérêt

- we made a small family album with photos in it for him to look at

-we have several baskets of books through out the house

-we are changing the images in his room regularly

Il adore également se mettre les mains dans différentes textures. Le beau temps qui commence va nous permettre plein de jeux sensoriels sous peu

He loves to put his hands in various textures. With warmer temps, many sensorial games will be possible. Stay tuned!

LANGUAGE:

Il commence à bredouiller des sons: maman, papa, byebye...

Alors nous tentons de lui faire entendre le plus de vocabulaire possible:

-par les livres

-en identifiant les objets qu'il prend ou ceux qu'on lui montre

-Nous parlons également en anglais pour lui faire découvrir une autre langue

-chansons

-en le laissant toucher notre bouche lorsqu'on dit des mots

He is starting to say words. (well sounds at least)

So we are trying to make him hear the most words possible in both english and french with

-books

-naming objects with a single word

-talking to him

-Singing

-having him touch our mouth when we say things

Have a great day!

Amusez-vous!

Le panier aux trésors

À mon humble avis, le panier aux trésors ou panier de découverte est LE meilleur item pour le NIDO. C'est le meilleur investissement ( et probablement la moins dispendieuse), l'activité la plus souvent utilisé, celle qui captive l'attention de E le plus longtemps, et celle auquelle il retourne le plus souvent.

In my humble opinion, treasure baskets are the best items for the Montessori baby. It is the best investment, the activity that is most often used, that keep the attention centered for the longest time, and that is returned to oh so many times.

Préparer un panier aux trésors est facile. Pour la majorité des items, il ne suffit que de fouiller dans les tiroirs de la cuisine, salle de bain, d'aller faire un tour à l'extérieur et trouver des items intéressants qu'offre (gratuitement) la nature, et de mettre le tout dans un panier. Le reste, n'importequel bébé curieux (et ils le sont tous je crois) s'en occupera.

Preparing a treasure basket is easy. You just have to look through out the house and gather objects that will be interesting for a baby to discover. Kitchen drawers, bathroom utilities, nature walks are excellent places to start. As for the rest, any curious babies will take care of :)

Certes, il faut faire preuve de prudence en montant le panier: ne pas utiliser des choses coupantes, des objets trop petits que l'enfant pourra avaler, ou des matériaux qui contiennent des produits nocifs s'ils sont mis dans la bouche. Le panier devrait toujours être exploré avec une supervision des parents ou d'une personne responsable. Mais tous ces avertissements valent largement la chandelle: un bébé occupé à découvrir son univers avec tous ses sens.

It is important to be careful through out the process. Choosing wisely is important. Objects that can be sharp, or too small or made of chemical products, should not be used in the basket. The basket should also be inspected for broken items regularly. When in use, a responsible person should be present at all times. But all of these warnings are really worth it! Allowing baby to discover its world with all his senses is just fantastic.

Quoi mettre dedans? C'est à mon avis la partie la plus intéressante.

Ici, j'ai commencé avec des objets simple présentés par "sujet": cuisine, salle de bain, nature...des cuillères de bois, des tasses à mesurer, une éponge, une roche, des coquillage... Des choses simple de texture différente. Puis après avoir fait quelques rotations de panier, et lorsque j'ai vu que E semblait être prêt pour plus de matériel, j'ai mélangé les objets ensemble. A ce moment, il avait plus d'items à découvrir (et certains a redécouvrir puisque quelques semaines étaient passée depuis qu'il les avaient vu dans le panier) et à ce moment, je l'ai vu faire autre chose avec les trésors. Au lieu de seulement les explorer (lire mettre dans sa bouche bien souvent), il tappait avec un objet sur un autre, ou tentait d'ouvrir les boites, de mettre dedans, de retirer ce que j'avais caché...il manipulait les choses avec un tout autre objectif. Et à ce moment j'ai vu l'importance de mettre des objets qui peuvent avoir plusieurs fonctions: pour taper, cacher, empiler...Alors dans votre recherche pour trouver les objets de votre panier, gardez ceci en tête. Ce n'est pas seulement la texture, la forme...qui compte, mais aussi ce qu'il/elle pourra faire avec.

What to put in? That is the best part IMO!

