Dress Up Fun! (If you can afford the mirror!)

For two years I searched for an affordable (OK, cheap) acrylic child-safe mirror for my son. I live near two children's second-hand stores, a Salvation Army, a Goodwill, and two other second-hand stores (who needs Ebay!)... but I never found one.

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So I recently began my search online, first with Ebay (OK, I need Ebay), then I did a Google search. It took a few hours, but I found the lowest costing baby-proof stand-alone mirror out there in Cyber space (OK, some one's warehouse). IT COST A SMALL FORTUNE!

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Since when did dressing up in front of a mirror become so expensive?

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After the gold-plated mirror arrived (OK, wood framed mirror) I set up a basket with three items in it for my son to use for playing in front of the mirror. He loved it, as I knew he would.

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It made me think of those VISA commercials you see on TV: scarf, $10. Sunglasses, $18. Hat, $15. Mirror plus shipping, $100. Watching your three-year old play dress up, priceless!

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(I made up those prices, except for the freakin' mirror!)

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Maybe I should go into the child-mirror making business!

The Easter Mouse Story

A little black mouse arose from his hole in the ground. A bright morning sun greeted him making his whiskers twitch with delight. "It's been a long time winter!" yawned the mouse.

Just then, a big grey rabbit hopped by and sat down to rest on a log. He was out of breath. He looks very tired, thought the mouse.

"I need your help," said the ole rabbit to the fury little creature with twitching whiskers, "I must finish delivering these candy eggs to some needy children, but I'm too tired!"

"I'll help you!" replied the little mouse and he took the basket of candy eggs.

The grey rabbit gave him directions, but after a mile of scurrying, the black mouse got lost. He spotted some rabbits playing in the field. Maybe they can help me, he thought.

"Excuse me, can you help me find the children's home so I can deliver these candy eggs?"

The young rabbits were surprised to see a such a small creature with tiny ears carrying a basket of eggs! "You don't look like a rabbit! What are you doing with those eggs?" For you see, the young rabbits thought only other rabbits could deliver candy eggs on such a special Spring day as this.

"I'm a mouse!" he replied. "And I need your help to take these eggs to the children's home! Because I do not think I can do it on my own."

The young rabbits talked it over and agreed it would be nice to help the little mouse.

So off they went, each taking turns to carry the eggs, and soon they were at the children's home.

"How are we going to deliver the eggs without the children knowing? It is supposed to be a surprise!"

"I'm very small! I can crawl through this hole in the wall and sneak all the eggs inside the house!" said the mouse.

And that is how the little dark mouse became the Easter Mouse for a day, with help from his new friends!

When Will He Go In The Potty Again!? A Potty Training False Start

I get potty training questions a lot, like: "How and when do I start potty training?"

Not, "When do I start potty training AGAIN?!"

Jessica wrote me: "Last summer [my son] was really interested in potty training and for a while he would pee in the potty every time.... As it got cold he lost all interest in the potty and would not go at all.... I am waiting for him to show interest in it again. From time to time I ask him if he would like to pee in the potty always the answer is no.... I appreciate any tips on potty training as well. Thanks for all your help."

My response: Sounds like a typical boy! They take a lot longer to potty train, and will usually have a "false start." (My son had one six months ago!)

Did your child have a false start recently? You can wait until he shows interest again, but there is no predicting when that will be.

Read potty books together, that is nice to do while you are waiting (and it makes you feel like you are doing SOMETHING).

There are also good potty videos and DVDs to let your child watch!

Some moms offer stickers for rewards for going in the potty, but this soon wears off after so many stickers are given out. (Plus it is not Montessori, oh well.)

One of my mom friends accidentally used jelly beans for rewards! She rewarded her son one day for trying, with a jelly bean from a tub she got as a gift, and he never forgot it. He insisted on getting one every time he TRIED and he'd try ten times a day but never go--ha! So if you use this type of reward, have them brush their teeth, but make sure it is for GOING not trying!

Most experienced toddler teachers will say the only way to do it is to put them in underwear all the time. Hmmmm... That makes it a question of: "When are YOU ready for potty training (again)!"

If you can put your child in pull-ups, that gives him practice to pull it on and off. And they make pull-ups that allow the child to feel wet, but don't use them at night as they hold very little!

Plastic pants are also a good choice, if you can wash them all!

And wait until summer to let him run around the house or yard in underwear, or not--some moms do it the old-fashioned way: nothing below the waist! (Not recommended for carpets.)

Share your potty training story! Leave a comment!

Climbing Madness!

I wanted to call this post "I'm in climbing Hell" but I did not think it appropriate for a Montessori blog--but I wanted to!

