Montessori(ish)

I think it’s important for me to start this by admitting that neither of my children are prefect sleepers. I have relied on many a sleep crutch over the past four years, and my kids oftentimes still fight bedtime. But, I do think that I am beginning to see signs that my children may actually have a relatively healthy relationship with sleep, and I credit a lot of that to the ways in which my husband and I have purposefully taught our kids how to go to sleep, and go back to sleep, independently, and when faced with a lot of physical freedom.

For most of the first year of their lives, both of my kids slept in a traditional crib. I moved both of them out of the bedside bassinet and into their own rooms around 2.5-3 months of age, mainly because they were loud sleepers, and mama can’t handle husband, dog and infant snoring… After moving to their own rooms, both kids went through the traditional series of infant sleep regressions. However, the hardest for me were the two big toddler sleep regressions, which happened for both of my kids around 15 and 17 months. The more major transition occurred at 17 months–and by major, I mean hours of wailing at bedtime. Both times this happened, my husband and I tried lots of things, and the only one that really worked for us was transitioning our kids from a crib, to a toddler bed.

While making this transition so early can seem scary to a lot of people (and definitely did to us as well), it was actually surprisingly uneventful, and has really helped both kids develop a sense of independence and confidence when it comes to falling and staying asleep. While I definitely would not consider my son to be a completely independent sleeper, even at this point, having him out of the crib has curbed the crying, and allowed me to take my evenings back, even if that means he’s still puttering around in his room at 8:30pm. The goal, for me, in making this transition, has always been to give myself some much-needed evening alone-time, and help my kids develop a sense of sleep-related independence.

Below, I am going to break down for you how, exactly, we transitioned to the toddler bed. I will start with some information on Montessori-ish toddler room setup and some of the baby-proofing tools we use to ensure that our kids’ rooms are safe enough for them to move around in at night. I will link as many of the products as I can, as well as the resources that were most helpful to me.

The Sleep Environment

My son’s nursery is not Instagram worthy. And that is exactly what makes it safe, and functional. When you are planning on allowing your toddler to have free-reign of the room, it’s important to make sure that it’s basically impossible for them to get injured or cause trouble. It’s also helpful to place certain objects within the child’s reach, so that they can entertain themselves, and/or feel in control of their environment (this will make it less likely for them to want to escape).

My son’s room is furnished with a glider, his toddler bed (which was converted from this Delta Children’s Crib), a child-size dresser with magnetic drawer locks, an un-tippable, toddler bookshelf, toy basket and a balance bar/mirror. He also has a large closet with bi-fold doors (which we babyproofed using these handy plastic slides), and blackout curtains on his windows.

We use this hatch nightlight (you want to try and find one with a “red”” light, as blue and white lights can disrupt melatonin production), and this sound machine, and make sure to roll-up and zip-tie the cords on these, and any other appliances, so that there is minimal exposed cording. We have used all kinds of outlet covers in the past (including these ones, which we have in the rest of the house), but since I never actually use any of the outlets in my son’s room, I decided to duct tape them closed instead (it’s cheaper, and works just as well).

I also always leave a blanket and/or sweater on the rocker, as well as a cup of water on the floor (I prefer this one for independent times, as it is basically impossible to spill). This way, my son knows he can look for these things on his own, and can’t use them as an excuse to get out of bed, or yell for me.

I leave my son’s door at least partially ajar whenever he is asleep, but keep him contained by placing this baby gate on the outside of his door. Even though it’s not “cute,” I love this setup, because it makes the room feel like it really belongs to my son, and is a place where he can safely, and confidently, explore and learn.

The Toddler Bed

While I have really enjoyed our convertable Detla crib, others choose to use the even more “Montessori-ish” approach of a floor bed. A lot of our friends chose to put the crib mattress directly on the floor, so that it was even easier for kids to get on and off. If you do this, I would recommend putting the mattress on carpet, or on top of a mat, to avoid slippage. I would also place the mattress in a corner of the room, so that the child will be contained by walls on at least two sides. I also have friends who have had success with Sweedi Floor Bed Frames like this one, which is pretty dang cute.

