Thank you, Fox Family Boutique, for sponsoring this post, Montessori Learning with a Toddler. I was selected for this opportunity by Fox Family Boutique; the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
If you have been around Bahorich Abode long, you know that we love anything that is truly intentional in nature. One area of our lives that strive to be intentional is our love of learning around the home. In a previous career, I taught middle school English literature and now I spend my days motivating employees to continue their love of learning throughout their careers. It is obvious that exploring, adventuring, and continuing to learn new and exciting things is important to us.
Because of this, we are continually searching for ideas that interest our little Ollie, capture his attentions, and meet his individual needs and curiosities. There are many reasons why we are encouraging Montessori learning in our homes, but the love of learning is definitely one of them. Montessori creates such a flexible learning environment with a child-centered learning environment and reality oriented through science, math, and things like daily chores. Although Ollie won't start traditional Montessori schooling for another year, we are definitely allowing him to learn through Montessori-like activities at home.
Toddlers love to tinker and we have become big advocates for open-ended play, developing gross-motor skills, and providing ample opportunities to explore their surroundings. This is why I have fallen in love with busy board. Busy boards help develop your child's logic and fine motor skills, and not to mention, they captivate them for a long time. Busy boards help with color perception, coordination of movement, imagination, perseverance, exhibiting own activity, and skills using simple locks, velcro, and zippers.
"It follows that at the beginning of his life the individual can accomplish wonders – without effort and quite unconsciously." Maria Montessori
The unfortunate thing about busy board is either they are expensive, massive, or take time to build on your own. So I knew when I found Fox Family Boutique, her design was perfect.
LOVE: Beyond the Montessori learning that is happening when Ollie plays with it, it is so compact! It fits perfectly in his on-the-road bag and we plan on toting it with us when we fly to Disney World in a few weeks. It is a great size for him to pick up and it does not have to be mounted anywhere like the larger ones do.
LIKE: The quality is amazing. The handcrafted wooden piece is so sturdy and well designed. I love the different colors and activities that Fox Family Boutique was able to include in such a compact busy board.
BUMMER: Some of the locks are still hard to open for Ollie. All busy boards are definitely to be used with adult supervision; however, these locks are still a bit tricky for our 14 month old and if we are not careful, I could see a pinched little finger. It hasn't happened yet, so maybe I am just a bit cautious. I do like that the locks are a bit difficult because this means it will grow with him a bit. So maybe the bummer is more of a growth opportunity for us.
Fox Family Boutique is one of two shops that owner Tatiana has. Her and her husband's shops are their family business. Tatiana focuses on her busy boards over at Fox Family Boutique, and her husband's focuses on puzzles and crafts made of wood over at Master Wooden. They have three small children, twins boys who are 4 years old and a girl who is 3! They implement their ideas together with their children. Their children help decide what they need for development, what they like to play, and what interests them, which helps with the designs in the shop. How neat!
Residing in Ukraine, it is very difficult to make a living for many folks, especially for those that have such a big family. Tatiana works at home with my husband. They have assistants, as the business is developing and growing and they are not always able to keep up with the volumes, which is amazing for them! All their work is handmade which limits their volumes. In every board or puzzle, they put their souls into, and they love their shops and their customers.
Beyond the intentionality of their shop and why they work each and every day, it is such an honor to help support them from around the world! Their busy boards and puzzles (which Ollie loves as well) are so well priced and well-made.
I am so excited to share with you a 10% off coupon for their shop. This is a great gift for those looking for a different and unique gift for their little ones for the holidays and beyond. We cannot get enough of ours. Use the coupon code BLOG10 for a discount to either of their shops!
Ollie loves his wooden puzzle as well. It allows for spacial learning and it is so colorful and cute. My favorite is the little elephant inside the elephant puzzle. I think it is so perfect!
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