A lot of people have been asking me questions about the difference between my book, Raising Your Twins: Real Life Tips on Parenting with Ease (Without Kicking Your Spouse to the Curb) and my DVD, Raising Your Twins: Real Life Tips on Setting Up the Ultimate Home Environment. Here are the answers to some commonly-asked questions.

Does the Raising Your Twins DVD contain the same content as the Raising Your Twins book? 

No, the book and the DVD cover different ages, so they have different content. The book covers newborn to 18 months. The DVD covers ages 1 to 4 years old. 

I only have one child, will this work for me or is it only for parents with twins? 

Don’t let the title fool you! Everything in the book and DVD will work for you whether you have one child, two young children close in age OR multiples. If it works for two children, it will work for one! 

Does the DVD contain similar content as your Youtube vidoes? 

The DVD is much more comprehensive. It was shot over 3 days with a professional videographer. With over 30 hours of footage edited down to 2 hours, only the best footage made it to the DVD. You’ve seen B and M put on jackets and make scrambled eggs on Youtube, but in the DVD, you will learn exactly how to replicate it at home with your child, including what you need to buy and prepare, how to present the activities, and the whole ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind every activity. The DVD covers everything from language, fine motor skills, care-of-the-self, care-of-the-environment to kitchen skills. If you are able to apply everything in the DVD, you will have an excellent Montessori home environment. 

How old were your children when you filmed this? How many episodes are they in?

This DVD was filmed over 3 days on their 2nd birthday. You will see them in action in Episodes 2 through 8.

What can I get out of this DVD? 

This DVD contains an incredible amount of valuable content. In this 121-minute, 8-episode series, you will learn how to set up every single room of the home as well as how to set up and do 24+ Montessori-based activities with your children. You will hear me talk about the big picture behind your child’s development, see actual children doing the work and receive a detailed instruction booklet, complete with pictures and resources. This DVD is essential for parents who want to raise a child the Montessori Way at home. It’s for the home-schooling parents, the parents who can’t find a good Montessori school nearby or can’t afford one, the parents who want to prepare their child for Montessori in the future or for parents who just want to try it out.  

On top of all this, you will get a complimentary 30-minute consultation with me, if you choose. This DVD is originally priced at $147, but is currently on sale for a limited time for $97. I can guarantee you will not find this much valuable content for this price anywhere else. 

I’m a nanny. Will this be helpful for me? 

Absolutely. There are many activities you can do with the child you take care of. The Back to Basics and Language episodes will be particularly useful for the child under 18 months. By 18 months, all the episodes will be applicable. If you don’t have a background in child development, there will be lots of helpful information for you. If you do have a background in child development, you will get lots of ideas for new activities.

What’s in each episode, exactly?

In Episode 1, I give you a tour of my Baltimore home and show you the most important components to consider for your child when designing each room in your home. Includes the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, dining room, play area, dressing area and cleaning area.

In Episode 2, I show you several easy, basic activities for the youngest toddler. I guarantee your child will LOVE at least a couple if not all of them. AND they are essential building blocks for good gross and fine motor skill development.

In Episode 3, I show you how to teach your child to put on different items of clothing and accessories. Includes detailed description of what to look for when you’re shopping for clothes. B and M demonstrates how it’s done. 

In Episode 4, I show you some activities that parents automatically do for their children. Teach your children to do these things and your life will get so much easier.  

In Episode 5, I show you some essential fine motor skills, including how to teach your child to cut with scissors, glue and sew with a needle. The goal is not to prove how capable your child is. The goal is to engage your child in activities they enjoy. And they will love some of these. 

In Episode 6, I give you strategies on how to maximize your child’s language ability. What will bring out the best language skills? What can you do to make that happen? What activities will enhance those abilities? What are the best books to read? How do you read to a child? Find out the answers and way more in this episode.  

In Episodes 7 and 8, I show you what you need to prepare to teach your children to bake and cook successfully. Watch B and M cook four healthy, delicious recipes your child will love to make (and eat!)

Where can I buy the book and DVD?

The book and DVD are both available through www.RaisingYourTwins.com. The kindle version of the book is also available through Amazon here.

Do you ship internationally?

Yes, we do. You will have the option of entering an international address at check-out.

What forms of payment do you accept?

When you order through www.RaisingYourTwins.com, you can use Visa, Mastercard or American Express. If you would like to pay by check, please email me directly at stephanie@montessorionthedouble.com

When can I expect my order?

