All Things Montessori

The Montessori Planes of Development

This week, we are going back to basics and breaking down the first and second plane of development. The first plane of development centers on 0-6 years of age. This child loves order, movement, and soaks everything up around her. The second plane of development is all about the 6-12 years old child. This child loves adventure, being social, and has a strong sense of justice. 

 

Curious about the third plane of development? Check out this past episode of ATM. 

Conversation with an Adolescent Guide: Kira Donnelly

All Things Parenting, Episode 4: Age Gaps Between Kids, Building Traditions, and Getting Outside with Leah O'Connell

On this fourth episode of All Things Parenting, my dear friend Leah returns to the podcast to talk about parenting. She has three beautiful children spanning the ages of 9, 4 and 16 months. We talk about the challenges and benefits of age gaps, finding the beauty in the simple things, and committing to building traditions with your family. 

 

Leah is an incredible family photographer. Please check her out, here!

Leah O'Connell Photography

Check out her weekly newsletter series, The Firefly Letters. 

All Things Parenting, Episode 3: Taking Lessons from Our Own Upbringing with Zander Merle-Smith

On this episode of All Things Parenting, Zander is back to share his observations about entering a new phase of fatherhood. We discuss the hardship of watching your child get hurt, how to regulate our own emotions, and the beauty of the process. We touch on discipline and how we want to approach it as a team while Wilder grows. 

 

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Montessori, Anxiety, and IVF - Rachel's Journey to Motherhood

This week I'm sharing my interview on the wonderful podcast, Know Ya Flow produced and hosted by my friend Lauren Barton. I'm sharing it here because I detail a very low point in my life that led me to therapy, working through failure, and embracing challenges that I was facing as a Montessori teacher. 

 

Check out Know Ya Flow!

 

Encouraging Curiosity about Social Justice with Shelby Kretz

Dr. Shelby Kretz is back on the podcast! Rachel and Shelby talk all about Little Justice Leader's new digital resource, how to have hard conversations with children, and how to move past shame and embrace curiosity when learning about social justice. 

Join the LJL Community! 

https://littlejusticeleaders.thinkific.com/bundles/little-justice-leaders-community

https://littlejusticeleaders.com/

All Things Parenting, Episode 2: Raising Babies at Home with Alex Parris

The second episode of the All Things Parenting series focuses on raising children from a stay at home mom perspective. One of my best friends, Alex joins me for this incredible conversation all about gentle parenting, raising two kids, veganism, and the love we both feel for parenthood. 

Kei Ikeda Returns: Incorporating Dance into the Montessori Classroom

Kei joins Rachel to talk through Montessori Dance and how it can help educators introduce dance into their classrooms. They discuss how music is innate in humans, ideas of how to introduce dance to children, and the joy music and dance bring to the world. 

• Danse Paix au Partage (International Dance Peace Sharing event) 
• Dancing Towards Peace Presentation by Kei and collaborator Kasia for the Childhood Potentials Online Montessori Conference 2024 

Trillium Montessori and Ecological Summit | June 17-19 2024

 

 

All Things Parenting, Episode 1: Embracing Fatherhood with Zander Merle-Smith

The first episode of the All Things Parenting series focuses on fatherhood. My husband, Zander joins me for this episode and we discuss the first few months of parenting, grieving your former self, and his experience with Montessori. 

Introducing All Things Parenting

All Things Parenting is a new offshoot of All Things Montessori. Becoming a parent has been the most incredible experience, and I wanted to sit down with experts, other parents, and my own husband to talk through parenting and doing it in a Montessori way. New episodes coming soon!

The Montessori Child with Simone Davies & Junnifa Uzodike

Join Rachel and Jamie as they sit down with the incredible authors behind to book, The Montessori Child. They discuss the four planes of development, the inspiration behind this book, and how parents can use this book as a guide to implement Montessori in the home. 

 

Get your copy of the Montessori Child! 

Check out the Montessori Notebook. 

Check our Fruitful Orchard Montessori.