Surgery Of A Delicate Nature...

For my day job, as many of you know, I run a Preschool. Nothing out of the ordinary there, except I'm Montessori trained, and it's not a Montessori school. "Is that a problem then?" I hear you ask....(that, or The Voices have started again!!)...Well, no, ordinarily it isn't. Nowadays, most schools have adopted a lot of Montessori ideas ....each child is an individual (there's a radical thought!), each child will learn at his/her own pace (yet another radical idea!!), and so on.....
For the most part, my (non-Montessori) staff and I rub along very well. But in the case of The Whale, we had to agree to disagree.It is one area that I simply can't get my head round. Or, rather, I do try but it is the one SPECIFIC toy I can't get my head round....
Meet The Whale.....

...I cannot STAND the darn thing. Never have liked it. Never have I been the one to remove it from the cupboard where it lurks. And for one simple reason...
Montessori believed that children need things to be real. And if you think about it, you'll realise this to be true. They'd much rather brush Mum's hair with Mum's hairbrush, than Barbie's with a plastic one, much rather sit in the family's real car, behind the steering wheel "driving", than in one of those machines that you pay £2 to be rocked to and fro in, while listening to dreadful music.
Now, as a mum myself, I happen to believe that in today's world, there is room for a bit of both....for the real, and for the make believe.......Except for when it comes to that AWFUL whale.
The problem you see, is the purpose for which The Whale was made. In his insides hide all sorts of geometric solids, because obviously, if you were able to slice open a Blue Whale, you would find wooden cylinders, spheres, square-based pyramids and the like.
But that's not the half of it. And certainly not the worst bit to offend my Montessori sensibilities. No. That would be this....

....You are now looking at the behind of The Whale. Quite literally. And this is the bit where I COMPLETELY draw the line. The children are supposed to shove their hands up The Whale's bottom, and extract said cylinders, cubes and spheres.
It's wrong. Just wrong. And I could stand it no longer. Something needed to be done. So I did what I should have done a LONG time ago......

.....Surgery is complete. The Whale is now settling into his new home, along with the other cuddly toys.
Have a lovely weekend. xx