"Now one day Pooh and Piglet and Rabbit and Roo were all playing Poohsticks together. They had dropped their sticks in when Rabbit said 'Go!' and then they hurried across to the other side of the bridge, and now they were all leaning over the edge waiting to see whose stick would come out first..."—A.A. Milne, House at Pooh... Read More

How often I wished for some "peace and quiet" as a multi-tasking parent! Some moms say they retreat to the bathroom for time alone, only to find their children knocking or calling through the door. How can we keep our own inner composure and help our children learn to be thoughtful of others and content with themselves? In ... Read More

Maria Montessori urged us to "give the child a vision of the whole universe..." so that children might better understand Earth's place in the cosmos. Books, card materials, and star charts take children only so far - no photograph can replace the awe-inspiring vision of millions of diamond-bright stars twinkling overhead.Wh... Read More

"Children of three years already know how to count as far as two or three when they enter our school. They therefore very easily learn numeration, which consists in counting objects."—Maria Montessori, The Montessori MethodMaria Montessori wrote the above over a century ago. Today children entering pre-school or kindergarte... Read More

A Book Review by Kelly Griffith-Mannion, M. Ed.As a Montessori mom, I've just found the perfect best friend—a well-informed, articulate "Montessorian, " always ready to give me succinct, detailed advice on how to pull off the best parenting job ever! Well, all right. My new best friend is an invaluable book from the Sandpip... Read More

"The objects that are used for practical life... are the objects used where a child lives and which he sees employed in his own home, but they are especially made to a size that he can use."—Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the ChildBelieve it or not, even a very young child of two-and-a-half or three years can learn to u... Read More

"No sensorial education can ever occur except as a part of some total activity in which both intelligence and movement are involved."—Maria Montessori, The Absorbent MindWhat's your first memory of using your toy blocks in a creative way? Did you build a castle, a garage, the perfect house, or just a wall to protect your ow... Read More

Do you find pastry intimidating? Children don't! Any child who has played with modeling dough will be eager to use the same techniques to create a pastry-based snack. And any parent can make it happen, with ready-made pie crust, realistic expectations, and Montessori-style step-by-step skill-building.Fiddling with scraps of... Read More

"I'm so excited Grandma is coming, " said the five-year-old to her mother. Puzzled, the mother asked her daughter why she thought that Grandma might be coming for a visit. The little girl replied, "The sewing machine is out, and Grandma is the only one who uses it."Our busy lives today leave little time for mending or sewin... Read More

Explore the "universal language" of music with your children Children have a wonderful capacity to appreciate and make music. Early exposure to a music of all types has intrinsic value -- it can tell a story, set a mood, and reflect the character of a culture. Music stimulates the part of the brain associated with pattern r... Read More