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16 comments:

  1. I spent the greater part of today searching your blog. I'm a mother of 7 now grown children. Our home was very much like yours; we incorporated Montessori as much as possible. Our older children attended a Montessori school. We homeschooled the younger ones. I miss this part of my life and appreciate your blog that allowed me to reminisce for a few hours. Enjoy and cherish these times as much as you can, because the time goes all too quickly.

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  2. Hello! Just two quick questions (very different topics each):
    * how do you get to make a link for contacting you? I am also using Blogger but haven't found it yet...
    * We also are a bilingual family (almost trilingual), how do you manage it on a daily basis and how do the children react to it?
    I am French, my husband is German but we met in England and English is our common language :) - we both use our native tongue with the baby but I am wondering how to work that out later on...

    Nice blog by the way, very interesting!

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  3. Hello Fred and welcome!
    * I just created a page for contact. It is not a message, but a page. They get automatically linked up in the side bar.

    * I won't pretend to have all the answers figured out really...But this is what we do. I am the one that speaks in english to the children. DH speaks french all the time.
    In the book Formation of Man, Montessori says that once you have chosen a language to speak to your child, you should not change, because it could be frightening to him. I am sorry to say, that we have broken this rule many time. I cannot always speak english around my children for many reasons. But I see they are adjusting just fine to it. E seems to be able to make the difference when I speak english or french, and respond to something I say in both language. I am careful when I switch though to tell him. I'll be talking in ... now.

    During the weekend, I am english only, during the week, it varies. But on the say that I spend alone with E, it is english all day long. I think what matters is consistency.
    HTH! Although I know it is not clear as mud ;)

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  4. I would really love to know where you got the wardrobe and bed for your toddler. Would you mind sharing?

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  5. Kristi

    The wardrobe and bed are from Ikea. Both have been bought a while ago (the bed was bought second hand) but they have newer lines of similar product.
    The new wardrobe line is called Stuva.

    HTH :)

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  6. Hi - I have recently discovered your blog as I research different approaches to homeschooling. I love that you retain beautiful aesthetics alongside wonderful education for your children. I have a 5yr old boy and 2yr old twin girls and I plan to begin homeschooling in spring (September in NZ). At this stage I love the mix of montessori/regggio/free range learning.
    What I'd love to know from you is; what toys/items/supplies would you consider to be important when setting up a homeschool environment? There is so much to buy from Montessori perspective yet I too like to keep life simple. Also we live in a small house and don't know where I'd store everything. Thankyou so much for generously sharing your experiences. Love this blog! Rebekah.

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  7. Hi! I adore your blog! It has been so informative.. I have two questions I am hoping you can answer: What do you do or how to you limit toys/items that relatives give your children that do not fit the environment? Also, in the sequence of photos of the bedroom, I noticed a limited selection of outfits hanging in the wardrobe. I'm curious if those are the only clothes for that child.. because I am absolutely swimming in laundry and never stopped to think that it is possible to only keep a few staples on hand and still survive.. Is it? Thanks!! :)

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  8. Paperbackwriter:

    Thank you!

    As for the gift from relatives, I let them out for a while, and at some point (usually very rapidly) they loose interest, and then I pull them out of the lot.
    I have had numerous discussions too with family members, that did help a little but overall, I have to make some cuts at one point. The kids never complained about it. With X (7) I even talk with him about why it is not a good choice.

    As for clothes, I do have a little bit of spare, but yes, indeed, all of E's clothes are in his wardrobe. He has what fits in there (plus a few bigger winter items that are bulky and so stored away), and tht is it. I was scared at first that it would be too restricitve, but nope, acutally, it makes things A LOT easier. Clutter really can be anywhere, even in clothes.
    I hope this helps!

    Rebekah: Thank you!

    I am not buying everything from a Montessori perspective. It is too much. And I don't believe everything is needed like in a Montessori facility.
    I think what needs to be kept in mind is beauty, simplicity, and open ended materials. I use the material that I can see will have a long life, i.e. the movable alphabet. This can be used in so many ways, and for a long time. But I wouldn't go and purchase the color matching game for instance. This IMO has limited use, and will pass really quickly (and is expensive). So for this, I will use the environment as help to teach and materials that are cheap and easy to find (like let's say paint chips).
    I think it is helpful to stick to the basics. I have read the montessori method many times, and I am sticking to what she is using, which is enough. I supplement with other ways of teacher, as you say, Reggio, child lead exploration and Charlotte Mason.

