The Series of Unfortunate Events!

It's been a real battle. I empathize with you.

And here I thought rollie pollies were my friends! Adorable little garden thieves!

You know, I'm both super grateful and slightly grossed out. I appreciate the graphic!

Chauncey.

The Mighty Moose! I loved my classroom name.

We were also the Wondrous Whales. I enjoyed that name as well.

Our center encouraged the teachers to make their own names. It gave us ownership of the classroom and allowed us to let a particularly hard year die with the name.

Try asking the staff what they'd like to name their classrooms.

I understand this at my core. Our experiences are different but honey honestly, I could not empathize with this more.

I just want the fun and exciting experience so many others get.

Instead, I get to go into another surgery at an unspecified date to get a more invasive surgery done to remove the polyps that free because of the meds they gave me to increase follicle count during IVF egg retrieval. Today's surgery wasn't successful as they couldn't get them all.

I just want to be normal. I want the excitement. I want the fun. I want the mystery. I want, most of all, the hope that so many others get.

If there's any way you could add his other arm/hand on OP's shoulder, I think it would look more authentic.

As soon as kids were able, I transitioned them from using "mine" to "I'm using that". That language change really did help them understand that what they were playing with was actually the classroom's and no one really owned it. I modeled that language in the classroom with little people and colleagues so that they could see it was something that everyone should do.

Do this at home, too.

Also, timers. They're a real game changer. If you center doesn't have any, ask the teacher if they'd like some. The kid who asks to play with a currently used toy can ask the teacher for a timer. I usually gave the child who wanted something the timer so that they had something to hold. They would wait for it to go off and then bring it to me and we'd go exchange the timer for the toy.

The child who was now finished with the toy could either reset the timer (obviously with the teacher's help) to have another turn with the toy or could go find something else to do. I felt it was always equitable and helped me to keep on track of who was using what.

Kids still react very strongly to puppets at this stage. Have a series of circle times acting out these scenarios. But instead, have the puppets really articulate their feelings.

So at the beginning few circles, Puppet Maya would be mad, turn her back, scream, and say hateful things. Teacher puppet would tell Maya what her feelings were and ask her to try to figure out what she was really mad about. Come up with a song (or steal one from Daniel Tiger) that would be apt.

Make sure to engage the whole group at circle. Ask them how they think Maya feels, what she should do, and what she should say.

As the circles go on, give Maya's act some changes. Heck, have the kids chart them. Did Maya push her friends this time? Nope. Did Maya use her words this time? Yep. Did Maya take a break when she was upset? Yep. Wow! Good job, Maya!!!

Make sure you state that Maya is someone to be proud of. We all grow and learn and if we all could be like Maya, the world would be a nicer place. She's trying and that's really what is important.

I'd also really lean heavily into the social emotional books. I just read one called Bombaloo and I really loved it as I think it does a great job of showing what rage feels like in a very young person. I also loved that at the end, the child acknowledges that being that mad is kinda scary.

There's a Facebook group called Ruffwear Addicts that members sell/exchange ruffwear gear.

I'm not montessori trained in the slightest but I nannied for a little boy. I would purposefully stage the dishwasher so that all potentially dangerous things were towards the back of the trays and all child-safe items were towards the front. He'd always go for the stuff he could reach first and which I encouraged. Knives were placed in the upper-most tray (where he couldn't reach) and when the knives would fit, I'd group them in the utensil tray and immediately take that out. If your 12 month old is quick, call them over before you open the dishwasher and ask them to grab a plate. Or give them something to hold as it prevents the desire to snatch.

Thank you for taking the time to inform me! I really appreciate your response.

Schools really are a petri dish. I never had a better immune system during my years there, though.

The naptime routine was my last question! Thanks again!

This sub was recommended to me through reddit. I'm genuinely interested in the Montessori practice as I've been lurking through this sub.

I was a teacher in a NAEYC accredited classroom, usually with children starting at around 22 months and leaving the classroom around 34 months, which was prime toilet learning time. I taught for about 7 years and coached about 35 children through the process. Some left my classroom in diapers (one or two a year) but most left fully understanding their toileting needs.

My children stayed in diapers until we (teachers and parents) noticed signs that they were ready: diapers were typically dry for hours at a time, were interested in self care opportunities, were at a low-stress time (no new babies coming into their lives, moving, etc. ), could pull their pants up and down, wash their hands, etc. We always listened to the children's cues and rode the waves of interest and disinterest. We practiced all the self help skills prior to actually starting their toilet learning journey so that it was not an overwhelming task.

In a NAEYC accredited classroom, you need to have several areas that are "cozy". Usually, that means a variety of area rugs, pillows, stuffies, blankets, and other soft things. Does a Montessori classroom have to have these kinds of cozy areas? If so, how do you keep them clean? Because BMs and urine can leak through underwear so quickly, as soon as a child sits down, it seeps right through.

I'd be so worried about keeping things sanitary, especially with all the children simultaneously toilet learning. Mouthing is still very typical at this age as well as just touching everything. How do you manage this in your classroom?

My dad had a cystoscopy done. They did give him a local anesthetic (thank god). Otherwise, I imagine it would have been incredibly painful. Did they not do that for you?

To be clear, I'm not asking for sedating for any routine procedure. But, I think for any procedure that requires intentional scraping, putting extra fluid inside of your body so that they can get a better view, unblocking something (like a fallopian tube) or ones that have caused at least 50% of the population to feel significant pain, pain meds should be offered.

It sounds like you're a great physician. I hope you always keep your patients informed and comfortable.

Out of curiosity, may I ask what ones? I'm just sharing my experience, noy trying to be combative, as I am genuinely curious.

I've had friends get vasectomies, but they got vicodin. My husband has had 11 surgeries and always gets the good drugs. Friend had several surface level tumors taken out and was put under.

I've had an HSG and multiple SHGs and they are horrendous. No drugs. I will refuse another HSG unless I get something stronger. I sat up after my HSG and there was just a mound (like 6 inches high) of bloody surgical paper towels on the operating cart. The only kind person in the entire room was the person who was cleaning up. She asked if I wanted a wash cloth for "down there".

Shit is barbaric.

Not that I want any person, man or woman, to have to endure the things I've had to, but I've never heard of a man having a procedure done where he wasn't given adequate pain meds.

Right. But you only know about the violent diarrhea until it comes out. And by then, it's just too late.

It's not the possibility of exposed private areas but what comes out of them. That second layer of clothing acts as a barrier/ container for those less than solid poos and violent diarrhea episodes.

It can be hard for others to understand what value/ joy a leased horse can bring. I commend OP for resoectfully asking about something they don't yet understand. To those outside the horse/ animal husbandry world, this concept can look really strange.

Get a run of testing done of your reproductive bits. They can give you a general idea of how much time you have: ovarian reseve, uterine lining ealth, fibroids, polyps, and all that jazz. This may help influence your decision one way or another.

I had to quit a different sport (rugby) because the medical side of trying for babies was all-too consuming (emotionally and physically). Many of us assume we're all normal and healthy, and many of us are, but we are so often left in the dark about our reproductive health.

The more information we have, the better informed choices we can make.

If you follow the big rock on the bottom left of the screen and go up, you'll see a bonus creature!

I appreciate this question. I'm not ready to lease yet but I'm definitely thinking it's a future probability. I want to be a informed as possible.

I cackled like a witch at this comment

Yeetans...