Legoboy's Schooling - What did he actually use?

Legoboy used many resources in addition to Montessori throughout his life education. Many of these resources I have previously written about on Montessori Trails. A Keys of the Universe parent asked me to write some explicit posts about our supplements, so here goes!

The first Great Lesson story we tell in elementary is The Creation of the Universe or God with No Hands. This story tells of the creation of the universe and the formation of the earth, with the ultimate goal to demonstrate the laws of nature and the utter obedience of all particles to these laws. 

Just about every child studies volcanoes so of course we did too! No particular resources used - videos, trips to our local museum, books. 

He did fall in love with all things POMPEII! And as luck would have it, our local museum center had a special exhibit, so we picked up a few resources there: videos, books, cards. 

The Story of God with No Hands opens up the Geography album. Within geography, we have studies on the universe, nature of elements, sun and earth, work of water, work of air, human geography, and economic geography. In addition to the Montessori experience, Legoboy utilized the following the most heavily: 

• Trail Guide to World Geography
• Signs and Seasons (astronomy)
• Cycles: An Introduction to Astronomy and Time
• Solar System: A Visual Exploration of the Planets, Moons, and Other Heavenly Bodies that Orbit Our Sun by Marcus Chown
• Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe by Terrence Dickinson
• lots of videos, museum, outings
• Tuttle Twins
• various atlases and encyclopedias
• Home Science Tools for science supplies and the microscope
• Economic Geography Stamps - Montessori AMI-style

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

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

Astronomy from NASA

For those of you waiting for my to have things unpacked enough to start showing off all the cool things I LOVE about our new home ;) here is a neat NASA astronomy unit to download and utilize in our schools and homeschools:

Eyes on the Solar System

Tell me what YOU think of it!

Weather Studies - Attention versus Interest

Workbooks in Montessori? Egads!

Some history:
Years ago, my mother gave my son a "workbook" with the Sesame Street character Elmo. The book went through quantities of 1-10, colors and probably a few other concepts I can't remember. At age 3, Legoboy loved it. He was "doing school" as he had seen many of my daycare children doing their homework - mostly he just colored it in. A year later, he picked it up again and carefully filled out each page, only occasionally asking me for clarification on the instructions (yet insisting he couldn't read, rather insisting he was just "figuring it out from the pictures" - ok, maybe. Doubtful.).

When my elementary trainers found out my son was using a workbook (let's forget the part where they know I am a devout Catholic, I intended to homeschool him, and all the things they did NOT know about our home lifestyle (attachment parenting, Montessori materials at home even when he attended a Montessori school - yeah, I was the black sheep of the training already ;) ) ---- there were no uncertain terms about the damage I was doing to my son. My response: he enjoys it, he learned all that information from real life experiences so this was just consolidation, and it was a gift meaning it is not something I intentionally purchased nor intended to use on a regular basis. NOT going to hurt him!

The response: arsenic is deadly in small portions.

I just raised my eyebrow and smiled that mom-smile-of-death that says "Don't even go there."


History part 2: See this post on how we utilize the local educational expectations (public school standards) in our home - namely the age-equivalent of 3rd and 6th grades.


Flash forward to the present-day:
Legoboy finds out that the local public school kids know something about weather studies - a topic that has never drawn his interest. This past week, however, it drew his *attention* - and in the Montessori-world, that is close enough to interest, with a slightly different response.

See, he tells me, "Just the facts, please. Basically, I just want to have a conversation. Can we do something along the lines of a lightunit?"
(yes Legoboy uses the word "basically" at the start of many sentences - all drawn out - baaaasssiklyyy)

Oh - and what is a lightunit? Close family friends of ours utilize a curriculum from Christian Light Publishers. Each subject for each year is broken down into 10 workbooks, that they call lightunits. We have utilized components here and there over the years; for several months, due to personal circumstances, we had to get away from the directly Montessori materials for a while, during a time it was less easy for him to plan out his own studies to work on away from home - so we used specific topics of lightunits to fill in the gaps. And then, not every lesson, not every page within a lesson, and not always every question on a page.

Lightunits are designed to be as child-independent as possible. MANY people tell me, "see it's just like Montessori." Ummmm. That's not Montessori at all, actually; Montessori has a connection between real-life, face to face human beings sharing information and experiences, then the child planning his own follow-up studies in cooperation with the adult who guides his work and assures that proper hands-on real life experiences are available to meet the needs of the particular child before him, something no published step-by-step curriculum can replicate. (but by then, the person who thinks CLE and Montessori are alike is already off doing something else)

While thorough, and the CLE curriculum does trust that a child can learn more abstract concepts if presented properly at a younger age - therefore a curriculum I feel is much more age-appropriate than most - let's just say there was utter relief to come back home to using the Montessori albums full-time.

On to Weather:
Well, we happened to have some of the science lightunits boxed up - and sure enough, in the level 4 set was a lightunit on nothing more perfect than "Weather." The demonstrations within use very basic at-home materials (absolutely nothing fancy until you need the thermometer with Celsius and Fahrenheit (can be two separate thermometers, but they need to measure down into cold temps as well as warmer temps - but our home thermometers that go that high are for cooking - and our cold temp ones aren't aligned well enough for the activity that needs it --- so I printed a chart to cover that part).


