Saturday, November 21, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The Riggs Family LOVES Montessori!
For those of you who are just meeting us or those who have not had the pleasure (yes pleasure) of hearing one of my many lectures about the benefits of Montessori, the Riggs' family LOVES Montessori! For those that have little ones or are thinking about little ones in the future, I highly recommend reading about the Montessori philosophy. Since I could not possibly do justice by try to explain all of the wonderful details of Montessori, I will give a few details and some recommendations for some great books to reference.
We have tried to implement as much of the Montessori philosophy as is right for our family from the beginning, but since the boys have started Montessori school they have blossomed. The first time I heard Kaden say "Lakelan, may I please have that train back" my heart skipped a beat. And when Lakelan responded to this request by (brace yourself) giving the train back, I think that Nathan had to peel me off the kitchen floor! Kaden has become so caring and compassionate towards others I can hardly believe that he once had trouble socializing with others at all. Montessori's main goal, above academics, is to raise self sufficient, caring, life learners and we are so grateful that our boys are able to follow this wonderful philosophy.
I recently asked the boys teachers what their chosen activities are during work time. Lakelan loves puzzles. He is very interested in his letters these days. While reading a book recently, Lakelan pointed at the letter A and said "A aaaaa" he then did the same for the letter S. We are so proud of his progress! Currently Kaden has no interest in learning his letters. His teacher told us that he generally stays in the math section. He enjoys working with the wooden stairs, the rods and the counting beads. He also enjoys his shapes as well as puzzles.
I am sure that I will talk about Montessori more in this blog but for anyone that is interested, some great book suggestions are Montessori From the Start by Paula Polk Lillard and Teaching Montessori in the Home by Elizabeth Hainstock. These books along with many Montessori materials can be found on Amazon.com (whose founders, by the way, are products themselves of Montessori).
So, without further adieu, a few pics of the boys in action....
Kaden strengthening his writing muscles as well as his concentration by pulling Kernels one by one.
Lakelan sometimes spends an hour pouring rice back and fourth.
Lakelan working on his fine motor skills by screwing and unscrewing lids from small containers.
We have tried to implement as much of the Montessori philosophy as is right for our family from the beginning, but since the boys have started Montessori school they have blossomed. The first time I heard Kaden say "Lakelan, may I please have that train back" my heart skipped a beat. And when Lakelan responded to this request by (brace yourself) giving the train back, I think that Nathan had to peel me off the kitchen floor! Kaden has become so caring and compassionate towards others I can hardly believe that he once had trouble socializing with others at all. Montessori's main goal, above academics, is to raise self sufficient, caring, life learners and we are so grateful that our boys are able to follow this wonderful philosophy.
I recently asked the boys teachers what their chosen activities are during work time. Lakelan loves puzzles. He is very interested in his letters these days. While reading a book recently, Lakelan pointed at the letter A and said "A aaaaa" he then did the same for the letter S. We are so proud of his progress! Currently Kaden has no interest in learning his letters. His teacher told us that he generally stays in the math section. He enjoys working with the wooden stairs, the rods and the counting beads. He also enjoys his shapes as well as puzzles.
I am sure that I will talk about Montessori more in this blog but for anyone that is interested, some great book suggestions are Montessori From the Start by Paula Polk Lillard and Teaching Montessori in the Home by Elizabeth Hainstock. These books along with many Montessori materials can be found on Amazon.com (whose founders, by the way, are products themselves of Montessori).
So, without further adieu, a few pics of the boys in action....
Kaden strengthening his writing muscles as well as his concentration by pulling Kernels one by one.
Lakelan sometimes spends an hour pouring rice back and fourth.
Lakelan working on his fine motor skills by screwing and unscrewing lids from small containers.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Halloween
I know halloween was two weeks ago. Apparently we have been pretty busy, so here are a few pictures of our halloween fun.
