Montessori Principles

 



After doing a bit of reading and exploring Montessori principles on the internet we decided to make a few changes for Audra's benefit. THIS blog post over at MY HOMESCHOOL STYLE may be helpful to you, as well as THIS blog post at LIVING MONTESSORI NOW.

This is our home, not a school, and Audra is still a baby, so we decided to start with small and simple changes.  For openers, she had way, way too many toys here, and many of them were infant toys that she's been ignoring for quite awhile.

We got rid of the plastic toy box, thinned out the contents, and bought this toddler toy organizer which was an instant hit with her. You can buy these online for about $50 and they are easy to assemble.  I am not mechanically inclined but I assembled this myself in under an hour.  All you need is a philip's head screwdriver and a little patience.

 

Being avid readers ourselves, we wanted to get her a cozy reading chair.  We went for cheap with the toy organizer but wanted a chair that was a bit nicer.  We found this online at Rosenberryrooms.com, which carries better quality children's furniture.  Yes, their prices are a bit lofty, so watch for deals in the sales area.

 

You would not believe the quality of this simple little chair.  It is firm, yet comfy, not cheap foam that will lose its shape.  There's even side pockets to hold books.  It has a handle on the back to make it easy to carry from room-to-room so your toddler can sit with you.

 

We did order Audra a toddler table and chair set but she cannot yet get onto the chairs without assistance so we put it away for the time being.  Once she can sit comfortably and without assistance we will start introducing some of the Montessori activities for toddlers that we've read about online and in books.

 

With just the few changes we've made over the past few weeks I see a difference in her.  She is calmer when she's here and sits for longer and longer periods.  She watches me trying to keep the place picked up and will sometimes join me in putting toys and things away. She seems to be learning new words and signs at a faster rate than just a few weeks ago.

 

In the coming days I will write a product review for my favorite language-enhancing DVD.  Audra has learned a lot from it and I highly ecommend it.  Check back for details later.

Woooo-hoo, grand daughters coming to visit!

Kayllie and Nevaeh

 

 

My grand daughters in Tennessee have a week off from school in October and my DIL Sherri is bringing them up for a visit.  We are very excited as we don't get to see them too often.  The last time they were up here was Thanksgiving of last year.

 

 

 

 

We hope to be able to manage a trip to the Bronx Zoo while they are up here and perhaps some local activities such as The Children's Building or the Peabody Museum in New Haven.  Another place I love, though it's a bit of a drive, is Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts and also the Butterfly Conservatory in South Deerfield, MA

 

 

Seems like whenever family comes from out-of-state it is a holiday or family event and there are simply too many obligations to relax and do fun stuff with the kids. I'm so glad that it's just going to be Sherri and the girls and that there's no holiday or event that I must prepare for simultaneous to their visit.

 

 

 

I'm hoping for some lazy afternoons----baking cookies, walking the dog or playing a board game.  We don't get to see the girls too often so we are thrilled at the oppportunity to have some quiet time with them.

 

 

Kay and Nene, grandma and grandpa cannot wait to see you!

 

 









Helping Hands Community Thrift Store

Today we went into HELPING HANDS THIFT STORE and got a bunch of clothes for Audra that are name brands in great condition.







Check out all we bought for only five bucks!  The pull-up toddler jeans are Lee jeans that are in perfect condition.  For $5 we got the stripped set in the middle, the Lee jeans, 2 pair of corduroy pants, 3 pair of fleece pants, a couple of long sleeve tee shirts and four fleece tops.

They have two shelving units of baby and toddler clothes, one for each gender, plus lots of clothes for adults- all in excellent condition and very reasonably priced.  There is a lot of furniture and household items in this store too.

Because of the amount of breakables in the store,  I would not recommend bringing kids in there, but other than that, we love the place and we'll definitly return.  The money goes to various charities too!  It's great to help others and get a bargin for yourself at the same time! 

