Montessori Elementary Homeschool Blog - with documentation of our infant Montessori, toddler Montessori, and primary Montessori experiences; as well as preparation for the upcoming adolescent Montessori homeschool years.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Etymology - and Dictionaries


Our family has not yet found the all-time personal favorite in etymological dictionaries, but that does not slow the love of learning the origin of words!

Just ask any boy to study the history of the word 'toilet' - he'll be so disappointed (but have fun along the way!). Or what about calling it a 'john'? In this area, we can actually let our boys have a bit of "potty-talk" and work it out of their systems!

Then connect those words to modern usage in a variety of languages: toilet in our language; eau de toilette in the French. The French call the bathroom a WC (water closet - an English phrase - but why "water closet" to begin with?) while the British use a French term.... I'm not giving any more hints ;)


Amazon Affiliate Link to Etymological Dictionaries

A quick glance at that list reveals MANY options. You can even study Hebrew etymology in the Bible (fascinating even for non-Christians - what does the Bible really say?).

The best bet for finding one your family or classroom will like and use is to go to a bookstore and actually flip through them. Look for words you may have concerns regarding, especially considering lower elementary children. What will entice your children?

In the end, you may find yourself purchasing 2 or 3 to provide a variety of viewpoints and styles, or even ages.


What are you looking for?

  • usability
  • readability
  • suitable maturity level (some are meant for adults; some are actually intended for immature older people)
  • balanced viewpoint
  • provides language origin (and trace if the word jumped through languages), part of speech, and description
  • illustrations are less important, but nice to have for certain clarifications
  • cite their sources (sadly, many are missing this - so one wonders if the book can be trusted - remember, we want the children to go to original sources as much as possible, so they need to see the trail back to the source whenever possible)


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

AMI Albums - Framework vs. Every Detail


I am asked a LOT why AMI albums don't seem to have as much information as, let's say, the NAMC albums. And why would I choose the "stripped-down" version for our homeschool when my son obviously craves to learn SO MUCH.

All those impressionistic charts - and timelines
INSPIRING! 
Well.... admittedly, it was not at first a conscious decision. However, I can say this: my sons craves to learn so much because *I* do not give him every detail. Because our albums are *not* the only source of information. He cannot learn all that he wants or need from me - and he doesn't even need me (or my albums) to tell him what to study next and at what age. If I knew back when, what I know now, I would saved so much headache reviewing other albums!

Mathematics and Language are closer to what people expect with lots of details. Language does not include "writing assignments" as much as guidance on setting up an environment (both physical and psychological) that integrates writing into all components of the child's day and provides guidelines for what to look for at which ages. I love the follow-up on one album page to write a paragraph in active voice, then re-write it in passive voice. But that is a follow-up - not the main presentation - and should be an inspiration to the child, not a mundane exercise.

History and Geography though - these are frameworks - and they continue to cycle back around on each other so that new studies are done every year, prompted by the child's interconnected interests and the adults continued presentations of "tidbits" here and there to spurn that interest on. I give the presentations, using an enticing voice; then I provide the necessary materials for repetition, exploration and research, and away soars my son's imagination! He ends up learning everything this is set up as "required" in other Montessori albums, with the complete freedom to go DEEP.

He is years ahead on some topics; right on par on some; and "behind" the guidelines in others.

And that is exactly where he needs to be right NOW! :)

Provide the right environment, provide the right support, and don't waste a child's time with something that he is likely to study on his own next month, but with the benefit of it being connected with his own most recent studies.


Monday, August 13, 2012

Montessori Astronomy

Something you do not hear me say often at all: "In today's world, we have some needs that are different from Montessori's time and AMI has yet to fully catch up in this regard." (that is the FIRST time I have publicly said those words!). I do not speak here of calculators in the classroom, or computers, or technology at all - at least directly. I do speak of a preparation for particular studies which Montessori said nothing about - because she had no idea that such a short time after her death, human beings would actually LEAVE the planet Earth, even walk on the moon itself. The race to the moon began after her death.

Astronomy is supposed to be part of the AMI elementary Montessori geography album - but honestly, I don't see it. The tiny bit where it actually could be introduced - it was removed! (not by Montessori) There is a chart that shows the planets in their orbits that used to be part of the Story of God with no Hands. It was removed to focus on other details; however the chart is still available for when the children are doing follow-ups with the story or they hear the story again and begin to ask questions about the other planets.
(UPDATE to clarify: If you are sitting there in an AMI training, you will pick up on the nuances where astronomy comes in - what I state here is about separating myself from that training and seeing what is *actually* present in the albums as they stand. So I can use these albums and "get to" astronomy by following the various interests of the children, because I am trained; the albums alone don't "get there".).

