Fascinating Creatures

I decided to make muffins this morning while the boys were outside playing. My niece was in the kitchen and I decided to get her involved and let her try to stir the batter. Not an easy feat as it was very thick, so we did it together. I put her down to take care of something and she wanted to stir more, so I held her up to stirt more. I put her bacj down, siad, "Wait a second," and pulled out the muffin tins. Next came the cutest thing: she remembered from the one other time I had had her help me put the papers in, so she got herself seated next to the tins and waited for the papers to come. I found it so fascinating, seeing for myself the sense of order Montessori had observed in young children. It can only take one time for something to stick as being the thing to do! I also was intrigued by the change in her approach. The first time, she kept doubling up papers in a hole and I would take one out and put it in an empty cup. This time she didn't do it even once. She thought about it at the end and hesitated, but then put the last paper in the empty cup.

Children are fascinating!