Elementary Montessori Practical Life - an updated post

I recently updated this post of for elementary Montessori exercises of practical life

Take a look and tell me what you think!

Montessori Homeschool Week - February - Thursday

We slept in. Legoboy intercepted a late-night phone call intended for me which still woke me up and left my tired self unable to sleep for several hours.

up to gather schoolwork
I promised him bacon if we could be ready in under 20 minutes. Always works!

help transfer stuff to car/building
Lots of stuff to shift around to get some big projects done at the school building and prepare for atrium in the afternoon.
In the car on the drive there, he decided he wanted to help me (help me? I wasn't going to DO this!) put together follow-up packets for particular areas of interest. So a child has an interest in a particular area, the adult doesn't, here are ideas of what to do.

We'll see how far this goes! I know he wants to do volcanos, inspired by some of the seismology studies from Monday.

bake bacon at school building
Using the toaster oven I had used to bake bread the night before with the atrium children. It was working well until he left the room and didn't check on it!

schoolwork projects (wall of fame - confirmation notebook)

Continued Wall of Fame and worked on his confirmation notebook. 

An example of what he does when he thinks no-one is watching: 

visit the church
Like me, Legoboy is not a public pray-er, preferring to keep things more private. He loves alone time in the church.

heat up more lunch
Toaster ovens are great!

minecraft
Computer time with Minecraft. My one rule: no killing innocent people - if you wouldn't kill/destroy/attack them in real life (self-defense, demons) you don't get to kill/destroy/attack them in a game.

tag
As the atrium children begin arriving, they go down to our large open school basement (dining hall) and play tag. The children really like to arrive early specifically for this purpose ;)

atrium
Continue a Moses study with the group
continue personally chosen projects from the work packet
We had cake at the end - for the fun of it ;)

meet with confirmation sponsor
He caught up a few of the sponsor cards he hasn't done; but they haven't yet caught up with reviewing the other cards. He has 60+odd cards to assist in building a notebook. Some have a cross on them to indicate "do this with your sponsor" - then his sponsor also goes over all the cards he has done individually.

pizza
Thursday pizza. We love our Thursday pizza. I really didn't want to make this particular tradition - but now? It is SO nice to get to Thursday and NOT have to cook!

home again, home again
check mail - mostly for him: EEME monthly package, Odyssey magazine, Dig/Calliope magazine, Muse magazine (review post on EEME)
Relax with a good boy movie of Transformers (actually he started last night, he finished it, but I had gone to bed - so I needed to finish it). I am SO not into Transformers. He is "eh, ok" with it - I am pretty sure he is watching these out of curiosity only.
Then we watched our DVD we had picked up earlier in the week: Mummies of the World
I can't seem to find a link to the DVD - it might only be available for purchase at the exhibit?

We learned more about this family.

Settlers of Catan marathon
He beat me. Repeatedly.

Our other links to past Montessori Homeschool weeks:
Montessori Homeschool Week - February - Wednesday
Montessori Homeschool Week - February - Tuesday
Montessori Homeschool Week - February - Monday
Montessori Homeschool Week - February - Work Plan for the Week

A Week in the Life of Legoboy - Friday (includes links for Monday-Thursday)

Montessori Decimal Checkerboard: Multiplication of Decimal Fractions by Decimal Fractions

My son loves the decimal fraction checkerboard so pulled it out again and... I got pictures this time!


(one day break from the "Week in the Life of Legoboy - Montessori Homeschooling" series to present this work he did LAST week. And give me some time to catch up on including photos in the blog posts of his week!)

5,429 taken 0.38 times. 

Set up the numbers so the units in the multiplier and the multiplicand land in a unit square on the board. 

First row of multiplication.

Second row of multiplication. 

Just before exchanging the final answer.
We have slid the answer diagonally across equivalent squares,
not changing the value. 

He took this one for a close-up for you all. 

Final Solution
We can read the whole numbers down the side, then decimals across the bottom
(unit in the corner).
2,063.02

How NOT to do the Decimal Fraction Checkerboard Multiplication: 

The multiplicand is OK.
The multiplier does not have belong ON the squares
and the unit of the multiplier should be placed such that when multiplied by the unit of the multiplicand,
the answer will land in a unit square.
(the multiplier is 0.38 and should be moved two squares down - and off the board)

The only rule for where to place the multiplicand is such that the answer doesn't go off the board (in this case, if we had moved the multiplicand one column to the left, taking the 5 3 times would have resulted in a "1" being off the board. The children can problem solve what to do in this situation - re-do the entire problem, shift the answers already created, or figure out how to calculate the solution anyway. (hint: The answers would still be in the correct VALUE of squares...).

Past Work on Decimal Fractions: 

Introduction to Decimal Fractions - with LEGOS!

