How to Create a Kid Friendly Home

How to Create a Kid Friendly Home

Posted by My Montessori Family on 9:47 AM in Activities, Baby, Bedroom, Bedtime, Books, Boundaries, Child,

What is a Prepared Learning Environment?

In my posts I often use the Montessori term “prepared environment”. Today, I want to provide insight into what this means. Maria Montessori observed many children throughout her life, and she was a big advocate of having certain areas where everything is set up for them. Ideally, it may be several shelves that are attractive, welcoming, and with order and learning in mind. As we set up our children’s learning areas we should definitely consider their age and interests. Carefully organized settings for children where they freely move and explore provides many opportunities throughout the day for children to learn and discover. They should be free to work on activities of their choice and at their pace. Maria Montessori recommended setting up a minimalistic, clutter-free environment with simplicity in mind. Try not to overwhelm young learners with too many activities, lots of visuals such as posters on the walls, and loud, battery-operated toys.   

“The first aim of the prepared environment is, as far as it is possible, to render the growing child independent of the adult.” M. Montessori

Here are 8 "prepared environment" stations in our home:

• The library area. My children are five, three, and two years old. The younger ones are girls and the eldest is my son. With that in mind, I divide our library into different levels: toddler books, character/manner books, seasons, Lego books, animals books, etc. The library is the most popular corner of our house.  Our youngest daughter spends most of her time there. I have a soft comfy chair that is her size, one small basket with her favorite set of books and a big floor puzzle. We visit our local public library to rotate and replace the selection of books ideally every few weeks or once a month. 

• The kitchen. My kids enjoy spending time in the kitchen. We have a wooden, toddler-sized table with two chairs. My girls always bring fresh flowers from their morning nature walks to decorate their table. I seasonally rotate their placemats and make sure their kitchen corner is beautiful and appealing. In addition, our two lower shelves include children sized silverware, plates, cups, and napkins. It allows for the children to set up their own table independently and serve themselves basic snacks. They prefer to choose their own silverware and plate settings and giving them the freedom to do so minimizes a toddler's frustration and/or disappointment prior to mealtime. 

• The play and learning area. We have small shelves with different activities on them in our formal living room. I usually have a few things for each subject: math, language arts, geography, science, sensorial materials, etc. They can be puzzles, sorting trays, matching pictures with objects, a box with sensory play for my girls, a globe, building blocks, farm animals, toy bugs, etc. Basically, anything your children have an interest in. Make sure to rotate these materials. Also, as you observe the child, watch what they enjoy the most, and what are the things he/she never engages in. There were moments, when I had the best in my opinion materials on my kids’ shelves and none of them touched it. At other times, they would be inclined to complete the same old puzzle over and over again for months on end.

“The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences.” M. Montessori

• Bedrooms. Each of our children is fortunate to have their own room.  Their nap schedule is different and I also want them to have their own private and safe place when they want to be by themselves. 

I minimize the number of toys the kids can have in their rooms; while each of them has a small shelf with books on it and a couple stuffed animals. Their closets have low shelves with clothes to help with the independent dressing process. Pajamas, socks, underwear are in separate baskets, t-shirts, dresses, sweaters, pants are separated. I include my children in the laundry process, they help me in organizing and folding their clothing, and are responsible for putting their dirty clothes in the laundry hamper. Note: this is a process, kids obviously don’t always remember to toss their dirty close in the hamper, nor do I give up in reminding them of their responsibility. 

