There are lot of great sales happening. Here you can find a summary of our favorites. (This post contains affiliated links) I think I had never seen a sale from Lovevery* before. In case you are not familiar, this is a toy subscription. Their toys are age appropriate and they are mostly Montessori inspired and aligned Montikids* is another toy subscription and also the biggest sale I have seen them offer. They also now carry kits like this cooking one which is a favorite of ours Ten Little* is having their best sale of the year as well. This is normally when I buy the next two sizes in wh ..read more

For 3 to 6 months old babies is all about developing the hands, sensory experiences and gaining more control of their body. 1. Sensory reflecting balls / 2. Stacking cups / 3. Floor mirror / 4. Teether grasping toy / 5. Triangle Rattle / 6. Clutching toy and teether / 7. Pull and retract toy / 8. Sensory tumbling toys / 9. Ball Cylinder / 10. Interlocking Disks / 11. Spinning Drum / 12. Sensory fabrics / 13. Rainbow Fabric Ball Lovevery Kits Montikids sets The post Gift Guide 3-6 months appeared first on Halfway Montessori. The post Gift Guide 3-6 months appeared first on Halfway Montessori ..read more

I know I had been promising this for a while, but life got so busy! We moved again and it feels like we will never been done unpacking (uh oh!). Also with this year being what it has been, time is kind of a blur. It will be the first Thanksgiving we don’t travel to see family and we will cook instead (Double uh oh!) Anyway, I thought long and hard on how to break down this Christmas Gift Guide, but I think what might be the most useful is for me to share my personal experience, views and ideas (Hope I am right). So here it is… My Christmas Gift Guide Pikler Triangle and Ramp. I was so hesit ..read more

Hi there, to be honest, I hadn’t given Prime Day much of a thought. I didn’t think I would find good things when it meant to Tori and Montessori/development materials, but boy I was wrong. So here I am putting together my Prime Day finds. Please know we don’t own all of these toys, so I can’t tell you we love them, but they seem good and developmentally appropriate. *Please keep in mind, some toys aren’t the greatest at being labeled for choking hazards. I usually error on the safe side and have the “not so comfortable” ones out of reach so we can play only under supervision. When she’s teethi ..read more

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. Life has gotten really busy, but right before it did, we “finished” setting up her play area in our living space. Finish is in quotation marks because are you ever really finished with anything with a baby? Also, will I ever stop calling her a baby? Anyway, we are currently renting a home, and with everything that has been going on this year, we are not sure how long we will be here. But we wanted to have a space for her that worked for a couple of things: First and foremost we wanted to create a YES space. This is a space where we don’t have to say n ..read more

The Jooki Smart Player is a screen-less music player geared to children. It plays music by placing the tokens on top of it. Each token can be linked to a playlist, either by having music in a memory card in it, or by linking it to a Spotify playlist (must have a premium Spotify account). When I first saw the Jooki, I wasn’t sure the price was justified, and it seemed a bit silly to spend that much money to be honest. But as she kept growing she started to show so much interest in music and dancing, and I really wanted something screen-less and that she could manipulate on her own. Even if I ..read more

I have taken a break from posting our weekly toy rotations. To be honest, it’s a decent amount of work to recap all of it, so I might not do it every week, but when I feel that the shelves have done a “good job” instead. This particular week was coming out of her birthday, so lots of new skills/interest and 2 completely new materials. Another change for the shelf is that I am presenting more and more materials undone with the use of baskets. Top Shelf There is no way to keep anything out of her reach anymore. Not because she can actually reach it, but because she knows how to ask for it. She ..read more

As baby’s first birthday was approaching, I had a few friends and family asking me what toys/gifts we would like and as I looked to give them suggestions what became apparent to me is that a lot of toys for a one year old can be way off depending on the baby’s interest and skills. With that being said, the following gift ideas are broken out by skill/interest levels. Around the year a lot of babies start showing interest in walking and some might have already achieved it. A baby walker provides support without getting on the way of free movement. They are great to build up confidence: 1. C ..read more

The Explorer Kit is the fifth kit in the Lovevery * subscription and it is targeted for babies 9 to 10 months old. Baby is now 11 months (almost 12) so I thought it was a good time do to a kit review. Overall, this kit has been such a success with us. She has so many favorites within it and I don’t see her stop playing with them anytime soon. CLEAR TUBE WITH STACKING RINGS AND BABY BALL This has been her favorite from the start. When we got it at 9 months she loved shaking the ball and taking the rings out. She then got interested in the base and started trying to place things in it. Special ..read more

I know this independent play is a hot topic for a lot of people, but to be honest, it hadn’t been a top priority for us I will say, besides the obvious benefit to a parent of being able to drink a cup of coffee, independent play does wonders for a child’s development. It supports the ability to focus, fosters creativity and problem-solving skills. However, we hadn’t put much thought into this until just recently (maybe a month ago). Before that, we just didn’t feel safe letting her be, as she was constantly pushing her limits while learning to walk. One thing I hadn’t realized is how follow ..read more