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

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Dictionaries and Thesauruses in the Montessori Homeschool

It is important to NOT just have one resource - one dictionary, one thesaurus, one atlas, one encyclopedia set. No ONE resource is complete - no one resource will meet the needs of every child (or even every need of ONE child). There are different types, different focus for each one, different style that will appeal to different ages and personalities.

So don't be afraid to have a few on hand - thrift stores and library sales are great places to hunt down such materials; and utilize the library for its resources (and visit a few different libraries!). Explore what each one has; if you find a particular resource that is used a LOT in your home or school, that would be the one to invest in ;)

Thus, what follows is a(n incomplete) sampling of what is in our home for our family's purposes and our co-op/tutoring purposes.


This is not a definitive list.

In fact, this isn't even all that we have here - it is simply the ones I could find still on the bookshelves and not buried in the stacks of books that my son reads through on a *daily* basis. ;) But these are all used at least several times a year, if not weekly. When we moved, we culled some books; and last year I culled a LOT of books that we just weren't using. So this is what we have :)

2 sets of Science Encyclopedias - one is OLD but still pretty good.
The other is newer (ok, it's from my childhood, but my childhood isn't old ;) )
The newer set even came with a project book. 

Found in the basement when we moved in. Interesting stuff.
Taber's Cyclopedica Medical Dictionary

These are atlases and maybe need their own post???
The Kingfisher People's Book of Oceans
ChildCraft's Whole Wide World

More atlases
My World - Globe
Activity Atlas
Picture Atlas
Reader's Digest Children's World Atlas
(these were all Goodwill finds)

Webster's New Explorer Dictionary of Word Origins

Huh. More atlases. I was looking for dictionaries and thesauruses!
Where in the World is Geo?
HarperCollins Concise World Atlas (we LOVE this one!)

Scholastic Student Thesaurus
Encyclopedia of the Animal World
(the project book from above)
American Heritage Student Thesaurus

Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
 Go here for a picture of my then-3-year-old reading the above BIG red dictionary. 
Legoboy's First Dictionary
NO dictionary is "too old" for a child! 


My First Encyclopedia
(we also have "My First Dictionary" around here somewhere)

The Lincoln Writing Dictionary for Children





Friday, March 20, 2015

The Cost of Montessori Elementary Language - WORST CASE SCENARIO


My main caveat for the elementary Montessori language materials is that most of it has to either be made or purchased in packets that may or may not correspond with your albums/manuals.

For those using Keys of the Universe, many printables are available or will be available in the near future.




Language Elementary Montessori Materials - Click here for the full materials list and price comparison for IFIT, Alisons, what Keys provides

Alison’s: roughly $1200 if buy ALL (don’t buy all!) and some add-ons

IFIT: roughly $500 if buy all they have

NOTES:
Nobody has everything; much is printable from KotU or available at Garden of Francis – or purchase additional packets from Alison’s and change the presentations (less key-based though).

Literature books are not included (see enclosed lists)





Saturday, January 31, 2015

Montessori: Small Objects



There are a few Montessori presentations for which random small objects are great for. Typically, these are in the language area --- and depending on the "style" you follow, you may need more or you may need less. The Keys of the World (AMI-style) require fewer.

In our home we didn't buy any - except one batch of tiny flower pots with flowers, on Ebay. Why? I don't know, but they sure are cute!

We could have totally done without them.

The thing is - each object has far more than just one name. And you can describe it.
So a "pig", depending on the details shown you could use: pig, sow, boar, swine, pink, large (other sizes), piglet, animal, mammal --- and even look at their parts that can be seen: snout, eyes, hooves. etc. Or what they provide: pork, bacon, ribs.

Cows are also bovine.
Horses are equine.


If you want to buy some objects - go for it! Just don't dismiss the idea that you have 100% of what you need in your home already. What you don't have in small objects doesn't have to done with small objects - "I hear the sound in "mmmm" in something in this room - who could it be? OH! It is Emma!!!"