I started to use simple objects classified by "topics": kitchen, bathroom, nature... Simple objects with different natures, shapes, color, texutre, temperatures. I rotated these different objects until E seemed ready for more items at a time. Then, I mixed everything together. He then had more to explore, or re-explore, since some of those items had been out of the basket for a couple of weeks. Then, I noticed that he was using the objects differently. Instead of just mouthing them, he was using them to tap together, to pull things out, to put things in, to hit with...And so then, I saw the importance of putting objects that could have more then one fonction: box with lids, toilet paper rolls (since you can put something inside the roll...)...items with which you can pile, tap, hide...so when looking for your basket objects, keep that in mind!

En tant que parent, après avoir choisit les objets constituant le panier, votre rôle n'est plus que d'observer.

Le panier peut toujours être mis a jour. Quand un item ne semble jamais intéresser l'enfant, il peut être retiré pour faire place à autre chose. Quand le panier ne semble pas intéressé l'enfant pendant quelques jours, c'Est peut-être signe qu'il est temps d'ajouter de nouveaux objets qui piqueront à nouveau la curiosité de l'enfant. Mais ceci demande de savoir observer, à la manière Montessori.

Il est difficile de ne pas déconcentré l'enfant qui regarde son panier, lui montrer les choses, lui ouvrir les boites qui contiennent un objets intéressant. Mais la fierté de l'enfant qui fait seul, l'expression de son visage lorsqu'il réussit à ouvrir, et trouve quelque chose d'autre vaut toutes les fois ou on repousse l'envie de l'aider.

As a prent, after putting your basket together, all you have to do is observe. The basket has to be updated regularly. When an objects doesn't seem to be interesting for the child, remove it or exchange it for something else. When the basket seems to have lost the child's interest, it is maybe time to change many items in there, or change it's location. But all of this implies that you have to observe the child, the montessori way.

It is easy to disturb (and sometimes so tempting!) the child that is busy with his basket. But the smile in his face when he does it himself, the delight of finding the way to open a box, or to discover an hidden object is well worth the effort of not disturbing.

Voici quelques article intéressant sur les paniers aux trésors (en anglais):

Some interesting article on the topic:

The treasure basket 1

Treasure basket 2 for toddlers

Treasure baskets:

Et le livre de Tim Seldin: Éveiller, encourager son enfant à la maison avec la pédagogie Montessori

And ideas:

Une idée de panier aux trésors ( qui peut être acheté) : ici

Une idée de Sew Liberated

Plein d'idées ici

D'autres idées encore

et pour la suite, un panier de découverte pour bambin qui peut facilement être fait à la maison! C'est une idée fantastique! ( le panier me semble être un panier IKEA) Et quel beau cadeau pour un enfant de 1 an! (c'est sur ma liste :) )

This last one is a discovery basket intended for toddlers. I adore this idea, and it is definetly on my list for E's first bday. Easy to make at home (I would totally use an Ikea divider for it) and looks so enticing for the young curious child in need of exploration!

Bonne découverte!

Happy basket!

April activities - Montessori 6-12 months old

Pumkin now being 8 months old (!!) I want to start listing monthly activity for him, as there are not tons of info about this phase on the web.

Moving:

We are in a big motor skill phase. He has been crawling for a while now, and even sometimes walks on all fours. We also have seen him pulling himself up a couple of time over the last few days.

Any pile of laundry, cushions, pillow is a big hit right now. He loves climbing it back and forth. So I have set some blankets and pillow both in the living room and in his room for him to climb in.

he is also using everything he can find to pull himself up. I am seriously thinking about installing a bar in his room for him to pull himself up.

In his hands:

Eggs and cup

It has been presented yesterday and he loves it.

He is now working on his table with his chair.

Single post and wooden rings

music basket

He LOVEs that!

silk basket

Perfect for the starting of the putting in and out phase, and also peekaboo

texture book

I'll talk about it in a separate post

Clothes:

he loves to play with socks and other clothins items

Opening and closing drawers:

we are well on our way for that. (with everything that will come with it...)

On the wall:

Van Gogh

Looking at:

this month's favorite seems to be this french book. It shows differents artworks and has a little poem that accompagny it

We still have on the shelves the very hungry Catterpillar, and a animal photo book

He loves flipping through them, as much as listening to the story

In his ears:

Classical genre

We are playing a lot of Mozart this month. We have classical music in every room.

Of course, lullabies and other songs sung by us are always present !

