Handwriting Sample

Here is an image of a handwriting sample. This was done by a boy at age 7 1/4 or so - elementary Montessori, homeschool. He was "delayed" in the usual Montessori sequence in writing (see my other post on this one!), though he'd started at 3 1/2 years with capital block letters (of his own accord). However, my (biased, motherly) opinion is that he has beautiful handwriting.

This is NOT his best handwriting; it is an information list of some random words that I just recently found in a folder of mine (I think he had given it to me for something, but the purpose slips my mind). **Updated: he informs me this was part of an online spelling game I'd let him play - these are the words the game was giving him and he had wanted me to see the type of words he was spelling.



I am slightly embarrassed to show the following samples of my own handwriting at a similar age - public school all the way through. The artwork with my name would have been early 3rd grade (8 1/2 - regular classroom); the journal would have been April of 2nd grade (I was in a split class of 2nd/3rd grade; I was writing in cursive by then, and LOVED it, so I don't know what the deal is with the print in this journal). I can't seem to find a cursive sample until middle school work. Odd, because as I said, I loved writing in cursive. I also seem to recall being the top speller in my classes - yet I have some obvious mis-spelled words. But, then, I wasn't a Montessori child!

In my partial defense, when we moved to a new town for 3rd grade, the other kids weren't writing in cursive so "encouraged" me (negative peer pressure anyone!?) to print - you can see the kind of curvy letters in my name that show I was really wanting to write in cursive.

Some points an offline friend noticed:

• Note the use of lines on my paper; versus no lines on his; yet the alignment is similar (therefore he did better because he didn't have a line!).
• If I recall, he was not using proper writing posture to write these words; I was sitting at a desk sized to my body, I was likely using proper posture. Therefore he is still has the advantage; and how much better if he'd used proper writing posture! He always used proper grip.
• writing grasp: I know his is fine; I recall having a soft indent in my ring finger between the nail and the knuckle because of how I wrote (I had this writing grasp into my 20s when I took Montessori training!)
• He is not yet writing long stories, journal entries, even long sentences - unless he is *extremely* interested (copying poignant Scripture passages; selections from the Egyptian "Book of the Dead" - copywork - he's not *thinking of *what to say while writing long things; when he *thinks, he keeps it *short.). That's ok - it all works out - and it means he is more careful with his handwriting itself. 
• In short, his writing has a meaning and a beauty. Mine had meaning; but it was "simplistic" - when my son writes, it has a deep, rich meaning.  

CAVEAT: This is not directly about cursive versus print - only about neatness, style, content, beauty, being able to express oneself.

In the end, I'll take the Montessori education any day, hands-down!

Exercises of Practical Life - Elementary

What do we do in elementary practical life in our home?

There is no concise list. The idea is to provide practical life exercises needed for the children's specific needs. Ideally, they've left primary with basic skills in cleaning, basic food preparation (including cooking with a toaster oven or similar), polishing, care of self, care of clothing, work cycle completion.

Teaching practical life skills seems to come more naturally at this age because historically children have begun to learn these things at this age. We chose to teach certain skills at primary because there is a joy in just doing the activity in and of itself. Now those things are integrated and the child's mind and hands are free to move on to focus on things that are now of deep interest. By the adolescent years, they should have enough tools to work through the emotional changes with grace and health.

Now, in elementary, they are on to bigger things than at primary. In our home over the past two years, we have slowly incorporated the following lessons; I do not pretend this list is complete!

• continuing ALL skills from primary
• answering the phone
• taking a brief message
• placing a phone call
• using the sewing machine
• following a very, very basic sewing pattern
• continuing with cross-stitch, crochet (trying to add knitting)
• weaving
• indoor gardening - will add worm composting soon (edited: it took us a while to get the worms set up! almost 3 years!!!)
• woodworking (Home Depot, at home, at Papa's) - sanding, patterning
• using a video camera with still and moving images
• changing light bulbs
• charging batteries of various kinds (phone, computer, rechargable batteries)
• reading a map (inside buildings, road maps)
• using fusible web to make some clothing and stuffed animal repairs
• household repairs as they come up (just include the children in everything)
• selecting merchandise at the store for supplies for our home businesses
• grocery shopping lists
• basic budgeting - household
• basic budgeting - personal expenses
• pet care (as much as possible at others' homes)
• emergency situations (when/how to call 911, what to do if someone collapses)
• very basic first aid care
• how to handle various social situations
• interviewing at the museum

