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Week 5: Watercolours (52 Weeks of Provocations)

December 5, 2013Education, Play, ProvocationsEarly Childhood Education, education, learning, play, Reggio, squirmsubversivereader Leave a comment

Provocation 5 : Watercolours

You can find more information about provocations here 🙂

Provocation 5 - Introducing Paints - Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Background Information

We’ve played with watercolours before, but back before Squirm was walking. Now he is walking and he is a little taller, I was able to pull out an easel and allow Squirm to explore watercolours in a whole new way

Materials

Watercolour paints (from Big W)
A selection of brushes
Water and water container
Easel (from Ikea)
Big pieces of paper (Mine were left over from when I was teaching, but you can get great pieces of big paper from Storage places)
Table
Mirror
Various pencils and crayons

Set Up

At first I just set up the easel with the watercolours and water on the ground. This was successful, but meant that Squirm needed to do a lot of crouching and standing. The next day, I placed the easel next to the table and set up the watercolours, mirror, water and pencils and crayons on the table. This was much more successful. I gave Squirm a new piece of paper each time, though some had writing on the back from my classroom days. I made sure the watercolours were wet before Squirm began

Experiences

Squirm seemed to remember the watercolours from when we’d played with them before. To start with he stuck with his brushes, putting them in the paint and making long strokes on the paper. Some of the time he put the brush in water between colours, other times he didn’t. Later on he experimented with using a crayon to dip in the paint instead of a brush, and he tried some small twigs as well. He mostly kept his lines to one part of the page, though he would paint over my lines if I made any. On one of the days, he enjoyed the fact that he would use the water and the paint to make a hole in the paper.

What Next?

Art, art and more art 🙂 The easel was a massive hit, so I’m sure we’re going to use it for drawing, pasting, and painting with different types of paints. Squirm also seemed more receptive to art experiences – this has carried over into drawing which he does most days. There’s a wonderful post at How We Montessori with different art activities, which I’m definitely going to use for ideas.

Provocations are experiences offered to a child, based on past knowledge or interests, with the aim of extending the child’s ideas.

Our provocations present a small range of materials – some which are part of Squirm’s every day life, others which are new to him, or only known from other provocations. The aim is to present them in a thoughtful and (hopefully) attractive way, and to allow Squirm to investigate them in any manner he wishes. These provocations will remain in place for around a week, and then a new provocation will be presented.

Week 4: Foam Block (52 Weeks of Provocations)

November 28, 2013Education, Play, ProvocationsEarly Childhood Education, education, learning, play, Reggio, squirmsubversivereader Leave a comment

You can find more information about provocations here 🙂

Unfortunately we had some work done on our house which halted . . . well everything for a while. The disruption caused some problems both in the areas we could use, and with Squirm’s behaviour at the time. We seem to have everything slowly getting back to normal though, and I’m restarting the provocations – beginning with one we actually did during the disrupted period.

Provocation 4 : Foam Block

Background Information

It started with a pin cushion left just in the reach of my ever growing Squirm. To my horror, I found him crouched on the floor, intently pulling out each one of my very sharp pins! Obviously, this was incredibly interesting to him, but in no way safe. But it got me thinking about what could we do to mimic the sensory experience of pulling pins out of a pin cushion. This was our (sometimes surprising) alternative.

Materials

Foam florists block (from the local discount store)
Golf tees (from the local discount store)
Platter for holding the block
Container for the tees
Splash mat (because we did it indoors)
Water

Set Up

We set this up on the floor of our kitchen on top of the splash mat. First I wet the block to make it less ‘flaky’ then pushed in the golf tees. I placed the block on an old platter I had (non breakable) and put it on the mat with the container.

