The Kavanaugh Report

I'm struggling to comprehend how this year has already come to a close. It really has felt fleeting. My littles are becoming bigs. Everyone moved up to a new Montessori level. And so much growth has happened. For me, as a mother it's been incredible. It's been a year of really watching my kids flourish in new and exciting ways.  As a Montessori parent educator in this space and on social media...whew. It's been harder. Harder to feel like I can stay relevant in a world that has moved to short format video as it's media of choice. But, despite the challenges of the changing world, I'm proud that this year was one of stability for me, of showing up in the best way that I could to provide some real, practical, and hopefully helpful Montessori parenting information.  This year at The Kavanaugh Report:  I wrote 90 Montessori parenting articles  We had visitors from over 200 countries and territories. Hello Timor-Leste visitor!  I had an article published in the Monte...

I just love one-year-olds, and I can't believe that in just a couple short months Penelope is going to be 2. Two-year-olds are fantastic too, but they really rapidly lose the "baby" part of them and step into their own little personhood. It's hard on my mama-heart. So, I'm soaking in all this time with her before this next phase of toddler-hood really sets in.  This stage is one of real busyness. Penelope is always working on something. The days of wandering about the house seem to be behind her and she is more and more engaged in deep and meaningful work. That work isn't always with toys meant for her but includes practical life work, movement work, language work and more.  Montessori Moments at almost 2-Years-Old Here is a glimpse at some favorites right now:  Fine Motor Work She is in love with puzzles and small pieces right now. In particular, she loves size sequencing puzzles at this point and anything with a smaller knob. Other things she loves:  Stacki...

Some of the Kavanaugh children want a pet rabbit something fierce. Gus is lucky enough to have a couple of rabbits as his classroom pets right now, and he and Nora have fallen in love with them. It has started a months long campaign here to get a rabbit or two of their very own. And, I'm sure they are wonderful companions that do great in lots of families. But, I'm not convinced.  This rabbit situation has given us, however, a lovely example of the power of collaboration in the second plane of development. Not only the need to collaborate between the children, but the power of collaborating between the adult and the child.  Montessori Parenting: Collaborating During the Elementary Years We know that children in the second plane of development are incredibly social . They need to learn how to interact within social groups of kids and test the boundaries of those relationships. That's why you often see elementary kids moving in little packs working and playing together. Part ...

It can be so overwhelming to find meaningful and useful stocking stuffers. It's easy to fill a stocking with trinkets and junk that will be forgotten about or thrown away in a couple days. But, it's harder to think of things that will last awhile and are going to be well loved.  I wanted to put together a few ideas based on common themes enjoyed by many Montessori kids. You could stick to one theme for your stocking or mix and match based on your child's age and interest.  Stocking Stuffers For Your Little Montessori Kids You'll notice that I didn't use any ages here. Some of these are more appropriate for toddlers and some older kids. You know your child best, find the items that suit where they are instead of shopping by purely by age. Many of these are so universal that they would be loved by a wide variety of children. Or use as a jumping off point for planning a stocking of your own!  For Littles that Mouth Can't keep little stuff out of their mouths? Here ...

You know that I love natural gross motor development principles. I love watching infants unfold at the time and place that they are ready. Instead of moving babies for ourselves, we allow them to discover their bodies and in turn get to see all these amazing phases of development that are sometimes overlooked. Transitional positions , unique climbing challenges, different ways of discovering motion , and so much more. It's all there with natural gross motor development. And, it's all leading to one of the greatest feats of human design - walking.  Walking requires so many different skills at one time - everything from strength and coordination to balance. Children will reach this milestone at completely different times. For my kids, it's been a huge range. My oldest was solidly walking by 9-months-old, and Penelope didn't even start to attempt steps until 15-months. The rest were somewhere in between.  Montessori Baby: Phases of Walking There are so many beautiful littl...

 In this week's Montessori parenting podcast... Have you ever felt a gut urge to just say "no" to your child without really stopping to think about why? In this episode, Nicole and Amy explore those feelings, what they mean for us for adults, and how to balance that need for control with our child's need to explore. Why do our children need to explore? How can we make that exploration possible while still balancing our own needs? This podcast dives deeply into exploration, control, and our response as prepared adults.  Show Notes... Sports in Our Montessori Homes Waldorf/Advent Stars Kite Paper Preparing the Environment for a Holiday   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...