Posted this on Facebook:
Some assurance that you don't "need" to buy small objects (if you "want" to - have fun! but those feeling the pinch? ***Look around your house***)

This stuff was gathered one day, several years ago. We sometimes pull additional things (like jumpdrive, necklace, lego pieces (Legos are great for miniatures!), other toy pieces, etc. It is AMAZING what we have in our homes, when we actually look. Got a junk drawer? A random art pieces junk drawer? Sewing? Hardware? Legos or other play sets? Oh! We did a tealight candle in this set for a while - then we decided to use it wink emoticon

Another Story: 


I met a homeschool mom about 2 years ago, who insisted up and down "we just don't have small objects - which ones should I buy? and we are on a TIGHT budget."
I told her

  1. You have more than you think you do. 
  2. You don't NEED all those cutesy objects other people have. Use the large objects around you if needed; use words in the child's mind. Use the kitchen cupboard contents, or the trees/objects in the backyard. Sounds are all around you. 
  3. She was still in a quandary (amazing how we moms like to work ourselves up into these). I was coming to visit anyway and I asked for permission to find small objects all over her house, requesting permission (or boundaries) of where I could look. 
I filled a 3-gallon bucket. All sounds were represented. 

She had insisted she had NOTHING! 




Here is a basic run-down of our "tiny objects" in our Montessori homeschool and co-op:


Un-pictured:
Toob animals (I don't even know what all we have here!)
Lego pieces (amazing what can be pulled from Lego sets)
Tealight candle
More hardware pieces
#6 from our fridge magnets (to have an "x" when animals are not present)


Pictured: 
Barbie hairbrush
flower from my bouquet from my mom/stepdad's wedding
housekey
set of three tinier keys - on a key ring
plastic keys from a Wendy's kids meal game (like pick up sticks)
plastic rosary
plastic ball
big green button from an old coat
plastic pacifiers from a baby shower
tiny flower pots with flowers - different colors
white gift bow
red gift bow/rose
hexagonal box with two lids
wood cross
bunny in egg
paint board
rubber band
tongue depressor (popsicle stick, craft stick)
sharpener
green paint
empty jar of paint (clear, jar, cap, lid, glass, metal, white, empty)
various rocks/stones
rug from a doll-house
washboard
moccassins
tacklebox divider
wood star
feather
egg-shaped stone - looks like the universe
tissue
pen cap
shell
glass stone/marker
brown jars with white lids
small cloths
wood ring
red die
funnel
cottonball
bunch of flowers
chopstick rest
sticky notes
brass bell
red netting
tiny wood cube
Christmas wreath pin
thread spool
gold dish
white cup hook
two sizes of paperclips
extr caps/lids/covers
4-leaf clover
hat
suction cup hanger
mug
silver bell
lock
cup
gold ribbon bow
plastic ring
gold cap for lightbulb
milk cap
red paint
silver ring
table-leg foot prop (we used these for polishing dishes years ago)
carrot
funnel

NOW **THINK** - for each of those objects are words for all of the following:
colors, sizes, textures, composition, style, other appearance, weight, multiple names....

Tell me you can't do all the sound games and the Mystery Bag with this set?

;)


Friday, April 11, 2014

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.




Monday, December 9, 2013

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

Friday, October 11, 2013

Writing Experiences - Upper Elementary

Reading The Remarkable Journal of Professor Gunther von Steuben
Legoboy was finally able to start his Cover Story program we ordered a few weeks back. Through Homeschool Buyers Co-Op, we got it for a significant discount and we were one of the first people to receive it. He has long had his eye on their high school "One Year Adventure Novel" (he kind of prefers their follow-up program on Science Fiction and Fantasy, but he knew he would do the Adventure version first) - and was SO excited when they created the middle school level "Cover Story." At the time we learned this, he was in an online middle school literature course on Lord of the Rings with my favorite college professor - so he already had an inkling he might be able to do this middle school writing course sooner than "6th grade".
Well, it took a few weeks for our lives to settle into the current school year (our school year still adjusts at Advent, but we have school-year-based activities and programs we join or I lead) - and he had a few requirements of my own before I was entirely certain of his readiness: I wanted him to review the lower elementary grammar boxes material (ostensibly to help me with some errors I had in the files, but also for his own review since we're not in a classroom where built-in review just happens), he also had some more language analysis work to work through - we will finish that up concurrently with his writing program. Otherwise, his "language arts" for the 'year' is in this box: 


I say 'year' in quotes not just because of our Advent school year change - but also because, well, it's Legoboy. He's creating a magazine about (guess!). I just have a strong feeling things won't take a typical school year. Although - they might. We shall see. I do anticipate by Easter, he will have produced his own magazine, but I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a Christmas thing is all ;) 

What is in the box?