Audra at 15-months

According to this website, the average 15-month old baby knows about 5 words.  Other websites say the average baby that age knows up to ten words, with girls averaging more words than boys. In any case, I wanted to see how many words Audra knows,  so I wrote them down:

Mama
Dada
Audra
Zeke (our dog)
hello (her word for a telephone, real, toy or on TV)
woof woof (when she sees a dog, real or on TV)
eek eek (when she sees a monkey, toy or on TV)
bubbles
ball
wubba  (a binky)
hot
see
book
TV
ot oh
no
Vowel Song/ABC song (attempts to sing vowel song from learning DVD, also the ABC song)

She also knows half a dozen or so signs in ASL, so altogether, she knows well over 20 words or twice the average.  Not bad!  LOL!!!  I intend to keep track of her vocabulary and other abilities and post monthly reports for her parents.

I won't give her credit for knowing a word unless I am sure that she really does know the word, can use it with intention, and is not just mimicking.

I bought some educational toys for her, as well as language-enhancing DVDs and flash cards.  I work with her whenever the moment feels right for it, but I don't push as she is still a baby. So far, so good.

 

 

We've been working with shape sorters and simple 3-piece puzzles and she enjoys these activities for short periods.  There's improvment in her abilities week after week and it is such a pleasure to witness this.

Audra was born on June 12th so I will try to post my monthly reports around the middle of each month .  I hope that her parents will enjoy having a record of her development that we can all look back on later.   In the blink of an eye she'll be in first grade and it is our hope that the time and effort we are investing now will give her self-confidence when it comes to learning.

We aren't trying to make our grand daughter a genius so that we can brag to other people about how smart she is. We simply want to guide her towards a mindset where she is comfortable and relaxed about learning.  Imagine a child being patient with the process of learning instead of crying and saying they "can't do it."

I've seen too many kids in high school who can't spell 4th grade words and who really hate school because it is such a struggle for them.  Setting the foundation now for a love of reading and learning is, in our opinion, one of the greatest gifts we can give to a child who is so often in our care.

Watch for the next progress report around October 12th.

Introduction ~ A Need for Inspiration

 

 

 

I provide childcare for my grand daughter, Audra (born June 2011), since both her parents must work. As she began to walk and talk, I realized that the days she spends here needed to be something more than just passing the time until one of her parents arrives to pick her up. 

 

I needed some direction so I contacted an old friend who provides home care for three grandchildren. The eldest just entered Kindergarten doing second grade math, reading and writing.  He can use American Sign Language (as do his siblings) and he also has a Spanish vocabulary of about 300 words and phrases.

 

All of this is without Head Start or any type of pre-school or professional tutoring.  This is an average, blue collar family with no training in early childhood education; yet the video clips they sent me of these kids in action really blew me away!

 

I had became aware of how often I was saying "no" to Audra and it was getting frustrating for us both. My friend told me about the Montessori approach to teaching children and how much that had helped with her grand kids.   The concept of an environment prepared for a child really made sense to me and I realized that my home was too adult-oriented for Audra.

 

I made a few small changes in my home based on Montessori principles and saw an instant change in Audra.  Just thinning out and better organizing her toys and adding a few pieces of toddler furniture has made a huge difference in her happiness and behavior here. 

 

On the topic of toddlers,  there are too few blogs or websites written by caregiving grandparents.  Most of them are by parents or educators.  I started my own granny blog in hopes of getting advice and inspiration from the blogging community and perhaps offering some the same in return.
 

It's also a good way to chronicle Audra's progress and to give her busy parents a window into her days.  Audra's parents work long hours and do not have the time to work with her the way that we do. I hope that the posts, video clips and photographs that I place here will reassure them that Audra is enjoying her days and learning in leaps and bounds.

This blog is also a great place to share photos, family gatherings and events with the whole clan.  We have other grand children whom we don't see as often, as they live out-of-state, so we tend to go a bit nuts with the cameras when the opportunity presents itself.

We hope that our other daughter-in-laws will send us photographs and news to post here so that all of the kids can be included.  We do not love Audra more than the other kids.  She lives nearby and we care for her at least four times a week, so our actions have a greater influence on her life and development.  We don't impact the other kids' lives quite so much because of the distance, but that doesn't mean we love them less.

So please share art, photographs, report cards or anything else you wish and I will include these in my blog posts.