Here’s a post about freedom of choice. The antithesis of Montessori is to sit a child down at a desk and hand them a stack of assignments, tell them the order in which to do the work, and make them sit there until it’s all done. (Though wouldn’t that be so easy!) In Montessori theory, … Continue reading
Every home-school is unique; this is as it should be. Every child and every family is unique. And each new school-year brings changes. Adjustments. Tweaks. Personally, I have found that the years when I was pregnant (read: sick as a dog) and post-partum (read: sleep-deprived to insanity) our schoolwork was less organized, possibly to the … Continue reading
So, you’re interested in presenting the world to your children using Montessori methods, and you want to have an album at home to guide you step-by-step. With the help of some other Montessori moms, we’re going to attempt to compile a comprehensive list of English-language Montessori albums available for purchase, as well as online teacher … Continue reading
One of the positive contributions of the internet is the spreading of Montessori educational philosophy. For nearly the first century of the existence of Montessori, the ideas were spread from person-to-person in training which involved years of lecture, reading, and observation in a Montessori school. The trainings were held in cities few and far between, … Continue reading
When our oldest child was about 12 months old, we started teaching him sign language. I don’t remember why. But I remember how absolutely stunned I was the first time he signed something he wanted me to give him, and how thrilled he was that I understood him. I remember the day he was sitting … Continue reading
We have been “officially” homeschooling for 6 years, and every day has been unique. Every day the children are one day older and desire to learn more. I have an “ideal” start to our week-day mornings carefully considered and planned; but if the children have engaged themselves in interesting work before I have put my … Continue reading
The truth is, unless you have a lot of spare time and you love making crafts, attempting to replicate Montessori materials from scratch is probably something I wouldn’t recommend. I have experimented with making my own Montessori materials many times over the past 8 years, with a few successes and many more wasted hours and … Continue reading
The “Grace & Courtesy” portion of a Montessori education is possibly my favorite component. With older children, it turns into “intentional character education” and “finishing” school, but with the younger crowd (3-6) the focus is on learning acceptable social behavior in an enjoyable manner. Children do a lot of things that are irritating to adults. … Continue reading
I love Montessori math materials. There’s too much to say and too many images for just one post, so I’ll start by sharing what it can look like to use Montessori math materials in your home with your children. Math processes are abstract. Pi times radius squared. Median, mode, and range. At what age can … Continue reading
Today I’d like to share some free, hand-drawn sound pattern pages. If you have checked into handwriting programs for early elementary students, you’ve probably noticed that there are different styles of teaching handwriting, and different ways to write each letter. I have used Italic Handwriting Series (linked below) for a few years now, and I … Continue reading
I’ve posted previously about the Montessori primary (ages 3-6) online training program available from World Wide Montessori. Today I’d like to share information about a Montessori elementary (ages 6-12) online training program called Keys of the Universe. You can sign up for a single subject or the entire elementary curriculum, and receive both the albums … Continue reading
You can “do Montessori” without purchasing actual Montessori materials. The philosophy of how you interact with your children is much more important than the materials you provide them. Once you learn about the materials specific to the Montessori method, however, I can almost guarantee that you’ll desire to experiment with them (according to your budget!) … Continue reading
*I have another post about using Montessori math at home here. I often say it: if they are awake, children are learning. Maybe they are learning new facts, or new bad habits, or new computer games, or new eating experiences as they eat the peas straight from the garden. Just because it is summer, my … Continue reading
Homeschooling permits a flexible schedule and time for children to pursue a wide variety of interests. I have previously listed a variety of “practical life” activities; these are all excellent kindling for arousing interest in useful hobbies. And, unbeknownst to the child, simultaneously foster development of fine motor skills, character, confidence, and true self-esteem. I … Continue reading
A few years ago, I stumbled upon an offer by Karen Tyler, an AMS-trained Montessori teacher with 30 years of experience, to provide online teacher training and album building for a reasonable fee. I jumped at the chance, and enjoyed not only being able to ask her any questions I had that came up, but … Continue reading
I’m afraid this might end up being a long post, because I have a biology degree, and I tend to take an interest in the “study of life” more than other subjects… Over the past several years I have figured out how I want to blend the effectiveness of Montessori philosophy with the comprehensiveness of … Continue reading
I’ll admit it, I’m a pen & paper girl. I’d rather be writing and planning and record keeping on paper than on my computer, but you can teach old dogs new tricks, and I’m getting more comfortable every year doing my work online. For decades I kept lists of addresses and phone numbers and birthdays … Continue reading
I want to continue summarizing the basics of how we have taught our children to read. This is the second of 2 long posts. In Part One, I described how we teach them the basic 26 letter sounds, using Montessori ideas, when they are 3 years old. Once these sounds are familiar, the child is … Continue reading
If you have been thinking about purchasing a set of elementary-level Montessori albums, there is a digital set written by AMI trainee Elizabeth Papandrea. It is available for purchase and on-sale for $80. (Regular price is $100). Volumes include: Mathematics 1 & 2 Language Geography Geometry Biology History Music Theory I haven’t seen these myself, … Continue reading
If you’ve searched for educational materials for your children, I hope you’ve come across Montessori For Everyone. This site, owned by Lori Bourne, is a great resource for high-quality digital files you can print and use as needed. I have enjoyed using several of Lori’s materials with my children over the years. Lori sells materials … Continue reading
The shopping season is upon us! On this site, I will only share with you the companies I find the most useful. I’m a very particular person; I don’t like wasting time or resources on frivolous purchases! Today I want to tell you about a company I have been a happy customer of for many … Continue reading
I’ve already mentioned that the initial Montessori presentations given to a child (around age 3) are called “practical life” activities. One of the favorite PL activities is pouring. Toddlers and pre-schoolers love to pour. By indulging this joy, we are also providing the young child with the means to improve gross and fine motor skills, to … Continue reading
[From the 2011-2012 School-Year] This fall, one of our goals (as part of Classical Conversations Foundations Cycle 3) will be for my sons in Kindergarten and 1st grade to memorize the names and locations of the 50 States, and for my 3rd grader to learn the capitals and state abbreviations as well. These kids have … Continue reading
One of the ways that mothering and Montessori has changed me is that I’m learning to try to see the world from the perspective of the child better. I attempted to do this this evening at 9:00 as I stood in the Walmart check-out line behind a chubby I’m-guessing-2-year-old. While her mother and grandmother unloaded … Continue reading
In this post, I’d like to give a brief over-view of what it means to provide your child with “practical life” activities at home. As time goes on, I hope to post much more on this topic in detail. As you probably know, Montessori schools divide their classrooms according to age, and put children ages … Continue reading
I’ve been wanting to share some basic information about Montessori “3-Part-Cards.” Perhaps you are already familiar with these, and you have a good collection of them, and you’ve figured out a great way to organize and store them. If that’s the case, please leave me a comment below and share your wisdom! If this language … Continue reading
If there was an affordable, well-run, Montessori school close to our house, I would send my kids there in a heart-beat. There isn’t. I realize that the teachers in the Montessori schools have undergone lengthy training, but the bottom line is that Montessori is not rocket-science. It’s much more of an art, and any mom … Continue reading
I’ve mentioned before that I divide our homeschool year into “CC” weeks (24 per year) and “off” weeks (all the rest.) During CC weeks, we use the comprehensive learning outlines from the Classical Conversations program. I introduce the new material on Monday, and throughout the week we attempt to understand it well, using a variety … Continue reading
Helping Children Learn 