Teacher guide; student text; Journal (reading/writing); DVD set

The DVD does most of the teaching, with a lesson watched each of three days a week. There is a bonus DVD on grammar in case the child needs some additional work there; otherwise the program assumes the child has a good foundation there. Each of the core lessons are followed with a tiny number of pages done in the...

student book: focuses on exercises which clarify their topic, get them thinking about their topics, looking at different styles of writing, reading some short story selections and analyzing.

Write in the journal 5 days a week - instructions are given on the DVD. It alternates between the "Professor" and sets of blank pages to be filled in by the student. In the beginning days, the student writes sets of questions that come to mind - could be unrelated to one another - just to get started on "thinking": just asking the questions. Later they start to look at how to find the answers to those questions. Hm. Sounds a bit like "research" ;) The journal assignments build from asking questions, to describing interesting details, to a 5-sentence paragraph, to dialogue, to a paragraph describing a person, to a paragraph "mini-story" - and that's just the beginning!

If you follow the program to a T, it comes out to 3 days a week of DVD and workbook; 5 days a week of writing in the journal. Not very much time spent at all, which is great for someone with a full schedule. I really like this simplicity, because it means we have so much more flexibility with it when it comes to possible sickness, scheduling, and focusing on developing relationships with other people.

This first week is picking a theme - Legoboy is doing all the exercises in this section even though he has his theme already so that he gains experience for the future, when perhaps he won't have a topic already picked out that is acceptable to the current authority - i.e. college.


This is where I am (again!) so in love with the Montessori method of education and living. We keep things to the essential keys - and then we can flesh out interests, pull in other resources at will, and enjoy the learning process. Yes, I'm gushing. ;) I enjoy these moments as they come!



Monday, October 7, 2013

Montessori Co-Op Language materials


I have these two language materials stored in my elementary impressionistic charts box - mostly left over from co-op, but Legoboy recently found this one and loves it:


I made this parts of speech display for my elementary co-op children - to remind them what each symbol meant. They had not had these symbols in primary, so this was a very helpful chart for them. 



This is one of the handwriting charts from my AMI primary language album. It used to be framed - not sure where the frame went ;) This is a sample of the banded line paper (faded on one side), placement of the letters on the paper and one of the several handwriting charts the children should have in primary (and sometimes in lower elementary) - I find the ones with cursive and print together especially helpful for children who learned print first.


These two very simple charts allowed my lower elementary co-op children with no primary level experience to fully integrate into a part-time Montessori classroom, without the need for outside resources or modifying the true Montessori experience in any way - any modifications made were the same ones I would use in a full-time classroom.




Thursday, October 3, 2013

What Montessori Homeschooling Does to Children


First, he did this work to help me locate any remaining typos reported by Keys of the Universe AMI Montessori Album owners: 


Grammar Box 6 (filler box B)
ignore the colors - my printer is out of some of the ink


Then, in pure LegoBoy fashion, he did this:

OOMPA LOOMPA!!!!!!


Only in a homeschool (in an authentic Montessori, my upper elementary should not be working with the grammar boxes anymore at all ;) ). I love it!!!!



Monday, September 30, 2013

Improving Spelling Skills


An example of using a strength to overcome a weakness: 

Legoboy has just not been a strong speller. I think he would have been fine if he had not been thwarted in his skill development when he was younger (see this previous post)

Once he believed he could read, he has been a very strong reader - we just need to work on pronunciation here and there. Spelling has been a steep uphill battle. I have almost caved at various times into purchasing a spelling curriculum or program - several Montessori bloggers share their successes with a few. But it didn't sit right with our style - we use some curricula for a few things, modified; but I didn't feel right forking out money for a spelling program when we have the necessary tools right here with the Montessori materials and online spelling games (of which he played quite a few for a few months)

But he's not been a good speller, despite the Montessori materials and methods used and even the online spelling games - it just not clicking with him - and he highly detests my method of helping him (I say the word very slowly so he hears all the sounds; and won't give him the actual correct spelling until he gives me an honest attempt at it - which he also doesn't like to do). 

