Pulleys - Simple Machines

As with other topics, my AMI albums do not directly or explicitly state when to bring in simple machines (think levers and pulleys). And for this, I am SO thankful. Because Montessori is about living life and handing just every single thing to the child isn't really fulfilling that human tendency towards exploration... Hm. The fact is, different children reach that interest at different times and by different routes. So bring in simple machines when it makes sense ;)
(note: I do have upcoming support albums that will make it very clear where the connections lie regarding various topics of interest)

In the meantime, I have done the work of "strewing" - books and hints here and there, Life of Fred, Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding levels 1 and 2, and just encouraging all interests and all questions.

This morning we made sourdough pancakes (YUM!! And I don't feel heavy like I usually do after pancakes - definitely sticking with sourdough from now on!).

Our table is, well, otherwise in use, so Legoboy set us up a picnic area on the floor, but he didn't want all the toppings right in front of him - too tempting ;) He tied a string to a wagon-thing to pull it towards us when we need it, but then thought, "Hm. It would be nice if we could do something else that would push it away from us." He thought of getting one of his sticks weapons, but then remembered I don't want those things near my food (he uses them outside and they are dirty). I said, "I wonder if there is a way to have another string to pull from right where we sit that draws the wagon away from us?"

He thought about that. But that would be "pulling" and he wants to "push". But could it be done? While I finished up the pancakes I let him explore.

The original set-up

He DID it!!!
Now, where is the picnic blanket so we can EAT!?

Afterwards, he said he was really interested in it, and continued to ask questions - what else would we do the opposite to get the desired result (we discussed sewing machines - how a machine uses two threads and one needle where hand sewing uses one - and yes there are variations, but we were thinking "first machine" here - I even have a book about the sewing machine's inventor --- I thought this would lead to a study of inventions and inventors and was already thinking "timeline making supplies", "which inventors biographies do we have on hand" and the like - UM. Wrong again, Mom!). He then asked, "Do we have anything about this pulling thing?" He kind of missed the word "pulley" thinking I said "pulling". It fits, though, huh!?

First thing I pulled out was our Funk and Wagnalls Science Encyclopedia - a bit dated, but I have always liked the straight-forward format AND the corresponding project book. YES, there is a project for simple machines (the main entry is entitled "Machines, Simple" - so a built-in lesson on how we look for the main word for an entry, then it will be followed by a common, then its appropriate adjective - just like in the back of a cookbook --- no album page for this one, just real life! ;) ).

But he wanted more. Legoboy asked, "Do we have any science light-units or guides? Don't buy any if we don't, but if we have them, I'd be interested!"

Turns out I have Christian Light Publications Science LightUnit 404 which covers simple machines. While I am not "excited" about curriculum for the sake of curriculum or workbooks in general, if you are Christian, these light-units (workbooks) can be used as a study-guide. They quite nicely in lay out the topic at hand in a straight-forward manner, with clearly divided text, and several integrated hands-on demonstrations (these are not experiments because we know the outcome - they are demonstrating a principle at hand). They are designed to be utilized by the child and the only ones we like and use do NOT require the use of a textbook. We keep (from stuff given to us) and purchase only the topics of interest and use them in a child-led manner. While these topics that I keep/purchase are on our state-standards, thus I expect them to be covered, Legoboy also has time between now and 6th grade to get to them. For level 4, we also have 405 on Electricity. The other topics I find are fully covered with the Montessori work, BFSU, or are very easily supplemented without the use of a "guide."

If anyone is interested, I am happy to put together a list of lightunits that correspond well with Montessori albums at appropriate moments - just as this one on simple machines and the next one on electricity.

Yep. He's a happy camper!

