How about you? Do you love Pinterest, too? I’ll admit that I’m a Pinterest addict. But for someone like me who spends lots of time doing research online, Pinterest is simply the easiest and best method of bookmarking I’ve found.

I’m a visual learner, so I especially enjoy a visual method of bookmarking. If I’m looking for activities for a blog post, I always find photography to be one of the best ways to truly see what an activity is about. Fortunately, kid bloggers are typically wonderful about photographing and sharing their kid-friendly activities.

There really are unlimited ways to use Pinterest, depending on your areas of interest, but here I’ll share my favorite ways along with some examples. Right now, I have 125 boards and over 4,000 pins. I’m continually adding to my boards, so please follow me, Deb @ Living Montessori Now!

Montessori-Inspired Pinterest Boards

Montessori Homeschool Classrooms Pinterest Board

I have a number of Montessori-Inspired Pinterest boards, including Montessori-Friendly Home board, Montessori Homeschool Classrooms board, and Montessori Elementary Activities and Ideas. You’ll also find a number of collaborative Montessori boards on my Pinterest page: Montessori-Inspired Activities and Ideas, Montessori in the Home, and DIY Montessori Activities.

Holiday Pinterest Boards

Father's Day Ideas Pinterest Board

I have holiday boards for all the major holidays. I just started working on a Father’s Day Ideas board.

Seasonal Pinterest Boards

Summer Fun Pinterest Board

I have a Pinterest board for each season. Right now, I’m thinking ahead to Summer Fun! (Of course, if I come across an activity I like at any time of the year, it’s easy for me to pin it to the appropriate Pinterest board.)

Unit Study Pinterest Boards

Zoo Animal Unit Study Pinterest Board

I love, love, love Pinterest for creating themed boards for unit studies. Often, I have blog posts with Montessori-inspired unit studies. Should You Use Unit Studies? has a list of the unit studies posts I’ve published. I’ll typically create a related Pinterest board with activities of all types and for many different levels. The Pinterest board activities aren’t necessarily Montessori-inspired activities … I have fun adding wonderful activities from all around the blogosphere. Here’s a board based on my recent Montessori-Inspired Zoo Animal Unit: Zoo Animal Unit Study board.

Subject Area Pinterest Boards

Kids' Science Activities Pinterest Board

I have Pinterest boards for subjects such as science, art appreciation, or even poetry. I also contribute to a number of collaborative boards, such as reading and writing readiness and math and geometry – global ideas.

Outdoor and Environmental Pinterest Boards

Outdoor Classroom Pinterest Board

Maria Montessori emphasized the importance of children spending time outdoors and developing a love of nature. The new get-kids-outdoors movement has the same focus. I love outdoor classrooms and sharing activities that will help kids spend more time outdoors. I have an Outdoor Classroom board and Exploring Nature board. In honor of respecting our environment, I have a Kids’ Recycle Crafts board and am a collaborator on Earth Day Every Day for Kids.

Parenting-and-Teaching-Group Pinterest Boards

Kid Blogger Network Activities & Crafts Pinterest Board

I’m a collaborator on a number of boards for various groups, such as Kid Blogger Network. Many of the boards are for both parents and teachers, although a few are professional boards geared toward teachers.

Parenting Pinterest Boards

Babies - Activities and Ideas Pinterest Board

You’ll find lots of great parenting boards on my Pinterest page. I have some basic age-related boards such as Babies – Activities and Ideas or Toddlers – Activities and Ideas. I also have boards to help with ideas on topics such as discipline, kids’ food fun, kids’ party ideas, traveling with kids, stress-free kids, special needs, and organization and preparation. And there are some great collaborative parenting boards, such as The Parent Water Cooler, All Things Parenting, and Homeschooling with Heart.

Word Art Inspiration Pinterest Board

Word Art Inspiration Pinterest Board

I create a word-art freebie every Wednesday at Raising Figure Skaters related to some sort of inspirational or motivational post each Friday. I love collecting word-art inspiration. If you just need some inspiration and rejuvenation, check out my Word-Art Inspiration board.

Parent/Teacher Pinterest Share

You’ll also find activities and ideas in the Parent/Teacher Pinterest Share in our Living Montessori Now Community. If you have a post you’d like shared, please join us if if you’re a parent or teacher (including childcare givers) – or both! We welcome posts with educational activities, crafts for kids, play-based activities, parenting tips, or teaching ideas. The Pinterest share is for parents with kids attending a school, homeschoolers, and private- and public-school teachers alike. Empty nesters and/or grandparents are welcome, too!

What is your favorite way to use Pinterest?

Share your favorite kids’ activities! Link up Montessori-inspired lessons and activities here at Montessori Monday! Link up kids’ activities of all types at the Weekly Kid’s Co-op!

Linked to The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions at Milk and Cuddles and Crystal & Co.

I’m so happy to be participating in the Small Hands Creating Hope project, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society! Cancer has touched too close to me – as it has to so many of you. I’m thankful that both of my parents survived their experiences with cancer, and my hope is to see a cure for cancer in general.

