The Kavanaugh Report

The holiday season is here again! I can't believe how fast time moves when you have five kids from babies to upper elementary! There's always something going on, something to do. In order to enjoy the holiday season, I'm trying my best to get all my shopping done as early as possible. I typically can fall into the ordering until the very last second category, but this year I'm almost done!

After five kids it seems that we have a hair pattern in our house with our babies. We either get blonde bald baby or darker hair with curls. Either way, we don't get a lot of hair cuts around here with my younger toddlers. The curly ones haven't needed it, and the bald ones haven't had much hair until 3. So, my kids tend to be a little older for their first cuts, and therefore a little more aware of what's happening.   

On our Montessori podcast this week -  This episode contains the anatomical names of human bodies and a discussion about sexual education. In this week's episode we continue our conversation on body learning with our children. We discuss how we approach sex, pregnancy, and other aspects of body learning in our Montessori homes. From birth we are using real language, concrete examples to teach our children about human bodies in order to make these conversations points of connection and learning with our children. Show Notes... Shelf Help Teaching Consent Episode   Pregnancy and Baby Books How Was I Born? A Child's Journey Through the Miracle of Birth How You Were Born Sex Positive Families Sex Positive Talks to Have With Kids Guy Stuff: The Body Book for Boys   Vaginas and Periods 101 Book Human Body Model   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.  I...

The other day I shared a day-in-the-life of my three-year-old, Teddy. During the day, many people noticed that he would play independently while I nursed his baby sister to sleep. One of the most common questions I got that day was "how did you get him to let you put the baby to sleep quietly?" Now, there isn't one easy answer to this question so I wanted to share some tips that helped up move to independent play for baby care tasks. 

Even small babies can participate in their everyday lives. If we, as the prepared adult, open up opportunities for participation, there are meaningful ways that babies can be an active part in lots of areas of their day. And one big activity for a lot of babies is diaper changes. It's something they (mostly) will all experience and something that we have the opportunity to engage in several times a day. 

On our Montessori parenting podcast this week -  Teaching consent and bodily autonomy is extremely important to keep our children safe. In this episode, Nicole and Amy discuss how we, as Montessori parents, approach consent from birth and how that changes as our children grow older. Our discussions include how we approach grandparents, strangers, and why it is so important to lean into the uncomfortable feeling that this can bring up. 

The holiday season is already here! I can't believe it, having a baby really does make the year speed by at an incredible pace. This year, in particular, I feel much more unprepared for the holidays than I have in the past. But, I've been trying to observe my children, their interests and developmental stages, and put together a really fun list of things for them this Christmas. 

The older Penelope gets the more she is interested in using toys and materials in our environment. Much of her day is spent on the floor, exploring both how to move her body in big ways and small ones. It's my role to prepare our environment to allow this exploration. And, one way that I really love Montessori is its emphasis on simple baby materials that allow for her to really truly discover the world at a slow and intentional pace. 

I cannot believe how quickly the holidays are approaching already for this year! I'm busying making my children's lists and shopping for everyone on my lists. And as much as I love a good deal at some of the larger retailers, nothing beats finding some truly unique finds that smaller businesses are able to offer! I wanted to share a few finds that are new to me in 2022.