Montessori Monday: Practical Life and a Little Botany

:: Growing sweet potatoes and avocado seeds. Didn't you love growing sweet potatoes as a kid? It's a great way for kids to learn about roots and these two seeds are supposed to be wonderful for kids because their growth is dramatic. Though I have to say, this is my first time with an avocado seed, and so far...nothing.

My kids love to check out the bottoms to scan signs of new roots. And Koko gets to change her sweet potato's water everyday. I don't think I am ready for my toddler to do that yet, but I suppose with supervision, she could.


:: Putting clothespins around the top. It would be ideal to have a container that matches the left. So, I should look for a round plate versus a heart, but whatever. This pincer-grasp activity is too hard for Cheeky, but a little too easy for Koko. Maybe good for a two and a half or three year old?


:: Clips are a bit too hard for Koko. But maybe your child has stronger fingers!

:: Swishing and spitting out water in your mouth in preparation for tooth-brushing. I started with a cup and a bucket or bag-ga-gee, but now that Cheeky has mastered swishing and spitting, we sometimes just use the other cup. I like this because she can't quite reach the sink on our bathroom step stool and this eliminates a lot of potential messes. And since toddlers swallow a lot of the water especially in the beginning, I would use filtered water.

:: I found this salt shaker for a few cents at a thrift store. All you do is put a toothpick inside one of those holes. There's a cool variation of this activity in Chasing Cheerios. This is great for a almost two year old and my almost four year old likes it, too. The only thing is that it is hard to grab one toothpick. A toothpick dispenser might be a good idea.

Make sure you check Shannon's Montessori Monday. Would any of you like to join us and post some of your Montessori-inspired posts? Just post your link on Shannon's comments.