At home we are working on regenerating our native bushland and increasing the flora and fauna diversity. We do this as a family and the boys learn as they participate. We're currently targeting cypress pine over growth which is a legacy of past sheep grazing. I've found some useful information about white cypress pines here. The white cypress pines are native to our area but when they grow densely they suppress all other under storey plants. In dense cypress stands the diversity of fauna is also extremely low because they don't provide nesting habitat or food sources. Until a few years ago sheep have eaten or trampled everything except the cypress pines so they dominate our landscape. "Plants and Animals of the Dubbo Region" Dubbo Field Naturalists & Conservation Society Inc. Fortunately controlling the white cypress pine is very straight forward - you just cut them down. This restores balance to the ecosystem by allowing other species to emerge. I target the young trees that are at least 1m tall and up to 3cm in trunk diameter with a pair of tree loppers. I have found that if I cut them down when they are too small they re-shoot. We've taught the boys to identify the white cypress pines and they are very enthusiastic about helping to manage them. 6 year old Wolf prefers the big saw. He likes it because it's big. He takes a lot of pride in how many trees he can cut down and how strong he is to carry them by himself. Fox who is 9 years old prefers the pruning saw. I think this is the most efficient tool for the small trees with trunks bigger than 3cm diameter. Bear who is 10 years old prefers the axe - it is the least efficient tool but he enjoys the process, he can attack bigger trees and he does bring them down eventually. Over a couple of years we've watched the vegetation change as we've worked on small sections at a time. It has become denser and greener and more beautiful.
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Cooking with the boys is such a joy and such an easy time to put Montessori theories into practice. It's usually something I do with one boy at a time so the boy gets my full attention. It gives me a chance to tune into my boy and help him develop his independence and confidence. For Wolf at 6 years old cooking is about quality time with me and practising new skills. We're making bacon and eggs for lunch... He gets out a big plate by himself and puts the jug on top. He can't reach the eggs in the fridge so I get them down for him. He counts the eggs and cracks them into the jug. He can't handle the 3 litre bottle of milk so I pour the milk for him. He mixes the eggs. I don't let Wolf work at the stove when it's on. He usually sits on the bench and watches while I do the most dangerous parts of the cooking. Once the stove is off Wolf stands on a stool so he's at a good working height. He uses a small pair of tongs to serve the hot bacon. He's good at remembering not to touch the hot pan and he's coordinated enough to do this safely. Yummo!! He scrapes his plate when he's finished... ... and packs it in the dishwasher. Fox is 8 years old and for him cooking is about creativity and freedom!! He loves to cook things he can make independently from start to finish and he loves to prepare food for other people. He is confident with knives, the microwave, milk frother, citrus juicer and blender and I know that he can use these safely. If he checks with me first he is allowed to get them out and use them independently. His favourite things to make at the moment are stewed apples, orange juice... ... and fancy hot chocolates. Fox always needs to be reminded to tidy up and complains loudly about having to do this. Bear is 10 years old, he is very serious when cooking and will only join me if I ask him to. He is learning some of the more complicated and dangerous skills with my supervision and help. He can ignite the burners on the stove. He still uses a stool to reach the stove safely. We use the back burners and make sure the handles are turned to the sides. I give him instructions and he follows them one step at a time. The things Bear loves about cooking is getting to taste all the ingredients, getting to learn the dangerous skills and getting to play his favourite music. "Montessori believed that children should be able to do everything they are capable of. She believed it is the teacher's responsibility to increase each child's competence whenever possible." Cooking opens up so many opportunities for fun and closeness and learning. I hope you're having some fun in the kitchen too!
There is still not much Montessori in Dubbo. If you Google "Dubbo" and "Montessori" my blog still comes up first. Which is a bit sad because I'm really the blind leading the blind here. There must be other families who do Montessori at home but I haven't found them. If you're out there please send me an email or leave a comment - I'd love to meet you! We rely on the internet and books for information and inspiration. So we're off to the Macquarie Regional Library... There were a couple of Montessori books on the shelf. I've chosen "Montessori for Every Family" by Tim Seldin and Lorna McGrath and "Theories of Childhood" by Carol Gardhart Mooney. The boys all love to read about Minecraft at the moment. The Minecraft world is big and intricate and they love learning about it. They know where the library's Minecraft section is and there is a lot of choice for them. We don't go to the library very often. We're not very good at returning books on time and we're deterred by the fines! We usually prefer to find books at op shops or buy our own copy of the books we're really wanting to read. However we are good at not losing our library books. The boys keep their library books on their "homework" shelf when they're not reading them. Alright... time to learn something new! Have you read any helpful Montessori books for parenting 6-10 year old boys?
I started this blog 10 years ago with an introduction to my first born son - my little Bear - the one who inspired me to start a blog. Today I'd like to update that introduction for 2024. Now I have three big boys! I'd like to introduce you to Bear, Fox and Wolf - the inspiration for picking this blog back up. My oldest is Bear. He is 10 years old and he is steadfast, thoughtful and loyal. He was a very difficult baby and toddler and my struggle to understand him and meet his needs lead me to Montessori. . My middle child is Fox and he is 8 years old. He is adventurous, creative and vibrant. He has been both very sweet and very surprising since he was a little baby. He is very different to Bear and much more like his father. Finally Wolf is 6 years old. He is my sincere, funny and charming boy. A very social little boy who gets along with everyone and fits in everywhere.