• The Lego station. My son fell in love with Legos when he received his first Duplo set at 18 months old. Since then I have watched his interest grow. At some point it became obvious he needed a dedicated space to be more organized. These days even the girls started to get into Legos. It’s either because they enjoy his company and want to be around him or because they truly enjoy the focus and attention of configuring shapes and figures. The biggest challenge was to ensure every corner of our house was not overrun with Legos. There were days where legos had crept onto the kitchen counter, dining table, living room, family room floor, our son’s  room, etc… It started to frustrate me and the rest of the family. The following was our solution to the Lego epidemic:
• Dedicated display space for completed lego sets. This ended up being above the TV frame in the family room
• Saved all the instruction booklets from each lego set in a large box
• Agreed on firm boundaries and rules regarding where configuring Lego is allowed. For example, if Lego is spilled on the living room floor, our son cannot spill another container in his room or in the family room until he cleans up the first pile
• Have your child configure legos on a large rug or under a blanket so it’s easy to swoop up the legos and also visibly not step on them
• Have dedicated containers for mixed-use lego pieces which are where the kids toss their legos at the end of the day
• A separate container for Lego mini-figures and their accessories
• One thing we haven’t mastered yet but is a work in progress is organizing legos by colors and having color-coded shoe boxes for ease of organization.

• The dressing area. At the entrance of our home we have a kids dresser with hangers for their jackets, hats, sunglasses, and shoes as well as umbrellas and boots during the rainy season. Children have a natural desire to dress themselves from the moment they begin to walk. It’s convenient to have a dedicated area where they can ready themselves when it’s time to go outside. When my kids weren’t of speaking age, they would always bring me to this corner and point to the jackets which was their way to invite me for a walk :)

• Art Corner. One of my children's favorite sections in our house, and definitely the messiest. I make sure to have several coloring pages that spark their interest, with markers, sharpener, paper, a notebook, and some erasers. We also have a double-sided easel (chalk-sided, felt tip marker sided, and with a paper roll for pencil drawing) This station definitely can’t exist without placemats and wipes! I set up this station in an area with lots of natural light. You can have a famous painting displayed somewhere close to your art station to inspire your young artists. Do I have paint available for my children laying out in the open? No. My youngest just turned two, and can be too creative with paint so under my supervision we do watercolors or use our paintbrushes. One of the key points of a prepared environment is rotating the material at each station . For example, have different natural materials for your children to paint: rocks, sticks, leaves, acorns, pine cones, etc. The biggest challenge here is not to teach how to paint or draw but to quietly participate. Often I sit and work on my own art piece while my kids are engulfed in theirs. There are times when they choose this station without me being present there. I remind them to wipe their table and make sure the materials are placed back in their places (i.e. coloring books, markers, etc.

            “Every child is an artist.” P. Picasso

• The classroom. We turned our two car detached garage into a formal classroom. As we are homeschooling, my children literally have to leave our house (i.e. the front door) and transition to a schooling/learning environment with desks, tables, and school-aged learning materials. Our children go to this school setting four days a week for three hours a day. At our co-op, My Montessori Family, some of our children’s friends join us and we learn together in this prepared environment.

What are some of your favorite stations to set up in your home?

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The Daily Method

The Daily Method

Posted by My Montessori Family on 5:17 PM in Activities, Conflicts, Homeschooling, Kids, Projects,

Eight o’clock in the morning. I promised myself a cup of coffee in solitude. I’ve committed to carving out a few minutes of alone time for a while now, but today it was “for real”.  As my three little angels peacefully ate breakfast in the kitchen, I was reflecting on my homeschooling life in our living room. Within five minutes my first born five year old discovered me and happily hollered to his sisters, “Girls, I found Mommy. She’s here!”
I smiled at them and started observing their actions.

I welcome you to read further on our daily routine.

Miss V, my eldest three year old daughter,  was wearing a pink dress with bunnies and flowers. She came to me with a sad face and said, “Mom, Rodion said I can’t be a Ninjago and I’m sad about that”. I asked why she needs to ask his permission to be a Ninjago. Her response was very logical, “because he is older than me!”
Next, comes Miss A, our youngest who is just shy of turning two. She was a bit tardy after her brother’s announcement as she stayed back at the kitchen table and made sure to finish everything on her plate and her siblings plates. She quietly came up to me, sat on my lap and started to eat from my plate. She looked into my eyes, smiled and said, “I’m still hungry”.
Rodion started playing the piano, but as dad works from home, we all gave him the look and he immediately stopped. As he’s a bit older than the rest of our tribe, he understands not to interfere with dad’s conference calls. Unfortunately, at the same moment Miss A realizes that piano is her favorite instrument on this planet and playing the notes at a forte decibel makes her really happy. This time we ALL gave her the look!
It didn’t work.
Eventually, she played a few more keys and stopped. Rodion then asked if I can help him find an evil guy’s  lego head. Miss V also jumped to assist with this ‘important task’.

