The Difference Between Feeling Responsible and Taking Responsibility When Our Children Are Having a Hard Time

I wanted to share something with you that was really freeing for me at the beginning of my respectful parenting journey. Something that was what finally helped me to have the clarity I needed to step back and start dealing with tantrums more respectfully.

Montessori Home Tour: Creating A Montessori-Friendly Children's Bedroom

Hey friends,

What does a Montessori-friendly bedroom for older children look like? I've shared a little bit about what our toddler room looks like in this house here, and hope to share some snaps of the nursery one of these days, as well.

Creating childhood hygge for your family

Have you heard of hygge (hue-gah)? 

It’s a defining part of Danish culture, and while I’m definitely no expert on it, it is described as being able to recognize the coziness, contentedness, simplicity, goodness of a moment, and consciously creating a life full of these moments.

The Story of Saint Valentine for Children

Yesterday I shared our Valentine's Day traditions with you, along with a sea creature Valentine printable I created.

In my post, I mention how we like to read the story of the Saint to correspond with the feast day we are celebrating. This is just a little way we try to steer clear of the commercialism that surrounds many of these special holidays - while I think there are many ways these feast days have veered far from the original intent, I feel it is worthwhile to celebrate and make these days special for our children.

As I was going online to find a story of Saint Valentine to read to my kids tomorrow, I realized there really wasn't anything I was super happy with. So, I read a few different versions and composed one that I feel embodies the story well, at an appropriate level for my young children.

If you are interested in giving the story a read to your own children, I'll share it here, as well as a printable version here.

Simple Valentine's Day Traditions (& Free Printable Sea Creature Valentines)

When I worked as a nanny, I woke up on Valentine's Day to the kids jumping on my bed with a valentine and bag of candy the mom had prepared for me, to match each of the kids. I felt so loved by this small gesture and decided it was a simple Valentine's Day tradition I would carry on for my own children.

I started drawing my kids a Valentine based on their current interests a few years ago, mostly because I am never prepared enough to have gone out and bought something for them. It's usually a small drawing with a cheesy saying, and then I write a small letter to them on the flipside.

This year, I thought it would be fun to share the Valentines I created for my kids, with all of you. Just sign up with the form below, and you'll get them in your inbox.

And if you like to add a small gift with your Valentine treat, I think these (or these) Safari TOOB sea creatures would be a great addition.

Sea Creature Valentine Printable

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Along with the Valentine's Day card and small treat, I like to incorporate some kind of special baking into our day. In the past, the kids have really enjoyed heart-shaped hand pies, but we've also kept it really simple with a box cake and pink icing.

And, of course, we read the story of Saint Valentine, and maybe watch a little program on his life.

What are your Valentine's Day traditions? Send me an email, I'd love to hear from you!


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

The Santa Claus Question: Why We Chose to Ditch the Bearded Guy

The other day, our oldest lost his first tooth.

We explained the tradition of putting lost teeth in a tooth box under your pillow and having it replaced by money the following day.

Why, he asked, so innocently.

It's something parents decided to start doing to make it feel really special when kids lose their teeth, I explained. Sometimes people say there’s a little fairy, called the tooth fairy, that takes the lost tooth and leaves money behind. But that’s just a fun story. Really, it’s mommy and daddy that will leave the money under your pillow. 

Explaining this to him, I thought the entire tradition might feel anticlimactic or unmagical or something along those lines. I was so wrong.

First thing in the morning, he ran into our room. He was ecstatic about the money under his pillow, grateful to Tharin and I, a child in the throes of a magical childhood memory through-and-through.


This Christmas I have seen all kinds of conversations popping up about Santa Claus and how we should respectfully approach this idea with our kids, and I thought I would talk about our approach.

When our first was a baby, Tharin and I spent a long time discussing how we would approach this tradition as a family. He had grown up believing in Santa Claus, having had it elaborately perpetuated by his parents, while my parents had been pretty straight-forward: they gave us the gifts, we were grateful to them, not some mythical figure.

I felt I would not be able to, in good consciousness, put such effort into having my children believe in Santa Claus. Having separate wrapping paper, eating cookies, leaving footprints on the roof, organizing the letter writing and receiving, it all just felt completely unnatural to me. 

Ultimately we decided against being a Santa Claus family. 

Here are our reasons.

Catholic Montessori: Free to Choose

Recently I was listening to an episode on the podcast Montessori Education. In this episode, Jesse McCarthy recalls going to a Montessori classroom and finding a little boy crying under a table while the teacher, and the rest of the classroom, ignored him. From his observations that day, Jesse came to the conclusion that the teacher had no empathy, and he had determined to give her a piece of his mind.

When he went to confront her, he was stunned by her response.

Why didn't you help that crying boy?
What makes you think he needed my help?
He was crying. Surely you heard that, no?