Today I'm sharing five things that I've enjoyed this week. Some of these are small moments but these are the things I treasure and want to make note of. We have been doing so much work, play and exploring outdoors. When living in the UK I kept a tally of how many hours we spent outdoors but here in Australia I don't need to, it's just not an issue. We are outdoors almost all day. Otis also walks to school so we are spending a lot less time in the car. This spot underneath a Eucalyptus tree is lovely and... Read more →
Today I want to share some of the counting toys we use with our toddler. Maths is all around us and there are plenty of opportunities to count in everyday living. But we still use a few counting toys that allow the toddler to explore quantities independently or in a fun way. Pictured above is the Tumble Down Counting Pegs. These have been a favourite. They are fun and the dropping of the pegs encourages the child to do it (counting) all over again. The numerals are nice and large and the child can also trace the number with their... Read more →
Does your child know their tibia from their fibula? Puzzles can teach us so much about the world. For toddlers in particular, I love floor puzzles. They are big and chunky and promote movement. Large floor puzzles can also be fantastic for colour recognition, language develepment and even mathematics (including counting). Most of all they are good for developing the child's sense of spatial relationships, visual discrimination, coordination and for building concentration. When used with a friend or sibiling, (or parent) they can help build collaborative skills. For a young toddler, they can also help with completing a cycle of... Read more →
If you have read about Montessori or have children at a Montessori school chances are you've heard the term "freedom within limits". It's a term that can be applied equally to the home as to the Montessori classroom. Children in a Montessori classroom have much greater freedom than those in most traditional classrooms. Children at Montessori schools can freely move around the classroom, they are free to choose the work they want to do, in many schools children are free to move inside and outside. With these freedoms come limits. Children are required to respect their environment, walk quietly and... Read more →
Today Otto (2yrs) attended his first toddler art class. The studio was beautiful, amazing and vibrant. I felt so inspired that I made some adjustments to our art shelves as soon as we got home. But what had me thinking was the focus on process art and how many product driven arts and crafts my other children did at the same age. I know that product driven art and crafts can be useful for a variety of reasons and are often used around cultural events (Easter, Christmas, at school fairs). But do children in the first plane of development need... Read more →
Today I'm sharing five things we've enjoyed this week along with a few links and interesting Montessori inspired home tours. 1. Otis' (8 yrs) favourite podcast. He is naturally inquisitive but this podcast really gets him thinking and he often has more questions after listening to an episode!! I often subscribe him to new podcasts for him to try but this remains his favourite. Some of the others include Tumble, Wow in the World and Fun Kids Science Weekly. 2. Caspar (12yrs) is currently reading speeches that changed the world, he loves the section on Gandhi. 3. Moving house means... Read more →
"The hands are the instruments of man's intelligence." - Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind. Hand strength is essential for activities like writing and using scissors but it is also essential for daily living tasks like doing up buttons, pulling on shoes, tying a bow or pouring a drink. Often we focus on coordination, the pincer grasp and the refinement of movements and touch, which are incredibly important but developing the strength of the entire hand is fundamental. How do our toddlers in the precious first three years of life spend their days? Are our lifestyles becoming too passive? Are our... Read more →
I don't like a lot of toys in the bath. It drives me crazy when I have to move them or clean them up. We usually only have a couple of toys out at a time. But I find bath toys almost essential. They are so, so useful. We have a couple of toys in the children's bath but now I also have a few toys in our ensuite shower. Our shower is large (it's the size of a double) so it's easy for me to keep out a few things for my toddler (2yrs) to play with. Our usual... Read more →
You know how some children love to 'post' things. Some children also love to hang things. There is this repetitive fine and gross motor movement that they find satisfying that can help cement their learning and increase concentration. When I first noticed the Language Tree I knew that Otto would enjoy it. He loved our ornament tree at Christmas which uses a very similar hanging motion. I asked Andrea O’Halloran of Montessori Materials to tell me a little more about the Language Tree: "When I taught at Forestville Montessori School, we introduced the concrete example of an object to a... Read more →
There are some brands that you can just trust. There are brands that I feel very well aligned with and these are the ones I seek out over and over. When I opened our first Lovevery box I loved everything inside it. When I looked closely I could see that their stage-based approach was spot on and it closely mimicked what I had done with my children, from cute black and white cards, small rattles, to interlocking discs and play socks. It was everything I was looking for. I've been sharing my experience with Lovevery for a while but recently... Read more →
Our family has been through a huge transition. With Christmas, traveling and moving back to Australia my older children have just started going back to school. When we go through transitions or difficult times I always seek out opportunities for my children to concentrate. I find concentration grounding and calming. It's like finding some stillness and quiet in the chaos. Also, it's something that you can't force, you can't make a toddler concentrate, but you can allow for it and provide opportunities for it. When travelling we continue to seek out opportunities for our toddler (2 years) to participate in... Read more →