Nine o’clock. Time to get ready for school. If dad has a break between conference calls, we try to slide in a fifteen minute piano repetition. This transition time is for us to get out of our pj’s and get focused on school. It makes a huge difference and mentally prepares us to be focused and learn. We don’t have a formal school every day, but at least three days a week we dress up, go to our homeschool classroom  and enjoy our world of discoveries, stories, projects, and quiet time.
Our homeschool can take anywhere from twenty minutes to three hours.
On the days, when we don’t have formal school lessons, our activities include gardening, cooking, lego building, free play, nature walks, house cleaning, arts and crafts, reading, backyard painting and anything in between.

Twelve o’clock. Everyone is ready for a break. Kids are free to do whatever they want while I fix lunch. Often, Miss V helps me with washing and cutting the vegetables, and setting the table. These days, we’re fortunate to have dad pop out of the office and lunch with us. This gives me a short break and we transition to my favorite time of the day - nap time.

One to four in the afternoon. Between one and two o’clock, I put down my girls for a nap. From two to four  my son and I enjoy quiet time. Occasionally, he naps, but more often than not, we read together, play board games, build Legos, catch up on homeschooling assignments or just relax. Some activities, my five year old manages to do himself, some require my assistance.

During shelter-in-place, I proposed to him to write letters to his friends. Surprisingly, he really got into it. We made a list of friends and relatives to whom he’d like to send a letter. Then day after day, we create cards, write short notes, draw pictures, and include stickers or bookmarks. Rodion became so creative that he even started to pack small lego parts to his friends. Our “nap time” is a perfect quiet time without distractions where Rodion can write his letters. You can’t imagine his excitement when he began checking the mail each day after receiving his first response.

Four to six. Kids free play time among themselves.  I have a few areas in the home with prepared activities on the shelves, including their favorite little library. My girls like to hang out there and “read” to each other. I consciously try not to be by their side at this hour because it makes them dependent on me. The moment I leave them alone, they start learning how to share, solve conflicts, take turns, calm down,  and communicate their needs. When they run to me and say, “he …” or “ she's yelling at me”, I often send them back and say, “talk to each other about it” or “explain to her/him why you don’t like it”. Children can only learn how to solve their conflicts from trial and error.

Every one to two weeks, I rotate the toys and activities on their shelves. For example, one week the art area may include coloring pages and crayons, while the next it will be stocked with markers and play dough. The following week it may be reshuffled with paints and brushes, rocks and wooden blocks, and canvases. Every month our library books are rotated to include seasonal favorites. In the springtime, I make sure there are several books on bugs, plants and gardens.  Every month several subscription kits arrive at our doorstep. They don’t require prep time and are perfect for busy parents. You can pick & choose what fits your child’s interests. We’re subscribed to the following:
Ivy Kids Kit - a book and about ten hands-on educational projects and crafts
KiwiCo Kit - a science and physics magazine with hands-on projects
Annie’s Young Woodworkers Kit Club - My son’s favorite. Each month he receives a real tool and monthly woodworking projects such as gluing and nailing together a simple sailboat
Mommy and Me Art - perfect for young artists. Has everything your kid needs to get started and paint!
Little Passports - geography based subscription for 3 years and up. Introduces young children to other cultures.

Six to eight o’clock. Dinner time and our routine "after dinner stroll". Sometimes it’s just dad and children, other times all five of us.
If the adults are exhausted after the walk, a good old classic movie based on a fable can’t hurt, so long as it’s teaching children some good values.

