adventures in table setting

If you never thought table setting could be exciting, then you've obviously never been a plate at our house...

I'd just been debating how to best include Elise in setting the table when she went ahead and figured it out all by herself - of course!  I am slightly anxious about the well-being of my dishes, but I definitely don't want to squelch her enthusiasm.  Plus, as wild as it may look, there have been no casualties so far - knock on wood!

Here's to the weekend!

cloud dough

 In case you didn't already know,
we are big fans of DOUGH around here!

It's inexpensive and easy to make,

appealing to the senses,

and incredibly effective at strengthening fine motor control.

Oh yeah, AND it's FUN!!!

We've been enjoying The Imagination Tree's 4 minute play dough so much lately,

we decided to give their cloud dough a try, too.

Have you ever made cloud dough?

It's really simple - just flour and oil.

(We added a little glitter, too, so I told Elise it wasn't safe to eat...  

as you can see, she couldn't resist a taste here and there when she thought I wasn't looking!)

Elise was instantly enamored with the texture.

I, on the other hand, kept expecting it to feel like regular play dough,

but it was actually more comparable to wet sand.

Like wet sand, cloud dough is great for making imprints.

We tried shells, stones, and twigs,

but Elise was happiest just digging her fingers in...

and her toes...

and eventually her entire body!

The Imagination Tree's Cloud Dough

7 cups flour

1 cup vegetable oil or baby oil

glitter!

* We only made half a recipe, but next time I think we'll make the whole recipe and put it in a big tub.  Then, Elise can really get into it, and the mess will be slightly more contained.  I'm still finding dried-up chunks of cloud dough in random places around the house!

hand-knit story props for The Mitten by Jan Brett

I'm so excited to share these little animals I knit to go along with The Mitten by Jan Brett!  Elise and I both love them so much, we're having trouble deciding who gets to sleep with them at night...  ;)

It was so much fun making this beloved story come to life.  Elise knew exactly what I was up to - she even helped me choose the yarn!

Whenever she overheard me telling someone about my project, she would start sneezing like the bear does at the end of the story,"Aaaa-choooo!!!!"

The Mitten is one of those stories that is especially fun to retell with props...

 Alone...

 ...or with a friend!

For all of you knitters out there, I made most of the animals from patterns I found on Ravelry.  The badger, mole, and mouse were my own inventions!  

Here are a few pattern links, if you're feeling inspired to make your own set:

• bear
• fox (modified)
• owl 
• rabbit
• hedgehog
• mitten

Find me on Ravelry here and Facebook here!

itty bitty love is on facebook!

Itty bitty love is officially on facebook - Check it out!

bottoms up!

Here's a little video of Elise pouring her own drink - one of her most favorite things to do!

Happy weekend, friends! 

washing dishes with a toddler

Dr. Maria Montessori called them 

the humble tasks of daily living:

sweeping

dusting

folding laundry

preparing a meal

scrubbing the floor

watering plants

washing dishes...

basically, any task that we adults would refer to as a "chore."

I try to include Elise in as many of these tasks as I can.

Not because it makes my life easier

(Actually, it usually makes my life more difficult - ha!)

but because it is so satisfying to her,

the little adult-to-be!

I had been struggling to find a safe way to include Elise in dish washing...

but a porcelain sink, fragile dishes and toddler hands

 just seemed like too dangerous of combination.

Then, I saw Sixtine washing dishes at her house,

and I realized Elise didn't need to use the sink

- a basin of warm, soapy water would work just as well!

Brilliant!  

(Not me, obviously(!), Sixtine's mom, Deb!)

Elise started out washing the dishes from our afternoon tea party.

It was so much fun, she washed all the dishes leftover from lunch, too!

I just stood across from her at the sink and rinsed.  Easy peasy.

It was the highlight of my week - and it's only Wednesday! ;)

a dignified nose...

Sometimes incorporating the Montessori philosophy at home can seem daunting, but really it can be as simple as putting out a box of tissues for your child - and teaching her how to blow her nose!

In The Secret of Childhood, Dr. Montessori famously describes showing a group of children a simple lesson on how to blow their noses.  At the end of the presentation, all the children start clapping.  At first she is surprised, but then she realizes that she's touched upon a sensitive topic for the children and this is their way of thanking her.  Prior to this lesson, the adults in the children's lives had only nagged them about their dirty noses; no one had actually shown them how to keep their noses clean.  By demonstrating for them how to discretely blow their noses, Dr. Montessori "had not only treated them with justice but had enabled them to get a new standing in society."  She writes, "I have come to appreciate the fact that children have a deep sense of personal dignity.  Adults, as a rule, have no concept of how easily they are wounded and oppressed."

Elise came down with a cold this weekend, and when I went to the store to pick up a few "sick kid supplies" I made sure to include a special box of tissues just for her.  Needless to say, Elise quickly became a expert nose blower.  ;)  Occasionally, she would need a gentle reminder, but for the most part, she was very conscientious about getting a tissue whenever her nose began to run.  I mean really, no matter what age, who wants snot all over their face?  And, for that matter, who wants to run around nagging and wiping other people's noses?!   Not in this house - even the smallest achievements of independence bring everyone joy around here!

Also, if you're wondering whether Elise emptied the whole box of tissues (Believe me, I was wondering if that was going to happen, too!) - she did not.  There are actually still tissues in the box as we speak.  A few months ago, when Elise was still interested in emptying the wipes container multiple times a day, she had another runny-nose cold.  Instead of a whole box of tissues, I just put out a few in a basket for her to use.  So, if the thought of letting your little one loose on a box of tissues makes you squirm, go ahead and limit the quantity!

