New additions to the preschool

I think I mentioned the other day in my post that I had several items I had ordered that were on their way. Well, they arrived yesterday and I could not be more thrilled with the results. I very much wanted the Cheddar Hollow preschool to have a very strong Montessori influence, at least as much as I could, given that I needed to either make or source all the items that I could put into this tiny classroom. I am such a huge advocate for this type of education for young children. Some of you may or may not know but I do have my teaching degree in early Childhood Education and while in school ( about 100 years ago, just kidding, it only feels that way sometimes ) I absolutely fell in love with the principles of this type of learning. I could go on and on about the history, philosophies, and benefits, but that would be a bit too much for my sweet little mousey blog. Anyway, I very much wanted to have some these very traditional elements in my mouse sized school.

One of the pieces I really wanted was a Pickler triangle, ramp and arch combo. Perfect for little ones to develop their gross motor skills and let's face it a really stinking cute addition. But how the heck could I pull this off? Sadly, I do not own a laser cutter. But me being quite determined, set off to see if I could find someone who did and could possibly take on my custom request. My go to...Etsy! I found a shop that had adorable miniatures and decided to send them a quick conversation explaining my desires and asking if they might be interested. The shop is called Laser Lines and Michelle and Chad are the owners. Within a very short amount of time I heard back from them and they could not have been more nice and very interested in my project. I sent them pictures of what things I was looking for and honestly within a few hours I had drawings sent back and they were just waiting for the okay to start cutting. Later that day I receive photos of my completed requests and I was beyond over the moon.

Not only did they create the climbing apparatus but they also created a few other wooden toys that I requested which would be perfect pieces to add to my little classroom. They created these darling wooden puzzles.

as well as the stacking rings and the rainbow arch puzzle on the top shelf.

this darling set of cars...

and this set of classic building blocks...Everything I received is perfection and I couldn't be more thrilled with their product and their amazing service. So, huge shout out to them. I will certainly be asking for their help in the future!

I have received many, many requests for more info about where many of the other wooden toys in my classroom came from. I am sad to report that they came from a shop that is no longer open on Etsy and I am crushed. They had the most darling miniatures. I am just so happy that I was able to get as many as I did before they closed. But maybe with some persuasion, we might be able to get Michelle and Chad to make more darling miniatures for us. If you decide to visit their Etsy shop be sure to tell them that Dawn sent you! I am sure they will get a kick out of knowing the ladies in our community are very excited about their mini masterpieces.