Toddler Self Hygiene - Montessori Style

I'm always on the look out for ways to have my kids learn independence, responsibility and self hygiene.

Mandala Painting on Canvas with Montessori Students

Towel Hooks vs Towel Bars

Keeping bathrooms tidy is a chore. Have you ever tried to teach a three year old to fold their towel over the towel bar when they are done with their bath? And if you have, is it hanging evenly? Folded in thirds? or at least in half? Forget the three year old, how 'bout your husband? Can he put the towels over the bar? I'm really good at putting the blame on everyone else and not mentioning my own pile of towels that seemed to gravitate to the floor.

Vase with Flowers - School Auction Project - Part 2

Vase with Flowers (continued from Part One)

Suction Cup Tooth Brush Holder

My kids bathroom can get cluttered real easy, real fast. Between the tubes of toothpaste they neglect to put away and the bowls of water filled with rubber type animals that promise to increase their size by 600%, space becomes minimized. In search of a suction cup toothbrush holder at Target, I came across a couple suction cup razor holders. Stuck to the medicine cabinet, it holds both the toothbrush and flosser, clearing up the counter for more important experiments. Another bonus is that keeping the kids' toothbrushes separate will cut down on the sharing of germs.

School Auction Art Project - Vase with Flowers - Part 1

Every year my children's school holds a huge fundraising auction. As room mother this year, I am in charge of organizing a fine art project to be made by kids ages 3-6. Flipping through magazines I came across a couple inspirational paintings. "Vase with Flowers" by Picasso and an unknown artist from the August Family Circle Magazine.

I am making this project with my own kids in addition to making it with the thirty kids in my daughter's class at school. I figured that if I didn't have my own to keep, I'd end up spending an insane amount of money buying the one I'm making for the auction. The piece for the auction is going to be 4' x 4'. Our home piece is 2' x 4'.

Our home project has 13 flowers, one for each year of each kids' life (including the 9 months of pregnancy). The school project has 30 flowers, one for each student. Each flower is hand cut out of mdf using a jigsaw. All the wood in this project was primed with two coats of primer.

The center circles are mdf of various sizes bought from Michaels Craft store. Each flower and circle is painted using craft paint with a couple colors lightly mixed together in a baby food jar in the attempt that each flower has a bit of two tone color marbling (if the little artist didn't mix it up too much).

For my drying rack, I stuck toothpicks into a box. Looks a bit like a mid-evil torchure device. After two coats and drying time, I brushed two coats of water based polyurethane over the top and sides.

I drilled one hole in the middle of each flower to fit a flat headed bolt. Next I laid each circle on it's matching flower and drilled eight smaller holes through both circle and flower. Using colored jewelry wire, I 'sewed' the circle to the flower after placing the bolt through the larger hole.

The vase was cut out of 1/4 inch mdf. I made a sample out of paper to practice with shape and size. I cut the vase out twice, leaving the center and top hollow in the second. Both were glued together using wood glue.

I cut out approximately one inch green square pieces out of magazines and the kids and I mod podged them onto the vase, wrapped the edges around to the back.

I haven't cut the vase out for the school project yet, but I plan to make it the same size as the one for our home project.

The "canvas" is actually a piece of birch plywood that Home Depot cut to size. I taped off 1/3 up from the bottom and had the little artists sponge a golden mustard color to the top 2/3rds and a grey teal to the bottom. The pictures here show the wood upside down to make it easier to paint. Both of the colors were inspired by Picasso's painting.

For the stems I plan to use a thicker wire from point A to B, and then a finer wire threaded with green glass beads and then wrapped around the thicker wire.

I'm trying to stay a couple steps ahead with my home project because I'm learning what not to do as I go along to prepare myself for the auction project. This is a fun project and I'm excited about my vision however it's a bit exhausting just thinking about it!

Continue on to Vase with Flowers Part 2!

Morning and Evening Routine Chart part 2

So its the night before the first day of orientation week at school and I finally finished our morning routine chart. Unable to leave well enough alone I spent far too long today revising and adding to the charts' pictures which are available here. We now have an evening routine chart as well. Both are hanging in acrylic magnet frames on the kids' bathroom wall. I wonder if it would be better if the pictures were in a complete vertical line. Perhaps it would be good if I had one for each kid and they could cover the picture with a magnet as they completed the task, however I have a feeling that in my family this would be a huge distraction. 


 I have a miniature version of the charts hanging on our communication center in the kitchen as well. Hopefully this will help my kids stay on task. Nothing is officially glued down so that I can change it as needed.