Vectis Nova

Meet Maya & Daniel

Parents and creators of VECTIS NOVA.

Maya & Daniel Foster

We’re Maya and Daniel. VECTIS NOVA didn’t begin with a perfect Montessori playroom.

It began with a very normal home, two tired parents and a little girl who wanted to do everything by herself.

Maya and Daniel Foster, creators of Vectis Nova, holding two of the Montessori at Home guides
“Our home still gets messy. Montessori didn’t make it perfect. It gave us a different way to look at our children.”Maya & Daniel

“We didn’t discover Montessori because we wanted a perfect home. We discovered it because our home wasn’t working for our family.”

How it started

We thought being helpful meant doing as much as possible.

As new parents, we did what most parents do. We bought things: toys, organisers, accessories, products for every stage. We read articles, saved ideas and tried to do “the right thing.” And we helped. Constantly.

  • Getting her dressed
  • Pouring her water
  • Choosing what she played with
  • Putting everything away

At least, that was the intention. But as she grew, we noticed something. The more things there were, the harder everything seemed. More toys didn’t mean more play. More help didn’t mean more confidence.

The words we kept hearing

“I can do it.”

  • Pouring water
  • Choosing clothes
  • Putting on shoes
  • Washing hands
  • Putting something away
  • Helping make food

The problem wasn’t that she couldn’t. It was that the house was designed for adults.

The turning point

We started changing the environment instead of correcting the child.

Nothing dramatic happened. We simply started looking at our home from her height.

From her height

  • The sink was too high.
  • Her cups were out of reach.
  • Too many toys available at once.
  • Almost everything required an adult.
→

So we experimented

  • A low shelf.
  • A small water jug.
  • A stool beside the sink.
  • Fewer toys. Simple baskets.
  • Clothes she could reach.

Small changes. But when the environment made something possible, we didn’t have to ask quite as often. She simply tried. She started putting toys away without being asked, getting herself ready, joining in with everyday tasks.

“Let me do it for you.”→“You can try.”
That led us to Montessori

What interested us wasn’t the aesthetic. It was the idea underneath it.

At first, we thought Montessori was mainly about wooden toys and beautiful classrooms. The more we learned, the more we realised we had misunderstood it. Not a trend. Not perfect beige bedrooms. A question: what changes when a child is given the environment to try?

  • 01Observe the child.
  • 02Prepare the environment.
  • 03Give them time.
  • 04Let them practise.
  • 05Step in when they need you.
  • 06Step back when they don’t.

That felt both simple and incredibly powerful.

Then our second child arrived

Montessori changes as the child changes.

Suddenly we were living the early stages all over again while raising a much more independent older child.

Our youngestNeeded floor time and sensory exploration.

Movement, watching, touching, a calm room and a lot of patience.

Our eldestWanted to pour milk, count everything and choose her own clothes.

And ask approximately four hundred questions before breakfast.

What supports a six-month-old is completely different from what supports a three-year-old. Parents don’t need an endless list of Montessori activities. They need to know:

What makes sense right now?

So we started organising everything by stage. Birth to twelve months. One to three. Three to six. Then an entire section about the home itself.

The question we kept asking

Could a normal family actually use this?

When we started researching, the information seemed split between two extremes: very theoretical explanations of philosophy, or incredible homes full of Montessori furniture that looked impossible to reproduce in a normal house. We wanted something simpler: what can we actually do today?

  • If something required an expensive setup→we looked for a simpler alternative.
  • If an activity needed fifteen materials→we asked whether five would work.
  • If advice sounded beautiful but unrealistic on a busy weekday→we rewrote it.

Because our goal was never to create the perfect Montessori home. It was to make everyday family life work a little better. Four practical guides built around one simple belief:

Small changes can create big opportunities for independence.
  • A lower shelf.
  • A smaller jug.
  • Five minutes of uninterrupted practice.
  • One activity instead of ten.
Why four books

Open the book for the moment you’re living right now.

We didn’t want a 500-page Montessori bible. We wanted parents to open exactly the guide that matches their child’s stage, and one more that connects it all: the home.

0–12 months

Montessori at Home: 0–12 Months

Not yet independence in the adult sense. Movement, observation, sensory exploration and a calm environment.

 “Let me discover.” View guide Ages 1–3

Montessori at Home: Ages 1–3

Pouring, sorting, carrying, dressing, helping, repeating. Safe opportunities to try, not a child who does everything alone.

 “I do it myself.” View guide Ages 3–6

Montessori at Home: Ages 3–6

Numbers, letters, nature, words, questions, creativity. This volume turns an exploding curiosity into practical experiences.

 “How does the world work?” View guide The home

The Montessori Home

Bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, play area, storage, toy rotation. How the home quietly encourages independence.

 “You can try.” View guide

You can know twenty Montessori activities, but if everything your child needs is a metre and a half off the ground, they will always depend on an adult. That is why the fourth book exists.

Why VECTIS NOVA

A small shift can change much more than expected.

That is the idea behind the name, and behind everything in these guides.

A small changeA child-sized shelf.But it can change who puts something away.
A small changeA stool.But it can change who washes their own hands.
A small changeThirty more seconds before helping.But it can change “I can’t” into “I did it.”

Small shifts · Growing independence

What we believe

Children learn through real life.

We don’t believe childhood needs to be rushed. We don’t believe parents need a perfect home. And we definitely don’t believe you need to buy your way into Montessori.

  • Pouring
  • Carrying
  • Sorting
  • Cleaning
  • Choosing
  • Watching
  • Repeating
  • Making mistakes
  • Trying again

Our role isn’t to do everything for them. And it isn’t to leave them to figure everything out alone. It’s to create an environment where trying becomes possible.

Our home, honestly
  • It still gets messy.
  • There are still mornings when someone can’t find a shoe.
  • Water still gets spilled.
  • Activities sometimes last thirty seconds instead of thirty minutes.
  • The carefully prepared shelf is occasionally ignored in favour of a cardboard box.

That’s family life. Montessori didn’t make our home perfect. It gave us a different way to look at our children.

  • Less “Let me do it.”More “Would you like to try?”
  • Less clutter.More intention.
  • Less rushing.More practice.
  • And slowly:more independence.

That’s what we hope these guides give your family. You don’t need to change your entire home tomorrow. Choose one shelf. One routine. One activity. One opportunity for your child to participate. Start there.

Because sometimes the smallest changes at home create the biggest changes in confidence.

With love,

Maya & Daniel Foster

Parents & Creators of VECTIS NOVA

Vectis Nova

Small steps. Growing independence. Calmer days.

Explore the guides

Four guides · By stage · For real homes