Jacaranda Tree Montessori

A Montessori playgroup in Amsterdam for babies, toddlers, preschoolers

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3 October, 2014 By Simone Davies

8 easy ideas for keeping your child’s artwork

Hello everyone! I’m loving those crunchy Autumn leaves and crisp mornings at the moment. And these sunny weekends are a nice bonus too. I have to remember to enjoy these days before everything just slides quickly into the raucousness of Sinterklaas and Christmas.Another common question I get asked is if I have any good ideas what to do with the lovely paintings that the kids make in class and at home. So here are some simple ideas for you try. Let me know what are your favourites too!

8 easy ideas for keeping your child’s artwork

It’s easy to accumulate a lot of artwork with a child in the house. I would put it into a box to store it and then wonder “what should I do with it all?”.

But since then I’ve come up with some ideas that don’t require hours of effort to repurpose them into baubles or the like. Although if you find that fun, don’t let me stop you!

It’s important to note that when the child is young, they are interested in the process not actually the product. For example, the movement when they are painting, the colours, the feel of the paint. So it’s common in Montessori training to learn that the paintings don’t need to be kept.

However, as adults we do like to keep some and here are 8 simple ideas if you would like to do something with the end product:

1. Make a portfolio

Once a year, I would sit down one afternoon with the kids and pull out our favourite artwork from the year. I would buy a simple scrapbook (my favourite are “plakboeken” from the Hema for those of you in the Netherlands). And we simply glued them in, folding up the ones that wouldn’t fit.

You could also use a folder with plastic sleeves and slide the artwork in too.

Often we’d stick in some tickets from a special outing and the kids still enjoy to look through them from time to time. And it’s a nice thing to show visitors from out of town.

2. Wrapping paper

Repurposing the larger sheets for wrapping paper means you’ll rarely need to buy wrapping paper again. Add some baker’s twine or a cute ribbon and you have added a personal touch to your present.

3. Post to grandparents and family

Remember to send some to the grandparents and family. For those of us living in a different country from family, this is a lovely way for family members to be included in your child’s life.

4. Frame and hang

It’s fun to take a special artwork or two and buy frames to hang them in your home. You can change the artwork from time to time. Your child will feel pleased to see their work displayed like artwork. You can also have conversations with them about their work.

5. Use a wire curtain line with pegs

If you have a wall available, you can also hang a wire curtain line and use pegs to hang up the art work your child brings home. It’s easy to rotate work and replace older work with something new. The old work can go into a box to be reused for another of these ideas.

I like the Ikea curtain wire here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/111745634473638507/

6. Recycle recycle recycle

There is no need to keep it all. As mentioned above, the younger children are not busy with the end product and the paintings can be recycled. Older children may want to keep them, so it is worth checking with your child before they find their lovingly made artwork in the recycling box.

7. Take a photo and print a photo book a year

Particularly with art work that can’t be stuck into a book, I like to take a photograph. Some people then put together a photo book once a year from these photos and have it printed. Saves a lot of space and is a beautiful memory.

8. Hang clipboards on the wall

I think a fun way to present art coming into the home is to hang some clipboards on the wall, perhaps in the kitchen or hall. It’s then very easy to update the artwork, rotating out the old one for something new.

I’ve put together a little summary in case you’d like to pin for later and remind yourself of some of these ideas. And of course I am sure you have some great ideas too. I would love to hear about them on our Facebook page.

8 easy ideas for keeping your child's artwork

Upcoming workshopsI’m super excited to have Eowyn Crisfield coming back to Jacaranda Tree Montessori on Monday 27 October for her seminar on Raising a Bilingual Child. Eowyn is an expert in bilingual and multilingual families and gives great advice on putting together a 6 step plan for your family.Date: Monday 27 October
Time: 20:00 – 22:00
Cost: €35 p.p or €50 per coupleTo register, please click here: http://www.jacarandatreemontessori.nl/shop/raising-bilingual-child-seminar/
Update from the classroomIt has also been lots of fun to make a few additions to the classroom. My favourite is the table in the kitchen area for the parents to drink tea and share wisdom. And my kids were great helping me to assemble the furniture. So pleased with it!
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And we had fun in class making some cute Autumn crowns. How adorable are these? The idea came from this blog: http://www.handmadecharlotte.com/fall-leaf-crowns/. Love!
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And not related to Montessori but of my love for cake, my favourite piece of cake this week has to be the chocolate and sea-salt cake from Bilder & De Clercq. Did you know it has been baked by The (lovely) English Cake Lady herself for them? Worth checking out. Oliver and I shared a piece after school on Friday – such fun these little outings with my nearly-14 year old son.I hope you found these tips useful for keeping your child’s artwork. And have yourselves a lovely weekend everyone!

Filed Under: Art and craft, inspiration, Montessori Tagged With: art and craft, Montessori, storage

15 September, 2014 By Simone Davies

30 days to Montessori challenge

30 days to Montessori Challenge

I’m super excited to be involved in a fellow blogger’s “30 Days to Montessori Challenge”. Her name is Jennifer Tammy and she is inspiring us to get into Montessori in 30 days. What an awesome idea. To learn more about the challenge, click here: http://studyathomemama.ca/2014/09/30daystomontessori-challenge/

Start here for Day 1 of the challenge: http://studyathomemama.ca/2014/09/self-serve-montessori-set-30daystomontessori/#more-1666

Read my post here for Day 2 about encouraging good habits at snack time: http://studyathomemama.ca/2014/09/montessori-snack-time-30daystomontessori/.

