Adolesence: Montessori Beyond Elementary

Keys of the Universe is building onto the adolescent portion of the Keys of the Universe Discussion Community (private link).

The glitches with the weekly reading announcement have been overcome (sort of - they're just going to be manually sent out now, instead of the auto-sending that didn't want to work).

And now there is a place to share adolescent resources. YAY!

Current Topic Headings

Adolescence is primarily the ages of 12-15 (which are equivalent years to 0-3 in the first plane of development); but for our purposes, we also include ages 15-18 (equivalent experience to years 3-6 of the first plane of development). See these Montessori Nuggets on the Planes of Development.

I hope I am preaching to the choir when I say that elementary covers ages 6-12. I have seen a few places that try to group 9-12 in with the 12-18 year olds and that isn't a fair grouping for the children of either group OR the adults! 9-12 is still firmly in the second plane of development. 12-15 is the rapid changes, hormones, emotional development; and the 15-18 settles back out and consolidates the way that the 3-6 year old did.
9-12 is still elementary. ;)


So what is it about adolescence that makes it SO tricky!?

1. Maria Montessori had limited time in her life - she was intense and did a LOT; no-one since then has been as intense so it's taking more time to make the same discoveries. 
2. She did discover the correlation of the years of 12-18 and the years 0-6. 
3. Personal interests and personal growth. It starts in primary - we have core materials and then we create a few language materials based on personal interests; we encourage the children to creatively apply what they have learned; we have experiences to expand their horizons as well deepen their interests. In elementary we have the core materials, but now the child's imagination takes off and within the framework/foundation of elementary, the child can explore SO MUCH! Now, in adolescence, the child has a strong foundation and is ready to take on the world - but is dealing with the emotional and hormonal changes of adolescence. Now, we want to take what they know and *apply* it in a very practical manner, in a manner that places him within society. In a way, the adolescent is back to first plane of development. By high school, the not-so-child is ready to take some typical high school lecture-based courses, along with apprenticeships and other real-world experiences. 
4. (really "3B") The needs of every adolescent will be different - interests, personalities, foundation, environment.... 
5. Thus we are working on what that framework looks like (NAMTA has some great publications we are studying over at the Keys of the Universe adolescent study group) and then we utilize a variety of resources that meet the needs of the particular child before us. 

cross-posted here at Keys of the Universe Articles

Research - in everyday words

I hear so many times comments such as these during conversations about work-plans, work journals, research, exploring personal interests and the like:

• my child would only do the bare minimum - I want to encourage him to do more, so a work plan wouldn't work for us. 
• if left to his own devices, my child would play with Legos. all. day. long. That's too much freedom. We need responsibility too, so I have to tell my child what to do. 
• there is too much freedom in work plans; the adult doesn't control enough. 
• work plans are too strict; the child does not have enough free time; it is just making him an adult too soon. 
• work journals are suffocating - having to record everything they do. I want my child to be free. 
• my child doesn't know how to research. there are so many steps to researching; this is overwhelming; how is it possible for my barely 6 year old to understand these concepts? 

Here is what is missing: 

