On a cold rainy morning is there anything better than some warm lavender playdough? Otis and Otto love using playdough together so I put a few baby-friendly materials in to a little caddy for them to use. I put some playdough, playdough stampers, textured rolling pins and jumbo wooden craft sticks into a metal caddy. I was really determined not to use any plastic materials in this and it was totally achievable. I knew that Otto would have issues opening any container so I decided to use beeswax wraps to keep the playdough fresh. Otis can help him to wrap... Read more →

How was your week? We have been so relaxed this week and we are very much enjoying the warmer weather. Today I made space to create some art shelves for Otis. Not only is it difficult to make space for art shelves in a small home but it's also difficult when you have an active crawler around! Here are a few things I've been enjoying this week: Creating the Perfect Montessori Kitchen Space for your Child at My Little Keepers. Créer un point d'eau Montessori à la maison or Creating a Montessori water station at Home at en confiance avec... Read more →

A couple of months ago we gave Otis his first telescope. We sent him outside to use it. He came back ten to fifteen minutes later, while he knew how to set it up he couldn't see anything out of it. I quickly figured out that not only did Otis need help in using the telescope, if he was going to get the most out of it I needed to do some research too. So we took it step-by-step and had a lot of fun in the process. Why: Allows the child to gain a greater understanding of the solar... Read more →

Caspar (10 years) and Otis (7 years) started their Montessori schooling in the parent-toddler class when they were eighteen months old. Until February this year, they hadn't even set foot in a mainstream school. This year we moved from Australia to the UK for a two year period for my husband's work. We moved knowing there would be no Montessori school nearby. Of course, I was devastated but I knew the opportunity to live abroad for two years could not be turned down. We took a lot of time finding a new school for them. Six months in and we... Read more →

We are now home from France but this is a picture of Otto at 10 months walking around our Paris apartment using the play gym for support. A couple of French books that we purchased on our holidays. I love these so much for little ones and toddlers. All of the images are real images/photographs and the sounds are real sounds (you press a button on each page to make the sound of the animal pictured). At what age can children independently use the weaning chair? At around 9-10 months. Otto can independently get in and out of his weaning... Read more →

Can you believe we are currently on holidays in France? It's such a wonderful experience for the boys. They have French lessons in school but this is a real immersion into French culture. We just got back from the supermarket and it was so fun looking at all the different products, reading the different labels and greeting others in French. As we are in France, I wanted to highlight some wonderful materials from around this beautiful country, most of these are for infants or toddlers and all are handmade, some might inspire you to DIY. Not all of these are... Read more →

For the first time parent who may wonder what are Montessori infant shelves and how are we supposed to use them? The shelves promote independence as the child is able to access them by themselves, and they promote order, the child is able to see all of their materials and when they are slightly older will be able to put them back where they got them from! The shelves can be in the child's room or in a shared space such as a living room or playroom. The shelves are: Low. So that the crawling infant can see the materials... Read more →

There are a lot of videos made about Montessori. Most of them are not useful or relevant. I have pulled out six videos, all made in 2018, about Montessori at home or at school, that I feel are authentic and useful to Montessori parents. I hope you enjoy these as much as I have. 1. A tour of a Montessori toddler classroom in Amsterdam by Simone from the Montessori Notebook. Parents can learn a lot from the toddler classroom, the materials, layout, the activities and how to present them. If you have a toddler (or an infant who will soon... Read more →

It's the school holidays and my children have been spending a lot of time reading. They have been reading lots of poetry. Otis in particular likes to read poetry out loud. He takes so much pride in projecting his voice, in expressive reading, he loves it. The poems are mostly short, with short sentences, they are easy for him to read, I can see that it's building his confidence too. Poetry is so good for children of all ages! For the beginner or early reader, poems are often a good choice as they can feel a sense of accomplishment when... Read more →

You know I love a good floor bed! All of my children have slept in floor beds. We start using the floor bed almost from birth for daytime naps and for nighttime sleeping when we feel they are ready. Caspar and Otis used a single mattress on the floor and it worked perfectly. We didn't have any mold or mildew and I just vacuumed underneath it weekly. It takes a while for the child to find the edge and learn how to get down but it's fantastic for their spatial awareness and of course independence. Today I want to show... Read more →

Otto has just turned 10 months old so I thought it was time to show you his updated Montessori room. We moved into this house in January, after an international move we barely had any toys or furnishings. Now the room is starting to look and feel more lived in and we are working out the best way to use the small space we have available. Above he is playing with the bells and cube c/o Montessori Shop. As Otto is now crawling and climbing, we've been careful to remove any hazards in his room, including low plants and small... Read more →

How was your week? My children are officially on summer school holidays. How strange it feels to have summer holidays in July!! The weather here in the UK has been absolutely gorgeous. Here are a few links and things I've been enjoying: There are some good ideas here - Where to Start with Practical Life in the Kitchen at Fishies in a Row. Montessori Kids in the Kitchen at The Montessori Notebook, by Montessori Toddler guide Simone Davies, including a list of useful recipes. The Montessori Floor Bed: What we do and how we do it at Love and Wellies.... Read more →

At nine months Otto is pulling up on his Pikler Arch. He sometimes steps up to the first rail and today I noticed he put one foot up to the second rail. It takes time, he is experimenting, he is testing and challenging himself! The Pikler Arch provides a fantastic opportunity to meet his developmental needs in a safe and supervised way. How we use the arch: Always supervise. I wouldn't put this in the child's bedroom. We have it in his movement/play area, next to our living area which is always supervised. Have it on or near a soft... Read more →

I'm always looking for fresh breakfast and snack ideas. Otto at nine months is now eating a lovely variety of foods that makes breakfast fun and interesting. Here are a few of our favourite plant-based baby breakfast ideas (from nine months) that my big kids (7 and 10 years) love too. 1. Fruit Yogurt. Caspar (10 years) eats yogurt almost every day for breakfast and once Otto hit the six months point he started feeding it to him too. Sometimes I serve it plain but often we add fruit. Here I mashed two strawberries and mixed in coconut yogurt. 2.... Read more →