The Kavanaugh Report

This week on our Montessori parenting podcast... AI technology is starting to influence many different areas of our lives. But what does AI think of Montessori?! And how much can AI get right?! In this week's Montessori parenting podcast, Nicole and Amy challenge AI in a true and false game. Listen to see how much we agree and disagree with AI created Montessori statements.  Show Notes... "Five Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job" by Alfie Kohn How We Approach Screen Time - Shelf Help Ep. 46 The Journey of Independence - Shelf Help S2 Ep 2 The Nurture Revolution    Nurture_neuroscience_parenting  Attachment Play   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 .   *Shelf He...

These last few months with Penelope have been so much fun. There is a transition that happens at this time where your child really just starts to lose all of the baby features and really becomes a full blown young toddler. I can't pin point exactly when that happens, but all of a sudden you just realize that they are more toddler than baby. This is an age of so much exploration. Gross motor skills are practiced and practiced, practical life becomes this big part of their day, and language skills emerge. It's really a time when they start to shine as an individual and really show you who they are. With that individuality in mind, I wanted to show you some of Penelope's favorites over the last couple of months.  Favorite pjs from Hanna Andersson Montessori Favorite Activities for Young Toddlers This is definitely not a complete list of everything she has done over the last couple months, but a good idea of the skills she has been working on and how we have supported her. Reme...

Is there a day that goes by without my kids pulling out some sort of game? I don't think that there is! But, even with five kids, it is hard to always find someone to play a game with you. And while I love board games and will always happily join a game if I can, that's not always a possibility. Enter single player games. We have added a few of these types of games to our home over the last few years. And they are perfect for travel, those times when no one else is available to play, or those moments where your child just needs to play alone. 

We live in a world where there are just so many amazing play opportunities for children. There are museums, art studios, classes, and playgrounds. So many of these spaces provide unique benefits to children when it comes to play. But, I want to focus on one particular type of play space - nature playgrounds.  Nature playgrounds are newer and less common. They combine elements of the natural world with play features that appeal to kids. They commonly include water features, sand/mulch, logs, native plants and rocks.  Nature Playscape Benefits for Kids and Families I see so many benefits to nature playgrounds for my Montessori kids. It's not that other types of play spaces don't offer these benefits or don't have benefits of their own, but the unique way these spaces combine nature and play really enhance the effects of the play. Not to mention they cultivate a love of nature in children that has the potential to really create lasting relationships with the natural world. Her...