Starting With Naps

Transitioning to independent sleep outside of a crib should be a gradual process. Both of my kids were at daycare full-time, starting around 6 months old and were expected to sleep on a floor mattress during nap time. Since the kids in each class were a variety of ages, and followed a variety of sleep schedules, my kids would be napping at the same time that other kids were working and playing. When it was time for a certain group’s nap, the teacher would walk the kids over to a partitioned, and slightly darker corner of the room (the kids might also walk themselves there if they were tired enough) where they each had a tiny floor mattress of their own.

Teaching kids how to sleep in this kind of environment is super beneficial, because they learn how to tune-out background noise, and put themselves back to sleep after a wailing classmate prematurely wakes them up. While both of my kids were still sleeping in a crib at night, these oftentimes interrupted floor naps were a crucial part of their learning to self-soothe and feel safe in a less-contained environment.

When Covid hit and my son came home from daycare (around 11 months old), we tried to keep this same system in place at home. During nap time, I would put him to bed on a floor mattress on the middle of the carpet in his bedroom. We used this travel mattress, but you could also just take the crib mattress out and place it on the floor for naps. I usually put him in his sleep sack (as it decreased his ease of movement, and was strongly associated with night-time sleep), rubbed his back and sang to him while he fell asleep (his teachers also did this at daycare).

Neither of my children have ever gone down easy for naps, and they usually required a good deal of help to fall asleep. My usual process is (and was when they was younger) to sing and rub my child’s back as they lay on the floor mattress. When they look sleepy, I try to walk away, and wait for a reaction. On a good day, my son will fall asleep on his own, but often, he needs me to come back for round two. After two attempts at rubbing his back and singing, I tell him that I am going to leave, but I will sit either in the rocker in his room, or outside his door. (If my older child is cooperating and doing “quiet time” in her room, I can stay with my son, but if not, I have to step outside of his room.)

If I have to be outside his room, I try to position myself in a way that he can see me, but not my daughter. During this time, my daughter and I usually work on something quietly, while I periodically check on my son, or he waddles over to the baby gate to check on us. While it sometimes takes him a while to fall asleep this way, he will, eventually do it on his own.

I try to keep his door at least a bit ajar (baby gate closed and sound machine on), so that he is exposed to some degree of background noise, like he was at daycare. Training my son to sleep through a moderate amount of noise is important now, and will be even more so when his little brother arrives in the spring.

Sometimes, when my son was little, he would fall asleep in the middle of the floor mattress. Other times, his whole lower body would be hanging off, and sometimes he fell asleep on the floor by the door. Honestly, all three of these options were fine for me. And, if he woke up and realized he was uncomfortable on the floor, he usually ended up dragging himself back over to the mattress to finish the nap. Just remember, if a kid falls asleep on the floor, that means they feel safe, and at least somewhat comfortable there, and it’s not cruel to just leave them to it.

Moving to the Toddler Bed for Nighttime Sleep

Full disclosure, this part was a little scary for me. I didn’t like the idea of my kids being free to roam around their rooms at night, no matter how much babyproofing I had done. When we first moved the kids to their toddler beds, we still had a baby monitor (we used this one), and could check on them throughout the night. However, we got rid of this pretty quickly, as I never sleep well with the light of the monitor nearby, and my room is close enough to my kids’ rooms that I can easily hear them if they really need me.

On the first day of the planned transition, we talked with our kids about how they would be sleeping in a “big kid” bed that night, but didn’t make too big of a deal of it. Both times, we let the kids help us take down the crib wall, and let them play (briefly, because beds are for sleep), on the “new” toddler bed once it was complete.

When bedtime rolled around, we followed the same bedtime routine as always. With both kids, the first night was surprisingly uneventful. While they may have woken up once or twice slipping out of the bed, they both went back to sleep quickly and without much fuss.