As a homeschool mom, I found the most important task to teach my family is that our kitchen can be “closed” at certain hours of the day such as right after lunch and dinner. You can place a chair or other mental marker barring the entrance as a sign that  Mom needs to have a cup of coffee, or it’s time for children to play by themselves. Is it easy for my two year old to comprehend, why the kitchen just closed? No!  Teaching is a process. It doesn’t stop today. It won’t stop tomorrow. That’s the beauty of continual learning and parenthood.

A few days ago, I was reading to my son the chapter from “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, where he describes adults as human beings that sometimes miss the real meaning of pictures, the importance of friends, and people in our lives. My son turned to me and quietly said, “But not you. Mom, you’re different, you get it!” At that moment, I realized, at the end of the day our children just want us to truly understand them from their perception of the world. So, let's just try "to get" them... That's all they really need.

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Teaching our kids to be the givers

Teaching our kids to be the givers

Posted by My Montessori Family on 12:06 PM in Crafts, Gifts, Holidays, Lesson Ideas,

Most of us get excited about the onset of fall and the coming winter holidays that are just around the corner. In our home we began fall decorations, celebrating  autumn birthdays of our family members and friends, and taking a pause before the arrival of Christmas.
The teacher inside of me is always searching for an opportunity to come up with new lessons, not just academic "to do plans" but traditional Montessori "grace and courtesy" lessons that help our students become better human beings. I'm reminding myself again that a successful education is not which teaches my kids to read and write alone, but introduces them to the universal laws of peace, love, caring, and giving.

There is no better season of teaching our kids to give then now. The very first lessons our children receive are from their own family. We can read to them hundreds of books about generosity (such as The Giving tree) but if they see completely different practical examples from mom and dad, they will follow what  we do, and not what we say. We all can take  action and start practical giving lessons from today forward. Below are several ideas:

• Make a list with your children of family members and friends that they want to bless this season. Always have room for one person they don't know
• Come up with a schedule of handmade projects you can work on together to give away
• Make greeting cards

• Teach them how to decorate and wrap gifts with a bow. These are great practical life skills. Check out this site for free downloads http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/assets/PDF/Bow_Tying_Lesson.pdf
• Collect items for a shoe box to donate to disadvantaged children (reach out if you are looking for a list of non-profit organizations that accept during the holiday drive)
• Take your children to gift hunting with you or plug them into your online searches. It teaches them a great lesson of not just receiving for themselves but the beauty of giving. If your child likes Legos, ask them to buy a nice set for an orphan, package the gift and send it with your child.

If you have a long list of gifts to purchase, consider buying a  box of arts and crafts where you can create a variety of projects. We have purchased the following gift set  ideas on Amazon:

• Start early so you don't overwhelm yourself and your kids with too many last minute tasks and activities. I usually schedule my autumn calendar to make one present per  week whether it be a card, project, or gift wrapping
• Be realistic. Set age appropriate goals. If your child is two years old, have them draw a card and tell you what they want to write on it. Their project can be a small hanging ornament that they paint in 10-15 minutes. A ten year old can make their own card, and write a message in it. For them, create more challenging projects such as quilting a blanket or making a pillow .

Have fun! Let this experience be rewarding and memorable for your family. Something they will treasure and look forward to each autumn. Be sure to include your youngest siblings. Let them remember the practical giving spirit in your home during this holiday season, and be joyful givers.

With much love,
Tetyana and The My Montessori Family School

"Education must begin at birth."
DR. MARIA MONTESSORI, THE 1946 LONDON LECTURES

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Follow Your Child

Follow Your Child

Posted by My Montessori Family on 2:32 PM in Activities, Child, Follow, Free play, Listen, Observe,

One of my favorite quotes from Maria Montessori is "follow your child". These three words have helped me so much in my parenting journey. But one may ask, "How can I follow my child? How do I know what their needs are?" The best approach I’ve found is by observing my children, simply stopping all my house work, putting aside my cell phone, and just quietly watching them.

