Bear's been working on some classic Montessori activities lately... Pegs and Tongs! This boy's been my little laundry companion since he was a little baby and he's been interested in pegs from the beginning. Now he's finally mastered them! After countless demonstrations of how to squeeze them open he has worked out his own technique: he squeezes the peg open using his whole hand and twists his wrist awkwardly to clip the peg onto the clothes horse. Success! And what pride and satisfaction has accompanied this achievement! Now we work side by side - I process mountains of washing, he masters his own hands. Another activity Bear is working on by himself is the tongs. He learned to operate the tongs picking up cotton wool. The cotton wool balls are so light and fluffy that the clumsiest, weakest grip is enough to move them successfully. A piece of masking tape over the ring at the end stops it from slipping down and locking the tongs closed - an easily preventable source of frustration for the little worker. It was frustrating at first but those little yellow tongs kept calling to him - he went back to them again and again until he could fill up that cup in a few minutes just to tip them all out and start again. Once he had perfected his grip on the tongs he invented his own extension activity. He used the tongs to move his knitted fruit piece by piece from their bowl on the shelf to the rug. Back and forth just for the fun of it. Packing away each piece of fruit carefully before moving on to another activity.
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Newborns really don't spend very much time awake. When Fox is awake, calm and ready to interact with the world I love to monopolise his attention staring into his eyes and telling him how wonderful he is. But in the short moments when Fox is awake and I have my hands full with some essential task Fox makes himself busy with some other work. I didn't realise the word "work" could apply to someone so small but it can! When Fox is interacting with these materials he sure is working hard. His gaze is intense. His concentration is forceful. His whole body is engaged in the activity - his legs are pumping, his arms are reaching and stretching. It looks like physically and mentally exhausting work! He has a black and white crocheted "Eggs and Elephants" mobile which was given to Bear. I made this black and white pinwheel mobile with paper, some buttons, the lid of a yogurt tub and a hot glue gun. I found a tutorial on pinterest for making the pinwheels. Fox loves the contrast and movement of this one. The pinwheels spin with the slightest movement of the air. "Yay!! Mobiles are fun!!" The wall mirror is also good fun. He watches his fists moving around or stares into his own face. It is especially useful for tummy time.
He works for a few minutes then cries out to be cuddled and drift into blissful sleep! |
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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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