If your child does wake up and refuses to go back to sleep during the first few nights of the transition, use the same strategies you would for naptime. For us, this means a brief back rub, and then moving to sit in a chair near the bed, or just outside the door. As tempting as it is to lay on the floor next to your child, DON’T DO IT. It’s a trap that will take you a long time to get out of.

When I first transitioned my son to the toddler bed, a lot of people asked me about the mornings, and whether he got out of his bed before I knew he was awake. The funny thing with both of my kids (and I have heard this from a ton of other parents too) is that it took them a very long time to learn that they were fully capable of getting out of the toddler bed by themselves in the morning. For about six months post-transition, both of my kids would still call for me to come get them from bed in the morning, even though there was no crib wall keeping them there.

Adjusting to this transition shouldn’t take too long, and most experts say that it takes toddlers about 3-5 days to adjust to a new situation, such as a new bed, or room.

Other Hot Tips and Unsolicited Advice

Don’t sleep on the floor next to your child. We did this with Max when he went through his first sleep regression, and it was a tough habit to break. Once kids learn to fall asleep with you, it’s bound to be a little bit traumatic when you suddenly ask them to fall asleep alone. If your kid is sick, that’s a different story. I have slept on the floor next to my kids several times when they had fevers, or coughs that were bad enough to be truly concerning. I have found that a night or two here or there, especially if the child is sick, and can associate your presence with their own illness, won’t do any harm.
Kids will make up for lost sleep. Sometimes, my son wanders around his room for an hour or more before he actually falls asleep. That means his actual bedtime may be closer to 9, or even 9:30 pm. When this happens, my son usually wakes up around the same time in the morning, but he’ll likely need an extra nap the next day, or an extra long nap. I haven’t found that this permanently messes with his sleep schedule, and that he usually manages to get himself back on track within a day or so, without losing too much cumulative sleep.
Let them make noise at night. A lot of us are loud sleepers. Or we have a spouse who is a loud sleeper. Both of my kids were kicked out of the master bedroom around 3 months of age because they were so. dang. loud. When kids (even toddlers) make noise and then get attention from us, we reinforce the behavior, and essentially encourage it. At this point, I know my kids’ noisiness, and I don’t go into their rooms unless I hear a pretty loud thud (implying that someone, or something, fell out of bed a little too hard), or a real cry that goes on for a while. Oftentimes, my kids will roll into the wall, or cry out momentarily, and then put themselves back to sleep. It is more helpful (and restful) to everyone to let the kids try and figure it out and self-soothe on their own before you intervene.
Don’t use threats or bribes. They just don’t work long term, nor do they teach kids to develop a sense of responsibility for things they will have to do for the rest of their lives (like sleep). Also, once kids figure out how bribes work (which they do earlier than you’d think), they’ll start trying to up the ante, and that’s a game you definitely won’t win.

I want to preface this by emphasizing the fact that I am not a home-school mom, or even a preschool teacher. I also desperately miss my daughter’s in-person preschool, and the bazillion things they were able to teach, that I can not. One of the reasons that I love preschool, or playgroups, or group-home-school (or whatever you call it) is my firm belief in the fact that kids need to learn from other kids. When she was at school, or around her friends on play-dates or at birthday parties, pre-Covid Margot was learning how to express and regulate her emotions, make and outgrow friendships, solve problems, advocate for herself, move her body, deal with conflict, etc. In fact, I think that in preschool and kindergarten especially, academics are probably the lowest on the list of skills kids really need to develop.

However, a lot of these social, emotional and physical skills are developed organically, through taking my kids to the nature park, or hanging out with friends, or by me sitting back and watching while my kids duke it out over an empty Amazon box. The teaching of “soft” skills is not really something I plan for, so it’s difficult to write about. It is also something that has become harder and harder to do, as we keep getting pushed back into isolation.

Reading, however, is a skill that can and should be taught. And it is one of the few skills that I think is best taught one-on-one. So, I am here today to share with you all a little bit about how I have been practicing some early phonics skills with my daughter while she is out of school, and away from most of the other kiddos she normally learns from and with.