When to Start the Decimal Fraction Board (the work that comes before the decimal checkerboard)

CAVEAT: See that white line across the top of our decimal checkerboard? IF you have that strip on your board, the numbers should match the numbers along the *bottom*. When I first made this board, a LONG time ago, I didn't fully understand the depth of this material and thought I would "do it right" (meaning in a way that made sense to me). Well, turns out, I was wrong and that top row makes no sense. Rather than fix it, we just simply ignore it. Nowadays, I make these boards for other people and I make them correctly ;)

This is why it is *so* important to understand the depth of each material before making changes. Modifications can certainly be made, but not to the core concepts!

:) 

Work Plans - CONFUSION

Primary children should NOT use a written work plan.
But they can have the conversation!
And they can ask for a particular presentation
(as this boy is doing - because he has plans!)

There is a plethora of confusion about work plans.

I recently posted this in the comments of an online friend's blog and decided to make it its own post. I try so hard to "agree to disagree" on many interpretations of Montessori, while presenting information from a new viewpoint --- so each individual can make an individual choice for their own situation. This is one area where I am TIRED of being attacked, name-called, my intelligence and adherence to Montessori called into question because I don't "let" the elementary children "have complete freedom." Montessori never said "complete freedom". She said "freedom with responsibility" for the elementary age. And the misinterpretation of work plans and what they are SUPPOSED to be, I am drained of maintaining the quiet stance of "well, consider this aspect....".

Time for the truth to be told. Boldly.

Work plans are the child's segue into responsibility. 

They are the child's written down thoughts/plans for the day or the week or the month, following a conversation with the adult who does not dictate but listens, offers suggestions, answers questions, poses some questions and sometimes reminds a child of an area of exploration that the child doesn't know about (or remember) that would actually HELP the child's current explorations, interests, projects. 

Work plans are not checklists or pre-assigned/designed by the adult. 

Here is what I recently posted in the comments on another blog:

I think a good deal of the confusion comes from inaccurate information given to us first; it saturates us so that we come to the accurate information if it is not MORE forceful and MORE clear and MORE everything than the inaccurate information (and sometimes even then!) it gets pushed aside, not read/understood as intensely because an opinion has already been formed.

I REALLY wish certain other places would stop with the checklists - "download, print and use this as work plan". Those are not work plans, they are checklists. And they are adult led.

We ALL have work plans - whether written down or in a planner or in our heads - we all have a plan for the day, the week, the month, the year, life-plans - and we are all working towards those. To help the children we discuss, we check-in, we guide them, we make sure they are aware of scheduled activities that are upcoming so THEY can plan to get into deep or not so deep work depending on how much time they have, we let them make some mistakes but we also offer words of wisdom at the right moments --- and the children can write that down.

I don't see "checklist" in there anywhere. I am SO happy that the truth is finally being understood and being spread (I have felt like a lone voice for FAR too long) - but I am so sad at the depth of the misunderstanding.... 

A work plan is simply a written form of the plans in your child's mind. 

A homeschooler's version might look different from a classroom version - why? Because in the classroom, you have 35-60 children working in various areas to inspire the other children, reminding them of other areas of study.

Children in classrooms can observe others' work as a review and reminder of their own past work, inspiring them to further work or a way to apply that knowledge in their current work. Homeschool children don't have this inspiration, so it is OK to have a list of all the areas that could be studied in - as that way of reminding the children. They also won't be visually reviewing (observing) as much so it is ok to remind them to review areas they have not touched on in a while.

There are many other differences between classroom and homeschool, found in other posts - and some are still in-development.


Ultimately, we the adults have the map, yes the child still has his own personal journey - but how does the child know his options if we, the adult, don't present them.

Thus we continue to give new presentations (the children have a right to know when these presentations will happen, so they can learn to plan their own day); the children have a right to know there ARE more presentations and to request them. The children have a right to know how to plan their time wisely and receive GUIDANCE in their project and study planning.

If we do not have a conversation with the children and provide this opportunity for them to talk out their previous work (work journals) and their upcoming plans, then we are doing a SERIOUS dis-service to the children.

A GREAT article and video on the "Three Essential Tools of the Elementary Environment".
Montessori Guide: The Three Essential Tools

Getting Started with Elementary Montessori Homeschooling

How do I start Montessori homeschooling? 

How do we begin using Montessori at home? 

Useful tips for starting a new classroom or transitioning in new-to-Montessori children as well.

Over the years, there have been numerous blog posts and other articles helping parents get started with Montessori homeschooling; most of these articles are addressed to the primary level; a few to elementary. None really get to the heart of the matter. Dr. Montessori intensely observed the child and his inner workings, observing what has been there since the moment of creation - and found a way to provide for what she discovered. On the one hand, nothing magical; on the other hand, so profound that it affects our very being - because that is what she observed - the depth of the human soul. Thus Montessori is about more than materials and lesson plans (album pages), more than the academics... it gets down deep and the environment MUST reflect this depth in order to achieve the true fulfillment of the child.

