Here are some tagged links for kids’ games.

You could use any type of plastic bag, including the ones your newspaper is wrapped in, to make plastic bag pom poms. What a great idea for decorating for New Year’s Eve.

You can use the Montessori birthday celebration to celebrate the New Year. Place in a circle the name of each month written on a card, put a candle in the middle and let your child walk around the months of 2008. It’s great to say out loud the names of the months. Place a new January card with the year 2009 written on it to replace January 2008. Tell your child that this is a new year, 2009.

Montessori believed that children had an innate structure for learning. In a sense, each child has a spritual emybryo that directs him or her in a path of learning. This learning leads children to a personal end goal in their life.
Also, the more sensorial and human interactions an infant receives, the more his or her intelligence will grow.

Montessori Teacher Training has a good article about presenting Montessori materials to your toddler.

Every toddler is different. I think we have to consider that preschoolers have been on this earth just a few years and have a lifetime to learn and grow. The most important way to introduce new learning experiences to your child is to make sure that the activity is fun, not too difficult or too easy, and most of all, that your child wants to do the activity. If you take your time and enjoy the moments with your toddler, learning will be as enjoyable as eating chocolate cake.

Today it’s warm enough to hike. I made ( and have eaten) some whole grain cinnamon rolls and I’m ready to do some walking. Happy Christmas to everyone.

It’s really sad that the American cottage industry of toy making is going to be punished because of contaminated toys from overseas. Read more here.
This article explains how homemade toys will be illegal.

I really want it to snow. I have my snowshoes and poles already by the door. Come on snow!