Lots of hands-on work and I know he will put together his own experiments/tests because that is the sort of thinking and learning that has been encouraged through providing very basic Montessori materials - creativity! ;)


UPDATED TO ADD: Just when a boy thinks he is too old for wagons and other such "young child goods" - do NOT BELIEVE HIM! Tuck the item away, but not entirely out of sight. He WILL want it  back!
The wheeled thing in question above has been on the "young child goods" list for 2 years. And now... he's been working with it for 4 hours. I think it has new life ;)

Toddler Montessori At Home

Ok, in the last 2 weeks I have been asked for varying levels of insight into toddler-hood by no less than 15 individuals! I preface the entire following post with these points:
--I am not infant-toddler trained *at all*.
--My initial Montessori experience was in a wonderful AMI school in the after-school care, the lower elementary and the toddler room (somehow I was never needed in primary at that particular school!). These experiences were strong ones and truly formed my whole Montessori way of thinking - in comparing to later experience, I find that the children were full of joy, with very bright eyes, and the teachers were expert observers!
--I have raised exactly one child through the entire infant-toddler stage.
--I have played a role in providing Montessori environments to countless children on a part-time basis, including providing a Montessori environment in my own home for daycare purposes.
--I am not an expert; I would love to go back for more AMI training, but I (like most of my readers) simply can't do that. I did primary and elementary - those were two miracles by themselves. My official training time is done :(

But I love to share what worked for US!



So here we go: 


For toddler-hood, I did use Montessori from the Start (separating the wheat from the chaff ;) ) as well as my observations at local Montessori toddler programs (which wasn't all that great); I drew as much as I could from my past experience of working in an AMI toddler room as the routine substitute - to this day it is probably the best toddler Montessori environment I've ever been in - other AMI rooms came quite close; and none of the non-AMI ones suited me at all, sad to say - and at the time I didn't even know the difference between AMI and AMS.
NOTE: If I could begin again, I would set aside Montessori from the Start and read "The Joyful Child" by Susan Stephenson - available at MichaelOlaf.net. While Montessori from the Start has more detailed activity descriptions, it was really hard to separate the wheat from the chaff!

A simply grand infant-toddler activity.
Yes I bought this salt shaker set specifically
so my son could do this work of mounting toothpicks.
Solid glass, heavy, and a metal cap.
Step 1: toothpicks into wide-mouth jars
Step 2: tootpicks into water bottles
Step 3: Mounting toothpicks on salt shakers.
CONCENTRATION.
COORDINATION.
FOCUS.
FILLS their inner drive towards TINY work.
It's real (glass and metal).
(I don't care for pepper, so this is actually the pepper shaker -
we use the salt one for salt!)

My very strong advice on this age is to worry less about teaching anything in particular and focus more on:
--real experiences
--real materials (heavy glass tumblers are more appropriate for an older infant sitting at his chair, then a plastic sippy cup knocked off the tray or traipsing around the house)
--whole/real language - and verbally labeling all things in the environment.
--beginning the sound games just for the fun of it
--including the child in all activities possible
--lots of snuggling, reading, conversations (encouraging responses)
--trust the child's ability to learn, including learning boundaries. Maintain them. (provide toothpicks for mounting on a saltshaker lid, but no they do not go in the mouth)
--Develop good habits by allowing good things to happen. Don't interrupt a child's attention and focus for example.
--Cull bad habits by stopping them immediately. Those keys on the table with the swiss knife attached? Yep. They're enticing, but they stay there when you've said 'no' and the child has been given something else to explore.
--OBSERVE your child.

I can't emphasize any of the above enough! Perhaps some day I will be able to write a blog post (or series of blog posts) about each of those points. In the meantime, take them one by one and consider what you can do to implement them. What does it mean? What new habits do you need to work on for yourself? What environmental changes do you need to make?


For inspiration - we have always had small homes; for a few months at different times we did live with other families in larger houses (and I had less control over those houses, in regards to safety features) - so my posts focus on the smaller spaces - and limited budgets.

Three previous posts:
Practical Life for the Toddler Years
Infants and Toddlers at Home
Toddler Montessori Home Environment

See the full set of toddler posts by clicking here.

Montessori Homeschool Schedule and Work Boxes

The last two months have been a time of transition for us. We typically start our new school year with Advent (the first Sunday of the new liturgical year for our church). While he started to tell people he is now in 4th grade and he's 9, Legoboy is one (wanting to be) confused little boy!

He is 8. But during this study of ancient civilizations we came across the Chinese belief that life starts at... conception. Ok, perhaps that's not so novel. What is novel about this teaching is how it is applied: the child is counted as being alive since conception, hence 9 months old (even 1 year old) at the time of birth! So Legoboy knows he began life in August and after 4 years running of being 5 years old (an age he wanted to be forever), he is now firmly decided that he is 9 and has been 9 since August. And indeed, I certainly now have more than 9 years of memories of this beautiful little boy, having seen him for the first time 9 years ago in early September!
(note on the link above - I can't find the book where we read that, and I am having trouble finding solid information on the internet about the belief - this article was the one that explained it the most, but it's not entirely my preferred article either - just saying: that's NOT the article Legoboy read!)