And I have to admit. There is something comforting on the part of the adult to hand a child a workbook and say "do such and such pages" (I've not actually had to say to him, since this was his choice); check it when he's done; light conversation and move on. It's so easy. And I don't have materials to prepare, I can DO anything else but sit with him to show him how things work.

But 1) no human connection.
2) I'm not with him - might as well send him to school.
3) If he hasn't truly learned it, I'll spend MORE time working with him - or he'll spend MORE time in remediation than if he'd learned it well, with the proper real-life experience to begin with.
4) Definitely better to go with the Montessori materials and presentations - sure, the child might get the concept quickly, but the child's time is not wasted, true mastery is achieved and you have time for doing "attention vs interest" things via workbook ;)

In my mind, I believe he has learned the material. But has he really? He's not extending the knowledge any further than using the vocabulary words appropriately (look at all that precipitation!), like he would with his other studies.

But again - this was an "attention to" a topic, not an "interest in". His goals seem accomplished; the upcoming public school standard on weather will be fulfilled. And perhaps he will come back around to it and do his own thing later. He has the keys he needs (via the elementary Montessori geography album - work of air, work of water, sun and earth...).

I think I am reticent about this because 1) his typical studies are intense and deep and there are clear signs he is really getting it.
2) while I trust the information in the book, it was just ONE source of information - and we are much more of primary source people here, utilizing a wide variety of resources when primary sources are harder to obtain or understand.

But I will force myself to let this one go.

• Legoboy set a goal; 
• he found suitable resources to meet that goal; 
• and he achieved his goal. 

So yeah. We did a workbook. Well, HE did a workbook. I guess I see it as more of a study guide. Since it is one teeny tiny component of a much larger homeschool and life and experience, he knows that should he have true interest, he can always delve deeper.


How would I have responded if this were a true interest? At this age (10), it's not even so much MY response as my SUPPORT:

• Look to the related key album pages for some review, specifically with weather in mind
• Library trip for books and other resources they have
• Netflix, educational websites for interesting videos
• Noted the weather throughout a day, from one day to the next, start noting patterns including temperatures, barometer readings, etc. 
• Watch weather reports on the news
• Read through weather websites: wunderground.com is useful
• Through all of that, different types of severe weather would have come up - probably inciting some type of interest in a particular form: hurricanes or tornadoes or the like. Study them - watch StormChasers, etc.
• Somewhere in all of that, we probably would have come up with some good demonstrations or even experiments to try out. We'd then check for materials and try them out. 
• Etc. 

School Days - Botany, EPL, Language, Geography/History

We have been so way-laid from our plans these last few months as you will see with our botany studies... but I feel like we have utilized this season of Lent to really freshen up and clear out. So now, we can focus on things we love to do :)


Practical Life: 
Legoboy got right onto his morning chores, clearing up corners that he'd not quite done just properly the last few days. He even vacuumed (an extra). He must think it's almost time for his birthday ;) Actually, he has really begun to appreciate having a clean home where he can spread out his Lego projects and still find everything.

He arranged the prayer table a new way - with only a week to go until the start of Holy Week, he wants to be ready for some planning he has been doing for the Triduum. He lit the candles for prayer time and replace the old with new.


Botany: 
I wanted to replant our herbs in October or November, start the seedlings then, so that they could benefit from our south-facing balcony window through the winter and be strong hardy plants by now.
All of our herbs except marshmallow did NOT make the full cycle of life from our last planting. :(

Yeah. Um. Or not. Here it is April - we finally got them in.

According to our plans from last time, we made some changes:

• use a seed starter within the egg cartons
• make holes in the bottom of the cartons for the roots to not have to through so much thickness of cardboard (even soaked, many of the roots worked their way between the layers of cardboard, but not all the way OUT --- even after watering only the soil to attract the roots to the soil. 
• place the egg cartons in the seedling planters immediately (well, they now have holes in them after all)
• place directly in a warm window (we don't get as much direct sunlight right now, but a friend has a sun-lamp to loan us if needed)
• use this blue rack that has been making the rounds (we've used it for home stuff, Montessori stuff, in an atrium, in a Montessori co-op, in Legoboy's bedroom, and now into the living room stacked tall and narrow) --- it really helps all the plants reach the light, uses vertical space and not our entire floor space or play area. 

After getting this all squared away, Legoboy wanted to listen to some of the Herb Fairy stories again (Herb Fairies is currently offering a free herb cookbook and will soon open up their yearly Herb Fairy adventures ---- we are SO NOT into "fairies" and the like in our home, but we love this learning adventure!). We chose the one about roses today. Oh! All the things that a rose plant can help with! And the candy from the fruit! (actually you can make candy from the petals too, but the story didn't share that part - which means there is SO much more to learn about all the herbs we've been studying!). So we listened while I worked on tracing figures for a Garden of Francis order and Legoboy built some Lego structures. 

