Uncategorized Archives - Jacaranda Tree Montessori

15 September, 2014 By Simone Davies

30 days to Montessori challenge

30 days to Montessori Challenge

I’m super excited to be involved in a fellow blogger’s “30 Days to Montessori Challenge”. Her name is Jennifer Tammy and she is inspiring us to get into Montessori in 30 days. What an awesome idea. To learn more about the challenge, click here: http://studyathomemama.ca/2014/09/30daystomontessori-challenge/

Start here for Day 1 of the challenge: http://studyathomemama.ca/2014/09/self-serve-montessori-set-30daystomontessori/#more-1666

Read my post here for Day 2 about encouraging good habits at snack time: http://studyathomemama.ca/2014/09/montessori-snack-time-30daystomontessori/.

And my post for Day 6 challenging you to slow down in your daily life: http://studyathomemama.ca/2014/09/slow/. Yes, that is my children making a snail collection with their friends last meivakantie :).

Hope you are able to join in! #30daystomontessori

13 September, 2014 By Simone Davies

Siblings Without Rivalry – a summary

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. We have been trying to make the most of the good weather. But this weekend we were pretty lazy around here. One of the highlights was sitting on the front steps in the sun and eating our lunch with our plates balanced on our knees. Life goes slower when I remember to live life like this, taking time to enjoy the simple things: sun, kids, and some fresh bread.

On the other hand, I also love a good nature fix. The weekend before we head to Bergen aan Zee for a day at the beach. We arrived after lunch and were enjoying ourselves so much we stayed as late as we could. The minute we arrived at the beach, the sand, the sun, and the sea air were instantly “a happiness oplader”, in my daughter’s words (Excuse the English and Dutch mix – an oplader is a charger usually for batteries). An apt description, don’t you think?

But life is never perfect. The week in between I lost my balance a bit. Well a lot. Nothing particularly bad had happened. But I just was missing my groove. So by Thursday I was googling “How to get out of a funk”. The result I clicked was this article on the Mind, Body, Green website. So I put on some music while I was setting up class, and then lay on the floor to meditate. It helped a little bit. This journey through life sure has its bumps.

I guess I share this because I realise that life looks good from the outside, from social media, etc. But we are all human. So far from perfect. So I want to share those imperfections with you too. Like did you know I eat cake almost every day? Well I guess that is a story for another time…

Siblings without Rivalry – a guest blog post

After my round up of the book “How To Talk So Kids Will Listen”, one of the parents kindly asked when I was going to do one for “Siblings Without Rivalry”. It was a great idea. So I am pleased to be able to point you all to my guest blog post on the Child Led Life blog here: http://www.childledlife.com/2014/09/siblings-without-rivalry-simone-davies-jacaranda-tree-montessori.html.

The blog post includes this handy cheat sheet summary to print out and hang somewhere as a reminder for you. Hope you find it useful.

23 August, 2014 By Simone Davies

An update from me in pictures!

Hope you have had a fabulous summer. I don’t believe you all that it has been sunny here. Ever since we have been back in Amsterdam, it’s been rain rain rain. I guess Autumn is on its way: crunchy, wet leaves and cosy blankets are just around the corner.

Here’s my update on all the news at Jacaranda Tree Montessori in pictures. And looking forward to classes – back from this Monday 25 August!

Summer holidays

What a summer it has been! We were visiting our family in Australia this year. Even in winter there was sunshine, snorkelling and beach fun, and lots of enjoyable time with my family, especially the gorgeous nieces and nephews.

I had the pleasure to meet this beautiful lady 12 years ago. At the time we were living in Sydney and I had a little toddler Oliver. I enrolled us in the parent-toddler classes at Down Under Three with Ferne, the directress.

Ferne was so open to share her wisdom, welcome us in her classroom, and laugh along the way. She inspired me to take the Montessori training and is the reason where I am today, working with these beautiful children and their equally amazing parents.

What a joy then to meet up again while I was back in Sydney while Oliver and Emma were surfing (in the middle of winter!) and pick up where we left off.

Preparations for the new school year

I’ve been busy getting the classroom ready, giving everything a fresh coat of paint.

Perhaps you are also getting ready for classes. Here’s one of my old favourite posts with a round-up of my favourite backpacks and bags for little ones: http://www.jacarandatreemontessori.nl/2013/04/18/my-favourite-kids-backpacks-bags-2/

Upcoming workshops

Montessori for Babies, Saturday 30 August 10am – 12 noon, €20 per person. All details should be arriving in your inbox soon. Or you can click here for more information.

And a new guest blog post…

Another guest post on Confessions of a Montessori Mom, this one about my favourite How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids will talk. It includes a pretty summary for you, so there is no excuse now not to print it and put into action. To pin for later click here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/111745634479318993/

That’s all the news for now. Looking forward to seeing you all soon! It’s going to be a fun year. Can’t wait.

12 December, 2013 By Simone Davies

Stuck for gift ideas? Simone’s top picks with a Montessori touch

Christmas gift guide – Part 1 of 4

I’ve been busy selecting some of my favourite things from the classroom that would make thoughtful gifts for those still filling stockings this festive season. Hope you find it useful! Today we will start with the babies. As brands and stockists vary in different cities, hopefully you can find something similar to these in a store new you.

For babies under 1 year

1. Pop up toy

This toy by Galt is a favourite with the babies (and the toddlers too!). You can press the pegs and watch your baby laugh, your baby can teeth on these perfectly sized pegs, then start to put the pegs in the holes. Later they will master making the peg jump themselves and matching the colours.

2. Ball hammering set

This is a sturdy hammering set by Plan Toys that is perfect for mastering eye-hand coordination to push the balls through the holes, at first with their hands, and then with the hammer. Love this.

3. Nipple ball

One of the best toys for this age group is a large basket full of balls. This ball with little bumps is the favourite pick from the babies in our classes: easy to pick up with one hand and great for rolling, chasing, and learning to catch.

4. Books

See this post here for some of my favourite books for this age group: http://www.jacarandatreemontessori.nl/2013/10/09/my-favourite-books-for-montessori-children/

The next part of this series will be for toddlers from 1 to 2 years! It will be on the blog soon…