Montessori activity at home: matching socks

Age: About 18 months onwards.

Knox this week

Sense of order

Getting better at putting his toys back, particularly the recent Montessori activities I demonstrated where I stressed opening and closing the activities (getting them from the shelf, and putting them back after we were finished. The two Montessori activities demonstrated were:

– Stringing beads (a reintroduction using larger beads and string with a longer length of tape at one end, to reduce frustration/difficulty)

– The first set of knobbed wooden cylinders – which vary in dimension. (We got the discount mini-set, which seems to serve perfectly well.) He immediately got it after a partial demonstration. So not yet 2 years old is a possible age to start them on this!

Mike also got out the old set of stacking cups, which had been sitting for 2 months out of rotation. The first morning Knox was able to concentrate on it for 20 minutes. And he has kept it relatively intact (most of them stacked atop each other and in it’s right cubby space) rather than ALL strewn about the room and appearing in odd spaces, within and about different toys. Hopefully another sign of his growing sense of order :  Less mixing of toys.

Will also more consistently put story books away before getting the next one, and his toothbrush. Will go stand in front of his closet pondering when I tell him he should go get a shirt and pants (we give him 2 choices of each that is regularly laid out in his closet).

He also seems to work/play with longer concentration after I have put his things back in order. Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking.

Self-identify by name

Pointed at himself and said distinctly “Nah-ku-sss! Nah-kuh-sss!”

Bait and switch

Followed him into his room to change his diaper. He gave me a cheeky grin and went to sit by the window instead. I refused to stoop to begging and left the room. He rushed out of the room yelling “Diaper!” with the diaper in his hands. I followed him back into his room. He cheerfully evaded me d and went to sit by the window again.