We started the day working together to finish our halloween costumes. Incase you didn't already know, I am a bit of a procrastinator. Although Lakelan's wizard hat did not quite workout, the boy's costumes still turned out pretty darn cute. Kaden was a ghost, oh sorry Kaden, a 'happy ghost' and Lakelan was a wizard. In these pics the boys are working together to find the perfect magic wand!
Our halloween was very exciting this year because the boys are both old enough to participate. For a whole week before halloween Kaden asked every morning if it was halloween today. We spent our halloween with Nathan's family at his aunt Ann's. We all had a lot of fun and the boys really enjoyed playing with their cousins.
We started the day working together to finish our halloween costumes. Incase you didn't already know, I am a bit of a procrastinator. Although Lakelan's wizard hat did not quite workout, the boy's costumes still turned out pretty darn cute. Kaden was a ghost, oh sorry Kaden, a 'happy ghost' and Lakelan was a wizard. In these pics the boys are working together to find the perfect magic wand!
Our halloween was very exciting this year because the boys are both old enough to participate. For a whole week before halloween Kaden asked every morning if it was halloween today. We spent our halloween with Nathan's family at his aunt Ann's. We all had a lot of fun and the boys really enjoyed playing with their cousins.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Whole Wheat Bread Pudding
So since Lakelan insists on being up and at um by 6:00am sharp I decided to share with everyone a yummy recipe he and I made the other day. It uses honey instead of sugar and lots of yummy spices and apple pieces, sure to be a hit on a blustery day!
For a kid-friendly version I decided to omit the walnuts in this batch but I am sure it is extra yummy with the walnuts. Enjoy!
For a kid-friendly version I decided to omit the walnuts in this batch but I am sure it is extra yummy with the walnuts. Enjoy!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Dinosaurs!
This weekend was an extra special weekend. Saturday night we had the pleasure of seeing Walking With the Dinosaurs.
The adventure started on Thursday when Kaden was told that we were going to see the dinosaurs. Kaden has a bit of a dinosaur obsession and can frequently out fact the best of them when it comes to these interesting big guys. Well, maybe we should have told him on Saturday because the only thing we heard for three days was about dinosaurs. His poor teachers can probably pursue new careers in paleontology at this point ;).
So our adventure began with a train ride into Dallas. This the boys LOVED! Lakelan seemed a bit confused about our mode of transportation because everytime he heard the train whistle, he ran to the window to look for the train. No matter how much we tried to explain to him that we were riding the train he still looked for that "hidden" train every time the whistle blew.
When the show started the boys were very excited! It was amazing how agile and smooth those dinosaurs were. As the night progressed and the dinosaurs began to get larger and louder, Kaden became a bit uneasy but overall they were both very engaged and excited. These pictures do little justice but you get the idea.
By the end of the night we were all POOPED!
Thanks Nana for a wonderful day!
The adventure started on Thursday when Kaden was told that we were going to see the dinosaurs. Kaden has a bit of a dinosaur obsession and can frequently out fact the best of them when it comes to these interesting big guys. Well, maybe we should have told him on Saturday because the only thing we heard for three days was about dinosaurs. His poor teachers can probably pursue new careers in paleontology at this point ;).
So our adventure began with a train ride into Dallas. This the boys LOVED! Lakelan seemed a bit confused about our mode of transportation because everytime he heard the train whistle, he ran to the window to look for the train. No matter how much we tried to explain to him that we were riding the train he still looked for that "hidden" train every time the whistle blew.
When the show started the boys were very excited! It was amazing how agile and smooth those dinosaurs were. As the night progressed and the dinosaurs began to get larger and louder, Kaden became a bit uneasy but overall they were both very engaged and excited. These pictures do little justice but you get the idea.
By the end of the night we were all POOPED!
Thanks Nana for a wonderful day!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The season has officially begun!
This Saturday we started the season off with the pumpkin patch. The boys had so much fun riding the tractor, climbing the three storie treehouse, and of course picking their big pumpkin.
By the end of the day this is how we all felt!
I also found out that stores can be over-rated as I attended my first garage sales!
By the end of the day this is how we all felt!
I also found out that stores can be over-rated as I attended my first garage sales!
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