If you have children at a Montessori school have you ever wondered how they would adapt to a traditional school environment? Like many Montessori schools our school is primary only, it runs until the child is twelve and ready for high school. This means that at some stage my children will transition to another school. Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Leah. Leah is a fun filled twelve year old and is a recent graduate from Canberra Montessori School. She has just finished her first term at Canberra Girls Grammar. I wanted to ask her a few questions about... Read more →

. Yesterday I introduced you to Emma and her family and today we take another look around. To refresh your memory Emma has three sons aged 7.5, 4.5 and 17 months. I love old Queenslanders (the buildings) and this one is no exception. Just have a look at the hammock on the deck pictured below. How fantastic. But on a practical note this is a wonderful home for children. . In the photograph of the playroom above you can see a hermit crab aquarium and a fish tank on low shelves. I asked Emma about the gorgeous alphabet wall hanging.... Read more →

I would like to introduce you to Emma and her family. With three boys this looks like one busy household! Can you tell us a little about yourself, your family and where you live? I am a stay-at-home mother to three beautiful sons, aged 7.5, 4.5 and 17 months. My professional background is as a lawyer specialising in industrial relations and discrimination and since the birth of my oldest son, I have worked from home once my children are asleep at night (I am currently completing my PhD in discrimination law). We live in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, in a high-set... Read more →

Malcolm is a well known and respected member of our Montessori community. But unlike many of us he is at the end of his Montessori journey. His youngest daughter Leah has recently graduated from our local Montessori school and will next year commence her first year at Canberra Girls' Grammar School. I thought I would ask Malcolm a few questions and find what is at the heart of his dedication to Montessori education. Can you tell us about how you were first introduced to Montessori and what your thoughts were at the time? As a youngish father, I was 35... Read more →

I mentioned recently that I moved my two children into the same bedroom. For many reasons it's really practical. In many homes space is an issue too and having two children in the same room makes sense. But there isn't a lot of inspiration around for shared Montessori bedroooms. This shared room is in one of my favourite cities - Adelaide. Jackie has designed this beautiful room for her two sons - Jack who is four and Miles who is 10 months old. There are lots of reasons to love this space so I'll let the pictures do the talking.... Read more →

Where there's a will there's a way! Experience tells me that children love to work at the kitchen counter with their adults. They love to be where the action is. The kitchen sink, yes - they like to be there too. Jackie's husband made this fabulous DIY Learning Tower for a total of $30. He used a stool from Ikea with some additional pieces attached above the highest step. Easy and cheap. Jackie tells; "Jack used this learning tower every single day and it was wonderful to watch his independence grow. We found this tower excellent for little people as... Read more →

Following from Clay's Infant Environment Part 1 here is Part 2 showing Clay and his infant mobiles. The above photograph is of Clay and his mum Tasha making the Octahedron. I think I can see some double sided tape there. I purchased all of our mobiles although Tasha and Charlene show that you can make them yourself. The Munari The Octahedron The Gobbi I don't know of any one source of information for the mobiles. If you know of anyone who has completed Montessori infancy training they may be able to help. Most of the mobiles can be purchased through... Read more →

Remember Clay from last week. He is almost two now but I really wanted to give you some insight into his infant environment. One of his mums Charlene is trained in Montessori (3-6 years) so she had a pretty good idea what she was doing. What you can see in these photographs is that Charlene experimented a little with the floor bed. She said that she tried three different beds and found this aspect quite tricky. Charlene tells us more. He actually had a little basket/bassinette for the first 6 weeks, then moved onto a cot sized mattress but I... Read more →

Remember Clay from the DIY Learning Tower? Today his mum Charlene joins us and allows us to take a peek into their lives and how they are influenced by Montessori. Charlene was the inspiration for this series and I cannot thank her enough for her contribution. Can you tell us a little about yourself, your family and where you live? My name is Charlene and I live in the Hunter Valley with my partner of 10 years, Natasha (she’s a paramedic) and our son Clayton who is 22 months old. When and how did you first become interested in the... Read more →

Finlay's family needs little introduction. His mum, Cathy blogs at the very popular A Montessori Home. When I found out Cathy was a trained Montessori teacher (3-6) I spent hours going over every post. It is such pleasure to have Cathy over to answer some of my questions. Can you tell us a little about yourself, your family and where you live? Our happy little family consists of myself, my partner Brent, and our 16-month-old son, Finlay. I'm originally from Melbourne, Brent is from Perth, and Fin was born in Auckland, NZ, where we are living right now. This year... Read more →

When I first met Cameron's mum Rachel online I knew there was something special about her. It's like she has a special spark and the best part - she is passionate about Montessori. Rachel has taken the time to answers some of my questions. Can you tell us a little about yourself, your family and where you live? I'm a young mama who is married to my highschool sweetheart (Michael) and has an 18 month old son (Cameron). We live near Brisbane in Queensland in the suburbs with our two cats and numerous fish. When and how did you first... Read more →