The Book Nook - New and Improved

A few months ago I posted about the reading nook I made for Isabella. We decided to use some of our tax refund and buy a book shelf for her books. I'm so glad we did because now that she can see all her books she wants to read even more!

The Book Nook

A few days ago I posted about Montessori. I finished my first project, Isabella now has a little reading nook right in the living room. We don't have a bookcase yet, so for now her books are just in the basket.

It didn't cost anything to do this! I made my own pattern for the bean bag chair, then sewed it from some curtains that I didn't need. I stuffed it with packing peanuts that I got free from the post office. And this is the picture I framed for her, which I just printed off and put in one of the 12,000 frames we got as wedding gifts.

Montessori

I have recently become totally addicted to the Mommy Life blog. This woman is amazing, she has 12 children, is an author, has numerous speaking engagements, etc. I don't know how she does it! She is also a Montessori teacher. I started reading her blog when she began the process of becoming Catholic. I had heard of Montessori before, but knew nothing about it (I still don't know a whole lot). But I do know that she has me completely excited about learning more. I have learned that so many everyday experiences can be learning experiences for Isabella. I also learned that one of the main aspects of Montessori is seeing the world through a child's eyes, that being so little causes a lot of frustration, tantrums, etc, for little ones. It promotes a very child friendly environment, such as having a child size table and chairs for them to play and do projects at. I was really wanting to get a good set, but that is not in our budget right now. So I was SO excited when my aunt emailed me the other day and wanted to know if we wanted hers, now that her kids have outgrown it!! Another thing I am going to try to do is create a very child friendly reading environment. Isabella's favorite thing to do is read (and my favorite thing to do is read to her). A lot of the posts talk about creating a reading nook with books, a bean bag chair, and eye level pictures for even the littlest ones. I am very excited to try this, since a bean bag chair is also not in the budget right now, I'm going to make one myself (or I'll try at least :) )
Thank you Barbara for getting this mommy excited for everything each new day will bring!