When we first moved to Denver, B and M turned 19 months. That’s when I decided to give them their first pair of scissors. They’ve seen me use scissors around the house and they’ve always shown an interest in it.

Here is Brooke’s first lesson in using scissors.

A week later, here she is, concentrating very hard and making these small cuts. What a victory for her to master this!

We have our scissors out on the shelf at all times. This is so the children have the freedom to use it whenever they want. I sewed a special scissor pouch (see picture above, it’s the one with white and yellow daisies and blue background) to keep the scissors safe. I also keep the scissors in its pouch in a little designated tray. Always start by giving your child long strips of paper slim enough so they can cut through with a single snip. Don’t give them thin paper (like printing paper or thin construction paper), cardstock is much easier to cut and will give them more success. For safety reason, make sure the child’s scissors has a blunt end!

The right material is key for your toddler, make sure you consider the size, weight and feel of each item before purchasing it. Here’s where I bought mine:

Scissor: This one from Montessori Services is great. I also love these scissors from Muji

B and M, 20 months, helping me cut carrots for our basil vegetable soup

It’s been 3 ½ months since I wrote my last blog. During that time, the girls and I moved to Denver CO where I completed my AMI 0-3 Montessori Training, moved back to NY, renovated our apartment, rented it out, moved to Baltimore where my husband started a new job and the girls started going to school. It’s been a very intense period of time. I think even bigger than all the moves and changes we’ve been going through is my own transformational journey as a Montessorian and mother. Writing 1000+ pages about children ages 0-3 and everything that will help them become a truly self-fulfilled human being, observing various children for 250 hours and documenting every detail I’ve observed, then passing a 6-hour written exam and 2-hour oral exam – that process changes you, as a human being, as a Montessorian, as a mother.

I started writing this blog because my mother was giving me so much good advice when my girls were first born that I felt I had to share it with more mothers. And then eventually I started writing because I was in awe of what children are capable of at such a young age when given the right environment. Now, I feel I want to write because I’m getting just how critical this age is for the rest of your child’s life and for the future of humanity. Children, from ages 0-6, are ABSORBING with their whole being everything you give them. If you give them a lot, they can be a lot, if you give them a little, they can only be a little. So at this age, it is critical to give them the best environment you possibly can. What they take in and absorb becomes a part of their flesh, part of their consciousness – all of it so deeply embedded that they will carry it with them forever. With all I’ve learned from my training, I have spent a lot of time choosing and designing what kind of environment I give my children. That’s why in the upcoming blogs, you will see why we ask them to set the table and clean up after they eat, why we teach them to use scissors, pit cherries, use knives, etc. It’s not so they can do circus tricks or so mom and dad can show off how great they are, it is because every one of these activities is designed to help them become a truly self-fulfilled human being. As a mother, that’s what I want for them.

We go to the park for a walk almost everyday. It’s a time I let them be as free as possible. Generally, I don’t limit them to a certain part of the park and instead, my nanny and I each watch one so they can choose where they want to go. I want them to explore nature, so I like to let them loose where there are many opportunities to observe animals, smell flowers and people-watch. The girls are now 17 months.

We arrive at the park. I unbuckle them and let them get off the stroller by themselves. I try not to do anything for them that they can do by themselves.

Brooke immediately heads to one side of the park where the flowers are,

climbs over the low fence…

to smell the flower.

Mackenzie is with my nanny where she is walking around with her toys

She picks up a plastic cap. I’m pretty sure it’s disgustingly dirty, but I try not to run over, scream and whack it out of her hands, like I want to. Instead, I just watch.

Here is the cap – is it going in her mouth?

Not this time, thank god. As I breathe a sigh of relief, I tell her ‘good job’ for throwing trash in the trash can. If I give in to my fears everytime she touches something dirty and freak out, then she really cannot be free during our walks, and neither can I.

Brooke tells my nanny she wants something to eat

I tell the nanny to give her the whole bag and tell her to get it herself

It takes her a while to rustle through the bag. My nanny and I look at each other. I’ve trained her (and myself) to not rush to help her, even though we can do it so much faster than she can.

She finally wrestles it out of the bag. Mackenzie reaches for some too.

She takes a piece and I ask her to give me the rest

As we sit and eat, she makes the signs for “music” and

Mackenzie makes the sign for ‘bird.’ Together, they mean, “The birds are singing.” So we sit to enjoy a bit of music before moving on.

I follow Mackenzie around. Here she spots someone stretching…

Brooke plays on a patch of grass. When she is done, rather than picking her up, I tell her to “Get up by yourself.”

She does.

Observing some squirrels. We live in NYC. The animals are limited.  *sigh*

A nice lady lets us pet her dog. Brooke loves it and Mackenzie doesn’t. I let Brooke do it and leave Mackenzie alone. She doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to.

It’s time to go home. They climb in the stroller by themselves and sit as we buckle them in. That’s it for us today. Till tomorrow!