Parenting
My assumption is that every parent is familiar with the wave of parenting advice that accompanies their first baby. It starts during pregnancy- anyone else told not to raise their arms for fear of strangling the unborn baby? I also remember being told not to jump, or bend, or move anything including the tiny chairs in my preschool classroom. It was comical to me at the time and I continued to read up on the different stages of pregnancy so I felt comfortable with what I was doing and could disregard the unsolicited and often irrelevant advice. It got worse when Mr Man was born and that is when I became familiar with the ocean of parenting information that I needed to wade through. It came from family- that I expected and welcomed. It came from Pastors- that I did not expect nor did I appreciate. It came from friends- whether they had children or not. It came from every direction! Not only that, I realized I had to get my boundaries clear, complete strangers attempted to touch and even pick up my baby. From sorting through the varied approaches to sleep and eating, to reflecting on the drama that ensued when my former Pastors realized I did not plan to spank, to encountering my own default in parenting this section is all about parenting. I will be reviewing some of the brilliant, and some of the scary parenting books, I will also review toys, children’s products and children’s media. Stay tuned for more content coming soon!
The Pink Tower
A material I wanted right off the bat when I started homeschooling was the Pink Tower. It is iconic, well known, easily recognized. A Montessori space should have a Pink Tower right? It took me three years to finally decide to purchase a pink tower. Before I did so I...
Preparing for a Five year Old
Mr Man is getting older and taller and recently I realized that he has outgrown the little kids table and chair set we have been using the last four years. His materials are also growing in complexity and need a larger space to be spread out and used effectively out...
“Children need to know who is in charge”
Another argument that I mentioned in my introduction to this series is as follows, “children need to know who is in charge” and the arguer is often trying to make the case that you must use punitive, and often physical discipline to make sure that the children...
“I was spanked, and I turned out fine!”
A while back I made an introductory post regarding the topic of spanking and discussed my plans to dive deeper into the subject matter. I had listed a number of common objections people make when they are defending the use of spanking in the parenting of young...
House Rules
When we bring sweet newborn babies home, we are rarely thinking about the rules we will expect them to follow. We are far too preoccupied with making sure they are fed, clean, and getting what we hope is an appropriate amount of sleep. Then as the newborn days fade...
Changing Days
My first baby is a month away from his fifth birthday. It is impossible to imagine a life without this this spunky little man, but it also seems impossible to understand how these past five years have moved by so quickly. I remember being reminded that the nights were...
K.I.S.S.
I think by now my love for felt has become pretty evident. I use it often in my materials and I find it incredibly versatile. The fact that I can often find it at my local dollar stores makes it even more appealing to me. Besides the low price tag and versatility it...
“You do it”
Yesterday I posted about my approach to the toddler refrain, "Me do it". Today I want to touch on the opposite statement that I have been hearing often from my four year old. "You do it". Lately he has been asking for help with things he is fully capable of doing. He...
Me Do It
"Me do it". As a Montessori homeschooler these words are music to my ears. As a parent who occassionally just really needs to have tasks done in a sane amount of time these same words can be an alarm. It is a warning to back off, or face the big feelings that will...
An Invitation to Play
As a home childcare provider I find parents are often curious how I manage to get so much done in my home. I provide childcare, homeschool, write and have a large collection of plants and animals that I care for in my home. I am the one who primarily does the cooking...