It was a 5 minute interaction that made this clear: Connection Before Correction.

We had just come home from our afternoon walk. Brooke takes off her jacket and throws it on the ground. I say, “Brooke, please put your jacket away.” She starts running off. I say it again in a louder and sterner voice. She doesn’t look back. I take the jacket to her, hold her arm and say, “Brooke, put it away.” She tries to pull away.

And then I remember that I had been away for the weekend and been coming home later than usual. So I get down on the floor and say, “Okay, can I hold you?” She looks at me and nods ‘yes.’ So I sit there and hold her. We don’t say a word, I just hold her and stroke her hair while she sucks on her thumb (she still does that). I would let her decide when she’s done. Three minutes go by. Then she looks up at me and I say, “Darling, can you put your jacket away?” She stands up, fumbles around looking for the hood and hangs her jacket on the hook, then runs off happily.

I’m home with my kids everyday, so overall, I feel connected to my children, but I don’t know how they feel. Then I figured it out. When they act out, they don’t feel connected. That’s when I know it’s time to give them more.

Brooke puts on socks by herself

Here’s a video of Brooke putting on socks by herself at 22 months. To help your toddler do this activity by herself, the sock needs to be relatively new, so it still has a lot of ‘stretch’ when the child opens it. This way, they can easily slide their whole foot in with one swoop. Old socks that are a little small or have been washed repeatedly lose their stretch and require a lot of strength to stretch open. Especially in the beginning, when your child is learning to put on socks, it’s worth investing in some new high-quality, slightly-larger socks. As they master the skill of opening the sock, putting their foot in and pulling the sock up – they’ll soon be able to put on any pair!

Keep several pairs of socks out on the shelf so they can access it at anytime. This video was taken right before bedtime, so she’s not putting on socks to go out or anything – she’s just practicing. And you’ll also see her taking off the red pair she just put on to put on the white pair. Practicing putting on and taking off socks is a great Montessori Practical Life activity!

Here are some of the top links on Montessori blogs and websites these last few weeks. Include your favorites in the Comment area!

• The Aid to Life website is an amazing Montessori resource for parents with children ages 0-3. I particularly like this section about helping a child develop self-discipline – you can’t do it for them, but here’s how you can help! http://www.aidtolife.org/discipline/discipline.htm

• I really enjoy reading this website, which has some Montessori content. The writer, Sara Cotner, is very frank and straight-forward about her experiences. Here’s her guide to buying Montessori holiday gifts: http://www.feedingthesoil.com/2012/11/montessori-holiday-presents.html

• Well-written and a great one about eating: http://thefullmontessori.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/food-fight/

• I’m partial to anything about children and music. This one has great suggestions on how to incorporate music into your home: http://montessorihomes.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/making-music-part-of-your-montessori.html

• This is a popular Montessori blog. I’ve been wanting to buy this exact mop for a while now, let me know if you know where to get it! http://www.howwemontessori.com/how-we-montessori/2012/11/mops-and-brooms.html