Unlocking Montessori – Key #4: Internal Rewards & Motivation

With Coronavirus continuing to loom, many of us are still working on our quarantine hobby. I’m looking at you Sourdough Bread Starter. While many of us started gardens or practiced baking inspired by fears of food shortages, some have stuck to the task out of stubborn determination to WIN THIS THING. You know the feeling …

An Invitation to Play

If you’ve spent any time looking at preschool schooling ideas online, you’ve likely heard of creating “invitations to play”. An invitation to play is a really straight-forward idea, but there are some misconceptions regarding the concept. In this post, I just want to clear up what an invitation to play is, what it is not, …

Unlocking Montessori – Key #3: Child-Led Learning

I’ll admit a little bias here: child-led learning is my favorite. Why? Because children love it, yes, but also because (shhh) it’s easy.  Continuing our series on Montessori, the 3rd key to understanding this educational method is individual interest and child-led learning. Children are naturally curious and constantly exploring their environments. Montessori allows the child's …

New to Wild & Free Childhood? Start here!

Welcome to summer! (vacation that is - summer solstice, I see you there in week 3) I am honestly curious how many of you who, along with your children, had to deal with tele-school these past several weeks are now planning to homeschool next year. Maybe you loved having your kid home and your boss …

Unlocking Montessori – Key #2: Freedom

Montessori Key #2: Free Choice & Perceived Autonomy  For this second key to understanding Montessori, I want you to think about the last several weeks of quarantine. Even if you are an introvert who works from home, somehow being under lockdown feels stifling and has given many feelings of anxiety or even depression. Why is …

In Praise of Four-Legged Firstborns

🇬🇧 Five years ago when I was at Cambridge, I drove north, to a farm deep into the countryside of Yorkshire. The farmers waved from the barn as I got out of my car. I said hello to the mostly black Border Collie who came to greet me, then I followed the lady farmer into …

Unlocking Montessori – Key #1: Movement

Hi there! Here we are with the first post in our series on Montessori methods. The purpose of this series is not to strictly define the principles, but to just chat about the heart of Montessori and unlock a little of the mystery.  Let’s jump in — Montessori Key # 1: Movement Anyone who has …

But what is “Montessori” anyway?

Much of my teaching and parenting style derives from the Montessori Method (created by Dr. Maria Montessori). Now I'm sure most of you have at least heard of Montessori and can conjure up a few images of low, open shelves, simple wooden toys, and natural materials and colors. It can seem a little mysterious, maybe …

Next Generation Ecologists: Raising Our Kids to Care about the Planet

Today is Earth Day! How are you celebrating? This past weekend we were watching a nature documentary. Jealous of the photojournalists, I turned to my husband, "Can you believe that is their real-life job?" We started talking about what it would take to be an ecologist or photojournalist for National Geographic (the pipe dream of …

Coronavirus Course Correction

You've probably seen that nefarious thorny blob, the microscopic representation of the coronavirus. While these days anyone mentioning "coronavirus" is likely talking about COVID-19 and the global pandemic we're currently going through (even typing that is weird - is this real life?), the name coronavirus is actually more of classification describing a range of respiratory …