Baby's first reading corner

I have been fortunate enough to be able to join the first e-course playful spaces by Playful learning and I have to say, I am really glad that I did. It has been 6 weeks of inspirations, ideas, new concepts: in a word, pure delight.

J'ai eu la chance de pouvoir participer au cours en ligne "PLayful learning spaces" et je dois avouer que j'en suis vraiment contente! Ce fut 6 semaines d'inspirations, d'idées, de nouveau concepts à explorer, en une mot, JOIE.

I have so many project queued in my head, I just had to sit to write them down. If you have a chance to follow this e-class, indulge yourself and do it, you won't regret it one bit.

J'ai tellement de nouveau projets dans ma tête que j'ai du prendre le temps d'en faire une liste. Si vous avez une chance de suivre ce cours, sautez a pied joins sur l'opportunité.

One of our assignement during those 6 weeks was to create a reading nook in our home. I had a lot of fun organizing Pumpkin's first book corner

Un de nos devoir était de créer un endroit propice à la lecture. J'en ai donc profité pour créer le premier coin de lecture de mon petit dernier

We both love it. He tries to pull himself up unto the chair (and he is getting better!) and sits on the chair and looks at books. I can see his attention span widen as far as book reading since this space has been created. He is not trying to play with the pages so much, but really turning them and listening. It is fun to enjoy this with him, and a delight to watch!

Nous adorons tous les deux. Il travaille vraiment très fort à se tirer sur la chaise, et une fois monté, je lui présente un livre qu'il regarde de tous les cotés. J'ai remarqué que son attention envers les livres et la lecture s'est grandement amélioré depuis que nous avons quotidiennement ajouté la lecture à notre horaire. Il semble avoir du plaisir à écouter l'histoire et regarder les images. C'est vraiment des moments que j'adore

This new book corner led to a new play area:

J'ai donc du réaménager le coin travail:

Cubbies made by daddy, favorites toys in a basket , a Micheal Olaf frame, and a start of a exploration table. (I'll add more as mother nature removes her whitecoat off the land. :) )

Une petite bibliothèque fait par son papa, ses jouets préférés dans un panier, un cadre de Micheal Olaf, et le début d'une table d'exploration (qui grossira si Mère nature fini par nous enlever son grand et épais manteau blanc de sur le gazon...)

Next, I am tackling my oldest's writing center, and my big project, our atelier.

Prochain projet, le centre d'écriture de mon fils, et notre atelier.

Artwork for the little child

Walls are the best canvas to display items we want children to look at. In a time when they are so open to the world, showing them part of it, and allowing them to touch really makes a lasting impression into their brain. THis is one of the reason I love the discovery basket so much. But I was looking at some other way to expose part of our world to Pumpkin, and after seeing those gems made by Pi'lo (I adore her work!), I knew I had found exactly what I needed to expose more fragile things, or other items I don't want Pumpkin to play with (but still want him to be able to look at)

Les murs sont un excellent médium pour permettre d'afficher des choses (art, objects, photos) permettant à l'enfant de les regarder. Dans un moment de leur vie où ils sont si ouvert à leur environnement, leur permettre de voir et toucher des éléments de leur environnement influence leur développement. C'est une raison qui me fait aimer le panier à découverte. Mais je désirais trouver une nouvelle façon de présenter des objets à mon fils, sans les mettent dans le panier. C'est en visitant le site de Pi'lo que j'ai vu le médium parfait!

The small object canvases

Les canvas de petits objets:

they are easy to make, and open a realm of possibilites to showcase new objects to a little child.

Ils sont facile à faire et permettent des tonnes de choses que je n'aurai pas cru possible... (comme mettre des coquillage dans la chambre de É!)

I choose items that started with the same letter for these.

J'ai choisi des items commençant avec la même lettre

To make them, I used:

6x6 canvases

clear vinyl thread (it has to be rather thick)

and a set of stamp and ink

Matériel:

Toiles (pour la peinture) 6x6

du fil en vinyl assez résistant

Étampes et encre

All you have to do is attach securly the item on the canvas, and stamp the name underneath it. Voilà.

Attacher les items de façon sécuritaire sur la toile, et estempiller le nom en dessous...voilà

**Make sure you use items that cannot be really dangerous if they manage to remove them from the canvases (i.e. little items that could be swallowed).**

ATTENTION de n'utiliser que des choses que ne peuvent pas être avalées si elle sont malencontreusement décrochées!

