iDoddle Tracing Board - Montessori Inspired Pre-Writing Work

* This product was gifted to us. All opinions shared are my own.

As we begin homeschooling and compiling the materials I feel are necessary to provide the best learning environment for him, I knew I wanted to invest in some kind of letter tracing board. Our homeschool is heavily influenced by Montessori, and while tracing boards are not strictly a Montessori material, they are inspired by the Montessori way of teaching with tactile resources.

Similar to the way a child uses the Montessori sandpaper letters and numbers, and a sand writing tray, a tracing board allows the child to trace the letter or number shapes, developing muscle memory and is a really gentle pre-writing work.

When we were gifted a new product, the iDoddle which is a combination of a play smartphone and tracing board, for the boys to try, I knew it would be a hit.

Some of my observations:

• The iDoddle has encouraged deep concentration for both boys. It is not uncommon to see both of them, side-by-side on the couch, tracing their letters and numbers over and over.

• our son loves to use the iDoddle to write words. He will ask me to tell him a word to write, such as cat, we will sound it out, and then he will write it several times over. He hasn't shown an interest in writing on paper yet, and I feel this is a great way to build his confidence.

• Since receiving this product, he has shown greater familiarity with where letters are in the alphabet from tracing them in order so many times.

• My kids love to play games with items that feel real, like an old set of keys and flashlights and have really enjoyed pretending with the iDoddle. They have very limited access to real technology, as we have a pretty screen limited policy for our kids, but of course, they see us with our phones from a pretty young age, and definitely incorporate play phones into their games.

• The shape of the stylus is great for encouraging proper pencil grip.

This is definitely a product we will get a lot of use from, and as it is made from hardwood, I know it will hold up, even in this house of boys. A huge bonus for me, being an Albertan, is that is is made in Edmonton, Alberta - a sustainable, beautiful, locally-made children's toy is pretty hard to come by in this area.

If you would like to purchase a set of these iDoddle tracing boards, (and even get them in time for Christmas!) check out the kickstarter campaign.

Have you been looking into getting a tracing board for your home? Do you think your kids would benefit from one?


Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. I would also love to hear any suggestions for posts you would like me to write about. And if you are interested in following along in our daily adventures, follow us on Instagram where I post daily.



God bless,
Olivia Fischer

Montessori Toddler - Works at Two-Years-Old

Tharin built a beautiful shelf in our schoolroom and I have been filling it up with work for the kids. As I observe our toddler and what he is drawn to at almost two years old, I thought I would write up a quick blog post sharing his favourites.

* This post includes affiliate links at no cost to you. The Fishies in a Row earns a small commission on products purchased through these links and are so thankful for your support. 

How to Make an Afternoon Quiet Time Part of Your Day (For an Older Child)

A few of you have messaged, asking how we implemented a successful quiet time so I thought I would share how we made it a succesful part of our routine for our five-year-old.

{Book: Botanicum by Kacie Scott | Animals: Alligator by Schleich}

* This post includes affiliate links at no cost to you. The Fishies in a Row earns a small commission on products purchased through these links and are so thankful for your support. 

8 Montessori Friendly Books We Are Reading For Autumn

Hey friends! You know it's autumn here when the kids start helping Tharin rake in the yard, read: playing in massive piles of leaves. We have some huge, beautiful trees at our new house, and the kids have been having a blast. 

With the changing of the seasons comes the rotating of our seasonal reads. Changing over our books with each new season is one of my favourite traditions to mark the transition, and one my kids really look forward to. 

Here are the ones we are loving and learning from this year, as well as a few I hope to add to our collection.

* This post includes affiliate links at no cost to you. The Fishies in a Row earns a small commission on products purchased through these links and are so thankful for your support. 

1. Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall and Barbara Cooney / 2. Autumn by Gerda Muller / 3. Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro / 4. The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons / 5. Thanksgiving A Harvest Celebration by Julie Stiegemeyer / 6. Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert / 7. Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston / 8. Yellow Time by Lauren Stringer

What are your favourite autumn reads? I would absolutely love to hear about them, just leave a comment below and we will add them to our list!


For more posts on books: My Top 5 Parenting Books | Book Wishlist 2018

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. And if you are interested in following along in our daily adventures, follow us on Instagram where I post daily.