For the record, I feel that Montessori has all the tools necessary when done in its fullness - but some children just don't connect, even with the keys (thus giving them something that is not the keys won't work either). Other programs CAN work and DO work, especially in connection with Montessori, but I don't think they would have meshed well here at all. 


So we've plugged along. 

One day, he figured it out - all on his own. He started doing this: 

trying to spell the words 'when' and 'watch' 

He wrote out the words in various attempts at spelling them, then he read it to himself to see if it looked right. Knowing he has advanced reading skills, he put those skills to work for his deficit in spelling. 

So he wrote "wen" - and it didn't read right. So he wrote "when" (remembering that some w-words have wh) - that one was fine. 

Then he wrote "whath" to come up with "watch" - he immediately realized that the h needed to be dropped; he tested a sound for the vowel-sound in the middle (oa he wrote) and that wasn't right. 
Then he got the wath - before realizing it needed that c in there to change from /th/ to /tch/. 

All this so he could ask me, via a note, "When can I watch Once Upon a Time with you? And can I have a peanut butter cup?"

And I tell you what: he's not mis-spelled those words since! 


A "follow the child, observe, respond, observe" SUCCESS! 




Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Sample of Banded Line Paper

Lots of people ask about "Montessori Paper" and there are some mis-conceptions about what it is:

Banded Line Montessori Paper:
(note that there are further versions - these are just 3 types)

:)

Quarter-paper

full-pages cut in half

Full page

Friday, April 19, 2013

Legoboy's First Dictionary

As I wax nostalgic these last few weeks... my baby is in upper elementary!!!!! I thought I'd share this photo of him "reading" his first dictionary. It was actually a birthday present for me from my mother, and he had received a late Christmas gift (the barn in the background, that we still have today - 6 years later).


He is not quite 3 in this photo and he spent a good part of that day looking through it. It has very few (black and white images) and he mostly looked at the pages without images. Could he read it then? I figured then that he couldn't, but I look back now... and I wonder.

Several months before this incident, I walked into the living room to find him looking at a picture-less book, while lounging in the recliner. I quietly walked out to get the camera and snap a picture. I put the camera around the corner (so he wouldn't see me), and he had turned the book upside down, clearly giggling hysterically and trying so hard to hold it in.... at not quite 2 1/2 years old. How did he KNOW it was upside down and therefore FUNNY????

(By the by, he also enjoyed then and still does now, turning maps south-north orientation (instead of north-south); he turned globes upside down in their holder and drove the other children and various teachers over the years crazy... so he can work with things in different orientations).

Please note - we also didn't really do characters - he didn't even know what the symbol was on his pjs there - he just knew they were in his drawer, and I just know they were less than a dime at a garage sale! that's a budget-use for you!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Prepared Card Materials



prepared card material - one of the definition stages
What are the benefit to already prepared/purchased cards over ones created on the fly? 

That answer depends on the age of the child!

Consider how the cards are supposed to be used - a teaching tool or review?

At primary, the language album (in AMI the language album includes some of the music, science, geography, and the like, thus almost all-encompassing) emphasizes that the card material should only be brought out after the child has had experience with the real thing.

So we bring out the classifications of vertebrates/non-vertebrates and the sets for classes of vertebrates, AFTER visiting the aquarium, the zoo, the farm, pet stores, or having had some of those creatures as pets or visitors. Then we use the cards to emphasize the vocabulary, review the concepts learned and provide an easier method for sorting the animals. We can also introduce new micro-concepts with the cards at this stage (such as "animals of another continent").

We bring in the leaf nomenclature cards, and the botany cabinet, after going outside and exploring leaves on the trees and other plants.

We do have some cards already prepared that are "keys". Otherwise, it is preferred to follow the child's interest at the first plane of development. And you'll likely want to purchase sets either already printed, or to be printed, rather than make them up as you go - fun, but time-consuming if someone else has already done the work. (but if you do make more - share them with the world ;) ).


