Ava is currently 2 years and 8 months old.
A couple of months ago we started noticing how her curiosity and interest in a lot of things were developing rapidly. She communicates very well now and she's very interested in interactive and creative play. With the rate she was learning, she eventually outgrew her toys, about 70% of them - most of which were made of plastic and battery-operated.
A couple of months ago we started noticing how her curiosity and interest in a lot of things were developing rapidly. She communicates very well now and she's very interested in interactive and creative play. With the rate she was learning, she eventually outgrew her toys, about 70% of them - most of which were made of plastic and battery-operated.
When Ava was still a newborn, we used to go to Numa along E. Rodriguez to get some of our nursing stuff. That's where and when I actually noticed how cute wooden toys are. But at that time Ava was still too young and I haven't understood its advantages. At the same time, we received a lot of gifts from our families and friends and they were all wonderful which Ava loved playing with. But as I've mentioned earlier, she outgrew most of these toys and playtime has turn into chaos. Something needs to be done
It was only a month ago when we finally decided to ditch most of her toys. We knew that changing our play environment as well as our materials will definitely catch up and hopefully sustain the needs of our ever-growing tot. I researched about toddler activities that are fun but will be a great learning experience at the same time. That’s when I stumbled upon the How We Montessori website. The simplicity of the Montessori approach was interesting and are very similar to the activities that homeschooling families do. I am totally open to the idea of homeschooling Ava if our family’s setup will allow it when it’s time for her to start school. We'll where we'll be in the next years to come.
For the meantime, let me share some of the activities that we are currently doing in rotation.
Creative Building
Having a set of wooden blocks is definitely a must-have for every curious toddler, even babies. We have an Ikea set and a basic block set which I’ve had (actually a Jenga set) since college. These pieces in different geometric shapes and forms highly encourage imagination and creativity.
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| Mula Building Blocks with Wagon, Ikea |