Name: Yonaia, M.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction

Location: Federal Way, WA

Previous early childhood educator turned stay at home mama. Turning my love for both learning and crafting into something more while sharing our at home Montessori adventures in the hopes to give a little inspiration. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, an early childhood educator, or just interested! Montessori play, activities, and crafts support healthy toddler development! As we continue on our learning journey I aim to highlight Montessori pedagogy, play, tips, learning materials, and resources with other parents, families, and communities.

Making a blog and website available to take up space as a Black woman, a Black mom, and Black educator, felt more than relevant and timely. It felt important. Education is elitist, and the US American education system is white supremacy legitimized. It is tailored to whiteness and leaves little room for “other”, for culture, diversity, for fullness, enrichment, or even accuracy. So naturally when it comes to sensory bins, or Montessori influenced learning and activities, be it Pinterest, a mommy blog, or an early childhood educators website, it is, of course also white. Realizing that I’d have to search a little harder to find Black moms doing this work fueled the urge to do it myself. So here I am with my child, to show her this is for you too, and sharing in the hopes that other parents of and belonging to the BIPOC community will also adopt this notion. Representation matters!