Elementary is compatible with primary, if you have children of both ages in your home; but it is NOT the same. The needs and tendencies are the same, the core response is the same (respect, follow the child), but the outward signs are different. Why? Because the elementary child is now in the second plane of development, which brings about a set of changes. A need for order? Yes! but order has now been internalized and the child no longer feels the need to keep order in his outer environment - now we must be very conscious about keeping our space cleaned up out of respect for the other persons in the environment and not for our own internal development. Among many other examples.

So how do we get started with Montessori homeschooling at the elementary level? What if your child has had no Montessori background or is even approaching the adolescent years. Let's take a look at what remains the same. First some previously posted articles of interest that remain pertinent to our needs in this article - these apply to both primary and elementary, with my elementary additions:

• Montessori Homeschooling - How to get Started Montessori http://montessorihomeschooling.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-to-get-started-montessori.html
  • I would modify this to include Volume 2 of The Advanced Montessori Method (available free online through Google Books) as well as the obtaining of a keys-based theory album (see below)
• Simple Homeschool - 8 Principles (to get started while you are adapting your environment to a Montessori environment - there are great transitional ideas here! All the principles apply to each age level) http://simplehomeschool.net/montessori-at-home/

Thoughts to keep in mind as you FOCUS ON THE KEYS: 

• A set of Montessori albums (manuals, lesson plans) will be your "keys" - your academic teasers to get the children working on their own interests. 
• The children should be exploring their own interests; and you will need to pull in resources according to those interests.
• You do NOT need the most expensive manuals with every possible interest included. You want something reasonably-priced with the *keys* so that you have both time and money to do what you need to do with your child's interests.
• You WANT a theory album to explain all the background in every day applicable terms.
• The elementary level is OPPOSITE the primary level in the following key ways:

1. If the child is not yet reading/writing, reading will typically come first. (in primary, writing was first)
2. We will now provide the BIG picture first; then go back and fill in the details. We will provide that big picture every single year of elementary - so there is plenty of time to come back to it; they don't need to get everything the first year. (in primary, we start with the most basic) - Cosmic Education (everything is inter-connected) - the big picture is told via stories called the Great Lessons. 
3. It is NOT necessary to finish the primary albums before moving into elementary, if you have AMI (keys) albums that provide for what to do with children who didn't finish or didn't do primary Montessori.

So how do I suggest getting started?

(these tips are good regardless if you are new to Montessori altogether or are transitioning from primary to elementary or even if your children are nearing or even in adolescence)

1. Follow the steps in the two articles above. This is just to get started in laying the foundation. Add in the book Volume 2 of The Advanced Montessori Method (available free online through Google Books) - just the background portions to get a feel for things. Purchase your core set of albums, or at least the "theory" album. Hint: if the set of albums does not contain theory, it probably won't suit your homeschool needs at this time; these other album options can be added later if you find your child has particular interests. 
2. Focus on de-cluttering your home. Don't get rid of anything just yet (you'll end up wanting some of that stuff back) - just clear it out of the main living areas. Do get it out of the way - what is the purpose(s) of each room, just have what you need there. You do not need 5 tools to do the same job. You do want your children to have access to the tools they need. Consider placing strong chemicals in a high-up cabinet so that the accessible cabinets contain safe items. Consider replacing your cleaning chemicals with safe substances your children can use with you.
3. IF you are transitioning from primary, you will be removing a LOT of trays (or keep the trays for your other littles). The elementary child now has things he needs in more logical places. Science experiments are only trays for the teacher demonstration, and when the child goes to the supply shelf to gather his needed supplies. He does NOT need everything laid out for him on a tray anymore. Trays at the elementary age, for the most part, are an insult to his intelligence. Yes, a nice basket of interesting items, requested by the child or presented once in a while by the adult is a great way to entice an interest, but that doesn't look like primary ;)
4. WITH your children, make any necessary repairs on found items. These practical life skills are HUGE to the foundation of an elementary child's education. And a very strong preparation for a fantastic adolescent experience.
5. WITH your children, truly clean the house. Same idea with the practical life skills. Use those safe cleaners (white vinegar, baking soda and citric acid go a LONG way; add some washing soda and borax and 99% of your cleaning is done). Use those large muscles and those tiny muscles. CARE about the environment and show them how to do so as well.
6. On your cleaning breaks: Begin telling the Great Lessons. Just the stories, with the included experiments. You'll pull your supplies from what you have, only buy what you  need for these lessons.
7. Work on remedial language skills IF needed. 5 minutes at a time, interspersed throughout the day - the needed keys should be in your elementary Montessori language album. The ideal is that a 1st grader can read at what the public schools consider a 3rd grade reading level. By 2nd grade, a Montessori child utilizing KEYS, will be reading at middle/high school level and your only concern from there is keeping up with maturity in regards to topics.
8. Where do your children's interests lead? Establish the pattern of hearing a story, exploring what we think about it, what entices us, what questions do we have (write those questions down and expect them to find answers, sometimes with your help), what do we want to DO with this new knowledge (write that down too). The children can copy the chart, re-create the charts in another way, repeat experiments, seek out further information on a key point of interest.... If they have more than one idea, write down the other ideas to save for another day. Encourage a point of completion - write down the question and the answer found; draw pictures; collect ideas in a notebook; create a poster; etc. Around this time you will also be starting to work on work plans and journals - as you are comfortable and find the need for accountability, it will come more naturally. Not every story or presentation will lead to self-designed follow-up; be ok with that, but also be encouraging of the child asking questions, going further, and EXPLORING. 
9. (this step might be a month or more in) With your chosen set of albums, go through the early math lessons to find where your child is. Keep it fun and interesting - let your child show you what they know. Let them know this is what you are doing (show a material, state its purpose and say, "show me what you know, I'll fill in the rest"). Do NOT worry about the age on the album pages when you are starting - just focus on finding where your child is since the sequence is very different from every other math option out there. Begin where needed and move forward from there. Hint: Good elementary math albums include a section on what to do with children who have had no (or limited) primary experience. Do not start a typically developing elementary child in the primary math album.
10. Getting into the rest of the albums. By now, you should find that you are using most or at least half of the subject albums based on the child's interests (geography, music, biology, history) and the basic skills (math, language, geometry). Add in the remaining subjects when appropriate for your family.