Small Hands Creating Hope

The Small Hands Creating Hope project was started by MaryAnne from Mama Smiles for the 30^th anniversary of her cancer diagnosis at 22 months. Through a donation, you can help the American Cancer Society, the organization MaryAnne credits with funding some of the research that saved her life.

As a gift for donating at least $15, you’ll receive a beautiful Small Hands Creating Hope eBook. Along with the eBook link, you’ll receive a link to purchase a print copy of the book at cost if you’d like one in addition to your eBook.

The book is filled with kid-friendly crafts and tutorials from over 40 bloggers, including me. Some of the projects are photos, and others include a tutorial as well. Many of the projects are in yellow for hope and purple for cancer survivorship. You’ll find themes of butterflies, rainbows, and flowers. A number of the bloggers also tell the stories that inspired their projects.

My Part of Small Hands Creating Hope

Butterfly Counting Book

For a link to the printable for my Butterfly Counting Book, see Free Counting Book Printable for Any Theme. In Small Hands Creating Hope, you’ll find a butterfly-specific tutorial, photo of the inside of my butterfly counting book, and the story behind my project. And you’ll find the projects of over 40 other kid bloggers. Small Hands Creating Hope really is a lovely book!

This button will take you directly to the American Cancer Society’s donation page:

If you donate but do not receive an email from MaryAnneK from Small Hands Project or if you have trouble with the download, email smallhandsproject at gmail dot com.

Inspiration to Find a Cure

If you haven’t seen the video created by Chris Rumble, a 22 year-old cancer patient at Seattle Children’s Hospital, you must! I wrote a post at Raising Figure Skaters with the video (played to Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger”) embedded in the post: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger. The video is one of the most inspiring videos I’ve ever seen, and it makes me wish for a cure for cancer more than ever.

Small Hands Creating Hope Participants and Blog Hop

Here are the Small Hands Creating Hope participants and the dates of their posts telling about the project:

Please join us in helping the American Cancer Society!

We hope to raise $3000 by July 4th (MaryAnne’s 32nd birthday). In addition to donating to the American Cancer Society (and receiving Small Hands Creating Hope), you can help if you’re a blogger by posting the Small Hands Creating Hope button in your sidebar throughout this project. Thanks so much for your help!

Book cover and button created by Andie of CRAYON freckles.

Montessori Sensorial Materials (Photo from Montessori Print Shop)

Isolation of quality is a brilliant concept in Montessori education – a principle that can help you in both making and choosing materials. And isolation of quality is a concept you won’t find very often in preschool materials that aren’t Montessori-inspired.

Pink Tower (Photo by Jess and Colin Liotta)

You’ll especially notice isolation of quality in the Montessori sensorial materials – where each material isolates one specific quality, such as size, weight, shape, texture, color, sound, or smell. The pink tower in the photo varies only in size with all other qualities remaining constant (photo by Jess and Colin Liotta). By eliminating elements that could be confusing or distracting, the child will focus on the quality being isolated.

You’ll find more about Montessori sensorial materials in these posts: Montessori Sensorial Activities (my post with links to many of the Montessori sensorial articles and albums online) and Montessori Sensorial Overview – Scope and Sequence from Montessori Print Shop (photo at the top of this post).

Sandpaper Numerals and Cornmeal Tray (Photo from To the Lesson!)

Isolation of quality makes it much easier for a child to learn a new concept in any area. For example, when the child is using sandpaper numerals to learn the number symbols, the numerals don’t vary in color or size. (Photo from Just Watching at To the Lesson!)

Isolation of Quality in DIY Materials

DIY Color Tablets (Photo from Teacher Weena)

It’s very helpful if you can isolate the quality in DIY materials. Many homeschoolers, for example, make their own Montessori color tablets. You can follow the Montessori concept of isolating the quality by creating color tablets that vary in color only while keeping size and shape the same. (DIY Color Tablets – Photo from More Home/Teacher Made Manipulatives at Teacher Weena)

Numbers and Counters at the Beach

Similarly, the concept of number is clearest to the child in DIY numbers and counters in which the numerals vary only in numerical symbol and the counters vary only in quantity. You can do this with even the simplest version of cards and counters, such as outdoor numbers and counters using chalk-drawn numerals and objects such as pinecones or rocks or numbers and counters at the beach using numerals drawn in the sand and seashell counters.

There may be times when you create DIY materials where you don’t choose to isolate the quality, such as when you want to add interest by using a number of different colored eggs for an Easter activity or a number of different colored flowers for a spring activity. But with a child who’s just being introduced to a concept or a child who has difficulty with a concept, it’s especially helpful to remember to isolate one quality.

More on Montessori Principles

Top 10 Principles for Natural Learning gives an overview of some important Montessori principles to use at home. Become a More Successful Homeschooler by Using Montessori Principles tells about basic Montessori principles found in the materials. Recently, I also published a post on control of error, another Montessori principle that you’ll find especially helpful when creating your own materials.

I’d love to hear about your experiences with materials that had or didn’t have isolation of quality.

