A Montessori Birthday is Love and Genius

Before I start including Montessori Elementary stories in this blog, here's a last fond look at Montessori Preschool and the clever tradition they have to celebrate birthdays.

In the spirit of mixing it up so home "work" doesn't mirror school activities all the time, I'd like to share this with my fellow toddler/preschool moms who actually aren't into Montessori schools or do lessons strictly at home.  Do this at birthday party programs!  At the intimate family cake blowing!  You are definitely the best "teacher" for this, too. 

Evolution of Our Library Room with the Konmari Method

This has been the most dramatic change Konmari has done for me.  I kid you not.

Spare An Extra Table for Play

The internet world makes it look easy, but as a working mom I can't just whip out play ideas all the time.  I've had to test a lot of working mom hacks for the awesome play ideas thought of by moms who could supervise their kids themselves.  

Usually they are kept in self-contained individual play trays in her room.  But I've found that setting up a showcase table in the home can work wonders to spark more interest.  Go big or be ignored.

Here are ten of the big play invitations around our home in the last two years that formed my "spare table play theory".  Totally made that up but it works.

Why I'm Ignoring The Backlash For Discipline

My newsfeed is filled with viral articles shaking their fingers at parents for being too lenient with their children.  Too much praise!  Not enough chores!  Let them bleed! Too much indulgence!  And notice how the poor Millennials are taking the first beating from being raised as an entitled generation?  It will only get worse.

I suppose it's inevitable that with helicopter parenting comes the backlash on the case for discipline. 

Frankly, I'm ignoring all that.  I still read them and I take in the balancing wisdom, but largely I don't let it affect the parenting style I've chosen.  I think much of this backlash is old-school thinking.

My current corporate job + my forever-career as a mom has me nerding up on child development and reading the science behind child education.  I've realized that much of modern parenting and progressive education makes so much scientific sense.  (I'm putting Montessori as part of progressive education even though it started in the 1910s because Maria Montessori was a freaking genius whose methods are validated by brain theory today.)  

There is a reason why parenting is so different today than it was in the 1970s. 

This is my own experience with discipline:

I still carry my six-year old daughter.  Here's why.