There you have it: 10 Steps to Elementary Montessori Homeschooling.

Geography River Model - Indoor Personal Follow-Up

I still need to get photos up of our "official river model" - Legoboy requested that I take and post photos of his personal follow-up work though, so here it is ;)  

Built with (surprised!?) Legos. 

Not entirely water-proof - and he learned some lessons on how high the banks should be to hold in the soil and keep the water flowing through the desired direction of the river, rather than out the sides. 

Thus, he learned some additional lessons on water-flow. 

We just set this one up on our dining room table with a bucket underneath to catch the water. As much as the official presentation is ideal (a full 3-d model and/or a low hill and a hose outside), I hope this post inspires you to create any of the Montessori key experiences out of whatever you have on hand! 

And yes we did all of this the day before Thanksgiving. We ate dinner at this table. ;) 

inserting rocks and stones

added some mulch and soil to see what would happen
as compared to JUST sand and soil

propped up the whole thing when the water wasn't running
the way he expected

pouring in the waterfall from "melting snow and rains"

the water is going underground -
underground rivulets ;)  

Sudden torrential rains caused some of it to wash away suddenly ;) 

He loved it :)


Here is a link to another idea too: 3D Geography - just before half-way down

A Day in the Life of Legoboy

Caveat: We no longer have a work-cycle as such at all. We live according to the rhythm of life - so school happens when/how it happens, integrated with the entirety of our lives. This is not unschooling (we still have specific experiences and a guide to those lessons/experiences; I present key experiences, we discuss plans and outcomes together, while the ultimate responsibility is for Legoboy to take those key experiences and construct himself into his own person.

CAVEAT 2: I wrote and scheduled this post before having the bright idea to document a whole week. I will leave this post scheduled on the day it is, but with the note that these events took place the Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Wake up and build with Legos. Yes, he really does that. He jumps out of bed, combs his hair, uses the toilet, gets some breakfast and reads - then does some work with Legos (or drawing out Lego or Minecraft plans).

This photo is actually from the Lego KidsFest. I need a
photo of Legoboy's Lego Cave ;) 

Review the interdependencies chart - Biology

He reviews this chart from time to time - just for the fun of it. Sometimes he draws pictures based on it or from other studies, adding more details. The first time he received this chart as a 6 year old, he re-created the chart on his own paper (tracing it to scale); at 8, he created it identically but smaller. At other times he has done a variety of other follow-ups. On this day (at age 10), he chose to simply talk it out with me, explaining how each component is interdependent upon each other - and how we, the humans, have created a supranatura that we are now dependent upon as well. This led to an interesting discussion about those people (Legoboy would LOVE to do this) who live off-grid, some attempting to be completely self-sufficient. What is the reality here?

The reality is that modern technologies, human progress, etc. have actually made it MORE possible to live "off-grid" - but that "off-grid" now looks VERY different than it would have 100 years ago, 500 years ago, 1000 years ago. Ancient people lived more in harmony with nature, to be certain - but consider that now we have an understanding of the microscopic world and what it can do for us (and against us), microfibers, and so much more. Thus "all-natural" living has a different understanding than it did centuries in the past.

