When you’re pregnant, it’s as if you’re handed a seed of unknown origin. You put it in the soil, water it, and give it light. The first seed leaves emerge, and you feel so proud! As the first set of true leaves unfurl, you begin to imagine the possibilities. You’re sure your plant will be a hydrangea, because those are your favorite plants and surely nobody would give you a seed of a plant you don’t like!
But then, much to your surprise, your hydrangea begins to look more and more like a tomato plant. Oh no, tomatoes were never part of your plan! You can choose to be frustrated by your tomato plant; move it into one pot and then another and another, feed it chemical fertilizers, stake it, place it among other hydrangeas in a partly shady area, and pinch off its flowers, all in hopes that it will somehow turn into a hydrangea.
Or, you can observe it. You can notice its delicate yellow flowers, the tiny hairs on its stems, its jagged leaves. You can marvel at the first tiny green tomatoes, and leave it undisturbed where it gets the best sunlight. You can feed it the best organic soil, learn what time of day it likes to be watered, and surround it with other companion plants that attract helpful insects. And you can rejoice when your little tomato plant puts forth luscious, juicy, red fruit. Just as it was meant to do all along.
We don’t get to choose the seed, but we do get to choose how we tend it. What does your seed need in order to blossom? Observe it. It knows.
Most commercial toys try to cram a lot of “bang for their buck”. Imagine, with just one toy, your child will be able to learn colors, numbers and shapes! She’ll practice sorting and stacking while listening to classical music, and each time she does it right, the toy will light up and shout out “Good job!”
Table manners… Healthy eating habits… Self-control. We all want our children to develop these abilities, but it’s hard for parents to know how and when to start! Did you know that children have the potential to develop these qualities from the time they start showing interest in solid food?
They are sturdy and lots of fun for toddlers to crash! For Nadia I rotate one at a time, but when Zachary was a toddler he enjoyed racing them with mommy and daddy. You can find them 
plastic ball it came with for a sturdier wooden ball because it has a more pleasing sound when it hits the bottom of the box. 
ny, and they are one of her favorite toys. We had a three-year old friend come over to play, and she had a great time stacking them, so it’s a toy with plenty of growth potential! The wood is beautiful and very high quality. You can 
She’s not old enough to understand sorting yet, but she likes how the shapes rattle (they have little balls inside). Once she’s old enough to sort, she’ll already be familiar with the shapes!
swiveling base that allows you to see the South Pole without having to flip the base over. It has raised topography and up-to-date political geography. The reviews are mixed on Amazon because sometimes the meridians don’t line up, but ours is defect-free and it’s been a HUGE hit with Zachary.
are made out of wood, they are sturdy and attractive, and they have a nicer weight than the more expensive plastic ones from Nienhuis that most AMI classrooms have. Plus, each compartment has its corresponding letter printed on it, for easy clean-up (another thing that more expensive plastic model don’t have). For a homeschooling family, I think this is the ideal Moveable Alphabet.
I recently received this question from a client: “My 8-month old freaks out every time I am out of her sight. I can’t even go to the bathroom by myself! What’s going on and how can I help her understand that I’m coming back?”
If you’ve been following the 
Mainly Montessori 