• my child would only do the bare minimum - I want to encourage him to do more, so a work plan wouldn't work for us. the issue isn't the work plan itself - the issue is in the conversation you have throughout the day, the week, the child's life. What are the expectations; how are you wording expectations; how are exuding a love of learning and of appropriate achievements? 
• if left to his own devices, my child would play with Legos. all. day. long. That's too much freedom. We need responsibility too, so I have to tell my child what to do. Yes, Montessori balances freedom and responsibility; the "bare minimum" via the work-plan, with the oral and experiential learning of responsibility and going beyond; yet with appropriate amounts of free time... and of learning what happens when free time is taken inappropriately - the work doesn't go away, it gets moved to the next week's work-plan and is now "required" to be done on the first day of the week. 
• there is too much freedom in work plans; the adult doesn't control enough. actually the adult needs to be involved in planning the work plan; reviewing the work journal; helping the child to plan the next steps needed. The child is still a child and needs adult guidance. 
• work plans are too strict; the child does not have enough free time; it is just making him an adult too soon. because the adult is working WITH the child, the child is given just enough responsibility and freedom for his skill level at that moment; it can change at any time the child shows the capacity for more, or is dealing with other issues and for a time can only handle less responsibility and corresponding freedom. If a child has no free time at all but is working diligently, then the work plan was not developed properly and that is the fault of the adult for a child new at the concept. However, it can be easily fixed, child learns a lesson, adult learns a lesson, adjustments are made and growth occurs. 
• work journals are suffocating - having to record everything they do. I want my child to be free. the child is still free; the work plan is based on what the child should be doing to fulfill his internal NEEDS (not necessarily desires) at any given moment; as well as exploring his interests (this is actually related to internal needs). the work journal is simply a record of what the child has accomplished as well as perhaps some extra notes to indicate the next step in a particular area. Also, a work journal only needs to include what you decide is needed - a general chronicle of the day; a checklist of the work-plan with a note as to results and the next step; and it certainly doesn't cover a child's entire day - free time can be noted as one big block without notation of what happened minute by minute ;)  
• my child doesn't know how to research. there are so many steps to researching; this is overwhelming; how is it possible for my barely 6 year old to understand these concepts? research, plain and simple, is having a question, seeking the answer, and reporting the answer. Infants in the womb  do it. 6 year olds can too ;) 

SUMMARY: It is the everyday words and actions that are the real meat of teaching and learning - all of the above is just the outer layers that others see - the peripherals; not the true heart of the matter. 

A recent example of "wording" in our home - this one in regards to research - and a prime example of why research skills have not been an obvious feature on our Montessori homeschool journey, but my son is a researcher of the best kind - most days: 

Legoboy: there are two rings in my new Lego set. I wonder if it is supposed to be an extra, or if they just gave an extra piece like I usually get some extra pieces. 

Mama (assuming the box shows the contents like some of the Lego boxes do): what does the box show?

Legoboy: I don't know. I've not looked. I think they just gave an extra ring because of the duplicates they sometimes give of the tiny pieces. 

Mama: that is a great hypothesis. Let's check the box. 

Legoboy: no. It is just a duplicate. 

Mama (with raised eyebrow, to say 'seriously, kid!?'): (real name), stop hypothesizing and check the box for the contents picture. If it's not there, research the instruction booklet to see which parts were supposed to come with it. You have a question, now find the answer. 

Did you catch it? hypothesize and research. Keywords.

These words are an ordinary part of our conversation. Along with the expectation that if you have a question, you should find the answer. Don't settle for "guessing"; don't settle for "someone said that" or "I think that" - look it up - find more information! 30 seconds of one's time. Yep; seriously, kid! ;) 

We weren't schooling; it was 9:00 at night. I was cleaning the kitchen; he was playing with a new Lego set. (hey - if he had a choice, he'd play with Legos. all. day. long. And all night too. Yes, I have a child like that. So yes, I understand!). 

For the record - end of the booklet.
next to last column
3rd row down.
photo of ring "x1"
How ironic to have "two" of the "One Ring" !? ;) 

In the end, his hypothesis was correct, but as a MOTHER (not as a teacher, not as a homeschool parent), I wasn't going to settle for "I guess" or worse what it was becoming: "I guess it, therefore it is accurate, and I have no evidence to back it up". Nope, thinking is a requirement, kiddo - and considering all the evidence at hand. 

Funny what a little playing with Legos can teach... maybe he needs more time with Legos.... 

;) 

Legoboy's First Dictionary

As I wax nostalgic these last few weeks... my baby is in upper elementary!!!!! I thought I'd share this photo of him "reading" his first dictionary. It was actually a birthday present for me from my mother, and he had received a late Christmas gift (the barn in the background, that we still have today - 6 years later).

He is not quite 3 in this photo and he spent a good part of that day looking through it. It has very few (black and white images) and he mostly looked at the pages without images. Could he read it then? I figured then that he couldn't, but I look back now... and I wonder.