Well, so back to that time of transition - I had a LOT on my plate, we were just coming off of 3 months of non-stop sheer craziness of roller coaster experiences (I hate roller coasters, by the way) - and we just didn't get our new year in gear... until today! (this is being scheduled a bit out from the time I actually write this ;) )


Some background: 
Legoboy has been working with a weekly and a 2-weekly plan for 3 years now. At age 5 1/2 we started on a weekly plan, but it really more of laying out the plan for the week, then either at the beginning of the week or the beginning of each day, marking with an appropriate letter what was expected each day of the week. He had the option of doing more in each area as well, which he routinely did, but he was also learning how to budget his time, earn free time, get his responsibilities fulfilled, all while I was right there helping him.

By age 7, we were creating the weekly or 2-weekly work plan and he would rarely need to ask for guidance on what to do and when - he had the plan, we'd already discussed it, he knew the expectations and he had his personal research. There were times I would do as my training and theory albums suggests and ask during our planning sessions, "When do you plan to work on this?" or "What is your plan for this project?" and provide feedback based on his answer. If it's a great idea, call it what it is. If he has a not so great plan ("I'll do that one on the last day of the week" - translation: I am putting that one off because "I don't really want to do it" OR "I am putting it off because I need help and I don't know how to ask for the help I need despite my insistence that I don't need help"), then I provide a suggestion or even a requirement: "It is Monday 9AM; this particular aspect of the project or this math practice (or whatever it is) needs to be done by 2PM Tuesday." or "Let's meet about (this thing that is troublesome) at 1 pm on Wednesday and we will work on it together." I am telling him at that point that I am helping, not asking him.

This has worked well for almost 2 years! But I think he's hitting that odd pre-puberty thing that boys hit around age 9. Yeah. HARD. Oh the Rebellion! He still has a heart of gold, but there is a new creature living in that body!

So here we are at 8 1/2, re-adjusting how we do our Montessori work plan yet again. I love following the child - not a dull moment! During this transition time, he needs a lot more hand-holding, but at the same time, he needs to prove his independence, while continuing to cultivate proper relationship skills and practical skills to have a strong foundation for the adolescent years ahead (did I just think 'adolescent' and 'my son' in the same sentence? Oh, I'm going to cry.).



So here is what we spent 4 hours working out: 

Legoboy wants a specific structure. So we created a quick and easy chart: 

DAILY: We have listed the subjects that must be covered every day. This includes both new lessons and continuing the work himself (ie reading analysis would count under "Language" here). We went through our scope and sequences (ours are fully-detailed excel spreadsheets, organized by ages), selected and printed just what we wanted to accomplish in the next 2 months, worked out what would need to be done and approximately how often. He selected to do most subjects daily, figuring that even he does 20 minutes each day on sentence analysis for example, it will "keep it fresh" (his words!). 

WEEKLY: Next, we have the subjects that must be covered at least one day each week. This usually entails specifically doing something NEW or more intense or another nuance - not just repeating the same work (he is moving towards upper elementary when desired repetition is a thing of the past but is still very necessary. For this month, that includes a Latin lesson, performing a piano lesson for me (whether he moves ahead to the next lesson or not), and selecting a big chore or project to do around our home. 

DAILY PRACTICE: Then there are things under daily practice - that could very well be nothing new at all; current month's items here include: piano practice, Latin flashcards he creates during the weekly Latin lesson, tae-kwon-do practice, speech practice, some form of art (he currently has a cross-stitch project in-progress, is working on his own version of a Book of Kells, and frequently looks to learn other skills - this way, he has built-in time each day to develop these skills). 

With this plan in mind, we will still create a weekly or 2-weekly work-plan to show what the goals are for the coming 5-12 days as well as to evaluate the work done in the previous 5-12 days - see where we are in the scope and sequence, what should be practiced more, what areas we want to go more intense with and select a new biology or geometry topic (we are reviewing these subjects by topic area, now we've done the full albums, we'll review each area in-serious-depth and see where it takes us). 

