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Browsing Tag: Toddler
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My three year old has curly, tangled hair and sometimes I am just at a loss about what to do about it. It took her a long time to actually grow hair, so I’m not going to just cut it. She always has very curly hair where I have stick-straight hair. So it took me a while to figure out a few tips to dealing with it. Here are five tips I have to help deal with tangled toddler hair.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I am very passionate about Montessori education. But with some recent life changes, we left our beloved Montessori school and I was stuck deciding how to help my daughter with her education in the best way.
Now, I am someone who loves to organize and arrange things. So at first, I wanted to make a whole system of schedules and lesson plans. Except we definitely wouldn’t have followed it; it would have just been busy work for me.
Enter unschooling.
“Unschooling” is a term that can be very divisive. People read it and think of children languishing at home, sleeping until noon, watching television all day, and never learning to read. That couldn’t be further from the truth. One thing I’ve learned through the lens of Montessori is that children are naturally curious and if left to their own devices, will learn just from being allowed to explore.
Unschooling simply means you are letting your child learn naturally without a strict curriculum. But an unschooled kid could still do worksheets if that is what they want to do. You could get a math curriculum for them to follow if they are interested in it. They could also take classes in things that they are interested in. What makes it unschooling is that the child is taking the lead and the learning comes naturally.
When it comes to a preschooler, I do several things to help her learn without giving her a strict structure or making her sit to do the work I think she should do. Here is what unschooling a preschooler looks like, the similarities with Montessori education and how it is working for us.
As a mother, I definitely get stuck in a rut sometimes. There I am, trying to get something done and then it happens. My kid is bored. And even though we have toys and other things around, she just can’t find something to keep her occupied. Of course all of the things I’m suggesting are not things she wants to do. None of the old standbys like coloring will work. Then I realize that I need to come up with some new activities. It can be a little overwhelming, but here are the places where I look for new activities for kids.
Pros: Lets be honest, Pinterest is definitely a place I look for new ideas. I can find some really good activities there and most of them are easily put together. It is also great because I can search for something specific I’d like.
Cons: But sometimes the projects are not things I can do at home or without buying a ton of supplies. And sometimes I click on it and it doesn’t bring me to the right page.
Library
Pros: The library is a great place to look for activities. I can find books my child will like along with books I’d like to check out that have activities. Sometimes libraries even have a lending program for small toys or activities.
Cons: You have to leave home. And really, sometimes that just doesn’t cut it. Also, you may be limited by the size of your library. My local library is tiny. I can order things from the other libraries in the system, but again I have to wait.
Thrift Stores/Garage Sales
Pros: You can find nice, quality things for cheap at thrift stores and garage sales. I’ve found great toys, puzzles, and books there that have given me great ideas. You know you’ll be able to find at least one of those great 90’s books that have a ton of activities listed.
Cons: Once again, you have to leave home. You also aren’t guaranteed that the toy is in good shape or that the puzzle has all of the pieces.
So where else do you look for new activities?
One of the things I love about the Montessori philosophy is the idea of self directed learning. Children follow their interests with some guidance from the teacher (who is literally called a guide in Montessori.) The idea of children learning things they want to learn and when they are interested in them just makes my heart soar.
When children are forced to learn things when they are “supposed to” instead of when they are ready and interested, they are not going to enjoy it and they might not even remember it. Self directed learning is a way to make sure children will (mostly) enjoy what they are learning and remember it as they grow older.
But here’s the thing: self directed learning with younger children might not really look like learning to us. But sit tight, I have an example of that after I tell you some of the traps we fall into with children’s activities. (If you’d like some good ideas for activities to do with your children or other ways to bring Montessori into your life, check out my ebook 30 Ways to Make Your Home More Montessori. You can buy it as an ebook on Amazon or a pdf file on Gumroad.)
The Two Ways We Spoil Self Directed Learning
When children are younger, it can be kind of tempting to do a couple of things: 1) turn EVERYTHING into a “learning activity” or 2) push the academic. Well, I’m tell you that you don’t have to do that. I’m giving you permission to just let them play and the self directed learning will flow out of it.