Practical Life Moment (as if herbs aren't practical ;) ) --- he went down to check the mail....
And we got our package from a Mountain Rose Herbs giveaway - I love winning giveaways!!! In this giveaway, we received a package of dried herbs: marshmallow root, chicory root, astragalus root powder, milk thistle seed, and burdock root --- all of which go along quite nicely with this month's Herbal Roots Zine which is on chicory. Many times, we can't do all of the recipes because we don't have the ingredients on hand. No excuse this time ;) So when we get to actually reading the Zine next week, we'll have what we need. Yay!

Our herbal studies have really gone deep. I blame Montessori on that. I can't imagine having time or energy to explore the options and make any basic herb-learning selection if we used any other curriculum. Using Montessori, this IS our botany studies (after the basic lessons). I know I gush about that freedom of time we have - but it is SO true! We worked out a plan today to choose one day a week to be our herb day - it could be reading the Zine and doing some of the activities, doing activities or watching videos from the various newsletters we are signed up for (Learning Herbs, Herbal Roots Zine, are the two that come to mind right away), doing or creating something from the kids herbal books he has, doing a recipe from the Mountain Rose Herbs catalogs (because they have recipes in there --- teas, foods, medicines, candies, you name it!).


Mathematics: 
We are taking a short break from the Montessori lessons while I create the follow-up cards for the upper elementary portions - I want him to work on these sections from the beginning, rather than what he's been doing (reviewing the lower elementary follow-up cards for typos and logic).

We played Act Your Wage again today and discussed some variations to try out next time. I'll post how all that goes ;)

I then assigned him some real life word problems of a sort, using our home finances as the foundation. It is amazing the insights he comes up with by "handing over" the finances to him. Not that he is really doing our home finances, but allowing him real life participation in real numbers and real situations, he sometimes comes up with ideas or asks just the right question to get me thinking of something better. And he finds the applicable Scripture passages when it comes to certain situations as well. He is the one to coin the phrase I have used a lot frequently: "the wife is to increase what the husband provides for the family". Well, that is perhaps a topic for our Catholic Hearts blog, but it ties in so well with our Montessori studies of real life, real experiences, inter-connecting all areas of school and life.

With these word problems, he has been looking at basic interest rates, savings rates, expenses, ways to expand our budget, etc. Utilizing both math skills, as well as logic, problem solving and ethics.


Geography/History: 
As an upper elementary student he is really delving into exploring the various beliefs about the origins of the earth and the early history of humankind. Last year, he explored various creation myths from around the world; he wants to get that book again from the library - I will post about when we do because it is recommended in the elementary Montessori albums and he wants to create some sort of analysis of the similarities amongst each one, as well as the differences - then see what those differences have to do with the culture the story came from.

Today he read a chapter from a book he has on Creation vs. Evolution.


Language: 
We finally had our discussion on what a debate is, how it works, no winners/losers yet how we can analyze a person's evidence as well as the presentation of that evidence. Look at the questions still unanswered and how many debates prompt people to do their own research.
All of this ties into his earth origins studies, because of the recent Nye/Ham debate (the link is creation perspective but I am short on time and can't find a link without a "bias") - we own the DVD - I watched part of it online but didn't have time to finish. We'll be watching the debate soon, tracking the evidence each one puts forth and see how well each one does in responding to the other.

Montessori Economic Geography Stamps - Now Available!

The Economic Geography Stamps are now available for pre-order at Garden of Francis. (click here)
UPDATE! They are NOW available for sale!!!


Shipping NOW! They will begin shipping out prior to March 1. I am taking pre-orders to see if it is worth purchasing the tackle-boxes and the wood holders in bulk, or just buy a few at a time as I need them.

My son is so excited! 

(ok, I am too!)

I am so happy to be offering these for substantially less than the ONLY other set available anywhere online that I can find - and they correspond with our KotU geography album!




By the way, side-note: if, as we are using them, anyone wants a different stamp image made, the process I'll be using can very easily accommodate this! In fact, after this first batch of these ones, I am going to look into making stamps of other images for other themes.





Montessori Elementary Economic Geography Stamps - corresponding with the Keys of the Universe Montessori Elementary Geography Album chapter on Economic Geography.


Each  polymer (not rubber, but like rubber) stamp image measures 3/4 inch at its widest; mounted on a 1 inch square cube - with the image imprinted on the top of each cube for easy reference.


Select which set you would like: the core set contains 26 images of mineral, plant and animal resources; the supplementary set contains 14 additional images in more specific items.


Each corresponding tackle-box comes with a cardstock print-out of the included images for that set.


CONTENTS CORRESPOND WITH AMI MONTESSORI ELEMENTARY TRAINING ALBUMS. And are most specifically designed for Keys of the Universe albums.


Purchase your own ink pads according to the color designations of your choice (see the elementary Montessori geography album for further details).


APRIL 2020: Links updated

Home Science Tools - Geography and Biology Supplies

Just a quick post today to remind everyone moving along in the elementary albums or those who are preparing for next year --- Home Science Tools carries a Montessori kit that includes most of the science supplies needed for AMI Elementary Geography and AMI Elementary Biology. If you have Keys of the Universe albums, your materials lists will specify further details. If you have other AMI albums, check those albums for a materials or scan the materials for each album page.

