Sometimes it is hard to maintain a Montessori un-school. Like right now, for instance. It's the middle of summer, and why am I even trying? Because our "school" is just a bunch of things out for the kids to use, changed once in a while as deemed necessary. It keeps the kids occupied and mostly out of trouble. And it works well for us. Usually they use at least some of what's on the shelves every day, and mostly on an individual basis, though they do often play together.
But lately their imaginations have taken over. They have started "playing" in the sense of building forts and making a zoo with their animals and all those fun things that I remember doing when I was a kid. It's great, right? And even Gene is getting in on it, which is unusual... But because he is, the interest seems to last a LOT longer. One day the three of them played in the basement together for 6 HOURS straight!
Why am I complaining? Because it's completely destroying our house (I'm exaggerating just a little, but still...). While I got a lot done on that 6-hour day, the basement is trashed. They brought down so much, and mixed up so much, that it will probably take 6 hours to put everything away again. The girls' room is a mess, because there are baskets with animals and random toys everywhere. And of course, the intention is to keep them there for a long time. And then they wanted to play in the basement again this morning.
What do I do? As a normal parent, I should just let them play, right? They are all extremely happy, and they have been playing together very nicely. Not many fights, and I love to hear how they compromise and work things out together.
From a Montessori point of view, though, this play isn't very productive in the preschool years. What is learned (sharing, cooperation) can easily be learned in the regular classroom in the course of working with things on the shelves. Waiting one's turn to use something, working together to use a material (depending on the rules of the classroom), conversing during meals and recess...it's all there. Many Montessori classrooms now have "imaginative play" areas, with dress up clothes and props, usually revolving around a theme such as "grocery store" or "restaurant". The theme changes once in a while, but it's set by the teacher and allows children to imagine what it would be like to be in those places.
Our house does not have an area like that. We do have materials out once in a while that encourage that sort of play, and the kids have had great fun with it.
But the play they are involved in now is a bit different. And from a Montessori parent's point of view, there are problems with it! Here's why...
1. Many things are conscripted into use, from all areas of the house, and no one wants to put
them all away at the end of the day.
2. One person is usually the leader, and the others follow...same leader every time, sometimes
loudly shouting commands. Good for that person's self-esteem, maybe, but what about the
others?
3. They are not "learning" anything educationally during the course of their play (besides the
above mentioned social learning)
Of those three problems, I think the one that is bothering me most is the first. Our house is fairly small, and when things aren't put away it is very obvious (i.e. we are stepping on them). We don't have a lot of things, because of the space constraint, and what we do have is used on a fairly regular basis. Meaning, we've had to spend a lot of time looking for things that we've found hiding under a blanket in the basement or in some other random spot.
Now that they've felt the exhilaration of their imaginations, however, it is hard to bring them back to the real world. Now, doing a puzzle doesn't seem that exciting when they could be in the "clubhouse" (Gene's room). They were all getting ready to go down the basement this morning, and I was really torn whether to let them or not. I ended up redirecting them, but now I hear happy noises coming from the clubhouse.
I expect that if I get any comments on this post, they will encourage me to allow the kids to imagine to their hearts' content. But I would actually love to hear from anyone who has some constructive advice...how do I allow it without letting our house fall into shambles, and has anyone else gone through this with their kids (home-schooled or otherwise)?
Thanks for hearing me out!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Homeschool set-up
Our home is our classroom. While we had a "schoolroom" last year in the dining room, this year we rarely use it and instead have various works on the family room shelves and up in the kids' bedrooms.
What I've been realizing lately is the sheer difficulty of "setting up" the "classroom" when one is homeschooling, especially using the Montessori method. There is no teacher planning period, or in-service days, or summer vacation when the children have all gone away and left the teacher to plan and rearrange and think. What I have is the children here ALL the time, and a husband in the evening once they have gone to bed (nothing against him, of course...).
So I have had to be creative, and use what little spurts of time I have available to set things up in the best possible way for the kids. It has gotten more difficult lately to do this while they are around, as I get alot of "what is that?" and "can I do that now?" or "why are you putting that in the basement?" If I want to try something out, and they see it, it's really hard to change my mind and put it away. You know?
Anyway, I am grateful for the time I have today (my dad and sister took the kids to the zoo) but it is going all too quickly:)
What I've been realizing lately is the sheer difficulty of "setting up" the "classroom" when one is homeschooling, especially using the Montessori method. There is no teacher planning period, or in-service days, or summer vacation when the children have all gone away and left the teacher to plan and rearrange and think. What I have is the children here ALL the time, and a husband in the evening once they have gone to bed (nothing against him, of course...).
So I have had to be creative, and use what little spurts of time I have available to set things up in the best possible way for the kids. It has gotten more difficult lately to do this while they are around, as I get alot of "what is that?" and "can I do that now?" or "why are you putting that in the basement?" If I want to try something out, and they see it, it's really hard to change my mind and put it away. You know?
Anyway, I am grateful for the time I have today (my dad and sister took the kids to the zoo) but it is going all too quickly:)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Middle Child...
