Contrary to popular belief I'm not a mumsy mum, playing games and singing songs does not come naturally to me AT ALL. I find myself floundering around quite a bit not really sure how to do this stay at home mom thing. I miss targets, task lists oh and working hours!
So I've been looking for a way to re-introduce some sort of structure into this process. And as Little Miss get's older I'm conscious that she should really be starting to learn things, or at least play in a constructive way.
A friend told me about Montessori parenting as a possible solution. As I understand it, in layman's terms it's "teach me to do it myself". Instead of babying a child you show them how to do it for themselves and give them the tools they need to be successful.
So this is one of our first Montessori "activities" although i've also heard it called common blooming sense!
Little Miss took and interest as I was emptying the dishwasher after breakfast (hence the PJs and bed hair).
Firstly I quickly removed the sharp knives.
Then the crockery.
As I started emptying the top shelf I threw her plastic crockery into the bottom where she could reach it easily.
I popped my step stool next to her hoping she would put her dishes on it and left her to it while I put stuff away.
To my surprise and delight my 18 month old neatly stacked all her cups on the stool.
She wasnt sure about her plates and bowls so she decided she was done and shut the dishwasher.
She carried on stacking and unstacking her cups while I finished re-filling the dishwasher.
So job done, baby occupied and most importantly she learned a valuable life skill while we spent some quality time together.