If a Montessori education emphasizes the real world, is there room for playing pretend? Or is that a waste of my child’s time?

Siblings in your home can make things feel overwhelming and uncertain when you are taking on the responsibility of homeschooling. They grab each other’s toys. They vie for your attention. They refuse to share and hit each other and say mean things. How can you possibly help them get any work done?!

So you want to homeschool your kids, yes? But you don’t want to sacrifice your career for it? You don’t have to be self-sacrificing to be the a perfect homeschooling mom. Working and homeschooling at the same time isn’t for everyone, but what is? Here are my best tips for making it work — pun intended!

What is a Montessori parent to do when there are multiple cries of “Mommy do it!” or “But I can’t….”?

Montessori "lessons" look shockingly different for toddlers than they do for preschool-aged children. The more complicated and rigid your lesson, the more likely your toddler is to run away, shout "No!", make a huge mess, or to just outright do the opposite of what you had intended for her to do! Here’s what to do instead.

Is homeschooling an ideal option? As a former public and Montessori private school teacher, I didn't think so. Neither did my husband David. Both of us came from teacher-centric families in support of the public school system. This is our homeschooling story.