How was your week? I'm exhausted. I do a lot of solo parenting, sometimes for months sometimes for weeks on end. It's a lot of work. This week we used a babysitter for the very first time (while I attended a parenting seminar!). The boys had so much fun! I've been talking to other parents about overscheduling, extra-curricular activities, and how much is too much? Otis has swimming lessons, he absolutely loves it. Both boys have one on one lessons and Otis adores his teacher - which I think is important, it's important that they have a good rapport. Caspar... Read more →

Montessori has taught me a few things about how to keep my house organised and how to present children's materials! We know that children need their materials to be; accessible ordered beautiful, attractive, age appropriate, engaging simple, not overwhelming When it comes to art materials in the home simple is best. Art materials provide an opportunity for creative, independent work that uses lots of fine motor skills, develops coordination and concentration. It is so important. But we want to avoid mess and waste. Here are a few of my tips. Often it's best to present fewer materials or in lower... Read more →

When I write about our art areas I get so many comments from parents not wanting art materials at home because of the mess, 'my kids will dump that all out on the floor'. Like any Montessori areas, we start with the basics and work up to more materials as the child develops and is able to have more responsibility. This (above and below) is our art area when Otis was a toddler (14 months) and Caspar was 4 years old. You can see Otis could only access the low shelf and this had three activities on it. The easel... Read more →

I recently ordered some nature materials from Etsy. I was surprised, I usually wouldn't look to Etsy for nature materials, but they have so many wonderful things. Usually, we would use items that we have picked up or found on nature walks. However, it's nice to offer variety and provide some nature materials that aren't so common or easy to find. Here are some of my favourite nature finds on Etsy! Loose Parts Insect / Bug Exploration Honey Bee Anatomy Board Animal Tracks: Badger Plaster Cast - isn't this fabulous! 20 Item Nature Curiosity Collection Nature Inspired Alphabet Learning Cards... Read more →

Diorama - A model representing a scene with three-dimensional figures, either in miniature or as a large-scale museum exhibit. My boys love making dioramas! It's such a good way of presenting research! Over the weekend I snapped a few pictures of the dioramas the boys made. They each selected a theme or topic for their diorama and collected the materials they wanted to use. The solar system tub is on the left and the African savannah tub is on the right. Otis collected sand, first he wanted to have a desert theme but picked up the savannah back-drop and animals.... Read more →

Caspar is in the second plane of development (six to twelve years), it is the plane of childhood, mental independence, the period of the conscious mind. Children in this stage of development are no longer solitary beings, they gravitate towards others, they expand their social network and gain a wider sense of others whether it is within their local community or in a more global sense. Caspar is turning nine in October. He went on his first school camp a couple of weeks ago! Although he handled the camp confidently it was his first time staying away from home and... Read more →

This morning I visited the Montessori Parent Child Class at I Am Montessori (Brisbane, Australia). I loved it! I love Montessori toddler environments and I love Parent Child classes! Parent Child Classes provide parents with the opportunity to see, possibly for the first time, a genuine Montessori environment. They serve as parent education, parents (and caregivers) can talk to Montessori educators, talk with other Montessori parents and also get many ideas suitable for the home environment. This classroom is fully stocked with Montessori materials so parents can look around and see what is suitable for their child. It can be... Read more →