We're Home

12:57. Waiting for Legoboy to collect the mail (our local post office isn't forwarding all appropriate mail...). We've finished cleaning, walked out, closed up. I am looking up at the balcony and thinking "I don't miss this place." EVERY other time we've moved, as we pack, I start to think that I will miss the afternoon sunlight, or the pleasant aroma of the lilac trees, or whatever it is about this particular place I just love. Several years ago, we were going to move from here to Milwaukee, and I was definitely in that mindset. I would miss the southern sun through the winter.

But this move. Nope. Nothing. The one place I have lived the longest continuously my entire life - 6 years, 2 months to the day from the moment I signed the lease on this apartment to the moment I saw the inside of the house we live in now, and told the new landlady I want it. 4 days later I was cleaning with a friend; 5 days later I was moving our first load of stuff in.

The difference? All those other moves I was moving to something better, for one reason or another, but there would be drawbacks. So it always balanced out. This time? Everything is better. Not perfect (I want to own our own property with at least 3 times the acreage - run a small Montessori farm school). But EVERYTHING is better. No drawbacks (I guess the overall higher electricity bill and the double-rent for two weeks and having to do some of our own maintenance don't really count as drawbacks ;) ). We have a LARGE yard - about an acre, in the shape of a capital T. The neighbor on one side has a decent size yard in between (OUR part of the yard, no less); the other neighbor is the landlord's father and he has tall plants growing along his fence (privacy) and there is a driveway between our house and the fence (leading to the pole barn), with his drive on the other side. Yes, our landlord will use that driveway (the pole barn is theirs) - but he is mowing the lawn - way cool.
There is a decent size garden already. We'll make it bigger in the springtime. A GARDEN!
And apple trees. Edible apples on my own property! We picked a few, and the landlord picks more to sell along the roadside. We can have what we like from the trees of course.
We have maple trees too. Not sure how many (limited time to look) - perhaps enough for a quart of syrup? Just for the fun of it? Maybe! We'll find out.

We have a full basement. Divided into two rooms. One room will be for woodcutting (finally in my OWN HOME! No more driving half hour to a (dear!) friend's house to woodcut. Now I can cut 2 minutes at a time if needed - much more efficiency with Garden of Francis orders!

The other room has an OLD deep freeze (won't be using it - much too big for us) and an old refrigerator (might use it for storing some stuff, but stuff that is mostly canned/sealed already). We are looking forward to purchasing a smaller chest freezer before month's end.

And the BRAND NEW washing machine I just purchased. I have never purchased one before; I made a list of the features I wanted. No agitator being pretty close to the top (no, it IS at the top). Well, that happens to get pricey. Do I "deserve" a new washing machine? No. And certainly not the more expensive one. Many people have pointed out some facts to me though:

• I never purchase something that isn't really good value for the money invested.
  
• I make things last by properly caring for them.
  
• I tend to make my own repairs. (I am loving that the landlord/landlady actually prefer I do any minor repairs myself - this is some odd inner need of mine - to care for my own stuff, to feel creative in that way, to exercise stewardship over my surroundings). I make things LAST. 
• I have been handwashing my laundry (and sometimes taking loads to a friend's house, perhaps once every 4-6 months) for 5 years now. And personal laundry cannot be washed in anyone else's machine because of the residue build-up, that even with my homemade, no harsh chemicals still gives me uncomfortable rashes. Sorry Mom and Grandma - your machines too! And I KNOW those are clean! Our apartment machines were just awful - and we had to pay for them. NO THANK YOU.
  
• I am not yet getting a dryer. We'll hang dry a while longer. A chest freezer is a more useful and wise investment of our money next, and after that we need to build up savings and pay down debts again. So I'm not looking to "spoil" myself. Simply utilize my money and time wisely.
  

This house has 3 bedrooms and a den/office. The living room is a hair smaller than our apartment living room, but in the apartment a portion was used up by our dining room table. Now - the den/office is a dining room (with a small sewing room at one end ;) ). I have a dining room! No more eating in the living room!!!!!

