Are you looking for a gift for a three-year-old? There are a lot of gift ideas here. I hope you find this list helpful! Scooter (AU here) - three is a great time to start scootering if your child hasn't already. This is the same scooter we have and still use at five years. Screw Board - promotes fine motor skills, coordination, concentration and focus. Silk Streamer - I like this for playing outside with the wind; we've given it as a gift many times. Children's Measuring Tape - for exploring length and math concepts at home. Children's Stop Watch... Read more →

Have you watched the Netflix series Old Enough? What are your thoughts? If you haven't seen it, Old Enough is a reality show from Japan that captures children as young as two (yes toddlers!) doing their first errand. The children are filmed running errands independently, like delivering or collecting dry cleaning, shopping at the fish market or walking home and making juice. Often the children are walking kilometres; some of this takes place in rural areas, but there are some errands set in city streets; some children independently cross busy roads and catch public buses; most children do it alone,... Read more →

Sandpaper Letters are one of the most used Montessori materials in our home when my children are between the ages of three and five. Some children tire of them, but we still have them on our shelves, and Otto works with them periodically. It is important to say we do tons of practical life (including cooking, cleaning and handwork like sewing) and art (including playdough, clay and using scissors), so there are lots of other ways we assist our children in developing fine motor skills required for holding and controlling a pencil. We have used a few different variations of... Read more →

Over the last two years, I've attended felting workshops with a fantastic Steiner (Waldorf) educator. I've made a birthday crown, a placemat, seasonal mats and children's playthings. The crafting sessions have been for adults, but I keep on thinking about how much my children would love them too. So I've started to do some felting at home with Otto. We began with wet felting as it's easier to do with young children (than needle felting), and children often enjoy playing with water and soap. Today we made some Halloween decorations, but we could make Christmas decorations or even little toys... Read more →

Paper weaving has meaning in both Montessori and Froebel philosophies. No matter your style of parenting or education preference, paper weaving is a great activity for developing fine motor skills, spatial awareness and early mathematical skills. In Montessori, weaving is a practical life activity. In Froebel, weaving is both a gift and an occupation. Have you read about Froebel? There are lots of similarities between the Froebel and Montessori approaches. Froebel believed that children gain a deeper understanding of the world around them when given opportunities to interact with concrete activities and use carefully selected hands-on manipulatives. Sounds familiar, right?... Read more →

In the last couple of weeks, we've been focusing on drawing with oil pastels and creating with clay; however, every couple of days, I will also set up a new and interesting art tray. Some of these are just for fun, others are to help develop fine motor skills. Let's take a look at the last eight art activities we've tried! Salad spinner art - I cut some cardboard in a circle the same diameter as the bottom of our salad spinner. I presented this with some small squeeze paints (ours are from Kmart AU), the paints are small enough... Read more →

It was Father's day today here in Australia. To celebrate Otto (4yrs) made waffles for the whole family. This is a wonderful idea for children who love to play cafe or shops. Our waffle-making station is on a child's table, so it is at the child's height. This is useful for the child who needs to run around take orders, make the waffles and then deliver them, there is no getting up or down from the kitchen counter. We use honey, icing sugar, strawberries, banana and blueberries. I made the waffle batter in advance, but the child could easily do... Read more →

Grab your child and some clay. Today we are going outside to strengthen our hand muscles! It's been a while since I've shared a clay tray. When I've been studying, I've had little energy for messy play. Working with clay doesn't have to be messy, but it always has the potential to get messy and absolutely requires some emotional energy to wipe everything down. So if not today, save this idea for when you are ready. Or get your clay tray organised - so when the time is right, your tray is ready to go! I have three children and... Read more →

A few friends have asked about the Doddl cutlery range (UK here) (AU here). Without seeing it in person or using it, I couldn't form a firm opinion or recommendation. The Doddl set is recommended for children 1-5yrs, so I decided to test it with my four-year-old. 🍽 Doddl cutlery is recommended by feeding and development experts, but how does it rate from a Montessori perspective? When you pick up the cutlery, you can feel how it is designed for little hands. The plastic (BPA and Phthalates free) handles are chunky and easy to grip. I suggest the fork and... Read more →

Have you made fruit gummies at home? A friend recently put some fruit gummies in her daughter's lunch box and they looked fantastic, hers were in a heart shape and were very cute! She assured me they were easy to make so I had to give it a go. It's winter and berries are expensive so we don't want any to go to waste. This is a good way to use leftover berries and we can get the children involved. There are lots of recipes and online tutorials on making fruit gummies - the recipe at My Kids Lick the... Read more →

This is the first in a new series about mindfulness with kids. I want to share some practical, easy and fun ways to bring little pockets of quiet, calm and focus into your life and the lives of your children. Today we are starting with children's yoga. Yoga is one of my favourite mindfulness activities. I've attended yoga classes throughout my life, in all different life stages it's been there for me. My three children are very active with sport so they enjoy the physical aspect of yoga. It's a way for them to physically slow down and listen to... Read more →

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 →

My four-year-old is obsessed with addition. Out of nowhere, he will start quizzing me "what's 4 plus 4?" and before I can answer "what's 3 plus 5?". If your child attends a Montessori school they may use the Montessori Addition Strip Board. And there are tons of ways we can practice addition in everyday life. We can practice addition with our children when shopping "we have two oranges, if we get two more how many do we have?", when putting away the shopping, when washing, playing shops, playing with blocks, on nature walks and so much more. Addition is a... Read more →

"Some objects are rapidly mass-produced by press or machine and are exactly alike. Others are made slowly by hand, and each is different from the other. The value of handmade objects is that each carries the individual imprint of the artist who created it." - Maria Montessori, The Child in the Family. Today is Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. ❄️ Making candles is a lovely way to celebrate Winter Solstice and it's also a fantastic warming, practical life activity. Part of this practical life activity is simply learning the process of how to make candles. We melt the wax,... Read more →

Have you thought about putting up a Street Library or a Little Free Library? We've had our Street Library in since October 2020. Being a Street Librarian has been rewarding and I encourage you to consider it. Studies have shown the more books in a child’s home, the better their educational outcome. I hope the same can be applied to books in the neighbourhood, perhaps Street Libraries can influence neighbourhood educational outcomes? There are social reasons to install a Street Library too. Neighbours and passersby will often stop and chat while visiting the Library, some will sit and read at... Read more →