Experiences

Squirm LOVED this provocation. The tees and the block worked extremely well together and he enjoyed pulling the tees out (there’s a slight ‘pull’ before they come out), and pushing them back in. He also likes using the tees as tools on the foam – making holes and ‘carving’ paths and lines with them. He also enjoyed using his hands to push and pull at the block – demolishing a whole corner at one point. The tees continued to be a toy separate to the block as well – used for poking and prodding and tinkering.

What Next?

The foam block made me think about using clay and the different experiences Squirm might be able to have with that. As we begin to move into more art based activities, I’m sure there’s be clay available to play with. I’d also like to use the golf tees again since Squirm really enjoyed manipulating them.

Provocations are experiences offered to a child, based on past knowledge or interests, with the aim of extending the child’s ideas.

Five Favourite Toys That Aren’t Really Toys: The Inside Edition

November 18, 2013Family, Play, Uncategorized15 Months, play, squirm, toyssubversivereader View all 4 comments

5 Favourite Toys That Aren't Really Toys: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Like other babies and toddlers, Squirm has a long-held fascination with the every day items around him. Often these items become his most played with and explored toys. Here’s five of his favourites for playing with inside.

Five Favourite Toys That Aren't Really Toys: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

An Old Keyboard

Squirm is fascinated by things he can press at the moment, and our laptops are a constant source of interest. Unfortunately for him, we don’t always want him typing messages on our laptops (he once sent a garbled message to a politician’s Facebook page) and he’s not always the most gentle with the keys. Enter my wonderful father who works with computers. He had this wonderful wireless keyboard in his discards pile and was able to clean it up for Squirm. He plays with it almost every day, typing out all sorts of messages for the world to read.

A Torch/Beacon

After we visited the Ipswich Art Gallery’s Light Play exhibition, I sought out some ways for Squirm to play with light. One of our discoveries was this torch/beacon from Big W. It comes in a couple of different colours (we have red and blue) and has a torch in the end, plus the ‘glow stick’ part. It has a variety of settings (including flashing) and has been an absolute hit with Squirm, especially during late afternoons and early evenings. Recently, it’s become even more fun because he can press the button himself and doesn’t need me to help him with it.

A Stepping Stool/Bench

I originally bought this stool from a discount store, back when Squirm was pulling himself up on furniture for standing. But once he started walking and started climbing up on things, he discovered a new way to use it. When it was overturned, it was the perfect height to practice stepping up onto and down off again. He sets it up in the middle of the living room and spends ages stepping on and off it and running around to try again. Then when he’s tired, he has a nice seat to sit on 🙂 (Plus it has a little container built in the top for him to store things in!)

An Old Purse, Glasses Case and Loyalty Cards

A couple of months ago, Squirm got hold of my purse while we were visiting my parents. Suddenly money was being thrown through the air, quickly followed by an assortment of very old receipts (thanks to this, I have a very clean purse now). After this happened a few times, I dug out an old purse of mine, along with some loyalty cards, a few Woolworths animal card doubles and an old student card and an old glasses case. These are all kept in an old handbag of mine, which has about 100 (or at least 5) zippers and compartments – it keeps him busy for ages.

Utensils

Squirm can reach into 3 out of 4 of our drawers in the kitchen now. The bottom one holds his plates and cups, the next one holds nothing (though he occasionally uses it to store food . . . ) and the next one up has out cooking utensils. These are the ones he likes the most – they make a wonderful noise when he hits them together or against other things. But he also uses them to push and pull things across the floor.

It’s wonderful to see the imagination Squirm has when it comes to ordinary household items – I’m always wondering what he’ll play with next!

Week 3: A Collection of Stones (52 Weeks of Provocations)

September 17, 2013Education, Play, ProvocationsEarly Childhood Education, education, learning, play, Reggio, squirmsubversivereader View all 2 comments

You can find more information about provocations here 🙂

Collection of Stones Provocation: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Provocation 3 : A Collection of Stones

Background Information

I wanted to return to the stones which Squirm enjoyed so much in the first week, while introducing a few different types of stones. However, I thought I would also continue to use some of the excellent materials which worked so well in the second week. So this provocation kind of became a combination of the two. Plus we finally had a table to use!

