School Shopping!

School shopping season is coming up (at least in the US and Canada) and I thought I would put together a list for what items to be on the lookout for when you're stocking up:


Target Dollar Rack possibilities:

• miniature globes (for primary Montessori, get 3-6: sandpaper (land and water), continents, political, climates, oceans (you may want a larger one for the oceans), and a 6th topic I can't think of right now)
• flashcards - buy at least 2 copies of each; 2 sets creates 3-part cards with a control set and a cut set; 1 set creates flashcard games and/or classifying by type; 2 sets uncut could be matching games; 2 sets with one cut or uncut could be mounted onto cardstock and made into a booklet; you could overlap some of these ideas. 
• Flashcards for elementary - animals and plant images can be used for classification rather than hunting down and printing images or using magazines to cut up - usually one set is sufficient, unless you want to have a separate set for the information on them; or a third set so you have 2 to make a booklet and  a third set for the classification. 
• Small writing notebooks if they carry them this year

Any Back to School specials: 

• quadrille paper - either loose-leaf or in bound books - used for almost any subject in elementary (we prefer loose-leaf to create our own notebooks via binders or other binding)
• spiral notebooks for taking notes of various sorts - single subject: stock up on a lot; 3 or 5 subject, smaller quantity, but they will be used too (perhaps the whole notebook is on Ancient Egypt with each of the 5 sections being a particular theme)
• pack of loose-leaf notebook paper: wide-rule for primary and college rule for older elementary
• package of large erasers - the ones on pencils just aren't enough and the ones you add to the pencils have too much waste
• decent colored pencils in the basic colors (you might have a family set for everyone, but everyone should have their own set of basic-basic colors - prismacolor are my favorite)
• pencil pouch (better a thinner pouch than a large box - easier to transport when needed) - holds the eraser, a couple of pencils, a good sharpener (all metal is best), set of basic colored pencils, and perhaps a tiny notepad, you might have a pen in here too
• tiny notepads - they usually come in 3 packs and they are small - they are great for field notes, quick notes, short lists, and just anything that would otherwise waste a large sheet of paper -- easy to transport in a pencil pouch ;) 
• lunch bag and drink bottle - even homeschooled children can use a lunch bag and bottle for outings, trips, picnics, etc. And this is the best time to buy them. 

NOTE: For the most part, assignment books are the not best equipped to handle an elementary child's work plan or work contract; but if you find one that does work, post a link or image here!

PLEASE ADD YOUR OWN INSIGHTS HERE!

:) 

Exercises of Practical Life in Our Home - Primary

The Exercises of Practical Life are the oddest subject area in Montessori.

On the one hand, they can be entirely overlooked because it's not "academic" (it is academic and necessary for a child's development, but that's not the point to this post ;) ).

On the other hand, they are easiest to WAY OVER-DO - getting into areas that aren't, well, practical. This is where we start getting into the area of "independent learning activities" that aren't really Montessori. Useful, perhaps. Interesting, perhaps. Not going to harm your child, most likely. But NOT Montessori.
And can definitely over-burden a homeschool mom who "just wants to do it right" but sees everyone's ideas and thinks they are all necessary. No, they're not necessary - this is where you can have some creativity if you like, but it is NOT necessary!

Exercises of Practical Life: think practical. What is practical for YOUR life?

Montessori = Keys.

We actually started with old medicine droppers
at home - transitioned to glass ones later.
You can see our "supply shelf" in the back!

Home versus school = small available space.
(it could be argued that schools need to follow the same guidelines because they have more children who have less time with the materials than homeschoolers have, but I am writing about MY home right now :) ) .

Therefore, in our home, we stick with the practical exercises of the "Exercises of Practical Life" album.

