Watch Them Grow...

This is my first update post that covers both of our kiddos.  I'll morph this overtime, but for now, I'm just going to do a little write up about where the kids seem to be right now.



  

Q-ball reading to a napping T-Rex.

 


   It goes without saying that bringing a new person into the house is quite a change for all involved, but, overall, we are adjusting.  Bedtime and nighttime is the probably the most difficult time to juggle.  Q-ball's bedtime routine can take up to 2 hours, and when she is actually falling asleep, she is rather adamant about having Mama with her. A hungry newborn, of course, does not understand this.  During the night, Q-ball typically wakes up between 1-3 times at night and, again, demands that Mama help her go potty and go back to sleep. And, as a toddler, she does not understand why the new baby needs to eat at 3 am, and why Daddy has to put her back to sleep.  So, we are working through these issues.
  Q-ball has had a few meltdowns that are uncharacteristic for her. But, she seems to really love her new brother, and has never expressed anger towards him.  She seems a little more comfortable now that she knows that she can still nurse after T-Rex. But, she is annoyed that we respond immediately to T-Rex's cries, but we encourage Q-ball to use words vs. tears and screams.
   Fortunately for us (and him!), T-Rex is a really easy going guy. He will happily lay  alone under his mobile or next to the mirror for extended periods (about 10 minutes in baby time).  And, as of this moment, he does seem to enjoy his sleep, but he is still trying to figure out how to fall asleep. And, we excitedly get lots of spontaneous smiles.  We are working on elimination communication, and I'll have more specific updates on that later, but we now typically have at least one catch a day.  Which, I consider a success given that we are only doing it part-time.

Watch THEM Grow...

It's hard to believe that nearly 2 and a half weeks have passed since T-Rex has joined the family!  I thought I'd finally introduce him to the blogging world!  Brother and sister are getting along well.  Q-ball had a few normal adjustment issues, but is still clearly in awe of her little brother. 

A Mother's Role in Pretend Play

 This is the first post of a mult-post Science Friday series that discusses research about toddler pretend play.

   Throughout the past several months, Q-ball has been extremely active in pretend play.  Given that New Baby should arrive any hour or day, she has especially been focused on diapering, wearing, and strollering all of her stuffed animals the past few weeks.  I know that other toddlers begin this same fascination with pretend play at a similar time, so I wanted to look into the possible causes of and factors that contribute to pretend play. In this Science Friday post, I will look at the mother's role in fostering pretend play.  But, first, a definition of pretend play.  Most research in the topic follows the definition established by Catherine Garvey in her study of children's play, which is "play in which actions, objects, persons, places, and other aspects of the here-and-now are transformed or treated non-literally."

Pretending this is a real bear.

     Child development psychologist Jean Piaget believed that pretend play started spontaneously in each individual child, without any outside influence.  Given Piaget's profound influence on the subject of child development, many followed his belief, and it was not until recently that research has been done on the topic.  In contrast to Piaget's view, a growing body of evidence is now examining how interpersonal relationships contribute to a toddler's pretend play, especially that of the caregiver. 
     The study I examined for this post followed nine middle-class, college-educated families, primarily focusing on the mother and toddler for seven visits from ages 12 months to 48 months. The results, then, are biased towards this demographic, but were very clear in their results for this group. This, also, is the demographic of which I am a part, so the study is relevant to me. Still, the researchers state these findings are consistent with other studies done on the topic.  Here are some of the findings:

• In all families, the mother was the first to initiate pretend play with her child at 12 months.  In only half of the cases was the child able to reciprocate any pretend play.  I thought this observation was especially fascinating as I would not have guessed that I had initiated pretend play with Q-ball as I strive to follow her lead. However, upon further reflection, I realize that I often employ techniques found within Playful Parenting and other play-focused books to ease the stress of transitions and can imagine that I once had us crawl to naptime like cats or some similar activity.
• Mothers were also found to prompt pretend play, primarily by asking their child open-ended questions about their pretending.  (i.e.- What is your dog eating? Where is the train going? Why is the doll sad?)
• By 24 months, the toddler is just as likely to initiate pretend play with the mother as he is with her.  No matter who initiates play, both mother and toddler seem to be equally responsive the other when it comes to reciprocating play. In this study, 24 months is deemed the most pivotal role in mother-toddler pretend play.  This observation is a little sad for me, as I'm already past this milestone for my first child!  And, she's still so young!
• For a young toddler, a mother's active role in pretend play lengthens the play and encourages more activity.  At the ages of 24 months and 36 months, the length of pretend play when the mother is involved is nearly twice as long as episodes of solo pretend play.  Additionally, children were much more vocal when the mother was involved, in most cases parroting the mother's comments. 
• However, by 48 months, children tend to be involved in pretend play for twice as long when they play alone than when they play with their mother. 
• Between 36 and 48 months, children begin to seek out similarly aged playmates with which to pretend, leading to the decline in mother-toddler pretend play.

Does your toddler like pretend play?  Do you find this findings to be true in your household?  

Source:
Haight, W. and Miller, P.J. (1992). The development of everyday pretend play: A longitudinal study of mothers' participation. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 38(3). 331-349.

A Prepared Environment in a Small Space

    This is the second post I'm doing that focuses on establishing a Montessori environment in a small space.  You can find the first post with ideas for how to store materials here.

    About nine months ago, we moved into an apartment that was about 30% smaller than our previous space.  Q-ball's previous exploration space (You can find some older pictures here.) was quite large and included lots of floor space and lots of shelves, our current living arrangement just does not allow for this sort of space. However, we work hard to ensure that Q-ball still has lots of options for exploration.  Here's what we've done.

1.  Find unique spaces for small shelving units.  As the high temperatures here have been over 100 for the past few weeks, we really didn't see the need for a fireplace.  So, Q-ball's primary prepared environment is a converted fireplace.

2.  Use nooks and crannies. Q-ball's writing/art table is in a small corner near natural lighting and her reading/music shelf fits perfectly next to our family media shelf.  

3. Use Large Baskets.  Baskets are a key feature of any Montessori design.  However, in our small space, I've found that larger baskets are critical as they can easily be placed on the floor for use and then shifted to another place depending on the activity and how many people are in the room at any given time.  We have a basket for stuffed animals, blocks, balls, and a train set.

 

 3. Squeeze items into their "true" location.  Q-ball's kitchen materials (with the exception of her knife) are always assecible in the bottom of our pantry, and Q-ball's set to bathe and care for her stuffed animals along with her personal makeup bag are under the bathroom sink.