Henry Helping in the Kitchen
Of course I also need to say that the rest of the process was not this smooth. I tried to teach him how to smear pizza sauce with a spatula, but he wanted to do it with his hands (which was fine except then he grabbed a big chunk of the dough and stuffed it in his mouth).
Henry’s new school offers parent education classes (hooray for learning more about Montessori!), and one of the instructors said, “Children need to learn about the physics of the world before they are ready for Practical Life.” That idea makes a ton of sense to me. Henry needs to splash in water (in the tub, outside, etc.), play with faucets, drop things, etc., before he will be motivated to follow procedures in the kitchen. Also, he’s young for Practical Life in the kitchen. Children are generally ready sometime between 15 and 18 months. I need to be more conscious of not rushing his development. But still, he’s definitely ready to be more involved with what we’re doing in the kitchen.
Here’s a video of Henry helping with his breakfast smoothie.
6 Comments
Andrea
the voice is great! there's a fair bit of evidence that using added up-down contour (which is what you're doing — you're not really using a high pitch, just exaggerating the ups and downs) is helping him learn language, not hindering it. As long as you're using real words you're golden. At least, from what I know.
Kristy
These are so cute. I can't believe how well he follows the instructions with the mushrooms! It is hard not to rush development with your first child. I was always anxious to be able to do more and interact at a higher level with my first. Now with the second, I have the satisfaction of seeing both kids simultaneously reach milestones so just when I get antsy for one to reach a milestone, the other will progress if that makes any sense!
Carrie
Oh, Sara, he is so adorable! I love these videos, and he's doing such a great job with helping out. 🙂
At Home with Montessori
where did the little baby go? I see a big boy doing important work! Lovely to get a glimpse into your daily life – would have loved to see a video of the dough grabbing and sauce smearing too!
Kelly
I second what Andrea said – definitely not something to worry about. Just as babies know instinctually how to develop, we know instinctually how to help them. 🙂
And can I just say – with all this focus on how amazing Henry is (which of course he is) we're losing sight of the other amazing person in the room. Making breakfast, patiently encouraging development, AND filming the whole thing all at the same time. Impressive!
saracotner
Thanks, Andrea!
Hi, Kristy! That makes total sense.
@ Carrie and Meg: Can you believe how far he's come since his mobile-watching days? Craziness!
Hi, Kelly! Thank you for the kind words. My definite tendency is to focus on my areas of growth, so it's nice to stop and focus on the positive!