( just a little excited there )

Then the small bedroom on the main floor, next to the DINING ROOM, is the..... LIBRARY. Half of my bedroom has been the library - now it is a room of its own. And we'll have a good deal of the school supplies in there, using the closet for our main storage of items we use routinely (holiday decor and the like). Both of these rooms (indeed the whole ground floor) is a mess right now because we were waiting for the carpeting to go in upstairs. Yeah. Upstairs. I'd be fine with a ranch-style house and a basement, but somehow this feels more like "home" with the upstairs. LOTS of closet space, one large bedroom, one smaller bedroom, one LARGE closet with a light already in it (now "Legoboy's cave" - he has his Legos in there already), and a large landing for the keyboard, music shelf and a shelf along the rails for the games (doubling as protection against falling through the rails and my fear of heights ;) ).

We are potentially looking to do foster care, so haven't yet decided on the arrangement of the bedrooms. Firstly, the small bedroom will have the bed and be set up as something of a guest room. We'll sleep on the main floor for a little while longer while waiting for the gas furnace to be installed (within the next week, but then we'll wait a bit longer to conserve the gas bill while....)..... I also want to get through the sewing projects I have, so want to use the large room to spread out a bit. Get through all of that, creating a variety of items to sell at local craft shows and on Etsy (I have a LOT of fabric I don't use routinely enough and it just needs to GO), as well as a few other crafty projects. Get all those things done and sold, while going through the foster care preparation process.

By the time we finish all of that up, we'll be ready to sleep upstairs, but also make decisions regarding possibly my own sleeping quarters and Legoboy's - that provides the appropriate balance for him and for any potential foster children.


Our kitchen has light; our bathroom has light - all rooms here have windows (except Legoboy's cave - and he is happy with that). Our apartment had no windows in the kitchen and bathroom; the bathroom was HUGE (way too huge) and our kitchen was tiny (smaller than the bathroom....). The stove here has a light and a window - yeah, I missed that. ;) Weird little things like that, that just make a place more COMFORTABLE. The kitchen here is so much bigger; I could have a small table in there, but I am putting in a long narrow table to have more counter space instead. You know - since we have a DINING room and all ;) The bathroom is SO much smaller, but you know what? I am totally cool with that. It is functional and cute (needs a new sink - but we'll address that in a few months), and still has space for a bathroom shelf to hold our towels and such. It has what it needs AND has that thick frosted glass for a beautiful natural light (I can actually keep a plant in there - it will have enough light!). Yep. All good.


So - issues will come up - but this is the first move I have made in a long time that is truly an upward movement. And the first move ever that has no lingering wishes or something I will miss from the last place. As I looked up at the balcony, I realized, "We have been trying to LIVE in that apartment - for 6 years - and now we can finally LIVE without trying." Pure joy.


Home!

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!

Guess what we are doing? ;)

Yeah, that's just the books. (minus the two tubs of fabric on the table)

And apparently not even all of them.

Will post photos of the library when all is unpacked in the new house ;)

Reality vs. Fantasy Before Age 6 - My Experience

I knew about the Montessori principle of focusing on reality before my son was born. So I was good to go from the start. And I fully supported it because it made sense - it fit with my own experiences working with children that I had not been able to clarify before.

A not so scientific survey - well, it's scientific, just anecdotal/observational science:

Children founded in reality in the first plane of development (conception to age 6) have stronger imaginations, greater creativity and are generally still in awe of the world around them into the elementary years, as compared to children who were surrounded by other people's imaginings in those formative years.

For example, I can tell what sort of 0-6 upbringing a 6-8 year old child has had in response to the first Great Lesson: God with No Hands. Children founded in reality, recognize immediately that there is some amount of fantasy here (the inanimate world does not actually whisper "I hear my Lord, and I obey" nor do angels actually carry heat up and bring cool down). The children immediately recognize words such as "like" and "as if", referring to analogies. The children understand these analogies and pick up on them, even if they have not had an explicit lesson on "analogy." These children can immediately get into the exploration of the actual facts and have JOY in the imaginative pieces - 'those particles, "like" people, like some but have a strong dislike for others', the children find such amusement in this line!

On the other hand, the children who have had experience with a lot of other people's imaginations (things that are not real, adults telling stories that couldn't possibly be true for the fun of it, cartoons, etc.), even when they tell you they "know" the difference between fantasy and reality - will ask at the end (or interrupt in the middle!) of the First Great Lesson, "Is that real?" Or they will say, "Well, that's not really what happened."

Yes, you are correct my child, but did you actually listen?