I don't know about anyone else, but I see the "middle child syndrome" occurring in a homeschool situation as well as in regular family life. I spend a lot of time thinking about what to do with Gene (now getting closer to 7), especially since I have not been trained in Montessori for the elementary child. My sister just gave me all her albums and materials, as she is no longer planning to teach, but I don't know when I'll have a chance to look at them. It is so exciting to teach him, leading him in new directions. He takes a bit of prompting to be swayed off his beaten path (generally he is interested in only a handful of activities and would be satisfied to stick with them)...for example, he is finally showing interest in the piano (we have had one in our house for over a year now). He is playing every day, and has learned to play all the major scales and is trying to figure out some of the sharp scales (C sharp major, etc). He is really interested, and is getting good fast.
Jane is almost 3 (in a couple months) and has about mastered her numbers. She is beginning to learn letter sounds, we're playing the I Spy game from Gettman (I think she's in stage 3 or 4, but I'm not looking at the book) and this is also a very exciting stage of life. I LOVE to teach reading, and she is on her way:)
Lucy, at almost 5 (4 months away) is doing great as well. She is becoming a bookworm, and is challenging herself with the books she chooses. For instance, I began reading chapter books to her about a month ago, and began with Chocolate Fever. I let Gene borrow it when we were done, and he left it in the car. She picked it up and began reading, and made it through the whole book by herself! She reads a few books every day, but is now at a stage that doesn't require a whole lot of work from a teacher's point of view. All she has to do is keep on reading, and she'll pick up more and more through the books. She is also quite interested in art, and often amazes me with what she creates. She mostly uses paper, scissors, tape, and various coloring tools. I guess because that's what is available most often.
I realize once in a while that I am not really teaching her anything. She picks up a lot, and seems generally satisfied with her lot in life, but I think she would really appreciate a little time and attention with her schooling:) What I want to do is teach her to write. She knows all the uppercase letters (how is it that they always learn those on their own!) but we'll work on the lowercase. I'd like her to know them by the end of the summer...and I'm just devising a lot of different ways to teach her. I think she'll progress with flying colors, and should know them all soon. 26 letters...about 60 days of summer left...
Jane is almost 3 (in a couple months) and has about mastered her numbers. She is beginning to learn letter sounds, we're playing the I Spy game from Gettman (I think she's in stage 3 or 4, but I'm not looking at the book) and this is also a very exciting stage of life. I LOVE to teach reading, and she is on her way:)
Lucy, at almost 5 (4 months away) is doing great as well. She is becoming a bookworm, and is challenging herself with the books she chooses. For instance, I began reading chapter books to her about a month ago, and began with Chocolate Fever. I let Gene borrow it when we were done, and he left it in the car. She picked it up and began reading, and made it through the whole book by herself! She reads a few books every day, but is now at a stage that doesn't require a whole lot of work from a teacher's point of view. All she has to do is keep on reading, and she'll pick up more and more through the books. She is also quite interested in art, and often amazes me with what she creates. She mostly uses paper, scissors, tape, and various coloring tools. I guess because that's what is available most often.
I realize once in a while that I am not really teaching her anything. She picks up a lot, and seems generally satisfied with her lot in life, but I think she would really appreciate a little time and attention with her schooling:) What I want to do is teach her to write. She knows all the uppercase letters (how is it that they always learn those on their own!) but we'll work on the lowercase. I'd like her to know them by the end of the summer...and I'm just devising a lot of different ways to teach her. I think she'll progress with flying colors, and should know them all soon. 26 letters...about 60 days of summer left...
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Puzzles
Jane (age 2) has been doing puzzles for a long time now, and has mastered all the wooden knobbed puzzles we have. Now, she is challenging herself on my newest purchase...the puzzle map of Europe. If anyone reading this blog hasn't tried to do a puzzle of Europe, at least try to picture the continent, and all those tiny little countries in the Eastern part...very challenging as a puzzle. Especially since when we opened the box it came in, the pieces were all out of place. Needless to say, I have been quickly learning the countries and where they are- I didn't know them very well. But Jane is fascinated with it, and just sees it as an extension of the wooden puzzles she knows.
I wouldn't ordinarily have let her use it, but my training class has taught me (and also knowing Jane) that it's ok to let the youngest children in the class (and they start at 2.5 in some preschools) touch EVERYTHING in the class. They also don't start with every material on the shelves, but gradually add the more challenging things (and things with smaller pieces) as the year goes on. The only conditions are that the children don't hurt themselves, others, or the environment.
Jane is definitely not hurting the puzzle, and it is also holding her interest for a long time. She is learning where all the little pieces fit in, and when she is old enough (maybe not for 2-3 years) she can learn the names if she wants to. Right now she's happy, and I'm happy.
Oh, and one more thing. The Olympics being on has been the perfect time to introduce the countries of Europe. A lot of the European countries are competing, and it's been fun to hear their names on television. The kids know how to say and read a lot of the countries, and decide to root for one or the other of them. I'm enjoying it much more (with the kids) than I have in the past just watching the Olympics. I think the map has helped me, too!
