We love Kiwi Co at our house. We’ve had a monthly subscription for a little over a year and love it more now than ever. (Want to know more about a Kiwi Co subscription? You can read my review about my initial skepticism here.)

Last year I bought the gingerbread house holiday crate. Gingerbread house’s are fun to make, but messy. This was a great alternative.

This year I had an opportunity to review a few other of Kiwi Co’s Christmas craft crates. And they didn’t disappoint. We’ve only gotten crates from the Kiwi line, so it was fun to peek inside the Koala Crate and Tinker Crate boxes.

We started with the Koala Crate, which fits the age range for Otto (5) and Olivia (3). The Swirly Ornaments were fun and quite simple. These were definitely crafts they could do on their own, though Olivia needed a bit of help.

It made me think of trying a Koala Crate for Olivia sometime.

Our tried and true Kiwi Crate was right on the mark. The kids were really excited about the snow globes.

I had actually bought supplies to make mason jar snow globes earlier in the week, but couldn’t find the right size jar for our tiny trees. These were a great alternative and the kids were excited to still make snow globes.

Tinker Crate, now this is the one I was excited to see. Joey is always trying to invent something. He’s said for a few years now that when he grows up he wants to be a spy or an inventor. I thought Tinker Crate might be fun for him to try, even if he’s a few years young for the suggested age (9-12). He recently built a tin can robot with dad mostly on his own, so why not try?

The Tinker Crate LED Holiday Luminary didn’t disappoint in what we’ve come to expect with Kiwi Co. However, it was definitely more challenging, but neat in that we were building a circuit. We didn’t get the luminary to light. We’d already used both reactors and I think I problem is we didn’t get the reactor wrapped tight enough around the LED wire. We’ll have to send an SOS email (more on that below).

Even though we didn’t get our luminary to light (or at least not yet), it was neat to see a project an older elementary child do on their own and actually build something real. It’s a great Montessori + STEM match up!

What I love about Kiwi Crate (Koala & Tinker too!):

• They’re high quality—from craft supplies to instructions, everything is top notch. And when you get a subscription box it comes with a magazine full of more activities, stories, recipes, and more. We’ve kept all of ours and my boys go through them every now and then for new ideas.
• Each crate comes with all materials you need. Even scissors or tape.
• There’s always materials left over. It’s also helpful when you make a mistake.
• Even though crates are meant for one child, there’s always enough for two (and we usually can make some stretch for three).
• If you run into a problem, they have an SOS email you can ask for help. (Gotta get on that one!)

The Kiwi Co Family Brands (Koala, Kiwi, Doodle, & Tinker) are great for crafts on those indoor winter days, Christmas or birthday gifts, supplements to homeschooling, or even stocking stuffers or party favors.

Disclosure: These crates were provided by Kiwi Crate free of charge in exchange for our honest review. 

This post is part of 15 Days of Montessori for the Holidays. 

It’s nearing that time of the year when the calendar fills up, you have to decide when you’re seeing which side of the family, you find yourself dragging behind on your to do list, and probably carrying more guilt than you need to bear.

If you’re struggling with the weight of what the world says Thanksgiving and Christmas should be or you’re overflowing with excitement of all you could do, can I just remind you,

It doesn’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to do it all.

Let’s make peace with the holidays this Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Let’s purposely choose more joy and less stress. Loosen the expectations, cut the lists in half, simplify the projects, and just enjoy.

Seek to create intentional time

being instead of doing.

Celebrate the season with room to breathe. Remember, the holidays aren’t contingent on gifts or crafts or the perfect dinner spread or exquisitely coordinated outfits for the perfect family photo.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are a time to come together to celebrate the love of family, gratitude for all we’ve been given, and the gift of Christ as Savior. All the extra trimmings and trappings? Let them be.

1. Examine Your Holiday Traditions

Traditions are built over time as a way of marking what’s important to our families. Holiday traditions is an area that often runs away from us, and before we know it our traditions are controlling our holiday rather than helping us prize what’s most important.

A way to help amplify the joy, lessen the stress, and simplify the holidays is to identify the traditions you currently have and evaluate how they are working for your family.

• Are your traditions enjoyable? Do they appeal to the whole family—your spouse and your children? 

• Do they stay within your budget?

• Do they propel your family closer to each other and, if Christians, toward Christ?

• Do they promote values and ideals you want to pass down to your children?

Finally ask, “Why do we do this?”

Is this tradition something you’ve always done, decided to do one year and it just stuck? Was it a tradition passed on from your families, do you even like it, or do you feel compelled to do it?

Sometimes simplifying means redefining our traditions, or perhaps, even eliminating traditions that no longer work for your family. 

