Montessori introduces skills early, so children become increasingly capable as they get older. Becoming a capable child who grows into a capable adult happens step-by-step.
Start now! Even if you missed the super early days, your child is still young. I also encourage adults to work on a wide range of skills. These things always end up coming in handy during one’s life.
I like this video because the teacher used a gentle introduction to the water and swimming. It is quite similar to the way I teach children to swim.
Nowadays, plenty of adults are keeling over, so your children are safest if they can get themselves out of the water by themselves.
Avoid plastic pools! I know, I know… I loved mine, too. But endocrine disruptors are serious, which is why we got rid of ours. Go for an outdoor sprinkler, a small inground tile pool, a pond, or a stainless-steel tub.
Remember that galvanized metal usually contains lead — it is part of the galvanization process. No stock tank pools for the kiddos, unless yours happens to test lead-free. I only figured this out AFTER I bought my own stock tank with the idea of making such a little pool. Rain came and the resulting tadpoles all died. When tadpoles die, it’s pretty serious. I felt horrible about it, but the only thing I can do is not use it. And share the news.
On the upside, I am looking at Becky Bee’s hot tub book on her little site. It definitely has pool-pond potential!
With water comes plenty of sunshine. Now that the FDA has decided to let us know the chemicals in sunscreen are officially cancer-causing — for example, benzene has been known to cause cancer for at least 100 years, but better late than never, I suppose — everyone can use the old-fashioned sunblock: a hat.
There is no chemical or biological free lunch. Nothing magically protects your skin without a cost. Even zinc will strip your microbiome, which is now looking like it is responsible for allowing our skin to use the sunshine.
Great grandma had a straw hat and a tan. And no sunglasses.
It’s interesting that the retina seems to be responsible for telling our body how to handle the sunshine. No need to mess up this mechanism.
This is so true about learning to swim early saving lives. And having a safe swimming environment. And who does not like a nice hat to keep the sun off your head!