Live & Love Montessori
Nap Time Narratives with Morah Rachael:
Squeezing in a blog post here and there during the sacred nap time. Grab a snack, tiptoe over, and join me as I discuss living and learning through the Montessori method in the modern world. I’ll show you how to ‘live & love Montessori’ through my experiences teaching and parenting young kids. Shhh, don’t wake the baby!
Montessori in the Coronavirus Season:
Part II: Resourcefulness
Using less, making do, and being resourceful have been hallmarks of our recently changed world. My thoughts immediately turned to Depression era families who collected and saved everyday items such as foil gum wrappers and did not let any food scraps go to waste. I stocked my freezer and tried not to let the uncertainty of this time worry me too much. The product of a large family, resourcefulness was inherently instilled in me. “Making do” was a regular part of my mom’s vocabulary as she substituted bread for buns, mayo for butter, and hand-me-down clothes were hemmed and patched.
This global pandemic has forced us to stay home and hunker down. Most of us are working from home, with kids in tow. (Which is insane, BTW!) It is a near impossible feat to be productive with kids at home all day! Feeling overwhelmed and crazy is perfectly normal! “Yes, you need to have a shirt on for your virtual class, son!” “Yes, you may have 100 hours of screen time after you do x, y, and z.” These are crazy times. We are relying on our oldest children to help more with the younger ones. The 5 year old is the babysitter while mom has a conference call. Whatever works. Let’s call it resourcefulness, and then call it a day.
The internet is overflowing with resources and ideas to keep our kids entertained and educated during this stay-at-home time. At first, all the ideas were exciting to me, but I was quickly overwhelmed by them. In between my own work, my kids’ school work, housework, and the pressure to make this time memorable and more connected with my kids, a few internet ideas did pop out at me. Scavenger hunts are always a hit with my kids, so we’ve done a couple of those. We’ve practiced cursive and print by writing letters to family and friends. We’ve read lots of books, and cooked together. We’ve also had a lot of squabbles, whining, and fighting. This is real life. But I take a lot of comfort in knowing I am trying my best, and that I am enough.
Helping in the kitchen: fine motor practice and buy-in to eat fresh foods!
Lego Minifigure, Pinterest-worthy scavenger hunt vs. Real Life Scavenger Hunt when mom feels overwhelmed with the mess: Uhh!
When in doubt: Water play!
Here’s to reframing your chore list as a scavenger hunt and finding some silver lining in the new routine!
Resources:
Hi!
My name is Rachael Thompson. My 3 kids keep me feeling simultaneously loved, tired, and busy. In between work, raising kids, and daily trips to Kroger, I might squeeze in a run, do home improvement projects, or take a nap in my minivan, in my workout clothes, in the Home Goods parking lot — the ultimate in Mom multitasking!