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Listen and Observe

27 Sep

Last night I was making a sensory bottle from a recycled bottle, cork kernels and various small objects such as beads, small figurines, etc. My two year old was enthralled with the jar of beads. He wanted to play with it but it was bedtime. So, I promise him that we could play with the jar of beads in the morning.

The first thing he does when he wakes up in the morning is ask for the jar of beads. Smart kid. No problem except that we had less than half an hour before leaving for preschool and needed to change clothes and eat breakfast. What the heck, I said to myself. He is a toddler with the attention span of a goldfish. 15 minutes top, whipped out a tray, a medium sized plastic food container, two teaspoons and an egg carton. I placed the jar of beads on the tray along with the other tools and continued on my merry way of getting the day started.

As I whipped around the kitchen I slowly began to realize that he was intensely focused on this impromptu exercise. I watched him described the beads to my mother, pour, scoop and tell us when he saw in the beads (‘this one is a pinwheel, mama!’). Observing him was wonderfully fascinating. Observing the clock on the other hand was stressful. I had to stop this precious moment on concentration, interest and learning to shove him in a car to get to preschool. That made me sad. I didn’t want to stop the experience for him, or me for that matter. We did move on with our day, though. We ‘had’ too.

So, my point in sharing this story with you is twofold: 1) take your child’s lead. Clearly my son was intensely interested in these beads and I should have listened to him sooner and 2) take the time to stop and observe your children’s natural exploration of their world.

Honestly, in a perfect world, I would have continued the experience and been late for school but that doesn’t set a good example. I was torn.

What would you have done?

Thanks for reading,
Marnie

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Posted in Activities, Education, Fine Motor Skills, Montessori, Musings, Sensory, Toddler

A Hole & A Box – Fine Motor Exercise

26 Sep

We order lots of Peter Rabbit puree pouches. For my two year old. For my 8 month old. For me (shhh…). I order them in bulk via subscribe and save on Amazon. The cool thing is that these pouches come in a fun box. The box has a hole on the top perfect for a fine motor skill exercise. I cut up pipe cleaners, straws, pulled out a few dozen cloth pins and small animal figurines for objects to drop into the hole of the box. This activity works fine motor development but you can integrate vocabulary with animals and basic concepts of color, counting and opposites of big/small/wide/narrow/long/short, etc.

So simple.

Of course you can make a box very easily with a normal cardboard box and a hoe punch. You could even go a little but more nuts by adding sticker paper and other miscellaneous items to decorate the box. I love this idea using an oatmeal container.

Thanks for reading,

Marnie

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Posted in Activities, Fine Motor Skills, Preschool, Toddler

Sunday Musings :: Simon Says What?

25 Sep

Last night my husband and I had a brief philosophical discussion about “Simon Says“. Yup. True sign of being a parent, right?

Our 27 month old has suddenly taken to Simon Says. I am thrilled because 1) the game is fun and 2) there is research that supports the concept that Simon Says is a great game to help children develop self-control and manage impulsive behavior. Additionally, “Development of the Will” is a big deal within Montessori philosophy. This idea emphasizes that “The ability to will, or choose to do something with conscious intent, develops gradually during the first phase of life and is strengthened through practice. The Montessori environment offers many opportunities for the child to choose. Willpower, or self-control, results from the many little choices of daily life in a Montessori school.” Sold on that concept.

My husband, however, has some reservations about the game.

On the one hand, watching our son balance on one foot with closed eyes, hug his big stuffed bear, twirl three times, pretend to be asleep on the floor with his eyes closed and his nose snoring, hop five times, etc is a ton of fun. The game keeps him busy and active (not that he needs that part but still a factor to consider). I should tell you that our Simon Says game is introductory and does not yet include ways for him to “get out” (i.e. by not performing the task or by performing the task at hand when the leader does not precede the action with a “Simon Says”).

My husband’s weariness comes from the potential of training the child to just do and to not think. Fair enough. So, what is the game teaching, really? Certainly self control, that is important. Hhhmm. We want our children to learn how to “think” for themselves and “think” beyond being a machine, so to speak, especially a fear in today’s information age society where life moves so quickly. I can certainly see the point.

So last night I was partaking in a fun filled game of Simon Says. We were having a blast. I decided to take the game for a turn in admittedly less fruitful ways by saying, “Simon Says Go Pee on the Potty” and “Simon Says Grab Your Big Basket and Pick Up All Your Cars.” Our son is too smart to fall for that…but maybe we’ll get there. Worth a try, right? I did try to make the game a bit more intellectually (if that possible with a two year old…) challenging by saying “Simon Says Take Three Pinecones from Your Nature Basket” or “Simon Says Sit on the Letter S”.

My husband took the game even further when he began to say “Simon Says Tell Daddy About Your Favorite Part of the Day”. Very interesting. So we watched our son have to stop and think about how to respond to the request.

In the end, of course, the true version of Simon Says will always be a part of our home. We’ll hopefully experience the additional benefits, beyond the game simply being fun for our children, of improving self control and impulsive behavior. However, I like the exercise of taking a classic game and twisting it a bit, both challenging to the educator and allows the game to evolve with the development of the child. I like that…think outside the box, right?

Thanks for reading…
Marnie

I link up to these parties each week. Visit for some wonderful toddler and preschool activities!

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Posted in Activities, Fine Motor Skills, Montessori, Musings, Physical, Preschool, Self Control, Toddler

Rice Bottle

24 Sep

Many of you know about my obsession with coloring rice. Love the colors, love the texture, love the sensory experience for my boys. What I don’t love, however, is rice everywhere in our home including the bottom of our feet. I work really, really hard to let go of control and embrace the mess but this mantra is one I must repeat not daily but hourly. Read this post for more musings on that topic. Let’s be honest the mess is nothing a vacuum cleaner can’t clean up. So, deep breath, and embrace the mess. Your child will benefit, especially if you can get him to help pick up the mess. That is certainly a goal in our home.

My recent rice coloring experience involved creating beautiful and vibrant orange rice. I didn’t use vinegar, by the way, and used food coloring GEL instead of the liquid. This approach worked really, really well. I colored the rice to begin an October sensory bin. I was so excited, however, that I left the rice in a tub along with some insect critters, tongs and cups for my boys to feel the joy.

As I watched my two year old feel, pour and…ah-hem…throw rice, I was torn. I miss the summer already where messes stay, for the most part, outside. My son sat in the tub, he put his sticky bare feet in the tub and squealed, “Mama, I’m feeling on my feet!” How could I take this experience away from him? Well, I won’t take it away from him but in order to have a bit of rest for mama, we can alter, or shall we say “contain”, the experience a bit.

I went searching in my pantry for a container. Voila! I found a lemonade pitcher with a cap that was the perfect size. I poured in the beautiful rice, added a few critters and played with the pitcher myself. I watched the rice pouring up and down the sides of the pitcher and the critters disappear and appear again.

Jackpot.

I am not advocating taking away sensory bins filled with rice but if you need a break try a “rice bottle” instead of an open bin. The break will go a long way for you and your little ones.

Interested in purchasing a rice bottle? Email me at marnie at carrotsareorange dot com.

Thanks for reading,
Marnie

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