Montessori Weaning Table for Infants: Independence in Eating

Found a great short video on Youtube that I wanted to share!



The table and chair are great, but the rest of the items could be replaced to make it a better experience. Observe the child. The cup is too big to hold well and it makes her movements clumsy as she is not able to practice real coordination skills. Traditional Montessori parents use a small glass that is heavy at the bottom (some shot glasses are made like this). The spoon is also giving her a hard time because it is too big, especially the handle. A smaller spoon would be much better. She could also eat slices of bananas from a smaller bowl. The bowl is also too big. But, hey, it's a good concept!

As the child struggles, it would be better to show her how to eat by herself, holding a smaller spoon. A smaller, deeper bowl would allow her to easily get the banana slices (they could be sliced thicker and cut in half to make pieces that are easier to grab -- she could also use her hands).

Looking for Montessori presentations for infants and toddlers? Check out our Montessori curriculum page!

Montessori Toddler Imbucare Boxes: DIY Suggestions

After reading a post on the excellent Chasing Cheerios blog where someone had commented that her Montessori Imbucare boxes "...smell really bad," I thought it good to do some DIY discussions.

If any of the equipment you purchase for your child has an odd smell, get rid of it. The smell is caused by chemicals in the glue, paint, composites in the wood product, or the way the wood itself was processed. It is a common manufacturing ill from China and other countries.

This Toddler Imbucare box is really easy to make because the main focus for your child is the matching of the colors and hanging the loop around the small hook.

Wood
Making the stand out of wood is the best, of course, as it is attractive and provides stability. Just make sure the knit balls hang easily and securely without slipping. Child-safe paint for the circles beneath the balls should be the same shade as the knit balls themselves.

Plain Brown Cardboard Box
Use a small rectangular box that maintains the proportions of the box to balls as shown in the photo above. Get a non-tapered wooden chopstick (or anything similar) and cut it to make pegs. The pieces should be about 3 inches long. Put 3 holes in the box, spaced evenly. Secure the pieces into the holes, leaving about 2 inches inside the box. You can use duct tape on the inside of the box to secure the pegs so they do not wiggle at all. Paint the circles. You are ready to go!

Basically, when you make a piece of equipment for your child, focus on the points of interest. What draws your child to the equipment and what will maintain his or her focus? Why does your child return to use the same piece of equipment over and over again? Once you identify these points of interest, you will get the knack of making equipment that appeals to your child's stage of development.

More coming up!

A Quick Snack Preparation Setup for Infants and Toddlers

Put jam into a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Only put enough for a slice of toast. Provide your child with a small spreading utensil and a slice of toast cut in half. Do not make the toast too crunch when you toast it or it will crumble. Provide a small plate that your child can work on.

Substitute jam with anything health such as yogurt or peanut (apple, almond, tahini, etc) butter. Look for jam that is 100% fruit with no sugar added (and absolutely no artificial sugar!!!)

For any snack or meal, try to see the event from your child's perspective. The portions need to be pre-prepared before you give them to your child -- for example, the concept of taking a scoop of jam out of the jar without using all the jam in the jar is too advanced for this age.

Make sure your child has a small table and chair for all eating activities.

We have a full curriculum in our Montessori House Infant and Toddler teaching albums

Language for Infants and Toddlers: Reading Poetry Aloud

Read beautiful stories and poems to your little ones to help them acquire the structure, vocabulary, and flow of the language.

Try "Snail" by Langston Hughes:

Little Snail,
Dreaming you go,
Weather and rose
Is all you know.

Weather and rose
Is all you see,
Drinking
The dewdrop's
Mystery.

Look for illustrated children's poetry books so that your child can look at the pictures with the words as you read the poem.

Learn more with our Montessori curriculum for Infants and Toddlers

Art for Toddlers: Wet Chalk Drawings

Working with wet chalk produces lovely results. Look for chalk that is slim enough for your child to hold it properly or use a lump of chalk that your child can grasp with his or her whole hand.

Presentation:
1. Invite your child to join you for this exercise (pick a quiet time of the day, so that your child does not have to settle down from active play suddenly).
2. Have ready a piece of construction paper or heavy white paper along with a tray that has chalk and a small dish of water.
3. Show your child how to dip the end of the chalk into the water and draw with the wet end.

Your child will see the difference between using the wet and dry ends of the chalk. Remember to sit back and let your child experiment without critiquing or suggesting drawings (or suggesting what his or her drawings look like). The focus should be on the physical movements and motions and your child's development.

Recommeded Books - Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three

Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three is a Montessori classic for parents and teachers of children between birth and three years of age.

The authors, Paula Polk Lillard, and her daughter, Lynn Lillard Jessen, have crafted this amazing guide that provides down-to-earth, practical advice on how to introduce Montessori methodology in your home as soon as your infant is born.

Beginning with easy-to-understand examples of how and why one needs a low infant bed, a mat on the floor, instead of a crib, and continuing through your infant's daily routine, the authors make sense of complicated concepts that include early childhood brain development and intra-family dynamics.

We highly recommend this book for anyone who has an infant or toddler in the family.

Feeding Infants and Toddlers: What Not to Feed Them

Great article in Yahoo news What NOT to Feed Your Baby has useful practical tips. For example, many parents would have figured that peanut butter was a no-no, but some may not have thought about skim milk (babies and toddlers require more dietary fat than adults) or honey.

You can puree vegetables and, actually, most foods on your own, so if you are focusing on organic veggies and grass-fed beef for yourself, toss some in the food processor for your little one, too.