The Kavanaugh Report

It's hard to believe that another month is done! And, that we have once again found so many great Montessori friendly books at our library. This month was full of diversity and interesting stories. And, I find that because of that my children cannot stop reading these books! Over and over they come back to them and really engage with them and its wonderful to see! Without further ado, here's what we're reading in May !  This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.  Row 1:  I Had a Favorite Dress |  How Does My Garden Grow? |  Time to Eat  |  Time to Sleep |  The Garden That We Grew  |  Over and Under the Pond Row 2:  An Evening at Alfie's  |  Pippo Gets Lost |  Over the Ocean Row 3:  The Ring Bearer |  Things to Do |  Creature Colors |  Delivery * |  All Kinds of Cars *  Row 4:  Regards to the Man in the Moon |  Red Socks  |  My Bu...

There are so many inspiring Montessori spaces in this world, and I could spend all day looking at them. Instagram is one of my favorite places to find them! If you aren't tapped into the Montessori community on Instagram , you are missing out. Not only are there glimpses into amazing Montessori classrooms and homes, but there are some genuinely wonderful people. Today, I wanted to share 5 inspiring Montessori spaces on Instagram !  A post shared by Mindful Learning (@mindful.learning) on May 24, 2017 at 2:46pm PDT This kitchen set up has me absolutely drooling! I wish I had room for a mini-fridge like that for my kids! It's the perfect pop of color in a wonderfully organized and accessible space!  A post shared by @dwoolmer on Apr 20, 2017 at 1:50am PDT This play space! I love it! The natural elements are my favorite, from the plants, to the shelving to the materials. It's just so beautiful!  A post shared by Ludmila Varzinov...

A mirror is a staple in a Montessori baby environment. From birth, a low mirror can be used by a baby help a baby explore and develop concentration. This mirror helps a baby get a new perspective on his or her surroundings. It also helps babies to concentrate on their own movements, and eventually to coordinate them.

Since Augustus is almost 6 months old {how did that happen?!} I have weaning on the brain! I have started to gather all the supplies to make weaning as Montessori friendly as possible, and one of the first places I went to do this -- IKEA! There are so many amazing Montessori baby weaning essentials at IKEA . And, at the right price!  If you are looking to introduce solids the Montessori way, here are a few products you may want to consider:  Weaning Table : This table is a wonderful size for weaning, but it is too tall. However, the legs can easily be cut down to the proper size. We will cut our table down to 12" tall.  Stool : Typically, a Montessori weaning chair will be supportive for the baby so this doesn't work awesome for the child. But, this is a great stool for the adult! An adult often needs a small stool to sit at the table with the child as the child eats. This one could easily be used for that purpose. Or, if you wanted to go a little mo...

I am always trying to observe my children and make or create interesting work for them that meets their needs. Some of you recently saw Augustus' new tactile mobile in his prepared play space and asked what it was. So, I thought I would share a little bit more about our DIY Rainbow Ribbon Tactile Mobile !  This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. Montessori Baby Rainbow Ribbon Mobile  Gus loves to chew on fabric, much like Nora did around his age. The difference is that we propped Nora to sit so she could sit on her own by this point. By sitting we were able to offer her small treasure baskets, one of which was a small basket of fabric to explore. Since Augustus is no where near sitting, I had to create another way to allow him focused exploration of fabric.  Then, it occurred to me that I could do a tactile mobile! Once I gathered my supplies, this mobile literally took me 20 minutes to complete and has been an instant hit!  ...

I am officially in unfamiliar parenting territory, friends! I have a non-mobile baby past the age of 5-months. I have a baby that is interested in the world around him, but unable to get exactly where he wants to go. Using a treasure basket or shelf isn't a super effective way for a baby like this to get materials. And, you don't want to have to hand them everything. So, what do you do when you have a non-mobile older baby? How do you create a space for play in a Montessori way? 