I hung them on his wall, at a low height for him to enjoy and touch. I made sure that they are hang tightly, so he is not really able to take them down.

Je les ai accrochées sur le mur à sa hauteur, m'assurant qu'ils sont accrochés pour qu'ils ne puissent pas être enlevés.

I showed him how to touch the shell and stone, and I have seen him go near and pat them gently a few times already.

Je lui ai fait une "présentation" sur comment les toucher, et je l'ai vu aller les regarder quelques fois déjà.

Lunch with a 6 month old

Eating, and most of all drinking out of a infant sized glass has always been the thing I was most skeptical about when reading Montessori from the start. I didn't even bothered to try with Peanut, not seeing how this could work. Although I had seen many pictures of small infants drinking successfully out of a shooter glass, I guess I just was not ready yet.

But then this time, I decided to have a go. I felt it was much more respectful of me to teach my son to drink properly right from the start then have him drink in a sippy only to teach him differently down the road. And I must admit, to my complete amazement, it works!

As far as drinking goes, the trick is to keep the jug of water near, and serve only a little bit at a time, but all the time

Je dois avouer que de tout ce que j'ai lu sur le pédagogie Montessori, c'est certainement la partie sur l'alimentation qui me rendais le plus sceptique. Et ben, je dois avouer, une fois de plus, elle avait raison. J'en ai vu des images de bambin qui tiennent leur verres à deux mains, (et oui, j'étais complètement épatée au fait) mais je suis restée bouche-bée de voir mon propre fils le faire... à 6 mois.

Pour ce qui est de boire, le truc, c'est de garder un pichet d'eau a proximité, et de reservir de très petites quantités d'eau à la fois.

now this is what I put at one time, but we even started off with a little less then that. We gave Pumpkin time to learn to bring the glass to his lip and drink. Honnestly, it didn't take him that much time to get it. And now, we can almost full the shot glass, and unless he misses his shoot of aiming for his mouth, we don,t have much water dripping. (and can I add hoe he LOVES driking that way. he is just adorable to watch!)

J'ai commencé avec une quantité plus petite que ça, question qu'il ne se noie pas avec sa gorgée. Mais ça n'a pas pris de temps, il avait compris comment ça fonctionne, et il ADORE boire d'un verre!

Feeding himself food is something that caught us by surprise. At one point, DH filled his spoon, and left it on the side of the dish while attending to something else. And before we knew it, he grabbed the spoon, and brought it to his mouth. Since the first time we have started introducing solids, he has always expressed an interest in holding his spoon. But being able to take it from the bowl and to his mouth started a couple of days ago. So we now only fill his spoon, and he takes care of the rest. And beware if he manages to catch the bowl, because he really is testing the constancy of gravity! ( need to mention the mess that comes with that?)

Now let get this clear, meals are certainly not a clean time. We have water dripping, spoon slipping out of hands and of course onto the floor...a major cleaning spree is required after meals! (and sometimes is not for the faint at heart!), but seeing my 6 month old starting to be able to feed himself is well worth the associated elbow grease!

La manipulation de la cuillère, ça je dois avouer que ça nous a pris par surprise. C'est après avoir rempli sa cuillère et l'avoir laissé sur le bord du bol que nous l'avons vu, DH et moi, prendre celle-ci et la porté à sa bouche comme s'il avait fait ça depuis des mois! Alors nous lui préparons sa cuillère, et la laissons toujours sur le coté du bol. Il s'occupe du reste. Faut faire gaffe, par contre, qu'il attrape son bol parce que disons que la gravité à été plus souvent qu'autrement testé dans les dernier jours, et que dire du dégâts que ça fait!

Faut se comprendre...Rare sont les repas où il n'est pas nécessaire de déclarer la salle à manger de zone sinistrée...Nous avons des verres d'eau qui se renverse, des cuillères pleines qui tombent par terre...et tout ce qui s'en suit... Mais de voir mon petit homme apprendre à se nourrir par lui même vaut bien l'investissement de graisse de coude!

The discovery basket - kitchen

Today I have set up his first discovery basket. After a few day of exploring the basket by itself, he was showing signs of being ready to see more about this.

So for his first basket, I have put together things from the kitchen.

As he went through the different item of his basket, I named them for him.