At primary, that meant we had the following throughout our home - not all in one place:

Preliminary Exercises (any special materials introduced here are removed when the child is competent at the related activity)

How to Carry a Working Mat

How to Place a Pitcher

How to Carry a Tray

How to Roll a Working Mat

How to Put Down a Chair

How to Sit On a Chair at a Table

How to Fold Napkins - basic - styles added later in elementary

How to Pour Grain (dry pouring - something with weight - removed when competent with pouring)

How to Pour Water (wet pouring - removed when competent with own pitcher in the fridge)

How to Fold a Dust-cloth to Put Away (we just used the regular dust-cloths)

How to Fold a Dust-cloth to Dust (just used the regular dust-cloths) Transfer with Eyedropper - liquid from one bottle to another (related to polishing) Clothespin on edge of a jar (removed when starting to competently hang clothes in such manner)

Care of Self

How to Wash Hands

Snap Frame

Hook and Eye Frame

Button Frame

Buckle Frame

Zipper Frame

Bow Frame

Lacing Frame – V Pattern

Lacing Frame – X Pattern

Lacing Frame – Linear Pattern

Safety Pin Frame Combing Hair

Care of the Environment

How to Dust a Table

How to Use a Dustpan and Brush

How to Sweep with a Broom How to Vacuum (kid-sized vacuum)

How to Wipe Up a Spill

How to Dust Leaves

How to Polish Glass, Metal, Wood - I had separate trays, but the processes are streamlined for function within the home.

How to Care for Plants

How to Wash a Table AND counter

How to Wash Cloths

How to Iron

How to Arrange Flowers

How to Make Basic Food items (orange juice, fruit salads, pbj sandwiches)

How to Wash Fruits and Vegetables

How to Peel & Cut Various Fruits and Vegetables

How to Bake (a toaster oven is ideal; we did not, so he did everything EXCEPT when the over door was open - that part was my job) --- a primary aged child can help make almost anything from cookies and muffins to salads and sandwiches - even pizza!

Grace and Courtesy

How to Walk Around A Mat

How to Introduce Yourself

How to Apologize

How to Observe

How to Draw Attention

How to Accept a Compliment

How to Blow Your Nose

How to Sit on Upholstered Furniture appropriately (still working on that one!) How to answer the door

Control of Movement

Walking on the Line - rolled up ball of string - stretched out when ready to use

The Silence Activity

Visual Art

Rubbings (Exploration of Texture)

Cutting - Snipping

Cutting - Lines

Advanced Cutting

Contour Drawing with Crayon (Exploration of Line)

Drawing with Colored Pencils

Cutting and Gluing (Exploration of Space)

Painting (Exploration of Color)

Sculpting (Exploration of Form)

Beginning Sewing

Sewing a Button

Advanced Sewing – Running Stitch

Basic cross-stitch Exposure to crochet Others adapted for our home:  Grating soap "Guard" when Mama makes soap (have the vinegar and water buckets ready for accidents) Safety precautions around home-made soap Holding and carrying lit candles Other candle-care Cleaning the inside of a fridge or freezer Using tweezers to pick up small items - this was a novelty experience, but taught the use of the tweezers when needed for medical purposes. Other than medical or dissections, tweezers just aren't used here.  Rock sorting within a set of tackleboxes - this was very nonchalant - his work but not on a shelf of its own within "Montessori" work.  SPUR OF THE MOMENT activities that did not become permanent in our home: washing rocks, sorting shells Chores appropriate to age and ability Using other kitchen utensils - we just taught/learned as needed, not with a specific tray activity Stringing buttons - or any other activities that are not typically done ROUTINELY in real life. Something that is done once in a great while (ie stringing popcorn for Christmas decor), is taught at the time it is needed. There is NO need for a tray activity for such activities.  Art activities - again learning what is needed in the moment after he'd all the basic art lessons from the EPL album; including play-dough, clay, painting, drawing, gluing, etc. Beyond the basics I did NOT have a tray activity for everything. He knew where the supplies were (organized in a simple, Montessori-like manner) and he knew when he had free time to create as much art as he wanted.  Other games - we like to play lots of games here - so many things that some people put on trays and use as an independent learning activity, we just used as games. Repeatable, but not necessary to have on a tray and called "school".  "Inspired" unit studies that last for a time, but are not permanently on a tray or shelf.  Cultural experiences as appropriate - related to books being read, people visiting, videos watched, people or animals met. These were not permanently on display, but cycled back into our regular life (ie chopsticks are in the utensils drawer).