If you have other Montessori albums? I can't guarantee a perfect or even a close match - however, Home Science Tools is a fantastic source for your science supplies regardless of doing Montessori or something different. They cater to small schools and homeschools. Fantastic customer service, fantastic prices, small amounts of chemicals....

The kit is 10% lower than purchasing the items individually; and coupon codes DO STILL apply - so a free shipping coupon is great (they have a flat rate of $7.95 regardless of order size - I ship out a lot with my Garden of Francis business - this is a fantastic shipping price!) - or a 10% off coupon still takes another 10% off the kit itself. I bought mine for $83 or so. Their computer automatically generates the kit price according to current prices of the other items.

Caveat: chemicals can only ship to continental US (check your order contents if you live elsewhere).

NOTE: If you live elsewhere, contact me with your location, and the science supply companies that you do have access to - I'll see if I can set up a kit or package with them for Montessori homeschoolers in your area.



Home Science Tools

Continent Folders - Primary Montessori

Continent Folders? You're thinking, "You mean Continent Boxes, right?"

Nope. I mean Continent Folders.
They actually also go by "Montessori cultural folders" as well. Either name is accurate and neither name fully describes them!

These were originally going to be our Montessori Continent Boxes.
Now they are toy boxes. 

I like the idea of the continent boxes (cultural boxes) - and I had even bought a set of stackable drawers to use for just such purpose, before I went to AMI Primary Montessori training. We could still use them as continent/cultural boxes, but I never really found the need for them in my household. Instead I re-purposed them to hold Legoboy's small toys: small animals, train tracks, cars, small scenery pieces, etc. He still uses them, but now has them reorganized according to his own (internalized, elementary-level, crazy-from-the-outside) organization.



Ultimately, I went with what I received in Montessori training. Folders. The continent/cultural folders spark discussion, they promote interest... and then we can pull out the objects we have around the environment which the child is surrounded by for further discussion and experiences: books in the reading area, artifacts used as decoration around the environment (also used for polishing, dusting, flower-arranging, etc.), games to play with friends and family, etc. The objects and experiences are throughout life, rather than kept together in one box. The child is surrounded by cultural objects rather than having them boxed up. The child can go into the environment and gather appropriate objects for this study.


LATER UPDATE (just this paragraph) - these materials seem so SIMPLISTIC and many people have told me "no, the cultural/continent boxes are a much better idea because it is all 3-d; some pictures can be added there too." That is your choice. Here are some points to consider to ensure a full Montessori balance/experience:

• are you providing keys? so that your child can explore and have something to discover for his own self? 
• do you still have some cultural objects around the environment that your child can discover and say, "Oh! this is the Eiffel Tower from France! We have a picture of this in our Europe culture folder!" And it is something they can polish, clean, draw, etc. thus part of the environment around the child. 
• the continent/cultural folders are also intended to incite conversation and story-telling (these are extensions on the album page)

I personally decided that this one material, the Montessori cultural folders, allowed me to provide ALL of the above, with fewer actual objects from the get-go --- we could explore culture and continents and countries without spending hours/days/weeks/months/years collecting objects before even getting started. We could get started with the images, then discover all the cultural items already around our home! For me, my time is precious and I chose not to spend it on deciding which continent box to place a polar bear in (polar bears are present in Asia, Europe and North America by the way - and I have photos of each kind of polar bear in their proper continent - so much easier to find pictures than objects - and cheaper ;) -- then we have a few polar bears around and we discuss what all continents they belong on). 

At the time I created these cultural folders, I was just coming off a $5/month Montessori materials budget (I upped the budget a bit for during the training course - I spent what was needed, but also strove to minimize expenses - I think with lamination (paid at the training center), folders, colors, pencils, colored paper (most of which I had on hand already but a few things I purchased), donated magazines, I MAYBE spent $4 on the entire set - if that. I also pooled resources with other trainees, which helped. Time: 4 hours, plus 1/2 hour gathering items, 1/2 hour cleaning up ----- 5 hours. 

(END UPDATE)

Image traced on with a print-out of the continent
or with the world puzzle map pieces
Colored in.
Displayed in an elevated rack

The images inside the cultural continent folders contain a variety of images from that continent - mounted on appropriate colored paper or cardstock, with a brief description on the back. They are intended to spark conversation and questions - leading to further studies as the children get older. This work can start at age 3 after they have worked with the world puzzle map and we want to share information on each continent. There are animals represented, people from various cultures on that continent, photos of food and national dress, etc. Our images all came from National Geographic magazines, but cut-up books could be used, images printed from the internet, etc.


The continent folders then sub-divide into a variety of topics (not photographed here) - these can be smaller packets or pouches, or even a book on the topic (that's what we did - just read books, watched videos, or had real-life experiences with the sub-topics).


This work is found in the Spoken Language section of the AMI Language album.

