The Kavanaugh Report

In our Montessori home, potty learning is just another time of transition for our children. It's like moving from crawling to walking, babbling to talking, or any other slow learning process. So, I used the words potty learning hacks as a way to grab your attention, but I want to remind everyone that this is no three day, weekend thing.  But, I do think these are really good tips that have served me well in helping my five kids learn to use the toilet in a child-led, slow, and peaceful process. So here are my three potty learning hacks from a Montessori mom.

It's the season of holidays! In our home over the next few months we will celebrate Halloween, harvest celebrations, changing of the seasons, Christmas, New Year and Valentines Day. With all these seasonal celebrations, there's the potential to continuously be creating Montessori inspired activities and trays with my toddler and preschooler. And, guess what...I don't have time for that at all! HA! Instead, I have created a few simple seasonal activities and then I can simply make a few adjustments and it works for the next season. 

This week on our Montessori parenting podcast:  As parents to multiple neurodivergent children, Nicole and Morgan discuss how parenting with Montessori influences neurodivergent kids. We discuss a shift in our expectations toward our children, how we advocate for our children in schools, with therapists, or doctors. We finish by answering some listener questions about how we deal with specific situations.    I apologize that there are a few moments of buzzing here. Hopefully we will figure out the microphone issue next episode! Show Notes... Growing Together as Parents A Q&A with Morgan Being a Parenting Team with Morgan Kavanaugh Using a Capsule Wardrobe   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   |  Google  |  Ama...

The elementary years are some of the most amazing that your child will move through. From the ages of six to 12, your child will move through so many intense interests, stages, and forms. They are still deeply interested in play and hands on learning, but the topics can be nearly. endless. With so many choices for toys, it can be hard to know where to begin. So, I hope this ultimate list of toys will be helpful as your Montessori child enters the elementary years. 

Toddlers get a bad reputation. Chaos, clumsiness, or "terrible." When in reality, toddlers are little scientists walking through this world exploring all the different ways things work. They need loud, they need big movement, and they need fast. But, as a Montessori parent, I also know that they also need slow, they need precious, they need gentle, and they need real. Yes,  I'm saying we have to trust toddlers and that they can learn to be gentle. Trusting Your Toddler with Precious Things as a Montessori Parent So what do I mean when I say "precious things?" I mean things that are precious. They need to interact with animals and babies. They need to hold glass. They need to touch flowers and other fragile items. They have to have the opportunity to learn to refine their movements, make their touch gentle, and move more slowly. We have to show them respect, trust, and teach them.  This process will not look the same for every child. Some will learn that control ...

On our Montessori parenting podcast this week... Montessori classrooms are filled with beautiful materials to engage children and spark learning opportunities. But, if your children are going to school, do you really need to own these materials at home? In this week's episode, Nicole and Amy discuss some of the reasons you might consider owning Montessori materials and which to bring home. We also explore some reasons you might skip these materials altogether.  Show Notes... Mac and Squeeze Fidgets   Montessori Friendly Holiday Deals   Visual List of Deals Pros and Cons of Keeping Montessori Materials at Home Touching the Elementary Imagination Knobbed Cylinders Decanomial Bead Box Checker Board Beads Stamp Game Finger Charts Large Bead Frame Golden Beads The Beauty of Montessori Math Moveable Alphabet The Red Letter Alphabet Book Around the World from A to Z If You Were a Noun Book   Thanks for joining me for today's podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, pleas...

It's spooky season and my kids. getting super excited! There is constant chatter about Halloween costumes and our trick-or-treating route around the neighborhood. Along with cooler weather and darker evenings our Montessori home is also filled with some of their favorite books - our Halloween collection. 

This week on our Montessori podcast... How do sports and Montessori mix? How to we reconcile the competitive nature of some children's sports with our desire to respect our children's developmental needs? How do we give our children new experiences and avoid over scheduling? In this much asked for episode, Nicole and Amy dive into their experiences with children's sports - the good and the bad. As Montessori parents, we share how we try to follow our children's interests but still provide balance and respect.  Show Notes... Growing Together as Parents a Q/A with Morga n Being the Child's Advocate in Social Spaces   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   |  Google  |  Amazon . *Shelf Help now includes  automated ad b...