A Gentle Reminder: As a young family, you don’t have to continue every tradition each of your respective families have done. Pick what you want, but remember you’re making your own family now. This is your family–not your parents, not your grandparents. You can break from past traditions to adopt new ones that fit the vision for your family.

2. Simplify with Yearly Priorities

One lesson I’ve learned is every good idea doesn’t need to be executed immediately. This can be especially true during the winter holiday season when new ideas, activities, and traditions pop up everywhere.

How do we make these great ideas and traditions work for us? By choosing an intangible priority and tangible priority for your family each year.

Think of your intangible priority as the feel you want Thanksgiving or Christmas to have, or what you want to impart to yourself and family. An intangible priority could be a focus on hope, gratitude, joy, love, humility, service, generosity/cheerful giving, peace, or community (ie, building relationships).

To help achieve that priority,  let your tangible priorities be a means to move forward in your intangible priorities. Tangible priorities could be following an Advent calendar/devotional, participating in service projects, homemade gifts, buying less presents so you can give to those in need (local or far away) or to save money , visiting family, or throwing a great party.

Plan for the holiday you wish to enjoy.

3. Loosen Your Expectations

We often live under expectations without even realizing it. It’s important to remember not all expectations are negative. It’s good to know what you or your family is hoping for and to honor what is within reason. However, many of the expectations we operate under (especially during times of stress) are unrealistic and unhealthy.

When it comes to the holidays, expectations could be mandatory visits to both families even if it means filling up on two Christmas dinners and dragging tired, overstimulated kids across town or to the next county. It doesn’t matter if they enjoy it, as long as they’re there. Or matching present for present what another relative is giving you or a family member. Perhaps you’ve put on the expectation that to make Christmas special you have to do a craft every day until Christmas.

While you might feel like you’re taking one for the team and making everyone happy, unrealistic or unhealthy expectations breed unhealthy behaviors. When we wear the expectations of others to the point we feel we must do this or things won’t be right, someone will be horribly disappointed or even mad at us, we’re letting this real or perceived expectation control our life.

We’re seeking to please people rather than do what’s best for our family and spirit.

• What expectations have you put on yourself? What’s healthy? What’s realistic?
• What expectations does your immediate family (or those you live with) have? Are they realistic? What’s important to them at/about the holidays?
• What expectations does your extended family have? Are they healthy? Are they realistic?

Keep expectations, hopes, or wishes that are healthy and meet the goal, the heart, and mission of your family.

Don’t be afraid to disappoint others. Some will be. Talk to them about why these changes are important to you and your family.

4. Cut Your To Do List

You knew this one was coming, right? If you made a list of all the things you needed to do, make, buy, wrap, cook, or events on the calendar, how long would your list be? Does even just thinking about it stress you out?

Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful and Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ. Neither are centered around the glorification of more stuff and stress. Remember, being over doing.

Let your to do list reflect the heart of the season, your family priorities and the traditions you hold dear. Plan/rewrite your to do list as a means of pursuing your tangible and intangible priorities. Your to do list, like your traditions, is a tool not the driving force of your season. 

Start writing a list of all the things you want to make, do, feel, be, watch, listen to, bake, attend. How long did your list get? Is it relatable? Is it breathable?

Aim to cut it in half. What can you let go of? What isn’t going to assist you in your Christmas priorities and family traditions? What will encourage you to pursue real joy this holiday season? Keep that.

Make a new list. Is it realistic and breathable? Does it reinforce traditions that are important to you? Will it encourage your tangible and intangible priorities? Can you sanely accomplish it and still have joy? 

5. Make Room to Breathe

So often we get to the last few weeks of November and before we know it we’re over committed and stressed out by all the good and fun things to do or attend. They’re not bad, but they may not be best for you and your family, at least right now.

After you’ve filled in your calendar, wrapped the gifts, and planned all the parties, I hope you have found room to breathe. To laugh and dance and play. I hope you’ll find a few days where spontaneity takes you by surprise, room in your days and heart for little joys.

Don’t spend the holiday season feeling trapped in a tightly packed schedule or even a light schedule. Leave room for joy. And be brave to do what’s best for your family.

Don’t forget to check out other posts in the Montessori Bloggers Network Montessori for the Holidays series! Tomorrow you can find  some great ideas for handmade holiday gifts for Montessori grown ups from I Believe in Montessori. Be sure to check out Living Montessori Now’s Montessori Christmas tree decorating activity on Thursday and The Kavanaugh Report’s post on Christmas sensory activities for toddlers.

Missed a few days in the series? You can always find them here:

The Montessori Notebook ~ Montessori by Mom

When Hippos Talk ~ Little Fingers at Work ~ At Kid Level

Magical Movement Company ~ Christian Montessori Network

Montessori Unfiltered ~ Mama’s Happy Hive ~ Montessori Nature

Welcome to Mommyhood ~ Our Montessori Home

I Believe in Montessori ~ Living Montessori Now

The Kavanaugh Report ~ The Natural Homeschool

Age of Montessori

Today begins the first day of the Montessori Bloggers Network’s 15 Days of Montessori for the Holidays series.