Montessori Monday Link-Up

If you have some Montessori activity trays/lessons to share, please link up below. It’s fine to link up a post from your archives – and you may link up anytime during the week! You post may be any Montessori-inspired activity or idea. It doesn’t need to be related to my Montessori Monday post.

Please place the Montessori Monday button (using the code from the right sidebar) in your post or put a link back to this post. Let’s use Montessori Monday to gain inspiration/ideas and to encourage each other! If you would leave an encouraging comment on the post linked up ahead of you (along with any other posts you’re drawn to), that would be awesome! Thanks for participating!

Note: If you have a giveaway on your blog, please add it to my Family-Friendly Giveaway Linky Page! If you enjoy entering giveaways, you’ll always find some great giveaways there!

Linked to AfterSchool Linky Party, The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions at Milk and Cuddles and Crystal & Co. , The Weekly Kid’s Co-op, Fun Stuff Fridays, Living Life Intentionally Linky Party, Preschool Corner, Show-and-Share Saturday, The Sunday Showcase at Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas and Classified: Mom, and Link & Learn.

Caterpillar to Butterfly Tray (Photo from Little Wonders' Days)

I’ve had fun lately checking out all the great caterpillar-butterfly unit studies available online! There are so many fun activities you can do with a caterpillar-butterfly unit … and what a great way to introduce insects and metamorphosis!

Here are some of the Montessori-inspired printables and activities I’ve found:

Montessori-Inspired Caterpillar-Butterfly Printables

Butterfly Counting Book

Butterfly Counting Book (free number book printable) – part of Small Hands Creating Hope eBook/printable book

Butterfly Lifecycle Cards (free) from Homemade Montessori

Butterfly/pupa/caterpillar cards (free) and butterfly and moth activities from Beautiful Sun Montessori

Butterfly Printables (free) from Liat’s Montessori

Butterfly Life Cycle Cards (free) and butterfly activities from Montessori Mom

Butterfly Nomenclature Cards for Ages 6-9 (Image from Montessori Helper)

Butterfly Nomenclature Cards for ages 6-9 (free) from Montessori Helper

Butterfly Nomenclature Book (Image from Montessori Print Shop)

Butterfly Materials (available for purchase) from Montessori Print Shop

Butterfly Materials (available for purchase) from Montessori for Everyone

Montessori-Inspired Caterpillar-Butterfly Activities

Montessori-Inspired Insect Unit (my roundup post)

From Caterpillar to Butterfly (photo at the top of this post) and Nature Table from Little Wonders’ Days

Caterpillars and Butterflies from Following His Lead Today

Caterpillar to Butterfly Toddler/Preschool Unit from Carrots Are Orange

Roly Poly Caterpillar, Butterfly Life Cycle, Handprint Butterflies, Butterfly Theatre, and Parts of a Butterfly from Montessori MOMents

Montessori Homeschooling Tip of the Week from Montessori 3-6 Homeschool

Butterfly Project Outline from Muddle Puddle

Butterflies….updates, activities, and links from Simply Montessori

Butterflies in the Herb Garden from Montessori Muddle

Montessori Video, Infant – Concentrating, Focusing on a Butterfly Mobile from Montessori Child Development Stages: First Year+

Spring Sensory Tub and Butterfly Matching from Counting Coconuts

Butterflies and Power Magnets (Photo from Mama of Many Blessings)

Butterfly Posts from Mama of Many Blessings (Photo from Lots of Butterfly Work)

Butterfly Play Doh Mat (Photo from 1+1+1=1)

Butterfly Posts (and free printables) from 1+1+1=1 (Photo from Tot School ~ Butterflies)

Nature Shelf from Very Hungry Caterpillar Party (Photo from The Education of Ours)

Very Hungry Caterpillar Party (great for end-of-unit celebration) from The Education of Ours

Where to Buy Montessori Materials (links to sources for suppliers with lots of hands-on materials such as butterfly puzzles)

Caterpillar-Butterfly Pinterest Board

Pinterest - Caterpillar-Butterfly Unit Study

There are more great resources (Montessori-inspired and all types) than I could list here. I have a Caterpillar-Butterfly Pinterest board with many more activities.

A caterpillar-butterfly unit is a wonderful unit for spring or summer. Have fun!

Share your favorite kids’ activities! Link up Montessori-inspired lessons and activities here at Montessori Monday! Link up kids’ activities of all types at the Weekly Kid’s Co-op!

Linked to AfterSchool Linky Party, The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions at Milk and Cuddles and Crystal & Co. , The Weekly Kid’s Co-op, Fun Stuff Fridays, Living Life Intentionally Linky Party, Preschool Corner, Show-and-Share Saturday, The Sunday Showcase at Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas and Classified: Mom, and Link & Learn.

O is for Octopus Sand Tray

It’s the 15th of the month, and I have a fun new post at PreK + K Sharing! Today, I’m sharing links to lots of free printables with a beach theme that I’ve used to create Montessori-inspired language activities for young preschoolers to readers and children ready for creative writing. I also give ideas for taking the beach activities outdoors.

Ocean Language Matching Tray

At PreK + K Sharing, I show how I used the printables to create Montessori-inspired activities. I also have links to other posts with helpful ideas and presentations.