He reached for the brush first, and kept coming back to it throughout the whole time. Those brushes have always been clear winner with my kiddos :)

We always do this activity seated. Although he is not completely stable yet, and I need to stay seated behind him for those time when he is not able to catch himself, I feel that it is a good exercice for him while he is concentrating on something else.

We have a period each day when we go together and joy explore the basket. I love this time with my son. I just TAKE the time to watch him discover and I think it is as magical for me, as it is for him. Looking at his eyes, his amazement, his questionning, I see it all in his face. He is learning about life, while I am learning about him

The discovery basket

The discovery basket is finally out!

(and well, yes, being chewed on...but you know...)

I LOVE the discovery basket. It is an idea that I got while reading Tim Seldin's book: How to raise an amazing child the Montessori way. I used it with Peanut, and she adores it. It was something she kept coming back to, to explore, empty, put back in...endlessly. I was looking forward to this experience again with Pumpkin, and I think it will be as enjoyable as it was the first time.

I started by putting out a couple of things in them, but after observing him, I realized that the basket by itself was more then enough to investigate. So I removed the content without him being aware, and he explored the basket (yes, with ALL his senses!) for a rather long period of time.

When I gave it to him, I named it, "discovery basket", and then while he was exploring, I remained silent. When his really started to work on a specific area, I named it: "handle"

The basket will remain in his room, at the same spot, with the same material in it for a couple of week at a time. I read somewhere how it is a good idea to put object that are somewhat linked together, like things from the kitchen, the bathroom, all sorts of container etc...

Where to find info on the discovery basket:

• Tim Seldin's book How to raise an amazing child the Montessori way
• if you know of any other good ressources or ideas about the basket, please leave them in the comments, I'll add to the post!

Montessori activities for infant

Toys...

probably the most associated word with children, of all ages.

But toys is a topic that I have been revisiting for a while, and my idea of it has changed greatly over the years. Whether it is in the Waldorf philosophy, or the Montessori one, toys can have a different view then the mainstream one that we are used to: noisy and plastic toys in a quantity that exceed the needs of the child.

I have to admit, the topic of toys is one that has brought me to these new philosophy of education (Waldorf and Montessori). I felt uneasy with the quantity and quality of toys we owned and felt like there had to be another solution.

The rest is history.

Maria Montessori thought that when children are provided with an environment that was suited for them, and where they were able to do purposeful work, toys were not needed.

I have to admit that since my kids are born, they much rather doing then playing. Everytime, on any occasion.

But for the infants, well chosen toys is the material needed to work. So we did purchase a few toys for DS2

You don't need many toys. Only a few that you rotate every few weeks. Since the development will continue in the meantime, when they get the old toys again, they have a new view of this toys with their newfound skills, and explore it in a totally different way then before.

In the first few weeks, we didn't use toys. We used mobiles, sung songs, talked to him, and left him to explore his floor bed. That was more then plenty. When we saw him try to grab the mobile, we knew it was time to add something to give him material to practice holding. So in came the first toy:

the wooden ring.

I had to use this one to illustrate as the other one is currently in use ;). THis one has been retired from the toy rotation, since after bagning it on the floor, it broke...

Good toy. Many uses possible ( I hung it on the plant hook, he loved it) a classic

After a few days of practicing with this, we started to introduce other toys:

The wooden rattle

from little Alouette on Etsy:

Good quality, lovely sound, good size for little hand. That really help him while he was teething.

The ball:

from a store on etsy, but I cannot remember who...

Interesting item. I can see him practicing grasping with this.

A triangular rattle

bought at a local store

He loves this. He loves to handle it, to make sound with it, and the colors fascinate him

The bells, a mobile to grab

yes, this is what it looks like after being really played with...

Bought at Micheal Olaf

His favorite toy up to now I think.

The missing items:

-there is a cloth book that is not pictured as I am not able to find right now... It is a book with different fabric in it, so it gives different tactile sensation to the baby.

-the wooden disks, as invented by Maria Montessori

And finally, the next toy that will be entering the rotation is this:

found at a local store

That is all

Otherwise, we let him explore whatever is in his room (the mirror is a big thing!), things around the house, we sing and read really short stories or rhymes.

All these toys have never been presented to him all at the same time. Usually he has 2 or 3 that are available. But while I was doing the picture, he managed to pull himself to the whole stack. Turns out he almost had a hard time deciding what toy to choose... well, not that much of a hard time really...