For reference, my daughter is almost 3.5 years old. She is also a girl. (Controversial topic alert!) In my experience (and this is also backed by research), girls develop more quickly than boys, and take to traditional “school” settings more naturally. What I am doing with Margot at 3.5 may be very different than what I do with my son at 3.5, or with a different, future daughter at the same age. So take it all with a grain of salt, and never ever feel bad if your kid “can’t” do something yet. They’ll all just end up on TikTok eventually anyway.

Letter Sound Hide and Find:

This first activity is a fan favorite in our house, and it’s pretty straight forward. A few weeks ago, I made a “set” of letters, which are just 26 pieces of computer paper, with one upper-case letter written on each one. If you want to get all fancy, you can laminate them, which I may do the next time I visit my classroom.

To set up, Margot and I wander around our living room and find good “hiding spots” for each letter (don’t pick anything too hard–you want your kids to be able to see them). We tape each paper to it’s hiding place using painter’s tape, and then return to the center of the room.

The first few times we played this game, I would ask Margot to find the letter (aka: “where’s the A?”), and she would run to it’s hiding place and either yell, or ring her “teacher bell” when she found it.

When she became pretty proficient in recognizing most of the letters, we moved on to letter sounds. I would ask Margot to find me the letter that makes the “ooo” sound, and she would have to find the letter O. Recently, I have added a few letter pairs to the wall, so she can find the “sh” or “ch” sound as well as single letter sounds.

Margot loves this game because she gets to run around a room that we normally don’t “run” in. Sometimes I mix it up by making her close her eyes while I move letters to new hiding places. Sometimes her brother participates, and chases after her, or pulls letters off the wall before she can get there, which is annoying, but adds a layer of excitement for everyone involved.

Remember, this game, like all of the ones included in this post, should be fun. I recommend playing when your child shows interest, and stopping when they start getting bored. The more you can make this an “exciting” activity, the more they will learn from it.

Letter Sound & Object Matching:

This game is probably my favorite, as it involves cute toys, and allows me to sit down.

To play this game, you first need a collection of objects. You should have one object that matches each letter of the alphabet. I use this set of objects from Amazon, but had to add a few of our own toys to hit all the letters. (We also drew a slightly terrifying skeleton (aka X-Ray) on the outside of one of our plastic dinosaurs to serve as an example for the letter X. Because literally nothing starts with X.)

The goal of this activity is for the child to match each object to the letter it starts with. When we play, I will ask Margot, “which object starts with the “ssss” sound?” to which she will reply “STARBUCKS!” (Yes, that is one of the objects in this set).

We have this Melissa and Doug Alphabet Puzzle, so I usually lay out all the pieces ahead of time, and ask Margot to place each object on the correct letter after she identifies the starting sound. We have played this game outside as well, and placed the objects on letters we drew on the sidewalk with chalk.

You can switch it up by asking kids to think about colors or shapes (aka: “which object is the color that starts with the “yyy” sound?” or “which object is the shape that starts with the “ccc” sound?”).

Margot loves this game because she gets to play with the tiny plastic toys that we only take out when Max is asleep (because they’re a choking hazard). We also break it up with some imaginative play, and allow the animals and objects to fight, build empires, create families, and have snacks, before moving on to the next letter.

Letter Baskets:

This game is a winner primarily because both of my children LOVE collecting stuff. Their favorite activities always involve finding some kind of bag, backpack, stroller, etc., and stuffing it with random toys. Sometimes it takes weeks for us to locate said toys again. Which is always a blast for me.

But regardless, this game allows me to play into this obsession, and also get some good old fashioned learnin’ done.

In the morning on the days we plan on making letter baskets, Margot and I pick a “letter of the day” and make some kind of container (or “basket”) for this letter. Sometimes we use an actual basket, a grocery bag, or a toy shopping cart–whatever works, and isn’t broken. We then cut out and tape a construction-paper visual of said letter to the front of the basket, as a reminder of what we’re looking for.