Encouraging good habits at snack time

 

And my post for Day 6 challenging you to slow down in your daily life: http://studyathomemama.ca/2014/09/slow/. Yes, that is my children making a snail collection with their friends last meivakantie :).

Hope you are able to join in! #30daystomontessori

Slow down with your kids

Filed Under: mindful parenting, Montessori, Parenting Tagged With: mindful parenting, Montessori, Positive parenting

2 September, 2014 By Simone Davies

I don’t get this Montessori thing. When should I step in to help?

I don’t get this Montessori thing. When should I step in to help?

The sun is back! And I’m so happy to be back to classes with the kids.

It was a delight to work with a new toddler to make orange juice together. The toddler stood back to watch me make the juice and then I gave them the peel and pointed to the little bin. They were so happy to take the orange peel and place it in the bin for me. They pick it up so quickly and love to be involved. The preschoolers were so happy to be back too; so busy you could hear a pin drop. And we had lots of new babies in our baby class, exploring and observing in the space.

Lots of fun.

One of the questions I get asked a lot by new parents coming to classes (and some long time parents too!) is how much should they be doing with their child, when to step in and help, and when to observe. So I would love to give you a few practical tips which will hopefully be useful both in the classroom and at home.

when to step in to help with Montessori

1. Step in to help just a little and step back for your child to do the rest
Dr Montessori used to wear some rosary beads and used to count the beads when she was tempted to help a child when they could manage themselves.

Who has not struggled to keep their hands off a puzzle when your child can’t quite get the puzzle piece in? Or to sit on your hands when we, as the adult, could put on their shoes much quicker?

Last week, a baby was interested in taking off their socks. I could have stepped in and taken them off for them. Instead, I helped a little by lowering the sock over their heel and then the child did the rest pulling it off by the toe of the socks.

Of course when we are in a rush, this is more difficult. But, when possible, ALLOW TIME for the child to struggle and succeed.

2. Observe your child
I love the Montessori idea of following your child and taking cues from them. They can show you what activities they are interested in, they can show you when they are all done, or when they need you to step in to help.

A toddler explores the environment with his hands and initially without a plan what he will do first. He is attracted by activities set out for him to discover, so some activities can be set out ready rather than being packed away in a cupboard or toy box. If they show no interest in the activities set out, take them away and rotate other toys in.

Even as a baby, they can show you when they are done with an activity by looking around, crying, or fussing.

And if a toddler starts to throw an activity or struggle, you may need to step in to provide a little assistance before you step back for them to do the rest themselves. Or it can be a sign that the activity is too easy or too difficult and should be swapped for another activity.

3. Set up the environment so they can be independent
It is nice for the space to be set up so your child can help out. For example, child sized cleaning materials at hand, a hand mitt at the ready at meal times, or a small jug of milk for the child to pour his own milk at breakfast.

In this way, the child can feel like part of the family and help out.

When a child asks for my assistance to reach something, or children repeatedly need my help with an activity, I try to think of a way that I can change the environment so the child can achieve the same thing without assistance. It may be as simple as having a step stool available to wash their hands, or something like putting out just enough paper that they can repeat (and not so much that it is a lot to clean up!).

4. Do things together around the house
So all the above points talk about allowing your child to do things by themselves. But I also really value working together with my children, particularly with everyday jobs around the house.

It might be to help get ready for their grandma to visit, helping to make the bed, or tidy away some toys.

It might be shopping at the supermarket together with them helping to get things from the shelves, or working side by side in the kitchen with them doing some age appropriate activities.

5. Side by side learning – guiding your child along the path of life
Which leads me to my last suggestion: be your child’s guide through life. You don’t have to know all the answers. Living with young children with enquiring minds I find myself saying almost every day, “I don’t know…let’s find out together!”

I would love to hear about how you give your child time to be independent and how to balance that with living together. Please share your ideas over on the Facebook page here.

Filed Under: Montessori, Parenting Tagged With: Montessori, Parenting, tips

22 June, 2014 By Simone Davies

Choosing books for Montessori Children

What a lovely weekend – we celebrated the summer solstice for the first time with friends in the Vondelpark, we had friends from Rotterdam to visit, and my mother-in-law flew in today to spend a few days with us. Hope you all had fun too.

Choosing books for Montessori Children

Today I’d love to share my first guest post on a well-known Montessori blog, “Confessions of a Montessori Mom”. Here I share my top tips for choosing Montessori books for Children: http://montessoriconfessions.blogspot.nl/2014/06/guest-post-5-tips-for-choosing-books.html

Let me know what you think!

 

Choosing Books for Montessori children

Filed Under: Activities, Montessori Tagged With: books, Montessori

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The Montessori Toddler book, by Simone Davies


– NOW AVAILABLE IN AMAZON AND ANY BOOKSELLER –
* Learn to understand your toddler better
* Find alternatives to time out and help them become responsible humans
* Get rid of the chaos and set up cosy spaces at home
* Create beautiful Montessori activities for their age
* And more…
<<< MORE INFO HERE >>>

The Montessori Baby book, by Simone Davies and Junnifa Uzodike


– NOW AVAILABLE IN AMAZON AND ANY BOOKSELLER –

* Help you bring Montessori into your home from conception, birth and the first year
* Learn how to show your baby respect the Montessori way
* Set up your home for your baby with a lot less than you think
* See how capable your baby is and learn to follow their interests and timeline
* And more…
<<< MORE INFO HERE >>>

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