Hi! Welcome to Stir the Wonder! I’m Samantha, a work-at-home mom and homeschooler to my two boys, Caden and Chase.
Before becoming a mom I worked with young children as a nanny or in a child care center as a teacher assistant for five years, while getting my bachelors degree. My degree is in History, which might seem strange to some visiting a blog related to early childhood education, but most of my knowledge about babies and young children comes from my intuition and experience. My maternal instincts have always been strong; since I was a child, and I have always been able to easily connect with young children and understand what their needs were.
I am starting this blog to document and share my plans, ideas and experiences in educating my sons. My hope is that you come here for inspiration and ideas for activities to do with your own young children.
As a parent my style has always been to wait and see and watch for cues to my sons needs. When he was an infant I paid very close attention to his behavior and learned when he was tired or hungry. And he has always been fairly easy to put to bed or down for a nap because of my instinctual ability to read his cues. When Caden got older I allowed him to safely explore, as I watched him develop, make discoveries and figure out solutions to his problems all on his own. Now as his primary educator, I am researching different ways to teach, I am finding that my parenting style is very similar to the Montessori educational philosophy. It is my understanding that the main idea behind the Montessori philosophy is to observe the child and follow their lead and interests. The teachers or parents job is to provide educational stimuli and guidance. As I start our home education journey I am sure you will find that many of the activities I share will be closely aligned with this philosophy.
If you like what you read, be sure to follow me on Facebook and on Twitter @StirTheWonder. You will also want to check out my boards on Pinterest.
And you can always reach me by email at [email protected]. I’d LOVE to hear from you!
