Baby Goats! And Mama Grumbling...

Our neighbor's goats have given birth and now each day we drive by, we slow down to take a peek. Yesterday they were out and about! My Little One assumes, because of their markings, that the goats are cows and was Moo-ing to them while I snapped some photos. My nine year old wants to adopt one and raise it in our home
"you know like the cats" he said :)
I think two cats is more than enough personally since last night one of my felines woke me at 3:30am because she was hungry. Grrr....what would a goat do?
So on to my grumbling,
it's only 11am and already today I have edited my oldest son's Che Guevara paper and assisted with his Che Guevara poster, done three loads of laundry, made French toast, changed three diapers, given a yogurt covered toddler a bath, helped my nine year old pick up an entire rubber-made tote full of Legos that "accidentally spilled"before above mentioned toddler could eat them, vacuumed up rice cake pieces and gold fish also "accidentally" spilled before they could be ground into the living room carpet by yep, you guessed it: Little One, and addressed 15 envelopes for work! Phew...did I mention my husband is working and it is day seven of February vacation? Enough grumbling....
Any-who, I thought some of you would like to see these beautiful babies and feel hopeful about Spring coming. And I hope YOU are enjoying your Sunday, your family and maybe hot chocolate...mmmm...sounds good, don't mind if I do.
PEACE
~~MM

Maria Mouse

Many readers have been asking about my book Maria Mouse in the Children's House. I would like to thank you for your enthusiasm and support for this little story book of mine. I am hopeful it one day soon will be published and I can share that news with all of you but as of yet it hasn't been picked up by a publishing house. And so I wait....
I have been thinking about self publishing but know very little about this process. I will keep you all posted and welcome your comments and feedback about my illustrations and and suggestions about book publishing.


The children I have shared my Maria Mouse stories with have enjoyed them and I feel confident that many more children would too. I hope it happens...(I'm trying to be optimistic).
In PEACE
~~MM

Going easy on myself, it's just what the doctor ordered.

I came across this picture of Dr. Montessori and thought I would share it with all of you. In previous posts I've told about the history of her life's work; what's recorded and told and retold by Montessorians the world over. But today I'm thinking about the woman. The mother, the doctor, the teacher of teachers, the celebrity, the feminist, what was she really like? It's allot to think about.
I imagine her as a force, as bright as the sun, as strong as a mountain. Yet, she was someone who would hold your hand when you were unsure and tell you to listen to your intuition.
I wish I could have known her personally. I would have loved to have heard her speak. She was brave and honest and true. We are so blessed she graced this earth and shared with us her brilliant perspective.
The Montessori Teacher:
Imagine sitting cradled within the branches of a tall and magical tree. It is the Montessori classroom. How would you feel looking all about you, new possibilities and opportunities awaiting you on every branch you reach for? Would you want to take the leap? I imagine only if you were sure you would not fall. The supportive branches and strength of the Montessori tree enable you to feel independent and sure of your footing. But knowing your teacher is always there to help you to reach that next branch is a reassuring fact.
You are not alone on this journey; you are being guided and encouraged by a loving adult who understands what it is like to climb this tree. All the branches are familiar to her and each leaf she has placed there with careful consideration for every child to admire and enjoy. Montessori herself planted the seed of this tall and miraculous tree and it is the teachers who she trained who tend to it now.
Montessori said, "Whoever touches the life of the child touches the most sensitive point of a whole which has roots in the most distant past and climbs toward the infinite future."

I remember these words and her perspective each time I enter the Montessori classroom. But bringing Montessori home is my work these days. And I know that lately I have often felt challenged by financial restraints to prepare my home to meet the needs of my growing, ever changing boys. I am resolving today to give myself a break. Yes, the prepared environment is an important element to the success of the Montessori method but it is so much more about the process than the materials. Reminding myself of this is helpful. By comparison when I visit the classroom I see beautiful materials and child sized everything, I admire and long to bring home some of the items. Let's call this "nesting". My home environment is cluttered and small, there are five of us and not much room. Some days it feels like a bush rather than a tree, but oh well, it's our bush and we are all learning in it just the same.
Bread crumbs or golden beads the learning was the same. Maria observed children in many different environments and always found this to be true: a child who feels loved and comfortable will be successful at their work.

