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S1 E3 – All about creating a beautiful childhood, following the child, building family rhythms not schedules, eclectic homeschooling, and more

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A deep conversation with Eloise from @mightymother_ in the UK all about creating a beautiful childhood and how they incorporate Montessori into their eclectic homeschooling days. And even if you aren’t homeschooling, you’ll learn:
* alternatives to praise
* building a family rhythm rather than a schedule
* creating cosy spaces at different ages
* what morning time looks like in their home – from tea to poetry to Latin and French – you are going to want to hear why a 4.5 year old is into these!
* the joy in the bad days
* getting out into nature in the city
* giving ourselves permission to rest and look after ourselves
* a realistic perspective on anxiety
* and how there is no such thing as a perfect parent

Eloise is such an intentional and respectful parent, you are sure to get lots of inspiration.

This week’s listener question

Listen to the end to hear me answer this week’s listener question from India:

My first born child is now turning 2 years old and I have only recently discovered the montessori method which I feel is so perfect for our family. I am in the process of purging a lot of “stuff” in our home that does not have a purpose, and make our home more “montessori friendly”. In many ways though, I feel like we are starting too late and I have failed my son as a parent. But at the same time I feel inspired to make some positive changes. Any suggestions for parents who are just starting to learn about montessori and transitioning from a more “conventional?” … almost consumerish approach to parenting (always looking for the latest toy or gadget or stimulation).

Inspiration from Eloise’s instagram

Their art space at 4¾ years old…

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Our art space at age four and three-quarters (very important, those three-quarters). Some new crayons, a bunch of freshly sharpened pencils, and some pretty flowers have transformed this into the most appealing spot in the house for a certain little girl. ✨ I’m often asked about our approach to screen time with Frida. And something I come back to again and again is the idea that if we’re worried about our kids asking for TV all day long, then we need to provide them with more appealing options! And realistically, most parents won’t be able to drop everything whenever our children want to play or feel bored. Enter our champion: the prepared environment. Having a carefully prepared environment means that children have appropriate, enjoyable activities, materials and toys at their disposal. This allows them to dive deep into drawing, small world play, making a snack, snuggling up with a book, making a necklace, or anything else that sparks their interest. After all, if your environment has been lovingly designed to cater to your needs then it’s far less tempting to spend all day on the sofa! So if you find that your children are asking to watch TV more than usual, before you think about screen time I’d urge you to first consider your home environment. Does it need updating? Is it still meeting their needs? Time to rotate toys or bring out new materials? Perhaps just a good declutter and sort? And you may just find that suddenly, your children are deep in play once more… ✨ My course “Making Sense of Screens” is back in March! Designed to help you feel confident about how you and your family use digital devices, we cover everything from rebooting our own relationships to our devices, what research says about kids and screens, choosing great quality programming, helping your children develop a healthy relationship to digital media, setting limits confidently, and keeping children happy and safe online. Booking will open next week, and I’m so delighted to run it again. More information in the link in my bio. I hope you’ll take part!

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An invitation to rest…

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An alternative “invitation to play”: an invitation to rest.⁠ As parents, our mood sets the tone. So I am leaning hard into the urge to slow right down through leaving myself some “invitations to rest” around the house.⁠ A yoga mat and bolster in the sitting room inviting me to pause and s-t-r-e-t-c-h. A freshly made bed with a warm blanket on inviting me to have an early night. The latest LRB on the dining table inviting me to pause and read whilst Frida draws instead of rushing to do chores. And the lovely thing is that Frida is drawn to these too, lying quietly on the bolster or picking up one of her books to “parse through” on the sofa (I don’t know where she got that from but I will be so sad when she can actually read and stops saying that!).⁠ What tiny thing can you do to invite yourself to rest this weekend?⁠ (PS. My phone is still down. Which is quite stressful from a work perspective as I’m still waiting to put A Beautiful Childhood on sale – hoping to do so on the 10th now, thanks for your patience and to those who have emailed me! – but actually pretty darn blissful otherwise. A glimpse of life without relying totally on a piece of technology… The dream!)⁠

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How we should spend out childhood – upside down…

Into nature, even in the city…

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Do you return to the same places throughout the seasons? We love returning to the same places over and over again throughout the year, noticing the changes and soaking in each season. The colour of the leaves, the shape of the trees, which flowers are out, the speed with which the water flows, even the plants on sale in the gift shop at the end. Returning gives children a sense of belonging, of ownership of these vast spaces. “I know this place” they feel, as the trees and rocks and streams carve etchings into their souls time after time. I still have that feeling of belonging and deep knowledge when I return to the wild places I knew intimately as a child, even if it’s been years since my feet have walked their paths. Those memories have soaked deep into me; those places are a part of me. And the best part is that just as my daughter is now falling in love with the beautiful places of the world as they plant seeds in her heart which will germinate and grow over the years, I too am putting down new roots.

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Creations with nature…

The Montessori Notebook podcast is hosted by Simone Davies. Edited by Luke Davies of Filmprov Media. Podcast art by Hiyoko Imai.