Next, we take the basket and walk around the house (or the neighborhood), looking for objects that start with that letter and adding them to the basket. For example, for the letter “B,” we might find some toy bread, a button, a teddy bear, a dog bone, a book, etc. If Margot is still engaged after collecting the objects, I sometimes unload the objects with her, and ask her to start thinking about the second letter in each word. (i.e. “book starts with B, but what makes the ooo sound?”)

Sometimes we end with a “letter party,” where we lay all of our objects on the table, and have some kind of snack related to the letter of the day. Educational, and you get to eat.

Letter-Eating Monster:

I found this activity on Teachers Pay Teachers (otherwise known as TPT) a few weeks ago. If you haven’t used TPT yet, and are currently engaged in any kind of home schooling situation, RUN to this website. It is basically an online marketplace where amazing teachers from all over the country can sell their lessons and resources directly to parents, or other teachers. I have used it as a seller, a teacher, and a parent, and I absolutely adore it.

This resource includes the “monster” image, which you can glue onto a box, or a paper bag. There are also a variety of “candies” that you can cut out and “feed” to the monster. The resource pages include upper and lowercase letters, objects and words matching each letter sound, and much more. There are also question cards and directions for each activity, so you know exactly how to set up the game, and what questions to ask your toddler. Margot loves this game, and asks for it often. I also love it because it is engaging, relatively quiet, and actually helps her learn.

. . .

Hopefully something on this list of activities piques your interest, or sounds like something your toddler might enjoy. Drop me a comment if you try something to let me know how it went. And happy teaching!!

I hate diapers. Almost as much as I hate the diaper genie. (It’s designed to be not gross, and it is still. so. gross.) Since my husband and I have both started working from home, every suspiciously stinky diaper has turned into a VERY competitive game of “YOU’RE IT!” I have even been known to run into the office, drop the poop-covered toddler at my husband’s feet, and run out again.

I know potty training also gets a bad rap, but I would much rather stay in for 3 days with a naked toddler than ever have to clean poop out of the 1 million crevices in my child’s tooshie, ever. again.

In the Montessori world, potty training starts super early, with something called “toilet awareness.” When I first heard this term, I was in a parent-teacher conference and had to choke back a giggle, as I imagined my daughter and her baby friends standing around a potty, suddenly in awe of its existence.

However, looking back on it now, I have to say that the system really works. My daughter was a breeze to potty train and, even before she was out of diapers, the strategies we used for changing her diaper, and talking about changing her diaper, made it a much less painful process than I know it was for some of my friends. (Again, I credit her school for this more than myself.)

We are currently in the “toilet awareness” phase with Max and, due to Covid-related school closures, are trucking along without the help of his truly angelic teachers. While I am not a Montessori teacher myself, I have been blessed to have worked with, learned from, and become close friends with, the experts. Below is an outline of the “toilet awareness” system I learned from them, and then tweaked to fit the reality of our life.

Supplies:

Before you start, make sure you have the following supplies. In our old house, the bathroom was tiny, so we set most of this up in Margot’s room. In our current house, we have everything except the bench set up in the bathroom. It doesn’t really matter where everything is, as long as the location stays pretty consistent.

A training potty. We use the Baby Bjorn Smart Potty at home, and the OXO Tot Potty for on-the-go. The Baby Bjorn is a little more stable, but the OXO folds up and can be used in the car, at the park, etc. (I have always been tempted to buy one of the kid-sized “potty seats” that can be placed on top of our regular toilet. However, toddlers can’t use on their own, so it doesn’t foster the same type of independence as one of the aforementioned types would.)
A small hamper for your child to throw his/her dirty clothes into after using the toilet. We used one similar to this. It’s important to pick something low enough that your child can reach the top by him/herself, but also plastic. Because, poop.
A bench for your child to sit on after using the toilet. We used this step stool as a “bench” since it was small enough to fit into our bathroom. The child is supposed to use this time/space to practice putting his or her clothes back on. I also used it as a place where Margot knew she should go while I cleaned up and sanitized the toilet. It was somewhat difficult to teach Margot to sit and wait, and she definitely didn’t always do it, but I think it is an important component of teaching kids patience, and making sure they understand the work you put into cleaning up after them.
A basket of books–preferably toilet related. You may want to read to your child while they sit on the potty in order to encourage them to stay there. We love this one, this one, and this one.
Margot’s teachers requested that we set up a small hand-washing station, but our bathroom was tiny, and this seemed like more work than it was worth. All you need is a low table with a bowl, pitcher of water, soap and a towel, but we opted for using this learning tower to have her wash her hands at the kitchen sink instead.