I wouldn't ordinarily have let her use it, but my training class has taught me (and also knowing Jane) that it's ok to let the youngest children in the class (and they start at 2.5 in some preschools) touch EVERYTHING in the class. They also don't start with every material on the shelves, but gradually add the more challenging things (and things with smaller pieces) as the year goes on. The only conditions are that the children don't hurt themselves, others, or the environment.
Jane is definitely not hurting the puzzle, and it is also holding her interest for a long time. She is learning where all the little pieces fit in, and when she is old enough (maybe not for 2-3 years) she can learn the names if she wants to. Right now she's happy, and I'm happy.
Oh, and one more thing. The Olympics being on has been the perfect time to introduce the countries of Europe. A lot of the European countries are competing, and it's been fun to hear their names on television. The kids know how to say and read a lot of the countries, and decide to root for one or the other of them. I'm enjoying it much more (with the kids) than I have in the past just watching the Olympics. I think the map has helped me, too!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Why the breakfast dishes don't get done (or...Why I should teach the kids to wash dishes!)
The kitchen is still messy after breakfast, and we finished eating about 2 hours ago. How does that happen?? This has been a somewhat slow morning, since we don't have to go anywhere and two kids are sick with colds, but still! I am generally not done with the kitchen until probably 9:30 on a good day.
Here's my explanation: we're homeschooling, and the schooling is a day-long affair. We don't have a set school time anymore, we're doing what I will call "Montessori unschooling". And the kids are (mostly) doing very well. But it's why the dishes take forever to get done. The lessons (teaching) and assistance (help) and all those school-y things start happening as soon as the kids wake up in the morning. Along with the typical "get ready for the day" things. Here are the things that I (and a lot of other mothers!) do on a typical morning that interferes with the kitchen getting completely clean before mid-morning...and the things in bold are the extra things I did this morning:
shower, get dressed
start load of laundry
help 2yo get dressed
do hair of 2 girls
make breakfast and set table (sometimes kids help with these)
WIPE RUNNY NOSES
STAND CLOSE BY WHILE 2YO INSISTS ON WIPING HER OWN NOSE (after a lesson)
start emptying dishwasher
plan what's for dinner at same time, run to basement to bring up something from freezer
change load of laundry while down there
check on someone who's been quietly not getting ready for the day...
wipe someone's bottom
finish emptying dishwasher
GET OUT TWO BOWLS AND LABEL THEM WITH THE GIRLS' NAMES, PUT A WET CLOTH IN EACH SO THEY CAN KEEP THEIR COLD GERMS TO THEMSELVES WHILE WIPING UP AFTER MEALS AND WIPING DRIED BOOGERS OFF THEIR CHEEKS.
Help 2yo start brushing teeth
start loading dishwasher while she brushes
help 4yo get toothpaste on toothbrush (she needs repeated lessons on this...)
make my bed and straighten up room and hallway while upstairs
brush my teeth
go back to dishwasher
help 2yo put away toothbrush and paste
get 6yo started on writing project, because he's wandered into the kitchen after finishing his
morning chart, and it's the perfect chance to work with him
remind 2yo to use potty
get toilet paper and re-fill her basket of pre-rolled wads of toilet paper
do 4yo's hair, because she's finally done with breakfast
wipe down kitchen table and counters
help 2yo get started with Memory game, and end up playing 2 rounds because I haven't done
anything fun with her yet and she's begging! And she's getting pretty darn good at Memory!
bring up more Memory cards because the old cards are getting, well, old.
clean sink and run garbage disposal- finally done!
Well, that's what I remember doing. There were probably a few more things in there. On at least 2 mornings a week I throw in packing lunches for all of us, because we're out and about at lunchtime. And who know's what else?
This isn't really a school-y post, but I started out here and I'm not up to changing it right now. Off to watch the Olympics!
Here's my explanation: we're homeschooling, and the schooling is a day-long affair. We don't have a set school time anymore, we're doing what I will call "Montessori unschooling". And the kids are (mostly) doing very well. But it's why the dishes take forever to get done. The lessons (teaching) and assistance (help) and all those school-y things start happening as soon as the kids wake up in the morning. Along with the typical "get ready for the day" things. Here are the things that I (and a lot of other mothers!) do on a typical morning that interferes with the kitchen getting completely clean before mid-morning...and the things in bold are the extra things I did this morning:
shower, get dressed
start load of laundry
help 2yo get dressed
do hair of 2 girls
make breakfast and set table (sometimes kids help with these)
WIPE RUNNY NOSES
STAND CLOSE BY WHILE 2YO INSISTS ON WIPING HER OWN NOSE (after a lesson)
start emptying dishwasher
plan what's for dinner at same time, run to basement to bring up something from freezer
change load of laundry while down there
check on someone who's been quietly not getting ready for the day...
wipe someone's bottom
finish emptying dishwasher
GET OUT TWO BOWLS AND LABEL THEM WITH THE GIRLS' NAMES, PUT A WET CLOTH IN EACH SO THEY CAN KEEP THEIR COLD GERMS TO THEMSELVES WHILE WIPING UP AFTER MEALS AND WIPING DRIED BOOGERS OFF THEIR CHEEKS.
