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The Best Montessori Toys (Montessori Toys by Age)
When searching online for the best educational toys for in-home learning, you’re sure to run into the term “Montessori” with every other link you click. But what is Montessori, exactly? The classic Montessori philosophies were developed and named after a woman named Maria Montessori in the early 1900’s. Born and raised in Italy, Montessori was a doctor, educator, and famous influencer in child development. One of Montessori’s main principles was to provide growing children with a self-led learning environment. By giving a child simple toys and tools within their learning space, they can build upon their age-appropriate intuition to master essential life skills. Maria Montessori’s philosophies revolved around simplicity, organization,…
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The Toxin Free Home (Tips to Create a Non-Toxic Home)
When was the last time you looked at a label that wasn’t on a box of food? So many of us buy Windex and Clorox wipes without a second thought because it’s something we’re used to. We grew up watching our moms clean with these things and, for many of us, that Clorox smell (or PineSol!) is what we associate with “clean”. It’s hard to overcome these thoughts and early experiences, but when we start looking into it more, we realize how bad some of these chemicals are for ourselves and our families. I mean, they have warning labels on them for a reason (uh, I never realized that we…
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Can you spoil a baby by holding them too much? What the Research Shows
As moms we can’t help but want to hold and cuddle with our new little ones constantly. Their little hands and feet are just begging to be kissed and their baby cries melt our hearts. RELATED: My Last Days with an Only Child RELATED: Recent Medical Studies: no safe acetaminophen dosage for babies or pregnancy So many of us have our motherly instincts questioned by friends, family, neighbors, or even total strangers. I’m sure many of us have heard that if our baby wants to be held all the time that they are manipulating us or that we are going to end up with a spoiled baby (as if babies are milk…
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9 Ways of Connecting with Nature in a City
Now that summer is almost here, it’s time to get outside and enjoy nature! But living in the city can make connecting with nature a challenge. When you are surrounded by buildings, asphalt, crowds, cars, and the fast paced life, it can be hard to remember that nature is only a short distance away. So many of us suffer from nature deficit disorder and we don’t even realize it! The importance of nature in our life is obvious but so often overlooked. And the benefits of nature for children are especially well documented. So how do we connect with nature and get our kids out in nature more often when…
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Slow Down and Be Present Quotes to Live By
Living slowly can be a struggle in our modern world. Being able to slow down takes practice and inspiration when things get crazy. But the difficulties are worth it when you can slow down time! Are you wondering how to slow down time? Well, we can’t slow down time, really…but there is a secret… And it’s in seeing that every day is a gift. We do this when we slow down and enjoy life. When we’re fully present in the moment and enjoy life to the fullest it’s amazing how much we remember and how much time slows down for us! These quotes about how to slow down life will…
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What if all I Want for my Kids is an Extraordinarily Ordinary Life?
I’ve been thinking lately about how we all have hopes and dreams for our kids. Even when we know that they are their own people, we can’t help but want amazing things for them. But, with that seemingly good desire, there is a dark side. I recently read this article in the Philadelphia Magazine about the stresses facing today’s teenagers. (Yes, we live in the southwest and subscribe to the Philly mag!) I found it really interesting, but, like my thoughts on raising brave girls, something about the article bothered me. So, ya know, instead of falling asleep last night I thought about the author’s ideas that parents are to blame…
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Read Me a Story – Perfect Read Aloud Books for Your Kids
How many times have you heard lately – read me a story please! I think we all want to help our children love books and reading. After all, there are whole worlds to discover when we read a book. And is there anything more magical than seeing a child reading a book and exploring the wonder of words? Children love to listen to reading and finding story books to read aloud seems easy – until you start looking! There are so many stories for kids, how do you pick the best ones? Books that you will enjoy reading over and over and over (cuz that’s what ends up happening, right?).…
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How to Keep Your Kids Entertained without a Screen
Keeping kids entertained without a screen is the hardest it’s ever been. Parenting in the digital age is uncharted territory for the most part. I mean, the simple childhood of creativity to cure boredom is nearly a thing of the past. Childhood and technology are inescapable with screens in cars, iPads, TVs, cell phones – and the list goes on. Now, this is not to say that screens are all bad. In fact, I think that the ability to have a world’s worth of knowledge at our fingertips has been a very great tool. But, like all tools, it can be misused. Helping our…
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How to Unplug Yourself to be More Present with Your Kids
Between our computers, smartphones, tablets, and TVs, we are constantly plugged in. It’s hard to imagine life without technology at this point. But the truth is that many of us grew up with very limited access to technology. Having a day without technology for many of us as kids was the norm. Now it’s hard for us to put the phone down and have an unplugged focus on the family right in front of us. Without meaning to, we can find ourselves losing hours of our day to Instagram and Netflix (not to mention Facebook)! When we finally get the downtime to play with our kids, we can sometimes find…
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How to Green Your Thanksgiving this Year
Thanksgiving is a time for family, delicious food, and enjoying time spent together. However, the average Thanksgiving dinner we all know and love has some dirty laundry. It causes extra pollution, waste, and is harmful to the environment and possibly even our health. We can avoid this by making a few small changes to create an eco-friendly Thanksgiving! These Thanksgiving tips will help get you started. Here are my tips for a Green Thanksgiving Just say no to plastic water bottles For starters, pass by the individual plastic water bottles in the grocery store. There may be tempting sales on cases of bottled water. It may seem easier to buy a…
