Midweek Creations - Butterfly Hands

This week's creation is a fun and simply piece of art that will be fun for your child to explore with. As with many art projects I post on here, there are lots of opportunities for variation. Enjoy!

Here's what you'll need:
Popsicle stick
construction paper
crayons and/or paint
stickers (0ptional)
tape
scissors

Let your child decorate his piece of construction paper with the crayons and/or paint. After the child is done and the paper is dry fold it in half and trace one of your child's hands with the palm right next to the folded edge of the paper. Cut out the tracing being sure not to cut through the folded edge near the palm. Open the cutout to reveal a butterfly and let your child decorate it a little more with stickers. Once done, tape the center fold of the butterfly onto one end of a popsicle stick and show your child how to move the popsicle stick up and down to make the butterfly fly.

Montessori Mondays - The Subject of Praise

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I apologize for not posting at all last week as we were just beginning summer school and I wanted to devote my time to that.

There is a huge amount of research and parenting resources on the subject of praise and punishment. Today, I want to share how the Montessori method approaches appropriate and inappropriate actions. If these ideas strike a cord with you, either positively or negatively, I encourage you to do some of your own research into the Montessori method as well as other approaches to education. Enjoy!

Very simply put, within the Montessori method external praise and punishment is kept to a minimum and wanted behaviors and actions are modeled and then acknowledged simply and quietly while unwanted behaviors and actions are quietly acknowledged and then redirected.

To delve into that idea more deeply take a look at these points.

• When Maria Montessori was initially forming her ideas through observation she noticed children learned best through an intrinsic reward system of being able to seek out training and time to work on activities that they choose themselves and were interested in. She believed external rewards should be minimal, taking the form of a nonverbal quiet cue such as a smile, to allow the intrinsic reward of meaningful work remain prominent. This is why many Montessori works are self corrective and allow children to discover solutions by themselves rather than receiving an external evaluation from an adult. This is also why adults in a Montessori environment often assume the role of a guide rather than a traditional teacher.
• It is important not to reward unsuitable behavior with direct attention, but any behavior that could cause harm or disruption to a child or other child should be addressed. If a child is being disruptive, you should gently and quietly try to distract and redirect the child to a more suitable activity. A vital part of this approach is to help the child identify the feelings that may have lead to him carrying out the unsuitable behavior. If distracting and redirecting do not work initially, then you can try gluing, or keeping the child close by, until the child calms down enough to talk and find a more suitable behavior.
• Lastly, our attitude should always be positive, patient, and supportive of independence, whether in looking for ways to redirect unsuitable behavior or letting a child make his own choice and solve the problems of that choice on his own. The tone in our body language and words should always be in quiet, calm support of this attitude and we should always model the behavior we want to see in a child. If we do make a mistake or become upset, it is also important to acknowledge our behavior and the reasons behind that behavior to a child just as we would help him work through unsuitable actions.

Friday Notables - How are You Peeling?

This week's Friday Notable, How are You Peeling?, is an amazing book created by sculptor Saxton Freymann and author Joost Elffers. The text itself follows a fairly standard script about different kinds of emotions, but what sets this book apart is the amazing and beautiful pictures of fruit and veggie sculptures created by Freymann. Each piece of food is given a face filled with emotion and character and then set in front of a bold, single color background. The result is a very clear and attention grabbing depiction of the physical expressions that accompany emotions. Once you have read the book a few times and your child is familiar with the pictures and text, try sitting in front a mirror with the book and see if you can both mimic the faces in the pages. If your child is very curious about the art itself, there is a brief note in the beginning of the book describing Freymann's work. I suggest reading that with your child as well and then going into your kitchen to see if you can find any funny shaped fruit to sculpt into something amazing. Especially for toddlers who are just learning how to label their emotions this is a fun and yet clear way to begin introducing the language of emotions. Enjoy!

Midweek Creations - Stickers!

Toddlers love stickers and introducing them into art time is a great way to use stickers without your child connecting them to a reward based behavior system. While there are lots of wonderful stickers out there, the best (and often least expensive) stickers are the label and nametag blank stickers found in the office supply isle. By purchasing these your child can paint, color, and use glue and a bag of glitter to create their very own stickers. Also, unlike many of the fancy stickers designed to give to children office supply labels don't have an outline of sticker around them making it easier for your child to peel their newly created sticker from the slightly larger wax paper backing.

