About Miraculove
Hi, I’m Yunnie, and I warmly welcome you to my blog! I’m a Singaporean toddler mama currently living in Seattle.
I’m passionate about designing child-led and open-ended activities for children.
My own childhood was filled with independent and open-ended play. My parents were often busy so my brother and I were very close, creating play on our own everyday in all the ways we could imagine.
When my brother and I reached preschool age, my mother wanted us to “play less and study more”. We were instructed to copy words from the English dictionary, memorise Math multiplication tables and complete timed assessment books daily.
My brother and I resented this prescriptive way of “learning”. He rebelled while I chose a non-confrontational route, pushing myself to excel academically to prove that I didn’t need to be micro-managed.
Two decades on, I am now a mama responsible for my little one’s learning. There is a weight upon my shoulders, and I want learning done right, at her own pace, in her own time.
I see learning as something beyond cramming knowledge into the head. Developing the lifelong skill to analyse, problem-solve, reason and experiment is more important.
Perhaps most imperatively, I want my daughter to associate learning with fun, so that she is always curious and eager to learn about the world around her.
Of the many early childhood education systems — Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio etc — Montessori and Reggio appealed most to me. I want to follow my child, spark her creativity and support her in taking ownership of her learning.
Montessori in particular shaped our homeschooling environment and approach. These are my most popular blog posts on Montessori:
How I Started:
- 7 ways to learn and start Montessori homeschooling without formal training
- Play-based homeschool strategies to prepare my child for school and life
The Prepared Environment:
- How I Montessori my small 500 sqft apartment to be child-friendly
- Setting up an open and accessible art corner at home
- Montessori-aligned baby books with realistic pictures
- 10+ beautiful books to empower and inspire Montessori toddlers
Practising Montessori as a Lifestyle:
- Acknowledgement and feedback vs praise in a Montessori home
- Encouraging independent play for highly attached toddlers
- Introducing glassware to toddlers the Montessori way
Practical Life Activities:
- A typical day of my toddler’s practical life activities
- 10 easy recipes for Montessori toddlers in the kitchen
Montessori Trays:
- 10+ Montessori toddler art trays for open-ended creativity
- 10+ Montessori inspired toddler tray activities at 26 months
I also set up many Reggio-inspired invitations to play for open-ended learning. These are my most popular blog posts on Reggio:
- 10+ creative sensory sink play ideas for children
- 10+ open-ended play dough tinker box ideas
- 10+ DIY indoor small worlds for toddler real world learning
- 5 engaging shoebox sized busy boxes for toddler travel
- 10+ DIY creative open-ended toddler toys to DIY from cardboard
I’m glad to meet you on my Montessori and Reggio inspired homeschooling journey. Let’s raise independent, confident and happy little learners!
Explore my Pinterest boards and connect with me over Facebook Group or Instagram.
Before blogging about child-led and open-ended play, Miraculove was the name for the wedding stationery brand I co-founded with a talented Singapore artist, Limin.
While we’re no longer running this business, we still bond over shared experiences of watching our little ones grow up (she has two nephews).
If you miss Limin’s stunning art, support her deviantart profile.