The story itself doesn't say that it is really what happened - the analogies make this clear. But these children have been set up to argue something that wasn't an argument. They have to repeat to themselves the concepts in the story itself to say that the story is an imaginative event, with a good deal of real facts. So 1) they consciously miss the clues that are obvious to the other children yet 2) they are re-stating those very clues in their own words ("this isn't how it exactly happened").

It becomes almost a difference between true pure joy and a building cynicism.

Wow. And I just wanted to tell a story to open up the geography album.

It happens in other areas too.

The children with the mixed experiences before age 6 seem to spend several of their elementary years sorting out the difference between reality and fiction. I wonder, if a longitudinal study were done, if this carries over into their adolescent and adult years - leading to people questioning objective Truth in this world. Even those without cynicism waste those elementary years still sorting out real versus fiction.

The children with the solid foundation in reality spend their elementary years enjoying the awe and wonder of the world around them, asking many "what if" questions that explore the very real natural laws around us; then testing them out and seeing what more they learn. This is true imagination - to test the limits of reality.

The children with mixed experiences generally consider fairy tales to be girly stories (if they are boys) and baby stories (if they are boys or girls). They might participate because they know there is something there, but there is a rough exterior that says, "I'm actually too cool for this but I'll go along with it since everyone else is." Or they tend to tease the other children who actually still like fairy tales.

The children with the reality experiences DELVE into fairy tales (which are actually moral tales), reading the original versions and various re-writes. They explore the moral dimensions, they re-write endings, or write alternative viewpoints. They explore the cultural dimensions and what it meant to have Cinderella's eyes pecked out by ravens. They are fascinated with Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories" and can actually sit through a reading of the original Jungle Books.


Now does this happen with EVERY child? Probably not. But think about this: even the children who SAY they understand the difference, and verbally state they know and then proceed to prove it... doesn't mean they really get it. And sometimes, the fact that they have to verbalize it, means that they have not entirely internalized it. Sometimes the whole talking through something is a sign that the child is still working through it.

And it has been consistent with all the children I have personally observed in this area.

Small Home Montessori - Elementary - What we're doing

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

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

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

We even had the bells in there:

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

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

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

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


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

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


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

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


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


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

Montessori Elementary Art Album

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

What this Montessori Elementary Art album is NOT:

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

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

This album is NOT "Advanced Practical Life":

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

This album is NOT intended for Primary:

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

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

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

So what IS this Montessori Elementary Art album?

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



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

Biology: Health and Dissections

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why yes, Son, yes we did. 

Removing some of the fat. 

Removing the cornea

Removing the cornea

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

examining his collections
and generally looking handsome

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

Removing the tapetum

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

there they are

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

Upper Elementary Montessori - New work journal and work plan

Work Journal - really it's nothing new, a bit more detail in some areas, a bit less in others. We are simply looking for a record of general time spent. Questions and thoughts now go into their own notebooks rather than in here, though sometimes things pop up in here too.

Just to have a cute photo
for the upper elementary montessori
work plan post ;) 

So we use a spiral notebook; note the date, then list general times spent on general studies/activities. We might have 2 days on a page; or it might be a full page for 1 day.


Work Plan - we are going full-monthly now. Legoboy has his plans and we still have the remainder of the albums.
Truly, as we moved into upper elementary (click that link for a related post), I thought the remainder of the albums would be done rather quickly. Nope! What has happened is that I am presenting FAR less. He receives a new presentation and has two courses of action:

1. Runs with it. Uses it. Practices it. Builds a small (or large) study around it.
   
2. "Gets it." Then returns to his other small or large studies he is doing, integrating the new presentation wherever is appropriate.
   

I am even MORE grateful that we didn't go with more detailed upper elementary albums. As schools start up in my area, I am continually asked "so when do you start school again?" When I say, "We never stop learning," most people are appalled (thinking of textbooks for 4-8 hours every.single.day all.year.round). Nope! We have keys-based Montessori albums that require us to live life to its fullest ;) 

So we are still meeting each week to go over the schedule for the week (I don't mean school schedule - I mean our family schedule: tae-kwon-do, church events, Mass times, events at the Legostore, anything scheduled with friends or family (lots of pool parties lately!)). We then go over the non-scheduled things that need to be done this week.


