The Kavanaugh Report

Maria Montessori made so many amazing discoveries when it comes to the inner life of a child. And this includes some amazing insight into how children learn best. Even today, more than 100 years later, Dr. Montessori's method are being confirmed as best practices with current educational research. While I've often sung the praises of Montessori's approach to math, the approach to language is just as amazing.  Before I dive into exactly what we've done at home to support writing and reading development in my children, I wanted to write about some Montessori language fundamentals that inform the work we do with Gus and Nora. So here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to the Montessori approach to learning to read and write.  Read Part 1 of this language series:  Pincer Grip - Preparing for Language Work It Comes Early, but not That Early  In today's world there can be significant pressure to make sure toddler's are "learning" enough. It can...

Dr. Maria Montessori spent her life observing, studying, and writing about children. During her lifetime of work she discovered that young children move through a series of special times when they are particularly attracted to specific developmental needs and interests. She called these times, sensitive periods. During the sensitive period, children learn skills related to the sensitive period with ease. They don't tire of that work, but seek it, crave it and need it. When the sensitive period passes, this intense desire is gone, never to return.  That doesn't mean the skill is lost forever once the sensitive period is over. Instead, it just means that it will take a more conscious effort to learn. As Dr. Montessori explains,  This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. "A child learns to adjust himself and make acquisitions in his sensitive periods. These are like a beam that lights interiorly a battery that furnishes energy. It is this sensibility which enables...

What does bedtime look like in a Montessori family? The answer will vary for everyone as families follow their individual children and their own sleep needs. In this week’s episode Nicole and Amy answer one of your most commonly asked questions and share their bedtime routines and experiences with sleep. We chat about everything from balancing independence, to what we’re reading before bed and how we make it work with multiple kids. This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.  Show Notes... Strider Bike Woom Bikes The Children of Noisy Village Betsy Tacy Tanglewood Animal Park Montessori Speaks To Parents Echo Dot   Thanks for joining me for today's podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share and leave a review in your favorite podcast app. If you are interested in finding Shelf Help in a podcast app, it is available on  Apple  |  Spotify  |  Stitcher  |  Google . ---

For the last couple of the months Teddy has slowly been eating more and more solid food. As part of his meals Teddy gets water in his weaning cup . While spills are super common (and I think a necessary part of the learning process) I've noticed that Teddy gets a significant amount of joy from splashing in the water that spills all over the table. Almost more joy than he gets from eating food.  In general, Teddy is also just a water baby. He loves the bath and getting wet. But, without solidly sitting the bath isn't a super easy place for him to just play with water. He can kick and splash, but just without a lot of freedom.  So thinking about those two things, I wanted to create a sensory experience where Teddy could explore water in a safe way that allowed for a little more freedom. My ultimate hope is that he gets this exploration out in this way, and maybe feels slightly less compelled to splash all over the dinner table!  To fill this need I simply put out a towel on...

Sometimes it feels like my main job as a Montessori parent is responding to big feelings and emotions. Especially over the last couple of months when we've all been at home together for extended periods of time. It can be difficult to remember to respond (instead of react) in a calm, collected and helpful manner. In these difficult moments, it can be tempting to jump in and try to distract, solve or explain away a child's emotional response. But, in the end, that's not helpful to our children. By naming feelings and helping them to work through them, we normalize all feelings and help them to eventually handle them on their own. I've found though that how we respond to a feeling really depends on the situation and the child. But, there are some general rules that I keep in mind depending on the type of emotion I am observing. I've made a couple of cheat sheets to help me explain how I approach emotion. First, is the sliding scale of emotions.  On the left side (happ...

Games are a fun way to connect with your child and teach new concepts. But, games are also a great way for children to practice a variety of social-emotional skills. From patience, and turn-taking to wining and losing, games gently introduce these concepts to children. In this week's episode, Nicole and Amy talk about some of their favorite Montessori friendly games and how and when they introduce games in their families.  Show Notes... Yahtzee Aggravation Numerals and Counters with Pennies   18+ Months First Orchard   Roll and Play Game   2+ year olds  Shopping List   Creature Matching Sneaking, Snacky Squirrel 3/4+ year olds Bed Bugs Game Candy Land Hoot Owl Hoot Max the Cat   Uno 5+ year olds  Outfoxed Carcassonne   Guess Who Shadows in the Forest  { similar version } Walk in the Woods   Additional Games Ideas Favorite Board Games at 4-Years 10 Awesome Games for Toddlers   Games We Love 5+   Balancing Games   ...

