“Learning to use the toilet is a natural process that begins when your child’s desire to be grown up and his neurological development have reached the point where he can control his bladder and bowels. We don’t train children to use the toilet, we support them when they are ready.” (How to Raise an Amazing Child: The Montessori way to bring up caring confident children, by Tim Seldin)

With summer being just around the corner, we have received a few questions about toilet learning. Here are some Montessori tips:

-Once the child is showing interest in using the toilet, the bathroom can be set up to give the child as much independence as possible. Keeping a supply of dry clothes in the bathroom is convenient. Consider a stool so that the child can reach both the toilet and sink. Rags for cleaning up can be helpful.

When a child has involvement in the process, the child has ownership of the process too, not the adult.

-Incorporate using the toilet into the child’s routine. Invite them to sit on the toilet upon waking, before going out, after lunch, etc. 

-Choose clothing that supports independence.  Clothing needs to be easy to put on and take off. Bottoms need to be loose-fitting to make it easier to independently pull up and push down (i.e., no skinny jeans). Elastic waistbands are great.  Your toddler also needs to be able to remove clothes quickly to make it to the toilet in time. It can be difficult to push clothes down quickly if they are too small/tight or if there are buttons, snaps, or buckles to undo first. 

–Because children are in control of whether or not they use the toilet, the language you use with your child is very important. The goal is to empower them and their growing desire for independence without starting a power struggle or inadvertently causing feelings of shame or failure.

When they don’t make it in time…
If a child becomes wet, stay calm and reassuring. For example, you might say, “I see you are wet. Let’s go get some dry clothes.”  Your child can get them from the supply in the bathroom and even help wipe the floor and wash their hands. Let them change at their own pace and provide help if they ask or if they are overwhelmed.

It is important to create a supportive, respectful environment that encourages your child’s natural progression toward toilet independence. We are always happy to answer questions or offer guidance with toileting.

Highlights from our week:

The caterpillars have started to form chrysalises. The children have been very excited to observe the changes. We can’t wait to see what will happen next!

We explored kiwi this week as our Food Tasting experience. It was well-received!

We’ve been learning the names of birds and insects.

We celebrated a friend’s 2nd birthday and read one of his favorite books, Dragons Love Tacos. Then we shared a special birthday snack of Milano cookies. 

It was a great week! Enjoy the weekend with your families. 

-Christine & Lizette

It has been an exciting week as we have welcomed 5 painted lady caterpillars into the classroom. The children have been eager to check on their progress each day. Caterpillars are voracious eaters and have grown significantly since they arrived in their cup, complete with food. The caterpillars will molt several times before they’re fully grown and ready to form chrysalises. Painted lady caterpillars spin silk to help support and protect themselves. They will hang upside down in a “J” shape when they’re ready to pupate or form a chrysalis. Then, we will wait for the butterflies to emerge! We are so excited in anticipation of this incredible metamorphosis! 

We shared a familiar vegetable this week for our Food Tasting experience. It has dark green skin on the outside, it’s whitish green on the inside, and it has seeds that we can eat. We can peel this vegetable or eat it with its skin. It grows in a garden, and it’s crunchy. Did you guess cucumber? Nearly all the children enjoyed it and asked for more.

Heartfelt thanks to all of you and your children for the special drawings, cards, flowers, and treats this week. We are so grateful. Your thoughtfulness truly made us feel appreciated. Thank you!

Wishing all the moms a Happy Mother’s Day. We hope you all enjoy the weekend. 

Friendship development in toddlers is an intriguing process, marked by significant milestones and stages. Here’s a breakdown of how it typically unfolds:

In the early stages, toddlers engage in parallel play, where they play alongside each other without much interaction. They may observe each other’s activities but don’t actively engage together.

As toddlers grow, they start to engage in associative play, where they begin to interact with each other during playtime. They may share toys, take turns, or mimic each other’s actions.

As children mature and develop social skills, they start to engage in cooperative play, where they interact with peers to achieve common goals or participate in group activities. This stage encourages collaboration, communication, negotiation, and empathy.

These stages of play are not strictly sequential, and children may engage in multiple stages simultaneously or move back and forth between them based on their interests and developmental needs. In a Montessori classroom, the environment is carefully prepared to support and facilitate each stage of play, allowing children to learn and grow at their own pace.

It has been exciting to witness the blossoming of friendships among the children both in the classroom and on the playground. 

This week, we learned about white button mushrooms. If you ask your children where they grow, they will probably tell you, “in the dark, in the dirt.” They may also tell you that their teachers both love mushroom pizza! We examined the stem and the cap, and the children enjoyed taking a closer look using a magnifying glass. Not everybody was willing to try a piece of mushroom, but we kept offering – we engaged in our food-tasting lesson all week long! The class was fascinated by the mushrooms and truly enjoyed exploring them.

