Week 1, day 2: The Brown Stair appears

New materials: 1 new container in the basket, Brown Stair,

stamping,


pouring,


snap dressing frame.



Nugget is obsessed with the Brown Stair. I had planned to bring it out toward the end of this week, and talked to her yesterday about working on the Pink Tower a bit more before the Brown Stair came out.

Last night, my husband built the Pink Tower. I decided to keep it up, thinking that seeing it built correctly would help Nugget work with it (I've been displaying it disassembled, as recommended in the Homfray videos).

When I was showering, Nugget walked into the Montessori area (which is near our shower) and saw the assembled Pink Tower. She thought that since Daddy had succeeded in building it, the Brown Stair could come out. And she started begging for it. And begging.

So I got it out when I was done showering. She and I assembled it together, me reminding her to "choose the biggest one that's left" but not offering a yes/no on her choices (though she kept asking for validation). And we (mostly she) built it!

Then we built the Pink Tower the same way, me offering "find the biggest left" and her choosing and correcting. Next, we lined the Pink Tower up next to the Brown Stair, which she really seemed to enjoy!

She didn't really have an interest in anything else -- some got a quick try, but nothing lasting. Oh, except for that new container! It's a small wooden box whose lid slides in and out on little tracks. She worked with that for quite a while and finally succeeded! And then she kept taking it apart and reassembling it (it took quite a bit of effort each time). And the whole time, she told a story about there being a bunny inside it who made noise.

I'm feeling a bit better today. We seemed to have a good time when I stopped over-thinking my attempts to be a real Montessori guide. And I don't think much was lost for that. I can always step back more as we get more comfortable with how this all works.