By "go over" - this means we discuss it. I don't dictate "here are the things that need to be done" (unless there IS something that needs to be done, but honestly he tells ME those things even when I already know). We have our routine of what we discuss and he runs with it. He'll come up with things that should/could be done, or share an insight on how something could be done, etc.

For example, 2 weeks ago, he suggested we attend the early morning Mass at St. Martin so that we can work on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd sacristy items at St. Paul on the way back, followed by St. John's which is also on the way back, saving a short trip of gas. His actual motive however, was to assure some time in the schedule to play a new game: Settlers of Catan. Well, ok, I can handle that ;)


So we now have a list of monthly goals or "themes" with our weekly conversation of what will be accomplished in each given week. If he feels he needs more time to accomplish a goal, we can discuss and I will support or nix an extension. I want him to learn to meet deadlines, but at 10, Legoboy should not be up until midnight or 3am finishing projects just to meet a deadline either.




As the mother and head of the household, I do have final say on all decisions, but I cherish these moments of discussing age-appropriate experiences with my son, allowing (encouraging!) him to be part of the thought-process behind life's little and large decisions; thereby knowing that when he is an adult and fully responsible for himself, I know that I have equipped him with all that I can including my prayers and my entrusting him to God.


There are a good number of anti-Montessori adults who want to emphasize adult control and adult direction to the point of denying that God has given our children any capabilities of their own. Thus, they hold on too tight until it is time to release the child to the world, then they are devastated by the results when the now-adult child looks to find another authority to "listen to" because he or she is incapable of making one's own decisions. These children spend their 20s (sometimes longer) getting their lives straightened out, when they could spend that time living a wonderful life by having learned all those adult life skills in tiny increments as growing children.
(end soapbox ;) )


August themes/plans:

• My Temple of the Holy Spirit health study (Catholic-based, but could be done by any Christian denomination)
• Study each topic in this book, adding desired activities from Blood and Guts; coloring pictures in two anatomy coloring books (the two we have are high school level, really)
• Dissections where appropriate
  
• Finish up My Pet Store Math (a Charlotte Mason offering) - we had to take a break from this a while back. He would like to finish it up.
  
• Work of Water: create the river model by himself
• Catch up on astronomy newsletters and spend at least 1 night a week outside under the stars
• Come close to finishing Mystery of History (because of his love for ancient history, volume 1 has taken FOREVER to do! This is fine because
  
1. he has the Great Lessons, thus the overview of Cosmic Education;
   
2. he has taken each (or almost every) short lesson and done some further follow-up work beyond selecting at least one of the included activities (usually more), creating the timeline cards and creating a Wall of Fame in a notebook of his own);
   
3. this is the only volume we plan to do. As Catholics, there are 2 specific locations that brought up some interesting discussion for us. Volumes 2 and 3 veer from how we understand the revelation of God. We'll have those discussions, just not with any particular history textbook. 
• Review work with decimal fractions. He has had some minor trouble with decimal places with the Pet Store Math - mostly in understanding when/why we don't need extra zeroes after a final decimal, unless we have something like 90 cents. And he wants to finish reviewing that material/section for me for the math album.
  
• Further music presentations. We have stalled on these, not because we don't LOVE them but because of time and space. He has been playing the piano but no real lessons. We'll look into picking up lessons next month, but our goal this month is to get the tone bars set up again and proceed forward with those album pages.
  

That's it! Think block scheduling, with lots of real life connecting it all.

We are not covering other subjects this month either because we naturally do them and don't have any particular plans/goals (growing and using herbs; prayer/faith studies (we are prepping the atriums for classes to start this September); or because he has goals for those areas in September or October. These later months aren't fully planned, but he set up a page for each to move things over that won't fit for the month of August. Organizational planning skills ;)  

So how did we spend our time today? Discussing the brain, the eye and the heart (topics of his own interest) - then doing a dissection on a cow's eye (post to come later this week!) - all of his own accord, on a deeper level than if I'd required it, but still with my requirement that he learn it thoroughly and all related ethics. I shared that information with a woman who thought I was crazy to not have starting/ending dates for school - she is a retired nurse and she insists he is doing high school level work (with the terminology he used to explain to her what he did today, yep, maybe it IS high school level work. He's 10. What does that say about high school offerings? Of course, I did the same work in college...).

Montessori Elementary Art Album - Now Ready!