Here’s the link to my article at PreK + K Sharing: Montessori-Inspired Beach Language Activities. (Note: The photos here are only very few of the photos/activities in today’s post at PreK + K Sharing.)

Summer Sentence Layout

Please join me at PreK + K Sharing!

Miniature Zoo Environment for Reading and Grammar (Photo from Making Montessori Ours)

I LOVE visiting the zoo in May. When I had a Montessori preschool, we took a field trip to our local zoo each May before the end of the school year.

But I love zoo visits at any time of the year. My family has had a great time visiting zoos during every season. My husband and I took our kids to zoos locally and when we traveled when they were little. And we still enjoy visiting the San Diego Zoo with our now-adult kids and kids-in-love.

Sorting Animals by Continent (Photo from Discovery Days and Montessori Moments)

I had a Montessori-Inspired Zoo Animal Unit last summer. (Photo from Discovery Days and Montessori Moments.) Be sure to check out the background zoology link and the great zoo animal posts I linked to there. Today, I’ll add some Montessori-inspired activities published since my post last summer.

Montessori-Inspired Zoo Animal Activities

Making Montessori Ours has a fabulous variation of the Montessori grammar farm … Miniature Zoo Environment for Reading and Grammar (photo at the top of this post).

Zoo Sensory Box (Photo from Pink and Green Mama)

Pink and Green Mama had a creative Zoo Sensory Box last year, although I’m adding it to this post.

From A to Z: Our Tot School Adventure has a cute Zoo Sensory Bin.

Trial & Error Mama has a Wild Forest sensory tub with activities about each animal’s characteristics and food.

Animals of North America Montessori Print Shop Materials (Photo from The Work Plan)

Last year, The Work Plan had an Animals of Seven Continents work. Recently, The Work Plan had an Animals of the World puzzle and then added Montessori Print Shop materials to focus on animals of each continent (photo).

Zoo Animals and Where They Live (Photo from Montessori MOMents)

Since last summer, Montessori MOMents published Zoo Animals and Where They Live, including free printable zoo animals.

Five Hazelnuts has a North American Animals Mini Unit.

Zoo Animal Unit Study Pinterest Board

I have a Zoo Animal Unit Study Pinterest board with activities of all types and for many different levels.

Have you studied zoo animals and/or visited the zoo this year?

Montessori Monday Link-Up

If you have some Montessori activity trays/lessons to share, please link up below. It’s fine to link up a post from your archives – and you may link up anytime during the week! Please place the Montessori Monday button (using the code from the right sidebar) in your post or put a link back to this post.

Let’s use Montessori Monday to gain inspiration/ideas and to encourage each other! If you would leave an encouraging comment on the post linked up ahead of you (along with any other posts you’re drawn to), that would be awesome! Thanks for participating!

Note: If you have a giveaway on your blog, please add it to my Family-Friendly Giveaway Linky Page! If you enjoy entering giveaways, you’ll always find some great giveaways there!

Linked to AfterSchool Linky Party, The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions at Milk and Cuddles and Crystal & Co. , The Weekly Kid’s Co-op, Fun Stuff Fridays, Living Life Intentionally Linky Party, Preschool Corner, Show-and-Share Saturday, The Sunday Showcase at Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas and Classified: Mom, and Link & Learn.

If you’re looking for Montessori elementary albums, the best place to start is with Montessori elementary training if you can afford it and it’s feasible with your life situation. Because you’ll make or be given albums along with the information and guidance you receive in your training, that’s the ideal situation.

If you want to teach in a Montessori elementary school, you’ll need the Montessori elementary training from the beginning. But if you’re planning to use Montessori elementary education in your homeschool, you have a lot more options. Montessori elementary training isn’t essential for Montessori homeschools, although it will give you more confidence.

Many Montessori elementary schools require Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) or American Montessori Society (AMS) training for their teachers. It always helps if you talk with the Montessori elementary school where you’re interested in teaching to find out its requirements. For homeschooling, there are Montessori elementary training courses you can take online if you want the information but aren’t as concerned about a specific teacher certification.

For my earlier Montessori elementary posts with background information, see Introduction to Montessori Elementary, Montessori Elementary Homeschool Inspiration and Ideas, and Free Montessori Elementary Montessori Materials Online (including free Montessori elementary albums).

Here are some helpful resources for Montessori elementary teacher training, Montessori elementary albums available for purchase, and Montessori elementary materials available for purchase:

Montessori Elementary Teacher Training

AMI Training Centres

The International Montessori Index

U.S. Montessori Teacher Education Programs Organized by State at Montessori Connections

Distance Learning Programs (some Montessori elementary) from Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE)

Lower Elementary (6-9) and Upper Elementary (9-12) Online Diploma Programs from North American Montessori Center (NAMC)

The Center for Guided Montessori Studies (online or online with low residency requirement)

Keys of the Universe (Online training for homeschoolers – website) Keys of the Universe (my post)

Taking a Closer Look at Online Montessori Training (a post with helpful recommendations about online training in general) from Montessori for Everyone