God bless,
Olivia Fischer

Top 5 Parenting Books to Get Started With Respectful Parenting

If you are starting your Montessori and respectful parenting journey, I highly reccomend you start with some of the blogs and Instagram accounts I mention in my post Resources to Read When First Reading About Montessori.

For some of the books (see my entire Pinterest board of books, here) that have really shaped my understanding of this parenting philosophy, I encourage you to check out some of these books, as well:

* TThis post includes affiliate links at no cost to you. The Fishies in a Row earns a small commission on products purchased through these links and are so thankful for your support. 

Montessori-Friendly Book Wish List for Christmas 2018

With Christmas only just a month away, I thought I would share the list of books I am wishing for this Christmas. We try to make reading and learning a high priority in our house, and are always on the lookout for new favorites. After a lot of research over the past year, I have it narrowed down to these nine.

Just as a note, we definitely are not getting all of these books for the kids, we keep our gift giving more simple. Other than what we decide to buy, I have shared suggestions with grandparents and our boys' godparents, and will keep the rest for a later date.

Resources to Read When First Learning About Montessori

I first started seeing Montessori on Pinterest when I was searching for ways to fill my days with our oldest when he was quite young. 

Where to Start with Practical Life in the Kitchen

I have talked before about how having your kids help in the kitchen is important, as it is so full of natural practical life activities.  But where do you start?

It most definitely is not with cracking eggs, in fact, I never would have guessed our oldest was ready for this task - it was Tharin who first gave him this particular opportunity.

It is important to follow your child, and it is equally important to follow yourself. If you aren't comfortable with something, or a certain task stresses you out, try something different instead.

Frog Life Cycle Freebie

The boys and I will be starting on a frog unit study right away here, and I created some exciting materials to supplement our learning.

We'll be doing plenty of reading, crafting, and searching for frogs in our wild backyard.

To grab your own hand drawn and painted life cycle of a frog wheel, just go here.

Have a great week!
Olivia Fischer

Montessori Toddler: Shelf Work For my Three-Year-Old

As I have mentioned before, I do not want to place a lot of focus on what our shelf work is. Especially as, right now, our oldest is choosing imaginary and crafting more often than not these days.

However, as this is a question I get quite often, I wanted to share what I currently have prepared on the shelves for our three year old.

* This post includes affiliate links at no cost to you. The Fishies in a Row earns a small commission on products purchased through these links and are so thankful for your support. 

What I Have Been Reading (and An Invitation to Our Email List)

First of all, I am officially back on the blog after taking the month of February to regroup and slow down. It was lovely just taking time to do plenty of reading, store up a few drafts, and work on an email list.

If you would like to subscribe to our email list, just click on the picture below. I will be sharing a monthly newsletter, bonus posts + free printables, and I would love for you to join the email family.

I have been reading the Secret of Childhood by Maria Montessori, and while I really enjoy any of her work I have read so far, this one is my favourite. It has really been reshaping the way I look at my children, especially our baby, and I am really grateful for her wisdom.

And of course, I have been reading plenty online. Some articles I have been enjoying lately:

The Hardest Thing to Remember When Your Child is Upset on Janet Lansbury. Every once in a while I feel we need to try a new approach, and I happened on this article at exactly the right time. 

Respecting Children In Public Spaces on Kavanaugh Report. This is something I think about often, as I can never leave the house without people saying something to us, or touching one of my children without permisson.

Seven Tips on Introducing Practical Life Activities on Frida Be Mighty. I especially liked her point about children not necessarily being interested in an activity at first (or every time).

A Cleaning Rhythm and How We Work Together As a Family on Every Day Begins New. I am trying to implement a more structured rhythm (ask me how that is going with irregular sleep and having a tiny baby with a cold) and found it helpful to read about what works for another family.

Our Weekly Rhythm on Bird is the Word. Obviously having a rhythm is on my mind as I enjoyed reading what works for this family as well.

If you have any favourite Montessori or parenting blogs, I would love to hear about them. I am always looking for new inspiration. Also, if you have not heard of Bloglovin', I highly reccomend it. It makes it so much easier to keep up with favourite blogs. I am linked to Bloglovin' in the right sidebar if you would like to keep up with us that way.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend,

Olivia Fischer