The phrase “educational toy” has always bothered me a little, mostly because it suggests children aren’t learning when they’re simply playing.

And if Montessori has taught me anything, it’s that play is rarely just play.

It’s how children process, practise, test, repeat and make sense of the world.

We are very much reaping the rewards of raising a very independent, very curious Emmett.

Occasionally inconvenient? Absolutely.

Would we have it any other way? Not for a second.

So these gifts are here because they made me pause. Because they feel thoughtful. And because, when our first party invitation eventually arrives, I’d like to bring something that says, “I saw this, and I thought of you.”