Help 2yo start brushing teeth
start loading dishwasher while she brushes
help 4yo get toothpaste on toothbrush (she needs repeated lessons on this...)
make my bed and straighten up room and hallway while upstairs
brush my teeth
go back to dishwasher
help 2yo put away toothbrush and paste
get 6yo started on writing project, because he's wandered into the kitchen after finishing his
morning chart, and it's the perfect chance to work with him
remind 2yo to use potty
get toilet paper and re-fill her basket of pre-rolled wads of toilet paper
do 4yo's hair, because she's finally done with breakfast
wipe down kitchen table and counters
help 2yo get started with Memory game, and end up playing 2 rounds because I haven't done
anything fun with her yet and she's begging! And she's getting pretty darn good at Memory!
bring up more Memory cards because the old cards are getting, well, old.
clean sink and run garbage disposal- finally done!
Well, that's what I remember doing. There were probably a few more things in there. On at least 2 mornings a week I throw in packing lunches for all of us, because we're out and about at lunchtime. And who know's what else?
This isn't really a school-y post, but I started out here and I'm not up to changing it right now. Off to watch the Olympics!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Update
Sorry I haven't posted in so long! We haven't been doing actual "school time" for quite a while now. We started out very structured in the fall, and the kids were resistant. Nobody was coming over to "do school" and it was a little too forced. While I had new things out on the shelves frequently, the kids wanted to do them on their own time, and not be told when it was "school time". So, I revamped the schedule. And here is an overview of how we're doing things now.
In the morning, the two big kids have a "morning chart" which includes the usual morning toileting activities, along with a "morning job" like dust-busting under the kitchen table or dusting or other small chores. Morning jobs switch every few weeks, depending on the interest level. Also included are some school activities, writing practice for both kids and fine motor skill practice (dubbed "finger work" on the chart) because he doesn't generally choose those activities on his own. I change around the chart requirements based on how I think the kids are doing, and this works fairly well. It takes a while for them to get "ready for the day" and be able to play, but then they have the rest of the morning as free time.
This free time, though, generally includes some schoolish activities. Gene will run, dive and jump around our house for while playing the sport of the season, and then choose to read or play a game. Lucy does lots of art projects (cutting, drawing, gluing), and both girls like to build block structures. Lucy also chooses to do the ABC game (i.e. starfall.com) and is allowed to do it twice a day for 15 minutes at a time. This has greatly improved her phonics and reading skills!
A few days a week in the morning we have planned activities- gymnastics for Lucy, Atrium (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd) for Gene and Lucy, and we get together twice a month with cousins for a "kid-swap" so one of the moms can do errands.
In the afternoons, we still have an enforced nap/rest time for all the kids, but before each of them gets settled in I read with them. I read two short books to Jane (her favorites now are Caps for Sale and The Little Fur Family...moving on to the level above basic board books:)) and she is now starting to memorize some of the words-in the stage where I can pause at the end of a line and she fills in the word. So fun! Lucy is really starting to read, and I read two books with her- one that is a few levels above her reading level, so she just listens, and the other that is right where she is...we take turns reading pages or lines. She's on all the beginner reading books- today we read Green Eggs and Ham, and she knew 99 percent of the words! Then I move over to Gene's room and read a chapter of the latest book. We just finished as far as we're going in the Little House series, and now we're starting Mrs Piggle Wiggle. He can read these books by himself, but he tends to comprehend a little better if I read to him, since I'm pretty sure he skips over hard words and hence misses some of the story.
During rest time, Gene plays various games or reads, and Lucy has Montessori school work in her room. I could give some to Gene, but he REALLY wants to play and read, and since that isn't exactly harming his intellect, I can't say no. I do want to put some shelves in his room and at least give him the option of doing Montessori, but it would clutter up his floor too much right now.
After rest time, we don't have any scheduled activities. The kids have snack, and I've started requiring Gene to pay for his snack. I give him a certain amount of money every week, and then he can choose what he'd like for snack and pay for it. I did this for two reasons- he was old enough to have more choice about his food (usually I lay out all the snack before rest time is over, and that's the only option), and I wanted him to learn about budgeting money. And money in general. He's been interested for a while, but didn't know even the names of coins. So we're doing lots with money now. On Mondays I give Gene an allowance, and we count out the money and change pennies for quarters and the like. I got a few ideas last weekend at my class for more money activities, and I'm excited to try them out!
What else is educational in our house? We check out lots of library books, and I think we'll start checking out topical books now- this weeks topic was volcanoes and earthquakes (after talking about Haiti a bit).
When the kids are interested in something, I try to put things out that will meet that interest. We teach them new skills as they seem ready.
I know this is really an "unschooling" house right now, and I was sure that I would never do it. But...it's working. We don't have to keep it this way forever, and we'll adapt and re-adapt as the kids and I need to. Right now, though, I like things the way they are:)
In the morning, the two big kids have a "morning chart" which includes the usual morning toileting activities, along with a "morning job" like dust-busting under the kitchen table or dusting or other small chores. Morning jobs switch every few weeks, depending on the interest level. Also included are some school activities, writing practice for both kids and fine motor skill practice (dubbed "finger work" on the chart) because he doesn't generally choose those activities on his own. I change around the chart requirements based on how I think the kids are doing, and this works fairly well. It takes a while for them to get "ready for the day" and be able to play, but then they have the rest of the morning as free time.