Where to Buy Montessori Elementary Albums

Elementary Albums from Montessori Research and Development

Natural Science 6-9 Album – Botany and Zoology from Montessori for Everyone

Keys of the Universe Albums (AMI elementary albums)

Lower Elementary Manuals (Blackline Masters on CD) and Upper Elementary Manuals (free samples and manuals available for purchase) from North American Montessori Center

Elementary Albums by Elizabeth Papandrea (information at My Homeschool Style)

Montessori Albums and Online Training Overview (post with helpful information) from My Homeschool Style

The Ultimate Post about Montessori Albums (post with helpful information) from Montessori for Everyone

Montessori Albums Page (post with helpful information) from Montessori Nuggets

Montessori Reading List (post with helpful information) from Montessori Nuggets

Primary Albums – Elementary Albums – TOO MANY ALBUMS! (post with helpful information) from Montessori Trails

Montessori Albums – Primary, Elementary, Infancy (post with helpful information) from Catholic Hearts Domestic Church

Where to Buy Montessori Elementary Materials

Where to Buy Montessori Materials (my post with companies that often have at least some Montessori elementary materials)

Comprehensive List of Concepts and Materials for 6-9 from Montessori for Everyone

Filling in the Gaps for Elementary 6-9 Montessori (Recommendations from Montessori for Everyone)

Montessori Basics 11: Materials and Resources for Elementary 9-12 (Recommendations from Montessori for Everyone)

Montessori Elementary Grammar Boxes from Montessori Print Shop

Albanesi Montessori

Curriculum Materials (elementary materials available in a number of areas) from Montessori Research and Development

Lower Elementary Montessori and Homeschool Program from Lisa Nolan’s Montessori for the Earth

American Montessori Consulting Resources

Lower Elementary Materials (Blackline Masters on CD) and Upper Elementary Materials (support materials on CD) (free samples and materials available for purchase) from North American Montessori Center

NAMC Mastery Checklists for the Montessori Elementary Classroom for North American Montessori Center

9-12 Montessori Math Cards (for schools)
Share your favorite kids’ activities! Link up Montessori-inspired lessons and activities here at Montessori Monday! Link up kids’ activities of all types at the Weekly Kid’s Co-op!

Welcome to the May 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting With or Without Extended Family

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how relatives help or hinder their parenting. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

***

Deb's parents with their kids, kids-in-law, grandkids, grandkids-in-law, and great-grandkids, 2010.

My family is lucky. Our extended family is wonderful. Of course, that makes it all the more difficult that our relatives don’t live nearby. We miss them. We always lived in another state from my husband’s relatives. And my husband, Terry, and I lived a few hours away from my parents when we were first married and when our kids were little. Now, we live a few states away.

Priceless Relationships with Our Extended Family

Even though we haven’t been able to see our extended family as often as we’d like, we remain close in spirit. Our now-adult kids always cherished spending time with their grandparents and are still very close to their living grandparents.

While my kids couldn’t have the same type of relationships with their cousins that I did by growing up in the same community with mine, they still have very close relationships with many members of our extended family. My kids always look forward to seeing their grandparents and any members of our extended family. They even spontaneously give their grandparents a phone call every now and then.

Will and Christina have visited great-aunts and had them visit in various places around the world. They loved visiting their Great-Great Aunt Helia, who lived to almost 100. Will, Chea (Will’s wife), Christina, and Tom (Christina’s husband) have fun meeting up with relatives who visit San Diego. I’m happy our family relationships have allowed our adult children to feel so close to their extended family.

While some families have difficulties that don’t allow them to maintain close relationships, I really recommend embracing your extended family if you can. Even though we’ve had to nurture long-distance relationships, the relationships with our extended family have been priceless.

What We’ve Done to Embrace Our Extended Family

1. Even though my parents, siblings, and I had different diets and different methods of child raising, we always accepted each other’s views. There were no debates or arguments. The love and relationships were simply more important than wanting to be “right.” My parents are some of the most accepting people in the world, so that probably had a lot to do with our attitudes. And Terry and I had a similar relationship with his side of the family. Here’s a post about our extended family and our diets: ”Happy Families Can Have More Than One Diet.”

Will's first plane trip to visit relatives in Milwaukee at 3 months, 1985.

2. Terry and I took our kids with us on trips from the time they were babies. Will and Christina became excellent travelers. Trips to visit relatives were fun road trips or plane trips that we typically combined with educational and recreational activities in the area (Milwaukee – and Chicago – for Terry’s side of the family and eastern South Dakota for mine). ”Should You Use Unit Studies?” and “Little House on the Prairie Unit Study” show a couple of examples of our homeschooling combined with trips to visit grandparents.

3. My kids had special activities with their grandparents that Terry and I didn’t worry about philosophically. My kids are lifelong vegetarians who are happy to go fishing with their grandpa. My daughter, Christina, was the only granddaughter on Terry’s side. Her paternal grandmother loved dolls and collected Barbie dolls. Christina was given gifts of Barbies way sooner than I would have allowed her to have them otherwise. But those dolls (and the many other dolls her grandma gave her as gifts) were an important connection Christina and her grandma shared.