Optional:

We installed this Jonti Craft Infant Coordination Mirror and Bar in Margot’s room when she was a baby. She used the mirror during tummy time as an infant, and then used the bar a LOT when she was old enough to practice pulling herself up to standing. When we transitioned to stand-up diapering, we used this bar for diaper changes. It’s expensive, but Margot and Max both still use it (Margot for “ballet” and Max for diaper changes and giggling at himself).

Clothing:

Once Margot and Max reached 11 or 12 months old, we stopped using onesies, and moved exclusively to t-shirts and shorts. In order for kids to start participating in diaper changes and toilet awareness, they have to be able to pull their pants up and down on their own. I put Margot in dresses sometimes, but these also get tricky, as she couldn’t always hold them up and out of the toilet on her own. I buy almost all of my baby and toddler clothes from Target and Old Navy.

The Process:

When To Start:

I have read that toilet awareness can start around 12 months, but Max and Margot actually both started earlier. I think that kids are probably ready when they are beginning to participate in other “tasks” around the house (such as pulling laundry out of the basket while you are folding, or watching closely as you put cups and bowls from the dishwasher into the cabinet). When babies/toddlers start paying attention to these processes, they might be able to understand the association between their bodily fluids and the toilet. They should also, obviously, be able to sit on the potty without assistance.

What To Do:

Whenever your child has a dirty diaper, stand them up, either at a bar, or by the side of the tub. Remove the diaper and wipe them while they are standing. This will take some getting used to, but both of my kids actually preferred this to laying down on the changing table.

Margot’s teachers also told us to talk about feelings of “wetness” and “dryness” in non-judgmental way. This is really hard, and I mess it up a lot. Some phrases I try to use before the diaper change are, “you’re diaper is full,” or “you probably feel wet.” When we’re done, I try to narrate how we’re “all dry now” and “ready to play again.” With Margot, my first impulse is still to say, “oh no, an accident,” since my brain automatically goes to the inconvenience of cleaning it up but, you know, it’s hard not to be the center of our own universe.

After changing and wiping, have the child sit, naked, on the potty. You want to try to get them to stay there for a few minutes. You can sing to them, read a book together, make funny faces–whatever gets them to stay seated.

Over time (if you do this process pretty regularly) your child will start to associate diaper changes, as well as poop and pee, with this process of sitting on the potty. (Basically, they’ll think to themselves: “I pee, and then sit on the potty. Those two things go together!”)

Eventually, your child will pee (or poop!) on the potty. When this happens you GO OVER THE TOP BANANAS. Sing your praises of them. Shout it to the rooftops. Make them feel like a real champ. The more you pump them up, the more likely they are to do it again. We were told not to use rewards, as this can be a hard habit to break.

Max is 15 months old and he is now at the point where he runs to the potty when he needs a diaper change. He still only pees in the potty once in a blue moon, but he definitely knows that it has something to do with peeing and, most importantly, he enjoys sitting on it.

When To Move To “Potty Training”

Everyone that I have talked to has a different opinion on how to know when to start moving from “toilet awareness” to full blown potty training, but I think it’s important to look to your child first. We knew Margot was ready because she started going to the toilet on her own, and actually peeing in it about 50% of the time. After she did this for a few days in a row, we blocked off our weekend, and did the three-day potty training method. It was pretty similar to what is explained here, but I will write a more in-depth post on it when we get there with Max.