Materials

Two stainless steel bowls (from KMart)
6 large river stones (from the local discount store)
6 large blue ‘glass’ stones (from the local discount store)
6 large green ‘glass’ stones (from the local discount store)
water
Mirror (from the local discount store)
Table (from Ikea)
Plastic covering (from Big W)
Rug (from KMart)

Set Up

Because the table is a little tall for Squirm, I discovered the materials worked best if they were set up close to the edge of the table. I put the plastic covering on the table first (because we were working with water), then the rug on top. On one side of the rug, we had the bowl with the stones in it, on the other side a bowl with water, a mirror in between.

Experiences

Squirm really enjoyed the feel of the ‘glass’ rocks, picking them up, turning them over in his hands, dropping them on the ground (to hear the sound) and trying to make them spin on the ground. He really enjoyed dropping them in the water, then tipping the water bowl (water everywhere!) to get them back again. He also spent a lot of time just playing with the water again. He continued his more cautious approach from last week, but also enjoyed tipping it over a bit at a time to see the water spill.

I was able to get a video of some of Squirm’s play (note, the cup was from last week’s provocation. He wouldn’t give it up 🙂 )

What Next?

We’re going to give the rocks and water a little break for a while now, but I’ll be very interested in how Squirm approaches them when we pull them out in the future. I’d like to include some short sticks and even some blocks with the rocks, especially as Squirm gets more interested in stacking.

Provocations are experiences offered to a child, based on past knowledge or interests, with the aim of extending the child’s ideas.

Week 2: Water Play (52 Weeks of Provocations)

September 10, 2013Education, Play, ProvocationsEarly Childhood Education, education, learning, play, Reggio, squirmsubversivereader One comment

You can find more information about provocations here 🙂

Water Play Provocation: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Provocation 2 : Water Play

Background Information

At first I thought I would do a direct follow up to last week’s provocation. However, during the week, we noticed that Squirm was really interested in scooping up water and playing with it during bath time. We’ve slowly been introducing Squirm to cups and other drinking implements during meal times, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to extend the ideas he’d been playing with in the bath.

Materials

Two stainless steel bowls (from KMart)
A plastic mug and ‘glass’ (from KMart)
A small rug (from KMart)
A ‘tough’ mirror (from the hardware section of our local discount store)
Water

Set Up

At first I set this one up on the ground, with the mat laid down, two bowls of water next to each other, and the mirror, glass and mug in front. However, Squirm wasn’t great at moving around when sitting, so we moved it to the upturned crate. Although this made access easier for Squirm, it did make balancing things more precarious. I’m really glad I’ve bought a small table now!

The small rug was a wonderful way of ‘setting’ the activity – making it clear that this was something separate. It was also heavy enough that it didn’t move in the wind, and dried really well when hung up between play.

Experiences

Squirm’s experience with the water was quite messy. His initial approach was to smack his hands into the water, resulting in some spectacular splashes and some of the times the water bowl would tip. As the week went on, I noticed that he approached the water more carefully – hitting it more softly or splashing only his fingers in it. He still played with tipping the bowl over, and enjoyed playing with the water that splashed on the ground.

When he’d emptied the water out of the bowl, Squirm enjoyed playing with the bowls themselves. They made a wonderful clatter when they were dropped on the concrete floor, and because the base was very rounded (with only a small flat bit) they wobbled and spun in a really enjoyable way. Squirm loved to tip one side, then release it, watching the way it would rock back and forward on its own.

Because he’d been scooping with a cup in the bath, I thought he’d do the same with the cup and mug here. However, he was less interested in that than playing with the cup and mug themselves. He loved the sound of them dropping on the concrete, but also the ways they would move – the cup would roll in wide circles, while the mug was stopped by the handle. He did drop them in water occasionally, but didn’t pick any water up with the cups.