It's been a pleasure lately to rediscover this blog. There are some special moments captured here that have been lovely to look back on and to share with the boys. There are a few things I didn't realise at the time when I was writing that I understand now. Blogging helped me understand and organise my thoughts about my parenting challenges. It helped me focus on growth and successes rather than frustrations and disappointments. And I didn't realise at the time how many other mums were quietly following along. I can't remember why I stopped blogging. Now that I look back at these memories I wish that there were more of them written down. I wish there wasn't such a long pause. So I'm going to start again. Welcome back! Spring has been incredibly kind to us in Dubbo this year. It has been luxuriously long with abundant rain and warm days. I have learned to dread the sudden transition from winter to summer. The last few years frosts have suddenly been replaced by scorching drought. This gentle weather is a welcome anomaly. The garden is thriving and it is lovely to be outside all the time. I planted this mulberry tree about 18 months ago. I chose it in the hope that one day it will be a large, hardy shade tree. I'd love the boys to be able to climb it. I look forward to raising silk worms on its leaves. I am especially looking forward to enormous harvests of berries! Much to our excitement our little mulberry tree is producing it's first crop of berries. Not only berries but the joy of picking them! Since showing Bear and Fox that the berries are edible it is vanishingly rare to see a plump black mulberry - they are plucked and gobbled up in the blink of an eye. Even the little pink ones have been disappearing. They are very sour but apparently they are still delicious. The boys can't wait to get out there every morning to search among the leaves. There's nothing so fulfilling than finding your own morning tea and helping yourself to it. Fox calls them "Happies"!
I have really struggled to enjoy art with Bear and Fox. It is something I like the idea of but haven't worked out how to do. There are so many ideas that I've seen and would love to try but haven't got around to. I have collected a lot of materials that we could use but haven't. There are lots of things that keep holding me back. I'm intimidated by the potential for mess. I haven't set aside a designated art space. I don't have much experience doing art activities with children. I choose to fill our time with activities. Maybe I'm just not an art person. Maybe we're just not an art family. I think that it is good to CREATE. Creating is purposeful and meaningful. It is productive. It can be generous. Creating is a much more powerful experience than CONSUMING. On the one hand I am content with the identity of "not an art person" because there are infinite ways that a person can create apart from "art". We can draw, sew, write, build, design, engineer, garden, blog, photograph, bake... I think individually we will each have creative outlets that are comfortable, enjoyable, therapeutic and enriching. On the other hand I would like to persevere with art (here I am thinking the paper, paints, pencils etc kind of art). Art can be a way to experiment and explore. A time to appreciate what is beautiful and pleasing (and perhaps notice what isn't so beautiful). It is a chance to interact with new equipment. To use tools, hands, fingers in different ways. To become confident and skilful. I've made another attempt to enjoy art at our home. I have found an easel outside where mess is welcome. I've organised our art supplies in a way that is easy to get out and pack away and I've set aside a time once a fortnight to try out new art ideas.
Maybe with some practice we might become art people.... It's not sickness keeping us at home this time but floods. Rain, rain and more rain. To avoid insanity we are still trying to stay outside as much as possible and enjoy our yard in different ways... Wet ways!! Muddy ways!! Slippery ways!! and creamy, sweet and warming ways.
More time at home = more time for adventures We recruited a handful of Damara sheep to help reduce the fuel for bushfires on our block. They have plenty to eat at the moment after so much rain but they are very greedy and are always looking out for a bit of a treat. The boys are always keen to give them a bit of a treat. First we need a bucket of pellets... Then follow the sheep trail across the paddock... ... through the trees... ... along the fence... ... find the dish and fill it up. Then sneak away to let them enjoy their snack in peace.
We find ourselves stuck at home again with another minor contagious illness. I feel so worn down by being confined within these same walls. Tidying up the same few rooms after my little whirlwinds is particularly demoralising. So we decided to plant some tomatoes... As soon as the children had been wrestled out of their pyjamas we headed out to buy some supplies.... and visit the pet shop... (just for fun) Then we're ready to work when we get home. Fox knows exactly what to do with a big bag of rocks and an empty pot. At 17 months he is very interested in putting things where they are supposed to go, at transferring little objects and in repeating the same thing over and over again. He was very happy with this work while Bear and I moved on with the next steps in a second pot. At 3 Bear can follow instructions and he can follow a sequence of steps. He helped me add the layer of scoria, then cut and lay the fabric then add the potting mix. He still enjoys doing things over and over again. So they happily worked together most of the morning while I was able to hang out the washing and do some weeding. Finally time to plant and water... ... and wait for some delicious tomatoes to eat!
With winter come viruses. We have had the inevitable succession of runny noses, coughs and rashes that accompany big groups of small children. We've been spending some extra time at home when we're snotty to keep the bugs to ourselves. It's starting to feel like we're home more often than not! When we're at home we miss the company of our friends. We miss the change of scenery too. We can start to feel frustrated with each other and cooped up at home. Visiting the chooks is a fun change in our routine that gets us out of the house. The boys don't get to visit the chickens very often because we usually don't have time. They love to explore this different area and come up with new games to play. Fox loves to open and close the gate for the chickens over and over again. He checks for eggs and scoops pellets into the feeder. When he runs out of inspiration he copies his big brother. Bear looks for the sneaky pets that are always hiding close by. He imagines race tracks or train tracks to drive along. He flaps his shadow wings and picks oranges to bring home for a picnic. I'm incredibly thankful that despite these viruses the boys have stayed generally well. They get tired and need extra reassurance (and regular neurofen). I know other families suffer much more over winter from these same bugs.
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My name is Vicky and I have 3 boys - Bear (10), Fox (8) and Wolf (6). Somehow I stumbled across Montessori and now my goal is to raise and educate my children with a Montessori approach in Dubbo. Archives
April 2024
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