From the first day on this planet, children are ready to explore the world around them. Of course, their world starts with mommy, so they need her pretty much all the time. As they become older, they observe more things by tasting, touching, smelling, and listening. Thus, sensorial materials become very handy. If we spend time by observing our children, we notice what their interests are and offer specific materials and aids that pique their interest. As adults, we do many activities that are not enjoyable, such as waking up early, drinking healthy while awful tasting juices, staying within a budget during the holiday shopping season, etc. Children are different. They learn best by not being forced into a certain activity, but rather completing what they truly enjoy. At their young age, they are not self-aware to focus their energy on tasks they dislike; however necessary they may be. As they approach school age, it becomes easier for them to learn what is"have to do it". There were so many days when I prepared fun and engaging lessons for my kids, and they just walked away from the activity. Thus,I started observing them more and following what grasped their interest. Honestly, it's not easy, when you have a four year old boy, a two year old girl, and a one year old running toddler.

Below are a few tips that have helped me in following my three little treasures:

1. Offer a variety of age appropriate toys/materials

The key here is in minimalism. If you offer ten containers full of stuff, most likely your children will just dump it on the floor without any interest. I suggest a few open shelves that the child can easily reach. Have different subjects in mind: math, language, science, geography, and art. Since I have three different levels of students, I usually prepare a small basket for the baby as she has her own toys in her nursery, and a dedicated corner in the living room, and have different materials for the other two siblings.

2. Always provide an opportunity for creative play

I learn so much by observing my children inventing their own toys and games. I listen to what they are saying to each other, what their dreams are, favorite foods are, their favorite colors, and toys.Their imagination is limitless.Try not to interrupt them by inserting adult-like questions or comments. Simply, get on the floor and follow their rules. Through pretend play you listen to your child's inner desires. They practice problem solving skills, leadership skills, self expression, gain self-confidence, social skills, creativity, manners, and learn of other people's feelings and much more. Often, the teacher inside of me, would push traditional lessons but my three little students taught me that the best lessons are those that they learn by themselves through play.

3. Listen to their questions

When a child asks me a question, I consider it "a golden opportunity”! Any question they have in their minds means they are curious about that subject. If they are interested, they will listen to your answer. If they listen to your answer, or you tell them where to find the answer, they will remember it forever. All parents will agree that their children always have a flurry of questions. Some of my family’s favorites are: why do bears have tails? Why do we have birthdays only once a year? How fast does our planet move around the sun? Do all people have ten fingers?

4. Do not try to raise a "mini you" child

When we push our own interests, we miss an opportunity for the child to discover their own selves. It's fine to offer things that we as a family enjoy doing, such as reading books, taking walks, cooking together, and going to the theater etc. The magic word is "offer. It might be heartbreaking for a musician to discover his child is not interested in music, or for a talented artist to see their disinterest in painting lessons, but we have to remember that every single child has their own talents and strengths. In my family, I have a Lego obsessed child. I could never imagine that this hobby at one and a half years old would catch on so intensely by age four. Likewise, our two year old is an innate artist and has been incessantly drawing since the moment she held her first paint brush.Some of her drawing sessions last up to one hour being, as she  fully immerses herself in her task. Our little walker who recently turned 14 months old, began playing the drums and other musical instruments.I could not predict any of the above hobbies for my children when they were born.

5. Spend as much time as possible listening to your children

A few paragraphs above, I mentioned listening to their questions. Now, I’d like to reinforce simply having ears that hear. Our busy and sometimes overwhelming world tries to steal the quiet time with our family members. It's not easy to always listen to our children but if we don't, they get the message that "I'm not important". If they start feeling that way, soon they will stop sharing with us. If they stop sharing, how can we in turn follow them?

I am thankful to Maria Montessori for her observations and studies of young children. Studying her work, I learned that by watching our little friends, we can understand how they learn and what their interests are. This then leads us to providing the “right” materials and empowering our children with life skills that help them grow into well-rounded individuals.

"The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” M.Montessori

Read more in my eBook on Amazon:

Montessori Parenting Principles

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Posted by My Montessori Family on 10:48 AM in

How things change when you become a mom of three...

Five of us!

Six months ago, our life changed from being a busy family to becoming simply overwhelmed, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week busy family. Now, I have a four year old young gentlemen who is addicted to Legos, a two year young lady who prefers to be called “dolly” and a six month old girl who seems to just get started during the night shift.

