DIY station for the girls

We're trying out the Montessori method of learning over here, which succinctly boils down to "Help me to do it myself". In this spirit we have a little shelving unit with a water dispenser, their cups/bowls/plates, some cloths for cleaning up any spills, and a broom and dustpan for sweeping messes. So far it's been a big success: 80%ish of the time the girls set the table for meals, get their own water (or get water for their visiting friends!), wipe up any spills, and sweep around the house. 20% of the time they decide they don't want to and then Momma has to hold them accountable, but it's becoming more and more of a habit!

Most exciting for me was just yesterday: we visited a friend and ate lunch with her two little girls. After lunch the friend took her daughters for a potty break. My girls went straight to clearing the table of plates and cups, putting them on the counter, without any words from me! I love it.

You'll notice the water dispenser is only slightly filled - I'm optimistic, but we're still learning. The dispenser is plastic and light, and the girls learned quickly that if they tug on it it will fall down. We only had one spill, thankfully, and the girls helped me clean it up quickly. The rest of their plateware is glass though - I've found that they're much more careful with their stuff if it isn't plastic. We've broken one cup (from dropping it in the sink) and one bowl (dropping it while carrying to the counter) and there have been no injuries. Better yet, the girls were impressed by what happens when they're not careful - they've told me the story of the broken bowl pretty much every meal we use bowls since ;)