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My son is literally climbing the walls (and baby gates and chairs and table tops and bookshelves and the tops of boxes and sometimes the cat--the friendly one). He is going through climbing madness!

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OK, not really, but it feels like madness to me! Why? I'm always saying: "Please get down from there!" "Chairs are for sitting on!" "Tables are for eating on!" "How did you get up there?!" "Don't climb on the stereo!" "Hey!" "No!" (Notice how I begin to sound less like Montessori teacher and more like a frustrated mom!)

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My son cannot stop climbing. He climbs on EVERYTHING. I actually took half the furniture out of our living room slash dining room because he would not stop crawling on and jumping off stuff! (I swear he was a mountain goat in another life!)

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We do allow him to climb on the couch and his eating chair, out of guilt for living in a small home with no yard. And we take him to the park or out for a walk. (Good news, we are buying a house this summer! And it will have no furniture! OK, some.)

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Maybe he will be a world renowned rock climber some day!

What child madness is going on in your home? Make a comment!

Can you give a toddler a lesson?

Want to know the truth? Toddlers don't really like lessons!

They are still learning how to control their bodies (and bodily functions!). They rebel against help and interference from adults, like diaper changes, getting dressed, sitting at the dinner table, and taking a nap...

And they insist on doing everything themselves! The trouble is they (still) need a lot of help! So you are always trying to help while letting them do it themselves!

So how does giving a three period lesson work in a Montessori environment for this age group? It doesn't!

(My son's Montessori toddler teacher--with over 30 years experience, will laugh at you when you pose the question!)

If you are working with toddlers, my advice is to hold off on giving those three period lessons until age three, and put out activities the toddler needs no help with.

And you can rotate activities: take out what is too hard or frustrating for her (what she swats off the table, or throws, or never chooses); as well as what she has mastered--what is too easy... while still keeping her favorite activities in the environment.

Why are toddlers so hard to pin down and give a lesson to?

1) They do not have the attention span, or it is fleeting (one day they do, one day they don't).

2) They do not have the social skills (during a three period lesson) to say, "I'm done, let's put this away!" or "I want to do something else, now."

3) They are still in a large motor movement stage of development, so they will not sit for long!

Suggestions: Again, have activities that do not require a lesson. What's important is to spend more time observing your toddler in the environment for his interests--likes and dislikes; and his skill level (can he hold a piece of chalk or pour pasta, yet?).

And by observing your tot, you can add, rotate, and change activities, based on your observations.


Does your toddler take a lesson? Leave a comment!

Starting Our Day & Getting My 3 Year Old Ready (Ha!)

Mornings are tough. I usually get five or six hours of sleep. I wake up tired, cranky, and in a bad mood. I'm hungry, too. Plus, my son is REALLY, REALLY poopy when he rises.

But does he want his smelly, stinky diaper removed? No! He avoids getting changed at all cost.

Eventually we get it done (not before he fusses and protests and fights me over the diaper change).

Next, it's time to get dressed. But he wants to play the chasing game. I don't play the chasing game. So I ignore him. And he ignores me.

Eventually I leave the room and go downstairs. Then he plays the crying game. That's when I ask him from the bottom of the stairs (we have a baby gate), "Are you ready to get your clothes on?" "Ya, ya, ya," he sniffs.

By this time my stomach is growling so loud it wakes the neighbors. And I need some caffeine!

Getting dressed becomes one more battle, like trying to put clothes on a swinging monkey in a tree... but we muster through (or I leave the room).

This has become the protocol (I've tried it every which way, believe me!). And the deal is this: no videos, no breakfast (what he wants first thing in the morning) until we change the diaper and get his clothes on.

And because my son is three, he is in the "sensitive period for order," so the more we follow the same "order," the easier it gets, and the more he complies.

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Lately, he's been getting up REALLY EARLY at 6 AM. But I'm not ready to start the day!

I have learned to tell myself, this too will pass, this is impermanent: it's my new mantra I got from that spiritual guy who wears the sparkly red glasses on PBS (Depak Chopra) .

At 6:30 I give in and go to his room. Still too tired to start our orderly morning routine, I grab a pillow and a blanket and lay on the floor.

At first, he'd climb all over me like a seal on a rock, pull at my hair, my blanket... But now he gets it! He's not ready to start his day, either (the diaper battle, the getting dressed chasing crying game...) so we end up snuggling for about twenty minutes.

Snuggling each morning is a new addition to our morning gig!

And on the weekends, when dad is home from work, we all make a snuggle sandwich. (After a diaper change, usually!)

And I must confess, I like it (it puts me in a better mood)!