Lots more to discuss there ;)



Outdoor work: 

• pull loose branches from the trees
• gather sticks and branches from all over the yard (we have 1.13 acre ;) )
• set up 2 outside burn piles (one next to the storage shed on the north side of the yard, one next to the compost heap on the other side of the yard) - and 1 indoor in the garage ---- we have a fire-pit already (although we might move it just slightly closer to the house)
• clean off the porch - clear storage tubs (some to compost pile, empty ones to tub to wash), sweep off the porch, clean out the big storage bin and organize gardening items on one side, outside toys on the other)
• set up the compost pile to our personal liking

He started before I went out so I could work on dishes -
trying to tease some loose branches out of the tree above

Errands across the street

Out the side-front window ;) 

He runs a variety of errands across the street, and to the landlord's house (kiddycorner to our back-yard) and other neighbors. I love this area - on the one hand, we are definitely rural, but we do have some people/places nearby.

Horses live beyond our back fence
(the fire pit, in this photo, is the brush-pile towards the right side)

Laundry
Because we can ;)



Apologetics class

He signed up for the monthly unlimited subscription - not doing the live classes, but watching many of the recorded classes. This works out more affordable, but limits access to immediate feedback from the instructor (although some instructors offer such feedback for a very small fee). Legoboy is currently working through a middle school introductory apologetics course, which is VERY good.


Herbal Cold Care















Continuing our herbal studies, we recently signed for Herbal Cold Care through LearningHerbs.com. A series of 10 videos walk through straight-forward use of herbs and normal foods for the prevention, cure, treatment and follow-up healing from colds and flu. AWESOME stuff here. And lots of downloads of recipes, monographs on particular herbs and more. We got in on about half-off the cost because we also participate in Herb Mentor. Among our other herbal studies from Learning Herbs and other resources, these two have been so straight-forward, real and useful. I can't say enough about using natural remedies for our health.




Sherlock

Legoboy and his godmother are both way into Sherlock. He has been reading the original stories for a couple of years now. We have been hearing talk of the BBC show - and finally watched it on Netflix (Seasons 1 and 2) - HOOKED.


Confirmation card
He is preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation and one of our resources we are using at home is a workbook I divided up into activity cards so he can create a notebook on various topics and experiences. Each week he does 2-7 cards, with 70 altogether, leading him through prayers, reading the Sacred Scriptures, studying sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, studying prayers in the Roman Missal, applying Church teaching to real life, etc.



Reading general books
He reads. And builds with Legos. And reads some more. Then asks for movies. Yes, we watch a lot of movies of late - all related to what he is reading in one way or another with LOTS of discussions. I love it :)


Locate Narnia binder and flip through previous work
He wants to re-begin a Narnia study we started quite a while back (which is actually what prompted the Sherlock reading above).
I think if this were the ONLY thing we were doing for school (adding in a math component only), it would be something we would work on more routinely. As it is, we are barely finishing up Magician's Nephew (first book in the study - it presumes you have read the books already, and are re-reading them for the study) and we started WAY back when (3 1/2 years ago???). we don't even do all the activities, we just get started down a rabbit trail or we have our other studies.



Some stuff w do together; some we do side-by-side with moments of cooperation. Some things we do in entirely different locations. We really work together - as a community - building on each other and around each other. Living life :)

"Education as an Aid to Life" - that is the them of Montessori - and the best place to do that is at home (home = with family).

setting up the bead cabinet for visitors and future co-op 

Electricity - EEME (Review Post)

We are still in the process of unpacking - well, not so much unpacking as making it all homey and cozy. Since we have more space and lots of projects, we are slowly and carefully working through each one, spreading out (did I just say "spreading out"!?!?!? Oh yes!) and actually enjoying the process!

Just to distract us from the joy of having a glorified walk-in closet (the master bedroom, with its three closets, holds only our clothes (a closet for each of us), holiday decorations, sewing projects, and laundry. Yep - walk-in closet.)...

So the distraction? Someone on a Montessori Facebook group (I wish I could remember who!) recently linked to EEME - curious, I clicked over. I was intrigued. We penny-pinch around here - so $8.95 for the first month to try out some electric projects, with lots of online videos and other resources? Yeah, worth it. 

And YES - WORTH IT. 

Legoboy has very limited interest in electricity, building a couple of kits (a robotic car and a traffic kit - both kits that I thought would entice interest - the light didn't work; the car was way fun for him (the crazy honking horn sold him - it sold me OUT ;) ) --- and there was some electricity with the LEGO Tower of Orthanc. Not enough to entice interest in further electric studies though. 

I shared the website with him, he watched a video - and he said, "I WOULD like to try it. We can always cancel if I don't like it or it's not worth it."

His first kit arrived today. It's been 4 hours. 

Here he is: 

At this point he has watched all the associated videos and is experimenting with this "Genius Light" circuit to assure he understands the concepts and can make it work. (he actually got it to work, but backwards - it lights up in bright rooms and dims in dimmer rooms - and now he is off experimenting to figure out WHY). 