Legoboy has been helping me in a BIG way of late...

Not only has he been taking photographs, learning to edit them, and all that photography entails, he has been bringing me food while I sit on the couch working and provides a series of snuggles and kisses to keep me focused and motivated.

And testing everything out for me, for you, for your children.

Ok, so anyone on Facebook the last 2 days knows that I was LOOKING for distractions. Sometimes when something is on the to-do list for a LONG time, it kind of takes over. The to-do list needs that item on it, it cannot, will not, never will budge - even an inch.

Thus, it was physically painful to do one hour's worth of work to finish up the Elementary Montessori Art Album for my wonderfully patient Keys of the Universe participants - it only took me 14 hours.

All day, our last full vacation day at Grandma and Papa's to boot. I thought that would be enough motivation to finish that last hour's work before the boys woke up.

Nope. So much for vacation (for the record, I don't know how to take a vacation, just to be clear).

But at long last.

Here it is!!!!


The e-mail announcement that just went out:


I am so excited to share a new addition to the Keys of the Universe Album set - the art album is ready! It includes slightly modified presentations from the primary albums (EPL, Language, Sensorial) with additional album pages, skills and notes for the elementary child. What key skills lay the foundation for a strong elementary experience that allows for creativity and self-expression at all ages, especially in adolescence (Margaret Homfray noted in one of her lectures the necessity of teaching basic handskills to the younger children, so that they are not "learning" a new basic skill during the emotional adolescent years, when all they should be focusing on is expressing themselves with those basic skills.



Table of contents is here:
http://keysoftheuniverse.com/albums/ (click on the title of the Art album)

The art album is packaged with the music album here:
http://keysoftheuniverse.com/elementary/course/view.php?id=71
with Online Support (access to discussion community, downloadable materials, resource sharing, etc.) here:
http://keysoftheuniverse.com/elementary/course/view.php?id=65

Or individually at Garden of Francis:
to print or download: http://gardenoffrancis.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=27_24&products_id=274
to download: http://gardenoffrancis.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=27_24&products_id=268

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. 

Negative Snake Game - Signed Numbers - Upper Elementary

He wanted to build a snake that would definitely be negative - gray - and deep negative - lots of gray.

So he did. 

But see - he is actually just slightly beyond this work. He is 10, but started this work in lower elementary - he was just ready (LOVE that about Montessori ;) ). He needed (and requested) review before we move into operations with signed numbers (negative numbers) and it has been a while since he has worked with the negative snake game. (see disclaimer regarding the name of this material at the end of this post).

Thus, being this work is not a challenge for him, he MADE it a challenge. Instead of bringing down two bead bars at a time and doing this work based on math facts and number lines, he found various patterns:

• all positives/negatives that cancel each other out - eradicate and move on
• grouping together a series of negatives, getting one answer (such as negative 38), then grouping together some positives and balancing it out
• groups of beads (3-bar and 4-bar in positives, eradicate those with a negative 7-bar
• verified by finding all those matches again, grabbing them in matching groups rather than aligning one positive and one negative - definitely a sign he's beyond the work ;) 

Well, hey, he's using his math facts ;)

When he wrote the work on paper, before beginning to change the color of the snake, he grouped together each "set" of positive and negative bars, writing -16 for a -4, -7, -5; then writing +12 for +9, +3; etc. 

His idea:
use the underside of the boxes for the bead stairs.
Glue felt underneath the boxes, he says. 

Final answer. 

I started to sort the bars to actually match;
then realized, better to show what Legoboy actually does ;) 

So the final value of the snake is the positive (colored beads) matched against the negative beads;
what is leftover from either side should match what the snake turned into. 

He did this whole process with two snakes - which is a lot. One long snake is usually sufficient - providing a worksheet full of math facts, but he very clearly stated he wanted practice, he wanted good photo ops (to him, these are fantastic photos ;) ), and he wanted to prove his smarts. He said that. Goof.
(Again, I emphasize: ONE long snake is sufficient for one day. Really.)