What Next?

I’m definitely going to continue to offer provocations with water to Squirm – he is endlessly fascinated by it and the way it moved – plus it’s easy to play with, especially as it heats up. I’m also going to keep using the mat, which really defined the working area, and the stainless steel bowls, which were just so nice to look at and manipulate. I may offer another provocation using the cups in the future, but without any kind of preconceptions next time!

Provocations are experiences offered to a child, based on past knowledge or interests, with the aim of extending the child’s ideas.

Week 1: Stones and Water (52 Weeks of Provocations)

September 3, 2013Education, Play, ProvocationsEarly Childhood Education, education, learning, play, Provocations, Reggio, squirmsubversivereader View all 8 comments

Welcome to the first of my posts about the provocations I offer Squirm. You can find more information about provocations here 🙂

Rock and Water Provocation: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Provocation 1 : Stones and Water

Background Information

We’ve noticed that Squirm is very interested in the way things feel. He likes to pick things up, likes to thoroughly examine them. He’s also a big fan of water. I wanted his first provocation to have some familiar objects, but offered together in a way they hadn’t been available to him before.

Materials

12 river stones (from discount store)
Water
2 paint brushes (part of a pack from Woolworths)
Small tongs (from Spotlight)
Hard plastic bowl (from discount store)
Plastic container (from discount store)
Silver tray (from discount store)
Mirror

Set Up

I placed the stones into the bowl and placed it next to the container of water. These were both offered on the tray, along with the mirror, the brushes and the tongs. (All of these were presented on an upturned crate-style box – I’m hoping to get a small table soon)

Experiences

I was amazed at the huge range of activities Squirm explored with this provocation, very few of which I had expected. He spent a fair amount of time picking the stones up and dropping them into the water – which was probably closest to what I expected – but there were many other things he discovered while playing.

Most of the play was with individual items. Although he had been exposed to all these items before, this was the first time he’d really explored them – probably because it was the first time they were available constantly and in an uncrowded way. The stones were probably his favourite things – he spent a lot of time picking them up and moving them around, but he also explored the way they sounded (dropping them on different surfaces, banging them together) and the way they moved (his favourite thing was getting them to spin on the cement floor).

Sound was a common theme throughout the week – Squirm also used the brushes and the tongs to bit against different surfaces and objects, exploring the different sounds he could make. He spent a significant amount of time with the tongs, working out how to squeeze them together (though he doesn’t yet have the strength to carry things with them).

There was also a significant amount of water play. Squirm’s favourite thing was hitting the water, although he wasn’t always thrilled to be splashed by it. He also enjoyed tipping it up and examining the way it moved on the tray or the concrete.

What Next?

Although I’m not immediately offering a similar provocation, there are a number of ways I can see this provocation being extended and changed. We could offer alternatives to the stones, or offer different materials as well as them. We could also replace the water with something different. Squirm really enjoyed this, so I can definitely see us revisiting something similar in the future.

Provocations are experiences offered to a child, based on past knowledge or interests, with the aim of extending the child’s ideas.

Our Trip To Ipswich: Part One – Light Play!

August 4, 2013Education, Playchildren, Exploration, Exploring South East Queensland, play, Reggio, squirmsubversivereader View all 2 comments

Last Thursday, Squirm and I went on a BIG adventure to the Ipswich Art Gallery. To put into perspective how BIG this was – we’re talking about a nearly 2 hour journey on a train with a nearly one year old . . .

Big Light Play Adventure: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

There was a very good reason for taking such a big trip, though. The Ipswich Art Gallery had two amazing displays on – Light Play, which offered opportunities for children to explore and play with light, colours and reflection and The Wonder of Learning which was a brilliant demonstration of the learning going on in the early childhood centres in Reggio Emilio. I’m going to talk more about the latter exhibition in another post and concentrate on Light Play here.