This is everything the first set comes with: battery pack (with 2 batteries), 2 stickers (he put one on already), baseplate to hold the bread-board and the battery pack, bread-board (the white thing with all the dots), 2 resistors, LED, photoresistor, 2 1-inch wires, 2 2-inch wires. 

$18.95 normally - but $10 off if you use someone's referral link. Here is one: EEME with referral code. So $8.95 for all of that plus video instruction, plus additional free lessons on the website. 

Um. He's hooked. He has offered to pay half of each month's shipment for the duration. 

Legoboy is learning about negative and positive sides, how to arrange wires based on what is connected and what is not; that a current needs to complete itself in order to work, etc. 

So what all do we have here? 

• Each month for 7 months, you receive a package in the mail with the necessary components for that project (plus the requirement to use some of last month's stuff too). 
• Corresponding video instructions are given in short blips, with quiz questions inserted sporadically to ensure understanding. Not just blurt-back questions either - they are basic enough but you do have to actually think to answer them. 
• What you receive can be rearranged and used for other purposes. In the end, it is a LOT of stuff and LOT more learning, with lots of experiments, ideas and inspiration. 

This first month has "22 sub-lessons", the last few lessons actually build the Genius Light; the first ones lead the child through various styles of lighting up the LED, what will work and why; how the bread-board works, and more. 

You can also watch all the future videos when you first subscribe - to see what is coming up before you get your items. 

The DOWNside is the same as the UPside: they only mail each kit on the first of each month. So whenever you sign up, you wait until the 5th or so of the next month to receive your items. Then each month afterward... so no moving on quickly to the next topic. 

On the other hand - this then gives a month to really let the learning sink in, do some more experiments, have questions pop up --- then get started on the next lesson. 

Where do we find electricity in the Montessori key experiences? 

• The children in first and second world countries have been sensorially experiencing electricity their whole lives. Many children in third world countries don't need or use it. Thus electricity is NOT a key experience for the universal child. 
• For those children for whom it is a key experience: it would correspond with "Geography" - Earth Studies --- specifically it could come in with a review of "Attraction and Gravity" (magnetism comes in here - so an introduction to positives and negatives). Unless there is an earlier interest or an earlier experience that entices that interest, typically upper elementary and into adolescence is the time to really get into electricity studies - with lots of hands-on work. We want the children to understand what they are doing (electricity CAN be dangerous), so we want them to have a basic understanding of atoms, perhaps some exposure to the periodic table of elements. 
• If we are utilizing Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding with AMI-style key experiences, we have the following note included in Thread C where energy and electricity are studied: 

• This entire thread is interest-driven in the AMI Montessori albums. Come to it as your children are ready and interested. Always introdue concepts on the sensorial level first; at primary have the experience first, then add language. At elementary the language and experience can come together. These here are the concepts that are discussed in the AMI albums that the children in classrooms will find experiments in other books and resources and want to replicate in the classroom. Also, many of these areas are more upper elementary as far as going DEEP but can certainly be done sensorially and as fun activities in primary and lower elementary. (the download for a document correlating BFSU with Montessori key experiences is included at the link above)

An introductory study of electricity: 

1. Conversations about the electricity we use (as early as the child starts exploring with light switches and bulbs). 
2. Exploration based on interest: simple kits, books, etc. (as early as primary for those children interested; into lower elementary) Here is a great blog post from Montessori in Bloom about using electricity in primary.
3. Later upper elementary and adolescence: more concise conversations and explorations, with the scientific principles noted. 

Where does EEME fit in to this introductory study? 

• It is a great place to start and to build, but it doesn't give the "how does electricity work"? For that, we have books and videos - and BFSU. And they do ask for reviews as you complete a project - so we'll see if they don't add those details in soon ;) It DOES do a lot more than your basic kits that tell you where to put the pieces but can't really be built any other way (or minimal other ways). 
• They advertise for ages 7-12 - with what they have right now, I feel that is entirely on par. 

Resources linked: 

EEME (referral link)

Montessori Trails Post - utilizing Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding with Montessori

Montessori in Bloom on electric experiences with primary children

Montessori Math - Word Problems - Option: Zaccaro's Challenge Math

Legoboy and I received our copy of Upper Elementary Challenge Math two days ago and all I can say as I go through it is YES! Yes, yes yes yes yes yes!

As I suggest in the comments on my first post on the Challenge Math series, I find that for typically developing Montessori children, we can add 1-2 years to Mr. Zaccaro's age suggestions. These books were designed for gifted children and they tie in wonderfully with our math and geometry experiences.