The continent folders photographed here I had made for training and then used them at home with Legoboy. I was marked down for them because I didn't use all lowercase letters (since these are for such young children - younger Montessori children will write in all lower-case to start, then move to capitals at age 5 and 6, without the use of sandpaper letters). Technically I could have left them unlabeled altogether and not been marked down at all.

Disclaimer though: My son has a hard time "caring" about capital letters anymore (despite starting to write with capital block letters) - so I do not regret having this material available to him with proper capitalization. At least he KNOWS where the capital letters go.

How was this particular set of cultural folders made? 
It is a set of file folders - 1 file folder for each continent (in this set) - I chose to keep the tabs all in one place, but could have alternated them (the original plan was that the sub-sets would have tabs in different locations, so the children re-sort them easily based on the tab location). I used packing tape to close up the sides; then covered it in color construction paper (wish I'd used cardstock because construction paper fades) just over the folds. Laminated the whole thing (had to slit the lamination to re-open the pouch).

If I were to do it again, I think I would prefer to use contact paper - only because the contact paper could wrap around the sides more securely. Or use colored pocket folders (now that pink and white are more easily found than when I was in primary training) and laminate those for sturdiness.



I always thought Legoboy would add to these picture sets in elementary - that was/is his typical thing. For some reason, he didn't; instead he delved into cultural studies, loves reading books and watching videos - he can talk to you about different things when he is interested - and he loves to learn about other cultures. But he has never sought to add to the images. Just when I think I have him pegged ;)


Continent folders can be an alternate to the bulkier continent boxes - or can be an addition to them. I highly recommend having multi-cultural items around your home - not just in the boxes. Alternate what is out at various times so that items can rotate into the box and out to the environment. I personally prefer to have an image of someone using the chop-sticks, with a quick description on the back, have a conversation with my child - then he "discovers" we have chopsticks in the kitchen where they would actually be used (instead of as an artifact in the box) - perhaps because I conveniently left them where he would find them (hehe - that's called strewing - homeschool moms get good at that) - and then we pull up a YouTube video to show us how to USE them. It just feels more real to me.

In the end, I see the benefit of both continent boxes and continent folders, and lean towards the cultural/continent folders as my "core" with the boxes as peripheral. Your mileage will vary ;)




Links for additional information on continent/cultural folders: 

This continent folder set doesn't quite match what is in my own AMI albums:
http://www.montessoriprintshop.com/Montessori_Extension_Lesson.html

Downloadables of animal images - though still not quite the same description:
http://www.montessorimaterials.org/geo.htm

One sample of using pocket folders - hers gets to it but my training dictated colored background on the cards (could be an optional feature if you have coding somewhere else so the photos can be re-sorted to their proper folders):
http://bellachampion.blogspot.com/2011/10/real-montessori-continent-folders.html

This continent folder set looks really neat actually:
http://montessori123.com/products/complete-set-of-images-for-all-continents

And these cultural folders sound about right too:
http://www.absorbentminds.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?page=search&SS=continents+folders&search.x=-328&search.y=-149&search=ACTION&PR=-1&TB=A

Astronomy Review: Signs & Seasons

The following is a copy of the review I posted on an online bookstore website for this resource:

While this book is geared more for middle and high schoolers, my elementary son is already gaining a LOT from it.

I am a Montessori-trained teacher and prefer to avoid most textbooks for many reasons - low quality; lack of correct information; textbooks are usually beyond tertiary sources while primary sources are most appropriate for children's learning; and more.

But this is one textbook we will use again and again. At 8, my son is reading through it with me to gain an overview of astronomy; we combine it with our own personal studies according to his interests and my requirements as his homeschooling mother. We will likely go through it again at age 10-11; then again in middle school - as review and to cull its depth further, as much of the information is quite deep (a typical elementary children would not have the interest my son has in this textbook - but this is an interest of his).

The "average" elementary child will not be ready for this book - but a homeschooled child who is very interested, or a Montessori student, will be quite ready for it - probably around age 9 or so. Even then, it should be re-visited at an older age, because much of it will not be absorbed the first time through. It is THAT rich!

Montessori elementary children with a deep love of all things astronomy will appreciate having this book as a read-together text, coupled with many hands-on experiences (such as looking for the things described in the book, as well as some of the field activities in the back of the book, and following their own interests).

Montessori elementary children with a limited interest in astronomy will prefer to utilize this book in the upper elementary years (ages 9-12).

Definitely useful for middle schoolers of all ages.

I only WISH the public schools I attended would have provided an astronomy class of ANY sort, let alone THIS book. We had blips of astronomy here and there - nothing like this. I took an astronomy course in college and this text would have been the best foundation for that course. I loved it, but was easily overwhelmed.

There is an optional field guide, separate from the text, to flesh it out for high school credit. Do not let the negative review stating this is not a high school textbook throw you off - this book is indeed excellent for high schoolers, but yes if you want a full credit for it you will NEED to flesh it out for the simple fact it is a textbook. NO textbook should be the be-all-end-all in gaining a credit for school - and this textbook is no exception in that regard.

Those who might say this book is not deep enough for high schoolers should consider the importance of spending TIME with the material, doing the field guide suggestions, working with the field journal - and experiencing the annual cycles of astronomy (and sometimes multi-year), while also exploring it within its historical context and development, in such a way that true DEPTH is reached. Not just racing through, taking a test and being done.