4. We were grateful for the special gifts of experiences and learning that relatives could give. Christina and her paternal grandmother did girly things together that made them both happy, such as the time her grandma studied and then created the special wrapped braid Christina wanted. I was never as talented at fixing hair, so that was a special gift for all of us.

Christina (9) wearing her wrapped braid and Will (14) with their grandma and cousin Tim, 1999.

My parents played an important role in helping my children experience gardening, which I talked about in my post “Exploring Nature and Growing Plants without a Garden”. I wrote a guest post at A Nation of Moms called “Dads Can Help with Child-Led Learning” in which I also talked about how my kids’ grandpa, as well as their dad, was an important part of their homeschooling.

5. We had fun finding different places to meet up with our extended family. My parents typically traveled to whichever city held the national figure-skating championships to visit us and cheer on our kids, starting with Will and Christina’s first Junior Olympics (now called Junior Nationals) in Pittsburgh in March of 1999.

Beth and Christina at the Dortmund, Germany, Christmas Market, 2009.

As adults, both my kids were joined at some international figure skating competitions by their world-traveling Great Aunt Beth. Beth met up with Will at competitions in Serbia and Estonia and in Germany for Christina. She was even Christina’s chaperone to a skating festival/competition in North Korea. Note: Beth is only 11 months older than me, so she’s not as old as great-aunt sounds.

My “Don’t Forget Family” post at Raising Figure Skaters tells more about including extended family in sports events. And, of course, we all had a wonderful time meeting up in England for Christina and Tom’s wedding!

Christina with her immediate family and grandparents and Tom with his immediate family and grandmother at Hazelwood Castle in England, 2009.

6. Internet, cell phones, and Skype play important roles in our lives. Unfortunately, we didn’t have Skype to communicate with grandparents when our kids were little. Fortunately, that will be different when Terry and I are grandparents. Terry and I talk with our kids and extended family members most often via cell phone, e-mail, e-greeting, and Facebook (and occasional snail mail), but we do communicate with our kids by Skype sometimes, too.

We saw our new Grandkitties (as in kittens!) – Will and Chea’s and Christina and Tom’s – the first day via Skype! And Christina and Tom often talk with Tom’s family in England via Skype. I have more about Skype in my post “Creating Memories Together on Skype.” I’m truly grateful for the role technology has played in helping us embrace our extended family.

7. We remember the value of hugging and saying “I love you.” With our closest relatives we say “I love you” A LOT. And a lot of hugging goes on when we get together with our extended family. My daughter, Christina, gives her ideas on sharing love with family in a Thanksgiving post she wrote last year called “8 Ways to Give Thanks for Family.”

I’d love to hear how you keep in touch with your extended family!

***

Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Dealing With Unsupportive Grandparents — In a guest post at Natural Parents Network, The Pistachio Project tells what to do when your child’s grandparents are less than thrilled about your parenting choices.
• Parenting With Extended Family — Jenny at I’m a full-time mummy shares the pros and cons of parenting with extended family…
• Parental Support for an AP Mama — Meegs at A New Day talks about the invaluable support of her parents in her journey to be an AP mama.
• Priceless Grandparents — That Mama Gretchen reflects on her relationship with her priceless Grammy while sharing ways to help children preserve memories of their own special grandparents.
• Routines Are Meant To Be Broken — Olga at Around The Birthing Ball urges us to see Extended Family as a crucial and necessary link between what children are used to at home and the world at large.
• It Helps To Have A Village – Even A Small One — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama discusses how she has flourished as a mother due to the support of her parents.
• The Orange Week — Erika at Cinco de Mommy lets go of some rules when her family finally visits extended family in San Diego.
• One Size Doesn’t Fit All — Kellie at Our Mindful Life realizes that when it comes to family, some like it bigger and some like it smaller.
• It Takes a Family — Alicia at What’s Next can’t imagine raising a child without the help of her family.
• A new foray into family — As someone who never experienced close extended family, Lauren at Hobo Mama wrestles with how to raise her kids — and herself — to restart that type of community.
• My Mama Rocks! — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment is one lucky Mama to have the support and presence of her own awesome Mama.
• Embracing Our Extended Family — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares 7 ideas for nurturing relationships with extended family members.
• Doing Things Differently — Valerie at Momma in Progress shares how parenting her children far away from extended family improved her confidence in her choices.
• Snapshots of love — Caroline at stoneageparent describes the joys of sharing her young son’s life with her own parents.
• Parenting with Relies – A mixed bag — Ursula Ciller shares some of her viewpoints on the pros and cons of parenting with relatives and extended family.
• Tante and Uncles — How a great adult sibling relationship begets a great relationship with aunt and uncles from Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy.
• Tips for Traveling With Twins — Megan at the Boho Mama shares some tips for traveling with infant twins (or two or more babies!).
• Parenting passed through the generations — Shannon at Pineapples & Artichokes talks about the incredible parenting resource that is her found family, and how she hopes to continue the trend.
• My Family and My Kids — Jorje of Momma Jorje ponders whether she distrusts her family or if she is simply a control freak.
• Parenting with a Hero — Rachel at Lautaret Bohemiet reminisces about the relationship she shared with her younger brother, and how he now shares that closeness in a relationship with her son.