We did NOT have the following - either space or philosophy:

• polishing shoes (it is in the albums, but we just don't have shoes to be polished)
• anything with those little pom-pom, warm-fuzzy things. They have NO weight, so serve little purpose when applied to real life. We used cotton balls with polishing and these needed to be replenished, so there was plenty of work to do with carrying weight-less items. Activities that others have created are cute, but when do you ever spoon or tweeze soft weightless objects in real life? These activities are novelties; not harmful, but should be kept to a minimum (and Zero is an acceptable amount ;) ). 
• trays for EVERYTHING. It's just not necessary. Many things at home can and should be done in their proper context. Yes, sometimes a preliminary presentation is needed and that might be on a tray for a while; thereafter, the materials are kept where they belong (whisks belong in the utensil drawer) and are used at appropriate times. No tray needed :) 

Montessori Materials

SOAP-BOX ALERT! This post is about me and my reactions to current materials offered by Montessori companies. It is not about my son or his education, at least directly. It's about me and my emotions.

I will not be offended if you choose not to read this. I do not intend to offend anyone with the following words, but I feel certain that someone will think I have said something offensive.

Let me say here and NOW: each family must choose for themselves and I don't judge the "extras" that you choose. We have extras too. My soap-box has to do with the impression of Montessori in the public sphere because of these "extras".

Feel free to stop reading and join us tomorrow for our regular daily reports of Montessori elementary (or previous primary or infant/toddler) experiences.

Click the next line if you don't mind reading my soap-box ;)

Amazing Myself

Sometimes I amaze myself.

I entered a giveaway with Alison's Montessori. I won! I thought I'd won a Power of Two cube - it was a crazy time in our lives that particular week, so I didn't entirely pay attention...

I recently received my new Montessori material. It's the Power of THREE cube! It is BEAUTIFUL!

18cm cube demonstrating the power of 3
Thank you Alison's Montessori!

But see, here's the kicker: my AMI Montessori albums do not have a material for this presentation! The children should be working on some level of abstraction when they receive this presentation! I have an album page - it just doesn't require a material. (so the "amazing myself" part is that I entered to win, and WON, an item I would not have purchased to begin with - however, it is SO BEAUTIFUL! have I said that yet!?) ;)

If we provide a material for *everything* (especially at upper elementary), the children's creativity will decrease, their exploratory learning will diminish, and it will be more difficult to reach abstraction. I've just seen it happen too many times.

Our solution? We're going to use it in lower elementary as a sensorial exploration (kind of like having the binomial and trinomial cubes in primary); then I'll still give the presentation in upper elementary as-is according to my album page. And if my son or my co-op kids make the connection themselves, all the better. But since I only have my co-op kids a few times a month, the sensorial exploration will be PERFECTION for them!

As it stands, my son (just-turned-8) has already figured it out. He was putting it together blind-folded within 30 minutes of receiving it ;)

UPDATE 1/3/2016 After almost 4 years, an update is in order ;) I did end up selling this material (at cost for shipping) as we found it just wasn't necessary, it was an easy "puzzle" and nothing was really coming from it. Afterwards I saw that it is included in the Adolescent Mathematics album that does take it deeper. Ok, that is great, but honestly? The pieces are too big. the material is quite combersome. I have found a way to create this material from folded up cardstock that is not only smaller, but more enticing. Essentially, start with the Power of 2 Cube and add in the pieces you need from there. A post will be forthcoming in 2016 on this topic. ;)

Multiples in Mathematics

Lower elementary multiples example - this is typically first year in lower elementary if the child has had a decent amount of primary mathematics. It could happen in later first year if the child is brand new to Montessori altogether. 

each number is circled according to its multiples
see my son's key in the upper corner :)
who says Montessori children don't learn how to use legends?
right here it is - they just don't have an album page for it ;) 

my sample for how to highlight a particular number
again - using a key ;) 

Embellish your work!

Sample from other work I've seen
Borders around the page or around sections/problems
Separators between sections
Just to fill in some space

In Montessori we say, "DOODLE!"