A group of 15 Montessori bloggers have gotten together to do a series of posts on prepping for the holidays. You’ll find everything from creating holiday rituals with your children and making healthy treats to Montessori-inspired Christmas activities and homemade gift ideas.

I’ll be sharing practical, real-life tips on creating a less stress holiday season for you and your family.

You’ll find a little something for every age.

Don’t forget to visit other bloggers in the series:

The Montessori Notebook ~ Montessori by Mom

When Hippos Talk ~ Little Fingers at Work ~ At Kid Level

Magical Movement Company ~ Christian Montessori Network

Montessori Unfiltered ~ Mama’s Happy Hive ~ Montessori Nature

Welcome to Mommyhood ~ Our Montessori Home

I Believe in Montessori ~ Living Montessori Now

The Kavanaugh Report ~ The Natural Homeschool

Age of Montessori

Photo Credit: Montessori Messy

Maybe you searched child-led learning, hands-on activities, or activities for toddlers and you came across this term ‘Montessori.’ Perhaps you’ve heard about it in passing at the library or park, maybe it was filed away from a college class of days gone by or a friend’s child is in a Montessori school and loves it.

So, you did a Google or Pinterest search or joined a Montessori group on Facebook and found article after article, opinion after opinion, post after post with more Montessori than you know what to do with.

It’s the best thing ever and you want to implement  it all! Like, yesterday. But what do you do with all this stuff you have? There’s toys to get rid of! Rooms to rearrange! Books to read! Activities to plan! Supplies to buy! Family members to convince!

But, you soon find yourself frustrated. Why won’t my child pay attention during a lesson? How do I do this? He keeps throwing the weaning glass! She just dumps the trays over. Should we move to a floor bed? Is this toy appropriate? Should I make or buy materials? I’ve done all this work and they’re not even interested! Is my child behind? Have I missed my chance with Montessori?

You’ve fallen down a Montessori rabbit hole. What do you do?

First, step back and take a deep breath. 

No, really. Stop pinning, searching, and worrying if you’re doing it “right.” Take a break from implementing Montessori.

I’d highly suggest anyone who’s just discovered Montessori to take the time to really learn about the method and philosophy before overhauling your home or homeschool. Take a few months to slowly absorb this information and then gradually put it into practice.

Invest in a few good books.

The Joyful Child (birth to 3) or Child of the World (3 to 12+) by Susan Stephenson, Discovery of the Child by Maria Montessori, How To Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Wayby Tim Seldin, or Montessori Today (for elementary) by Paula Polk Lillard are a few good places to start.

Read, ask questions, begin to gain an understanding of Montessori before making major changes. I firmly believe a solid understanding of the Montessori philosophy will take you further and farther and help you through seasons of burnout and frustration more than just jumping into activities you’ve seen on Pinterest.

Observe.

It’s a word we use a lot in Montessori, but for good reason. Observe your children, your environment, and how the two interact. Observe yourself. Take the time for self-reflection, making note of your own desires, tendencies, and even prejudices. Observe and evaluate before trying something new.

Consider how you approach childhood.

Is the child an empty vessel to be poured into? Or a full, capable person waiting to be unleashed? Montessori believed the child needed two things to thrive in life: access to his environment and freedom.

Build a Montessori lifestyle.

At the heart of the Montessori philosophy is a desire to learn and explore, but not for the sake of acquiring information and going to the next level. In the Montessori method we lead, learn, and explore for the joy of discovery. Prepare a beautiful and useful environment, get in touch with your senses, slow life down, work together, explore.

There’s obviously much more we could dive into starting Montessori at home, but for now start here, build a foundation, and find a steady, living pace before adding more to your plate.

Helpful articles to dive deeper:

What is the Montessori Method? 

Who was Maria Montessori?

What is Montessori Really? is a great post with a personal perspective from Marie at Child-Led Life.

What Makes an Activity Montessori? from Rachel at Racheous – Loveable Learning offers a simple graphic explaining principles of Montessori materials.

Montessori 101: The Basics from Aubrey at Montessori Mischief offers a great list of Montessori basics, including a free printable. Aubrey is a great go-to resource for Montessori. She offers a Montessori parenting course and is a plethora of balanced, helpful information.

Want to more on what it means to observe the child? Read How We Montessori’s posts Observation – Part 1 and Observation – Part 2 Observing the Child at Home.

Looking for help with Montessori elementary? Visit Jessica’s post on Getting Started with Elementary Montessori Homeschooling.

If you’ve been around Montessori for awhile, what advice would you give someone?