    I hope this helps. Please, ask more question if you need to!

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  9. Hi there,
    Great Blog. I have an almost 9 month old daughter and have just begun to look into the montessori approach to living and learning. We also practice EC, as I noticed in some of your photos you had done. I am wondering what you used, if anything to prevent misses on the floor. We have a nice play area with the mats but I am feeling like they are too much stimulation. Any advice would be great :)

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  10. hello Caroline
    We did indeed use EC more with E, and I am glad that we did.

    To protect my floors, (the ones that needed protection, I didn!t really bothered with ceramic tiling...), I had gim play on an old wool blanket that I couldn!t careless about. I had to wash it a few time, and like anything wool, that made it felt a little, whicha made it more absorbant. I do not have carpet here, so having a miss on the wooden floor or was not an issue, and I made sure that I always had a bottle of gentle cleaner at hand ( and a rag of course)..

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  11. for some reason my keyboard froze, and my reply was locked in...Sorry for the typos, I was not able to correct them.

    i hope this reply has been helpful to you. Don't hesitate to reply if you need more informations!

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  12. Hello Neptune,
    We live in Australia, experiment with Montessori and unschooling and just love love love your blog. We are also trying bi- or even tri-lingual approach, French being one of the languages. Would you mind recommending us some nice board books in French available at Fnac? Merci!

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  13. Maria

    Thank you for your comments!

    Can you tell me the age you are looking for (super easy or not)? Boys or girls? That is going to help me :)

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  14. Bonjour Neptune,
    We have almost 2yo twins (boy/girl). So any books for 2-3 year olds would be ideal. Thank you!~
    m.

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  15. Maria

    The books "Petit Ourse burn" are always good choices, because they are easy to read, and relate to normal everyday life situation. Same goes with Caillou, which are the stories of a little boy and his even littler sister.
    They are not board book, but Mimosa are excellent books: http://www.amazon.ca/Jour-ménage-Mimosa-Jennifer-Dalrymple/dp/2211017126/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353873298&sr=8-1-fkmr2

    These books : http://www.eveiletjeux.com/produit-303053/livre-le-zoo-imagier-sonore.htm have been very popular here with E.

    L'imagier du père castor, is not a board book, but it is a fantastic book! E loves this one: http://livre.fnac.com/a1884114/Collectif-L-imagier-du-Pere-Castor

    Again not a board book, but a fav of E: http://www.renaud-bray.com/Livres_Produit.aspx?id=1162993&def=Tous+derrière+le+tracteur%2cKASANO%2c+YUICHI%2c9782211204484

    As for board books goes, you'll be able to find favourite english titles in french. Good night moon, How do I love you, Eric Carle's books, and so on

    There are many japanese translations that are very nice!

    Ne bouge pas: http://www.amazon.ca/NE-BOUGE-PAS-HATSUE-NAKAWAKI/dp/2211091091/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353873386&sr=1-2

    Un amour de ballon: http://www.amazon.ca/Un-amour-ballon-Komako-Sakai/dp/2211077668/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353873421&sr=1-9

    E loves those books and asks regularly for them.

    I hope that helps, let me know if you need more...

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  16. Hello Maman Neptune.
    Lovely website with attentive and loving environment. I am always in search of ideas for my 18 month old whether it be activities like the light box or your polar set up in a container! Thank you truly. You are a link to many inspirational ideas and inspiring yourself so again thank you. I am at stay at home maman and really want him to feel engaged and have fun when going outside is not possible.
    I am a Quebecoise and try to consistently speak French to him but with my husband and others around I break form... We shall see how it turns out.
    Please, can you tell me where you found the lovely wood tap/ bassin holder for your handwashing station and the sweet clothing closet for E with the red drawers on the right. These are from your old blog. They would be a great addition if ever we can budget them in!
    Merci merci merci.
    Sam

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