For The Momma

Lord, Teach Us to Pray by Ron DiCianni

These words are not mine, but they are just what I needed today. 

Adapted from a post titled: "For The Momma of the Strong Willed Child," on We Are That Family. 

You will survive this hard place.

And most importantly, one day, you will thank God for it.

I’ve learned strong-willed toddlers grow up to be strong-willed teens.

And that’s more than okay. It’s actually a blessing and I wouldn’t change it if I could. Even when saying no means tempers flare or make the meanest mom. I’ll take it.

Listen, I know these strong-willed children are challenging. They push our buttons; they make us question our parenting. We cry and hit our knees.

But they are used by God to transform us.

They show us our humanity, our weakness and mostly how much we need Jesus.

We want our determined, fierce kids to stand up first to us so someday they can stand up against the world.

The beauty of strong-willed children is that they are strong.

They will try and lead and manipulate us; starve and dress themselves and win every argument. Their determination will embarrass and thrill us all in the same day.

We will beg and barter and bribe. We will question every move we make and cringe at every fit. But we will remember that their fierce determination is channeled into velvet strength and these kids who won’t give up their will, also will not give in.

Yes, they chase hard after what they want, but they also chase hard after what’s right.

So, Momma of the strong-willed child pulling out your hair, wondering if you’ll ever be able to eat in public again, be encouraged.

That little one will change the world.

But first, he will change you.

Quote: Educating the Heart

Teaching the Toddler: Sensory Activities

One of my favorite things about Montessori is that although you can purchase some beautiful, useful products, you can also do so much for free or at least very close to free!

Little E is very interested in using his senses to discover the world. Here are some of the fun, free sensory activities we did today:

Beans: I poured some dried kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, and peas into a bowl. I cut off the lid of an egg carton. Wow, easy and Ethan loved it. He tried using a spoon, but preferred his hands. Mommy needs to remember to give Little E something to define his work area (a tray or placemat) because our beans went everywhere!



We went to the park and played in the "river." He kept telling me, "Mom, the river is nice."


At the park we collected sticks, leaves, pinecones, and bark. For the rest of the day Little E kept asking to play with his leaves.

We compared texture, sizes and shapes together and pretended we were trees waving in the wind.

Then I let him play however he wanted. He told us all about the "great big" leaves that were the mommy and daddy and the tiny leaf that was the baby. He made the parent leaves take turns holding the baby, driving it in the "car," feeding it green beans (Little E's favorite food right now), giving it a bath, and putting it to sleep.

Vintage Rose Wraps

I stumbled upon these adorable headbands last week and just had to share with you. I wish I had a little girl to buy these for!

Check out VintageRoseWraps.com, visit their blog, or come see them at Swiss Days!

Music Together Family Classes

When I was pregnant with Little E. I was fascinated that he would start kicking in response to outside sounds, especially to music. After he was born I continued to observe his love of listening to and making music. Music has a powerful effect on our moods and the atmosphere in our homes and I want Little E. to experience the positive influence good music can have.

When I picked up a flyer for Music Together I was curious. We attended a demo class a few months ago and loved it. I have been doing research on the program and am now a big fan. We are so excited to start attending the weekly family group this fall.



The principles of Music Together are:

1. All children are musical.
   
2. Therefore, all children can achieve basic music competence, which we have defined as the ability to sing in tune and move with accurate rhythm.
   
3. The participation and modeling of parents and caregivers, regardless of their musical ability is essential to a child's musical growth.
   
4. This growth is best achieved in a playful, developmentally appropriate, non performance oriented learning environment that is musically rich yet immediately accessible to the chi's participation.

The things I loved most about the class we attended were the various ages of children and the freedom allowed the children. Family classes include newborns to 5 year old children, all learning and sharing and playing together with their grown-ups. I love the idea that children learn best in a family-like environment where they can learn from those older and teach those younger than they. I also love that the children don't have to follow the teacher, but are allowed to respond to the music however they would like.

If there is a Music Together class near you, I highly recommended it!

Check out their website and blog!