Montessori Mondays - The Summer Months

Many schools are finishing up the year in the next few weeks and if you choose to keep your child at home for the summer break you may be wondering what/if you should do any education at home. Just having finished a series of posts breaking down Barbara Hacker's 101 Ways To Help a Montessori Child, my first suggestion would be her last, "Enjoy life together." If you do have the luxury of spending some time with your child, seize it! There are lots of work books you can find in bookstores to prepare your child for the upcoming school year, but these warm months are perfect for you and your child to discover nature and grow a strong relationship with each other as well as with the community in your area at large. Being in a classroom environment has begun to teach your child social skills with others in his age group, but if you take a trip out to the park, volunteer at a food bank, or go to the zoo your child will learn how to interact with older children as well as adults that they don't come into contact everyday. The summer months are also great for toddlers to just run, climb, and jump to their heart's content honing those gross motor skills all the while.
My second suggestion is to carry some shell of your child's routine at school into his daily time at home - meaning try to keep meals and naps regular. As far as works, I would talk to your child's teacher about any interests or materials that your child is drawn to, especially simple, practical life activities that your child can do at home. If you child can talk, ask him what he enjoys at school and then see if it is possible to find similar materials to fulfill that sensitive period in your child's learning. Otherwise, let learning be an impromptu experience guided by daily activities with your child. If you find something that you really want to show and share with your child, go for it because your enthusiasm will likely rub off, but don't force an activity that at that moment you nor your child is curious about.
Lastly, I would recommend, if you have some moments, to delve further into articles and research out there about the Montessori method and what to expect in the upcoming school year if your child will be transitioning to a primary classroom. This way, you will be able to talk with your child over the summer about the new environment and expectations that he will have when school starts again. If he will be returning to the same school, be sure to also mention the familiar faces he will see. If you don't know where to start, browse through some of my past Monday and Friday posts for some resources about Montessori and talk to your child's teacher.

Friday Notables - Healthy Lunch Maker

Today's Friday Notable comes from Parenting.com. While browsing Parenting's countless articles and tips for parents and parents to be I stumbled upon this very visual lunch calculator that is perfect if you want to have your child begin to grasp the idea of nutrition. Right away, I will say there are much more complex and varied meal calculators available online, but this one is kid friendly. The images for each item are prominent and clear so your child should be able to point to a picture or say its name so you can click and add it to his virtual lunch. At first your child may want to add lots of juice, cheese, milk, and cookies just because he sees the images, but this gives you a perfect opportunity to talk about the nutritional values that come with the food we eat when the lunch maker totals the numbers for your child's choices. After you have created a great virtual lunch, your child can help pack that lunch for the next day using the pictures as a step by step visual of what you need. The calculator is designed for ages 3 to 11, but choosing age 3 gives choices that would likely be available to toddlers. The calculator is also limited to creating sandwiches along with choosing a drink and snack, but there are lots of choices as far as meats, breads, veggies, and condiments that allow you to create many variations on a healthy lunch. This is definitely a tool worth checking out at least once, for yourself if nothing else, to see what kind of nutrition your child is getting from his lunch. Click the link to visit Parenting's lunch maker and have a great weekend.

Midweek Creations - Ice Cube Painting

Summer crafts and activities are here. This is a fun, new way for your little toddler to experience painting and comes chalk full of opportunities to learn about solids and liquids, the sensation of cold, and color mixing. Try not to prompt too many conversations during the activity as it is initially a very engrossing experience. Instead, let their remarks and questions lead the learning moments in true Montessori fashion. There are lots of variations you can add to this activity as far as colors and "paint" options. I recommend using kool-aid or jello packets to make the colored ice as they will be safe if your child tries to eat their ice cube. I also like using paper dixie cups to make the ice cubes because they are easier for your child to manipulate if you want to have them help mix multiple colored ice cubes for water. Enjoy!
What you'll need:
paper dixie cups (or ice cube tray)
small pitcher of water
one or two different colored kool-aid packets (primary colors are best for the toddlers if you want to focus on color mixing)
spoon
small meatloaf pan
white construction paper cut in half
freezer
Have your child fill several dixie cups half full with water. Pour a small amount of kool-aid into each cup and stir until dissolved. Put the cups in the freezer until they are solid (usually about 3-4 hours). When you are ready to paint, take one of the paper halves and put it in the bottom of the meatloaf pan. Take one of the frozen dixie cups and unpeel the paper from the newly formed ice cube. Place it in the middle of meatloaf pan and show your child how to tilt the pan so that the ice will slide and paint the paper as it melts. Switch or add a different colored ice cube after some time. Once your child is finished, let their new artwork dry and have them help wash the meatloaf pan.