The Kavanaugh Report

Humans have an incredible ability to adapt to their environment. We can live in the hottest and coldest places on Earth. We have developed thousands of forms of communication. We eat incredibly varied diets. And, with all these different circumstances, humans thrive. Maria Montessori was very aware of this fact. She said, "Humanity is different {to animals} in this all-important fact - adaptation. He can adapt to any environment. All men do not conform to the same habits, the same behavior." ( The 1946 London Lectures , p82) She argued that it is this unique adaptation to our environment that sets people apart and is one specifically special part about children. They learn the language, customs, and ways of their environment and become perfectly adapted to it.

As you may know in the Spring of 2021, I completed the RIE®️ foundations training. In this training I did a deep dive into the teachings of Magda Gerber and her approach toward infants (birth to 3.) While the RIE®️ approach is similar in many ways to Montessori's approach toward infants and toddlers, there are some differences. One difference that I noticed was in the materials. 

We've been a Montessori family for so long now that so many of the Montessori parenting decisions we make on a day-to-day basis feel really normal to us now. That wasn't always the case. When Henry, now 11, was a toddler, a lot of this felt hard, different, or impossible. Looking back it's fun to see how much of our life has changed and how many little things are just regular life for us now. 

At seven-months-old Penelope has started her weaning journey. To be clear, weaning in this context means starting food, not stopping nursing or breastfeeding. The majority of her nutrition comes from breastmilk and will for sometime. But, she is eating more and more solid food throughout the day. I wanted to share a little about how that looks for us because it is a little deviation from traditional Montessori sources. 

Right off the top I want to just say that sleep and sleep environments are highly personal. I am just sharing what we have done with Penelope. I am not providing specific medical or sleep advice. Every family needs to make decisions around sleep that feel right for them and their unique child. Please do not think that I am judging you or your family if your sleep arrangements look differently than mine. 

Over the last couple of years I’ve become quiet obsessed with natural playscapes and playgrounds. A natural playscape is a play area that seeks to use elements of the natural world to invite play for the child. Instead of having a large swing set to climb, use a large tree limb or rock formation, for example. A slide might be added to a naturally occurring hill. And water is captured and reused for play.

Admittedly this summer I haven’t been the best about rotating Teddy’s materials. He’s not the most interested shelf worker and we all alternated between being sick and being outside. But, one thing that stayed in use all summer long with him, was his lock box.

When imagining myself with a large family, I never really thought about all the unique stages that we would have going on all at once. So many individuals and so many amazing stages. Here, I wanted to continue my lately posts on my bigger kids by sharing a little about life in our Montessori home at 11-years-old. 

The last few weeks with Penelope have been what I can only describe as an explosion of movement around here. She has been able to roll and scoot for awhile, but something consciously clicked the past week where she seems to understand that movement means getting to where she wants to go. 

I know we start later in the year than a lot of families around the United States but my kids finally go back to their respective Montessori schools next week. It's going to be a really interesting and exciting year, I think! But, as we prepare for the new year ahead I've taken out our collection of Montessori friendly back to school books.