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Our Family Night Ritual
Back when I was pregnant with Bean, Dave and I spent a couple days at Marble Mountain Ranch in the northern reaches of California, getting pampered and learned by the wonderful owners Heidi and...
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How/When to Start Talking to Kids About Race and Ethnicity (It’s Sooner Than...
Last week, a group of us started chatting about exactly how to teach very young children about race. Of course, most of us had already come across the wonderful and hopeful The Skin You Live In,...
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Lessons Learned: Montessori Art Closet
A few months ago, with a new Billy bookcase fitting perfectly between Bean’s bunk bed and closet, I realized I finally had the space and resources to set up an art closet. (Look, when you live in a...
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Our Family of Three in a One Bedroom: Why and How It Works For Us
Ever since we had Bean 3 years ago, I’ve watched and heard about other couples making the choice to stay put in a one bedroom apartment. In San Francisco these days, it’s a choice of either...
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Our Potty Training Preparedness Kit
Now that potty training is over a year behind us, I’m finally read to accept that the kid has been potty trained. Oooof, that was not great times. Before we get started, there are a lot of potty...
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Parents, Do Yourselves a Favor This Summer: Black Out Shades
Parents. I’m going to need your attention, just for a second. Ignore me if this doesn’t apply to you. But, if this sounds familiar? Black Out SHADES. Every year, around March-time, we go through...
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Friday Link Roundup: ‘Silicon Valley’ Cracks Us Up and Some Insane Photography
I’m currently working on my website while eating a hot bowl of cioppino from Tadich Grill. I am the San Francisco stereotype. Do you have any fun plans this weekend? For a family that doesn’t...
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Finally, a Toy Storage Solution
The toys have been corralled, I repeat, the toys have been corralled. Ever since Bean was born, we’ve had this Toy Issue, which I’m sure some of you are familiar with. Namely: What Are We Supposed...
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It’s Daffodil Season! Time for Some Montessori Flower Arranging Trays
Daffodil season is upon us. I was just at the supermarket the other day and scored three bunches for $5. Sold! Time for some flower arranging trays! I’ve been discussing with Bean’s Montessori...
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The Montessori Floor Bed Interview: A Second Opinion
A few weeks ago, I shared our experience using a Montessori floor bed from ages 0 to 2.5. But, even as I was writing it, I worried that maybe I’d totally forgotten about months 6 through 12?...
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A Simple Montessori Language Matching Game
I pulled together this phonetic language game for Bean today, and it was kinda fascinating. In the Montessori world, you would provide a tray of language objects along with sandpaper letters, and...
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Little Girls and Baseball, and Also: You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me
Do you know how many picture books have been published about a little girl playing baseball? Not a biography, not an animal, just a fictional story about a human girl child, playing baseball? One....
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A Toddler-Sized Bathroom
Soon after Bean could walk, Dave and I started thinking about how to bring the world (and her things) down closer to her. We wanted to follow the Montessori philosophy of creating an environment...
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On Telling Our Daughters to ‘Be Careful’
As someone who’s read aaaalll the parenting books, I thought I had this one area down: not treating my daughter differently because she’s a girl and not a boy. She has as many dolls as she has...
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Taking Portraits With a Telephoto Lens
(Shot with a regular 50mm lens; trying not to publish recognizable photos.) There is a turning point that I’m imagining all parents go through. Babies, so oblivious, have no idea that you have a...
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Is Your Baby/Kid a Tension Increaser or Tension Decreaser?
Amy on Alpha Mom brought up Ask Moxie’s Tension Increasers and Decreasers today, and oh, how I wish I knew about this distinction, say, 2 years 8 months ago. If you’re a parent, you’re likely...
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Our Mushroom Mini Farm
As soon as Bean opened one of her birthday presents to reveal a Far West Fungi mushroom mini farm log, the three of us were immediately hooked. Like many 2 year olds, Bean is a bit farm and...
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What Happened When We Let Our Toddler Pick Out Her Bedroom Furniture
A long time ago, I read an article in House Beautiful wherein an interior decorator asked a young girl what her favorite colors were. “Pink, orange, and leopard.” The decorator went on to decorate an...
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My Bento Box Starter Kit
As soon as Bean started preschool, my mind was blown by how superior her lunch box options were to mine as a kid. We likely have Japan to thank, turning packaged lunch into works of bento box art. Now,...
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Child-Height Artwork
Montessori is all about creating a calm, comfortable environment for the child to explore and that fosters independence. A part of creating this environment is hanging art at a child’s eye level,...
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