Helping Daddy

O and Ell finished installing the baby seat on my bike this afternoon. O had a great time helping dada in the garage. He taught her the names of several tools, and she did a great job getting the items for him as he needed them. She had a little trouble putting the washer on the screw, but she had a great time spinning the nut onto the bolt. We went on a brief bike ride after they finished, and we are looking forward to daily bike rides. I think O's bedtime may have to be 9:00 instead of 8:00 from now on :) We are just having too much fun with these longer days!

Bead Snake Game

We received the rest of our montessori materials yesterday, and O and I are so excited. She loves the beads, and she begs to play with them. She's way too young for the bead game, but I let her explore the beads while she sits at the table.

Spring Matching Cards

Since Spring is almost here, I decided that we needed some Spring matching cards. I downloaded these beautiful cards from Montessori for Everyone. After printing and cutting them, I laminated them in my laminating machine (I love my laminating machine!). I'm very happy with how they turned out, and O loves them. She wasn't really into matching this morning- she was overtired and grumpy, but she was quick to match a few pictures when she saw me doing it.

Making a Bird Feeder or Naughty Squirrels

On Sunday afternoon Ell, O, and I made bird feeders out of pinecones, peanut butter, and bird seed. We had fun finding pinecones in our neighbor's yard (our pinecones were too small), spreading the peanut butter on the pinecone, and sprinkling the bird seed the pinecone. I planned on making 3 or 4, but Ell and O lost interest after one. We hung it in the tree, and we excitedly checked on it this afternoon. It was gone! There were a few scraps of rope under the tree, but that was it. Naughty squirrels!

Joy & Frustration at the Library

I went to the library on Friday after work and was excited to get some new books and an activity kit for O. I was also thrilled to find some great books filled with ideas for things to do with toddlers, and I was especially happy to find First Art: Experiences for Twos and Threes. However, the librarian said I couldn't check it out because it was a reference book. Grrrr! They did let me copy a few pages, so we'll try some of the activities in the next few weeks. I thought this was very strange since another book by the same author was not marked as a reference book and I was able to check it out. Oh, well. I've made a LONG list of things I want to try with O. We are going to be very busy over the next few weeks!

More Help Needed

I have another question from the wonderful Montessori mamas out there. How do I introduce the knobbed cylinders? I know that I should only intro one at a time, but is there a specific one that is best to intro first? Also, is there a specific procedure for introducing this work or should I just show her how to take them out, examine the pieces, and fit them back into the right slot? She has played with the cylinders informally while they were sitting on the floor while I was trying to figure out where in the world to put them (I still haven't figured it out because they won't fit on the shelf, and this house is sooooo small). She did a great job putting the cylinders back in the right places. I think this is going to be a favorite work, but I want to do it right. Thanks for any input!!!

Coloring on a Box

Dh brought home a box from work, and I was sure that O would like to play in it. Wrong! She's shown no interest in it at all. Tonight dh suggested that we get out her markers and color on the box. What a great idea! I was very impressed with him. O loved it! We all scribbled some, and then dh and O had fun tracing their hands, feet, and shoes on the box. O also loved taking the marker tops on and off. Thanks Elliott for your fun idea!!!

Knobbed Cylinders

I ordered some REAL Montessori materials, and I am so excited! I've wanted the knobbed cylinders for a while, but they were MUCH too expensive. Thanks to Shannon I found out about an online store that had a huge sale. I got the knobbed cylinders (and lots of other things that haven't come in yet) for 50% plus another 15% off and free shipping. O was more excited about the packing popcorns and bubble wrap than anything else. However, since opening the cylinders she's shown lots of interest in them, and I think we are going to have a great time working with them. Yay!

Popsicle Sticks & an Insulated Mug

Another fine motor work! Dh was given this insulated mug at his conference last week, and he planned to give it away since he knew we wouldn't use it. As soon as I saw it, I thought of popsicle sticks. The little opening is the perfect size for a popsicle stick. My mom introduced this work to O while she kept her today. O really enjoyed it and has done it at least 3 times. The most fun is shaking the cup and dancing after she is finished!

Yardwork

O loves to help with yard work. Today when dh and I got home from work, she was very excited to help shovel dirt and then ride in the wheelbarrow. After that we had fun feeding the ducks in the lake. We had to do lots of coaxing to get the ducks to come close enough to eat the bread, but they finally ate a little bit of it. We are hoping they'll be braver tomorrow.

Homemade Magnetic Toy

I made these magnets for O before our long road trip when we went snow skiing. I printed out pictures of O, family, and some of her favorite things and decopauged them onto foam core board. I cut them out and put magnets on the back. O had fun playing with them on the magnetic wipe-off board.

Finger Painting in the Tub

O fingerpainted in the tub tonight. This time we used store bought fingerpaint instead of homemade fingerpaint, and it worked much better. O had fun, and she made a few masterpieces.

Arranging Wooden Flowers

I found these wooden flowers at my mom's house and thought this would be a fun, fine motor activity for O to do. She really had to concentrate, and it was not easy for her to get the flowers into the holes. She stopped about halfway through. I should have only given her a few flowers at a time. I left the work for her to finish later, and she came back and did a few more after about 15 minutes. For the more experienced Montessori mamas out there... what do you do when your child doesn't finish her work? Did I do the right thing by leaving it for her to finish later? Should I have had her clean it up since she wanted to do something else? What is the Montessori way of handling this situation? Thanks for any input!

Independent Play

O has gotten so much better at independent play lately. Yesterday she played with her rainbow stacker, cat puzzle, and shape book.

Watching the Rain

Its been a rainy day, but O and I have enjoyed it. After watching the rain for a while she decided to sweep the water off the glider. I gave her a cloth and showed her how to dry it, and that worked much better. She also enjoyed drying her baby stroller.