I love having fun, bright and modern furniture in our children's spaces. We use stools in some of our areas where the children might have snack or work for small amounts of time or where there is a lot of movement. I also really love timber and pops of colour! I have been known to take a can of paint to our children's chairs just to add some variety. Having a table and chair set where the children can sit comfortably is a priority and while some of these are designer many are super affordable depending on location. We don't... Read more →

Matching, identifying and naming herbs! This is one of my all time favourite activities and it's perfect to do at home where herbs may be abundant. Our garden has some of these herbs which Otis can identify immediately. However there are a few here he isn't so familiar with. Otis is in the sensitive period for language and using the cards is a great way to introduce the written language and reading to this activity. When working with this activity I also see if Otis can identify the herbs using smell only. Read more →

Tempera paint and blowing through straws to make art! Butterflies made with colourful stocking pieces and wire. Otis' bird collage. Sewing so many buttons! Daily meditation. We are currently using Enchanted Meditations for Kids (by a Montessori teacher!). Matching skeletons to animals. I hope you had a lovely day! Read more →

Table manners are very important in our home. They are important at school too. Grace and Courtesy are a big part of the Montessori curriculum. It is one of many areas that make Montessori classrooms special. Often in Montessori classrooms, from toddlerhood, children will sit at a table to eat (not in the playground as many schools do) with tablecloths or placemats, cloth napkins, utensils and table manners are expected. So what table manners are we teaching our children? Set the table. This is a big one in our home. If I have prepared the meal and the children are... Read more →

About three months ago we received a pair of Ramblers - Montessori Classroom shoes from Soft Star Shoes for review. Do you think we were excited? Even as an infant we found purposeful, comfortable, easy to put on clothing for Otis. Soft cotton, comfy elastic waist pants, calm but fun designs. Otis is ready to go to the playground, climb a tree or go to school! Children spend so much time at school, good school shoes are really important. For school shoes I am looking for; Comfort. Children need to be able to move! I want Otis to be able... Read more →

1. My Montessori Journey, 2. Discovery Moments, 3. Pinterest, 4. Counting Coconuts, 5. Sorting Sprinkles, 6. Vita di Mamma, 7.All Things Reintjes, 8. Itty Bitty Love. Gosh, I love all of these calendars! Each tailored to the individual children and families. I find organised spaces like this very inspiring. I am currently setting up and establishing a pattern, seeing what works and what doesn't, for our own calendar. Our calendar won't be as involved as these. I'm simply making some additions to a pocket calendar. However these calendars are providing many ideas. All of these are super cute and include... Read more →

This week I wanted feature the new trays on our activity shelves. These trays have rotated in within the last two weeks. The trays are pictured off the shelves so it's easier to see what is in them. Hole Punching Tray. We have a few left over pieces of art work from our homemade envelopes and are using them for hole punching - then for pasting and decorating letters. Stencils. Although we love our shape stencils Otis is ready for more detailed work. The stencils on this tray vary from airplane, boat, car, people, leaves. One pencil is in the... Read more →

When Child.com.au contacted us about trying out some of their materials I absolutely jumped at the chance. I had a handful of items I had been wishing for and wanting to order. On the top of my list was the table top easel. Next in line was natural collage materials. I wanted to replenish out collage materials and get the boys back into creating with sticks and twigs, leaves and feathers! Immediately I wanted to create natural threading materials. I drilled (or using a hole punch with the leaves) holes into found seedpods, wood offcuts, branch cuts and thick twigs.... Read more →

I love involving children in every area of the home - the laundry is no exception! Young toddlers often like to sit and watch the washing go around in the washing machine or perhaps watch as a parent pegs the washing. Often they like to load the dirty washing into the washing machine. With a few materials a young child can participate in the washing and do so much more! 1. Henry Helps with Laundry Need a story to entice your child into the laundry? 2. This is the Way we Wash a Day (Singing with Children Series Song Book... Read more →