So what do I mean? Well sure, go ahead and count things with your child or talk about colors. But you don’t have to force it. I’ve seen way too many scenarios where parents are forcing these “learning activities” and because it is so forced, I have a hard time believing the child is getting much out of them.
The other thing parents will do is really push the academic. Instead of seeing what their child is interested in, they will just try to push anything academic. What if your kid really like numbers, but could care less about letters? Or maybe they love colors, but don’t really care about shapes. You don’t have to force them to like the other things. Wait until they show an interest.
Younger children will naturally show interests in things without having to be pushed into it, but the thing is not everything that interests them will be academic. It won’t all be counting and reading. But don’t fear, they will still learn from it.
And I’m not saying that you shouldn’t ever set up an activity for them. Just make sure you are paying attention to what they are actually interested in or something that would be a natural fit. The other day I set up a quick handwashing activity for my daughter after she did some art. It was then I realized that I had been guilty of overthinking Montessori in my home.
When Play Becomes Learning
The other day, I was home with my kids and I was feeling so internally pressured like I should be engaging my 3 year old in some sort of activity. She was playing with some corn cob holders and I was wondering if I should be setting up something for her to do.
But then I noticed something. She wasn’t just mindlessly playing around with these dumb little corn cob holders. She was using the colors to make a sort of pattern.
Now, there was a time or two before when I thought I should be working on academics with her and tried to see if she could understand patterns. It just backfired. She was not interested at all and thought what I was asking her to do was boring. But here she was working on patterns by herself. If I had stopped her from playing with those poky little things, she wouldn’t have gotten that valuable, self directed learning experience that she got.
P.S. Make sure you check out my 30 Ways to Make Your Home More Montessori ebook if you are interested in Montessori. I have some great things to do with your children that will help prompt self directed learning. You can find the ebook on Amazon or a pdf book on Gumroad.
Tell me about a time when you realized your children were actually learning during play. I love personal stories!
Montessori seems like such a foreign, weird concept to some. Even parents who send their kid to a Montessori school may only have a vague notion about the Montessori philosophy. But if you are wanting to support your child’s Montessori education or if you are just interested in being more child-led in your home, Montessori at home doesn’t have to be hard.
Look, I’ve worked in a Montessori school for 5 years now. It took a while, but I have a good grasp on the philosophy and part of the reason I write this blog is to help others understand too. (In fact, if you want to learn a little more, make sure you read What the Heck is Montessori?) But even I have been guilty of making bringing Montessori into my home too hard. (If you are looking for more ways to be more Montessori at home, check out my e-book 30 Ways to Make Your Home More Montessori. It is full of easy ways to incorporate more Montessori ideals in your home. You can find it as an ebook on Amazon or as a pdf file on Gumroad.)
Sure, it is one thing to follow Montessori ideals: child-led learning and freedom of movement among other things are easy once you are committed to them. But what kinds of activities can you do with your children that are Montessori based?
Well I’m here to tell you that when you try to come up with these activities, you are probably overthinking it. You don’t need it to be perfect and you don’t need it to match exactly what they do at school. Here is how that looked for me the other day.
The other day, my daughter had been doing some art and got marker all over her hands. She asked to wash her hands and, instead of sending her upstairs to where her bathroom stool is, I figured I could set up a quick hand washing activity for her.
I gathered a towel for the floor, a tub of warm water, a washcloth, some soap, and a hand towel for when she was done. I set it up on the kitchen floor and she went to town. She already had the hand washing presentation at school, so she knew what she was supposed to do.
Was it strictly Montessori to a tee? No. She didn’t get the water herself, we used a plastic tub, and I didn’t have a nail brush or bar soap. But it didn’t matter. At the end of the day, it was good all around. I allowed her the freedom to do the job herself and she enjoyed exploring with the soap.
So the next time you are thinking of doing an activity and you are worried about it because it isn’t “Montessori enough,” just relax. You are overthinking it. Things don’t always have to be perfect to work.
