on the shelves - 19 months

Elise turns 20 months old tomorrow, so I thought I'd better get her favorite 19-month-old activities posted!

1. colander and pipe cleaners

I'd been seeing this fine motor activity on pinterest for awhile now, and thought Elise might enjoy giving it a try. Pushing the pipe cleaners into the holes on the colander has been a great challenge for her little fingers. I'm not sure which she thinks is more fun: pushing the pipe cleaners in or pulling them back out!

2. colored rings on dowels

Hubs and I made this little stacking and sorting activity for Elise.  She has been enjoying ring stacking activities for awhile, and these smaller rings and dowels require her to use more refined hand movements.  I've also shown Elise how to sort the rings by color, but she is more interested in creating her own combinations at this point.  ;)

3. fragile objects

Elise is beginning to have a good understanding of what it means to have "gentle hands."  I put a few precious, breakable items in a special box for her to practice with.  It's very sweet to watch her carefully take each item out of the box and explore it.  The little dog is her favorite, of course!

4. horizontal ring stacker

Another homemade activity - we sure went for it!  I'm glad we made this one because stacking rings horizontally requires completely different hand and wrist movements than stacking rings vertically.  It's really been a great challenge for Elise - you can almost see the gears turning in her brain...

5.  play dough

Play dough is quite possibly Elise's favorite activity.  Right now, she's really into rolling "snakes" between her hands - she even makes a hissssing sounds as she rolls!  We've been loving the 4 minute play dough recipe from the Imagination Tree.  The little rolling pin was a gift from our friends over at Sixtine et Victoire - it is just the right size for Elise's hands and she adores it!

6. The Mitten story props

Of course!!!  I'm SO glad Elise has been enjoying these hand-knit story props.  I love finding ways to support her interest in books, and I think using props is a great way to add another dimension and encourage creative play.  I think we'll get a lot of use out of these little animals!  :)

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!

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