A Lesson in Laundry

Christmas came early at my house!!  We started new daily task charts with my boys and I've been so pleased to see them continue to follow through a month later.  Past attempts haven't worked so well but the oldest is feeling really empowered this time and his younger brother is always ready to follow.

Sorry for the awful pic but I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to get a better one : )

 Their charts, which I found here,  include very simple things like getting dressed, putting clothes in their laundry basket, brushing teeth, and setting the table.  I clip a new chart on a clipboard that hangs on a hook with their aprons and dusters each week.  They carry the charts with them as they complete their tasks and hang them back up when they are done.  My oldest is feeling so great about his ability to contribute that he surprised me one morning (and several mornings since) by loading and unloading my washing machine and drier without being asked!

Proud Laundry Boys

Being willing to take advantage of a good thing, I decided to give my boys a laundry "lesson" so my son could start the machine on his own (without jamming the machine or overdoing it with the detergent).  By moving a step stool into the laundry room and moving my own laundry basket into my closet (thanks for the offer but I think I prefer to wash my own clothes) I was able to accommodate my little laundry workers.  I taught them how to sort whites from coloreds and how full to fill the machine.  I taught them about the different water temperatures and what the different dials mean (and which ones they shouldn't adjust without asking first).  They now know how much detergent to use and when to put it in.  They know to check the lint filter and which setting they should use to dry.  Believe it or not, they were fascinated by all of this.  Might as well teach a child a skill when he displays an interest then argue with him about it when he's a teenager (okay, I'm sure my boys will still groan about laundry when they're older but at least they will know how to do it).  Laundry today was a good as a party as far as they were concerned.  This won't be added to their list of tasks, but they will sure be welcome to help when they are interested.  Now if I could just convince my husband that there's nothing he would rather do in the morning then put clothes away...all my laundry dreams come true!  : )

Christmas Buttons

We're really careful about the amount of goodies we make during the holidays...sugar and my family just don't go together very well. But there are so many wonderful things about creating Christmas treats together to share with neighbors that I we just picked our very favorite...our Christmas Buttons. A sweet little preschooler made some of these for me a few years ago. Let me warn you, they are hard to resist! Think bite sized minty chocolate dipped pretzel; the perfect combination of salty and sweet.

Always the Montessorian, I gathered together all the materials my boys would need to make these themselves: Candy Cane Kisses, square pretzel snaps, and Christmas colored M & M's.

First the boys carefully lined their cookie sheets with pretzels.

Then they unwrapped their kisses.  Great practice for little fingers.

I provided an extra dish for the unwrapped kisses and the wrappers:  easy cleanup and a chance to practice sorting.

Next they centered their kisses on the pretzels.  I put these into a 350 (f) degree oven for about 5 min.  You might experiment on the time to see what works best.

While the kisses were still warm we pressed the m&m's into the soft chocolate.  The minty smell in the kitchen was amazing and the buttons tasted even better.  A fun and simple treat for the boys to place in a little dish and share with their primary teachers.

Bible Videos of the Birth of Christ

. These beautiful short videos about the birth of Jesus Christ were recently released by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These simple clips would make a wonderful addition to any Christian celebration. The church has announced that these are the first 6 of many short videos that will shortly be released about the life of Christ. To learn more visit www.lds.org. Merry Christmas!

Mom Bloggers Talk Montessori: A Free E-Book!

A while back I received an invitation from Deb Chitwood, creator of LivingMontessoriNow, and John Bowman, author of Montessori At Home (both fabulous resources for incorporating Montessori methods in your child's education at any level).  They were looking for entries to include in a new FREE e-book, Mom Bloggers Talk Montessori and it has now been published!  In it you will find a variety of Montessori inspired learning activities and thoughts from Montessori moms (including myself), as well as links to their blogs. I hope you enjoy it!

Vintage Nativity Advent Remake

Christmas would not feel like Christmas without some of the things we cherished when we were little.  One of those things for me is this Nativity Advent Calendar that my mom made when she was first married. There are so many different advent ideas out there but I love that this calendar focuses on the birth of our Savior. I've been anxious to get one made for my own little family for the past few years now and I've finally got one put together.

As you can see I still need to add my animals.  Pom poms and felt were more popular a couple of decades ago and easier to find in a variety of colors so I may actually needle felt my camel, if I ever get to it.  The wool felt you find in specialty quilt shops is much nicer if you can find it and comes in more varieties then what you can find at a craft store.  My little figures are made from scraps left from other projects.

 I chose to go with round typewriter key numbers instead of stitching around all of those numbers. You'll notice in the pic that right now my numbers are just  printed on paper, cut out sloppily and pinned to the pockets. Works for now, maybe I'll find time to print them on muslin, iron them on with Wonder Under (I've read it works well with felt but haven't tried it yet) and get them stitched in place by next Christmas : ).  

I didn't have a pattern so I just traced the figures from my mom's nativity.  Perhaps I could figure out a way to scan in the pattern if anyone is interested.  Just leave me a comment to let me know you're looking for it.

Notice the little felt ears, mane and tail, and horns on the little animals.  I love how nubby these pom poms are.

The panel itself measures 22in x 36in with a 25in dowel rod.  Each pocket is about 4 inches high.  I cut the pockets of one row and the flaps of the next as one piece, layer the pieces and created the pockets with my stitching.

Each pocket will hold a little strip of paper with a service idea for my boys to perform.  Right now they include "dust a shelf," "read to a brother," "write a letter to Kyle (who just completed basic training and is away right now)," "Get ready for church without being reminded." My boys are working to fill the manger under our Christmas tree with enough straw for baby Jesus by Christmas morning.  They get to place one piece of "straw" (strips of raffia, I've tried real straw before...it's a mess) in the manger for each kindness we see them perform throughout the season.

Our Manger: the doll cradle I received for Christmas when I was 2