Baby Binomial Cube

J-jo's favorite thing is to be in on the action when Bear is playing.

I often have to be very creative in how to get him away from all of the little things she plays with.

He loves opening and closing this jewelry box we got free at a garage sale.  My mom showed him how to put a cube in there.  Now he's constantly putting them in and out.  Opening and closing.  It kind of reminds me of the binomial cube - put cubes and prisms in, close the lid.

This is the work I now give J-jo when I am presenting lessons to Bear or assisting her with something.

Our binomial and trinomial cubes arrived in the mail.  Lesson learned: do not open new materials in front of student if not intending student to use them right away.  For some reason, the trinomial cube held much greater appeal to her than the binomial.  She sure got motivated to master that binomial cube once I told her the trinomial cube could only be used after learning the binomial.

The trinomial is a lot trickier. Of course, she didn't give me time to read or watch exactly how she should place the pieces on her mat.  I'm sure the authentic Montessori way allows you to see relationships better.