how we montessori

Winter's Base Layer

Oh it's getting cold! 

I'm committed to getting outside more this winter. Last winter we bunkered down and stayed indoors. Otis was a newborn and Caspar couldn't shake illness. I hoping this year will be different. 

I've heard people say 'children don't feel the cold'. But they really do. They may be too busy playing to notice but there is no way they can sit still, concentrate, work and fulfill their potential while they are cold. 

Caspar has always worn the Nature Baby Merino Thermals. It's pretty much wash and wear, in winter he wears the long sleeve top every single day. A base layer like this is perfect as he can wear a woollen jumper over top staying nice and warm without any bulk. 

Over the weekend we wanted to do some shopping in person and stocked up at Kathmandu. They've been on sale on for a long time. We were able to pick up a few more base layers for Caspar and a little oversized base layer for Otis. Otis's are size 2 and are nice soft merino. So, so cuddly and so, so warm. 

If you live in Australia I'd love to hear where you get your children's base layers, or do you buy overseas? When I was a young we wore skivvies! Not so on trend these days. 

Making butter - by hand - with kids

April has given me many wonderful and interesting ideas. How about making butter in a baby food jar? She said it could be done. 

Empty clean jars with tight fitting lids, clean marbles and full cream at room temperature. 

Pour the cream into the jars.

Put a marble in each. 

Then shake. A lot. For around five minutes. 

Even Otis can do it. We gave him a jar of this own. Check out the smile.

Keep shaking past the whipped cream stage and you get butter. Pour out the liquid. Some people say rinse the butter with cool water, we didn't. We ate it straight away.

We don't buy butter and usually don't eat it. But now I get why people started eating it in the first place. It was delicious. 

Next time we bake our own bread we'll make our own butter too. Serious fun. 

 

Walking with whatever!

I love seeing how children develop. Watching an infant creeping to a crawl. Cruising to walking. 

I have mentioned Otis walking with his walker wagon before (here and here). It's perfect for a beginner because it is so stable. 

Now that Otis is more confident on his feet he has taken to walking with anything. 

The Wheely Bug.

He's not just cruising here. He's actually walking around the entire house, even over carpet with these.

A stool. 

The Cube Chair.

The high chair. 

I have also recently noticed how tall babies look once they start walking. One moment they appear to be infants crawling around, then toddlers standing tall!

 

Exploring whole foods - Seafood

We often go to our Farmer's Market for an authentic fresh food experience. Caspar has also grown a lot of fruit and vegetables himself. We take him to a butcher for meat and a fishmonger for seafood. 

When we buy fish it's usually in fillets with the bones and skin removed. It doesn't resemble the fish it came from. Our fishmonger is a fun place to visit. The whole store is chilled and it's wet. There are boxes and crates packed with ice and sea creatures. We brought home a small selection to explore. This seafood is fresh but it is not alive. 

I was reminded that Caspar hasn't cooked with seafood before. He put some lemon and coriander in the fish and then wrapped it ready to bake. 

It is unlikely we'll ever take Caspar fishing. Although now I know for sure he has a greater understanding of the fish we eat, and exoskeletons. He learnt a lot about exoskeletons!

DIY Coin Box

We had finished playing Connect Four when Caspar and Otis begun to fill the frame with tokens. No strategy just having fun putting all the tokens in. Watching Otis's hand action made me think he was ready for a coin box. 

I have not purchased a coin box and when Caspar was little I made one out of an empty yoghurt container. This DIY is a compromise. No natural materials and not beautiful. It's functional but still a compromise on the traditional Montessori material. 

I asked Caspar to give Otis a lesson. Caspar loves this. He is channelling his teacher. He is patient and slowly shows Otis what to do. 

Otis probably didn't need a lesson. 

I haven't put this on his shelves yet but when I do I'll present it on a tray like this. 

I have mentioned this coin box previously on a post about using coloured tokens.

