The Kavanaugh Report

Somehow another whole year has gone by! This year has been such a whirlwind in just the best ways. New babies, culminating years of school, home renovations, saying goodbye to old friends and welcoming new ones. I'm finding more and more that I'm just in awe of this Montessori life and so grateful that I get the opportunity to guide my children through it.  This year wasn't a year of growth for me. Wasn't a year of accomplishing all the things on my list. But it was a year of soaking it all in. Holding my baby a little longer. Enjoying one more treat. Playing. It was a year of understanding that it all slips through your fingers so much faster than you think it will. Here's a little review of this year for The Kavanaugh Report:  This year I wrote 133 new Montessori articles!  We launched season 3 of Shelf Help podcas t and hit over 500K downloads.  We had visitors from all 6 continents representing more than 225 countries/territories.  The Kavanaugh Report got a maj

The internet seems full of all these resources of Montessori babies, toddlers, and even preschoolers. You can find tons of examples on social media, blogs, and even books on how to parent, educate, and prepare for young children. Then, magically, they hit age 6 and they enter the second plane of development and it feels like you're completely alone. The older your children get, the harder it is to find solid information about Montessori parenting. 

On our Montessori podcast this week... In our last episode for 2022, Nicole and Amy reflect on 2022 and their unique relationships with using Montessori at home. We share how Montessori has supported, changed, and challenged us this year. Plus, a look at how we hope to move forward into 2023. Happy New Year and we will be back in January. Show Notes... Toddler Railing   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 .   ---

The months are just flying by with Penelope. One day you have a tiny little newborn and then the next day you have a big baby that is trying to climb onto the couch. It just goes by far too quickly. Now that Penelope is 10-months-old, I just wanted to go back and share some of her favorite activities and materials while she was 9-months-old. 

Nerdy gross motor development post ahead! Natural gross motor development has been such a game changer in my parenting that I can just go on and on about how much I enjoy watching babies learn to move. All babies whether you follow natural gross motor development or not are amazing at learning to move and fascinating to watch, but I find it particularly incredible when babies do it on their own.  Penelope has moved through so many incredible stages in the last couple of months in her movement journey. In my last update , she was just starting to propel herself forward by creeping on her belly and climbing over small obstacles. Now, the last month has been an explosion of sitting.  In traditional parenting and gross motor development circles, babies are often propped up to sit and therefore sit before crawling. However, without sitting them up, it's often the opposite - crawling first, then sitting. First they figure out how to get the thing they want - crawl to it - then they figur

On our Montessori parenting podcast this week... Come make a Waldorf star with us while we chat about preparing our homes for the holidays! In this week's episode, Nicole and Amy are sharing practical ways that they prepare their homes for practical life work, extra toys, new experiences, and all the busyness that happens around the holidays. Holidays looks different for everyone, but with a little preparation it can be a much easier, less stressful, and more joyful experience for everyone.