The Kavanaugh Report

Ah! I'm late on this again! Poor second child syndrome. Nora is so easy going that I feel like I'm constantly trying to remind myself that she exists. As Henry asks to play for the 100th time in 20 minutes, I'll find Nora quietly and happily occupying herself.  This past month, Nora has been so great. We have finally had a stretch where she hasn't been too sick. ::knock on wood:: Her growth seems to have tapered off a bit and she's still wearing 12 month sized pants/shirts. Her interest in solid food is way down too. She's still nursing around 9-10 times a day (serious snacker)! She has a tiny bit more blondish-redish hair, and her eyes seem to be staying blue. She now has 5 full teeth -- 3 top, 2 bottom. And another bottom coming through.  Instead of growing, this month has been about moving and talking. She's now walking between furniture and to people. Instead of crawling, she is following along walls to get where she wants. O

With Earth Day approaching, this recycling game is the perfect way to talk to children about recycling and taking care of the earth. This Montessori inspired preschool recycle game is easy to put together and fun for kids of all ages. In fact, Henry and I used it way back in our  spring unit  when he was just 2! This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.  This time when we played, I was able to explain the process of recycling and how it was a job in the community. We talked about the process of recycling and how we recycle at our own home. I asked him if he would want to sort the recycling too, and he was thrilled. He decided that a work helmet was 100 percent necessary for this task!  To play, gather some recyclables from your house. Place 4 cards -- paper, plastic, metal, and glass  -- around the room. For younger children, like the first time I did it with Henry I only pointed out the differences in the materials. For older children, you can explain m

One of the things that I love about Montessori is that it emphasizes the beauty of the natural world from the earliest age. It focuses on what's real, true and concrete. There is so much beauty in the real world and to discover it through the eyes of a child is a gift.  Now that Spring is upon us, I want to give Nora the opportunity to discover some of our natural world. So, I created this laminated flower exploration for babies tray. This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. However, instead of using plain flowers, I choose to laminate flowers and flower petals instead. This allowed the flowers to withstand some not-so-gentle hands, and kept actual flowers out of Nora's mouth. I'm no expert in what types of plants are safe to eat or not, so I didn't want to risk anything. Also, this allows the work to last for a bit longer.  In order to laminate, I had to pick smaller delicate flowers if I wanted to laminate the whole thing. If the fl

Like many 4-year-olds, Henry is in love with space! I needed an easy, cheap Montessori inspired way to teach Henry about the planets and came up with this DIY solar system. As I mentioned in our Montessori inspired space unit , this map has been a huge hit! And, it's way easier to make than it looks! 

As Nora has gotten older, it was time to switch out her Montessori work from the work she had at six months . Most of Nora's Montessori work shelves at 8 months have been placed on her work shelves in her bedroom space for the last several weeks.  This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. Ribbon Basket -- This is just a small basket filled with different ribbons. The ribbons are different colors and textures to keep Nora's interest. Nora loved these. I left the top on this basket, which provided even more fun for Nora.  Object Permanence Box -- This classic Montessori work was an instant hit, but not for the box. Nora loved the ball. She would take it and bring it up to the hole, but was reluctant to drop the ball. Eventually she dropped the ball and was very excited it came back out. I'll probably leave this out for awhile until she really gets the hang of it.     Peg and Cup -- This is another traditional infant material. I made thi