     I am sometimes asked my thoughts on monthly work-plans. I personally and professionally cannot, in my heart, recommend them for any child younger than a mature upper elementary. Why? Because there is a longer time period to "see" the results of one's planning. There is a greater responsibility and maturity gained from making plans and seeing them through; evaluating and adjusting, with more immediate feedback. That is why we adults will look to the next semester or set of months, then make our plans for about the next month, then sit with the child to focus on the next *week*, and depending on the child's needs, let's just focus on each day, but the child is still visually exposed to the weekly plans - not the rest of it - that is too much for a 6 year old to truly learn from. Now at almost age 9, Legoboy is getting towards upper elementary and is ready to see the scope and sequence plans I have, but I *only* print out the sections that I think we can feasibly do in the next 2-3 months -- and even then we might not finish one area, but go far beyond in another area. 

     With that said, I find that 6 year olds without a work-plan at all, are missing out on a *huge* piece of Montessori elementary. See this upcoming post for more information. 

We have always held to a daily routine, which is difficult to put onto paper at times because every day is different. For now, we finally have some morning consistency because Sunday mornings are our only morning out-of-the-home commitments (starting in February we have twice-monthly Monday morning homeschool classes at a local-ish museum, which we will then count as "morning work cycle" for those days). Afternoon activities might be more work time, or speech, or tae-kwon-do or atrium. 

Finally, we have reached an age where the workbox system is much more readily modified into a Montessori environment. Others have modified Montessori to make the workbox system fit; we've modified the workbox system to fit elementary Montessori. Essentially we have ONE box (could be two or three), with the usual supplies needed for the day and for the week - it is essentially the "hard-copy" of the work-plan. If a larger material is required, those can be placed nearby, or noted on that week's work-plan and he knows to go gather the materials. This works great for those pre-puberty boys are losing EVERYTHING, ALL, THE, TIME. 

At primary age, we would do something similar when traveling, in a backpack, to keep skills going. Or if I were sick or had a big project and wanted him "occupied" he'd have a planned out box to go to if he had nothing in mind. Typically, he didn't use it ;) In elementary, if he were to be spending the day with another homeschooling family or when I traveled for a week for a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd training, I packed him up a box and a notebook with a list of assignments we created together - enough to keep him busy when needed, but if it didn't get done the world wouldn't come to an end. 

But now, he developed this solution to keep us on-task and not "forgetting" to do things each week. We have one place to store the small items that are used daily. Like the tae-kwon-do breaking boards, the books we want to read together this week, pencils and erasers and sharpeners in a nice pouch not buried in his desk somewhere, but actually available ;) The clipboard with the work-plan. It might hold the Life of Fred book we are currently reading. 

So there's our January plan. We'll see how it holds into February!

Bank Game Fun

Nope. Not THAT Bank Game ;)

When I started doing Montessori at home, I could not figure out the Bank Game. It needed beads, it didn't need beads; it needed colored cards, it didn't need colored cards; it definitely needed white cards, but in how many sizes!? My mind was BOGGLED.

Along came AMI training - total immersion for the year. Baptism by fire ;)

Well, one mystery solved: the Change Game or Exchange Game in AMI can be called other things in other albums, among those other names: The Store, Making Change, and... the Bank Game (and sometimes Bankers' Game). But in AMI, the Bank Game is specifically an elementary presentation. Confused yet? Me too! I went to elementary training straight-away afterward.

Here is what the AMI albums, when followed in sequence break down to:

Primary:

The Change Game - the first time create a tornado and a HUGE mess of golden beads; invite the children to help you count up, knowing full-well that you will have to exchange to the next category to find the final quantity in such a way that it can be found with the cards. Thereafter, this material is used for all 4 operations in a variety of fashions. The material requires 3 sets of small number cards (for the addends and for the numbers being taken away), one large set of number cards (for the subtrahend, dividend, and sums), and a set of small black numbers (could be written in black ink on small slips of paper) for the multiplier and dividend. All those cards are white with appropriate colored numerals.

This work opens up the decimal system and its operations to the child like no other mathematics material on this planet. LOVE it!!!!


