Parenting

Preparing for Baby: The Essentials

October 23, 2012
Preparing for Baby: The Essentials

It’s no secret preparing for a baby can be an overwhelming task, especially for first-time moms. Everyone has an opinion and  a list of must-haves and then you walk into the baby section of Target or, worse, Babies R Us and are completely overwhelmed. What do you really need? Here’s my 2 cents from a {almost} 3rd-time mom. [...]

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Work Shift eBook {Review & Giveaway}

September 24, 2012

Recently, a friend of mine released a new ebook called Work Shift. Anne tackles the desire to pursue work we enjoy while maximizing time with our family and enjoying life. Anne writes about the paradigm shift taking place in work and home. How families are stepping out of traditional work roles (father works/mom stays home, [...]

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Boundaries in Homeschooling

September 14, 2012
Boundaries in Homeschooling

This is a post I wrote in the spring and recently found sitting finished in my drafts and figured I should finally post it. *** It’s important when making the decision to homeschool that you set healthy boundaries for your schooling with your family. You don’t want school to take over your life and home, [...]

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5 Reasons Why We Chose Montessori

September 7, 2012
Why Montessori?

Some people may wonder out of all the educational philosophies, why did our family choose to pursue the Montessori method? After being in a Montessori environment (at school and home) and studying the method for nearly 7 years, I still have a hard time articulating our reasons. I tend to stumble over my words and [...]

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Struggles in Homeschooling & Changing Our Approach

March 12, 2012
Snow Angels

We’ve been struggling in our little Montessori home (hence the lack of posts). Joey has shown a real lack of interest, and almost aversion, to school the last week or two. While we only have our school time 2-3 hours in the mornings on the weekdays, he’s resisted and wants to play. I’m very hesitant [...]

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Starting Montessori at Home

February 15, 2012
Starting Montessori at Home

One of the questions I get asked most frequently is, How do I start teaching my children with the Montessori method at home? The plethora of information out there can be overwhelming and it’s hard to know where to start. If you’re interested in using the Montessori Method in your home, this is what I’d suggest: Research [...]

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Creating a Montessori Environment Without Losing the Home

January 16, 2012
Montessori Family

While I love the Montessori philosophy and am happy to incorporate it into our home and make it our choice of schooling, I never want to hold so tightly onto the philosophy at the expense of losing our home environment. What I mean by that is the home should first and foremost be a place [...]

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Use Your Words, Not Your Body

September 27, 2011

We’ve been struggling a bit with Joey expressing himself in inappropriate ways, especially when he feels Otto is invading his space. It can be frustrating for us, becaue must of his triggers are relatively small incidents. But for Joey they feel like a big deal. For example, if we tell him we’re done with an [...]

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Toys & the Child {part 2}

August 12, 2011
Thumbnail image for Toys & the Child {part 2}

If the majority of today’s toys do little to engage the child in meaningful work (or play), then what are we to do? As parents, how do we cultivate an environment that meets our children’s continuously developing needs, allows opportunity to explore, engage in imaginative play, and does not build the standard American consumerist attitude? Each family will answer [...]

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Toys & the Child {part 1}

August 8, 2011
Thumbnail image for Toys & the Child {part 1}

“The toy has become so important that people think it an aid to the intelligence; it is certainly better than nothing, but it is significant that the child quickly tires of a toy and wants new ones.” – Maria Montessori, Education for a New World (64) I remember someone being in our home and heard [...]

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TV & the Imagination

May 31, 2011

Joey’s getting to the age where he’s making up his own stories. It’s fun to watch and hear him narrate. Lately though my husband and I have noticed one thing we don’t like too much, oftentimes instead of coming up with his own story or naming a toy he copies a story he sees from [...]

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