• Text/ended Family — Kenna of A Million Tiny Things wishes her family was around for the Easter egg hunt… until she remembers what it’s actually like having her family around.
• Two Kinds of Families — Adrienne at Mommying My Way writes about how her extended family is just as valuable to her mommying as her church family.
• My ‘high-needs’ child and ‘strangers’ — With a ‘high-needs’ daughter, aNonyMous at Radical Ramblings has had to manage without the help of family or friends, adapting to her daughter’s extreme shyness and allowing her to socialise on her own terms.
• Our Summer Tribe — Justine at The Lone Home Ranger shares a love of her family’s summer reunion, her secret to getting the wisdom of the “village” even as she lives 1,000 miles away.
• My Life Boat {Well, One of Them} — What good is a life boat if you don’t get it? Grandparents are a life boat MomeeeZen loves!
• Dear Children — In an open letter to her children, Laura at Pug in the Kitchen promises to support them as needed in her early days of parenting.
• Yearning for Tribal Times — Ever had one of those days where everything seems to keep going wrong? Amy at Anktangle recounts one such day and how it inspired her to think about what life must’ve been like when we lived together in large family units.
• I don’t have a village — Jessica Claire at Crunchy-Chewy Mama wishes she had family nearby but appreciates their support and respect.
• Trouble With MILs– Ourselves? — Jaye Anne at Wide Awake Half Asleep explains how her arguments with her mother-in-law may have something to do with herself.
• A Family Apart — Melissa at Vibrant Wanderings writes about the challenges, and the benefits, of building a family apart from relatives.
• First Do No Harm — Zoie at TouchstoneZ asks: How do you write about making different parenting choices than your own family experience without criticizing your parents?
• Military Family Separation — Amy Willa shares her feelings about being separated from extended family during her military family journey.
• Forging A Village In The Absence Of One — Luschka from Diary of a First Child writes about the importance of creating a support network, a village, when family isn’t an option.
• Respecting My Sister’s Parenting Decisions — Dionna at Code Name: Mama‘s sister is guest posting on the many roles she has as an aunt. The most important? She is the named guardian, and she takes that role seriously.
• Multi-Generational Living: An Exercise in Love, Patience, and Co-Parenting — Boomerang Mama at The Other Baby Book shares her experience of moving back in with Mom and Dad for 7 months, and the unexpected connection that followed.
• A Heartfelt Letter to Family: Yes, We’re Weird, but Please Respect Us Anyway — Sheila of A Living Family sincerely expresses ways she would appreciate her extended family’s support for her and her children, despite their “weird” parenting choices.
• The nuclear family is insane! — Terri at Child of the Nature Isle is grateful for family support, wishes her Mum lived closer, and feels an intentional community would be the ideal way to raise her children.

Montessori-Inspired Mother's Day Card-Making Activity (Photo from To the Lesson!)

I had a post last year with a number of Montessori-inspired Mother’s Day ideas. Today, I want to share some Montessori-inspired Mother’s Day ideas published since my post last year. You’ll notice that there’s often a special tray or table set up for card making.

I also want to give some ideas for a Mother’s Day tea. Many Montessori schools have a special Mother’s Day tea, which is both a way to honor mothers and a way to reinforce exercises of grace and courtesy. Even though the concept works especially well in a school, it could also be a special surprise with help from the dad or another relative. And there’s no reason a mom can’t help plan a Mother’s Day tea. While it won’t be a surprise, it will still be a special gift of love from your child.

Montessori-Inspired Mother’s Day Cards and Gifts

Mother’s Day Cards (photo at the top of this post) from To the Lesson!

Mother's Day Card-Making Activity (Photo from My Montessori Preschool)

Mother’s Day photo frames and cards from My Montessori Preschool

Montessori-Inspired Father’s Day (idea for card-making tray and some other posts that could be appropriate for Mother’s Day as well)

Montessori-Inspired Mother’s Day Tea

Mother’s Day tea at Cornerspring

Mother’s Day Tea, an Inly Kindergarten Tradition from Inside Inly

Mother’s Day in the Montessori Classroom (AMC Montessori Spring Hands-On Newsletter Part VI) from American Montessori Consulting

Montessori Toddler Program Mother’s Day Tea Preparations from Montessori Mama

Mother’s Day Ideas Pinterest Board

Check out the collaborative Mother’s Day Ideas Pinterest board for Mother’s Day activities of all types. I also have a Handprint or Footprint Keepsake Crafts Pinterest board and Kindness Projects Pinterest board with ideas that could work well for Mother’s Day.

Montessori Monday Link-Up

If you have some Montessori activity trays/lessons to share, please link up below. It’s fine to link up a post from your archives – and you may link up anytime during the week! Please place the Montessori Monday button (using the code from the right sidebar) in your post or put a link back to this post.

Let’s use Montessori Monday to gain inspiration/ideas and to encourage each other! If you would leave an encouraging comment on the post linked up ahead of you (along with any other posts you’re drawn to), that would be awesome! Thanks for participating!

