We Have A Crawler!

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This past week Parker had been working really hard on learning how to crawl.  She had the arms and the legs figured out on their own but couldn't quite put them together.  It made for a long week because she would get so frustrated which made her extra fussy.  But over the weekend it finally clicked and now she is crawling everywhere.  What made it extra special was that my sister and brother-in-law were in town and got to be here to see her crawl for the first time!

She is so much happier now but boy am I going to have my hands full! : )

Toddler Table Washing

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This morning while I was nursing Parker, Avery made a bit of a mess at her art table.  She ended up taking the inside ink tube of a marker out and then getting blue ink all over herself and her table.  Without even thinking I helped her clean herself up and then I cleaned up her table.  As I was cleaning the table, it dawned on me...why not have her clean her table herself?  While I don't think she is ready for the all out out table scrubbing work, I did remember another version of table washing we did when I was an aide in a Montessori classroom.  It involved shaving cream, a sponge, a towel, and a bowl of water.  So, when Parker went down for her morning nap, I scraped my tot school plans and Avery and I got to work!


First, we covered the table with shaving cream and Avery spread it all around (and then played for a while of course).  She was a little hesitant at first, which totally surprised me cause she usually loves shaving cream.

But then she got into it!

Once the table was good and covered, it was time to wipe it up with the sponge.  She would wipe the length of the table with the sponge and then rinse it out in the bowl of water.  Then she would wring it out before wiping the table again.

When all (or almost all) of the shaving cream was gone, it was time to wipe the table dry with the towel.

And then we had a nice clean table!

Avery is 31 months old

No Time For Flashcards

Infant Treasure Baskets

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Avery loves her sensory tubs so much I decided we needed to do something similar for Parker.  While looking around the web I learned about infant treasure baskets.  It was exactly what I was looking for!  


Treasure baskets are usually geared toward 6 to 18 month old babies.  The objects should be small enough for them to pick up but large enough to not be a choking hazard (however, I still make sure that we only play with ours when an adult is watching and keeping an eye on her).  Objects in the basket can be random or based on a theme or category.  Treasure baskets are great for promoting independence and curiosity while also developing focus and concentration.  They also allow the infant to use there senses to learn about new objects.


So far we have done 2 different treasure baskets for Parker.  The first one we did was things that were shiny!  She loved it!  The first time I put her down with it she played with it for 40 minutes straight and then she only stopped because it was time to eat and I put it away!  We kept it out for about 3 weeks and it always did a great job at keeping her interest!

It contains:  measuring spoons, shiny tissue paper, scoop, CD, mirror, napkin rings, bead necklace, toy metal pot, metal desk organizer cup, and tea infuser

Our newest one contains things that are made from wood.

It contains: a wooden bowl, a couple massagers, a wooden bracelet with ribbons attached, a giant clothes pin, a picture frame, a block, a puzzle piece, and a bracelet of wooden beads




If you are looking for more great ideas for infant treasure baskets, take a look at these posts:

From How We Montessori

From The Imagination Tree

And another from The Imagination Tree

From Confessions of a Montessori Mom

From Little Acorns to Mighty Oaks

From The Learning Ark

From Sew Liberated

From Chasing Cheerios


Linking up to:

No Time For Flashcards

Tot Trays- Easter

Pin It Now! Along with a break from blogging, we took a bit of a break from Tot School, too.  However, a couple weeks ago we started back up and Avery has been loving it.  Here are our trays from last week when we talked about Easter and eggs.

Tonging and sorting eggs (got this idea from Mama of Many Blessings)

Putting eggs together and into egg carton

Pouring beads into 3 containers (not really an Easter work but she loved it so much the week before we left it out)

Spooning Eggs (got this idea from Playing House)

Eraser matching (another one from Playing House)

Egg topped sticks into the holes of the parmesan cheese shaker

I don't have photos of it but Avery also practiced peeling hard boiled eggs.  She loved doing that!

Hello Again!

Pin It Now! It has been so long since I've gotten around to updating the blog and boy have things changed!  I'm not even sure where to begin!

Avery is at such a fun (and challenging age)!  She has tons of energy and is always running around or talking our ears off.  She loves doing artwork, helping me in the kitchen (still love our learning tower, gets used almost daily), and playing outside.  She has learned so much at school this year and I love hearing her come home speaking and singing in French (she goes to a French immersion school 2 mornings a week). She loves her baby sister and is always tying to make her laugh.

Parker is now 8 months old and is developing such a personality!  She is such a happy baby but is also a total mama's girl.  She adores her sister and is constantly laughing at everything Avery does.  It's so much fun to watch them interact and I know it's only going to get better!  Sleep is going well, she goes down around 7 to 7:30, wakes once for a quick feeding and sleeps to about 7 in the morning.  She is taking 2 naps a day, one at around 10 and the other around 2.  The hardest part right now is that it seems like someone is always either eating or sleeping, so it makes it hard to get out of the house and go do stuff.  Luckily we have a great back yard and have been playing outside a lot lately.

I am hoping (fingers crossed) that I will be able (and motivated) to write more blog posts!