But What Do I Do Instead (of a Time Out)?
You might have been here before (I know I have):
You ask or tell your toddler to do something, and instead…
toddler
Show, Then Tell
This is a repost from our private IG group (session families, click to read the 100+ posts over there!), but it never gets old. A simple way to help your child absorb what you are sharing: show, then tell. (Or tell, then show…but not show & tell!) When presenting a new activity to a child, alternate between …
A Concentration Mystery, Solved
(repost from May, 2023…this has, interestingly, come up multiple times with multiple toddlers in our classes over the last few weeks…there must be some developmental bursts happening!) I wondered a couple of posts ago why kids stick out their tongues while they concentrate, and yes, there is a study! (More than one, actually, with some …
Two (No, Three) Kinds of Magic
I wonder if class adults might think there’s a little bit of magic floating around at Clementine, because I’ll sometimes overhear a conversation about something that’s needed (a paper refill, more apples, a missing tiger) and then just sort of appear beside them with it. (Sometimes I wait for a conversation with the child, too, …
Just Some Tape on the Floor
This past Wednesday in the Montessori classroom, it was time to make the jumping square. The jumping square actually holds up rather well through lots of jumping (and mopping), but I peel it away from time to time because then we can add it back. Kids need to move, and I’m certainly not going to …
A Daffodil Epiphany
I wouldn’t call myself a gardener, more like gardener-adjacent, and either in because or in spite of this, I experience what most would call disproportionate excitement whenever 1) something grows and 2) I can use it. Grape tomatoes, jalapenos, zucchini, basil–all of it tastes better when I grew it, and I’m not ashamed to say …