My two-year-old could go about her whole day without me. She goes potty by herself, gets herself dressed and delights at squeezing her own toothpaste on her brush – as well as doing so for her sisters.
Her ways are far from perfect. As you can see in the attached picture, her pants and her shirt are on backwards. And most often her shoes are on the opposite (otherwise known as “wrong”) feet.
“Shhhhh,” I told the big girls. “Don’t tell her. She is so proud of herself.”
She can even make her own lunch! I was out on the sidewalk checking out our house, that is getting painting blue. I looked in the window and saw her sitting at her “tiny” table making her own hummus wrap. I kid you not!
She got the supplies out of the fridge, a small spreading knife out of the kid’s kitchen drawer plus a plate that we keep assessable for her. Her face was priceless as she proudly shouted through the window, “Mommy I making a ummus app!”
The table and her face was covered in hummus. It made my day.
Whoever coined the phrase “the terrible twos” has never met a little Montessori toddler. I love this age. It is so fun and full of wonder.
Just don’t tell her that her pants are on backwards! This mama is savoring this moment.
Sweet. Mine has told me she prefers her shoes/pants, etc. that way even when I’ve tried to correct her. Just yesterday she wanted the cute little pocket on her pink pants … in the front.
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing this. My daughter is loving our Montessori home too. I can’t wait to see more. I’ve just built some shelves for her. Next up is converting her closet into toddler usable space!
Thanks for your response Shelly. I’m learning the more freedom and age appropriate spaces I create for my toddler, the happier she is and the more she excels developmentally. She is so proud to do things herself. I wish I knew all of this with my first girl! I’m thankful for what I have learned through the years of my own schooling, through my seven-year-old’s Montessori teachers. I hope I can continue to help others by sharing what I have learned, and that Montessori education becomes more accessible and understood by public schools in the future.
My son is just coming into this age…he is 20 months. I love it.
this is wonderful! I love the way that you didnt tell her that she had done it “wrong”. a lesson for all mums interested in Montessori. i would love to know more about the kind of things covered in the montessori workshops for toddlers that you attended. we have nothing like that in this part of the world.:-(
Thanks for weighing in Charlotte. We are lucky that the school my daughters attend, host workshops to teach parents more about the ways and things their children learn at school. And I’ve witnessed a lot of that at home too, just from having kids in Montessori school for the last five years. My seven year-old started when she was two and this is out third go at have a Montessori toddler. I’m planning on doing a post on a Montessori closet for a toddler soon.