The list goes on. :) 

Editing to add: In reality, practical life is all around us; as much as possible to include our children in the real day-to-day events and occurrences in our lives, providing them skills through the lives that we adults lead, we won't need "trays" anywhere near as often as places such a Pinterest seem to suggest. Keep it real - keep it straight-forward. If it's not straight-forward, how can YOU improve yourself and/or the task at hand to make it straight-forward and include your child(ren)?

Just food for thought! 

Primary Albums - Elementary Albums - TOO MANY ALBUMS!

Elementary looks different than primary - but there is a continuation and there are connections even where we don't see it at first (most of this information is found in the theory papers as well as the introductions to sections within albums).

I am one to find connections and build upon them. It helps my brain and my sanity. Instead of 5 albums at primary and a separate 8 at elementary; elementary actually does build on primary.

First let's look at each album from primary to elementary:

Theory builds into Theory. That's the easy one ;)

Mathematics: depending on the child and the albums used, some overlap or some gaps - but mostly it continues on into elementary Mathematics. The overlap is in content, but the style of the presentaiton is different.

Sensorial branches out: Geometry is now its own area, as is Geography; as is Music.

Language: appears to be overlap - that's because some of the basic presentations are similar, but address just slightly different aspects and provide different information (if you have primary and elementary, most grammar presentations can be given to both ages at the same time, just directing certain information to the older children). Some children may need "remedial" work (this is not a bad thing!). For all intents and purposes, the core of primary builds into elementary Language.

Note: Language in primary with the AMI-style also incorporates Geography, Biology, Music, Geometry, and Sensorial. 

Exercises of Practical Life: also becomes Geography in elementary.

The only area we really add in elementary is History. While children could have time-telling and timelines of their lives in primary (especially surrounding birthday celebrations), and we tell stories about last month, last year, before you were born, etc; and they have the cultural activities within language and sensorial, the fact remains that it takes a certain skill in abstraction to TRULY contemplate history. So we wait until elementary to formally introduce it.

There we have it. It is connected after all :)

Theory Album available for Purchase

Theory Album - Elementary (ages 6-12)

Options available for download or printed/mailed.

Child-created Materials

Here is an example of what I mean about the children creating their own materials - we adults do NOT need to kill ourselves making everything FOR the child - especially the elementary child.

power switch
(crop image for "safety lock")

Earlier this week, I allowed my son to use our new video camera to experiment with - take some nature pictures and the like - he's been working on a nature book and we were at Grandma and Papa's home, with 60 acres of land at his disposal. I thought he could take some pictures of some things he'd seen on the property. He didn't get far on the nature book because of the new technology in his hands. He's really been working at perfecting his photography skills (the video camera takes stills too), getting interesting angles, working on lighting and such.

Today, we're not officially back to doing school again - but our Montessori way has allowed learning to take place anytime. We've also not entirely cleaned up from our trip away from home; and the old scroll saw (it's dead; it had been in my car trunk before we left; then placed in our living room while we were gone) is still sitting in our living room.

My son decided to make a "Parts of the Saw" booklet for our co-op class. And away he went.

He will organize the photos (with me) in a file, with the titles (he will type it in) and we'll print them out and make a booklet. I am with him, guiding him, but it is he who is looking at the object, noticing the details, deciding what is important, discussing with me any areas of disagreement, coming up with a definition or using resources (yes, I count as a resource) for finding a definition; organizational skills; leadership (he will present the work to the younger children so that he catches his own errors or just finds something that could be explained with more detail or less detail). This is HIS experience, HIS learning, HIS growth.

And I'm right here with him, enjoying the journey, but respecting his space to explore and discover for himself.

He's only missing the blade ;)