All posts tagged: babipur

Circular Calendar, a Waldorf way for teaching the seasons, the months and the year {Grapat Toys}

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Few months ago, we started a new routine in our house to help to give rhythm to our days. Every morning with #1 before the school run we set the date, we check the seasons, revise the months and days of the week. I was looking for a fabric calendar for months and we finally got our hand in one while we were in Holidays in France. This calendar is really well made and it is a lovely educative room/playroom decoration. We love it a lot. But little by little,  I noticed that #1 was struggling a bit with the concept of year, months and seasons. We have talked about the solar system trying to help with the cycle concept. This is when I realised that our fabric calendar was not helping. I then thought that a circular one will be more helpful and realistic. Why a circle? We usually think of the passing of time as linear, with one event following another in sequence by day, by month, by year. But placing events in a circular or wheel shape …

Montessori inspired Toys or traditional materials for home? Introduction to Grapat Toys

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When we decided to switch and totally commit to Montessori pedagogy, we also decided to change our way to play. We use the Montessori materials to work and we make things clear for our daughters that they are not toys but we also wanted to keep a specific space at home for free play. But what about the toys we wanted ? It is quite an important question if you want to settle a Montessori environment at home. You do not need Montessori materials but you might be willing to use Montessori inspired toys, but what to choose? Clearly, we wanted some toys that will enhance the teaching and be in the continuity with the Montessori materials. One of the hallmarks of Montessori is the use of natural materials and colours that are not over stimulating. Natural materials are more beautiful and offer the child the understanding of the true weight of an object, helping them learn how much strength is needed to lift or move something. So through that lens, even if bright colours are not really Montessori …

Rainbow box, Montessori philosophy, child’s play and Toy Rotation

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We are lucky to have a spare room in our flat and we use it as a playroom. We have never been satisfied by the way it was looking and found it so unpractical with lots of plastic boxes filled with toys.  It took us few months to decide exactly how we wanted to organize this spare room and how we wanted to use it. We definitely knew that the room needed to be divided in different areas like reading, playing, and study. We wanted to make a class room with a Montessori philosophy. I will explain this later in another post. Basically, we are looking for the child independence and try to encourage it by letting him choose and decide. Therefore, the two essentials we absolutely needed were a child-sized table and chairs and  low shelving unit for materials. We choose the famous Kallax units {Ikea} and used them to divide the room too. We made a reading/Montessori Study corner, a writing/Art corner with a table and a playing/Practical life corner. We now organize any educational …

Developing fine motor skills through Arts {OkoeNorm Cone Crayons Review}

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When I was young I always enjoyed drawing and painting. I love arts in every form so it was naturally that I introduced arts very early in my daughters lives. I am no Picasso or Monet. I just enjoy using charcoals, watercolours and paints. And a thing I learned as a childminder –I used to do it to pay my studies – children love arts too! Children delight in exploring and creating with art materials. These experiences help children develop many life skills. Art is important during their early development. It engages all the senses in open-ended play and supports the development of cognitive, social-emotional and multisensory skills. As children progress, art continues to provide opportunities for brain development, mastery, self-esteem and creativity. This is why I introduced really early arts in my children lives. Baba#1 started when she was really young to be interested by my crayons and she learned easily to hold a pen. She loves crafting and drawing. Baba#2, only two years old, starts being fascinated by our drawing sessions and wants to join …

Wood, a Safe and All-Natural Teether for Baby {Haba Clutching Pyramid Toy Review}

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Before becoming a parent yourself, you would never imagine how hard it is to choose a teether for a baby. Yes, I would have never imagined that choosing a teether for my little one’s aching gums could be so complicated. Well I knew that we will use Sophie La Girafe for sure but what else? When #Baby1 was teething I assumed Sophie la Girafe would be sufficient and I was wrong. I then thought that one of those plastic water-filled stars that you could freeze would do the trick. But that was not the case, they were so hard and they have joined the huge amount of products I bought for my first baby that I have never used: useless, inappropriate and unsafe. You know my passion for green living and our aim to choose safer alternatives, more natural and environmentally friendly when we can. So for Baby#3 who just starts teething at 3 months and a half I thought It was the right time to purchase her some teething toys. But which one? I definitely knew that I wanted …

Connecta Baby Carrier Review

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When I was pregnant, I was unsure about using again my stretchy wrap but I knew that I will practice babywearing. With a toddler and a pre-schooler, it was obvious for me that if I wanted to do few things in my home, I would need to put baby somewhere in order to free my hands. And the best way to do it and to make baby comfortable, content and happy is babywearing. I liked my stretchy wrap with Baba1 five years ago but was not at ease for when I was outside so I wanted to anticipated this issue. I – as always– looked everywhere for advices, read reviews and it seemed that one of the best solution and easiest are Soft Structured {buckle} carriers. Babipur, one of the best ethical and eco Shop around –not to say THE Best -, stocks a large range of Buckle carriers but not only. You can find in their website a generous “Babywearing section“. I like how they bring to us some exclusivities and special offers which makes …

Indio Aurora Didymos Didysling Review

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I used only my My Stretchy wrap for the last five years and this time round with Baby3, I am enjoying Babywearing and getting more and more confident. I used to be afraid to bring my wrap for our car trips but it was before. When I struggled with breastfeeding – well, let’s say that it is not easy to juggle between a baby that just wants to feed almost all the time and two other children, a home, etc.- I was looking for a sling in which I could breastfeed easily free hands. The dream! I asked some lovely Babipurians Moms – Babipur has a very friendly group – for some advices. A great one was “Breastfeeding and Babywearing are two different skills and you need first to master both of them before considering doing both together”. This is the best advice I have ever received and I am really grateful for all the support I had when I was truly lost in my breastfeeding journey. I listened this wonderful advice and decided to try a …