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

Saturday, February 8, 2020

Legoboy's Business Contributions: 3-dimensional Scripture figures

Legoboy, my beautiful Joshua, has contributed so much over the years to our family businesses.

He has helped design products, tested products, worked on various stages of the making of physical items. From the beginning he has always taken care of all mail delivery (to the mailbox or going into the post office) and pick-up.

His appearance in our Keys of the Universe videos was on a contract basis.

He was setting himself up to take over all customer service for Garden of Francis. He would call himself the GoF IHM. Not Immaculate Heart of Mary. Garden of Francis Iron-Hearted Maiden.

We were working together to find a different shade of green for the background on Garden of Francis. He really didn't like it and he thought it was distracting customers, potentially turning some away. We never did get that fixed.

There has been so much more.

Most recently, he financially invested in one portion of our Garden of Francis business: 3 dimensional Scripture figures. The morning he left us, is when the agreement was put into place and the investment made.

The materials arrived later that week and I finally got everything in place in January.

Here are some samples. I also have a Divine Mercy Jesus, a standing prophet, a seated writing prophet, Bridesmaids oil lamps and flasks (sized to hold birthday candles).


Flight into Egypt

Close up of angel
Annunciation

Nativity

Empty Tomb
figures for all Gospels
Shepherds
(the set includes an angel)
Last Supper
(set includes 12 apostles)
Wise Men
Annunciation

close-up of baby





Sunday, December 15, 2019

My love

28 days since I held you in my arms and told you help was on the way. 90 minutes you suffered pain I can't even imagine.

You are my heart. My soul. My strength. My everything.

As I type this, 28 days 10 minutes ago I ran outside, hoping I was wrong. That you were just at the gym. I saw the box at the mailbox and the car with the trailer in front of it - and I knew. I just knew.

Just two more seconds. That's all the difference it would have been.

I love you. I miss you so much. You ARE love. The truest love.


Funeral Homily: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV5ZPEsQej8
(this link will be updated in the near future)

Be encouraged homily: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDZgQsCuCsA
13:40 is the key section
Pronouns are not Fr. Meyer's strength. ;)


Go Fund Me - anything above expenses will go into a college scholarship fund for students who achieved a black belt prior to college. Or if anyone wants their donation to go specifically to the college fund, that will happen.




Saturday, November 30, 2019

Jesse Tree ornaments by Joshua


My son, Joshua, helped design these ornaments. He hand-burned our first set. I have not been selling them the last few years, but recently pulled them out, touched them up and prepped a set for showcasing.

The day he left this earth, Joshua had pulled out our Christmas boxes to get out the green ornament hooks - and the day before he had pulled out our small tree on which to hang them.

I finally got them together and they are available for sale. They can be in your mailbox in 2-3 business days if it's the only thing you order. Or in your hands within 3 hours if you are local.

Our Christmas season, as well as Lent and Easter sets will be available soon. Then I will work on adding the variations.

Saturday, July 6, 2019

Botany Cabinet: Focus on the Essentials

An excerpt from the elementary biology album that reminds us why we use generic shapes in the botany cabinet, as opposed to leaf names specific to a particular region:


Once the child gathers a large body of knowledge from sensorial exploration, she can then begin to order and classify it.
An example of how this happens is by giving the child the name of the new shape rather than just giving the name of the plant from which the leaf comes. For example, the child can see that this plant has obovate leaves and so does this plant. That plant over there has sagittate leaves. When you give the name of the leaf shape, you give the children a tool to classify leaves and plants alike. Just giving the names of the plants, does not provide a basis for ordering and classification. This base of information is also built up through the use of nomenclature material in the primary. The nomenclature material is used by children who are reading and also those children who are not yet reading. Through the use of the nomenclature material, children learn the names of plants, parts of plants, names of animals and names of parts of animals. Eventually, all of this information can be ordered and classified. Another source for building up the child’s store of information comes from the stories, the poems and the songs that the teacher introduces about plants and animals.
All of this work becomes a foundation from which the children will launch with her work in the elementary.