This free time, though, generally includes some schoolish activities. Gene will run, dive and jump around our house for while playing the sport of the season, and then choose to read or play a game. Lucy does lots of art projects (cutting, drawing, gluing), and both girls like to build block structures. Lucy also chooses to do the ABC game (i.e. starfall.com) and is allowed to do it twice a day for 15 minutes at a time. This has greatly improved her phonics and reading skills!
A few days a week in the morning we have planned activities- gymnastics for Lucy, Atrium (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd) for Gene and Lucy, and we get together twice a month with cousins for a "kid-swap" so one of the moms can do errands.
In the afternoons, we still have an enforced nap/rest time for all the kids, but before each of them gets settled in I read with them. I read two short books to Jane (her favorites now are Caps for Sale and The Little Fur Family...moving on to the level above basic board books:)) and she is now starting to memorize some of the words-in the stage where I can pause at the end of a line and she fills in the word. So fun! Lucy is really starting to read, and I read two books with her- one that is a few levels above her reading level, so she just listens, and the other that is right where she is...we take turns reading pages or lines. She's on all the beginner reading books- today we read Green Eggs and Ham, and she knew 99 percent of the words! Then I move over to Gene's room and read a chapter of the latest book. We just finished as far as we're going in the Little House series, and now we're starting Mrs Piggle Wiggle. He can read these books by himself, but he tends to comprehend a little better if I read to him, since I'm pretty sure he skips over hard words and hence misses some of the story.
During rest time, Gene plays various games or reads, and Lucy has Montessori school work in her room. I could give some to Gene, but he REALLY wants to play and read, and since that isn't exactly harming his intellect, I can't say no. I do want to put some shelves in his room and at least give him the option of doing Montessori, but it would clutter up his floor too much right now.
After rest time, we don't have any scheduled activities. The kids have snack, and I've started requiring Gene to pay for his snack. I give him a certain amount of money every week, and then he can choose what he'd like for snack and pay for it. I did this for two reasons- he was old enough to have more choice about his food (usually I lay out all the snack before rest time is over, and that's the only option), and I wanted him to learn about budgeting money. And money in general. He's been interested for a while, but didn't know even the names of coins. So we're doing lots with money now. On Mondays I give Gene an allowance, and we count out the money and change pennies for quarters and the like. I got a few ideas last weekend at my class for more money activities, and I'm excited to try them out!
What else is educational in our house? We check out lots of library books, and I think we'll start checking out topical books now- this weeks topic was volcanoes and earthquakes (after talking about Haiti a bit).
When the kids are interested in something, I try to put things out that will meet that interest. We teach them new skills as they seem ready.
I know this is really an "unschooling" house right now, and I was sure that I would never do it. But...it's working. We don't have to keep it this way forever, and we'll adapt and re-adapt as the kids and I need to. Right now, though, I like things the way they are:)
Monday, October 19, 2009
Improv Writing Work
Gene needs a lot of incentive to write these days. Well, he's always needed a lot, but lately I've been neglectful and haven't found any inspirations for him. I was thinking about it a lot, though, and finally came up with something...
Now, to preface this, I'll let you know that I haven't yet gone through the Language training in the classes I'm taking, and an online course I took (where I got to have access to someone else's albums) did not have writing activities beyond the initial "learning to write the letters". So, there are probably a lot of good writing activities out there in Montessori world that I just don't know about yet. Please let me know if you have any ideas!
We did a lot of writing over the summer, while we were reading the Little House books. I would write a question on a piece of paper, and he would answer the question in a complete sentence on writing paper. That was fine, but he was dependent on me writing the question and couldn't do it on his own. It also was a bit forced...he never begged me to do it with him:) But it did REALLY improve his writing, and very quickly. He went from not being able to even write about half of the lowercase letters of the alphabet on lined paper, to being able to write them all pretty darn legibly.
I also initiated a daily spelling test, and by daily I mean it happened about 3-4 days out of the week:) I based it off an idea I got from reading a book I found at a garage sale...a great book, by the way! Called An Acorn in My Hand by Ethel Bouldin, it lays out in a very easy to read manner how one teacher taught her first graders how to read and write...by the end of the year, they were able to read the newspaper, and write 2-3 page book reports. And, most importantly, they LOVED to write and they LOVED to have spelling tests. They were up to over 30 spelling words A DAY by the end of the year. She taught them phonetic spelling rules, and then just gave out 30 new words a day based on those rules. Every week she would introduce new rules, and therefore the kids were able to spell many new words just by learning the rule!
I can't recommend the book enough. I think every elementary school teacher should have a copy, and it definitely comes in handy to lay the groundwork for reading and writing at the preschool level. I started giving Gene spelling tests in the summer, and while he's only learned about 6 rules, he can spell MUCH better than before. And it really is fun:)
But...spelling tests are also dependent on the the teacher. I did think about recording the tests so he could play them back on his own time and write the words, but I haven't gotten there yet.