Signs and Seasons IS the exception in that it provides a well-balanced, well-laid-out approach to classical astronomy - astronomy without the use of fancy tools (although telescope and binoculars are pointed out as useful in their proper places) --- something all of us should have experienced in our lifetimes.

Black and white (but wonderfully done!) illustrations keep the price of printing to an affordable range so that this book is accessible to many more people.

Montessori Astronomy - Elementary

I am having the absolute worst time finding the time and the proper resources to finalize the AMI-style astronomy supplement. I'm just not satisfied with it - to the point of "it's not even in a share-able format even if I'm not satisfied with it." In the end, I think I am trying to justify others' experiences that may be valid for a few children, but are not necessarily valid for the universal child.


So to try to bring myself back into this, I am organizing some thoughts on our own experiences in light of AMI Montessori training and observations in various Montessori schools on this topic.


Previous Montessori Trails on Astronomy:

• Montessori Astronomy
• Current Interests: Astronomy
• Montessori and Foundations of Scientific Understanding - Astronomy

Non-Montessori Resources we have used: 

• Signs and Seasons
• Magic School Bus Astronomy Science Kit
• Journey to the Stars from NASA
• Kids Discover Magazines on astronomy topics
• First Discovery Books: Universe (those books with clear pages that change the picture as you turn them)
• Explore the Stars! The Star Finder
• Various websites and other online resources as opportunities arise - very minor basis
• Other books and videos found at the library or book sales

Montessori Experiences, Presentations, Materials Specific to Astronomy: 

• God With No Hands (First Great Lesson for the elementary age)
• Geography (elementary): Sun and Earth chapter

Various Montessori studies that led to astronomy - but were not specifically astronomy at the out-set: 

• History studies (ancient history ---> worship of gods ---> constellations and planet names ---> clocks and calendars (through history and names of days, months) ---> ASTRONOMY
• Mathematics - history of math, use of math
• Geometry - shapes, patterns, degrees, circles, angles
• Language - basic language skills
• Geography - land/water forms, formation of our own planet, form and matter

Paying close attention, you'll see that we didn't really use many Montessori materials or specific experiences. This is exactly as it should be: lay the foundation with the properly prepared environment and the key presentations - and the child will "get there". 

We've not used fancy equipment beyond the sunshades and occasional use of binoculars (and a very cheap telescope that only works during the day). 

We've not even used computer-based items except for watching a few DVDs. It is has been hands-on (eyes-on???) exploration of the night and daytime sky, predicting what we will see, following-up, lots of reading and lots of map-making (Legoboy likes his maps). But yes, several trips to observatories and planetariums - and THEIR high-tech equipment ;) 

But I have been in Montessori homeschools - and I know that those parents without Montessori training really need more guidance on these topics. You typically don't have just children within one age range (primary or elementary or adolescence) - but are spread out across several planes of development, with few or one child in each. So yes - difference between school and homeschool in the environment again. Not a bad thing - just a truth that needs to be addressed. 

My son and I haven't even used 3-part cards and beautiful booklets and charts found at the various online printable sites. He created some of his own with stickers and information from books. For US, that worked great! I will include that experience as a suggestion in the Montessori Elementary Astronomy Supplement. 

Other thoughts: 

• Almost all my observations in schools on astronomy have been contrived - the children may have learned something, but in no different manner than they would have learned it at another school - and the information didn't stick with them any better than if they'd learned it elsewhere. 
• The Montessori primary level astronomy options available also seem contrived or more appropriate for lower elementary, or just plain fluffy. There are some REALLY great activities in there! But I find those ones more appropriate for the elementary age. Why? Because primary children are very concrete - and need to focus on what they can actually experience: seeing the stars, perhaps some of the very obvious constellations, phases of the moon, beautiful sunrises/sets --- but mostly focusing on the weather patterns and outer layers of our own planet. Study home first - move into outer space in the imaginative "big picture" elementary years. 
• I am trying to create something that fits in with what is already available. That is likely my biggest mistake. I need to focus on the keys - get it pulled together - and let individual families decide how/if they would like to utilize other resources. 
• ALL OTHER SOLIDLY scientific and age-appropriate materials introduce astronomy in upper elementary or middle school (the depth of astronomy - you can certainly get into phases of the moon and the patterns of the sun in earlier ages). Not that we Montessorians follow non-Montessori scope and sequences very closely (since most of them are not based on careful observation). But there is something here.... When Dr. Nebel, who is more Montessori-like than he knows, doesn't get into astronomy with the children until volume 3 for grades 6-8 --- well, I start taking notice. 
• And then there are local educational requirements - which, again, Montessori tends to be far ahead of, but even pulling down their requirements 3-4 grades (before Common Core), brings astronomy barely into the beginning of upper elementary. 

