• Uncategorized

    Woodworking with a 4 Year-Old

    One of the things I love most about Montessori is the idea that children should do real work that involves real risk. For example, toddlers should be taught how to use knives, preschoolers should learn how to use needles, and elementary children should learn how to light matches. (You can read all about the philosophy here.)
    The process of working with real tools that carry real risk conveys to children that they are capable of being careful. When they are trusted to be careful, they, in turn, learn to be careful. They also build their self-esteem and their sense of worth by receiving real trust and real respect from
    Read More
  • Uncategorized

    Family Goal #1: Road Trip to Oklahoma!

    I’ve been Facebook friends with a blog reader for years, and when I asked her for her address so I could send her a holiday card, she invited us to visit her in Oklahoma any time. I plugged their address into google maps and realized they are only 6.5 hours away. Totally a doable road trip! 

    We added it to our list of Family goals for 2016. Since my trick for following through with my goals is to clearly articulate when, where, and how I’m going to follow-through on the goal, I got to work with the planning. I realized that it made the most sense to take the road
    Read More
  • Uncategorized

    I’ll Lose Money If I Don’t Stick to My New Year’s Resolutions

    Phew! At the time of writing this, I am eight days into my cleanse and I’m feeling great. I’ve been spending this time reflecting on my intentions for the year and trying to figure out how to make them actually come to fruition. This quote from The Art of Simple really resonated with me:

    Quite honestly, I’m kinda on
    the fence about making resolutions on January 1—I appreciate the
    sentiment, but I know how seldom those resolutions are actually
    resolved. Sometimes, they merely serve as a catalyst for frustration
    when January 7 rolls along, and you’re already back to your Dr.
    Pepper-drinking, staying-up-too-late ways.



    But I am in to: fresh

    Read More