New Montessori-Style Toddler Trays

After months of total slacking, due to distractions like birthday parties and home improvement projects, I found some time to slap together some new trays for Jackson to play with, and by play with I of course mean "scatter around the house."

1. Paper matryoshkas copied from an HSBC ad about globalization that I found in The Economist (thanks for the subscription Grandpa Jay!), which should be a fun way to practice matching and ordering by size.

2. There are two sets of seven ribbons, which is both an occasion for more matching and a sneaky lesson in the names of some common fabric patterns: stripes, polka dots, checks, plaid, paisley, meander or fret, and knot.

3. Pouring! This is just going to end up all over the house and under the couch, but the kid loves pouring, so better to direct his energy into dry pouring than let him wreck havoc with milk, which is what he usually does. :)

And lest anyone thing that Waldorf has the patent on promoting beauty in the lives of children, these are flowers for Jackson's table clipped from a feral rose bush in our neighborhood. Thanks to Tim Seldin's book How To Raise An Amazing Child the Montessori Way for the suggestion, including the tip that single-serving Perrier and Orangina bottles make easy and affordable bud vases. I needed an excuse to drink more Orangina anyway. :)