Ok, so we don't say that. We DO say, "Embellish!"

We want the children to cherish their work, so we allow them the opportunity to personalize it, fulfilling the fundamental human needs towards vanitas: to embellish oneself and one's environment.

All Montessori parents and teachers reading this, raise your hand if you have NEVER been tempted to embellish the children's environment on some level or another - to the point of being TOO much?

Not ONE hand should be raised! ;)

We want the children to learn balance, so we allow embellishment from the beginning, integrating art and daily work, even when the subject matter is not necessarily art.

But isn't it all art? Math is art, language is art, music is art, history is full of art and those timelines are works of art, geometry is pure art in my mind, geography is an art --- all these things have grace, beauty, boundaries, creativity ---- ART.

So why isn't this information available online anywhere, on all those Montessori blogs and all those Montessori albums that provide samples!? I don't know! It's a bit frustrating, because it is so basic to Montessori, especially elementary Montessori. But it starts in primary with the stamp game in particular - embellishing the row between two problems.

My son's sample today. He chose to use markers
for the first time. Please note: Markers do not mix well with
colored pencils. Any work done in pencil should be
embellished with color pencils, NOT markers.
Use markers as a medium to themselves on their
own separate sheet of paper, if at all. 

My son has always done embellishment of some kind and he LOVES it. The work means something to him and he's perfecting his art skills.

 I will show you an example of one I'm not proud of because he rushed it. It was not meaningful and he even said so. We discussed the reality that if he doesn't WANT to embellish, he doesn't have to.

And we discussed the reality that markers and writing pencils and colored pencils don't mix well. The aesthetics are lost.

Therefore, all is not lost, because this experience prompted discussion on balance, necessity and art media usage.


What about work plans and work contracts? Well, these should generally not be embellished - perhaps very lightly (instead of a checkmark, a creative child could use another symbol) - now the work journal could be a place for art, if you use one for the child to document his or work! The work journal can be embellished in any way the situation allows. While it is not the place for the child to store finished work (only a place to record time spent and what was done; perhaps answer a follow-up question), many children prefer to draw their work into these journals or separate entries with fancy designs.

Playing with Language

You know when you've been doing Montessori very well in your home, specifically the grammar boxes and sentence analysis, when your child speaks in transposed sentences without even thinking about it - no hesitation. Just as natural as can be.

"Son, what are you doing right now?"

"Apple cutting core and it Mommy peeling an." With a big bright smile :)

Tessellation Patterns

While there is no specifically AMI Montessori album page for tessellations - they are just plain fun! And when presented right, with the right materials, they fit right in with Montessori.

While we do not encourage the children to create images (we want them to explore the shape, and the function of each shape - not be focused on creating boats and flowers) - elementary children do utilize them to create images. I encourage the exploration of shape and function and steer them away from creating images until it is inevitable.

Some samples of our work:

a friend's toes

exploring different kinds of flowers

what if we just use hexagons? what would happen?
note: this particular mode teaches far more
 more than creating a flower teaches a child ;) 

she was exploring pure shape; filling in gaps with other shapes,
seeing where it would lead (this is a transition stage into
creating intentional images)

Purely exploring with shapes - and look at the beautiful pattern emerging!

Long Division - Final Results

I did the writing, because he insisted on doing it with colored
pencils, which would have been too faint for our camera.
And I wanted him to focus on the step at hand: multiplication.
He has not yet embellished this page because he wants
to do more long division problems on it first. 

My son is just at the final stages of long division - writing without the beads. It is a work we started quite a while ago; he has flown through it relatively speaking, however he will continue to utilize the beads and boards for quite a while to come. (this material starts in year 1 of the elementary Montessori mathematics album - and claims to be done by age 8 - well, that's the presentations being done at age 8 - the work will continue into upper elementary --- this expensive piece of material (approximately $100 after shipping with IFit) is worth EVERY PENNY).

This is sort of bitter-sweet! My just-turned-8-year old is doing long division on paper!

Tomorrow, we will go over the basic steps of estimating the answer, then multiplying AND checking with the beads to be sure we get each step correct.

