busy mom montessori

 For a couple weeks I tried to give Clark a different kind of water play sensory set up every day, but I kind of gave up. For example, I did reusable ice cubes in the water and gave him a second bin to put them in. I did duplos. I did frogs inside of soap foam. I think the frog one was the last one I did. Clark did not like that one. He acted super distressed that each frog was soapy and wanted to tell me all about it every time he found one. He also disliked digging them out of the soap. And then, in general, he didn't spend as much time with the bins as I hoped he would. Though that's not completely true since a couple days I think I got 20 minutes out of it. I had a realization during this process that he needs to eat at 2 every afternoon, and usually these activities were bumping into that time and that's largely why he would get unsettled and listless. So basically, I want to try again but starting as soon after 12 o'clock lunch as possible.

Seriously, this is my biggest hang up. I'd like every daily habit to go in the same order for Clark every day, but I don't want to brush teeth until after we eat, and then I always forget. I guess as I am writing this, now I see that it is very clear that the event teeth brushing can be connected to is the end of breakfast. Seems simple enough. I will try that out. Seriously though, I feel like no matter how much I may be able to figure out an order for everything else, tooth brushing always throws me off enough that everything else feels like it can't be in order either. That was, until I realized that tooth brushing was the only problem. After I realized that, everything else didn't seem like such a nebulous blob of confusion. Am I the only one who gets caught up in things like this?

There are certain things that I have tried to hack as a mom that I am realizing I simply have to put more work into. For example, toilet learning. I did early potty training with Clark in hopes that he would start taking care of it himself soon. I have been realizing that if I want him to get into the habit of using the potty, I have to be more disciplined before he will be. I have to get up and take him when I know it is time to go. I have to believe that he has to go when he is showing signals even if it is inconvenient and I would be disappointed if nothing ended up coming out. If I am expecting him to change his habits to something less convenient for him, I have to change my habits to something less convenient for me. On the other hand, with feeding Clark. I have tried to set out lots of snacks for him to eat. But I'm realizing that that results in him eating tiny amounts at a time and being perpetually hungry to the point where he can't get into flow with any work. And wi

As many parents I think, we have had a rocky transition from mostly breastmilk to all solid foods. Part of the reason I didn't emphasize solid food with Clark until about 18 months was because breastfeeding was so convenient! I could do it while working, I didn't have to prepare anything. I could do it while looking at my phone. Then Clark started digging things out of the fridge constantly, showing us that he was hungry for solid food, and I had to start catching up with him. And it is not until now, almost 5 months later, that I have started to pay attention to exactly how often Clark is hungry. He is hungry about every half hour! I wanted him to have access to a bunch of food on his own, because that seemed more convenient to me, and indeed, after I put a bunch of food in his cupboards and in a bin in the fridge, he was MUCH less whiny and played independently much more. This made me feel like a terrible mom for letting my baby go hungry so often. However, as we have continu

I still have so much anxiety (ok, not really but it's really bothering me) about how to set up Clark's play room correctly. The main thing is figuring out how to create a water source where can get water without it forming in a pool that he can dump things in. I think once I do that I will feel calmer. It is on my list for this week, along with many other things that I have barely gotten too.  Edit: I forgot that the other problem I am having is that Clark likes to eat and work at my desk by standing at the stool from his table. I don't like this because sometimes he falls off the stool and gets hurt, and sometimes he turns my monitor off. So I moved his table to the wall where I had only shelves previously. But I put it in the middle of the shelves. And he does better with eating at it, but he still comes and works at my desk. I wonder if it was right next to my desk if he would do even better. But if it was right next to my desk, it would block off his dresser, which is u

To be honest, I have no idea what I am talking about here, but I have a referral for you all. On Janet Lansbury's Respectful Parenting podcast, she recently had a guest expert on bias. The expert's name is Jennifer Eberhardt and she is the author of the best-selling book Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do and a professor at Stanford University. (diverse peg people from Lake Michigan Baby on Etsy) Jennifer and Janet "discuss how racial bias develops in the brain and creates disparities in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and the criminal justice system. As the mother of three sons, Jennifer has also witnessed the effects of bias in real time. She and Janet explore some of the steps parents can take to combat the development of bias in their children. “Preschoolers are picking this up and determining who’s a good person, who’s a bad person… They need our help in comprehending what’s going on around them and helping them to