A visit to the park which used to be a routine is now a challenge. My favorite hairstyle is a bun. A quiet morning coffee that I always managed to make time for, these days is just a dream.  But it’s also triple the fun! Instead of cuddling with two little treasures, we have three cutie-pies giving us wet kisses. We enjoy observing our older son becoming a leader of the tribe, while our middle princess shares her treasure chest full of pacifiers with her baby sister. Finally, we are stopped in our tracks when our crawling cupid smiles and shows us her chubby cheeks and two teeth. That smile, I tell you, is the most attractive smile in the world!

I'm back to blogging so here goes the short list of things that are different now, with a trio in the house:

• When you have two children, people around you feel sorry to leave you alone with the active toddlers. The moment when your third child enters the world, everybody feels you are on vacation with the three of them and do not need that much help. Quite odd, right?
• With each new addition, you get less unneeded advice from people around you.  It seems that each visitor used to sense they had a duty to enlighten you with a few tips starting from how to give a bath, how often to feed, and how to dress each child per the weather condition, etc.  What a relief being a mom of three, where visitors, relatives, and friends finally seem to trust that I know what I’m doing. 
• The more children you have, the quicker you realize the importance of spending quality one-on-one time with each child. When there is just one, your whole world revolves around that child. When there are two of them, you offer two different activities and share your time between them. When one naps, you play with the other, and vice versa. The dilemma with the tree kids, is that most of the time they are on or around you and their day time naps never aligns at the same time. So, as soon as a helper (husband, neighbor, grandparent, nanny) enters your door, you generally toss them the newborn, and carve out some time with each of the older siblings for one-on-one moments.. Oh, how I love these precious minutes!
• When a newborn enters your life, the other children suddenly seem to become so grown up! Every single mom that I’ve spoken with shares the same feeling. It’s as if your kids grew up overnight while you were in the hospital. Their heads, limbs, and bodies seem to be gigantic. At that moment you realize, people are right, time flies!
• You learn to multitask. The third one pushes your productivity to a whole new level, if you hadn’t caught of before. Some days, I feel as a superhero flying around the house, doing the laundry, fixing lunch, serving breakfast, changing diapers, pumping, and dressing myself. While other days I’m so sleep deprived that I’m slipping on the basics.
• Your laundry-heap never disappears. As a family of five, my washer and dryer work incessantly. I’m glad we went solar to somehow manage the utility strain. By the time you finish folding one load, a new laundry basket is full and awaiting a wash. I’ve noticed my girls change and dirty their outfits three times more often than my toddler son. So, mom of three girls, I feel you ;)
• You teach your kids to help you in all possible areas: with one child you enjoy setting up their little table for breakfast. Having three of them forces you to teach them to plate set on their own. This is one of those role model moments of our older son. Furthermore, the children can help in sorting laundry, picking up toys, washing dishes, and many other areas (In my ebook you may find chart with many practical Montessori friendly activities for each age) 
• . 
• Your wall calendar is full of endless birthday parties, doctor’s appointments, and play dates.
• I never go shopping with three little children while Amazon becomes my best friend! Sometimes I find myself making purchases every day: toothpaste, clothes, gifts for birthday parties, new toys, hair accessories, and every other possible things you might need as a mom of three.
• You subscribe to as many recurring deliveries as possible: diapers, groceries, cleaning supplies, photo albums, books, etc. The main reason is because you simply don’t remember when you will need those things, and fear ordering late or forgetting to order it altogether. Why not take advantage of what the internet and technology have to offer?

As I am writing these challenges can go on and on. Now, the inverse, the great things that come from being a mom of three:

• Your house becomes one big bustling place. One of my neighbors visits us just to be around the positive energy generated by little children. They make you smile all the time and laugh each and every day. The more kids you have, the more of that energy you feel!
• You have the most empathetic team of little human beings. They bow on their knees and kiss your leg when you get hurt. They give you 100+ hugs each day, while saying, “I love you”. They give you wet kisses on your lips, cheeks, and hands. They forgive all your mistakes and misunderstandings. Lastly, they love you unconditionally just because their precious hearts are full of love.
  