But I never got around to actually doing that planets chart with my son - he found astronomy another way: through HISTORY. He was studying the Ancient Egyptians (including a bit on their form of worship and understanding about how the sun moves through the sky), which led to studying their interactions with other cultures, such as the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Romans, which led to discovering a real beautiful book (whose title escapes me!) about gods, goddesses and... constellations. He was HOOKED.

So we have read through portions of H.A. Rey's books on astronomy (yes, that is the Curious George author!); we looked at the night sky, the day sky; got out the Target dollar flashcards on astronomy; pulled out the cheap-o telescope that came with our original cheap-o microscope (that both worked great! go figure!); signed up for the Classical Astronomy newsletter (free, but now defunct); and got in on the first and only few issues of the Celestial Almanack. We did pull in a curriculum to use, but we used it as "story-time" and developed our own follow-up activities (many of which matched the suggested activities anyway): Signs and Seasons. We also purchased from the same company the sun-shades so we could safely view the sun during daytime hours, a comic book style book on time and astronomy, and their book Moonfinder which is gorgeous!
Not an affiliate link -
just a book we love :) 

What I appreciate about this curriculum is that the author speaks to real people who live in a real time and place; not writing just to write. And he focuses on what the children can experience for themselves: viewing the night and day sky with the naked eye, or at most with a pair of binoculars. Studying the sky in a way that our ancestors would have; connecting us with the first people to look at the stars and wonder; to piece together the patterns and establish what we now knows as time, rhythms, seasons. From these we have mathematics, history, geometry, languages, and more. True Cosmic Education.

Thus inspired, I began piecing together a Montessori astronomy study, that should not become the be-all-end-all in Montessori astronomy, but be a framework of keys to provide the children.

I am still fine-tuning it - to be sure it is a framework, that it provides the keys needed by the children of today who may have a father on the space station, or an uncle on the upcoming manned mission to Mars. Perhaps one of our children will be setting up a colony on the moon or even on Mars.

AMI albums provide keys. A beautiful framework. Nothing peripheral; so that the children can go in any direction they need to, with all tools accessible to them, and the adults are neither hindered by bulky album presentations nor hinder the children's work with handing over too much information.

While AMI albums do not address astronomy at all at the primary level, I do think it totally appropriate to introduce the phases of the moon (see the Moonfinder book!) and some of the basic constellations - as well as the rhthyms of day and night, seasons, weather patterns - these things are important because they happen to the children - they are things the child can see and experience.

I personally would not suggest discussing planets with a primary child, because it's just that: discussion. They can't SEE the planets (at least in any way different to them from seeing a star - they all look like stars to them).

But at elementary we can get into the beautiful details!





Thursday, July 26, 2012

Literate Environments

When I was working on my child development degree, there was so much talk about "literate environments." Most of it made sense; but I have to admit, a good deal of it was so utterly contrived.

And then I met a little girl. She was this sweet little thing with something of an "uppity" attitude. The other teachers at the daycare were relatively annoyed with her, but they "put up with her". This sounds worse than it was; let's just say they didn't think much of her personality most of the time. She was 3 when I met her and 5 when I last saw her.

And now that I know many homeschoolers... she reminds me of homeschoolers!

NOT because of the "uppity-ness" which was mis-construed. In reality, it was a sign of normalization among children who were not normalized.

She reminds me of homeschoolers because she had a VOCABULARY. She didn't say "kitty and doggie" - she said "kitten and puppy" (and even those words she said in a sweet little voice that just made your heart melt!).

She used the word "persnickety" to describe another child's bristliness after nap-time. She was 3 1/2 at the time. And she was spot-on!

She could describe nuances of color to you - if it was gold, it was NOT yellow; and it wasn't just gold either: there could marigold, antique gold, tarnished gold, pyrite gold.... these were HER descriptors.

She loved play on words (sounds, rhyming, songs), was trying to start reading at age 5 (hindered by the environment we were in).

She had little interest in "pure fantasy." It truly turned her off (this is where part of the uppity label came in. She would say very politely, "This book just isn't for me; thank you."

Honestly, I can't believe the child didn't go to a Montessori environment.

But she did.