After getting terribly lost on the very short and quite simple walk from the train station to the art gallery, we made our way to the special baby and toddler session of Light Play. This was especially put on for children between the ages of 6 months and 3 years, with lots of understanding about strollers and children putting things in mouths. Imagine a room full of different, cool light materials and a bunch of really small children – tonnes and tonnes of fun.

There were about 6 different areas of the exhibition, and Squirm and I spent a bit of time at each one.

1. Over Head Projectors

There were a row of overhead projectors lined up facing the wall, each one with a bucket of ‘stuff’ sitting behind it. The ‘stuff’ included coloured see through items but also regular household items (computer bits, metal washing scrubbers, toys) and were roughly separated by colours. The children then could put them on and off the overhead projectors, and explore moving them and the pictures they created on the wall. A lot of the older children were fascinated by the pictures on the wall – the way they were changeable, but they could get up there and touch the wall and play with the shadows. For Squirm, it was more about the light and the items (and which ones he could fit in his mouth)

2. Small circular light tables

There were four different light tables set up. Unlike the overhead projectors there was a smaller range of items, but in more colours. So one table had coloured plastic transparent glasses and coloured plastic transparent measuring spoons, and these could be manipulated and stacked to play with colour. This wasn’t terribly interesting to Squirm, or the other smaller children, though a lot of adults seemed to really enjoyed it 🙂

3. Mirror Triangles

These were seriously cool – big triangle shapes ‘tunnels’ which had mirrors on all three of the inside walls. All of the children seemed to enjoy crawling and walking inside them and exploring their own reflections.

4. Light Sculptures

This was my favourite thing, but probably more aimed at an older audience. On a line of wire, different items and combinations of items were hung and torches (flashlights) were provided to explore the sculptures. By aiming the torches in different ways, holding them closer and further away, moving the sculptures, the shadows on the wall were almost dancing in different ways. It was lovely and completely repeatable in a home environment.

5. The Reflection Corner

This was a perfect area for the smallest visitors and also served as a nice chill out kind of area. Using mirrors almost as a divider from the rest of the space, it was filled with reflective cardboard, reflective material, mirrors, CDs, torches and glow sticks. Squirm really loved the glow stick and spent some good time interacting with the mirrors.

6. Webcam and Light Box

This was a popular one with all of the children. A big, low light table was set up, with all sorts of amazing mirrors and see through things in different colours. Also on the table was a small webcam which was projecting onto the blank wall nearby. There were so many different ways that the children could interact with the table – stacking, moving, manipulating, reflecting, patterning – then playing with the webcam to discover what designs they could make. The best ones involved the mirrors, especially when a young boy decided to see if he could move the camera from the table and use mirrors and a glow stick to create an image for the projection.

The exhibit was amazing and I think it’s around until 25th August. If you’re in the area, it’s totally worth making the trip to go and see it.

The Favourite Toys of a (nearly) 1 Year Old

July 31, 2013Books and Reading, Familychildren, family, play, squirm, toddler, toyssubversivereader Leave a comment

So, believe it or not, Squirm is turning one next week. Of course, this means we’ve had to think about presents – both from Mr Pilot and myself and from the rest of his family. And since we want to buy things Squirm will really enjoy, we’ve spent some time looking the toys which are already his favourites.

Favourite Toys of a (Nearly) 1 Year Old: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Books

Squirm adores books. We have a selection of good sturdy board books which are always available for him. He’s constantly taking them from the baskets and boxes where we keep them, and spends ages opening them, turning pages, looking at them and moving them around. His all time favourites are the That’s Not My . . . sensory books, which we were very kindly introduced to by a good friend of mine. So more good sturdy board books wouldn’t go astray, nor would other picture books which we read to him in the morning and before bed.

