I recently wrote about Montessori, imagination and pretend play, so I thought it would be helpful to share some of our favorite open-ended toys that foster imagination and are Montessori friendly. I have also included the few pretend sets that we have purchased based on interest from the boys. Listed Read more…
One of the common myths about Montessori is that it does not encourage imagination and pretend play. This misunderstanding stems from the fact that Montessori emphasizes real experiences and discourages fantasy (not to be mistaken for pretend play) for children under 6 years old. The emphasis on real experiences actually Read more…
Like many parents, as my son’s first birthday drew close, I spent a lot of time thinking of and researching the best gifts for the first birthday. My wish list included wooden stacking blocks, a tricycle, and musical instruments. Then one day, while observing my almost one year old, I realized Read more…
If you have ever had a young child then you have probably experienced it before, an unrolled roll of toilet paper. Sometimes you find it in a long strip or other times in heap. Sometimes it was a mistake and other times, not so much. What if instead of an Read more…
As promised, here are some of the things that help me in dealing with the difficult side of Montessori Parenting. It was encouraging to see that most of us deal with the same issues. This was a hard post for me to write because I am by no means done Read more…
Montessori has made parenting easier in many ways but it can also be a hard and lonely path. I feel like this side is not discussed enough and so I’m sharing my own feelings about it. I think the word that describes what makes it hard for me is fight. Read more…
Recently while walking to the car, my older son pointed excitedly, “Mummy, see a pied crow on that roof like the one in Gambia.” Another day it was a laughing dove and yet another it was a yellow alder. This was a plant which caught our attention in Gambia because when Read more…
If you have young children between the ages of 1 and 6 then you know that they love to play with water. You can fight it or you can take advantage of their insatiable interest in water to provide rich learning opportunities. I choose to do the latter. In this Read more…
“Me no yike (sic) what are you doing” this is Metu’s current favorite expression. He just turned two. I find it quite cute when he says it but as I thought about it the other day, I realized how empowering it must be for him to be able to express Read more…
If your children are relatively close in age like mine, then you know how they always want to do what the other one is doing. One way that I have found to deal with this is to offer similar activities or variations of the same activity at each one’s ability Read more…