My February Ten

Inspired by Soule Mama I am fighting the February blaughs with a list of ten things that bring me joy during this dreary winter month. And all of You are invited to do the same.
Here goes...

1.) Trips to the public library, visiting with Jane Thomas our children's librarian who nurtures my middle son's love for books. Everything from the train table to water bubbler fascinate my Little One, pushing the elevator button and the fish tank are his two most favorite parts about the whole experience. And they have BOOKS too!

2.) This blue tunnel I purchased years ago. (I think his expression says it all).


3.) Colored glass jars with lids.


4.) When my oldest son plays his guitar.

5.) Red "works".


6.) When my Mom calls just to say she loves me. (Thanks Mom)

7.) Waiting to hear if Maria Mouse will become a REAL book...anticipation.


8.) My spiral chalice, UU church services (especially the maple syrup service) working with the children's program and our FABULOUS new RE Director Danielle. (okay, that's more than one)

9.) Hot Chocolate with whipped cream (is there another way?) in my favorite mug.

10.) My BLOG. It makes me happy. And all of you who read and comment and share with me, you make my February more beautiful. Thank you.

So, what are YOUR February Ten? Please share.
In PEACE
~~MM

Toddler Practical Life: CCIO

Inspired by an original idea from the lovely and talented Mama and O at Chasing Cheerios,
I put together this
Practical Life activity: Toothpick drop

The basic aims of all Practical Life activities are to assist in the development of:
Coordination, Concentration, Independence, Order
(or CCIO that's an easy way to remember *c/o Linda Seeley Northeast Montessori Institute)
All are nurtured with this one activity.

My Little One (22months) LOVED putting the colored toothpicks into the small openings of the cheese shaker. It was a pleasant sensorial experience also because of the musical tone it made when the toothpicks fell in. He completed this work again and again and was very smiley while enjoying it.
I am sure this will become a daily favorite. Thanks Chasing Cheerios!
~~MM

I Love Felt!

My house was busy this weekend with family visiting; and I enjoyed it very much. This is one of the activities I came up with to entertain two busy toddlers. Button sewing! Felt is something I usually have on hand and my first thought was to make felt necklaces. Threading ribbon proved to be a challenge for toddlers to do.
Then I had an idea: add a button to the end of the ribbon!
And so this hand work was born.
My niece (2yrs) stayed with this activity for 35 minutes. (This is the necklace she made!)


My Little One (22 months) was not as captured by the beauty of it. Although he did sew briefly, he was more interest in watching his older cousin and brothers sled outside. I will try this with him on another day when there are less distractions. I will say that when the "BIG boys" came in from outdoors they were very interested in what we had been making inside. And soon my nine year old and my 5 year old nephew had completed their own felt "snakes".

I imagine this would be a peaceful Practical Life activity for a 3-6 classroom. I will give it to my friends at the Cornerspring Children's House and will let you know how it goes.

~~MM Original
Happy Buttoning!

Just because...

I made this and wanted to share. The child in me. My brother and his family are visiting this weekend and my little house is full of energy and noise. I love it!
PEACE to all of you and yours.
~~MM

Montessori on a Budget

Here is my Little One sorting bag snaps by color (these clips are for securing bags of chips, I bought at Family Dollar for, yep you guessed it: $1)
He can do so many things with them:
open and close them
sort them by color
line them up by size (he hasn't mastered this)
we even made squares with them when we opened them and placed them on the rug opposite one another.

Mostly he likes to fill and dump the basket, but by introducing him to colors, size and shape, the use of a rug, and the awareness that baskets contain objects and can be found on a shelf; I hope to familiarize him with concepts and ground rules he will continue to use in the future.
His work at 21 months is to play.


This 'work' can easily be made for about $2.00
The basket (also found at the $ store) was part of a four basket set (total cost $2.50) and the chip clips, like I said were $1. Not much to spend for a fun activity that my toddler will enjoy again and again. Don't you just love a bargain?

During my Montessori training, an instructor commented that Montessori could be done using sticks and stones. She even went so far as to bring in these natural items for us to create lessons from. It was an important reminder about how Montessori is less about the materials and more about the philosophy (and I will add: the attitude & approach of the adult).
Remember, we adults set the tone for young children.
(If you are enthusiastic about sorting chip clips, they will be too!)
In PEACE
~~MM

Happy Valentines Day!