Some people say that kids are ready when they start pulling on their diaper, but Max has been doing this for MONTHS, and he is certainly not ready yet. I think it’s also really important to read how your kid reacts to the process and, if they started getting super wigged out, take a break and try again later. The last thing you want is for your kid to develop negative associations with the toilet.

Thanks for reading & wishing you HAPPY adventures in toilet training!

Montessori Toilet Awareness Books (Click to Buy):

My Favorite Potty Books! (Click to Buy):

Welcome to a new section of THE BLOG!

When I first had kids, I read up on Montessori parenting philosophy and, to be honest, was not a fan. It seemed so organized and regimented: two things I most certainly am not. Also, maintaining some of the systems it promotes sounded impossible, especially when you have more than one kid at home.

So, in this section, I will be sharing with you the modified, Montessori(ish) things we do in our home that have been beneficial for us, but also realistic and sustainable.

Let me start with some background:

Both of my kids went to a Montessori school starting at 6 months old. When we first started looking for daycare, my husband and I were pretty stressed out about it. We both work relatively long hours, and Margot (my oldest and only at the time) would be spending all day with her teachers. I really wanted to find a place where she could learn, but also get a plenty of love and cuddles.

When we found our current school, we both fell in love right away. The principal’s biggest selling point was her Montessori-trained teachers, but what really won us over was the working vegetable garden, urban farm, and tiny classroom front porches where toddlers could hug their chickens goodbye before scampering back into their classrooms. You won’t be surprised to hear that we signed up immediately following the tour. A few days later, we met with the infant teacher, who handed us a thick book, and a big stack of papers, and asked us to “familiarize” ourselves with Montessori philosophy.

At this point, I remember turning to my husband and giving him that “how do we get out of this / we’re never going to have time to watch Bravo again” look. But, somehow, we both managed to skim the book, read a few of the pamphlets, and buy some basic, at-home Montessori supplies before Margot started school.

And then, something incredible happened: Margot began learning how to do very “grown up” things, at lightening speed. It seemed like every day when I picked her up from school, she had mastered a new skill.

One day, when she was probably six and a half months old, Margot’s teacher handed her to me over the fence and told me she had started using a cup.

“A what?” I asked, looking down at my daughter’s tiny, sausage-roll fingers.

“A cup,” the teacher repeated, in her teacher voice.

She told me that they had been giving Margot the cup for a few days, and that she was pretty proficient in it. She said that I should start giving Margot water in a cup (shot-glass-sized, preferably glass) with breakfast and dinner. I was incredulous. My daughter was pretty sloppy at nursing, which is literally the only thing she has been able to do since birth. No way she could use a cup.

But low and behold, that night, I threw her in her high-chair, handed her a shot glass full of water, and watched as she guzzled it down. When she was done, she gave me an almost “I-told-you-so” look and happily slammed the cup (but didn’t break it!) back onto her tray.

I was officially sold.

For the past three years, we have been trying our darndest to do at home as Margot’s teachers do at school. I have been so inspired by the work that her teachers do everyday, as well as the way kids respond to it, and am definitely a Montessori convert. However, there are some things that four teachers can do in a controlled classroom environment, that I can’t.

Thus, I give you “Montessori(ish),” which I like to think of as the “real mom’s guide” to doing Montessori the best you can, while hopefully allowing you to retain most of your sanity along the way.

I hope to touch on a few of my favorite topics, including toilet awareness, potty training (yes those are two separate things!), home life, self-feeding, and some of the academic stuff Margot and I are working right now in the midst of this wild Covid-19 home school adventure.

I’ll be starting next week with a little post on toilet awareness, so be sure to tune in if you have an under-two year old you want to prep for adventures in potty training.

Thanks for reading and let me know in the comments if you have a Montessori school or teacher you love too!

Toddler Sleep Training & Transitioning to a Toddler Bed