I have been researching a lot about the Montessori life, and I keep hearing from Joyce how much Pierce would thrive in that setting (she used to teach in a Montessori). I still have not totally grasped all of the principles of Montessori, but it does involve giving your children plenty of things to do at their height that allow them to learn about what interests them (and if I am wrong, please correct me). I also decided that I could not tolerate anymore plastic in their playroom, and I was sick of having to put batteries in things just so they work. I want them to use their amazing imaginations, and well, I overhauled the playroom. To my surprise, both boys are much happier with the simpler things. And they both have really kicked up on their imaginations again.
Now that I am done giving you the background, here are a few projects that we did this week.
1. Hexi Cards: I found them here: http://handsonaswegrow.com/hexi-cards-download-print-and-play/
These are absolutely amazing, with the possibilities being endless. Instead of printing mine on card stock, I printed them on regular paper, and then adhered them to a roll of magnet I had purchased through Amazon awhile back. Each of the boys have their own set, and their own magnetic board. To be honest, Carter has only touched them for a total of 5 minutes or so. Pierce, however, is very busy making patterns, matching colors, etc. These are a big hit for him, and I am sure that Carter will grow into them as well.
2. Geo board: I found a random bag of elastics in the house, and I remember playing with a Geo board as a child. I loved it. Since we live with a carpenter, there is always scrap wood in the basement, and always a box of nails. I did not make anything fancy, just in case the boys did not understand it yet. I just hammered a bunch of nails into a plain piece of wood, and set some elastics next to it. When they woke up from their nap, they were both very intrigued with it. Pierce got to work putting elastics around a couple of pegs, while Carter just practiced the fine motor skill of picking an elastic up and placing it over one nail. Eventually it grew into making shapes, and they have honestly used this everyday since I made it (5 days ago). Carter is now understanding that he can stretch the elastic over the other nails as well.
3. Packing Peanuts: This activity was completely discovered by accident. We have had a bag sitting in our basement for awhile, and I went to move something but the bag fell and spilled all over the floor. Immediately, both boys went over and started exploring what they were. I ended up putting them in a box, and they went to town in their new sensory box. They had a blast crunching them up, scooping them, and describing the peanuts to me. I pushed it a little further, and had them both guess what would fall faster; a marble or packing peanut. Pierce took off with that idea, and had Carter guessing. Pierce is starting to understand the concept, and I totally do not expect Carter to understand. He just had fun playing with something new.
4. Water Pouring: Again, with the Montessori value of teaching independence, I gave Pierce a bottle of water and a few cups. I had him practice pouring the water into the cups, and seeing what would happen. Then I sat down and observed what he was doing. He was so intent to not make a mess, that he used the most amount of caution I have seen in awhile. When he ran out of water (a mess was inevitable), instead of asking me for more, he just got up and went to the sink to refill the water bottle. Awesome! Carter did not partake in this activity, since Pierce did this while Carter was napping. We will certainly be working on this all summer.
5. Clean the House: Pierce helped me while Carter napped (can you tell Pierce has almost outgrown naps?), and he volunteered to help me dust, vacuum, and clean up the kitchen. Not only did he volunteer, he did a fantastic job and loved it. I loved it, since the house was cleaned in half the time it normally takes (win!). He also took the opportunity to talk to me about the weather, what he wants to be when he grows up, and why this week has been "awesome."
6. Strawberry Picking: This was a random idea that one of my good friends and I came up with for our boys to get together. To say the least, it was very comical. One of the boys was sampling the strawberries and putting the other half in the containers, Pierce just wanted to go across the street to the animals, and the two youngest ones just like racing each other up and down the walkways. Yes, we all had fun and we have already consumed half of our strawberries (we just went last night). However, I think that berry picking may be an awesome excuse for a mommy time out in the future. :)
7. Ice Excavations: Channeling energy is a fantastic thing. I had heard about people taking items in hiding them in ice cubes. I decided to push it a bit farther, and made blocks of ice with various letters and numbers hidden on the inside. While I had made one for Carter, and one for Pierce, Carter decided he would just rather eat the ice that Pierce was breaking apart for him. So, I gave Pierce a hammer and told him to go to town excavating his ice. When he found a letter or number, he had to identify it in order to move on to the next piece. We will do this activity again as well...and in the mean time, I think I need to find some smaller hammers.
The rest of the stuff we did this week was the usual stuff; bike riding at the park, going to the gym, playing with friends. However, I did eliminate some of the adult stuff from their week, which may have helped their moods. I went grocery shopping after work on Wednesday night, instead of dragging them to the grocery store. Yes, it made it a long night for me, but the boys were very happy they did not have to go. On the plus side, with me going at 11 pm, there was really nobody else in the store, and I was in and out within 30 minutes. I also spent less, since I didn't have a preschooler and toddler putting things in the cart. :)
I'm looking forward to another fun week ahead with the boys. They are looking forward to it as well, since they know there are a couple of very special friends they are going to be spending another afternoon with. I am not sure what I am going to do for activities for the next week, but I am sure I will figure something out. And I can always leave it up to the boys to think of things as well. You never know what they are going to come up with, and they never cease to amaze me. What is everyone else thinking for next week?
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