In elementary, we have a very few (MINIMAL) number of prepared "keys" card sets that the children utilize in different ways than they did at primary. And there are definition cards/strips (could have been added at age 5 in primary, but the elementary definitions are split up different), and other components - making these more "5-part cards".

The main thrust at elementary though, is still review. The child must still have real experience or study first, then the cards come after. Unless something is a key (found in a key-based album), or is on the local educational requirements, then the children should be creating! Creating charts, diagrams, nomenclature card material for his own review or to create as a game or presentation for other children (yes, it's ok for these things to come from the other children - because it inspires the recipient children to then know they can create their own as well!).

The above is my professional opinion. 

My personal opinion as a homeschool mom is that even with the local educational requirements, it is very possible and potentially even preferable for the children to still create their own material. Rather than hand them a timeline of American history for study, our local educational requirements for 3rd grade, actually require the children to MAKE the timeline - and that's not even Montessori! Yet timeline making is a very big deal in Montessori history, thus it seems to an odd mis-match that the public schools want it child-made and Montessori schools/homeschools could just hand it to the child. And honestly, really, this mom is busy and just wants to spend TIME with the child, not always creating, finding, printing, preparing, or otherwise working to earn the money to purchase materials, that he can TRULY do himself.

Legoboy has taken various sets of nomenclature material, re-created it himself, making his own booklets and charts; then moving into elementary starting making his own subject matter. We (or he by himself) do some reading, watch some videos, go see/do real things, then he chooses the media and method of his own review: a notebook of lists, photographs, nomenclature cards, nomenclature charts, games, Legos, clay figures, crafty projects, word-based projects (such as reports), or I can't even think of what all else! Off and on, he is working on a now 3-year project of combining the timelines of various ancient civilizations, only looking at the ancient time period itself. Could I hand him a timeline from ETC Montessori for just this purpose? YEP! Am I gonna? NO!

This was HIS project; HIS idea; HIS organization; HIS learning. If I hand him that timeline, I have taken away everything that makes the work personally his. Everything that makes it valuable. By allowing him to create the timeline, think through the placement, change things up, he is learning SO much: even spacing, how much spacing, how to add more details in busy areas (fold-up pages was his solution; sometimes he has little booklets glued on), decisions on colors that will keep things organized and visually appealing. What happens with a BIG mistake? how do we correct that? (problem-solving, emotional control, channeling of anger and disappointment into something constructive); What ARE the most important events? which events are just interesting? which events are so funny they have to be included? Which ones make no sense or have uncertain dates - how shall we note those ones? storage of the material while in-progress; at what stages do we want photographs or ready to share it with someone? Perhaps there are places to add a little pouch into which are inserted homemade 3-part cards for these various civilizations? I can't remember what all he has on there right now, but I know he has Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient Mesopotamia, specifically Ancient Israel, Ancient China just for comparison.
(and no, this was work was not initially inspired by the Timeline of Civilizations, but its continuation most certainly was!)

The creative expression, the cultivation of the intellect and the imagination as an integrated unit. 

That was my goal and despite not always feeling up to par in many areas, this is one goal that has been achieved and is still being achieved - and it is why I fell in love with Montessori.

So, yep, I'm passionate about ;)
a girl re-creating a biology impressionistic chart

It is an aspect I see fading away in so many of the schools I visit or sub at - where the children are handed "everything" instead of just the "keys" - and the outcomes are such that I would not want to send my child to that school.

Montessori without creative expression is what so many people see when comparing Montessori Waldorf or even Charlotte Mason. But Montessori without creative expression isn't really Montessori.


BENEFITS OF PREPARED MATERIAL: It's ready to go.
ON THE FLY MATERIAL: The children should be making it, not the adults.
BALANCE: Provide the keys with prepared materials along with the tools needed for the children to create their own.



But what about those personal interests? How do we provide without going crazy with constant last-minute preparations?

Provide resources on the subject at hand: books, videos, outings, opportunities, discussions. Discern the pertinent information and invite the child to take notes on keywords with bare-bones descriptions (so they don't end up plagiarizing - and yes, note taking can start in primary, with keywords and pictures, and the adult can write a minimal amount for the child). To inspire the child, the adult might need to show a list of keywords/images on paper or on notecards just once to show how it might be done. Just enough to get them started!

