This week started off with Daddy’s birthday. DJ helped me make dinner for daddy and he set the table, starting with cleaning it.  Please note that this is NOT how I told him to do this! But he was very thorough with the process and even cleaned each of the chairs several times.

He then helped with dinner by breaking the pasta in half. Then he helped with a practical life activity that is critical for a 2 year old, diaper laundry!!

Montessori parents are told to include their children in as many aspects of daily chores as possible. Although it would be much more efficient for me to do this task myself, it wouldn’t be nearly as adorable!

On Wednesday DJ asked to paint and I was more than eager to oblige him since he hasn’t asked to paint in months! Of course, painting led to washing the paint brushes in the kitchen sink which led us to putting the dishes in the dishwasher. DJ noticed that the lower drawer rolled on wheels along a track and explored it for a good 20 minutes rolling the drawer back and forth with his face so close to the wheels I was sure his nose would get pinched!

We then spent some time reading, including this Montessori-esque book on numbers. DJ is fascinated by numbers right now and is trying to learn their names. He’s been calling the 3 a “buh” though because he’s confusing it with the letter B. (In Montessori, letters are called by their sounds, not their names).

His identification of the letter B (albeit incorrect) prompted me to bring out our “B” sound box. It’s a box of small objects all beginning with the B sound. It includes ball, bell, boat, bandage, battery, bread, banana, bottle, bee, bat. I’ve been trying to play the I Spy sound games with him, but he’s just not getting it.  I’m hoping that exposing him to the sound boxes on a regular basis will cue him into hearing the sounds in the words, which is an important step in learning to read.

Next DJ selected the Binomial Cube from his shelf and this time I got it on video while he completed it! He actually did it twice. This was the second time and when he finished he put it right back on the shelf! Yay for progress in completing a work cycle that doesn’t require any prompting from me!!