What I am taking from my own notes laid out as above: 

• consider the "keys" to modern life understanding of astronomy, along with historical development from what was observable through to what is inferred. What is key so that a homeschool family can hone in on the necessary pieces - and leave room for exploration, interest, follow-up (or leaving out the extras for the sake of time/space and FOCUS)
• primary level: focus on only what is observable - experience-able - by the young child
• lower elementary: take what we have in the albums and provide specific follow-ups for the most clear connections into astronomy, along with tips for the child whose interest entirely goes there. 
• upper elementary: move into Montessori-style presentations that cover the typical local educational requirements for astronomy through middle school

Ok, time to get on with this!!!

Geography - Work of Air

Legoboy is humoring me in another run-through of the earlier geography work he did ages ago - now that we have new tools, I want new photographs and to test what I hope is our final edits on the albums... Ok, so it's really to get some good solid review in, but shshshsh! don't tell this upper elementary child that! He thinks he is helping me out ;)

The flask is NOT empty! And air can hold up water! 

I love Partylite candles - they burn at a low temp.
Don't use Partylite candles for this demonstration. Guess why!
Use a tealight that burns a bit hotter ;) 

I kept the flame here because the smoke didn't show up well in the photo.
See how the flame is pulled into the tube?
Use the smoke with your children, not the flame.
Can you guess what happened as I took this photo? ;) 

Why Citric Acid?

This week: a series of blog posts by Legoboy himself. :) 

Legoboy recently did a research project. 'Project' is a term used somewhat loosely in Montessori - in this case, he had a question, he looked up information and he reported his results. For the project portion, he is reporting his results here:


Legoboy:

Question: Why does citric acid and white vinegar clean off more than baking soda and any kind of vinegar?

Observation: Our toilet, faucets and drains have been building up calcium deposits and Mama uses borax, washing soda, baking soda and vinegar in combinations. I think they look clean but she says they're not. The toilet did have a lot of black and gray in it.

Last week, Mama soaked the toilet in citric acid (she uses it to make dishwasher soap) and white vinegar and closed it up tight. We went out to lunch and I had to use the bathroom at the restaurant because she said I couldn't use the bathroom at home until that evening.

When we opened the toilet, chunks of calcium were floating in the water. I had a choice to clean up my room or scrub the toilet. I am happy I had a choice, because the toilet was gross to look at. A few minutes later Mama asked me to come see the toilet. It was white! She showed me that as she flushed the toilet while cleaning it, chunks were falling off under the rim. I saw them. She wasn't even scrubbing. I thought maybe I should have cleaned the toilet instead of my room. She was done first. I told her it was all the particles in the air inside the toilet that pulled the calcium.

The next day, I could only use the kitchen sink because she cleaned the bathtub and the bathroom sink. This time I helped to sprinkle the citric acid, spray with vinegar and sprinkle some more citric acid. But it didn't work. I had used our bottle that has apple cider vinegar and Mama said that only white vinegar works. I filled my other spray bottle with white vinegar and just sprayed all the citric acid. It worked! Everything is sparkling now!

On Saturday morning, we set up the kitchen sink the same. I remembered to take pictures. They are in this blog post. When we came home from visiting with Aunt Sarah (my godmother) at her bridal shower, we took turns wiping down the kitchen sinks and I took more pictures that are also here.

I asked my mama why the baking soda and vinegar we usually use didn't get the crusty stuff off, or even the brown spots around the bathroom faucet that aren't there anymore because of the citric acid. She told me I could use the internet to find out.

Answer: Citric Acid comes from citrus fruits and likes to grip onto gunk, then the white vinegar rinses it away. Baking soda is a base not an acid and it reacts with the vinegar to bubble up and pull some gunk off - it likes to blow things apart. I don't understand the ph stuff but Mama says I will soon. White vinegar is also an acid with a ph of 2.4. Apple cider vinegar isn't the same ph (4.25-5) so is almost neutral. So calcium particles break apart easier in two acids, not something neutral and not a  base. I thought acids burned my skin. They do when I eat a clementine and the juice gets into a cut. Ouch!

Mama cleaned it with baking soda and vinegar first
to make sure it was clean the usual way

States of Matter: Coconut and Other Oils - Extended Uses

For those of you doing the Story of God With No Hands - here is another follow-up/extension (could be first year, second year, or ANY year) ----

My son asked about the melting points of oils - we make soap with various oils and fats, so this was something he had experience with. Some are solid at room temp and need to be heated; some are liquid already, but go solid in the fridge; and others stay liquid even in the fridge but not in the freezer....

The components of his first oil solid/liquid experiment:

some of them...
taken before we invested in the
big bucket of coconut oil

• olive oil
• coconut oil
• sunflower oil
• safflower oil
• soybean oil (typical generic "vegetable oil" found in grocery stores; my opinion is reserved)
• canola oil
• peanut oil
• lard
• tallow
• suet
• blubber
• duck fat
• (these last ones - it is amazing what you can get when you call up the butcher at the local grocery store and ask for buckets and fat!)

I won't reveal his results, but I will say that he created a graph for each one; then created a second graph with the solidifying temps in order from lowest to highest. While graphing doesn't seem "explicit" in the AMI elementary Montessori albums, it is there for the economic geography, and should come in naturally in all sorts of extensions and follow-ups! (if it doesn't, introduce a place where it CAN be added ;) ). 