***Disclaimer: My AMI albums have the following snake games:
1) Addition Snake Game - primary
2) Subtraction Snake Game - primary
(children can review these in lower elementary)
3) Negative Snake Game - later lower elementary or early upper elementary; other signed numbers work can come later

I have heard of other snake games, but these all seem to be one of the following:
1) an extension of one of the snake games listed above
2) a form of verification on one of the snake games listed above
3) unnecessary for most children
4) another NAME for one of the snake games listed above (I have seen the subtraction snake game for the primary level called the "negative snake game" - which makes no sense, because we are subtracting at that point, not "adding negative numbers")

Link to Montessori Nugget on Snake Game names. 

Montessori Guide Cards - Mathematics and Geometry

Legoboy has been busy-busy-busy.

He is an awesome reviewer (read: nitty-picky, tedious, tough audience to please) - as he has combed through the mathematics guide cards I have been developing while adding illustrations to, editing and clarifying points in the elementary Montessori mathematics album. One chapter at a time and it is getting done! Yay!

These guide cards are to be used for follow-up work. I moved away from calling them Montessori task cards or Montessori work cards as others have similar items listed... because these ones do NOT provide specific math problems to solve, instead focusing on "select several addition fraction problems to solve. Write them on your paper, use the materials to solve, and note your answers." Or "select several division problems with a zero in the middle of the 3-digit divisor". In this way, the child is still working on specific skills but is not limited by an outside authority.

There is so much flexibility with these cards - the adult can add a card with some sample problems (one of the fraction cards requires it, to keep the initial work within the scope of the material), add cards or notes to utilize specific pages in other resources; the child himself can add these ideas, or add questions to research, ideas for research, note favorite areas of study, etc. Legoboy has come up with some ideas - and my 3 adult reviewers have as well.

Geometry is done - as one complete file only (not divided by chapters).

Mathematics is half-done (through chapter 6) but those who purchase the entire set or the later chapters today, will receive them as I get my final reviews back from (darling!) Legoboy --- there is only so much he can do with some of it, because he is only just starting some of the later chapters, so this last part will go even quicker. By this time next week, all chapters will be done.

They print out with 2 cards on a page - cut in half - plenty of room for adding further ideas or illustrations as needed.

Legoboy really-really-really wants me to point out that an individual child could use these for recording SOME work (not bigger work and not items that need graph paper - but some work).
;)


Garden of Francis - Keys of the Universe Elementary Montessori Downloadable and Printables

Note: if you have paid for access to Keys of the Universe online support, you have a 75% discount code to use ;)


Other subjects are upcoming! Geography, Music, Biology, Language, History

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.

Happy Birthday Legoboy!

The Goof ;)

Decorating his door for his party

Birthday Strawberry Angel Food Cake
(instead of shortcake - and it's whole wheat flour)

His favorite gift - no surprise ;) 

Personal Finances and Montessori

It is never too early for a child to experience the reality of finances - indeed, the sooner they experience this very real aspect of most modern cultures, the more comfortable they are maintaining their value systems with it and the more likely they are to be creative throughout life in various economic situations.

Montessori does not specifically address "here is an album page about personal finances" - what DO we have in primary Montessori and elementary Montessori?

• decimal fractions - with extensions to include local currency
• language nomenclature - on monetary units
• economic geography - studying the trades and interactions of current times (can be extended to historical and imaginative cultures as well)
• story problems/word problems using money and goods exchanges
• Goings Out - using real money and real exchanges in real every-day life. Planning purchases, planning errands, looking at gas prices and driving routes, reality of putting too many miles on the car needlessly, shopping around for the best balance of price and quality for services needed or desired, etc. Just living real life - and involving all family members. 

Doesn't sound like much, but it lays a strong foundation for each family to take those skills and experiences and proceed forward with their own value system in their own family unit. 

What have we incorporated into our Montessori experience to get into finances? 

Financial Peace Jr. - just the kit; we did not use the storybooks ourselves, but did borrow a couple from a friend. They are good for very young children; they did not go over very well with Legoboy at age 7 and 8. He said, "Yeah, I got that already." I felt it was pretty simplistic for Legoboy personally, because he'd been doing the envelope system of give/spend/save using upcycled parmesan cheese containers, since he was about 3. However, I do think the stories were good reinforcement of the lessons we'd been naturally experiencing his whole life. Ages 3-12 - I like it, but wish it had "more" for the 7-12 children who have had these lessons earlier on. I looked into the high school program he has, but it is more than what we need for a 10 year old boy. 

