Silence can be harmful. I feel like I don't know enough about race to say anything but I don't want to be silent. I have a voice and I want to share some of the small actions I've taken this week. (Pre)Ordered: AntiRacist Baby Board Book – by Ibram X. Kendi (Author), Ashley Lukashevsky (Illustrator). The National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist has written a new board book that empowers parents and children to uproot racism in our society and in ourselves. "A beautiful board book that shows parents and children... Read more →
Our entryway is lacking, so I thought it might be a good time to revisit the subject. These are all recent entryways from real Montessori families. Lots of commonalities but all very different homes! This takes up a bit of space, but has almost everything the child would need including a mirror. A space for sunglasses, tissues and a hair brush is a good idea. Here they are using the clear Command style hooks. Mirror, basket and lots of hooks! These look similar to Command hooks too which are good for this purpose as they are removable and in a... Read more →
a. / b. / c. / d. / e. / f. / g. / h. / i. / j. / k. / l. / m. / n. / o. / p. Perhaps it is the wind and rain, although we are still going for our nature walks we are spending more time inside and my toddler is loving ALL the cutting, pasting, and sticker work! Sometimes we use sticker books how they are intended, by sticking the stickers in the books often on predetermined pages. Most of all we use stickers for collage work, presented on a tray. Although we... Read more →
This is a friendly reminder that there are huge benefits to using paste and a brush before using a glue stick - especially for toddlers and preschoolers. Montessori schools often have young children apply paste with brushes or small spreaders as opposed to glue sticks. It serves as an opportunity for the child to develop their fine motor skills and pincer grasp preparing their hand for writing. If at home you are going to do some collage or pasting work with a young child try using paste and a brush or a little glue spreader, we don't need to set... Read more →
Do you have a toddler that loves to use scissors but is perhaps bored with the usual cutting strips? Here are some other engaging activities we've been using at 2.5 years. Above is an idea from Days with Grey. It is so much fun and the child can cut one handed - they don't have to hold a paper strip or other objects. I've put a small model animal into each section of a muffin tray. I've then used coloured craft tape to tape the animals in! Days with Grey use painters tape and I'm confident that Washi tape or... Read more →
Are you looking for some new materials for your child/ren's shelves? If your child is around two to four you may consider a Feel and Find game. There are a few ways you can use this game as it grows with the child. Matching by Sight - Start with 2-3 cards and the corresponding 2-3 objects. Show the child how to match the object to the card. This is simple silhouette matching. We started this around two years of age. Once the child can manage matching 2-3 cards and objects we slowly build up to presenting more cards and objects.... Read more →
At around 2.5 to 3 years old children start asking questions, a lot of questions! Some questions are easy to answer and others not. What I know for sure is that the questions just keep on coming. Asking questions can be a way for the child to find out more about the world and the environment around them, but it can also be a way for the child to express concern or worry. We want the child to feel confident about asking questions and we want to be able to satisfy the child with our answers. First we need to... Read more →
Today I want to share some fantastic Montessori bedrooms. All of these have low beds and most have low toys and books. We can see that the child, not the adult, is at the centre of the design process. Perhaps this is what makes Montessori bedrooms different to other mainstream bedrooms. I want to note that the floor bed is not everything, many Montessori families use other options like co-sleeping, low toddler beds and even cribs. If you are using a crib I hope you still find some of the ideas found in these room useful. The reason I want... Read more →
Today I want to share something that I have spent a lot of time researching - creative writing prompts. With my two older children at home from school I often find they have written work to do but struggle to think of a topic. At school Caspar (yr 7) was given visual creative writing prompts weekly but this hasn't happened for almost two months. Once I found some good creative writing prompts we started using them all the time, not just for creative story writing but for verbal storytelling, poetry and handwriting practice. The thing is I want creative writing... Read more →
I love looking in kitchen specialty stores and finding new treasures for me or for the children. Over the years we've collected a lot of 'adult' kitchen tools that also work well for children. Most often it's because the adult tools are made in a slightly smaller or mini size which makes them easier for the child to hold and to manipulate. I recently took out all of the kitchen tools that my children (2.5, 9 and 12 yrs) use and realised that we use more of one brand than any other. OXO almost flies under the radar as their... Read more →
Are you looking for a super easy and fast bread recipe to use with your children? This recipe is suitable for toddlers but an older child from 6-8 years may be able to make it by themselves. Yesterday my nine and two year old children made it together. Easy Turmeric Flat Bread Ingredients: 1 Cup of Self Raising Flour 1 Cup of Natural or Greek Yoghurt 1 Teaspoon Ground Turmeric ¼ Cup extra Flour for flouring board, rolling pins and hands. Method: Put the ingredients into a large bowl. Mix ingredients together until it forms a dough (a largish ball).... Read more →
Nature walks are an essential part of our day. For my older children it gives them a chance to step away from their school work and it give us all some fresh air, much needed time outside + a big dose of Vitamin D. While we try to vary where we walk inevitably we spend a lot of time in the same areas. To mix things up a little bit and bring some new interest to our regular walks we have started going into our nature walks with a theme! It really does help us to view the same area... Read more →
We love a good podcast. We often use podcasts for learning or for entertainment but in more recent times we have also used them for relaxation at bedtime. We don't use them on a regular basis but I will put one on if one of my children are having a hard time getting to sleep. I've explored a range of bedtime and meditation apps but these podcasts are currently working for us. For my toddler especially I am wanting reality based stories. A couple of these podcasts have episodes that are nature-based and a couple have been made specifically for... Read more →
Do you have a lot of children's books in your home? I assume you do. The problem for many families is we have a lot of books but want to rotate or only keep out a small amount for our toddlers. Older children can manage more books but we want toddlers and young children to be able to select their own books from the book shelf and then later put them away. This means we need book shelves that are low, accessible to the young child, preferably with forward facing book display and limited in size. Here is how we... Read more →
How are you? Have restrictions started to lift where you live? This week my older boys go back to school, just for one day a week. They are really looking forward to it. With the virus numbers lowering I am looking forward to getting out in our community soon. Here are a few, little highlights from the past week. If your child likes dot markers you might find refillable dabbers useful! You can mix your own colours and use paints you already have. I like to buy paint in bulk so this feels like an eco-friendly option. (Similar in US... Read more →