You are Your Child's First Teacher

You are Your Child's First Teacher: What Parents Can Do with and for Their Children from Birth to Age Six, 3rd edition
by Rahima Bladwin Dancy
322 pp., Ten Speed Press, 2012

Somehow, when I starting my "Parenting Book" challenge - I didn't realize how much I would get out of each book. I know, that sounds absurd - why else would I read books except if I thought they were worth reading. But I didn't realize how intriguing and valuable the information would turn out to be.

The book I've been reading - for quite some time now - is "You Are Your Child's First Teacher" by Rahima Baldwin Dancy. I bought it thinking it would be another perspective to help me understand some of the educational philosophies I was interested in, such as Waldorf and Montessori, and it was, but it is also so much more. Every chapter has references to even more books to read - help me now!

Some of the ideas were perhaps a little out there for me, but in general, it really clicked!

My takeaways from the book:
1. Let your child be a child! Keep it unstructured until they are more mature.
2. Pay attention to your own emotions - the environment we create emotionally is of utmost importance.
3. Work toward a daily rhythm that works for the whole family.
4. Allow plenty of time for creative free play as well as musical and artistic play.
5. It's OK to have unstructured play time - good, in fact!
6. Limit over stimulation - read Simplicity Parenting (check) and Failure to Connect (on the list!)
7. Encourage the use of childlike toys that encourage imaginative play.
8. The keys to discipline are imitation and repetition - set limits and enforce them consistently.
9. Bring up your child in a warm, loving environment, this is the best thing we can do.
10. Love your child - they have a basic goodness that we should celebrate, enjoy it now!

There is so much more to this book - it goes in depth into so many ideas, down to the detail of toys and books that might be good for your child. I will definitely keep it as a reference - there are so many great ideas and suggestions. 4/5 stars!

Teach Me to Do it Myself ~ Book Review

Teach Me to Do It Myself: Montessori Activities for You and Your Child
By Maja Pitamic
176 pp. Barron’s

After reading some rather dense Montessori books, I was excited to delve into "Teach Me to Do It Myself." It's nicely illustrated, clear, concise and goes step-by-step into a multitude of Montessori Method activities that you can use for toddlers and pre-schoolers. If you want to actually try some activities that are pretty inexpensive, this is a great place to start.

The book starts with a brief introduction to Montessori and discussed how to use the book. Then it delves right into activities into the following five different areas:

• Life Skills 
• Developing the Senses
• Language Development
• Numeracy Skills 
• Science Skills

I have not been able to try too many of the activities quite yet, as my son is still on the young side. One thing that would help the book is suggested ages for activities.

We've tried a few, but it's hard to really tell which ones would be most appropriate. I do like the way that the book has simple activities that are clearly explained. We've been working on "Washing Hands," "Cleaning Teeth," and "Introducing Textural Opposites." All of which are age appropriate for a just turned 2 year old!

If you are interested in trying Montessori activities at home for kids up to age 5, I highly recommend Teach Me to Do It Myself: Montessori Activities for You and Your Child! Worth the investment.

Montessori from the Start

I checked out the book "Montessori From the Start" from the library. Then I had to renew it, and renew it again. This book is so dense with great ideas that it takes time to process. If I could go back in time, I'd buy this one, not borrow it, so that I had it as a great reference. I still might go buy it!

It is full, almost too full, with ideas. It sometimes gets a little off-putting, the way they present the information - it presents information as if there is only one way to do things. But if you get past the tone and see it for the great ideas that it includes, it's a treasure of ideas.

Everything from how to set up the best home environment for learning, potty training, language acquisition to developing personal will. I've already instituted many ideas from the book and love the sense of calm and order that it encourages. He loves "helping" mom and dad with real work!

I do wish that I had started reading it when A was an infant. It is for children age 0-3 and A is now almost two. I feel like I'm already behind! But I still feel like there were tons and tons of great ideas. There just needs to be better organization of the ideas so I can go back and find them again! Definitely worth a read - and an add to the collection.

The Little Person in my House

After reading all these fascinating books about Montessori and early child education - one thing that jumped out at me is making things more accessible for the little person in the house!

For example, A is very good a putting away mom and dad's shoes and is happy to help throw things away when need be - both tasks which are entirely reachable by a very small person. So it got me thinking about what I could do that he could actually feel helpful doing, that he could learn to do and that I had not been allowing him to do by keeping elements out of his reach.

First task - Relocate his shoes! A now has his very own shoe shelf with Mom and Dad. he is so excited to get his own shoes. Now we must work on him getting them on. He can sometimes, but not consistently!

Second task: Relocate his bowls, dishes, cups to a low drawer. Before I kept the tupperware down low so he could play with them. But now I put his dishes down low. Now in the morning I ask him to get me a bowl, plate etc. from the drawer and he is so excited to do so!

Third task: Allow him to help prepare food. This week he helped me cut the banana with his very own ikea knife. He watched me do it and then he tried himself. He was hungry so it didn't last too long, but I could tell he felt very accomplished :) I couldn't take a picture of this since I'm not letting him alone with the knife just yet!

He also loves helping put things, like the dirty laundry, "away!"

A few little things made him so happy - and I can see the little wheels spinning in his head! Have you done anything to make it easier for the little people to help around the house?

How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way

I have been looking into different educational philosophies and choices for A. I know that A is still very young, but I also know that time goes by so quickly! I bought "How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way" last week and have already finished it.

This book is clear, concise (exactly how my 12th grade English teacher told me to write) and has beautiful photographs to illustrate. For a beginner, like me, this book really gives you a sense of what Montessori is all about. It also gives you first steps on how to immediately incorporate Montessori principles in your home.

The ideas presented here really resonated with me - so much so that I am planning on going to the library and looking a little more in depth. This is a great introductory book - it makes everything understandable and achievable. It whets the appetite for more. I love, love, love the ideas about creating a more child friendly home - letting the child really be a part of the home by giving him the tools to work and play beside you. Even if that's as far as I go, I inend to incorporate those ideas right away.

I am truly amazed at how quickly A learns - and reading Maria Montessori's philosophy on children's learning really made sense to me. I definitely plan on reading more (since that's how I learn!), but also wanted to get your advice. I'm really excited to learn more. Anyone tried Montessori principles? Schools? Other educational philosophies to look into? Thanks!