Music

I can confidently say that Squirm has enjoyed music since he was in the womb – in fact some of his most energetic kicking was during Boogie Shoes on Glee. We have a small selection of kids music, as well as some good albums which are brilliant for people of any age. Squirm is a massive Justine Clarke fan, but also enjoys Frances England and Paul Simon. As well as music to listen to, we’ve bought some really nice percussion instruments for him to experiment and play with.

Blocks

A couple of months ago, I bought a set of wooden blocks for Squirm, thinking that he might be interested in them, but not expecting much. Turns out he absolutely loves them, but not for building (the only thing he builds with at the moment is corn on the cob . . .). He picks them up, moves them around, rolls them, twists them, puts them in places . . . and knocks down structures when we make them.

When we were at the Mitchelton Library unveiling, he (and Mr Pilot) fell in love with the Duplo board. We have a few pieces, but it would be great to add to that.

Mitchelton Library Refurbished: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Toy Animals

This is a strange one. For Christmas, Squirm was given a small toy train which had three little carriages which toy animals sat on top of. Squirm doesn’t have massive affection for the train or the carriages, but he adores the animals – carrying them around the house everywhere. I’m going to be on the lookout for some other animals, but I have to be super aware of things he might put in his mouth (he puts everything in his mouth)

Anything which rolls

You know how I said he wasn’t enthralled by the toy train? Well part of the reason for that is that it only moves well when you press the button, and then it moves on its own. Squirm likes things he can manipulate 🙂 I often see soft balls rolling across the floor, as well as anything which Squirm has scavenged from the bottom drawers in the kitchen (the ‘safe’ drawers for him). His favourite rolling things are cups and bottles, as well as egg cups and bowls. He loves putting things in them and checking out how they roll as well . . .

I really love seeing how engaged Squirm is with his toys, and that they’re toys which he needs to move and manipulate and experiment with. I’m really looking forward to seeing how he interacts with his birthday toys.

Adventures in Play Dough: The First Try

May 15, 2013Craft, Education, Playart, baby play, craft, exploring art, play, play dough, play matterssubversivereader Leave a comment

Adventures in Play Dough: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

One of my fond memories from my own childhood is my mother making play dough for us. She must have cooked it, since I remember it it being warm when we played with it. It always had a nice, heavy feel in our hands, and the possibilities of a fresh ball of play dough seemed endless.

Squirm and I have just had our very first experience making and playing with play dough. After our experience with paint and other art, I knew we needed to go slow when I introduced it. I also knew that we needed to make sure it was non toxic – more than likely it would go in the mouth.

As it turned out, Squirm didn’t try to taste it at all, which really surprised me. He didn’t really want to interact with it, except when I put little shapes of play dough on the brick he was exploring. There he moved it, pressing his fingers into it and explored it a little more. We’ll play with it over the next couple of days to get him more used to it – but for a dollar or so of materials, I’m not real worried if he doesn’t get that into it.

Making the Play Dough

I started off using this recipe. (I didn’t want the bother of cooking play dough this time, so non cook was the best option) Since I wasn’t sure how it would turn out or how Squirm would react to it, I halved most the recipe, but added a little more than half the oil. I also used hot water. When I was adding the water, I added a little bit at a time to try and get the best mix. Having some extra flour around would be good in case you use too much water, though.

The best tip I have is to put the spoon down once you start adding water and knead it together by hand. You can get a much better feel for the play dough that way and you’re more likely to get what you want.

I also held off on adding the food colour. When I had the play dough to the consistency I wanted, I divided it into four small balls. I then put a couple of drops of yellow colouring in the middle of one, and that was what we played with today. When we came back inside I coloured the others for later play.

When we came back in I did notice the dough left out on the bench was a little dry. It moistened up as soon as I started playing with it, and it might keep better now that I have it in a container. I’ll keep an eye on it over the next couple of days and report back.

This really is a nice way to start playing with play dough. I’ll be very interested to see if Squirm becomes more interactive with it over the week, as well as if he’ll keep up his record of putting everything in his mouth . . . I bet the salt of the play dough will be a bit of a shock!

