Pebblecreek Montessori

Separation anxiety can be hard on children, parents, and teachers. This post shares some helpful strategies for coping with the feelings that accompany the start-of-school separation.

Separation Anxiety and the New Montessori Preschool Student: Tips for Parents and Teachers We have a comprehensive number of tips and strategies to help Montessori parents and teachers with new preschool student separation anxiety.

You often hear us talk about freedom and responsibility. Discover three Montessori freedoms and how you can try them at home.

Discover the Montessori Freedoms and Try Them at Home Use the three core freedoms of a Montessori classroom to bring Montessori into your home. The freedoms include movement, choice and repetition.

It is okay to say "no" to our children. Read this post to learn why (and learn six alternatives you can use).

Why It's OK to Say "No" To Your Child (And What Alternatives You Can Use As They Grow Up) Saying ‘no’ to our kids isn’t easy. But boundaries are really important. Find out why you shouldn’t feel guilty about saying ‘no’ to your child.

It can be easy to incorporate Montessori practical life activities at home. Take a look at this post for ideas on how to include your child around the house, how to set up activities to make them attractive to your child, and how to simplify activities for your child's success.

Montessori activities at home with toddlers and preschoolers Montessori activities - Today let’s take a look behind the scenes in the classroom to give you some ideas for Montessori-style activities to do at home.

Caring for oneself, others, and one's surroundings is the heart of Montessori practical life. Take a look at this post to learn how these activities come to life for infants and toddlers.

Montessori Practical Life, Age One to Three - Care of Self, Others, the Environment - text The following is the text from this section of the 2009-2010 edition of The Joyful Child, Montessori from Birth to Three To see other sections of this publication return to: http://www.michaelolaf.com/JCcontents.html

Happy Fri-Yay! 🎉

Our little ones starting school is a big and important step in their lives. Although the transition can be hard (usually more so on us as parents!), a few simple approaches can set everyone up for success.

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Throwback to prepping for the school year. we can't believe it's almost our second Friday!

Secure attachment and independent sleep can co-exist! Check out this post to learn how (and also get a handy bedtime guide to help your child with big feelings during the bedtime routine!).

Can a Secure Attachment and Sleep Training Coexist? Short answer: YES! Sleep is a very basic need that all human beings have, and teaching your baby to sleep in a supportive way is a perfectly reasonable thing that many parents all over the world do, without damaging their secure attachment with their child. Sleep training and secure attachment actua...

Mid-week check-in: This year is off to a great start! 👏

We all know how addictive our phones are. But we don't often think about how our own phone use impacts our children. Take a look to learn more. Spoiler alert: there is an impact!

What Happens When You Use Your Phone Around Your Kids The more often parents are on their smartphones in front of their kids, the lower the children's emotional intelligence.

Struggling with naptime? This post shares the science behind naps, what might be causing struggles at nap time, and practical tips for dealing with nap resistance.

Why Naps are So Hard: How to Get Your Infant or Toddler to Take a Good Nap - Tender Transitions Naps are super important for children. Click to learn more about the importance of naps and get tips on how to get your baby to nap well.

Getting our young ones to sleep can lead us into some sticky situations. A Montessori mom who learned from her mistakes the first time around shares how she has approached sleep differently with her second child.

How I got sleep wrong first time around and what you can learn from my mistakess How I got sleep wrong first time around and what you can learn from my mistakes

Sometimes parenting can feel so risky. How do we support our children without being helicopter parents? How do we keep them safe yet allow them to learn from their mistakes? This honest and helpful post is for all of us who are doing our best to be brave.

When parenting is risky I started writing this before my city was wrecked by a tragic school shooting last week. It feels strange to discuss risky parenting right now because parenting itself feels risky. For the past seven days, I have watched my children closer than usual and held them tighter. May this work of peaceful....

What?! Free toys!?! This post shares five free "toys" readily available, no assembly required, and no batteries needed. The author of Playful Parenting shares some great reminders.

5 Free Toys For Your Kids Unleash creativity on a shoestring (literally).

🎉 What an AWESOME First Day of School—We are so excited about this school year!

What do you do when you are at the park and your child gets hit? These three steps will help you (and your child) handle the situation with grace.

How to Respond if Your Baby Gets Hit: 3 Steps to Follow Discover Montessori parenting tips for toddlers: Learn how to respond if your baby gets hit and how to help them cope with the aftermath.

We are so excited to welcome our students to school today! 🎉🎉🎉

AUGUST 15 | 6:30–7:30 PM
Parent information night and meet our new Head of School!

When we make a mistake with our children, we can model how to recognize and reconcile. Take a look at this post for the 3 R's of Recovery.

THE THREE Rs OF RECOVERY A Positive Discipline Tool Card It is much easier to take responsibility for a mistake when it is seen as a learning opportunity rather than something to be ashamed of. If we see mistakes as bad we tend to feel inadequate and discouraged and may become defensive, evasive, judgmental, or critical of....