(And if you are interested in some easy ways to be more Montessori in your home, check out my e-book 30 Ways to Make Your Home More Montessori. It is full of all sorts of ways to follow Montessori at home. You can find it as an ebook on Amazon or a pdf file on Gumroad.)
Rainbows are great for so many reasons but one is that they make a great, colorful and fun way to help toddlers learn their colors. With St. Patrick’s Day and spring coming up, I sat down and did this toddler rainbow craft that we even turned into a game. Here is the simple craft we did and how we used it in a similar way to how color tablets are used in a Montessori classroom.
If there is one thing I remember doing as a “winter” craft, it was making snowflakes. You know, just folding up the paper and cutting away at it. Well as a mom now, I realized that this winter snowflake craft is perfect for helping children refine their fine motor skills. So here is how I used snowflake making to teach my toddler to use scissors and helped her fine motor skills.
To the parent of the worst kid in swim lessons:
It is hard to show up to swim lessons or gymnastics class or soccer practice knowing your kid is the worst one out there. You worry and try not to compare, but how can you not sometimes.
My 2-year-old daughter Mac has been in swim lessons for over a year. She loves the water and swims like a fish, which makes her dad extremely happy. He was part of the swim team in high school and is so excited to share his love for the water with her. They still do the lessons where he is in the water with her, making it a special bonding time.
But this lesson session, it has been hard. See, the other kid in the class isn’t a great swimmer. He has fun, but he isn’t up to where Mac is and the other day his dad made a comment about it to my husband.
“She is such a fish in the water. I wish my son was like that.”
And even though he didn’t mean it in a way that he was disappointed in his son, it made me sad.
See, his son and my daughter are taking away two totally different things from these swim lessons.
Mac is an independent, super confident girl and she has been her entire short life. For her, swim lessons are about building up swimming skills. She’s learning to paddle and kick and climb out of the pool. She’s trying out going underwater, jumping in from the side of the pool, and even wearing goggles.
But this other little boy isn’t to that stage. The biggest thing he is taking away from these lessons is confidence. He is working on believing in himself and trusting that he can do it.
He doesn’t need to learn how to put together his kicking and paddling until he learns that he is fully capable of doing it by himself and trusting his abilities.
But I’m going to let you in on a secret: we put our little fish into gymnastics class last year and while the older children learned to do somersaults and walk on the balance beam, my kid ran around just enjoying the gym time.
And I accepted that what she was getting out of the classes was not exactly what we signed up for, but it was still important. She was learning how her body moves in space and how to interact with other children around and how to wait her turn.
So when I look at the differences between the kids in swim lessons or whatever classes my kid is taking, I don’t judge children on their surface abilities. I look further down and try to see what they are really learning.
That kid who is slower than the rest in soccer might be working on his coordination. That girl in ballet who is always a step behind may be working on sequencing skills. Maybe the socialization of a class is the most important part for another child.
Instead of feeling embarrassed or concerned, feel proud with whatever skill your child is working on and look at the improvement in that skill at the end. Swim lessons isn’t just about learning to swim.
It is no fun when your child has breathing issues. When you add in a nebulizer, it can be an even bigger pain. Not only do you have to watch your child be sick, but you have to struggle to get them to take their medicine. As someone who has been giving their toddler medicine with a nebulizer for over a year, here are a few tips and tricks that I have picked up along the way.
The other night, Andrew was putting Mac to bed. He came into our room laughing and said
“She won’t stop calling me poop. I told her I liked it when she said nice things to me, like ‘I love you.’ So then she looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘I love you poop.'”
We definitely had a good laugh about it since she wasn’t around, but it made me realize I had to deal with the potty mouth already.
I work with 3-6 year olds. If I had to use one word to describe their sense of humor, it would be “bathroom.” Any sort of bathroom word can spur an entire lunch table to giggles. It doesn’t even have to be a joke. Simply saying “poop” or “fart” is enough for them to lose control. So what do you do about it? Well, there is one trick I’ve learned from co-workers that might not totally stop it, but certainly slows it down.