This book says grades 3-5 - and I say YES! Adding two years puts it at Montessori "grades" 5-7 (misnomer there but bear with me ;) ). My son is "5th grade" and I would say he is just about ready for this book, the first levels of each chapter. I have a few more reviews I would like him to do in the first book (Primary Grade Challenge Math) before we dive into this one; if we hadn't been waylaid by other life events, he would be entirely ready for this book.

Now the difference between Upper Elementary and Primary Grade? There are additional problem sets (3-8 pages of them!) before even getting to the "levels". Both books have the same levels - Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Einstein. Primary Grade did not have the additional problem sets though and at times I feel like there are not "enough" word problems... to the point I re-wrote a few (just a few in the end) with different numbers, just for more practice. This book fills it ALL in. If I had known what was coming, I would have let it go and just enjoyed the Primary Grade Challenge Math for what it is, holding out for Upper Elementary Challenge Math.

Well now I know. And I love it.

I could see this book carrying us through the rest of elementary and getting us started in adolescence. Then moving into the original Challenge Math book. At the time we started Primary Grade, the next step available was Challenge Math - so this Upper Elementary Challenge Math fits a nice little transition stage perfectly!


I LIKED math growing up - because I always knew there was something more there - I picked up pieces of it here and there, but mostly missed the boat.

This is ONE EXCITED Montessori Mama - I get to do all of this too!

Small Home Montessori - Elementary - What we're doing

The space:
We have an 850 square foot apartment with a large bathroom and a tiny kitchen. Yeah, they could have shifted that space!

Legoboy has the smaller of the two bedrooms (less than 1/3 of less than 1/2 the apartment); I have the master bedroom (the full third end of the apartment (including the walk-in closet).

History:
We had primary set up in Legoboy's bedroom; his clothes went to my closet (on a lower rack on wheels; he has the bottom half of the dresser which is also in the closet). There was a small couch in his room for his bed. I removed the closet doors to extend the space, placing the map cabinet in the closet, with shelving above and behind it.

We even had the bells in there:

IKEA shelf (no longer sell that particular one :( ) on side
placed on top of a coffee table
Sensorial materials below.
The mess above is stuff I swapped up/down. 

My bedroom was/is the library (umpteen shelves), sewing room, and holds my bed. The tops of the bookcases and the shelves in the closet are "storage", which right now equates to empty boxes because we have been trying to move into a house for the last 6+ years.

The hallway had a rack with science supplies; the lower cupboards in the kitchen contained items for Legoboy's use (practical life, dishes, etc.). The bathroom has the art easel and 2 sets of drawers of art supplies.

As we entered elementary, we were slowing adding and replacing the primary materials, but then moved our whole set-up to the local school building to offer a Montessori homeschool co-op, which last some time. We brought materials back and forth as needed; not ideal, but allowed us to have some space at home to get through some other projects. Now we have had to move everything back home and, well, we've just not fully set up. We get out what we need, when we need it. Much less than ideal (less visual options as reminders) but now we are in upper elementary, we need the materials less and less anyway.


So what have we done for elementary?
The classroom sized charts and other large flat items are in the living room closet.

Side by side shelving in Legoboy's room allows us to store items while allowing him to keep his couch-bed, desk and plethora of bookcases.
I can't find the photo of this room off-hand. I will add it if I remember to do so before this posts goes live ;)


Science supplies are in a kitchen cupboard. The hallway has been replaced with the keyboard and our huge 5-gallon bucket of coconut oil. Looking closely you can see we have two maps on the wall (a world map and a US cloth map made by Legoboy with a print from Joann Fabric); two space posters; a globe; art/writing supplies in the far back corner. And this area connects his bedroom, my bedroom, the bathroom and kitchen; I am standing in the living room to take the photo. And the dictionary because he was "hiding" it from me - the whole thing about hiding stuff in plain sight. Yep.

I keep thinking it is all temporary as we look for a rental (you'd have to know the area to understand why this is taking forever), but reality is, he's 10 now. Yes I want to offer a co-op of sorts when we move into a house, but he himself is coming to the end of most of these materials anyway. My heart is breaking and joyful at the same time - that tug of not wanting him to grow up yet, but seeing the wonderful young man he is becoming. :)


But all these materials? 
I totally GET the folks who consider the multiplicity of materials compared to living a simple lifestyle. Not wanting our children to live an indulgenced lifestyle where they get all these expensive (or time-consuming materials) all to themselves. Or to have a tightly filled home when Montessori herself promoted simplicity, beauty in sparsity. My home right now is not the ideal. But it is not Montessori materials cluttering it up. It is all of my own unfinished projects. It continues to improve and I love every inch of free space and time we have as projects finish up; it is a long uphill battle from clingy to clutter-FREE. Montessori HELPED! ;)


My balance to those concerns that I also share?
The joy in sharing these materials with others in one fashion or another certainly goes a long way. We have these blessings, we share them. With local children via co-op and tutoring, with the blogging world, with other homeschool parents wanting to do Montessori at home.

