This week Sydney experienced a flood emergency. Families are displaced, rained in or have simply spent the week indoors to stay dry. So I've tried to post the easiest, the most engaging activity I could think of that would appeal to a wide range of children. It's also Plastic Free July so I've tried to set this activity up without using plastics. All of the materials for this activity I've found around our home. Above Otto (4yrs) is using our plastic-free Playdough Station. I created it as a surprise, knowing that he would love it even more if it was... Read more →

One of the concepts we explored while being home in isolation was shapes and patterns in nature. First we read Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman and Beth Krommes. It's a lovely book about spirals in nature and I encouraged my preschooler to look for spirals around our home and yard. I gathered some shape and pattern materials including the Transparent Pattern Alphabet cards by na2ure and I printed the 2D Shapes in Nature by Montessori Nature. These sets include images of items in nature that have interesting shapes and patterns. The cards are fantastic if you... Read more →

We are at the end of a 7-day isolation period. Staying at home and not being able to go out means I've been preparing more activities than usual for my preschooler! I've raided our art cupboard and art books to put together a few new art trays. These activities are generally appropriate for children 3-5 years old. These activities allow the child to focus on one activity or one skill at a time. The art trays can be used: to introduce a new skill. to introduce new materials. on the kitchen table for the children to work on after breakfast.... Read more →

Late last year I saw these little red bricks being played with at Hedge Cottage. The bricks looked fabulous. They are like real bricks just smaller, what a wonderful way to introduce building and construction to a young child! Our house and many houses in our neighbourhood are made of red brick, as are many fences and driveways. The little bricks are available with mortar to build permanent structures. As I was using them with my preschooler, I didn't want to use the mortar and our construction is temporary. Initially, I presented the bricks in a basket. To renew interest... Read more →

I decided to try a few Montessori workbooks with my preschooler and I was so surprised I had to share them with you! Montessori workbooks especially for the 3-6 yr age group feel like a bit of an oxymoron. We want the children's learning to be hands-on, using real-life experiences as much as possible. But for the child learning to write and needs a lot of practice, a Montessori workbook may be very helpful. Times have changed too, now more than ever parents are teaching their children at home. Montessori workbooks are affordable and easy to use. If your child... Read more →

Lockdown regulations are starting to lift in Sydney. While we are still laying low, yesterday I took a look around Kmart (Australia). Kmart has lots of really useful items for a Montessori home, and perhaps some for the classroom too. Let's take a look at some of my favourites. I've linked all products to Kmart but please note stock varies from store to store. Above is The Montessori Toddler and The Montessori Baby, this is the lowest prices I've seen which makes these books more accessible. We have three of these mini spray bottles at home. They are a fantastic... Read more →

When we think of gardening with children our mind often goes straight to planting in an outdoor veggie patch. But if we don't have an outdoor garden space or if the weather isn't favourable, there are still lots of wonderful indoor gardening options for children to enjoy. Recently we've been growing Microgreens. Microgreens are the young seedlings of edible plants (we are growing basil, chives, and parsley) that are harvested shortly after germination when the stem, seedling leaves, and first set of true leaves have grown. Microgreens are a great option for homes and classrooms ❤️🌱. The benefits of growing... Read more →

I wanted to make a Montessori-style Alphabet Box for Otto (3yrs). The Alphabet Box is a useful way to store sound objects and children can use them directly to find or use the sound objects. I really didn't want to buy any new materials, especially anything that couldn't be repurposed. I love the look of these cardboard drawers (or these MDF drawers) but couldn't get them locally. So it was time to get creative! I looked around to see what we already had at home and I noticed that we were using a lot of these jars with yellow lids... Read more →

Today I want to share some skills that children can learn in the kitchen. Some of these are simple like mashing that children can begin at around 18 months, and some are more complex like grating which we would try at around 3 years+. These are fantastic practical life skills to have, they also help the child to develop confidence, concentration, fine motor skills, and coordination. Many of these skills require hand and arm strength and require the hands to work together in a coordinated way. There isn't a need to rush to teach our children these skills, hopefully, they... Read more →

Learning happens in every area of our home. Perhaps most of the learning including language and maths happens in our kitchen or outside. We have a children's table on our back deck where we work when it's not windy, but we also have this little corner of shelves at the end of our lounge/living room. This is what I call my three-year-old's 'work area'. I want to share this space with you as compared to examples I've seen online, this is a very simple set-up. We don't have a playroom or a study and that's ok, we do the best... Read more →

Flower Arranging is one of my favourite Practical Life, Care of the Environment Activities. Flowers can bring so much joy and beauty to our lives. This morning we received the most gorgeous flowers (c/o Bloom & Bud, Sydney) and I decided to share them with Otto (3yrs) and do some Flower Arranging together. Materials we use: vases - thick glass or transparent vases are useful for children learning how to pour, and knowing when to stop pouring, empty jars can work well too. funnel - useful for filling vases with narrow openings. pitcher with water - or we can provide... Read more →

Are you looking for some new scissor activities to try? I've been looking for some new scissor activities that are at my child's skill level but are also interesting and will attract the child. There is no use in preparing these activities if the child doesn't choose to do them. We need to update the children's activities as their skills develop but also as their interests change. We've found all of these activities interesting and fun: Pizza Cutting - these have been the biggest hit. We've used the half fraction right up to sixths. Dinosaur Cut Out Shapes - I... Read more →

Want to try something that's fun and easy to do with your young child? Otto (3yrs) and I have been using Unbound Learners Circle Time and have found it to be a wonderful and enriching experience. Otto isn't currently attending preschool. During the week he attends a Forest School session and a Playgroup. We try to loosely follow Montessori scope and sequence as I haven't found a Montessori online curriculum that suits us. We still do a ton of Montessori work and Circle Time is a nice way to start the day, it takes the pressure off me for a... Read more →

Life has changed for everyone in the last twelve months. We've all been isolated in one way or another. In Sydney, we've had lockdowns and closed state borders separating us from loved ones. Some of our toddler and preschooler classes have been canceled and others are running with restrictions. When attending a class it's been relatively easy for us to follow new requirements (check-in, hand sanitiser, social distancing) but it's been harder to navigate playdates where they are no rules. In the Montessori classic The Joyful Child, author Susan Stephenson tells us that "Gregariousness (being with others)" is a child's... Read more →