We ship out new orders everyday (except Sunday) from Portland, OR through USPS. If you are on the West Coast, your order will arrive sooner than the East Coast. USPS guarantees your order will arrive within 7-10 business days.

What if I don’t love it? 

If you are dissatisfied with the book or the DVD for any reason, return it and you will receive a refund, no questions asked. 

How can I order now?

Visit www.RaisingYourTwins.com and you will be able to order the book, DVD or both! 

Every Monday, I cook a traditional Taiwanese dish, called 魯肉飯. It’s like spaghetti bolognese, except we use soy sauce instead of tomato sauce, shallots instead of onion and we eat it over rice instead of spaghetti. We also put hard-boiled eggs in it. Every Monday afternoon, you’ll find B and M in the kitchen helping me do the following:

After cutting off the ends of the shallot, I hand them over to M, who loves to peel pretty much anything

After she finishes peeling them, she puts them in the food processor for dicing later on

She picks up the cutting board with all the shallot skin…

and throws them in the dirty dish basket (this is where they put all their dirty dishes and food-related trash)

Later on in the afternoon, B and M help me peel the hard-boiled eggs that go into this dish

M helps me put cinnamon sticks and other spices into the pot

Time to eat dinner! It’s no accident – their favorite foods are the ones they help cook!

魯肉飯 Recipe

6 shallots – peeled and finely diced

4 shitake mushrooms – soaked and diced, separate mushroom and the mushroom water

1.5 pounds ground pork

6 hard-boiled eggs

oil for sauteeing

4 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp rice wine, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 tsp five spice powder, 3 star anise, handful of rock sugar

Add 2 tbsp oil in wok. Add shallots and saute for 20 minutes on low heat, making sure it doesn’t brown. Remove from wok. Put mushrooms in wok with 3 tbsp of oil, sautee, then add 1 tsp salt and sautee some more. Add shallots and ground pork. Add soy sauce, rice wine and sautee till most of the pork is brown. Add 5 cups water. Add mushroom water. The water should cover the meat, if it doesn’t, add enough water till it does. Let boil. Add cinnamon, five spice powder and star anise. Turn to low heat. Cook for 40 minutes. Add hard boiled eggs and handful of rock sugar. Cook for another 30 minutes. Serve hot over rice.

To continue the tour of our new Montessori home, here is where we eat.

1. This is the same weaning table we’ve had since they were 6 months old – we’ve gotten more use out of the $150 table than anything else we’ve ever bought for the kids. However, I replaced the heavy armchairs with light slatted chairs. These chairs were designed by Maria Montessori herself. They are made of birch wood, so they are lightweight enough for children to carry, but the design makes them extremely sturdy. I also find them to be beautiful to look at. Email me if you want the name of the carpenter in Denver who made these for me.

2. The cups and pitcher are permanent fixtures on this table. This is where the children get a drink of water during the day.

3. When not in use, we keep this dirty dish basket under the table. After meals, they clean up their own table and put their dishes in here.

4. These are their placemats. I’ve pre-drawn outlines of plate, bowl, fork and knife on a piece of paper, then laminated it. This great Montessori trick makes it so easy for little ones to set their own table. When they’re setting the table, you’ll see them point at the outline of the fork and say, “Fork,” then go to the cart to get a fork, and then point of the outline of the plate and say, “Plate,” then get one, etc. It’s like a great little cheat-sheet! I highly-recommend it. Takes about 5 minutes to make and costs very little. You can see how the children use it in the video below.

5. Here are their bowls, plates, fork and spoon. I keep the fork and spoon in separate containers.

6. These towels are used for their mouth, hands and for wiping up spills. The little hoops I’ve sewn onto the towel makes it really easy for them to hang on hooks. This tip I learned in my Montesorri training has saved me thousands of paper towels.

7. This little basket holds two sponges, which they use for wiping their mat. You can see them using it in this video here

8. This rolling cart is light, takes up very little floor space and can be moved around easily.

In order for you to get an idea of how we use this space, here is a video of the children making a smoothie, setting the table, then sitting down to eat their breakfast.

Before we start, here are the ingredients we use in the smoothie. Putting out each ingredient in individual containers makes it possible for children to make this smoothie on their own.

 Here we go!

If you’re interested in making fresh sunflower seed milk, here’s a great video. It’s super easy. And instead of using Brazil nut, like he does in the video, I use cashews or sunflower seeds: http://livingmaxwell.com/how-to-make-nut-milk