I know I won’t always be there, but I hope B and M will have each other for life. So it’s not too early to teach them to help each other out. They can help each other pull off the sleeves of a particularly tight shirt, pull up the other person’s underwear (usually from behind where they can’t reach themselves), pull off each others’ boots, fetch things for each other, etc.

It’s cold here and M has a runny nose.  Here’s a video of B helping M fetch a tissue to wipe her nose:

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!

Mackenzie listening to music on her Muji CD Player

I was introduced to the Muji CD player by my friend Seiko, during my Montessori training. It was an expensive purchase but really worth it. It’s nice to look at, compact and easy to operate – pull the string once to start, pull again to stop (see video below).

If you purchase it, make sure your children have developed good impulse control. Then give them several clear demonstrations on how to use it. Just a warning, they may break it. The way I see it, everything I prepare in our environment ultimately belongs to the children and I’m prepared for accidents. Besides if it breaks, they are the ones who really experience the consequence.

As you can see in the picture, each CD is labeled with a picture of an instrument: harp, guitar, cello and violin. On the CD, I’ve included music of the corresponding instrument. This way, they can choose which instrument they want to listen to and begin to recognize the sound that instrument makes. They definitely prefer string over woodwind, though they are warming to brass instruments. I love the independence this little machine gives them. They can now play music anytime they want and not a day will go by without a little classical music in our household.

Never underestimate what the youngest children can and will appreciate – their love for music, art and beauty never ceases to astound and inspire me.