5 Ways Bringing Montessori Home Makes Life Easier

There are lots of reasons why I love Montessori education. It’s respectful, holistic, intellectually and socially stimulating, and child-directed. But one of my favorite things about Montessori is how much easier it is to be an adult spending time with children in a Montessori environment than it is in most any other environment. Here are the top five reasons why bringing Montessori philosophies into your home will make your life much easier.

1)   Cooperation and community mindedness are built in

In the Montessori classroom the children are a community. Everyone works together to keep the environment clean and organized. That means that when someone accidentally spills hundreds of tiny beads all over the floor, all the children in the immediate area gather around and help clean up the mess. Each child is also responsible for cleaning up his or her individual work before choosing a new activity. read more

Easy DIY Bone Identification Lesson

I bought this skeleton from Michael’s for under $10 last Halloween. Then I cut some card stock for labels. You could make it look even better by printing the words out on the card stock before cutting the labels. My daughter loves to play our “bone game!” Just present with the three part lesson and you’re set! My daughter doesn’t read yet, so I read the cards for her and she places them in the right spot. Can expand to include more bones as she gets older too!

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Terrified of the Terrible Twos? How About Terrific Twos Instead!

Yes, it is true that two-year-old children don’t have much impulse control or emotion regulation skills and that coupled with their very strong preferences has given them a bad reputation as irrational and explosive. I’ve been told all sorts of things about “the terrible twos,” especially when I was a nanny and again as I prepared for motherhood. But it really doesn’t have to be this way. Tantrums and other toddler behaviors that are difficult for us are actually just a signal that a child’s needs aren’t fully being met. Luckily, we CAN meet those needs and enjoy far less of those pesky behaviors. read more

DIY Button Board

This button board was simple to make.

You just need:

1) A board

2) Felt

3) Buttons

4) Sharp scissors & a sewing kit

Simply sew the buttons onto a piece of felt the same size as your board. Then glue it onto the board with fabric or wood glue. Cut out shapes and cut button holes in them. And you’re done! The kids love this one.

Button Board