After that, the last step is using trickier numbers and estimating.

This material is beyond amazing! Once the process is mastered, the understanding just FLOWS. I recall a woman in my primary training crying when she finally understood division - and that was the same material just doing SHORT division - as an adult she was able to comprehend how the long division would work; but as a child she had been terrorized by what is now a joyful experience for her.


I strongly encourage the use of graph paper in doing mathematics. The children can embellish their work in so many ways with graph paper, plus it keeps their numbers lined up and organized. The more complicated the operation at hand for that particular child, the more you want graph paper (ie stamp game for a 5 year old is complicated; stamp game for a 8 year old maybe not so much; long division - get the graph paper!).

Nouns: Singular and Plural

My son asked me to share a sample of his singular and plural noun booklet from last year.

With the study of the grammar boxes, there are many follow-up presentations for the article/noun box (grammar box 2), the adjective box and the verb box in particular.

For nouns, we have noun number (singular and plural), noun gender, noun classification of abstract, concrete, material, collective and the 3 types of abstract nouns. Number and gender can come just before or after presenting grammar box 2 (usually after), while noun classification comes at around 7-7.5 years old or at least a few months after presenting the other noun material, giving the child time to assimilate and an opportunity to come back and review those nouns.

As my son can attest, it is not necessary to do ALL the sets in a particular album page, let's say noun number, before moving on to noun gender, the next grammar boxes, and other language studies. Just exposure is necessary - there is plenty of time for review and follow-up. He likes to do things to completion in order, but even with these, I think we moved on to noun gender before finishing up the number cards.


Without further ado, here is something my son put together of his own accord - a booklet describing the rules for singular and plural - 1 rule per page or pair of pages. The translation (since he abbreviated) is in the caption. I tried to keep his punctuation and style - just writing out the words he abbreviated.

1: for some words add -s. (for example desk becomes desks) 

2: some words add -s. the difference is that
these words end with "e."
(for example ledge - ledges.)

Other things I've seen children do: create a chart or list of the rules; just state them aloud; explore more nouns that fit within each rule (we do NOT give them every example within a particular rule); create booklets of words; create additional card material.

For our material, I broke with the rules a bit. You are supposed to have a few sets of cards, then the remaining noun number sets are in booklet form for the child to study. I found it easier on me as a work-at-home single mom to just make cards of all the material; then my son (who loves booklets) makes his own and illustrates - so the singular is on the left side of the page and the plural is on the right side, and there might be two words and pictures on the left, with the corresponding words on the right. He then extrapolates the rule and writes it on the last page. If you make booklets, you'll make them as I just described, and still invite the child to extrapolate the rule (not necessarily the first time through, but they tend to be pretty quick with these).

How was the booklet made?
Take a regular sheet of printer paper (you don't want paper too thick for this or it won't fold right).
Fold it in half, unfold and fold it in half again the other way (making 4 section on your paper).
Now take the short side and fold it into the middle line; repeat with the other short side; unfold everything.
You should now have 8 sections - if you are holding the paper vertically (as if reading a printed letter), you will have 2 columns of 4 rectangles that are horizontal (longer than they are tall).
The tricky to describe part: see that long line you folded down the middle? On either side of that line are 4 pages; you are going cut ON that line just in the middle 2 section. So if you are still holding that paper vertically, your top row will be uncut, your bottom row will be uncut, but your middle 2 rows will be separated on the crease with a vertical cut.
Now fold the paper in half ON that line that you just cut. If done right, those middle pages want to "poof" out. Let them.

Ultimately you have 4 double-thick pages kind of in the shape of an x or a cross. Just fold them along their creases (don't create any new ones) and you have a book. I find I have to flip the pages around a couple of times to find the most "comfortable" fold so that nothing is sticking out at an odd angle.

Want a longer book? Make two or three of them, and glue them front to back. My son used two for his Singular and Plural Book.

Grammar Boxes - Objects

When doing the grammar boxes with your children, you want to have objects that match all the words in the boxes, so that the children can actually *bring* those objects - this is a movement work, not a sit-still-read-and-copy work.

