The Kavanaugh Report

Creating an environment where my young children have access to a variety of materials is important to me as a Montessori parent. But, as a parent with five kids, access to paint has been a harder one for me to implement. While I know there are so many great benefits to painting at an easel - creative expression, opportunities for crossing the midline, cause and effect - the potential mess sometimes outweighs my readiness to make it available.  And, full transparency, I don't make paint available all the time. Instead, I choose when I have the capacity to be an available and prepared adult. While I hope that is often, access does ebb and flow based on other factors in our lives. But, I have found a few easel painting hacks that have made painting a lot easier. A few simple changes and I'm much more willing to let my toddlers paint.  Montessori Parenting Tips for Toddlers and Painting Easels  Like many things in a Montessori environment, a few quick changes make all the dif...

I can't believe another year has passed and we are back to Montessori Christmas gift lists again! I just love putting these lists together and really using my observation skills to figure out what is the best gifts for each of my children. If you see your children in these lists, please use them as inspiration and share with family and friends!  Just a reminder, this list only includes my children that are 12 and under. If you are looking for an adolescent list, you can find one in my Winter issue of my new magazine Joyful Seasons .  Real Life Montessori Christmas Lists  These are there entire lists but that does not mean that I will be buying all of this. Some of the actual purchasing decisions will depend on what I find on sale, what is in stock, and what family members decide to buy. Those decisions are all made in the coming weeks.  With that said, here's a look at our family's Christmas lists for 2024 from youngest to oldest! Gifts for Toddlers (Penelope) Penelo...

It feels like an impossible task to feature all the best Montessori friendly small shops that exist in the world, because it really is. There are so many amazing shops that showcase truly unique and fun Montessori friendly materials for kids at home. In this small shop gift guide, I'm sharing some of my favorite finds from 2024, from both shops I've loved for years, and some places that are new to me.  My hope is that you'll find a little something for everyone on this list as you are shopping this holiday season. If there is a small shop out there that I need to know about, put it in the comments, I love discovering new places and materials!  Montessori Friendly Small Shop Gifts and Toys to Love  Below I have organized the lists in general categories so that you can find a little something for everyone on the list (including yourself!). Here are some of the best finds from 2024:   For the Home Montessori friendly small shop finds for the home:  Display She...

As a Montessori parent, my goal is to support my children's developmental needs here at home. While my children attend Montessori schools, so the bulk of their exposure to traditional Montessori materials is at school, I try to support that learning here at home in Montessori friendly ways. Generally, that means in ways that connect their interests to the things that they are interested in learning. Ideally, in the preschool years, I want to keep that learning concrete, make sure there is some control of error, and that it has some movement/sensorial component.  Games are often a fun way to hook my kids in repeating skills that they are learning at school. Often when it comes to learning games, people think about math games. But, you can also play simple literacy games to practice sounds and reading words. Even in a Montessori classroom, games are used in many different content areas to get preschoolers interested in and coming back to work.  A Fun Montessori Friendly Literacy...