SOME GOOD SOURCES FOR TOYS:

• Micheal Olaf
• HABA ( you really have to sort though, some I find too busy)
• Pink House handwork on etsy
• Little Alouette on etsy
• there are plenty others too

And a good read about toys and simplification:

Simplicity Parenting

it is a book that was written with the Waldorf philosophy in mind, but there are so many lovely ideas about simplifiying, toys notably, that I love to recommend this book.

Montessori infant room: a guided tour

Can you believe that my little pumpkin is almost 6 months!!! I am having such a hard time realising how fast he is growing. I try to enjoy every single moment with him, and not forget to cherish them!

During the holidays, I had (took) the time to read quite a few books. Some for my personal enjoyement, but some for my family as well. One of them was a book I had already read before:



which is IMO probably the most useful book explaining the Montessori philosophy for infants.

There are some parts of the book that I don't agree with. Breastfeeding notably, weaning, sleeping arangements for some part. But it is such a wealth of other information, that I was prepared to overlook those part and read the book again.

Again, it gave me so many ideas to enrich Pumpkin's environment. Many things I had already applyied, either because I remembred from the first time I read, or just because I had already did them with Peanut and was hapy with the results.

When we came back from the holidays, I was anxious to get back to work on modifying his environement and make it as friendly as possible for him.

So welcome to a tour of Pumpkin's room:

2 words I kept in my mind while creating this space: simplicity, and adapted. I wanted his room adapted for him, and keeping it simple just allows that.

So here is the (cute) view when you get in: The floor bed

The first thing I needed to do was to install his floor bed. I couldn't sleep him in his basinette any longer, so it was getting dangerous. I knew that a floor bed was the next step.

I used a IKEA matress that I bought for my DD. THe mirror is just next to the bed. I was afraid that it would keep him from falling asleep, but au contraire! He falls asleep looking at himself most nights (while I am putting the other 2 to bed). The mirror is currently not hung on the wall, we need to fix something on it, and so that is why the pillows are on each side: to protect DS

ON the bed, there is a beige blanket. It is a double size organic coton blanket folded in 2. When I put DS to bed, I put him in between the 2 layers, much like if it was a sleeping bag. He LOVES to sleep on his tummy (yes I know…but at this point, whatever I’ll do, he will turn anyways!), so this allows him to have the freedom to turn and not be caught in the blankets. (the blanket is tuck under the matress on both sides)

Next , the changing station:

A set of drawers with a dual purpose. With DD, the changing station was on the floor. However, having a back problem this time around, I had to have a changing station that was more back friendly

This dresser is IMO too big for the room. It is pretty useful now as I have to store the cloth diapers, and the middle section is dedicated to that. But once DS1′s wardrobe done (we have just moved recently), we will take the cabinet he is using right now, and move it to this room. The cabinet is a Ikea system that is very child friendly, and a lot smaller. But in the meantime, this will do.

I have added artwork near the chaging station for him to look at. The drawing are from the Wee gallery

Next to his bed, between the bed and the door, there is a little shelving to store toys

there are only a few toys there at a time:

and right beside that is the potty station:

We are ECing with this baby, and so having a potty in the room really makes things easier

I have also added on the floor a lambskin ( no pics sorry)

Since this room is supposed to be an office, it was made with ceramic tiling. Not really perfect for a little one. But with the floor bed, he has a nice place to play, and this addition on the floor makes another spot for him to enjoy while feeling another sensation on his skin.

I am currently working on some new artwork for his room, hopefully they will be ready next week. i’ll post about that later.

Finally MOBILES! Mobiles are a big thing in the infancy period. I have asked DH to fix a plant hook on the ceiling of the room. THis allows me to have a variety of mobiles, even ones that he can pull on like this:

t is a mobile that I have found at Micheal Olaf. It is attached to an elastic, and so when he reaches for the hook, he is able to bring the mobile to his mouth. The elastic is not too elastic though, because otherwise he could get hurt when releasing the mobile. He LOVES this mobile, as it makes sounds when he graps it, so it is rewarding for him.

having fun on the floorbed…

there are a few ressources out there about the environment of the infant. THese are the ones I used or got inspired from:

- Montessori from the start

-Albums from Montessori research and development

-And of course Finn’s room from Meg at Sew Liberated