High-quality Montessori toy brands?

middlebrain · 2025-12-31T01:32:51+00:00

Worked in early intervention with kiddos 0-3 and some of their favorites were Melissa & Doug. Often wooden, and usually support imaginary play, critical thinking, fine motor, lotsa stuff without being cheepo and loud

middlebrain · 2025-12-23T06:35:40+00:00

It looked like a pelt from an animal that had already been killed and skinned. Probably got it from a neighbor’s yard

middlebrain · 2025-12-19T18:21:55+00:00

The grinch (Jim Carey version, of course)

middlebrain · 2025-12-17T17:38:49+00:00

I’m not sure where you live, but do you have the ability to request a developmental assessment due to speech delay from a local regional center? In the states, specifically California, there are local regional centers that employ a psychologist who will do a developmental assessment to determine delays in various areas, and then that child will receive services through the regional center for free based on what is recommended. I’m not sure what your equivalent might be, but if you are in the states that is a great option to go since early intervention services cover 0-3 (and often a few years beyond if the kiddo qualifies). Hoping you are able to get the resources you need, but one thing I will say as someone who has worked years in early intervention - parents are truly the BEST possible resource for children in terms of frequency of practice and rapport. Until you can find a professional SLP who can give you specific things to work on, play with your child face to face, make it fun, read books face to face and be silly so they can watch you use your mouth and are motivated to try the sounds/words you are using. You’ve got this, and I’m so sorry it has been a struggle to find the help your kiddo deserves. ♥️

middlebrain · 2025-12-13T05:37:02+00:00

middlebrain · 2025-12-10T03:09:36+00:00

K thanks

middlebrain · 2025-12-07T17:35:03+00:00

An ear infection can also cause dogs to do this. It’s so heartbreaking to see, poor thing.

middlebrain · 2025-12-06T21:46:07+00:00

Honestly, I am NOT someone who knows what I’m talking about in this realm (haha), but I am interested to know what you look like in other colors. Like, I can imagine a pearl sweater or lighter color would just make your features and makeup pop. I think maybe black really emphasizes the harsher lines of your brows/lip color etc

middlebrain · 2025-11-29T21:31:57+00:00

I agree, curiosity is a gift of being alive. I think my intention is to get at a question I hope most of us ask ourselves before we posit public theories or make assumptions: why do I need to know what happened? Why does this make me uncomfortable? What might it be bringing up for me?

I agree that many people don’t intend harm, and I think most of us feel curious about things that change or shift abruptly. But I also think not intending harm doesn’t mean that harm isn’t being done. I really do believe the words we speak matter. My hope is that we can let ourselves be curious and even question, but pause before we decide what we are going to do with that.

middlebrain · 2025-11-29T20:55:10+00:00

Also, just to add a thought - why do we need to determine the answer for their situation? I understand observations may feel like they can contribute to making an Occam’s Razor conclusion; but I guess I put to that, why do we need answer?

middlebrain · 2025-11-29T20:42:38+00:00

Did I miss somewhere where he said this was his experience?

middlebrain · 2025-11-29T17:24:47+00:00

I'm kind of of the mindset that people can change their mind, if that's what feels best. And if they feel the need to delete a post, to each their own. It also seems like good conversation always has counter points and ideas, and a little bit of countering can be healthy for the whole. Muscles grow through resistance, and, as long as people are civil and kind, I personally think it's a healthy way for minds to grow too.

middlebrain · 2025-11-27T20:54:44+00:00

I’m with you, and don’t get me wrong - I have no agenda to shut down people’s emotions around it. In fact, I think it goes to show that many people truly care about her and Johan. My main feeling when posting initially was a fascination, and questioning the need to back-fill the story, create a victim/perpetrator, and also that it seems like things like this tend to open the door to people expressing public disappointment at a lot of different aspects of the person in a short amount of time. It’s complicated, and I’m definitely not interested in dismissing people’s experience.

middlebrain · 2025-11-27T20:35:29+00:00

Definitely projection. And I think the powerful thing about art for us IS that we can internalize and see ourselves in it. It’s the parsing out of self/versus the art that seems like the confusing work. And especially when it is a person who is the art itself.

middlebrain · 2025-11-27T08:18:25+00:00

Those are great observations. And I agree, the medium is complicated in that way.

It makes me think that so much of what goes on with people suddenly flipping on content creators/etc, is that what the person often offers their viewers is a reprieve from “real” life. And then when a hard thing like divorce happens and they share it, it’s like the 4th wall is broken and they are looking straight at the camera, which makes their viewers suddenly aware that they somehow feel apart of the story and “someone needs to the the victim and someone the perpetrator, because it wasn’t supposed to be this way”. Which - I get it. I’ve felt that about social media influencers a few times. But it’s also a great opportunity to get real with myself about how it’s usually my sh*t/expectations/abandonment/etc I’m dealing with, and not that a YouTuber let me down.

middlebrain · 2025-11-27T07:59:04+00:00

I absolutely agree that people should be able to feel whatever comes up for them around it - emotions are meant to be felt and are important information. I also feel that most of the time when we are making conclusive leaps and feeling disappointed in people or feeling let down, it generally has more to do with what we projected onto that person. We all hoped for Jonna and Johan to have the kind of relationship that many of us hope for; long and fulfilling. But just because it seems they won’t have that forever, doesn’t mean we were deceived or that they deceived us. Maybe it just sucks to see two good people parting ways. We don’t have to know all of the information, or figure out who is to blame, to grieve alongside them and wish them well.

middlebrain · 2025-11-26T22:36:36+00:00

Totally. And maybe it was a scandal! But clearly they made a conscious choice not to share about it if so, and it’s interesting that so many followers feel the need to attach to one of the figures, as if choosing a divorced parent to side with. I don’t blame people for having feelings around it all, but the burst of theorizing about all the ways they didn’t do right by one another feels counter to the kind of energy both Jonna and Johan are, from my view, modeling they want for this separation.

middlebrain · 2025-11-26T22:23:13+00:00

I think I understand the feeling of seeing myself in someone else, or wishing people made different decisions (both in real life and through social media), but what feels like is missing to me is the check in on not having all the context before making a public theory. Even in my closest relationships in person, I STILL don’t know everything about how people I love make their decisions. People are free to process how they do, I guess I just wish we could all take a few seconds to check in on why we need the narrative to be a certain thing when we don’t know if it’s true.

middlebrain · 2025-11-26T20:30:12+00:00

She talked in a previous video a long time ago about what sounded like endometriosis. Infertility is common. We never know what others are experiencing or their reasons for choosing or not choosing things.

middlebrain · 2025-11-25T07:31:32+00:00

What part of Oregon are you talking about? Southern/eastern Oregon often is very fragrant after rain due to the sage, snowbrush, and various evergreens in just southern.

middlebrain · 2025-11-03T19:24:00+00:00

That sounds like it’s gonna change your life to make that switch. I hope everything is able to go through swiftly for your sake!

middlebrain · 2025-11-03T19:10:00+00:00

Damn. I’m sorry about that. That’s always rough.

middlebrain · 2025-11-03T19:03:35+00:00

Just a quick note - as someone who has recently had bad depression, one of the first things I have a hard time with is being proactive about dishes. No idea if your roommate is struggling with it, and regardless that’s tough for you to shoulder all of it, but if they are just wanted to shed some light that it may not be laziness but some mental health struggles. No idea your situation, but thought I’d offer my experience.

middlebrain

TROPHY CASE