Remember those potato prints? Well, because of a lack of time this is the best we could do:


But my nine year old was able to make window clings also, which were more fun for him anyway. Has anybody made them before? It was new to me and I have to say, a very smelly project. Unfortunetly, I don't have a photo to share but they are made from a kit:
Everyday KOLOR and took two days to dry.

I gave my boys stuffed animals for Valentine's Day this morning and although my youngest was happy, my middle and oldest wanted candy. Oh well, they are sure to get some candy at school when friends exchange Valentines right? Okay, maybe not the ninth grader. Maybe I'll make brownies for dessert tonight?

My husband (in his usually sleepy state at 5am on his way out the door) saw me putting out the Valentine items and said, "What are those for?"
I guess I won't be getting roses today. Ha-HA
I hope your Valentines treat you well and your children have fun today.
Much LOVE,
~~MM

The Real Mom in Me

I recently got a letter from an old childhood friend. In it she wrote that she had looked me up and found her way to my blog. She said many lovely and wonderful things to me in the letter; it was beautiful. However, when I finished reading it I thought, she doesn't really know me. Because all she was going by after all these years, were the bits and pieces of me I posted on my blog. Montessori Mama is the mother I aspire to be, in reality I make allot of mistakes. So, it occurred to me I should let you all in on a little secret:
I'm not perfect. No one is.
I gave up trying to be perfect years ago but some how I have still managed to present an unrealistic projection of myself on this blog. Although I personally feel that blogs that teach something or inspire people are more enjoyable to read than ones that are a daily vent of people's personal lives; I do feel like I want to share more about what being a parent means for me personally. It would bother me if people were reading my ideas and suggestions and thinking badly of themselves because they "should be doing more"with their children.

The point is this is not a competition, and we are all in this together. I became a mother very young and I often feel like my oldest and I have grown up together. I've learned allot from becoming a mother and from working with families.

Some things I've had to learn the hard way:

• pretzel rods are not a toddler friendly food
• If you don't encourage your child to learn to swim when they are small (and often afraid) they really won't want to learn when they are older.
• fighting with your spouse in front of your kids is not a good idea.
• too much TV can be harmful.
• your mother in law will inevitably learn how you really feel about her if you vent to your 5 year old.
• when you have more than one child, eating out is no longer an option
  

Over the years there have been several amazing women I have aspired to be like. And I've always felt I came up short. I'm trying not to do that to myself anymore. I try my best and pray I don't make too many mistakes along the way. The main reason I believe I am a good parent is because I keep learning every day. I'm open to it and I follow my children's lead.

Considering there is no test that a person must pass in order to become a parent I think we all do what we can with the tools we've been given. In my case (being that I am an over achiever) I was given a 'tool box' from my own parents and when I became a parent I began trying to fill my tool box with new and improved tools and any that I hadn't received. My husband did the same thing and soon our tool boxes were quite full. And I've also discovered that a parent can never really fill their tool box because there is always more to learn.

Out of all the teachers and mentors I've had the privilege of knowing and learning from, it has been my children who have taught me the most. The hardest lessons and the most rewarding and beautiful ones too:

• Spanking doesn't work
• If I swear they will swear too
• Fast food is not good for growing bodies
• Reading out loud is entertaining for everybody if the book is Harry Potter
• Halloween doesn't have to be scary
• whoever it was who invented Legos was a genius
• whoever it was who invented the kazoo never had children
• words can hurt MORE than sticks and stones
• Daddies can kiss boo-boos and take bad dreams away, sometimes BETTER than Mommy
• my heart can love more than one baby

So there you have it. I've fed my boys fast food, let them watch movies they maybe were not ready for (i.e they ended up with bad dreams), I've yelled at them more times than I want to confess, I've said the wrong thing and made the situation worse, I've swore, yelled at their Dad and said their teacher must be nuts, I've broken a promise or two and even lied once every year (yes, there is a Santa).

Thank you for reading my blog and for trying some ideas with your children. I'm not trying to impress you, I'm trying to connect with you and learn from you. I enjoy this medium for communicating but recognize it can be one dimensional, the real Mom in me is 3D.