Provide paper varieties, pencils, colored pencils, paints, clays, Legos, wood, whatever! Provide a few basic tools, then provide a few more basics as interests expand.

Don't break the bank or your patience! ;)





Tracing the beaded 100-square. Why nine circles in each row/column?
Because those are the gaps between the beads - not the beads themselves.
He accidentally discovered the concept of "negatives"
and the art concept of "negative space."

Recognize this one? His ode to completing the material.
He says, "It is so beautiful I had to make it just one time!"

Re-creating scene from a piece of literature


Monday, January 7, 2013

Dwyer and AMI Primary Language Album

In the last couple (now 3-4) weeks I have taken quite a few questions along the same lines and thought a blog post might be a great place to sort it all out ;)

1/7/12 - let me just reiterate right here - YOU have to decide what will work best for your family. My experience is my experience; while much of my opinion is based on a seriously high amount of observation, even I find myself outside of statistics many times, so I will not lock anyone into them ;) I can only help guide you based on your situation ;)


Within the English-speaking Montessori homeschool world, there are 3 language development "schemes" (anyone have a better word for that!?) that are most prevalent. I am sure there are many variations on these, but as a homeschooler coming to the internet getting started on Montessori, here are the three you will find most often, of late:
(when I was first getting started and before I went to training, #3 was not readily available and I never came across #2, though it was available)
  1. Pink/Blue/Green - altogether the most prevalent. It was developed specifically for the English language  and is heavily promoted by AMS (the Montessori organization with the strongest presence in the United States; and the most accessible to homeschoolers and new Montessori teachers). This system has to work because it is so prevalent, but it can be very overwhelming for new homeschooling parents, and tends to be heavily modified by each user because of these overwhelming aspects. It was not developed by anyone in the Montessori family (Maria, Mario, etc.), but is a specific response to the English language, in a Montessori-inspired manner. History is sketchy on the internet, but it seems to be in response to American-English, versus English in general or British-English (can someone please verify this for me!?). In any case, it may be more appropriate for schools (over homeschools) when seeking to apply it in a pure form. But I would personally not send my child to a school that uses this approach, if I want a true Montessori school.
  2. Dwyer Pamphlet - published by NAMTA - becoming more prevalent as families are really getting burned by the p/b/g work. I wrote up my first post about it here: Analysis of Dwyer booklet compared to AMI Primary Language Album. The emphasis of her pamphlet is "The Exploration of Language" - utilizing keys to unlock language. Keys - what Maria Montessori called her sensorial materials (keys to the world). And while it simplifies the process, it potentially over-simplifies it by mentioning some topics without going in-depth. The reason is that Muriel Dwyer summarized the approach that AMI uses; this booklet was never meant to be a complete step by step guide. 
  3. AMI Primary Language Album - growing in prevalence only because certain AMI-trained Montessori teachers are taking AMI out of the cloistered elite and sharing it with the world. However, picked up straight by a homeschooling parent without Montessori training - it can feel almost as overwhelming as the p/b/g work. If you have a detailed scope and sequence with the album, you're much better off, but there can still be questions. Support and understanding of how the album works is growing. 
  4. There are other resources as well, that seem to be variations on the above: Gettman, Montessori Read & Write, Hainstock's books, and the like. Much more user-friendly and designed to speak to the homeschooling mom, but not as complete as they could be. Excellent filler resources. 
So overall - no one perfect solution for the homeschool mom who would like to pick up a straight-forward guide and run with it. Why is that? Because every child is different, thus modifications are necessary. The nice thing? There is plenty of online support available through e-mail groups and generous Montessori-trained teachers who want this work in the hands of homeschoolers. 


Some other bloggers who have posted fantastic resources or reviews on the differences between pink/blue/green and the Dwyer pamphlet: 
There are many more - and you are welcome to add your link below if you have a blog post/series up about it :) 


Who developed each approach? 