Teddy is growing so quickly I can hardly believe it! The last couple months have been an explosion of movement for Teddy and an explosion of teeth! And those two things have really driven him to his favorite things. He is army crawling all over the place, rocking on his hands and knees, went from no teeth to 4, and can explore large parts of the house on his own. 

You guys know how much I love IKEA, right? Well, it's been a hot minute since I've been able to go to IKEA with the Covid-19 crisis. Actually, it's been a minute since I've been to ANY store. I'm longing for the days of wandering around IKEA and exploring all that there is to see! Well, it's starting to lead me to do a little more window shopping lately. And I decided I might as well share some of the cool looking Montessori friendly products I would love to be able to see in person. And, here are a few things I've found: Gardening Tool Set  - I immediately love the large ring they are on, it makes me wonder if these would be small enough to give to my children. The ring would make it so easy to store outside on the garden fence! Watering Can - hands down my favorite kid sized watering cans, I don't actually need a new one I just love this color Washcloths  - I love the sweet little rabbits on these, I actually can't get enough washcloths not that T...

We have this weekly white board calendar in our kitchen which I use as a reminder to myself of the daily activities that are happening in a given week. It used to include things like doctor appointments, work calls, or playdates. But, now that we are officially two months into social distancing and shelter in place laws, something very new is filling my calendar - virtual conference calls. Suddenly, I feel like a big portion of my week is now managing who has a call and at what time. And, I'm guessing that for most of us are dealing with more and more virtual social interaction and increased use of technology. 

I've gotten so many questions about how we are approaching language work with Gus now that he is three. And, I promise that I will outline that work more carefully in the coming weeks. But before I did that I wanted to talk about one of the most fundamental things that I am working with him at home to prepare for future language work - the pincer grasp.  Now, this isn't something that he just started working on at 3 or even 2, this is something he has been slowly working on since he was a baby. From grabbing little pieces of food to using his pincer block, it's been on my mind to make sure that we are offering opportunities to develop the muscles in his hand.  This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.  But...Why This article on Montessori Daoshi does a really good job explaining. But, basically we don't want to just hand a child a pencil and expect them to write. We are offering opportunities to refine their grasp so that when that pencil is finally given t...

The bond between a pet and a child can be very beautiful to witness. In a Montessori home, animals provide opportunities to practice social, emotional, and practical life skills. In this week's episode, Nicole and Amy discuss the benefits and challenges of having pets and children. We also discuss how we've helped our  children deal with the death of a beloved family pet.  Show Notes... Chatbooks Charlotte and Henry on Shelf Help    Losing a Pet   Janet Landsbury     Thanks for joining me for today's podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share and leave a review in your favorite podcast app. If you are interested in finding Shelf Help in a podcast app, it is available on  Apple  |  Spotify  |  Stitcher  |  Google . ---

I've mentioned this before, but Theodore is on the verge of crawling. In an effort to support that desire to crawl , over the last couple of months I've made sure that at least some of his toys have supported this need for movement. 

Crawling is such an important part of a baby's gross motor development. And we are RIGHT there with Theodore. He is at the point where he is constantly up on his hands and knees rocking back and forth. Now, he's even starting to experiment with "bear crawling" where he goes up on his feet to try to move. While he is quickly army crawling around, he hasn't quite gotten to the point of moving efficiently on his hands and knees, but it's coming super soon. 

A few months ago I gave a small presentation at one of the kid's schools. As part of that presentation I made this infographic to pass out. This weekend I realized that I never shared it here! I hope it's a helpful reminder of some Montessori basics.  Feel free to save or share this photo if you need it! Or, sign up below for a PDF copy emailed directly to you. I've been in an infographic making mood lately, is there a Montessori themed infographic you would like to see? Leave me a comment and I'll see if I can make it happen!  ---

Children are born with strong desire to move freely. In Montessori, freedom of movement is respected from birth both at home and in the classroom. In this week's episode Nicole and Amy are chatting about natural gross motor development and how our choices as parents influence our child's ability to move. In particular, we discuss how our clothing choices can help or hinder our children throughout their childhood. We'll get into the do's and don'ts of natural gross motor movement from birth.  This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.  Show Notes No Such Thing as Bad Weather  Capsule Wardrobe Planner for Summer   Swim Socks Vivo Barefoot   Havaianas Flip Flops Robeez Shoes    Soft Star   Moccasins   Do You Value Movement  Clothing to Support Natural Gross Motor Movement Transitional Movements Movement Area Essentials Thanks for joining me for today's podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscr...