Barbara Curtis of http://www.mommyteachme.net/ presented Montessori methods for preschoolers on Tuesday . Eamon is currently the only preschooler in our house and he is almost seven years behind Liam. Having forgotten all the hands-on activities I did with the older kids, I had resorted to plugging Eamon in to Backyardigans and Blues Clues while we worked on school subjects at the dining room table. I kept wondering why he had turned into a whining, book-eating, house-wrecking monster. In my efforts to keep up with the older kids, I was trying to keep the toddler busy rather than engaged.
You can almost see the steam coming out of Eamon's ears as he works on these exercises! I was put off at first by the structure that Montessori imposes - left to right and a distinct start and finish to each exercise. But the concentration and focus that he learns while pinning beads to a pincushion will hopefully transfer to other things. Being the eclectic type, I skimmed through the book and found what I needed for the moment. As I learn more about Montessori and we try new things I will post successes!
