Getting dressed

We go to great lengths to educate our children using Maria Montessori's methods.  We have waited in line on cold January mornings with newborn babies in tow to be at the front of the line on magnet school registration day.  At one point or another in the past 11 years I have toured every Montessori preschool within 30 miles of my house.  

Applying Montessori principles at home can be challenging.  You want the child to do it herself, so you struggle to hold back as she does it imperfectly.  You must watch calmly as she wipes up her spills.  In a perfect Montessori house, there would be low sinks and only small cups, but we live in a regular sized house with a plethora of Dickey's Big Yellow Cups.

One learns not to argue over clothing choices.  Does it sort of fit?  Is it reasonable for the weather?  Can the child put it on herself?  Is it NOT Easter Sunday?  Then pretty much anything goes around here.

And that, my friends, is the reason why Mackenzie wore a pink sweater, a purple penguin pajama top, Elmo underwear, mini green scrub pants, no socks, hand-me-down fire truck shoes, and a butterfly necklace to school today.  She chose those items, and I approved them.  She won't be on the cover of Dallas Child, but she left the house a happy girl.