The summer travel season is fast approaching for us! And, we are deep into planning for our summer fun, which has me thinking about just how I'm going to keep kids happy in the car for long periods of time. I have not been blessed with kids that like to sleep or quietly sit in the car, so having some ideas planned helps keep everyone happy and sane! Here are some Montessori friendly ideas for travel ! This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.  Younger Kids Here are some ideas for younger kids!  1.  Wooden Memory Game  | 2.  Wikki Stix  | 3.  Travel Magna-Doodle  | 4.  Animal Sticker Book  | 5.  Magnatab  | 6.  Water Wow!  | 7.  Magnetic Toddler Maze  | 8.  Caterpillar Dice Tin Game  | 9.  Tin of Crayons  | 10.  Little Airport Sticker Activity Book ;  Beach Sticker Activity Book  | 11.  Magnetic Fun - Cars Planes and Trains  | 12.  D...

Open ended play doesn't just have to be for older children! This type of play opens up possibility for movement, exploration, imagination, and more. While a baby is limited in many ways, an open ended material gives a baby the chance to truly control the play. It also provides a great chance to get some movement in! 

It is no secret that I love Montessori language objects. In fact, I'm down right obsessed with them! And, how can I not be!? They are so incredibly cute and such an amazing learning tool. They really play to every desire in the child -- beauty, small objects, real representations. Ah! Just, I love them! Typically, Montessori language objects are found as part of the academic work introduced to 3-year-olds to 6-year-olds. They are used in a variety of work as a child begins to learn to read. This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. At home, I've noticed that toddlers are as interested in Montessori language objects as older children. In fact, they might even love them more since that sensitive period for small objects is so strong. But, what can toddlers use these little objects for? Montessori Language Objects for Toddlers Here are 3 ways they can be used with toddlers. Vocabulary Building Toddlers are also in the sensitive period for...

It's hard to believe it but summer is right around the corner! But somehow it is. Henry only has about a month left of school, and we are busy trying to schedule some fun things to do and explore for the summer. All this summer planning, has me in the mood for sunny, warm, lazy days.  Here are 24 Montessori friendly books for summer to get you in the summer-time mood too!

The closer Nora gets to 3-years-old, the more I realize her interests are changing and growing faster and faster. She is starting to use things in new and interesting ways! This has forced me to do some intense observation to try and figure out exactly what she needs out right now. Nora's Montessori toddler materials at nearly 3-years-old include a variety of fine motor trays, language, and now sensorial work!  This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.  Here's a look at her tray work!  Shape Sorting  -- she kept asking for me to take this out and has used a bunch, I thought we were past it!  Bead Lacing  -- she is moving away from this and so actually removed it after I took a picture.  Simple jigsaw puzzles -- this is a vintage puzzle that is getting to the end of its life, but Nora loves it. Here's a  similar style .  Lacing with  Needle  -- a simple DIY to introduce sewing, she is also mo...

Even if you don't know a ton about Montessori, many people understand that Montessori places the child at the center of everything we do. We "follow the child," then we follow some more. We trust, we sit back, we believe. We know that a child will become who he or she is supposed to when set free in a prepared environment. 

We love games in our family! Not only are they are great way to play together, games provide awesome opportunities for learning skills like cooperation, sequencing, listening, and memory. Plus they can be darn right fun! Here are 10 awesome Montessori friendly games for toddlers ! 

The other day, I was chatting on the phone with my lovely friend, Amy from Midwest Montessori . As we chatted, it was quiet time and the house remained quite calm as Gus slept and Nora did her thing. I was picking things up and walked into my kitchen to find Nora quietly juicing an orange. It was one of many times recently that I have realized how big Nora is getting. At nearly 3, Nora is in the sort of in the "golden age" of practical life. She's at the point where she can independently carry out fairly large practical tasks without much help. But, after posting a video of her making eggs , I got an excellent question about why practical life activities are important. What is the importance of Montessori practical life ? Why do these activities at all? Wouldn't your kids appreciate you doing these tasks for them? There's a misconception floating around in the world that children would rather be catered to, then engage in this type of work. It's an ...