3 Ways to Play with a 6 Month Old

February 5, 2013Familychildren, play, squirmsubversivereader View all 11 comments

As Squirm gets older, the ways he interacts and explores constantly change. Over the last few weeks, he’s become more and more active, and we’ve been trying some new ways to play with him. Here’s three of those . . .

3 Ways to Play with a 6 Month Old

1. Build a Fort

Squirm isn’t crawling yet. But he can roll, and push himself forward and backwards. So I thought about creating a kind of track, using pillows and other soft furnishings, for him to follow. However, he decided not to play to my rules, so clearly the track needed to be turned into a fort. Then it needed to get bigger.

A fort always seemed to be something we would do with Squirm when he was a lot bigger. However, it was really easy to use a sofa as one side (with easy hiding underneath) and various pillows and cushions to create the other walls. A couple of dining room chairs served to give us some more structure, as well as giving tunnels (which no one got in or out of, except a few stuffed animals. However, the humans did enjoy looking through them) and a way of creating a ‘ceiling’. Two undone ring slings created a canopy overhead, with the rings around the tops of the chairs and the ends anchored in other places. Add in some baby blankets as ‘curtains’ and a bunch of stuffed toys as ‘guards’ and you have a very comfortable place to hang out, play, read and giggle with your baby.

Although Squirm wasn’t 100% sure what was going on, the fort really did allow him to experience a lot of fun. He enjoyed watching us build it. He liked having a safe place around him (walls are fun to roll into when they’re soft) and it was brilliant for peek a boo games. At the end of the day, it was easy to pack up, ready for another day of fun.

Adventures of a Subversive Reader:3 Ways to Play with a 6 Month Old

The fort during the early stages of construction . . .

2. Treasure Baskets

This is totally not my idea 🙂 I think I found it first on How We Montessori (which is a fabulous site, even if you’re not looking specifically for Montessori information). The idea is that the baby is given a basket of different objects, most of them everyday and regular, which they are able to explore.

With Squirm, we are slightly restricted to safe materials, because everything still goes in his mouth. I had some difficulty finding a good open basket of natural materials, but found a good sized plastic one at my local discount store, which is serving as a strong substitute. I’ve put a whole range of things in there at different times. Once I collected a range of balls for Squirm to play with, another time it was a collection of different spoons and ladles (he adored the ladle.

These baskets are brilliant when I need a few more minutes to finish something. I’ve found Squirm will sit quite happily with the baskets, taking out one item after another, examining them and carefully putting them aside. Mr Pilot and I sometimes join in the fun too – there was even a ladle vs. wooden spoon fight between Mr Pilot and Squirm 🙂

One of these days, I’ll make them as beautiful and meaningful as How We Montessori, but for now, we’re just having a lot of fun with them.

3. Rhythm and Music

This one was discovered completely by accident. We were sitting at the dinner table, with Squirm in his high chair, and he was doing his usual distracted looking around thing. I wanted to get his attention for something so I tapped on the table. The next day, Squirm started making tapping noices on the tray of his high chair. Since then, we’ve discovered that he loves clapping and tapping rhythms.

We’ve built this into our day in a few ways. Sometimes we sit down with him and play pat-a-cake or we just try to create a rhythm on the floor or with our hands. Sometimes he tries to join in, sometimes he just watches (or laughs at us). We’ve also increased the amount of music we listen to (a good excuse to make sure the TV is off) and sometimes we dance along, either with him or without him – not sure if it’s increasing his appreciation, but it usually gets a good laugh.

Of course, another way we’ve been playing with rhythm and music is through nursery rhymes. I recently got into an absolutely silly habit of singing every nursery rhyme like it’s a very serious piece of music. Adds tonnes of fun, especially during the difficult nappy changing time!

What’s the best fort you’ve ever built? Have you ever collected a treasure basket? What ways do you bring more music into your house?