Blog

Welcome to my sweet little blog. Carrots Are Orange focuses on Montessori inspired ideas & activities, teaching kids about money and traveling with kids. Plus, I will occasionally include musings on parenting because we all know how amusing and not to mention therapeutic those musings can be for all of us.

My philosophy? Well, I believe creating and building healthy habits early in child’s life is powerful, necessary and will last a lifetime. I want to raise happy, kind, self sufficient and productive human beings. I want to be accessible to parents, educators and care takers. Carrots Are Orange focused on child and family wellness. I will share with you triumphs, tribulations and musings on eating, playing, learning and parenting. What I offer you is an honest perspective and easy, accessible “to dos” with your child. I am focused on developing my boys’ (ages 3 years and 16 months old) “whole selves” so they can be confident, thoughtful, productive and independent individuals. Most of all, I want them to be happy. I will present and share with you Montessori inspired ideas ranging from sensory experiences, early financial literacy, traveling with kids, movement, practical life, arts and our Montessori home environment. Simplicity and accessibility is my goal.

This blog will chronicle the journey of raising my sons for them and for me, and, hopefully, as a result, will be an extremely accessible resource for you. My goal is that this blog will be your one stop resource as I experiment with my parenting style, while I create and test drive Montessori inspired learning activities and other fun stuff. Consider me and my boys your personal learning activities vetting machine!

How did this blog thing begin? I always knew I wanted to make homemade baby food for my kids but I wasn’t always sure that I’d have the time. When my older son was ready for solids, I decided to go for it. Quickly I realized how much I loved reading up on recipes and finding foods for him to try. Furthermore I began thinking more about my family’s experience with food and the larger issues facing our nation regarding nutrition. I loved knowing what was going into his little body and the idea that at some level I was teaching him “nutritional intelligence” as Dr. Greene refers to it. One afternoon while making food I was talking to my husband about the process. He asked me if my friends were making their own food, and I said, “No, they wish but they don’t have the time.” Then I laughed and added jokingly, “I should make it for them.” So Carrots Are Orange was born out of that conversation – my desire to share the process with other parents. Making your own food can be efficient and cost effective, and, most of all, the process can educate the whole family. My love of Montessori based learning has evolved as my boys have grown so I will share this evolution and journey with you.

So, pretty simply, I am a mom trying to raise a healthy kid who understands where food comes from, how food affects his body and why things like exercise are important. I am also planning to homeschool my boys based on the Montessori philosophy. I hope to inspire you. In terms of making food, I will do my best to source locally and to use organic food but I am reasonable and patient with myself and my child. . Every once in a while he is going to want something that “isn’t good for him”. I think that it is okay. Moderation is key as long as the fundamentals of healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle in general are the foundation. As for my Montessori based activities, I will always reference my sources for their sake and yours. I hope to be a practical resource to you, making “being and eating” healthy for your family possible even with the demands of today’s world.

Philosophy

I am excited to share my experiences with you. It’d be nice to make you laugh every so often too! If you email me, I will respond to you directly and immediately. I want you to feel control in this crazy virtual world and I want to help. So I will attempt to bring together the best of the best resources out there. The recipes and activities I post to Carrots Are Orange (CAO) are sourced and inspired from a variety of people all of whom I will properly credit on the blog. I encourage you to visit their sites and support them.

So please ask questions, let me know your interests and let’s see where the wind takes us.

I hope you enjoy and I hope I make you smile a little.

Happy reading!

Marnie
Founder, Carrots Are Orange
Building and Creating Healthy Habits Early