We had fun at our employee orientation preparing for the new school year. We are prepped and ready and can't wait to see our students on Wednesday!

As parents and caregivers, we make mistakes, too! Here is a guide for how to make amends with our children when we realize we've done wrong.

Making Amends The power of our example when we offer amends.

Having a variety of game options can be a lifesaver during long summer days. If you need some new ideas, take a look at this post. It includes DIY, digital, board, playground, and improv games – and they are all educational!

Educational Games for Children We've put together a list of some of the best educational games for children. Help your children get excited to learn!

Handling our kids' and teens' meltdown can be overwhelming. Knowing how to de-escalate the situation is key. Take a look at this post for some simple, yet effective, strategies.

18 Effective De-Escalation Strategies For Defusing Meltdowns These effective de-escalation strategies help parents, or caregivers, defuse meltdowns & outbursts in children. These de-escalation strategies will....

AUGUST 7 | 9:30–10:30 AM

Parents of new students are invited to an informal meet and greet. This is an opportunity for parents and students to meet their teacher and see the classroom.

Big concentration this week! 🧠

Fathers need support, too! Here are three skills that help you thrive as a father and improve your relationship with your child.

Three Skills That Help You Thrive as a Father Cultivating purpose, self-compassion, and connection can help you be well and improve your relationship with your child.

Looking for some low-key summer birthday ideas for your baby or toddler? Check out this post!

5 Low-Key Summer Birthday Party Ideas For Babies And Toddlers Celebrate your little one's birthday in a simple and memorable way with Montessori-inspired low-key summer party ideas. From nature walks play to fruit picking and sensory play, find inspiration for a meaningful celebration. Create special memories without the stress. Plus, check out our gift ideas.

Curious to learn more about how wordless picture books build literacy skills? The Raising Readers site shares how enriching these books can be for children (and adults)!

The Power of Wordless Picture Books - Raising Readers To spice up my story times, consider wordless picture books. We're always amazed by what you child notices and contributes to the conversation.

Parenting can be tough. We truly need a village. Moms, in particular, need love and care—from friends, partners, and each other. Creating this support network is possible! Learn more here!

What Kind of Support Do Moms Need? Instead of judgment and unreasonable expectations, what mothers need is love and care—from friends, partners, and each other.

Getting children involved in food preparation can be great fun and helps them have a connection to what they eat! If you start young, children can build upon their skills over time. Here are some photos and ideas for how to start with a one-year-old (and really older children will enjoy these food prep options, too!).

Practical Life Food Prep Ideas to Try - at One Year! Are you looking for food prep activities for your one-year-old? Involving young children in food prep activities allows children to be connected to their food. Rather than the food appearing at the table, the child can see how it is made. Food prep activities allow children to explore food, its text...

Happy Grandparents Day! This Montessori grandparent shares words of wisdom about how grandparents and grandchildren have so much to teach each other.

The Role of Grandparents in Montessori Education Currently, Peggy and I are in Westport CT visiting our grandchildren. The occasion is “Grandparents’ Day” in their Montessori School a week from Friday (May 27th). Maggie (our dau…

Seeing families of many different colors is important, especially as children discover that people can belong to more than one culture. Here is a great post with 14 amazing picture books that center multiracial families.

14 picture books about multiracial families Children in multiracial families will find wonderful mirrors in these picture books about kids growing up with two or more cultures.

When we parent intentionally, we also think about the role caregivers and grandparents play in our children's lives. If you want some help translating Montessori to others, be sure to visit this post and download the caregiver cheat sheets!

Montessori for Grandparents and Caregivers — Montessori in Real Life One of the most frequent questions I get is how to help grandparents/nannies/caregivers better understand or follow Montessori with their children. It is tough to answer, because it really depends on the person, and the situation. I have also been lucky to have both parents and in-laws who have read

The language of emotion is one way our children communicate with us. Rather than asking them to "use their words," we can meet them halfway and start to learn their language in these challenging moments.

Tears Are Words Learn to speak emotion as a second language.

Having a plan for summer fun can help. This 15-minute webinar, complete with an action guide, can help us infuse some freshness into these hot days!

FREE WEBINAR | Planning For Summer Fun - Maren Schmidt Even though it's not time to start planning for summer fun, many of us are trying to figure out activities to do with the kids. Here are important tips.

Do you want to support your child's Montessori education this summer? Consider having your child be part of the care of your family pet! This blog post shares five ways caring for pets can help support Montessori learning.

5 Ways Pets Can Help Support Montessori Learning Maria Montessori learned a lot about children by observing them. She noticed that children gain satisfaction from caring for living things. This is why Montessori have been home to many types of creatures over the years, including fish, turtles, rabbits, hamsters and of course numerous caterpillars....

AUGUST 8 | 2–3 PM

Parents are invited for an informal meet and greet with their child's Guide. This will be a chance to say "hello" and get to see your child's classroom.