Montessori at home; Patterns and blocks

Sometimes when planning these little activities or games as we like to call them, I have a specific idea in my head but when it comes to actually doing them they often take a new route all by themselves. Or rather by the will of Theo. 

I wanted to create a pattern on paper that I then suggested to Theo that he try and copy the pattern using the blocks, but he obviously thought that it would be a much better idea just to try and match the blocks to the shapes that I had drawn. Which is fine, perhaps not as challenging as I wanted it to be, but that's sort of what this 'montessori' is all about. Taking the lead from children and what they are interested in and how they interpret materials and creating their own games from that. It was a good lesson not to try and force something on him that he wasn't as interested in. In the end we created our own designs and were able to talk about what shapes fit into and create other shapes when put together. 

Sometimes its really tricky to see things from a child's perspective, and these activities are as much about my learning as they are for his. They teach me to stand back and let go of my 'plans' and to marvel at how my child can use his imagination and take the lead. Something I feel is needed in lots of areas! 

So I challenge myself and you to provide the materials and sit back and see what develops!