Well, we are a family of 3. Myself, my husband Steve and our son Van
Oak. A family of 3 in a ‘village’ of millions. You see, the three of us
were all born in different countries and although we are officially
English, Australian and American, we consider ourselves citizens of the
world. At the moment, we are lucky enough to call the gorgeous south
coast of NSW home. We moved here from the northern beaches of Sydney
shortly after we welcomed Van into our lives and have been enjoying the
open space and the slower pace that allows us to soak up each others
company as much as possible.
I grew up as a 'Montessori Child' in California where my father was an
AMI 6 - 12 teacher and returned to those roots in my professional life
when I did my AMI training for 3 - 6 year olds. I worked for a year in
a Montessori school Santa Barbara Calif. and finished my Masters Degree in Education, before I took some time to
travel, visiting many Montessori schools in both northern and southern
hemispheres. I have been lucky enough to witness what Dr.Montessori
called ‘the universal child‘ in Montessori environments in India,
Japan, Canada, USA, Ireland, England, Switzerland, New Zealand,
eventually landing in Australia to run a school on the beautiful
northern beaches of Sydney for 8 years. My experiences with these
children and their families has been invaluable in helping me
understand and assist in creating beautiful, appropriate and purposeful
environments for our most precious citizens: our children.
We are so excited to be able to continue what Catherine Gribben started
with Montessori Child, bringing you a lovely and thoughtful collection
of objects and activities that allow children all over Australia to
connect to the environment around them and follow their natural
tendencies of self-formation and improvement. Each of these items has
been chosen specifically with goal of assisting parents and guides to
create an environment that encourages the child’s natural development, sense of self-worth, appreciation of beauty
and independence. From our family to yours, we hope you enjoy them.
Please feel free to e-mail us, as we are eager to hear your questions, suggestions and
experiences. We would love to hear from you!
Thanks for visiting,
Amy, Steve and Van Oak Johnson