But there are days I wish he were 13 instead of 3 (no more diapers and he can dress himself and make his own breakfast and get his own vidoes). But I know when he turns 13, I'll wish he were 3 and we could start our day with a snuggle sandwich!

For now, I better enjoy every (stinky) minute of it!

How do you start your family day? Make a comment!

My Super Smoothie Recipe for Kids!

I make this EASY and SIMPLE and OH SO HEALTHY smoothie for my son each morning! No sugar! No blenders! No mess!

1. Half cup of plain Kefir (liquid yogurt found in the yogurt section). If you can't find plain Kefir, mix 1/4 cup of plain yogurt & 1/4 of milk (or soy or goat milk if your child can't have cow's milk).

2. Place in a container with a lid, like a sippy straw cup.

3. Half cup of fresh-squeezed store-bought orange juice (or squeeze your own oranges!). If your child has a citrus allergy, use FRESH apple juice (the kind you buy cold with an expiration date) .
4. Four to five teaspoons of Wheat Germ.

5. One to two teaspoons of Omega-3 Oil (fish oil or flax seed oil--flax seed oil is much cheaper!).

6. Shake, shake, shake, then serve!

Great for on the go in the stroller or in the car! You might even make one for yourself!


What's your favorite healthy snack? Make a comment!

Do Homeschool Moms Need Montessori Training?

Over the ten years I have been offering Montessori programs and activities online, I get many e-mails from moms asking me, "Can I do this? Can I teach my child to use Montessori materials, at home? Or do I need to take a Montessori training course?"

The following question is a perfect example: "I would love [for my daughter] to attend our local [Montessori] school but just cannot afford the tuition.... I would appreciate your expert and honest opinion as to what I should do to afford my daughter the best education possible. Should I take the time to educate myself to teach if I have no intentions of ever working in a traditional school? I truly want the best for our daughter and would value an expert opinion."

Many moms are in this position, but cannot afford any Montessori training--if I were to get Montessori training today I could not afford it!

I have helped a lot of families and educators world wide--I don't do it for the money, it's not a lot anyway.... And I feel that in the ten years since I started, there are enough resources for Montessori homeschool on the Internet to enable moms to do it at home, without the training. And it's not the Montessori training, but the experience doing it that is so valuable.

You could take a $2000 training course, and still be at a loss when you are ready to apply it at home. And Montessori training is more valuable if you work in Montessori school with an experienced teacher!

My advice is to first use the resources you have on hand, books you can read on Montessori, websites you can visit, Yahoo Groups you can join, the Montessori List Serv, there is SO MUCH out there, now!

If this were 1998 (when I first started Montessori online) I would have said, "Take the training!" Back then, there were very few Montessori homeschool resources online, let alone, affordable materials; now, even that has changed!

Hope this helps other moms make this decision--and remember, it is the experience of using Montessori (even if it is at home with your child) that is valuable--no training can change that!

What are your thoughts? Leave your comment!

My Favorite Positive Aspiration

I keep a little notebook by my bedside for writing my daily positive aspirations before falling asleep, and tonight I was thumbing through past submissions, and I found one of my favorites:

"I can do a little each day, so that in a week or a month's time, I've done a lot!"

Doesn't that sound better than, "I never get anything done!" Or, "I never have enough time!"

If you have a nagging negative in your head, flip it around and make it a positive! It's free! (And you don't have to pay shipping charges!)

What is your favorite affirmation? Leave your comment!

I Owe It All To a Pumpkin Patch

When I was twenty-three I worked at a local preschool. One day I left early to drive up the highway (to do what I can't remember), and I stopped at a pumpkin patch along the way. I ran into one of the teachers who used to work at the preschool: she was on a field trip with her new classroom to pick pumpkins for carving.

She told me all about this new school she was working at, how orderly the activities were, how independent the children acted, how there were so many great subjects for them to choose from, like math and geography and music and art, and lots of language, and she raved at how smart the kids were, and how they loved to learn.

Wow, it must be a school for gifted children! I stated. No, she replied, it's a Montessori school. I never heard of such a school. She told me all about the special training class she was taking in San Francisco, two nights a week, as we srtolled amongst orange pumkins and yellow green vines and leaves, with the voices of happy kids in the background.

You have to come to one of our training classes! I think you would love it! And they need more people to work at the Montessori school. She told me with excitement.

To make a long story short, I went to her training class, fell in love with Montessori, and signed up for the two-year training course, quit the preschool, dropped all my college courses, and started working at the new Montessori school.

That was twenty-two years ago...

And whenever I drive by a pumpkin patch in the lovely fall season, I remember running into my fellow teacher friend and how her enthusiasm for Montessori swept me up... and here I am! Still passionate about Montessori!


How did you get started in Montessori? Leave your comment!