The booklet by Muriel Dwyer appears to be a(n excellent and useful) summary of the AMI approach, which would have been approved by Maria Montessori (2020 edit: Muriel Dwyer worked with Mario Montessori on this approach that works for *any* language for AMI to continue to use in non-purely-phonetic languages). The AMI language album is not heavily focused on learning a language in the same style as Italian - instead is truly keys-based in its exploration of any language. There are conflicting sources for who developed the pink/blue/green series and it seems to be a collaborative effort. I am unfortunately short on time to look much further at this time, but would love if someone else could share this information if they know it for sure :) (see comments)


I think that clarifies most of the questions I have received thus far, except one other main one: 

If I want to follow your recommendation to use the AMI Primary Language with the Dwyer booklet, how do I do that? 


ANSWER: The Dwyer booklet is like the framework, the how-to, and the areas of absolute emphasis; and most parents who are interacting with their children right now, will be able to apply it right away. However, there are some "meaty details" that, if you have the Primary Language album, you will have so many aha moments, that your children will wonder why you're so excited! ;) 


DETAILS: 

The Dwyer booklet corresponds with large portions of the Primary Language album in the following manner (see the chart below)
As you can see, the Dwyer booklet gives the framework and the main things to emphasize, allowing for you to see at a glance what is most important within the foundation. From there, you can better apply the primary language album pages. Best scenario: use a detailed scope and sequence with ages to determine what should be done within a general time frame (parallel works); then use Dwyer to see where in the framework that is, so you have your "place in the grand scheme of things"; and use the language album for your actual presentations.


I hope this all helps! Keep asking questions as they come up!


Dwyer on the left; AMI Primary Language album (Keys of the World modified) on the right.
Note that where it says "mentioned" or "listed" in Dwyer, it means she refers to it, but provides no or very few details. The chart clearly shows that Dwyer summarized the AMI approach - they are the same, just a different level of detail. 

(not included)
Prologue
Education as an Aid to Life
Development of Language (from Theory)
Introduction to Language
Introduction to Spoken Language

Aural Development (ages 0-4+)
Spoken: Vocabulary Enrichment
Orientation Game
Naming Objects in the Environment
Collecting Classified Objects
Practical Life Objects
Parts of an Object
Language of the Sensorial Materials
Three Period Lesson
Classified Cards - Social
Related Objects Game - Presentations A & B
Description/Definition Game
Stories – Biological Classifications
    The Story of Living and Non-Living Matter
    The Story of Plants and Animals
    The Story of the Five Classes of Vertebrates
Sorting Game – Biology Classifications
Nomenclature Cards – Scientific
Life Cycles
Oral Language Games


Aural Development (ages 0-4+)
Spoken: Language Development
Storytelling
Reading and Books in the Library
Poems
Conversation
Question Game
Cultural Folders
     Extension: fictional story telling
Land and Water Form Folders
Land and Water Form Outline Maps
Biome Folders
Art Folders
My State



Writing

Introduction to Writing
Aural Development (ages 0-4+)
Sound Games

Sensitizing Fingers
Symbols for the Sounds (3 1/2 or so + )
Sandpaper Letters
Done WITH the above individual letters
Sandpaper Phonograms (Additional Sandpaper Letters)
Typically around 4, earlier or later
Movable Alphabet
Separate development (not in Dwyer)
Metal Insets (12 Stages)
Small Metal Insets
Map Making



Writing - Art of Handwriting
Lightly touched on (hinted at) in Dwyer booklet
Sand Tray
Chalkboards
Paper Material (10 stages)
Initial Strokes
Green Boards (Initial strokes)
Handwriting Charts – 6
Book Making



Reading: Phonetic Reading
Introduction to Reading
Dwyer: Object Box 1
Phonetic Object Box
Dwyer: “Beginning of Reading”
Phonetic Reading Cards
Dwyer: “Activity Word Game” (part 1)
Phonetic Reading Commands
Dwyer: “Beginning of Reading”
Phonetic Booklets
Rhyming Words



Reading: Phonograms
Dwyer marks this as Object Box 2
Phonogram Object Box and Alphabet Boxes
(only hinted at)
Phonogram Shadow Box
Dwyer has “folders” for a version of these
Phonogram Booklets
Phonogram Cards
(not covered in Dwyer???)
Phonogram Alphabet Exploration
Dwyer: “Activity Word Game” (part 2)
Phonogram Commands
Dwyer: kind of the Phonogram dictionary, but a bit different – would be great to do both versions
Research