Elementary: 
The Bank Game uses one set of white cards that goes into the MILLIONS (up to 9,000,000 - just with no commas) - for the answer. It uses a set of colored cards with black ink that goes into the thousands - for the multiplicand. It uses a set of gray cards with 1 double-zero, and 2 sets of the numbers 0-9 for the multipliers.
There are 3 roles in the AMI album, so I can't explain the 6 roles that some of the materials boxes contain. Sorry! And the AMI albums say to  not even bother with those labels - just toss them.

If an elementary child isn't strong on his facts, he can be the runner (gets the "money" from the "vault" - at another table). The banker and customer are at a small table with the colored and gray cards laid out on a third table. The customer gathers his multiplier and multiplicand and brings them to the banker. The banker then needs to make the calculations and give the customer the appropriate "money."
(don't you wish you could go into a real bank and do that? "I'd like $6,327 and I'll take that 64 times please!" Sigh. ;) )

The banker should know his facts; the customer should be learning them to double-check the figures; the runner should also be double-checking, but if he is weak on his facts, being the runner is perfect practice.


So how we do this at home? With an only child?


I am the customer; we share the role of banker. He's the runner. It means we'll only do 1-2 problems at a time because it takes longer and we're doing more work for each person.

The frustrating thing is how often he says, "This is SO easy!" And then he stops thinking - and he makes stupid mistakes. This work was much more appropriate at age 6 and early 7; less so at age 8 1/2 even though we pull it out from time to time to review because of those silly mistakes he makes in his work.

As I said, he's older now. When he was younger, he was interested but it was a LONG work for one little boy, a work meant for 3 children. So we work together and it has to be on my time. He moans about it once in a while; or when things get tricky (meaning he's getting stuck on something he knows he should know but tries not to know), he'll say, "I thought I picked a SIMPLE problem!" (meaning, "I'm just picking numbers to get through it - I'm not really interested in this.")
(yes, I have him select all his problems. Sometimes I have a guideline - such as zeroes in the middle, or at the end; double numbers next to each other; etc. but he still selects - so it is HIS interest and HE picks up on the pattern - thus even in these grumbling moments, he is still seeing the patterns in the results of HIS chosen numbers. "Well, now I know what will happen with THAT next time - I won't do THAT again!" - and 9 out of 10 times, the next time he WANTS that challenge again! Sigh. I love 8 year old boys!)
And then he suddenly picks up on something - either related directly to his selected problem, or some other number pattern. And he's excited and interested and wants to try a few things to see if he can replicate the revelation or the pattern - even if it's just a coincidence in the numbers. Such as the problem shown below - he loved that the multiplier and the answer both ended in 1, and that the last two digits of the answer add up to 6 (the other digit in the multiplier). So then he was off doing a few shorter problem (3 digits by 2 digits) to see if he could replicate. Did not want help from me. Ok. So much for grumbling that "this is SO easy, it's BORING!" and "This is so hard, and it's still boring." He learned the word boring recently and has been using to describe everything, so I'm not entirely listening when he uses it. Boring or not, we have responsibilities - and it's not boring - as his 2 Bank Game expedition this afternoon proved!

Hmm. Multiplier must have run away ;) It was 61 - so we had a 6, a 0, and a 1.
The multiplicand is decomposed as in the large bead frame work.
as well as the multiplier.
Then each row is multiplied by the 1 (in this case); the answer is brought.
Each row is then multiplied by 10 (add that zero) just as in the large bead frame work -
then multiplied by 6.
Re-organize the white cards as needed when duplicates are needed
(the children are to think of a solution for when they need duplicates!)
-- answer arrives in the result. 

So much for that nice pretty rows we see in the albums!
This is how my son really sets it up for his own work.
Sometimes neater - usually not. 

As neatly organized as it gets. ;) 

How We Homeschool

Here is what I see happen in many homeschools:

A wonderful curriculum is selected or compiled from a variety of sources. This is for science; that is for math; etc. Or it's a complete curriculum package. Very handy and neatly laid out.

Then mom and dad (more particularly mom) gleans a neat idea from a homeschool friend in the neighborhood or homeschool co-op or from an online acquaintance. Or the child has an interest in something and a kit or supplies are found at the store or in storage. "This would be great to do with the children!" The materials are purchased or gathered. And there they sit.

Or they do work on it, but the curriculum has to be set aside for the time it takes to work on that project. Because there is only so much time left in the day.

And then we're behind on school.