Looking forward to an exciting week ahead! Christine & Lizette

The highlight of the week was Grandparents and Special Friends Day. We saw true joy on the children’s faces as they showed their loved ones around the classroom. Thank you all for coming and taking an interest and spending some special time with your beloved toddlers. 

We also celebrated a friend’s birthday this week. This birthday was a little different, as he was the first to turn three years old! We enjoyed doughnut holes as we listened to Happy Birthday by the Ting Tings and read a book about a dinosaur who played baseball. The children’s favorite part of celebrating their friends’ birthdays is to look at their baby photos. It is truly heartwarming to see them take such an interest.

In celebration of Earth Day this week,  we delved into discussions about our precious planet and the importance of taking care of it. We emphasized the significance of properly disposing of trash in either the garbage or recycling bins. The children had the opportunity to paint Earth using blue and green paint, which represented water and land. 

We’ve been exploring fascinating African wildlife, including zebras, giraffes, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, elephants, and more. Our learning journey has involved reading books, visual matching activities, puzzles, and, of course, vocabulary enrichment. 

We tasted both black and green olives this week. A handful of the children could not get enough of the green ones; a few seemed to like the black, and another group did not appear to be fond of either type. There are hundreds of different types of olives, so we encouraged the children to try others at home. We discussed olive oil, as the connection was brought up by one of the children. 

Enjoy the weekend! Christine & Lizette

 

This week, many of our discussions revolved around instilling a deep respect for books. We have placed a few regular books onto the bookshelf, (as opposed to board books) and have discussed the importance of caring for them tenderly. As always, we’d love it if this could be reinforced at home. 

In addition to books, your children love music! As soon as we finish singing one song, their symphony of “more, more, more” begins. I will attach one of their recent favorites, called These Are My Glasses, by Laurie Berkner. The children love to open and close their imaginary book.

Additionally, we’ve delved into the world of yoga, exploring various poses together, fostering mindfulness and relaxation.

The children explored the versatility of chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. They eagerly embraced the experience, delighting in the chance to spread hummus onto pita bread. 

We all enjoyed the rejuvenating spring weather this week on the playground. We took a walk and found buds growing on trees, as we discussed the change of seasons. 

We are looking forward to the week ahead! Christine & Lizette

We celebrated another birthday this week! This time we shared a special snack of delicious chocolate chip cookies and read one of the birthday girl’s favorite books, Little Blue Truck’s Springtime,  which the children have continued to enjoy all week long. It was a lovely celebration for our sweet friend. 

Food tasting was a huge hit this week. We tried golden berries. Golden berries belong to the nightshade family and are native to Chile and Peru. They are closely related to the tomatillo with a sweet, tropical taste somewhat reminiscent of pineapple and mango. I was trying this fruit for the first time along with many of the children, which was exciting. Such an interesting fruit with an impressive nutrient profile!

We continue to encourage the children to “catch” their cough with their elbow. We’d love your help to encourage this at home as well. We also walk each child through the steps of washing their hands at the sink. First, they roll up their sleeves (most need help with this). Then, they place one hand under the soap pump, and the other hand pushes the pump. We tell them that their hands will share the soap, and we show them how to rub their palms together and look for the bubbles, then show them how to rub the tops of each hand. As we show them how to rinse, we mention that we are cleaning some of the germs off our hands. Then, we show them how to use a towel to dry each hand. 

Wishing you all a happy weekend! 

Christine & Lizette

Welcome back! It was exciting for all of us to reunite this week. The children quickly settled right back into our classroom routines. We celebrated Margot’s 2nd birthday this week. She counted two votive candles, and we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her as we played our music box. She shared one of her favorite books, The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear, which captivated the whole group! Then we had a special snack of blueberry scones. The children especially loved looking at Margot’s baby pictures. It was a lovely celebration! We’re looking forward to celebrating a few more birthdays soon!

Just before break, we tasted Irish soda bread. The children were given a lesson on spreading butter. They loved the bread, and they loved being able to spread their own butter! An activity such as spreading butter requires a unique rotation of the wrist, which is necessary for learning to write. Spreading requires strength, coordination, and the use of the support hand. It is also very satisfying for young children to participate in preparing their own snacks. The next time you are preparing a snack for your child at home, think about how they can participate. They are so capable! Some ideas for spreading are spreading avocado onto toast, jam or cream cheese on a bagel or rice cake, hummus onto pita, and sun butter onto apple slices or celery. 

This week, we tasted Brussels sprouts. I’d say it was a 50/50 split. Definitely worth trying again at home. There are so many interesting and delicious recipes that surely did not exist when I was a child!

I wholeheartedly thank you all for all that you do for us. Thank you for showing up each week with food for our food-tasting experience and flowers for the children to arrange. Thank you for sharing in the task of doing laundry. I appreciate all of you!

Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

Warmly,

Christine & Lizette