Did you see this cute placemat that Allison made for her child? She took a photo of her daughter’s actual cutlery and plate and laminated it. So sweet. Anyone else got one to show?

Lovely to see you all in class again this week.

Hope you all had a wonderful restorative holiday. Here is a photo from our family holiday in Wales with my husband’s family (out adventuring at a castle on the only day without rain!)

 

And don’t forget the first Coffee & Cake Discussion Group this Tuesday 15 January at 8pm. See the details here.

We had a wonderful day yesterday with 20 families busy crafting, knutseling, baking and getting into the festive spirit with a song or two. Thank you everyone who came along. It was such a nice atmosphere with you all.

A big thank you to Monika from Popolop for creating a storm :: beautiful slingers, glitter madness, and other fun paper crafts. Psst…if you like anything in her shop, you can save on shipping by arranging pickup from Jacaranda Tree Montessori. Those dolls would make the perfect gift for under the tree, so be quick. Don’t forget to email her to save the shipping.

For those wanting to eat more of those delicious cookies, here is the recipe:
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
100g butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp golden syrup (or stroop)
1 egg, beaten
1. Grease 3 baking sheets
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and ginger into a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar. Beat the syrup into the egg and stir into the bowl. Sing merrily while doing this step.
3. Mix to form a dough and knead until smooth.
4. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 5mm thick. Cut out figures and place on baking sheets.
5. Bake in oven at 190 degrees C for 12-15 minutes until golden. Cool slightly, then place on a wire rack.

Yum!

Monika will be back at Jacaranda Tree Montessori soon to run special craft workshops for us. I will keep you posted with details soon.

 

A common question from parents is how to teach their child to stand up for themselves, for example, if your child is pushed or someone always takes their toy.

Here I like to pass on the advice from my children’s first preschool teacher.

1. Use body language

Show them how they can put their hands on their hips. Using strong body language is particularly useful for children who are smaller than their peers.

2. Use words

Even if your child is pre-verbal, you can model the words they can use. In our family we use, “Stop I don’t like that” or “ik vind dat niet leuk”. If it involves a toy, I taught my children to say, “it will be available soon”.

You can also recognise and validate your child’s feelings. You can say, “you didn’t like that when he pushed you” or “it can be upsetting to be pushed huh?” or “I bet you are cross that they took that toy”.

By using this response regularly, your child will learn that they can stand up for themselves and use their words to solve problems.

If your child is the one that pushed, took the toy etc

See the situation through your child’s eyes. They are upset because they were worried someone was going to take what they were using, or they wanted to play with another child and his way of telling him was to push them.

1. Begin by empathising with them, for example, “you really wanted that toy”

2. Remind them to use their words, for example, “use your words. Ask, “can I have a turn please?”” or “did you want to say hello?” or “my turn. it will be available soon”

3. If they continue to push etc, then remove them from the situation and tell them they can return when they are ready to be gentle with the other children.