Repeat cycle.

And there is burn-out.

Sometimes those fun things are saved specifically for burn-out time - February for many people (I happen to LIKE February myself ;) ). A good plan for anticipating what is coming, because you know it's coming, so let's have something on hand to cover it!

Well, if it works out that way.

Most of that stuff ends up sold to other homeschoolers who love the idea and may or may not use it. I once tracked the ownership of a particular resource I had just purchased back no less than EIGHT homeschool families, most of whom didn't even open it up before eventually passing it on. All contents were intact and none of the projects had ever been done in it.


But I ask: why plan for the burn-out? How about avoiding it altogether and still doing those fun things? ;)
Why sell off unused stuff that you KNOW your kids would have just LOVED if they'd had it at the right time, but they're now in college and you're online selling it off?



In our homeschool:

We do hit our times here in our homeschool where we just need a break. We don't call it burn-out because we're not burned out - we're just gearing up for a change of pace. We have these built-in times anyway because we live according to a liturgical year and that helps. But our curriculum choice helps too.

We have and use AMI Montessori albums. These albums provide a foundation and framework in their appropriate areas, as well as build connections between the subjects. If I just provide my son with THOSE lessons, he will have a solid foundation and a firm framework, but he won't have everything he needs.

Yikes, you're thinking! You mean your curriculum doesn't cover everything? (nope!) But that's terrible! A comprehensive curriculum is what a family needs to ensure the child learns everything he needs to know! (Well... not exactly).

See. My son has the foundation and the framework. And if I had more children, each child would then receive a solid foundation and firm framework. But what each child *needs* from there is going to be very different from the next child!

SO. We have a foundation and a framework. We then have TIME to explore personal interests (no, not just the interests he expresses, because the Montessori albums guide me to present in new areas in order to find new interests) in ways that speak to this child. So if my son is interested in the layers of the earth over types of rocks right now - so be it - we explore the layers of the earth. I know we'll come back around to that foundational presentation in the future and he WILL come around to studying different types of rocks.
And if he doesn't get there on his own? It is covered by 'family requirements' and 'local educational requirements' (anything required by the state in which you homeschool).

If my son wants to explore the orchestra by attending orchestral performances, we can do that; or if he would rather go to the music store and talk with an employee while the employee is pulling an instrument apart to clean it, repair it, and tune it -- we can do that instead! Or do both!

Thus, all the requirements are covered, with minimal time.

And we can pull in ALL SORTS of additional resources that supplement our "curriculum" (I know my Montessori trainers cringe at that word! Sorry! it's what most people understand, in regards to organizing a child's educational experience, so I'll use it for now ;) ) --- and we can explore personal interests SO DEEPLY.

And still have time and space left for family life.

What sort of stuff do we pull in while at home?

• Fun science kits
• Cooking experiments
• Art projects of ALL kinds
• Just sit and read for hours on end
• Work on handcrafts for hours on end
• Play games - lots of games - cards, boards, co-operative, etc. 
• Writing one's own music
• Being allowed to attend a midnight showing of The Hobbit and stay up afterwards to discuss it. 
• Learn a foreign language; continue learning sign language --- for the FUN of it. 
• Keep the house clean, together. 

And the stuff we can do outside the home is endless.

Ok, so some of those things apply more to my son than to my own free time (I run two small businesses from my home after all!). The point is that time is available because we're not looking at just the bare minimum requirements for 8 hours a day.

There is also a teeny-tiny amount of time available for computer usage, but at age 8, that time is less than half an hour per week. Not that I actually clock it at this point; it's just that the computer is for work and minimally available for play. Thus... there is also time for... SOCIAL INTERACTIONS. The only thing that non-homeschoolers want to know about ;) 

Lots of time. Lots of energy. Neither of which are spent on tedium or unnecessaries. 

Especially now I am pretty much DONE making materials or earning money specifically for Montessori materials. Blissful SIGH! ;) 

Consider how YOUR child learns. If you have more than one child - what are their similarities and differences? Is it possible to provide them a foundation and a structure and then allow each one time to explore their individual interests? Can they then learn from one another? And be involved in each other's interests at each one's own level?

;)


By the by, the kit mentioned above that had 8 previous owners? We had a BLAST with it! I'll post about it soon. It's been a while but is still discussed quite often.