Counting Activity

Thurdays are counting days with my daughter. We are at 1-15 right now, she has known 1-10 for months but always confuses 13-15. We have number cards and a counting catepillar that we match up together on the floor. This part is simple for her. Next we place stones below the cards to correspond with the numbers. She doesn't quit get it yet but loves putting the stones down and is able to count them all by herself.

Setting the table - the Montessori Way!

I have always wanted to buy a placemat that helps a child to learn how to set a table. I never thought of making one myself until my friend Jodi put up a tutorial on her blog! Check it out here! I love the choice of fabric in her placemat below.

I tweaked her pattern a little bit to make one for my two year old. It is still a little rough around the edges (I am waiting for that promised serger from my mother-in-law) but I was so happy with how it turned out and the fact that my daughter LOVES using it!!

Montessori Music for Toddlers

Friday's are our music days.

My goals for music time with a two year old:

-Introduced simple music instruments

- Listen to upbeat songs and try to keep rhythm with maracas or a drum

- Sing, clap, have fun

For Small Hands has a variety of inexpensive music instruments. Below is my daughter using the Wooden Slide Whistle($4.50) which she was so intrigued with. It was super easy for her to use (age 2) and she had so much fun making her own music :)

We also love using wooden Maracas , they are beautifully painted and are the perfect size for small hands. We did get them from For Small Hands but I just found them for $1 each here!

Montessori Sorting Activity with Rookie Stix

In addition to being a great sorting activity this activity is also excellent for fine motor development. I got the Rookie Stix from For Small Hands, a great Montessori resource, for $4.95 for a set of 2. My daughter grasped the concept immediately and was so excited to use them.

You can use them to sort a variety of things. In the picture my daughter is sorting small pony tail holders (which she LOVES playing with) but I also have small different color pom poms (bought for cheap at any craft store) that she loves too. The "sorting" tray is used for paint, got that for super cheap at a craft store too.



Enjoy!

Simplicity Parenting Treasures

So I have officially finished the book Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, M.Ed.

There are so many treasures in it that I would like to share with you, but unfortunately that would keep you here for a couple hours.

So instead I am going to share with you a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Too much stuff leads to too little time and too little depth in the way kids see and explore their world."

"With "predictability" a child knows what to expect."

"Relationships are often built in the intervals, the space between activities, when nothing much is going on."

"Children who've had a role in preparing a meal assume ownership of it. More simply: When children make the food, they're less likely to throw it, or refuse it."

"Family dinners get much simpler when they're predictable: Monday pasta night, Tuesday rice night, Wednesday soup night, and so on." ( I LOVE this idea!)

"Before you say something, ask yourself these three questions: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?"

Now those quotes barely scratch the surface, but it's all I can offer at the moment :)

A reader asked me a couple weeks ago what my typical day/schedule looks like. Since a big part of Simplicity Parenting is on the Rhythm & Schedules of children I wanted to read it first before sharing my own.

Basically Payne says that children need to know what's next. They need predictability in their lives so that they can fully feel secure in their worlds. They also need time to just play. Payne says that boredom is a gift, a gift that should be freely given to children. It is only through boredom that creativity can be found. A child's daily or weekly schedule shouldn't be so packed that they don't have time to just "be".

In my case, I am home all day with my daughter. We only have one car and my husband is in school full-time. I get the car once or twice a week. On those days I do grocery shopping or other errands. I don't try to jam those days full of errands though because I know my daughter can only sit in a shopping cart/car seat for so long.

My typical day is very typical. For those who care, here is a brief summary :)

- Wake up, slowly make our way downstairs, coffee/breakfast (the coffee's just for me), dishes while Dear Daughter (DD) plays, food preparation with or without DD help, prayer time.

- Upstairs to get dressed, make the beds, tidy up the rooms, brush teeth. All the while DD just busies herself with whatever suits her.

- Downstairs to do daily cleaning, if she is able to DD helps me (like with dusting, "trying" to sweep, etc.)

- Snack/lunch time

- Activity. I usually have one type of activity I try to do with DD a day (which is a separate schedule) that I might do with her before her nap. I could really go into detail but for brevity's sake Mondays I do a classification/sorting activity, Tuesday I do sequencing, Wednesday I do matching/memory games, etc., then DD takes a nap.

Believe me it DOES take a couple hours to get to this point :) I just try to really be present to my daughter and if she wants me to read a couple books or play or do a puzzle, I do those things with her and when I am thru I proceed with what's next on my list.

- Wake up from nap, snack.

- Playtime. I try to go outside with her once a day if the weather permits, even in the cold weather. I think it's important for her to have a change of environment and she really does love being outside.

- Prepare dinner (we eat pretty early) while DD helps or just plays.

- Dinner time, I clean up while DD plays with her daddy. The rest of the evening is kind of up in the air.

- Bath time usually around 7 pm which can last up to 45 minutes, since she LOVES being in the water. Snack, read books and bed!

I do have to say that I love the calmness and simplicity of my days. While I was running my Etsy shop the days weren't so calm and stress free for me, but I have realized that I really do need to maintain a sense of peace within me in order to be the best Mother and Wife that I can be.

I hope this helped! And if you haven't already, check out Simplicity Parenting from the library!!

Baby Dipper Giveaway Winner!

Congrats to Brandy C whose favorite feature of the Baby Dipper is the no slip bottom!!

Please contact me by Thursday to claim your prize!

Baby Dipper Bowl Review + Giveaway

Barbara, a mother of two sets of (gorgeous!) twins developed the concept for the Baby Dipper bowl when she starting the daunting task of feeding two babies at a time! She needed a bowl that required only one hand to successfully feed a baby, but there were none on the market!

Hence came her vision and creation of this bowl!

Here are a few of the ingenious perks of the Baby Dipper Bowl:

*Non slip bottom surface to keep it from sliding

*A sloped interior surface and a spoon-shaped collection point that help gather the food down to the last bite.

*Easy for toddlers to self feed!

*BPA, Phthalte & Lead Free (that's my kind of bowl!!)

Barbara sent me a bowl in the mail to review so I can fully back up every one of her claims. My daughter LOVES to use it for her apple sauce! She no longer asks me to scrape the last little bit out of the bowl since she can do it herself! It even works when the slop is facing away from you ( which is how my daughter insists on using it).

And of course Barbara is generously offering one Baby Dipper Bowl to one of you!

To enter this giveaway:

Please visit the Baby Dipper Website and leave a comment here telling me what you favorite feature of the Baby Dipper Bowl is!

Additional Entries:

1. Subscribe to the Baby Dipper Newsletter

2. Follow Baby Dipper on Twitter

3. Subscribe to Baby Dippers Blog

(Check them out on Facebook too!)

Note: Previous winners of the Baby Dipper Bowl giveaways sponsored by Baby Dippers, LLC are not eligible for this giveaway

The winner will be selected at random on Tuesday, February 9, 2010!!