Note: If you have a giveaway on your blog, please add it to my Family-Friendly Giveaway Linky Page! If you enjoy entering giveaways, you’ll always find some great giveaways there!

If you’re interested in simple photo watermarking/editing/conversion software (with a GREAT CHANCE OF WINNING the software), be sure to check out my giveaway that’s open until Thursday at 10:01pm MST: PearlMountain Image Converter Review and Giveaway – 20 Winners (Total ARV $600)!

Linked to AfterSchool Linky Party, The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions at Milk and Cuddles and Crystal & Co. , What’s on the Tray Wednesday, Thrifty Thursday, The Weekly Kid’s Co-op, Fun Stuff Fridays, Living Life Intentionally Linky Party, The Weekly Kid’s Co-op, Preschool Corner, Show-and-Share Saturday, The Sunday Showcase at Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas and Classified: Mom, and Link & Learn.

The giveaway is now closed. Please see the bottom of the post right under the Rafflecopter form for the announcement of the 20 winners!

Need Watermarking and Image Conversion?

I LOVE Pinterest, but Pinterest has made it necessary to learn how to watermark photos. Otherwise, it’s simply too easy for images to be pinned and repinned without a link or clue to the original source. And blog scrapers make the situation even worse.

PearlMountain Image Converter

PearlMountain Image Converter

I was wondering about watermarking software as well as simple options for labeling photos and resizing images. Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to review PearlMountain Image Converter and host a Mother’s Day giveaway of 20 full licenses of PearlMountain Image Converter software (ARV $30 each)!

Reviewing PearlMountain Image Converter was a very pleasant experience. PearlMountain Image Converter is an easy method for batch converting and processing images. It allows you to convert images to other formats, resize, rotate, crop, add watermark, apply effects, and add a border to many images at a time. It’s simple to adjust digital photos for printing or for your blog, e-mail, or any other web-based use. You can even save operations as profiles for future use.

PearlMountain Image Converter supports 60+ image formats, including JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, PSD, GIF, TGA, ICO, PDF, and RAW. I tried converting JPGs to PNGs, resizing, and  adding a watermark to a number of images at once. It worked well!

Here’s an image from my Montessori-Inspired Lorax Activities that I updated with the PearlMountain Image Converter. I resized it, added a label, and added a watermark.

There are many ways my image could be changed, but this was my first attempt … and it didn’t take me too long to figure out how to use the software.

PearlMountain Image Converter System Requirements

• Microsoft Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit)
• 300 MHz processor or faster processor
• 256MB RAM (512MB or more recommended)
• 5MB hard disk space for installation

Disclosure: I was given a full license of PearlMountain Image Converter to review. I was not required to give a positive review, and the opinions expressed here are my own.

Now for the Giveaway:

What You Will Win:

20 winners will receive a full license for PearlMountain Image Converter Software (ARV $30 each)

Who is Eligible:

This giveaway is open to anyone 18 and older worldwide. The first entry is mandatory. You must leave a blog post comment telling why you want to win (and be sure to say you did that on the Rafflecopter form)! After you’ve completed your mandatory entry, there are lots of optional entries. You have many chances to win! (Note: For the extra entries, you may count ways of following that you already do. For example, if you previously “liked” Living Montessori Now on Facebook, you may still count that for your “like” Living Montessori Now on Facebook entry!)

It’s easy to enter giveaways with Rafflecopter! Just follow the directions to enter. You must complete the Mandatory Entry to qualify for any additional entries. The giveaway closes 10:01pm MST on Thursday, May 10. Best of luck!

Here’s a 45-second video with quick directions for entering through Rafflecopter:

How to Enter Rafflecopter Giveaways from Rafflecopter on Vimeo.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UPDATE:

It’s Friday morning, May 11. And I have 20 lucky winners of the PearlMountain Image Converter!!! They were selected using Random.org through Rafflecopter.

Here are the winners:

1. My Boys’ Teacher from What DID We Do All Day?
2. Marthalynn R.
3. Joanna P. from Mom Again at 40
4. Tracey B. from Don’t Mess with Mama
5. Nicole S.
6. Inez M. from Inez by Design
7. Jenny C. from I’m a Full-Time Mummy
8. Claudia from For the Love of Coupons and Deals
9. Heather S.
10. Ginnette C. (Gigi) from Montessori Spanish
11. Tiffany from Stuff Parents Need
12. Gricelda C.
13. Mieke G. from Lesson Plans to Pots and Pans
14. Julie C. from The Adventures of Bear
15. Maegan M.
16. Lillea B.
17. Kerry M.
18. Lisa S.
19. Deanna from Deanna Time
20. Jen

I’m in the process of sending out all the license codes via email. If you don’t receive your license code this morning, be sure to let me know!

CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who won!!! Thanks so much to PearlMountain Technology for sponsoring the giveaway – and thank you to everyone who entered!

If you didn’t win, you can still purchase a copy of the software here: PearlMountain Image Converter software

As always, thanks so much to all my blog sponsors!

Montessori Print Shop

Montessori Compass

Total Yearbooks

Montessori at Home

Maestro Classics

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