Caspar and Otis started back at school this week and their desire for knowledge has only increased. Both are intrigued by the ocean so I am working on setting up a semi permanent ocean nature table. (Otis is reading Nature Anatomy and First Discoveries The Seashore above - both fantastic resource books). Starfish are just amazing, the boys have never seen one up close so this has been a wonderful experience. For a while we've been working on colour theory and the boys have made a few colour wheels, but this one from mosaics is really special. I am so... Read more →

Peeling a boiled egg is something a very young child can do. Peeling and then later slicing an egg are really good activities for building concentration and developing fine motor skills. The best thing is it's really productive, the child knows they can eat the egg or serve it to others. 1. Cooking with a Toddler: Peeling and Slicing Eggs at Nduoma, 2. Montessori Teaches Gentleness at How we Montessori, 3. Egg Slicing Tray at Montessori Services, 4. Montessori Egg Cutting Set at Kid Advance, 5. Egg Slicing Tray at Counting Coconuts, 6. Montessori at Home at Bleubird Blog, 7.... Read more →

Do you have any really meaningful books on your children's bookshelves? I've recently discovered these two books and both brought a tear to my eye! A Forest by Marc Martin has a simple conservation message about trees (a forest!) and the greed of man. A short book with a poignant message. Another reason why I love this book is because of the amazing illustrations. The book features what looks like watercolours and gel pen drawings. My boys have studied collage at some length so I love to show them this mix of mediums. It's a really successful combination. This one... Read more →

I want to share these two Montessori activities with you because they are super easy to set up, they use items found around the house, they explore scientific concepts and they are fun! Both of these could be used with toddlers (be careful with small items) right through to preschoolers. Otis loves both of these. To begin with I look around the house for useful items - here I have collected; pinecones, sponge, feathers, wood piece, button, branch, metal screw, bull clip, small padlock, rock, mini wooden peg, paper clips, shell and a glass gem. I put all of these... Read more →

Today I want to share with you a fun kit which is also a part of a subscription service that aims to teach children self literacy. Both of my children enjoy learning about their bodies. My kids love tracing their bodies, they love learning about human anatomy and discovering systems of the body. The above kit is a part of the Know Yourself Adventure Series. The Know Yourself Adventure Series takes the child on a monthly voyage through time and uses historical figures to teach them important lessons about how the body works. Delivered monthly, each adventure in the series... Read more →

We tried something a little different with our baking today. I wanted to create a recipe that Otis could follow independently. I typed out the recipe and included images of the exact ingredients he would be using. I printed out two pages one with the ingredients and one with the method. I laminated the pages so Otis could cross off the items and steps as he used them. This was a good idea especially for the ingredients as Otis loved marking them off as they went into the bowl. Such a fun process. I put all the ingredients and all... Read more →

1. Soap Grating at My Montessori Journey, 2. Carrot Grating Tray at How we Montessori, 3. Cheese Grating Tray at How we Montessori, 4. Nutmeg Grating at Trillium Montessori, 5. Grating Activity at Montessori Design by Nuccia, 6. Bread Grating at Itty Bitty Love, 7. Cinnamon Grating at Itty Bitty Love, 8. Soap Grating at Montessori Teachings, 9. Cheese Grating at The Wonder Years, 10. Grating Zucchini at Wee Cooking Class, 11. Carrot and Apple Grating at Montessori Nature, 12. Soap Grating at How we Montessori, 13. Cheese Grating at How we Montessori, 14. Grating Soap at Chasing Cheerios, 15.... Read more →

Have you seen this toy? It's absolutely fantastic. You will see it on our shelves for a while as Otis is just on the starter level and it's challenging him. It's one of those logic games that I love. It is recommended for ages 5+ but a four year old will definitely be able to have a go! The child moves the plastic tiles to match or make the same image as to what is on the page. Oh my goodness, loving collage and Otis is loving those sparkly stars. We are using a fantastic transparent storage container from Ikea.... Read more →

While it's still warm here I've been thinking about Parts of a Flower work. We love flower arranging and to be real it's something we do almost daily. I love having flowers in the house and even if it's flowers (or blossoms, branches or leaves) from our own garden. Flowers are a constant although it's not often we cut them up and have a look inside. It's time we expanded our vocabulary and knowledge of the anatomy of a flower. I've found some inspiration in the materials above but first - time to pick some flowers! 1. Learning Resources -... Read more →

Today I wanted to show you a book that I use regularly and that I find really useful. It is Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-Fives by David Gettman. I often pull out this book, flip through it and write down some activity ideas. The book is divided into chapters including; Montessori and her Theories, Practical Activities, Sensorial Activities, Language Activities, Mathematical Activities and Cultural Activities. I love that the book starts with Montessori and her Theories because it provides background and a starting point for learning and teaching/parenting the Montessori way and covers sensitive periods, order, the prepared environment,... Read more →

I cannot believe we haven't tried this before!! Have you?? It's easy, cheap and a lot of fun. Late in the afternoon I realised we had milk in the refrigerator that expires soon. While thinking of ways to use up the milk I remembered this experiment. Put milk in a tray (or bowl) and add a few drops of food colouring. Then to the tray of milk and food colouring add drops of dishwashing liquid. As the dishwashing liquid breaks down the fat and protein in the milk it makes lots of patterns and swirls. We put the dishwashing liquid... Read more →

The boys had a friend over today and then we went out for a long swim. Once home the boys were tired but still looking for something to do. Both boys love learning about their bodies and yesterday we did this with blocks. Often we trace around and cut out their body like this. Today we traced around Otis' hands and he cut them out. It reminded me about how Otis' cutting has improved and how scissor control is always a work in progress. Cutting out his hands and around the fingers was really hard for him. Above is a... Read more →

Our summer school holidays are slowly coming to an end and it's time for us to think about going back to school. In our home this means going over some of the basics just to feel like the kids haven't forgotten anything over the break. Otis has been doing lots of language work, lots of reading and writing. Our movable alphabet, sandpaper letters and sand tray have along with books from the library become essential in our at home learning. I've mentioned previously that there are many options to the traditional Montessori Sandpaper Letters. Pictured here are the Lakeshore Lowercase... Read more →

1. Sandpaper Letters: International Print Nienhuis Montessori, 2. Lower Case Sandpaper Letters - Print Montessori Outlet, 3. Outlet Sandpaper Letters Lower Case Absorbent Minds Montessori, 4. Sandpaper Letters - Lower Case Wood Puzzles, 5. Lowercase Tactile Letters Lakeshore Learning Materials, 6. Lowercase sandpaper letters Polliwog Learning Products, 7. Tactile Letters Ideal School Supply, 8. Textured Touch and Trace: Lowercase Manipulatives Key Education, and 9. Tactile Sandpaper Lowercase Letters Didax. In my opinion every school (and homeschool) should have sandpaper letters. They just make so much sense. They are a really valuable, hands on, tactile, learning tool. "The child finds great... Read more →

The Moveable Alphabet has provided us with many moments of joyful learning. Learning where the child realises they can do something for the first time - such as writing their first word or forming their first sentence. The Moveable Alphabet can be used for the child to write words and to copy words. Otis loves to write all the names he knows. However what I am finding now is a real gift - the Moveable Alphabet provides my four year old the opportunity to create his first pieces of expressive writing. While he is doing lots of work to develop... Read more →