Here's to health and personal dignity! 

happy valentine's day!

Here's a little video from Elise's first day skiing at Bridger Bowl.  We had so much fun!  I love sharing the things I love with the people I love..... sharing the mountains with my little daughter and sharing Montessori ideas with all of you!  Yay!

Hope your life is full of love today and always!  :)

coffee filter hearts

We decided to show a little V-Day love this week by decorating our windows with colorful, coffee filter hearts.  Not only were they a blast for Elise (and me!) to make, but they put off a lovely, cheerful glow when the sun shines through them.

coffee filters - cut in the shape of hearts,

an assortment of squirt bottles filled with diluted food coloring,

and a cake pan to contain the mess!

(not pictured - a cookie sheet lined with paper towels for drying the hearts)

This activity ended up being perfect for Elise... while she's not quite interested or ready for drawing with markers or painting with paintbrushes, she LOVES squirting water out of bottles!  Also, this activity offered lots of opportunities for us to observe and talk about colors, and Elise is now really excited to identify heart shapes in the environment - lucky for us, they're everywhere right now!

Some more coffee filter art inspiration:

• Simple Heart Craft for Toddlers from No Time for Flashcards
• Coffee Filter Art 3 Ways from Parent Teach Play
• Color Blending from Montessori Beginnings  

on the shelves - 18 months

Here are a few things that Elise has been working on this month:

1. potty and basket of reading materials 
Ok, just to be clear, we don't actually keep the potty on the shelf!  It's usually on a comfy rug in the middle of the living room.  While slightly unorthodox, this central location has worked well for Elise.  At first, when we noticed her starting to pee or poop, we would hustle her over to the potty.  Now, a few weeks later, Elise is using the potty independently.  She is one proud girl, and I am one happy mama - no more diaper laundry!

2.  pushing pennies through a slot
Elise has had some variation of this activity on her shelf for the past few months.  She is finally not sticking every. little. thing. in her mouth, so I thought she would enjoy putting some real coins in her "bank."  The pennies have been a fun challenge for her little fingers to manipulate.  As a side note, I have decided to stop picking all the labels off the containers I reuse in lessons for Elise - it is an impossible waste of time and Elise actually finds them quite interesting!

3.  basket of musical instruments
I introduced most of these instruments to Elise one at a time over the past several months.  Now that she's comfortable playing them, I've combined them all in one basket.  This is an activity that friends and family who stop by for a visit really enjoy doing with Elise.  Also, our family band is totally shaping up - Elise on the cymbals, Hubs on the cowbell, and me on the tambourine!  ;)

4.  miracle pushing toy
This was one of those activities I saw on basically every other Montessori baby blog when I was pregnant with Elise, so I thought I'd better buy one!  How does it work?  Well, first you load up all five of the balls.  Then, you push down on the top ball, and the bottom ball will pop out - or vice versa.  Repeat again and again.  Elise has just started to show an interest in it, so we'll see if it was worth the $35 or not!

5.  empty puzzle with the pieces in the bag
I saw this idea over on Grow, Grow, Grow -  Elsa, if you're reading this, pretty please keep posting - this new blog of yours is really great!  I chose a puzzle that Elise was already familiar with and put the pieces in a bag (a box or basket would work well, too).  So far, Elise has really enjoyed pulling out a surprise puzzle piece and figuring out where it fits. This is definitely a good way to add interest and challenge to a well-loved puzzle!

6.  dropping cylinder-shaped blocks into a milk jug
This one is an oldie-but-goodie for us around here.  I first introduced this activity to Elise when she was 14 months old, and she's been playing with it daily ever since.  It kind of blows my mind that a milk jug with a hole cut in the side can be this entertaining, but it is!  If you don't have this on your shelf yet, make one!  Worst case scenario, you can always recycle it...

pink grapefruit play dough

In honor of Valentine's Day (which is only 11 days away!), we decided to whip up some pink, sparkly play dough!  We used a recipe from The Imagination Tree...

4 Minute Play Dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups boiling water

First, mix the dry ingredients together.  Then, add the wet ingredients.  Anna, from The Imagination Tree, suggests adding the hot water in increments until the play dough seems to be the right consistency.  She also says that vigorously kneading the dough is key.

At this point, Elise and I added a few special ingredients:

6 drops red food coloring (actually, I added this to the hot water before mixing it into the dry ingredients)
1/2 teaspoon rainbow glitter
1-2 drops grapefruit essential oil



I'm not much of a glittery, pink kind of person, but from the looks of it, Elise might be...  ;)



Elise played with her new play dough for over an hour - the only reason she stopped was because it was time for lunch!



If you're curious about how we have play dough set up on our art shelf, it basically looks like this.  ^^
Elise is really conscientious about getting out the vinyl mat and setting everything up - she still needs some assistance putting it all back, though...

I asked Elise to "smile," and this is what she gave me - oh, how I love her!  After we added the glitter, I told her she couldn't eat any more because it wouldn't be safe.  She cried for a moment, and then carried on with mixing the ingredients.  I never saw her eat any of the play dough after that.  I worried that adding the essential oil  would tempt Elise into having a taste or two, but I think it actually provided more of a good distraction - instead of nibbling, she was too busy sniffing!

Have a great week, friends!