Clementine Early Childhood Community

Clementine Early Childhood Community Clementine is a classroom in downtown Libertyville offering Montessori parent-child classes to children ages 0-3+.

Clementine is a space in downtown Libertyville offering Montessori parent-child classes for children ages 0-3. Parent (or other caregiver--grandparent, nanny) and child attend together. The children work & play in a prepared Montessori environment, and the adults observe, chat with each other, learn and talk about various parenting topics, and join their kids with the materials.

If you’re wondering if a group of six toddlers can wait patiently for the seventh to take his turn blending the cheese d...
11/05/2025

If you’re wondering if a group of six toddlers can wait patiently for the seventh to take his turn blending the cheese dip, the answer is yes.

These crawlers are just an absolute delight.I wake up every Thursday looking forward to the babies’ expressive personali...
10/31/2025

These crawlers are just an absolute delight.

I wake up every Thursday looking forward to the babies’ expressive personalities (all of them!), fantastic conversations with their moms and dads, and an hour of enjoying the classroom together.

After just these few weeks, they’re already such a cohesive group: we all bring our questions, ideas, suggestions, and opinions to every class.

It feels like someone is doing something new all the time!…today: first classroom steps, her longest stretch yet.

We all cheered!

Four years ago yesterday was our first class, and boy was I nervous!It was good, maybe not great—yet!—and the adventure ...
10/27/2025

Four years ago yesterday was our first class, and boy was I nervous!

It was good, maybe not great—yet!—and the adventure was underway.

Past years’ anniversary posts have been sappier, but I’m just feeling kind of steady this year.

I had the thought the other day that this work doesn’t feel like my new job anymore!—it’s just my life, one where I’m at Trader Joe’s on a Saturday night picking out the best gourds to check all the boxes (bumpy/smooth, different shapes, different colors), the systems are in place, and I have time to breathe and work on tweaking things to create the best experience possible for families and dreaming up the next big step. And while all of that is happening, Clementine is really everything I dreamed it would be and more.

I’m still so grateful for my own family and friends for continuing to share, post, ask, and visit me at the farmer’s market.

I’m grateful that families keep coming, open to learning about what might feel like a different way to raise kids, and that some of them are still around since that first session.

I’m grateful that I can use every part of my brain and heart every day.

Here’s to the next four years!

PS: I celebrated by ordering myself a new pair of slippers!

Our Tuesday-Toddler- 2 crew is truly a delight!This session, we have:> seasoned veterans (ready for leadership + taking ...
10/22/2025

Our Tuesday-Toddler- 2 crew is truly a delight!

This session, we have:

> seasoned veterans (ready for leadership + taking the classroom on with confidence)

> just-youngers (building independence + joining them for all kinds of adventures: food prep, handwashing trips, walks around the room)

> brand-new toddlers (absorbing everything + slowly settling in for longer stretches of work)

I’ve lost count of the number of little groups forming for all kinds of tasks.

This class just goes to show that there’s room for everyone at the table!

Montessori activities frequently offer ready-made connections (matching objects to pictures, for example) as a control o...
10/13/2025

Montessori activities frequently offer ready-made connections (matching objects to pictures, for example) as a control of error to build a child’s understanding of a concept.

Even more delightful: when they make their own connections–sometimes when I don’t intend them or even realize they’re here to be found!

🥝 He noticed and asked about this new-to-him fruit from a book, then we happened to have it for snack that same day!

🦓 I rotated in a zoo animals puzzle before I rotated out a zoo animals matching activity.

🐶 Dogs on the shelf, a dog to color--I wondered whether anyone would notice this one, and she did!

This is just one thing I love about Montessori–we prepare the environment, and then the environment calls to the children!

There’s a week in every class where it all just comes together. This was that day for our Wednesday toddler group.It’s h...
10/09/2025

There’s a week in every class where it all just comes together. This was that day for our Wednesday toddler group.

It’s hard to explain, but there’s just a shift–kids and adults know what to do, everyone talks to everyone, the work is purposeful. There’s an independence and an interdependence that aren’t quite quantifiable.

But here’s what is: a family came in a few minutes late after a sleep-in, and it was like everyone breathed a sigh of relief that our group was complete.

There’s a week in every class where it all just comes together. This was that day for our Wednesday toddler group.It’s h...
10/09/2025

There’s a week in every class where it all just comes together. This was that day for our Wednesday toddler group.

It’s hard to explain, but there’s just a shift–kids and adults know what to do, everyone talks to everyone, the work is purposeful. There’s an independence and an interdependence that aren’t quite quantifiable.

But here’s what is: a family came in a few minutes late after a sleep-in, and it was like everyone breathed a sigh of relief that our group was complete.

Once in a while, I get some really great photos (and even, occasionally, a video)...and then sometimes, they don’t do th...
10/08/2025

Once in a while, I get some really great photos (and even, occasionally, a video)...and then sometimes, they don’t do the kids justice: kids perfect; photos blurry, off-center, wrong angle.

I’m still always happy to have them, because they’re such wonderful evidence (or sometimes, when I’m too slow, just a jog for my memory) of growth and development.

Today:

✨ Glimmers of concentration (x2!)
✨ Returning work to the shelf, unprompted
✨ When walking to pour is just the perfect work, supported beautifully by mom
✨ A delightful discovery (the dolls squeak when we twist them)
✨ A delightful conversation (the llama is different than a sheep, its coat looks soft)
✨ Not really interested in painting before, until today
✨ Absolute joy!

09/29/2025

It’s been a while since her last class, and this was her first time here as a steady walker.

A whole new world for her and it was a delight to observe!

Address

526 N Milwaukee
Libertyville, IL
60048

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