Got a little boy? Legos work for a lot of the pieces!

Grammar Boxes without the Boxes

There was a time before we had the grammar boxes but my son was totally ready for them. 

I have NO images for what we did, but I can describe it! 

I took the images of the grammar boxes from photos taken when I was in classrooms. 

I then diagrammed them all onto posterboard (cardboard would have been better; covered with posterboard perhaps). I then cut little strips of cardboard to glue on as "edges". 

NOTE: the compartments were intentionally made just a bit wider than the cards, but not as tall, so that cards lay at an angle against the back edge. 

The back of each compartment was covered with an appropriately colored piece of construction paper (hint: don't use construction paper - it tends to FADE - I ultimately colored over each one with colored permanent marker). 

I then proceeded as usual with the presentations, except the cards were placed mostly flat within each "compartment" (leaning against the back "edge"). 

Interesting tidbit: the original grammar boxes as imaged in the Advanced Montessori Method book also do not have tilting insides. The compartments were vertical and the card fit in them such that they lay flat against the bottom of the box. If I were to make ours from wood, with my simple scroll saw, I would make ours similar, but with the compartments narrower from front to back, so that the cards tilt against the back of the compartment. I could have made them out of cardboard that way too - but had made the poster boards already; then was gifted with the modern style wood ones. 

Grammar Boxes - Review

Just for kicks, my son and I are reviewing the earlier grammar boxes - mostly to check out the material I've recently developed, make sure there are no errors.

I figure we'll do videos of this work another time.

Even though I am *not* requiring him to bring each object for grammar box 2 (the first grammar box), he is bringing EVERYTHING! I actually told him to stop and he just really doesn't want to. He is giggling SO hard!

What a hoot!

he brought a box for the table, since we were working on the floor :)

Oh the humor of little boys!


(note: please ignore the colors of the cards - my printer is out of some colors and this is just review for my son - we're just assuring the proper words and sufficient amounts :) )

Keys of the Universe - Mother's Day Special

Ok, I have this idea worked out and I am happy to be able to offer it to everyone!

As a Mother's Day gift and preparation for the coming school year, I would like to offer anyone who has entered a Keys of the Universe giveaway on any site $15 off a new enrollment in the course, if they join before Tuesday May 15; and $10 off if they join before Saturday May 19.

8-month courses are $40/month - 16-month courses are $20/month - full-pay is $300.

All you'll need to do is go to http://keysoftheuniverse.com/elementary, create a new account; then send me a message with the e-mail used on that account, which course you want to join (8-month, 16-month, or full-pay) and the location of your giveaway entry (only one gift allowed per person ). I will send an invoice for the adjusted amount and add them to the proper course manually.
OR you can send the proper amount to jessica@keysoftheuniverse.com using Paypal, including a message with the location of your giveaway entry and which course you are joining; and I'll know to add you that way too 

Primary albums in our family

The primary albums I used for my son were my AMI primary albums in exercises of practical life, sensorial, language and mathematics. All the other subjects were interspersed into appropriate places therein (ie art was spread out, music, geography, botany, zoology - all was spread out in the appropriate subjects).

I am slowly adding these albums for sale at Keys of the World. While I found them complete in themselves, many people may like to use other albums available online for supplementing for interested children or just for another perspective.

While I am entirely sold on pure AMI for elementary, I feel there is more flexibility with the primary years. As long as the same topics are covered; a child is neither forced ahead and intentionally held back, most of the primary albums available are wonderful options. I'm just throwing my own into the mix for a good AMI balance. I will not be specifically providing online support for the primary albums, however most people reading this blog know that I am more than happy to be of service privately or at any of the online groups where we meet :)

TIP: No matter what albums you use, start with the theory album - at the appropriate level. It's the nitty-gritty and allows you to utilize ANY album in the proper manner. It's where the "real Montessori" is.


UPDATE: I have primary and elementary theory albums, as well as the elementary Biology album posted at Keys of the World. Online access and online support are available for the elementary albums at Keys of the Universe Course Access Site.