A few years ago, I had the chance to meet the 2011 American Montessori Society's Living Legend, Sonnie McFarland, at a conference.  It was my first time meeting her, and she hugged me like a friend.  She was giving a talk related to her other book, Honoring The Light Of The Child .  When I heard that she later wrote a book that pertained to my life so specifically, I just had to contact her.  She send me the book just in time for my recovery from hernia repair surgery, and it was a blessing in many directions.  On my spring break from school, I read this book front to back.  I had dog-eared nearly every other page, to remind myself later to discuss a quote or idea with my husband or to share some tidbits with the readers of this little blog. First, I'd like to say that this book, entitled Montessori Parenting:  Unveiling The Authentic Self , speaks to the philosophy of Dr. Montessori within parenting style, this is not a book...

This weekend we painted wooden eggs with liquid watercolors.  The girls mixed their own shades using the primary colors.  Once dry, we coated them with a bit of beeswax.  It was a simple, easy, fun craft that came out to be a sweet decoration.  The eggs are proudly displayed in the living room to explore. 

Today, the girls spontaneously began sorting their living room toys by color.  Peanut shouted, "I'll be right back" and returned with color box 2 to match the color piles.  I snapped these photos of their fun.  What colorful little kids!

These photos were taken last weekend, when I started dusting-  the girls were suddenly re-interested in the sensorial works.  They spent a silent (it was Daddy's turn to sleep in) Saturday with the materials, while I drank my coffee and read my new book.  This is the life. Red Knobless Cylinders, she's making a tower She's sitting on the Pink Tower.  It's okay, we're at home  :) Bean wants to draw the Knobless Cylinders as towers. Working with the Binomial Cube My blue tower, on paper "It's an elephant" I threw this photo in so that you can see their creative play with Montessori and Waldorf items.  It's not all neat and tidy all the time.... ....they're little kids!!!  

Wow, this tea pot was UGLY!  I let it get that way on purpose, so that my girls could have something else to polish.  If you need to get silver looking tarnished for Montessori, wash silver with bubbles and allow it to drip dry a few times. My old vintage hippy jewelry is small and cleans up quick.  This is a great multi-surface to polish, it took a long time! See the end of the post for the lesson.  Today I used cotton swabs instead of squares. Silver Polishing Silver Polishing Tray (be sure they polish on the tray, or else the tarnish can get on the work surface) Concentration.  She didn't notice me watching. Big Sister gives the lesson she remembers from being at Montessori  :) NAME OF ACTIVITY:  Metal Polishing AREA GENERAL:  Practical Life SPECIFIC:  Care of Environment                    MATERI...

Although I got no photos of my little rascals at work, I managed to snap some pictures of the trays after bedtime.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!! Wooden Rainbow Scooping Green Sparkly Pom Transfer Pom Tweezing Rainbow Bead Stringing (made by me!)  I soaked the wooden beads in liquid watercolor, and covered them with beeswax.  Be sure the string is the same length as the child's wingspan.