Several months before this incident, I walked into the living room to find him looking at a picture-less book, while lounging in the recliner. I quietly walked out to get the camera and snap a picture. I put the camera around the corner (so he wouldn't see me), and he had turned the book upside down, clearly giggling hysterically and trying so hard to hold it in.... at not quite 2 1/2 years old. How did he KNOW it was upside down and therefore FUNNY????

(By the by, he also enjoyed then and still does now, turning maps south-north orientation (instead of north-south); he turned globes upside down in their holder and drove the other children and various teachers over the years crazy... so he can work with things in different orientations).

Please note - we also didn't really do characters - he didn't even know what the symbol was on his pjs there - he just knew they were in his drawer, and I just know they were less than a dime at a garage sale! that's a budget-use for you!

Happy Birthday LegoBoy!!!

Happy Birthday my darling boy!!!

Opening gifts in the morning

This was found on the shelf above him this morning
he placed it there last night to have it close :)

What he was doing when others were beginning to
post birthday greetings on Facebook for him ;)

Mortensen and Montessori - Mathematics Materials - Comments

I was recently asked to give my opinion on the following article:
http://pmswebsite.fatcow.com/teacherarticles/Townsend,Mortensen.pdf

Ok, I was asked quite a while back, and I was asked *again* recently ;)

My PERSONAL and PROFESSIONAL opinion are the same:

I am under the impression that the author of this article has a very limited training in Montessori, likely not the entire elementary sequence. Several times through the article, she makes statements about Dr. Montessori or the Montessori method that contradict Montessori's own writings.

Also, she states certain inconsistencies in the mathematics materials that are simply not present, at one point stating that the child isn't supposed to notice different sizes of the the various areas when doing square roots, multiplication on the checkerboard and the like... she misses the part where these materials tie into the stamp game - where "2000" is visually smaller than "9 units" - because we are moving the child to an abstraction based on the numeral present in a particular place, NOT emphasizing the visual size. We actually want what to the author appears to be a discrepancy and a confusion.

To her statement about no longer teaching division to 1st graders, I respond that the children should be working with the golden beads and stamp game in their primary years, whenever possible, as a sensorial experience - all four operations, including division. Now, it is up to the development of each child how far and how fast they are ready to proceed; it should never be up to an adult to make a blanket statement about not teaching a concept to a particular age.

The memorization work, when done in an AMI manner, will be done before a child reaches elementary; hence she is correct in its inappropriate place and tedious use in an elementary class. SOME children do fine with it into elementary; most will need to be done before entering elementary or work on memorization in other ways.

I won't say much more right now, because I want to get this posted.

I will say that I would love to compare notes as to scope and sequence for the elementary years; as well as further discuss specific materials and their purposes (there is a reason we limit what we do with a particular material - if we taught *everything* with just a tiny number of materials, our classrooms would require multiple sets and all elementary environments would have confused children - learning "too much" with just one material, they can lose their place - and using the same material many times over... well, it gets monotonous...).

Finally, I will say - if you need to shake things up and use another material - DO SO.
1) Follow the needs of the child.
2) Sometimes the adult can't provide for the needs of the child because of an emotional hang-up on something - that is FINE to recognize that and make accommodations for it, so that the child's needs are still fulfilled, if just in a different way. Just call it what it is: a modification for the sake of the adult. ;)


(UPDATE TO CLARIFY: My above opinion of the article is my opinion of the article and in no way reflects my opinion of the Mortensen Math materials which are probably truly very, very good if you can get past their website that is full of errors  (ceator, insuctional, algibra) that attempts to look like a film production but instead comes off low-classy, advertisement-full (they're not really advertisements...), poorly worded and spelled; many things want to download to my computer and refuse to stop until I close the browser completely... and overall just looks like a gimmick --- all my red flags are up saying "stay away from this site" every time I visit it (although my virus protection says it fine). I have tried to contact them about the spelling errors at least but have not seen any changes. Their copyright is still 2011 as well. It just doesn't look professional is all. But I have heard good things about the *materials*.)