Your Business Math (Charlotte Mason style) - We wrote about the start of Legoboy's pet store here. This has been a great use of percentages, taxes, etc. We've been taking it slowly - and have a few months to go yet. Taking it slower than anticipated has actually benefited us because he can go back to his Montessori lessons, go deeper, then come back to this with new insight. He's even gone back and reviewed a couple of past months to see, "What could I have done different?" or "Oh! Now I see how that part works!"

Just living it - I have involved Legoboy on some level or another in our family finances from the beginning. Frankly, if this step is all a homeschool family does, GREAT! And it is entirely Montessori: real life, real experiences, real discussions, sharing of the family value system. Perfect! In infancy and toddlerhood, the child sees the transactions happening and the parent can verbalize what is happening - "we need $15 to give to the cashier to purchase this food" or whatever it is. In preschool, children can receive a small allowance (Legoboy started with 3 dimes each week: save, spend, give (church)). It is AMAZING how quickly he caught on. He saw a coloring book he wanted at Target. It was 99 cents plus tax. I told him he had his own money now and he could save up for it. When we got home that day, he asked me to write down how many dimes he would need to buy it. I told him "10" (I'd pay the sales tax to keep things simple for him). He TRACED 10 dimes on a piece of paper; then placed a dime on each circle as he got it (only the spend/save ones - he still gave a dime each week to church). When he had 10 filled in, he asked if we could go back. He talked about it off and on during that time of saving up, but he didn't harp on it, and he didn't ask if we could go back until he had them all. 

When we got there, that particular coloring book was gone, but he found another one at the same price that was suitable and he purchased that one instead. With his own money. I won't say he was "proud of himself" because I didn't get that impression; but he definitely seemed confident in himself, patient (he didn't stare at the chart he'd made for hours on end - just looked once in a while), and he definitely cared for that coloring book. 

At 5, he moved up to 3 quarters a week .Later, I introduced the idea of doing extra work for money. By 7, he didn't get a routine allowance, but he did have opportunities to earn money. Recently, approaching age 10, we discussed the idea that all that he does helps Mom earn money for the household, and yes he should have a share in that, in addition to having his clothing, food and educational needs met. He has always earned his own money for Legos, tae-kwon-do belt tests (I cover the uniforms since this is required "clothing") and tournaments, extra books (though it is interesting to see how much I include under "homeschooling" ;) ), and some other entertainment. Now, we have worked out a daily system with his daily chores and expectations where he doesn't get paid to DO them, but he does have to pay me from that money each day when I have to remind him or the tasks weren't accomplished (thus taking my time away from earning household income, or contributing to the amount of work I have to do to keep the household running - so he's "paying me" for my time spent). 

He really takes true appropriate pride in his work. He even said to me one evening, "I am really happy I have to work for the things I purchase. I like gifts, but if everything was given to me I wouldn't be happy - I'd be lazy and not satisfied with anything. But I know how much work I put into having the things I have. They are really mine because I worked for them." 

Our most recent addition to the personal finances education experiences: 

Act Your Wage - We purchased ours through Homeschool Buyers Co-op (a great place to be if you can control what you purchase - only buy what you would have anyway, just at a discount price!). 

This game is great for the 8+ crowd who have some solid basic financial foundation. There is not a lot of math involved - adding and subtracting - comparing greater than versus less than; doubling the emergency fund size. I have read some reviews that suggest it would be boring for adults; and maybe I see that. For our Montessori elementary and adolescent children though? I recommend it quite strongly! 

This was a slightly early birthday gift for my big 10 year old young man (ack - I did NOT just type that!!! he is getting too old!) - and of course we had to cancel our plans for a couple of hours and play the game, then discuss/critique it and now write this post. 

Indeed, as I think about the parts that others have written low reviews on - and ways to make it more satisfying for adults --- there are so many ways to utilize house rules for easier or harder (use fewer debt cards for younger children; more for older; have some choices built-in; etc.). Modify! 

As I look over the few state standards that contain information on personal finances, look over the college level courses I took in accounting, business management and personal finances.... I truly feel that we have really followed a good path. This game is an excellent step along the way; with a high school level course in basic business management or personal finances (both of which fit right in with the Montessori adolescent model!), I am truly satisfied that my son will leave his adolescent years with a solid foundation. The choices he makes will be his own, but I will have given him all that I can. 

Yay! Some satisfaction as we hit the double digits! 

;)