We have had a break from all writing for probably 2-3 weeks now...we've been busy with other work, and then everyone got sick. So I wanted to get back into it. But in a way that Gene could be independent. And a way that he would LIKE TO DO. I started thinking that, while he can write sentences, it was a lot of work for him. I want him to get comfortable just writing words, before he tries to string them together. So, I needed a word writing activity, that he could do by himself.
Here's what I put together:
On the tray is a jar with slips of lined writing paper, on cardstock so they will be easy to get out of the jar, and a little sturdier to work with. I found a website that offers free writing paper to print, and if I right click on the image and go to "copy image" I can paste the image in a new document and save it. Once printed, it's easy to cut into strips.
So, a strip can be chosen from the jar, and a picture chosen from the pile. Then, simply write the word that corresponds to the picture. I wasn't sure that Gene would think it was much fun, so I came up with a "point of interest" to entice him to do the work.
Here's where he puts the strips once they are written on:
I found this box at Wallmart in the sewing section, to hold sewing supplies. It cost under $2, and seems pretty sturdy. I labeled the sections alphabetically, and there's enough room in each section to hold quite a few strips. It would have been most ideal if there were 26 sections, but as it is this is pretty good.
He still wasn't keen on doing it, but once I said I would do it with him, he was all for it. We took turns choosing a picture and writing the word. He got to choose the pictures I would write, and immediately gave me the hardest ones! We made it through probably 20 pictures. Then, there were still some sections in the box that didn't have any slips, so I asked him if he could think of any words we could write for those sections, even if we don't have a picture for them. He didn't really want to write more, but once I wrote one word, he decided he wanted to write a different word, and we ended up writing a few more before putting it away. It went pretty darn well!
Now, I can definitely come up with more picture cards (I actually made those cards last year by cutting out pictures from magazines and laminating them on white paper, and I have a lot more in storage), but I also had ideas for extensions:
-laminate magazine pages that have multiple items in the same picture, and have the child write words that correspond to all the items he can find. This could be fun, since some items hide in most pictures (i.e. wall, door, floor...)
-once the pictures have worn out their appeal, encourage the child to look around the house for more ideas.
-the strips of paper in each section could be counted, and special effort could be made to find words to write to fill up the sections that have the least amount of words.
-turn it into a math activity as well, and keep a tally chart under the box. Label columns at the top of the chart that correspond to each section of the box. Each time a strip is put in a section, add a tally mark to that column...and the child will always know how many strips he has. Or...for number writing practice (which Gene needs as well!) just have the child write the latest number of strips in the column...
All right- this was only the first day of use. We'll see how the Word Box actually does in the long run!
Now, to preface this, I'll let you know that I haven't yet gone through the Language training in the classes I'm taking, and an online course I took (where I got to have access to someone else's albums) did not have writing activities beyond the initial "learning to write the letters". So, there are probably a lot of good writing activities out there in Montessori world that I just don't know about yet. Please let me know if you have any ideas!
We did a lot of writing over the summer, while we were reading the Little House books. I would write a question on a piece of paper, and he would answer the question in a complete sentence on writing paper. That was fine, but he was dependent on me writing the question and couldn't do it on his own. It also was a bit forced...he never begged me to do it with him:) But it did REALLY improve his writing, and very quickly. He went from not being able to even write about half of the lowercase letters of the alphabet on lined paper, to being able to write them all pretty darn legibly.
I also initiated a daily spelling test, and by daily I mean it happened about 3-4 days out of the week:) I based it off an idea I got from reading a book I found at a garage sale...a great book, by the way! Called An Acorn in My Hand by Ethel Bouldin, it lays out in a very easy to read manner how one teacher taught her first graders how to read and write...by the end of the year, they were able to read the newspaper, and write 2-3 page book reports. And, most importantly, they LOVED to write and they LOVED to have spelling tests. They were up to over 30 spelling words A DAY by the end of the year. She taught them phonetic spelling rules, and then just gave out 30 new words a day based on those rules. Every week she would introduce new rules, and therefore the kids were able to spell many new words just by learning the rule!
I can't recommend the book enough. I think every elementary school teacher should have a copy, and it definitely comes in handy to lay the groundwork for reading and writing at the preschool level. I started giving Gene spelling tests in the summer, and while he's only learned about 6 rules, he can spell MUCH better than before. And it really is fun:)
But...spelling tests are also dependent on the the teacher. I did think about recording the tests so he could play them back on his own time and write the words, but I haven't gotten there yet.
We have had a break from all writing for probably 2-3 weeks now...we've been busy with other work, and then everyone got sick. So I wanted to get back into it. But in a way that Gene could be independent. And a way that he would LIKE TO DO. I started thinking that, while he can write sentences, it was a lot of work for him. I want him to get comfortable just writing words, before he tries to string them together. So, I needed a word writing activity, that he could do by himself.
Here's what I put together:
On the tray is a jar with slips of lined writing paper, on cardstock so they will be easy to get out of the jar, and a little sturdier to work with. I found a website that offers free writing paper to print, and if I right click on the image and go to "copy image" I can paste the image in a new document and save it. Once printed, it's easy to cut into strips.
