On the Blog
Ideas, inspiration, tips & tools for those with young people in their lives
Free Intro to Positive Discipline Workshop
I'm excited to announce that I have a free workshop coming up next week! Join us and learn respectful, connection-based tools for empowering children and ourselves.
Montessori Bundle for Ukraine
Montessori creators from around the world have contributed to this bundle of over 100 educational resources. I've added my most popular bilingual continents printables. There is still time to get the bundle, and there is also the opportunity to donate more.
Montessori at Home: Dedicated Space for Materials
A place for everything and everything in its place. Like everything else, this can look a lot of different ways.
What this generally means is limiting the amount of activities or materials you have in your environment so that every activity has its own home. It provides structure, reliability, and promotes independence when the child knows where they can find an activity and where it can be returned when finished.
Montessori at Home: Rhythms & Routines
Everyone's rhythms and routines are going to look a little different, as they should.
Routines are not a tight schedule to adhere to, but rather repeated patterns that are predictable and reliable, and work together to form a greater rhythm.
Questions to Motivate and Invite Cooperation
Have you ever felt frustrated that a child isn't listening to you? What does that really mean?
Montessori at Home: Simple Surroundings
When it comes to preparing the environment, the aim is to create a beautiful, minimal space so the focus is on the child and the materials. This can look a lot of different ways, as it should, and it will vary according to the needs of your child and your family, the realities of home life, and how you use your space.
All Kinds of Autumn
To me, autumn has always meant rainy weather, colder weather, leaves changing colors, leaves falling, different foods appearing, and shorter days and longer nights. I’ve gathered up some of my favorite autumn activities and materials from those North Carolina days.
Absorbent Mind
In these early years, impressions do not merely enter the child’s mind, actually they form it. What the child absorbs now is a part of who they will ultimately become.
Montessori at Home: Quiet & Cozy Spot
I'm a big advocate for this one.
While we do want to provide opportunities for children to be busy and engaged, they also need the option to do nothing. Kids need a little quiet space where there is no expectation for a particular activity.
Sensitive Periods
Have you ever been surprised or in awe of your child's sudden ability to do something new? Understanding sensitive periods is a major part of supporting a child's development, and gives us a lot of information about why they do what they do.
Montessori Language in the 3-6 Environment
Language development is a vast and dynamic process. These materials and activities provide rich language experiences for children in 3-6 Montessori environments.
Planes of Development
Let's break down one of those Montessori terms: Planes of Development. This is the foundation of Montessori education and informs so much of how we are with children and the environments we prepare for them.
Montessori Math: The Number Rods
The materials in this area are the definition of concrete, hands-on learning or as Dr. Montessori called them, 'systems of materialized abstraction.' Let's start with one of the early Math materials, the Number Rods.
Montessori at Home: Trays & Baskets
If you've seen pictures of Montessori classrooms or home environments, you may have noticed that Montessorians are quite fond of trays and baskets. These organize and define activities for the child, which makes them more appealing, and ultimately, easier to put away.
How Can I Support Writing at Home?
This is one of the most common questions I get from parents. Supporting beginning reading and writing skills can feel huge and expansive, but you are likely already doing more than you realize.
Wintertime Exploration
"I bet we could put water outside and it would freeze in just one minute."
One January afternoon my kindergarteners were talking about a recent cold snap and this comment came up. Of course we had to try it out.