Montessori Elementary Art Album

Montessori Elementary Art Album
http://gardenoffrancis.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=27_24&products_id=274

What this Montessori Elementary Art album is NOT:

It is not an album with every possible art experience your child could possibly ever have.

1. This is an AMI-style album - therefore Keys-Based - meaning it provides the essentials - what every child should have exposure to in order to lay a strong foundation for his personal interests and for any local educational requirements.
   
2. All art forms are represented in one manner or another - keys-based. We get to the point.
   
3. An album of such magnitude, would need to be multiple volumes and be very inexpensive; it would also make things very difficult for locating what are the key experiences.
   
4. If you have a child whose aptitude is art, start with this album to provide that solid foundation - make sure all avenues are introduced; then you will find other resources suitable to your child's particular interest.
   
5. Don't have a child whose interest is art? Utilize this album to provide exposure to all the possibilities, so that when they come to those moments in life when some form of creative expression is needed, they have basic tools to get the job done without belaboring the point. 

This album is NOT "Advanced Practical Life":

1. Practical life exercises are included because these lay the foundation for art skills; and the primary AMI practical life album does include preliminary art experiences.
   
2. This album expands on the ART, not the practical life (remembering that art is practical life).
   
3. Practical life in primary becomes the geography album in elementary - experiments, exploring the world (these are also present in language arts and other subjects). 
4. An advanced practical life album would be a list of skills needed at the elementary level - not enough to be a full album.
   
5. So for those looking for an advanced practical life album - sorry! This goes a different direction: Art.
   
6. For those thinking this IS Advanced Practical Life and not enough art: see the first point above. This DOES provide the art experiences your child needs at elementary.
   

This album is NOT intended for Primary:

1. There is some work in here that would work for the primary child; but this album is set up to provide the elementary child any "missed" primary level experiences and move forward quickly from there.
   
2. Looking for art at the primary level? Utilize the Primary Exercises of Practical Life album (art section), as well as the various art experiences found in the sensorial, math and language primary albums. The art needed at primary is all there in the primary albums already. 

This Montessori Art Album is NOT a set of classroom activities that the whole class or even a small group do all together.

1. Montessori is about individual development.
   
2. Montessori is about keys for each individual child.
   
3. Montessori provides individualized experiences for the children in using the keys of this world (and of this universe) to find their own place in the Cosmic Plan.
   
4. Thus we provide experiences in this art album to help the child learn to utilize the various tools of art: paintbrushes to colored pencils, paints to clay, artists' lives and work to the key elements of art.
   

So what IS this Montessori Elementary Art album?

A keys-based approach to laying a strong foundation of art skills for the elementary child in preparation for further art experiences based on their own interests and educational requirements.



Montessori art is about having the keys you need to create anything you want to do. This album gives you the basic affordable tools you need to do that. There are suggestions for further work, such as calligraphy, without direct instructional album pages - why? Because some of those skills require tools that come with a particular set of instructions for those tools. And something like calligraphy is included with the elementary LANGUAGE album ;) Woodworking and wood carving mentioned, but it is best to 1) find an expert and 2) use the instructions with the tools you acquire. All the safety concerns should be presented by someone who knows exactly what he or she is doing, whether a parent or someone else; not by a well-intentioned parent who has never cut wood before either. Use this opportunity to learn alongside your child! 

Biology: Health and Dissections

One of Legoboy's August plans is to finish his study of human anatomy health (or come close to finishing). 

He selected the book "My Temple of the Holy Spirit" as his core resource, with "Blood and Guts" for follow-up. He is also using two anatomy "coloring books" (high school level) to read and color in as he learns about each area of the body. 

We added a couple of books on the development of unborn children to cover reproduction. 

This past week, he has been studying the brain, the sense organs and circulation as interest and focus strikes him. This morning (of the day I write this), he and I had a conversation about these topics, as something of an oral exam. He had his choice of styles of presentation of information to me: write about each area, create something in the area to show what he has learned, chat with me about it, or pick another adult with whom to chat. He chose chatting with Mama ;) Can't complain there! ;) 

As part of the brain topic, we looked at a model we had on hand; he identified the parts and function of what he knew and we looked up the rest. 

Repeated for the heart. We just happened to have both of these on hand. Not planned what-so-ever. 

But then he said, "Didn't we purchase a cow's eye from Home Science Tools?"

Why yes, Son, yes we did. 

Removing some of the fat. 

Removing the cornea

Removing the cornea

Cutting the eye in half (separating into posterior and anterior portions)

examining his collections
and generally looking handsome

specimens collected for examination under a microscope the next day
(stored in a ziplock bag overnight)

Removing the tapetum

beyond the instructions:
let's cut in half laterally!
He wanted to see the layers behind the eyeball

there they are

any one more, just in case you wanted to see it again ;)