She had parents who developed an environment at home that centered on the following:
  • observation of the child
  • following her needs
  • fulfilling those needs 
  • respecting freedom and responsibility at appropriate times
  • providing limited choices so she could take "safe risks"
  • did not hand over all control to the child
  • did not hold back all control from the child
  • encouraged role-playing - not "fairies" but real-life-style situations. 

Included in all of that, as part and parcel: 
  • They spoke to her in REAL LANGUAGE. They did not give her the birds and bees sort of talks, but they did speak to her as a real person with a real love for real language. 
  • As she started having interest in reading and writing, her parents responded by playing labeling games at home. So things were not labeled already in the environment (as in a contrived literacy-based environment), but labeled at the time she would actually care - and get it. And she was part of it. 

So yes, she had a Montessori environment at home. And it was language-rich, and rich in so many ways, because it was an intentional environment that met her needs. 

Not because it was contrived. 


Now, her mom was an artist and her dad a musician. So, before we start worrying about lack of creativity because she didn't want anything to do with pure imagination, let's consider that she was still in the first plane of development where she's not supposed to be drawn into those things of her own accord; and that her parents certainly would have been encouraging creativity and imagination in appropriate ways. 

I wonder if they ended up homeschooling her.... :) 



So how do we create literate environments as Montessorians? 

  • real language - BIG words; WIDE vocabulary - don't dumb down the language because a child is not yet speaking. 
  • real-life situations
  • lots of real-life role-playing (grace and courtesy comes in here; but also letting them be creative and play)
  • solid foundation in reality
  • oral language games starting very young (1, 2, 3 years old)
  • continue oral languages games indefinitely
  • invite writing skills when the child is interested and at the right sensitive period
  • as they start with the movable alphabet, invite them to label items around the room
  • invite reading skills when the child has been writing for a while and you see signs that they are on the verge
  • now they can read labels and place them - with small objects, with items around the room, with items they need to illustrate themselves
  • read-aloud to them every day
  • have conversations with them
  • have lots of experiences - occurrences they can TALK about, that they will want to WRITE about, that as they learn to read, they will want to READ about to expand their knowledge in that area and build into even more experiences. 
  • Under experiences: garden, have pets, paint, listen to music, go for walks, go camping, travel on occasion, include the child on grocery store trips and other errands, visit family and friends
  • TALK (just not during a presentation that needs few words and more gestures ;) ). 



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Montessori School Supply Lists


It is back to school time and my input is usually sought right about now, so I thought I'd time this post to coincide. Also see my other post on back-to-school deals that fit with Montessori.

Now, all of this is just my experience and/or intuition - please share your own ideas here too!

Every Montessori school, just like any other school, has varying capabilities to offer their children the supplies needed. Most children receive a "supply list" before school starts of the items they will need to provide. For as many Montessori schools are out there, you have as many supply lists!

Typical items might include the following:
(everything listed is presumed "if the school does not already provide")
  • lunch box/bag (for food from home); or dishes for communal lunch (if school provides food but not dishes); some sort of drink bottle, preferably re-usable
  • personal grooming items: comb/brush, toothbrush
  • outdoor supplies needed for your area and school environment
  • some school ask the children to bring a small plant to care for in the classroom during the year
  • indoor shoes or slippers
You might also consider: 
  • personal supply of sunscreen and/or bug repellant
  • wide-brimmed hat
  • seeds of choice to plant in classroom garden (indoor garden if you're in cold winter climates)
  • various donations towards classroom supplies (ie each child supplies a box of tissues, a ream of white paper, etc)

Most of the following is for elementary and adolescence, and presumes there is a classroom set of each item, as well as these individual items for quick access, and for use on Goings Out.
  • notebooks - spiral or glued binding: quadrille paper, wide-lined notebooks, 2-3 small notepads for quick notes on Goings Outs
  • pencil pouch
  • set of colored pencils
  • 2-3 writing pencils
  • good sharpener
  • good eraser
  • assignment book: NOTE - this is best designed by each school for their particular program, and provided to the children

You might also put out a general donation list to each of the parents to see if they have access to items you're not aware of yet. 
  • receipt tape
  • banner paper
  • newspaper ends
  • wood-working skills
  • other skills you'd like the children to learn/experience
  • left-over yarn and threads and needles
  • anything else in your classroom that you go through and use up
  • donation of time to cut papers, restock supplies, etc. 

And if you are a homeschooler? Check all of the above :) I have previously posted on Target dollar rack deals. If anyone again sees the miniature globes they put out a few years ago, please DO let me know! I want to stock up!