So, a strip can be chosen from the jar, and a picture chosen from the pile. Then, simply write the word that corresponds to the picture. I wasn't sure that Gene would think it was much fun, so I came up with a "point of interest" to entice him to do the work.
Here's where he puts the strips once they are written on:
I found this box at Wallmart in the sewing section, to hold sewing supplies. It cost under $2, and seems pretty sturdy. I labeled the sections alphabetically, and there's enough room in each section to hold quite a few strips. It would have been most ideal if there were 26 sections, but as it is this is pretty good.He still wasn't keen on doing it, but once I said I would do it with him, he was all for it. We took turns choosing a picture and writing the word. He got to choose the pictures I would write, and immediately gave me the hardest ones! We made it through probably 20 pictures. Then, there were still some sections in the box that didn't have any slips, so I asked him if he could think of any words we could write for those sections, even if we don't have a picture for them. He didn't really want to write more, but once I wrote one word, he decided he wanted to write a different word, and we ended up writing a few more before putting it away. It went pretty darn well!
Now, I can definitely come up with more picture cards (I actually made those cards last year by cutting out pictures from magazines and laminating them on white paper, and I have a lot more in storage), but I also had ideas for extensions:
-laminate magazine pages that have multiple items in the same picture, and have the child write words that correspond to all the items he can find. This could be fun, since some items hide in most pictures (i.e. wall, door, floor...)
-once the pictures have worn out their appeal, encourage the child to look around the house for more ideas.
-the strips of paper in each section could be counted, and special effort could be made to find words to write to fill up the sections that have the least amount of words.
-turn it into a math activity as well, and keep a tally chart under the box. Label columns at the top of the chart that correspond to each section of the box. Each time a strip is put in a section, add a tally mark to that column...and the child will always know how many strips he has. Or...for number writing practice (which Gene needs as well!) just have the child write the latest number of strips in the column...
All right- this was only the first day of use. We'll see how the Word Box actually does in the long run!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Learning Update
Here are a few things that the kids have been up to the last couple weeks...
Decorating the Lima Bean bowl (Lucy):
Using the red rods to build a tower, a maze and various other things (Gene and Lucy). Jane watched, and was very excited to walk through the maze with the other kids. She then asked to use the rods. Now, she hasn't used any of the preliminary Montessori sensorial building materials (Pink Cubes, Brown Prisms) and is pretty young for any of them in a traditional school, but as I have newly determined to "follow the child" and not say no to a rational choice, I allowed her to take them out. She said she was going to build the maze!
She very carefully took them out one at a time, carried them the way I had shown Lucy, and brought them over to the mat by our front door that we use for the rods (because it's big enough). She got tired about halfway through, and announced she was going to put them away again. And she did, in the stand we have for them, each in a spot though not in the correct order. She had a great first experience with them, and will learn over time how to use them in a more meaningful way. For now, though, I'm sure she'll go back and want to use them again, and I'm looking forward to the day when she truly gets them. For now, though, take a look at her "maze"...she had gotten the point that we put some rods on one side of the mat, and some on the other:)
Another activity that Jane has shown interest in way ahead of her time is cutting with scissors. She pulled out the cutting tray a few days ago, and went right at the paper strips with her scissors. She got her fingers in the right holes, finagled them open, and shut them again. She has chosen the work numerous times since, and I finally made her a separate beginner cutting tray, with a bowl to put the cut pieces in. Here she is in action (using her left hand, but she cuts most successfully with her right...a little experimenting won't hurt, though):
Jane got a set of fruit and veggies to cut for her birthday, and it's been a popular activity. I tried it myself, and it really does feel like the real thing. Pretty fun!
The surprise of the week was Lucy's To-Do list. She has been interested in writing letters for a long time, and has conquered most of them now (half uppercase, half lowercase, but at least she feels confident that she can write all the letters in one form or another). She's been writing her name for awhile, and a few other random words, but this was the first big writing project for her. It was completely self-initiated, I think inspired by a Frog and Toad story that we have read before (but not recently). She just got some paper one morning, told me what she was doing, and went at it. She then crossed off a few things as they came up over the course of the day, and I don't remember what they were, but here's what was left when I took the picture:
Translation:
Go to bed
Wake up
Clean up
Get in your bed
Translation: Go to school
Pretty neat, huh?
Decorating the Lima Bean bowl (Lucy):
Using the red rods to build a tower, a maze and various other things (Gene and Lucy). Jane watched, and was very excited to walk through the maze with the other kids. She then asked to use the rods. Now, she hasn't used any of the preliminary Montessori sensorial building materials (Pink Cubes, Brown Prisms) and is pretty young for any of them in a traditional school, but as I have newly determined to "follow the child" and not say no to a rational choice, I allowed her to take them out. She said she was going to build the maze!
