My grandfather loved his flower garden. I recall my mom planting a few tomato plants for them one year, but for the most part, they grew the flowers. A mountain of snapdragons. Hoards of little pansies that my grandma always
Heirloom Bloom
Montessori: Honor the Work of Childhood
Several months ago, I began doing some research on Maria Montessori’s methods. Her writing is rich with insights, not simply about teaching, but about the ways we think about and interact with our children. I have made a few deliberate
Preschool Math: Making Groups of Ten
Here’s a quick and fun activity to introduce pairs that add to ten — important math facts to memorize early! We used our Unifix cubes, but Duplos, Legos, or any other connecting blocks would work as well. I made stacks
Is Your Home Schooled Kid a Nerd?
Good. Maybe when he grows up, he’ll have a job instead of sitting in your basement eating bonbons and playing Xbox. Keep up the good work!! In all seriousness, I have taught for twelve years and had countless conversations with
Boundless Energy: Awesome Preschool Science Activity
This week, our marble set has been working overtime. Â We engineered a wall of pipes and tracks to run our marbles down, and we’ve been using it to explore how potential and kinetic energy work. Â We began with a short
Little Green Thumb: Gardening with a Preschooler
One of our big summer goals for this year has been keeping a vegetable garden. We tried last year but without much success (weeds, squash bugs, some kind of hex on our peppers…), so we are being more deliberate and
How To Survive Having a Toddler
So you woke up one morning to realize your adorable, cuddly little bundle of an infant had been replaced by a raging tornado of chaos? Congratulations. You now have a toddler. Don’t panic. I am on my second toddler now,
What We Are Building
Every single day, we are making stuff in this house. Â And I don’t just mean messes. Â Every day, we are using our hands and our brains to put things together. Â Here are our favorite projects this week. Puzzles It has
Fair Play
I was playing backgammon (or tavloo, as the Armenians call it) with my three-year-old last night. This game is excellent practice for math skills like counting pips, number sense (reading a group of dots on a die without counting them),
Nature Journal
My aunt — in addition to being a corporate real estate lawyer — is a very talented artist. When I saw her last month at my sister’s wedding, she pulled me aside conspiratorially at one point to show me her