• Our kids teach us new things each and every day. My kids show me how to enjoy life to its fullest. They get excited when it rains, and dance when there is or isn’t music . 
• The more children you have, the more often you laugh. They make the funniest comments about random things, such as “I like this lady because her hair looks like one I have in my lego set. I really want her to be my friend”.
• You never feel alone. Loneliness doesn’t exist when you are a mom of three. There is always someone available for your snuggles, kisses, and conversations. 

At the beach I can relax for a few minutes...

• Kids keep you moving all the time. Before I had kids, I never spent so much time outdoors, running with a stroller (because kids won’t let you go slow!). I also never before got so much fresh air, nor climbed trees and play structures.  Children teach you to appreciate the little things, such as new type of cereal in the store, cute pink socks you wouldn't even notice, bubble baths, quirky songs in the car, group hugs (five plus at the same time!) and millions of other things that our daily lives are full of. 
• You value time. With the children you never have a dull moment. So when you do find a quiet minute, you enjoy it like nothing else in your life. Those rare moments when the three of my children nap at the same time, my husband and I are thankful for each minute we spend together. Our kids teach us to be wise with our time because it evaporates quickly. 
• Warm snuggles are the best with the little kiddos around you! Especially, during these long winter days. When they climb into your bed on a Saturday morning, you want this feeling to last forever.
• You never knew your heart can hold so much love until you become a mom. With each child it seems as though you have more and more love that was just patiently waiting inside of you to be released.

This is how we travel as a family of five :)  (10 PM at San Francisco airport)

I can endlessly continue on over the changes, but I’ll end here. No matter how many challenges, struggles, sleepless nights I experience as a mom of three, I would never trade it back for a mom of one or two. Now, I have to run to give them a group hug :)

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Sensorial Activities

Sensorial Activities

Posted by My Montessori Family on 10:13 PM in

"If you watch carefully any small child, of one to two years old, you will see that he is not only interested in objects as a whole, but also in their qualities, such as roughness, smoothness, hardness, softness, color, taste, texture, weight, pliability, and so on." M.Montessori

Many of my friends have been asking me about websites with Montessori sensorial activities. Amazon has some great choices:

 

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Links to Free Downloads

Links to Free Downloads

Posted by My Montessori Family on 3:33 PM in Free Downloads, Materials, Montessori Websites,

It has been several months since our third child joined this world. As I am slowly returning to my regular routine and preparing new materials for my children, I wanted to share with you,  my dear readers, some Montessori websites which have free downloadable content. As I tend to use the same lessons with each of my children as they age, I’ve begun laminating the materials. Since it's a challenge for me to go out with a newborn, I ordered a laminating machine to work on the materials at home, while my kids nap.

 1.  www.montessoriforeveryone.com is a great Montessori website with lots of free content: seasons, matching cards, colors, etc.

 2. I also enjoyed the following Russian Montessori website: www.montessori-print.store

 Both of the above websites have great articles that explain to readers in  simple language how to use the mentioned Montessori materials, how to make them and how to introduce them to our children at home or at school. The best part is they both offer many free downloads with beautiful and  realistic pictures.

 3.  www.teacherspayteachers.com
Although the name of this site describes the users as teachers, it has many pages for parents as well. Just search for Montessori materials for... (enter age of your child) and you will find lots of downloadable content. Most of them are not free, but still quite affordable.

 4. www.montessoriservices.com
Many of my friends have been asking me about websites with Montessori wooden materials/educational toys. Amazon has some choices but I also highly recommend this site. They have very accurately listed materials separated into different subjects (language, science, math, etc). Be sure to take a look at  their “Practical life” page. It has many cute household objects you can order for your little ones to help you around the house. You can also request a free catalog from them and make a wish list for Christmas, Hanukkah or your child's birthday.

I hope you will find these resources useful. Have fun preparing lessons!

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