Geography Album and Potassium Chromate

Oh wow. Am I scared. We almost made a HUGE blunder.
(ok maybe not that huge, but it sure made me sick to my stomach)

We have these chemicals we use according to album pages in the geography album (forms of matter, chemical interactions) and the biology album (needs of the plant).

I have had supplies on hand to use with my son and have had the *correct* items. Tiny amounts purchased from a Montessori school that also used the same chemicals. We labeled each smaller container very carefully and everything was FULLY accurate. Still is. I'm just running low.

To do the presentations, I reviewed the album pages beforehand, used all proper safety procedures, and all has been *wonderful.* We don't use chemicals with similar names, so it is easy to keep them organized; and we only get out the chemicals we need when we need them.

The problem showed itself when I went to replace these chemicals the other night. I used the supply lists I created for my geography and biology albums, added stuff to my cart, but came up with two items that were not available at the top-notch science supply company I have come to love the absolute most because they are so homeschool-focused: Home Science Tools.

I e-mailed a Montessori comrade to ask where she got her supplies for potassium dichromate (geography album) and calcium nitrate (biology album).

Did you catch what I just wrote? 


Some background: 
In AMI training, the presentation is given to the trainees. The trainees furiously take notes by hand or on their laptops, while also trying to watch what is going on. Monday of each week of elementary training (primary was a bit different), all album pages from Monday through Friday of the past week are printed out, page-numbered, tucked into a large envelope and handed in. Album readers stop by the training center after-hours (so we can't know who they are and follow them home! ;) ), to drop off what they reviewed from last week and pick up the new week's set. The envelopes are THICK - anywhere from 80-200 pages each week.

A "lucky" few were then read by the trainers as well, before being returned sometime later in the week.

Changes are made based on the comments. Album pages can be required for re-submission or not, based on the trainer's thoughts; then final album-checks/reads are done at the end of the course.

But SO many typos slip through, grammatical errors... but the accuracy of the album page is supposed to be there.


I was one of those lucky ones that always had my album pages double-checked (probably to make sure I wasn't inserting Catholicism and homeschooling into a Catholic woman's work).


Yes, I just said that, and yes you probably read my voice tone accurately. I am extremely disappointed and disillusioned with AMI elementary training as it is - as far as the personalities and agendas of the people involved today (the content is fantastic!) - but through that many readers (and even my own use! but then, I had the material on hand and skimmed the page, there isn't another chemical with a similar name, and we're not supposed to be reading from the album pages as it is - they are supposed to be used for skimming/reviewing - I was using them properly! They were supposed to be error-free!).... and well, I just don't know what the chemical reaction would have been.


The fact is potassium dichromate is a vivid red-orange color; potassium chromate is yellow-gold. And I know that you are supposed to use just enough to make a brilliant gold color in the water - when a bit of lead nitrate is mixed in, a sediment precipitates down (you'll have to research that one to find out what is happening ;) ). So I would NOT have actually used the orange-red material, had I purchased it, opened it and saw a different color like that.

But the fact that it COULD have happened... scares me.


I am SO glad that Home Science Tools doesn't carry it.

Potassium chromate is a yellow chemical 

indicator used for identifying concentrations

of chloride ions in a salt solution with 

silver nitrate. It is a class two carcinogen 

and can cause cancer on inhalation. 

Wikipedia

Density: 2.73g/cm³

Density: 2.73g/cm³

Potassium dichromate, K2Cr2O7, 

is a common inorganic chemical reagent, 

most commonly used as an oxidizing agent

in various laboratory and industrial applications. 

Wikipedia

Formula: K2Cr2O7 Molar mass: 294.185 g/mol IUPAC ID: Potassium dichromate(VI) Boiling point: 932°F (500°C) Density: 2.68 g/cm³ Soluble in: Water

Formula: K2Cr2O7

Molar mass: 294.185 g/mol

IUPAC ID: Potassium dichromate(VI)

Boiling point: 932°F (500°C)

Density: 2.68 g/cm³

Soluble in: Water

I spent the next 4 hours combing through my albums to make sure every other indication was absolutely correct. That is the only such potential safety error. Whew. A few more grammatical errors; a few missing commas or periods. Ok.

Home Science Tools does carry the potassium chromate, so in the cart it went. Geography - CHECK.


Now for Biology: 

But in doing further research on the calcium nitrate, I wonder if I should be adapting that presentation to use a more natural substance. This one is man-made and people going for organic don't typically use it from what I read.
****Does anyone have a suggestion for replacement? The Biology presentation here is to set up an experiment with plants growing in several different glass jars of water - one is just water; one is calcium nitrate in water; one is magnesium sulfate in water; one is potassium phosphate in water; one is ferric chloride in water; the last jar is all those items in the water for a fully healthy plant.
(NOTE: magnesium sulfate can be bought very cheap in the pharmacy section - it is simply "Epsom Salts")
Ideas for the calcium nitrate?


UPDATE: I am still looking for a replacement for the calcium nitrate - something natural, organic....