Spelling

Dictionary

Personal Dictionary



Reading: Puzzle Words
Puzzle Words in Dwyer, under “The Test” (introduced with the movable alphabet according to AMI)
Puzzle Words



Reading Classification
Mentioned in Phonogram Dictionary and Dictation as parallel work.  
Presentation I – Classifying the Environment
Presentation II – Cards with Labels
     A. Social
     B. Scientific
     C1. Biology Classifications: Living and Non-Living
     C2: Biology Classifications: Plant and Animal
     C3: Biology Classifications: Five Classes of Vertebrates
     Extension: Mix and sort - work up to 5 sets
Presentation III – Definition Stages



Reading: Function of Words
Mentioned in Phonogram Dictionary and Dictation as parallel work.  
Introduction to Function of Words and Background
Article
Adjective
Logical Adjective
Detective Adjective
Conjunction
Preposition
Verb
Adverb
Logical Adverb
Continuation of Commands
Symbol and Phrase Game



Word Study
Further exploration of reading skills and language exploration – much of this can and should be done orally to begin with (with some details left out to be discovered when the child can read for himself), so that the reading portion becomes a deeper work for the children as well as a way to enhance whole reading skills with something familiar.

Mentioned in Phonogram Dictionary and Dictation as parallel work.  
Introduction to Word Study
Compound Words
Suffixes
Prefixes
Word Families
Adjectives
Singular and Plural
Synonyms
Antonyms
Homophones
Homographs
Animal Collectives
Animals and Their Young
Animal Sounds
Animal Homes
Animal Families
Contractions



Reading Analysis
Dwyer: Listed under “Dictation”
Introduction to Reading Analysis
Simple Sentences Stage I
Simple Sentences Stage II
Simple Sentences Stage III



Musical Expression
Not touched on in Dwyer’s booklet.
Introduction to Musical Expression
Notation with the Bells: whole step, half step, tetrachord
Note Names with the Bells (Name Lessons with the Bells)
Introduction to the Musical Staff: Staff, Ledger Lines, G-Clef
Note Names on the Numbered Staff Board
Note Names on the Unmarked Staff Board
Unmarked Staff Boards – Parallel Exercise 1: Matching Cards with Bells
Unmarked Staff Boards – Parallel Exercise 2: Nomenclature Cards
Unmarked Staff Boards – Parallel Exercise 3: Grading
Unmarked Staff Boards – Parallel Exercise 4: Descriptions/Definitions
Composing on the Bells
Reading Music



Language Extension
Much of this work falls under real life experiences, aural and oral language development.

We want the children to have real experiences so they have something to write about with the movable alphabet.
Who Am I?
How to Teach a Song
Clapping – Rhythm
Introduction to Biology
Introducing Animals
Plant Study and Experiments
Telling Time


Additionals particular to Keys of the World albums - not included in straight AMI albums or in Dwyer's booklet.  
Appendix
Language Scope and Sequence
Language Materials List
Master Copies


Related printable and physical materials available here: 


I am getting a lot of off-blog questions - mostly along the same lines. I get wordy in my responses, but here is a quick response ;) 


Can I just use the Dwyer booklet (summary of AMI)and not use the (AMI) full primary language album at all? 



Yes. *If* you are looking to just focus on learning to read and write, and that's it. As a homeschooler you are probably already providing a rich language experience, just living life, using real vocabulary, reading with your child and having lots of real experiences. 

Slightly longer answer: As you can see, the primary language album also includes music, science, as well as all the language studies that come after learning how to read and write. Yes, there are variations on these in elementary, but these are primary level lessons here, and if you have time and a ready-child, the primary language album will serve you well. There is SO much more available in the AMI Primary language album.

It just depends on your situation :)

1/5/12 - See My Boys' Teacher's comment about the albums. This answer also depends which albums you are using.


Click here for a link to the Montessori Trails page correlating Dwyer with AMI with Pink/Blue/Green - aligned next to each other according to stages.