You are your child's guardian, their advocate. It is your duty to do the best by them, always. It doesn't change for us at Christmas or when family are visiting. Often Christmas can be difficult when families come together. Often when different values come together, different life experiences. Having family visit or travelling can often be overwhelming for children. Consistency is really important. Otis has been a little more distracted lately and harder to settle at bedtime. I believe this is from a change in diet (more treats), later bedtimes and the excitement of Christmas. We no longer discuss Montessori... Read more →

Preparing for Christmas. Last year my husband spent Christmas working overseas. We missed him terribly and our Christmases will never be the same. We were changed by the experience and our priorities have changed forevermore. What is important to us? That we are healthy, safe and together. We've been spending as much time together at home as possible. Making. Hand made, child made - decorations, treats and gifts. I don't even have to think about it, I know this is the right message to send to our children. Otis has been so excited he has given presents already. Rather than... Read more →

This year for Christmas we will be giving the boys a few items to encourage a smooth transition to sleep. This week their new bunk bed arrived and I'm thankful that Otis has started sleeping in his own bed through the entire night. The new bed has provided the impetus, the circuit breaker, the change needed for him to move off the floor bed and not to come to me during the night. Although his bed/mattress is still really close to the floor (not as high as a standard single bed). As I've mentioned previously, its a change for him,... Read more →

When I was looking for first walkers for Otis I wrote this post with a few ideas Montessori Shoes and First Walkers. One thing I noticed about all of these first walkers is that they seems to have flexible soles, which is great, but I was worried about outside, protecting the child's feet on stones and uneven paths. It was the number one feature that surprised me about the Soft Star Shoes. Soft Star Shoes have provided us with a pair of their shoes for the purpose of review. We chose the Child Sandal with Velcro - Ocean/Ultra Blue because... Read more →