The Kavanaugh Report

There is so much we can learn through our senses. As humans move through the world, we are constantly assessing our surroundings with all the tools that our body provides. The assessments are often immediate and sometimes even unconsciously preformed. As Maria Montessori explained all those years ago, and as we know from modern science, children have heightened sensory awareness as they learn about the world. That's why Montessori materials include such heavy sensory input. Children learn first through their senses, it's literally how they make sense of the world. 

One thing that has been an unexpected joy of parenting kids is watching their interests unfold as they get older. Their own unique opinions, personalities, interests to every project they undertake. They approach problems in new ways, have creative visions, and the energy to really put it all together. I'm finding that I'm learning from them, and really taking joy in seeing them share their passions. 

I'm going to be the first one to stand up and admit that I was really skeptical about this. Was a bassinet stroller really that much better than just using the car seat attachment? Would we really get use out of it? Would it even seem different? Was it worth it for our fifth (and likely last) baby? 

It's been a little bit of time since I've shared the materials that Teddy is using on his Montessori work shelves. At 2.5-years-old, his main focus throughout the day is still practical life and gross motor development. More than any of my other children, Teddy is far less interested in toys and shelf work. He is much more likely to be running around with a truck than spending much time on puzzles. Yet, some parts of his day still do include working with his things. 

“That’s my toy!” “You can’t use it!” “Give it to me.” “She’s not sharing!” I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how we handle toy competition, sharing, and fairness lately. And, I totally get why. Bickering, fighting, and whining from big and little kids is no fun for anyone. It can make your house feel like a competition and you feel like a referee. 

If we let them, caregiving routines with babies can be approached as a chore for the parent. Instead as Montessori parents, we want to make caregiving routines a point of connection between us and our children. In this episode, Nicole and Amy discuss their caregiving routines and how this looks in real life with distractions and other kids.

Babies change so fast! It’s like lightning. At six-weeks-old, Penelope is already so different from what she was like at birth. She’s nearly doubled her birth weight, she’s more alert and has more and more control over her body every day.

There's nothing like a new baby in the house to really make you feel rushed in getting ready for holidays. I swear it was just January, and now we're talking about Easter in April! I don't know where the time is going and I once again feel super unprepared for our Easter celebrations. 

It's no secret that the Montessori method is focused on sensorial learning, especially for younger children. The materials that are used, the activities we choose - they all have a sensorial aspect. We are engaging a child through their senses to bring them into the work. This is supported by our modern understanding of how the brain works and how children learn. That's one of the most amazing things about Montessori to me, that so many of her discoveries are supported by modern research.

There is a lot of turmoil and uncertainty around the world. In this week's episode, Nicole and Amy share their experiences of having difficult conversations with their children including conversations around war.  This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. Show Notes... Simplicity Parenting Montessorians for Ukraine   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  |  Amazon .   --- If you enjoy my work, please consider supporting The Kavanaugh Report through Buy Me a Coffee.

At 5-weeks old, Penelope is slowly spending a little more time alert and around each day. Of all my children Penelope has had the most day-night mixup and still has been spending the most time sleeping hard or being cranky about not sleeping during the day. So when she is up, happy and awake we want to make sure that we are giving Nellie (as we call her) the most out of her environment. 

If anyone knows anything about Teddy, you should know that he LOVES trucks. Garbage trucks, construction trucks, commercial trucks - he's not picky. Nothing in the world beats seeing a real truck, watching construction work or talking about trucks. This love of all things trucks spills over into his play and work as well. So many of the books he chooses or the things he plays with regularly are truck related as well. 

It's hard to believe but somehow another one of my kids is on the cusp of reading! Part of me is so excited for this new and exciting phase in Gus' life, but also...where did my baby go?! At 5-years-old, Gus is in his second year in Primary or Montessori children's house. Both in school and at home, he's had opportunities to work with Montessori materials that have helped him learn letter sounds and their symbols. Over the last few months, he has been putting this work together and without really knowing it has started to read! 

Somehow Penelope is already 4-weeks-old. It's incredible how quickly time passes when you have a newborn baby. At this point, Penelope pretty much still just eats and sleeps. But, her awake times have started to become a little longer and a little more alert. She's typically a pretty chill baby and so it's been really fun to have a few simple, sensory rich ways for her to explore the world. 

With the pandemic and the school bus driver shortage in Minnesota, I’ve found myself picking up my kids from school each afternoon. At their current public Montessori school we have a bit of a drive to get back home. In an effort to ward off the afternoon chaos, a high protein snack and a podcast are necessities! Without these things we get fighting, touching each other, and all out hangries. 

At just about 2.5, Teddy is really starting to get interested in more shelf materials. One of the things that he has been gravitating toward more and more lately has been our marble tree. The marble tree is a wooden tree made of small wooden "petals." A marble is placed on the top and it cascades down the petals to the tray at the base.