Adventures with Swiper

This is the first infant I've had while implementing the Montessori method in our home. I figured I'd just show a little bit of how we implement it with Swiper. Right now he is 14 months old. These pictures were taken within the last 4 months.

Swiper knows how to:

Fix a lawnmower!

And pour water on himself!

Actually, I just thought those were cute pictures but man, look at the concentration!

Ok, so here are some of the real ways I try to incorporate the Montessori philosophy in our home.

Practical Living:

We have a small broom that he loves to play with. Anytime one of us is sweeping, he will pull this out. And if someone is using it, he will pull out the small hand held one in the cabinet behind him. He just brushes it back and forth across the floor briskly!

Eating:

Here is his current setup for eating. The chair is 6 inches off the ground and the table is 12 inches high. When he wants to sit down he gets in front of the chair and then backs into it. I have to help him push it up to the table. Each morning for breakfast I serve him his food on his plate (we now use a ceramic one, not the plastic one pictured), which he retrieves from a shelf on another wall. I hand him his plate and he walks with it to the table. We also now use a placemat which is not pictured. I pour his milk for him and I set it on the table for him. I have let him pour his own milk from a very small creamer into his glass a few times. I  need to do that again. I just got away from it for some reason...in a hurry probably :(.

Sometimes he uses his fork and sometimes he doesn't.

Here is his little glass. I got this from Montessori Services. He's using one hand...

Ok, now he needs both hands. Please note the outlet clearly reachable and visible to him...lol. It is now covered, don't worry!

Drinking! Success! Little bit of milk spilled on the table. Also, he should have a bib but I don't use one. I just don't have any. Actually I have one but he doesn't like it on. I usually set a napkin on the table for him. I need to make a spot on his shelf so he can grab his own napkin.

This is pretty much the norm right now. He drinks most of it and then pours some onto his plate to explore.

And yes, he still eats the food that is floating in the milk. Sometimes, most times, he takes some of the egg and puts it into his milk glass and then drinks the milk. Knocking out two birds with one stone.

Yum, milky sausage and eggs. Eating with his hands all while still holding the fork. Love it. Oh there's a napkin. I must have set that there. If I put a napkin in front of him, he automatically starts swiping it back and forth across the table. I never showed him how to do that. He just started doing that in the classroom with a rag that was on the table. He does that anytime there is a napkin, towel, rag, whatever on a table. He must have seen someone do it during class.

Here is another eating session. He is able to use the spoon when food is "sticky". 

Feeding the Montessori way, is such a disaster. It has really aided me in becoming more patient. It helps to be prepared also. I always have a towel handy to catch him if he decides he's done and tries to walk off! When he starts walking away from the table, I lead him to the bathroom while telling him we need to wash our hands. He is good about following me on his own, but occasionally he thinks I meant to say " I'm gonna get you!" and proceeds to smile while running in the opposite direction! 

I love his yogurt beard! He did this all on his own. Nice!

Playing/Fine Motor:

Swiper loves this thing. He always giggles when they pop out. There are little springs at the bottom of each hole. He knows how to push them down while letting his finger slide off the side so the pegs spring up and out of the block.

He got it eventually. He only ever puts one in and then pops it back out. I try to show him how to put all 4 in but he can only concentrate on one at a time I guess. I'm sure there is some explanation for that but I am not trained. 

 Around the home:

Other than his little chair and table in the dinning area, this is the only other toddler sized piece of furniture we have. I got this chair at Walmart. It is perfect for him. We have a sitting area on our deck so I thought it would be nice if he had a place to sit as well. Not that he sits much but once in a while he crawls into this. I really want to get a little leather chair for the living area. One day!

I found this list of blogs helpful and stole lots of ideas from these moms when setting up our areas. I'll post more on each area at a later time. Hopefully before he enters primary!