I am neither proud nor ashamed to admit that I have a child who sometimes tantrums at school, in the process sometimes biting, kicking, and shoving other children. It’s difficult, and we’re working on it. I wouldn’t even be mentioning it here, except that I led a school tour this morning and the prospective parents raised the question of discipline. “How is discipline handled? Do they do time-outs or is there some other system in place?” It’s an interesting question. My memories of school are that misbehaviour was punished. (At this point there are those of you who are saying, “well DUH!” stic ..read more

Our school has fabulous information evenings for parents where we get to see and try the Montessori materials for ourselves. I’d like to think that everyone who is interested in Montessori is lucky enough to be able to participate in that sort of thing, but I realize that’s probably not the case. For everyone who has ever wondered how Montessori goes from introducing numerals to multiplying four-digit numbers, or what exactly is happening when a child practices the wood-polishing exercise, this link is for you. InfoMontessori is a website with a wealth of information on the Montessori primary ..read more

There are some household jobs that I just can’t do with a baby in the room. Cleaning the toilet, for example. Loading and unloading the dishwasher has been on the list as well; my babies typically try to climb up on the open door and get inside. Sometimes, though, I just have to get it done. Yesterday was one of those times. So there I was, loading the dishwasher, and there R was, trying to get inside it. After saying “no” and pulling her out of the appliance several times, I decided to see whether she could be redirected to a more productive task. “R,” I said, “do you want to help me load the ..read more

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that trying to teach my kids anything that’s difficult for them is a one way ticket to screamville, with an optional stop-over in cryingtown. It starts out ok, but then I speak up about a needed correction or to optimize someone’s technique, and next thing I know frustration turns outwards into anger at me – the one wielding the metaphorical red pen of correction. In general, I try to work with my children’s natures rather than against them. I prefer to make structural or design changes rather than acting as an enforcer – by using our computer’s built-in ..read more

Well, I’ve been MIA for a while here, but I have an excuse: we just built a house. I finally, finally, got to design everything the way I wanted it. My goal was, and is, to have a house that is usable by every member of the family, no matter how young. When I started this post, I was going to tell you about all the lovely child-sized features we’ve built into the house. I got up with my camera to snap photos of our entryway. Then I caught sight of our front door and stopped. I wasn’t even thinking about the door, honestly. But I had a sudden flash of clarity about doors and access, and what th ..read more