There are other options to a yoghurt container. A box, tin or jar could all work well as long as there is a slit at the top and a way the child can retrieve the tokens. 

I have a super busy week planned so I won't be back posting until the weekend. However I will continue to update our Photo of the Day.

 

High Chairs for a Montessori home

Oh the things I wish I knew! Only four years ago I was looking for a high chair. A high chair for a Montessori home. We wanted a chair that was:

• made of timber
• aesthetically pleasing 
• adjustable
• able to be used from six-months
• able be used independently by the child from around 18 months
• comfortable   
• without a tray so that it could be completely pulled up to the family table. 

The only one I knew about was the Tripp Trapp. While we love the Tripp Trapp (and the wonderful colours they come in) there are now many others on the market. Different styles and absolutely different prices. The most expensive here is AU$449.95 harness additional and the cheapest is an amazing AU$89.95.  

1. Stokke Tripp Trapp 

2. Svan Essential High Chair 

3. Leander High Chair  

4. Baby Bear High Chair by Jolly Kidz 

5. Soho Wooden High Chair by Mocka 

6. Baby Dan DanChair

7. Minui Handysitt

  Alpha High Chair by Hauck 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Boomer High Chair  

 

 

 

 

 

Many of the original sites (and Google) will take you to a retailer. In Australia many of these chairs are available at Bebe or Eco Child. Prices vary depending on the retailer so it pays to look around. Also these chairs have different variations with straps, harnesses, safety kits and cushions. 

I love children's furniture so I had FUN compiling this list. Besides the big names I had no idea there was so much variety. If you are looking for a high chair you have plenty to choose from. 

Is this a complete list, did I get close? Let me know if there is a chair I have missed.   

 

Free Play All Day

During the school holidays it's important for us to take the opportunity to spend some days at home. I don't want my children to feel bored easily. I want them to use their minds and imaginations. Not to look to me for something to do, for entertainment. So we allow them as much free play as possible.

Outside I try not to hover but stay nearby. Otis is frequently physically constrained by closed doors. But leave our back door open and this is where you will find him. Here or at the strawberry patch.

It was actually rainy today. While I am happy for some wet play I decided to put a beach shade over the sand pit. That way he could stay in it all day. 

He's feeling better too. Sporting new molars!

French Knitting and Pom Poms

Rainy day. Sick baby. From the moment I woke up all I could think about was going back to sleep. While Otis was sleeping I wanted to do something with Caspar that required very little energy. Why did I think French Knitting would be easy?

I thought this was for children. Once I got it started I realised this was way above Caspar's skill level, I found it difficult myself. Don't laugh, I'm no knitter. 

I remembered this idea below, it took me two minutes to make. 

To demonstrate Caspar sat on my lap. I put my arms around him so he could easily see and copy my movements. 

He liked that it looked like a spider web. This really worked his concentration. 

It was fun to do this together and I know with patience he can do it on his own. We agreed to leave it on his shelves. It will be interesting to see if he progresses with it. 

Next nap time we made a Pom Pom. With rainbow wool.

The best part was when he gave it to Otis. 

We knew he would like it!

Home made shakers

It's nice to remember that some of the best materials can be made with items already in our home.

Here I have used empty spice bottles, some seeds, nuts and lentils. With beauty and the use of natural materials at the forefront of my mind. 

I copied the idea from Sara here. Sara used jam jars. I like the little jars our vanilla paste comes in but I didn't have enough. Used baby food jars would work well too. 

 

Composting and recycling with kids

We may have missed Earth Day but it's never too late to update your recycling and composting areas. I think these printables from Steph at Modern Parents Messy Kids look great. Nice, clear and simple. Updating an area is a sure fire way to stimulate the interest of your child.

We compost using the Bokashi system. Here is Caspar showing exactly how it's done. He was proficient even at three.  

We know composting is good for the Earth. Rich, awesome soil packed full of worms!

Edited: I'm glad no one picked this up before I did. Earth Day is on April 22.