She very carefully took them out one at a time, carried them the way I had shown Lucy, and brought them over to the mat by our front door that we use for the rods (because it's big enough). She got tired about halfway through, and announced she was going to put them away again. And she did, in the stand we have for them, each in a spot though not in the correct order. She had a great first experience with them, and will learn over time how to use them in a more meaningful way. For now, though, I'm sure she'll go back and want to use them again, and I'm looking forward to the day when she truly gets them. For now, though, take a look at her "maze"...she had gotten the point that we put some rods on one side of the mat, and some on the other:)
Another activity that Jane has shown interest in way ahead of her time is cutting with scissors. She pulled out the cutting tray a few days ago, and went right at the paper strips with her scissors. She got her fingers in the right holes, finagled them open, and shut them again. She has chosen the work numerous times since, and I finally made her a separate beginner cutting tray, with a bowl to put the cut pieces in. Here she is in action (using her left hand, but she cuts most successfully with her right...a little experimenting won't hurt, though):
Jane got a set of fruit and veggies to cut for her birthday, and it's been a popular activity. I tried it myself, and it really does feel like the real thing. Pretty fun!
The surprise of the week was Lucy's To-Do list. She has been interested in writing letters for a long time, and has conquered most of them now (half uppercase, half lowercase, but at least she feels confident that she can write all the letters in one form or another). She's been writing her name for awhile, and a few other random words, but this was the first big writing project for her. It was completely self-initiated, I think inspired by a Frog and Toad story that we have read before (but not recently). She just got some paper one morning, told me what she was doing, and went at it. She then crossed off a few things as they came up over the course of the day, and I don't remember what they were, but here's what was left when I took the picture:
Translation:Go to bed
Wake up
Clean up
Get in your bed
Translation: Go to schoolPretty neat, huh?
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Things I have Learned
So...I am in the midst of taking a training course to become a real Montessori teacher. Someday maybe I'll actually teach in a real school. We'll see. But, while that is on hold, I can at least apply the things I'm learning to my own kids, right?
One thing I've learned is to not say "No". That came as a big surprise to me, because we definitely say "no" often to our kids. But this applies in a strictly school sense...as in, a Montessori classroom should only display things on the shelves that are accessible to ALL the children in the class. The shelves start out with safe, larger objects so that the youngest children won't hurt themselves or swallow something. As they get more proficient at using the safe materials, gradually the materials are exchanged for others that are smaller, messier, sharper, etc.
But that is just the Practical Life section. In the other areas of the classroom, as well, the materials start off easy. In math, there may be just number puzzles out at first. Language, a bunch of books. Other materials are introduced, but the classroom starts off this way so that the youngest children will feel welcome. Imagine a new barely 3-year old, coming to school for the first time, who watches some bigger kids do something that looks really neat and exciting...and the teacher tells her, "No, you can't do that" when she goes to take it off the shelf once they're done. Anything the teacher tries to show her next won't look as exciting as what she had chosen herself.
I said "No" a lot last year during our school sessions, and I saw the difficulties of it. The kids were sad they couldn't use the materials they wanted to.
But, there are always some limits in the classroom. It is definitely okay, and even a must, to say "No" when a child is misusing a material in a way that is hurting it, them self, or another person. The teacher can help them put it away, and say that they can't use it until the next day. But they will be given another chance, with perhaps a lesson first on the proper use.
I have put this into practice this year in our classroom. Everything on the shelves is accessible to everyone, even to Janie (just turned 2). If she chooses something that I don't think she is ready for, I still show her something she can do with it. Something educational...if not the complete lesson, then at least a mini-lesson. For example, she was in awe of the Numbers and Counters- laminated cards with the numbers 1-10 on them, and a bunch of colored stones to place under each number. She watched the other kids use them, and one day she got them out and put all the cards (in random order) out on the mat, and then put some counters on top of each one. She also counted (up to 20 or 30) as she put them all out, but she wasn't exactly counting them as individual stones. Last year I wouldn't have let her take it off the shelf, but this time I just watched her, and she was concentrating very well, and not hurting the material at all. She used them for probably 10 minutes (pretty good for a toddler!) and then put the cards in a fairly good pile, and asked for help with the rubber band. Since then she has chosen it almost every day we do school, and someday she will get the concept of exactly how to use it. For now, though, it doesn't hurt to let her do her thing.
One more example- scissors! I would never have given a 2 year old scissors. But she chose the cutting tray, and put her fingers in the scissors, and tried to cut a strip of paper. And she actually did (a little!). She has chosen this work a few times, and if I sit with her and run through the process of what to do with the strip after she has cut it (put it in an envelope, along with any pieces she has cut off), she really enjoys herself. Now, I really should make an easier cutting work for her (without an envelope, and just a container to put pieces), but for now this works. And I should have a tonging work out, and other works to strengthen her hand, but for now this works...
Not saying "No" creates a much more peaceful, pleasant environment:)
One thing I've learned is to not say "No". That came as a big surprise to me, because we definitely say "no" often to our kids. But this applies in a strictly school sense...as in, a Montessori classroom should only display things on the shelves that are accessible to ALL the children in the class. The shelves start out with safe, larger objects so that the youngest children won't hurt themselves or swallow something. As they get more proficient at using the safe materials, gradually the materials are exchanged for others that are smaller, messier, sharper, etc.
But that is just the Practical Life section. In the other areas of the classroom, as well, the materials start off easy. In math, there may be just number puzzles out at first. Language, a bunch of books. Other materials are introduced, but the classroom starts off this way so that the youngest children will feel welcome. Imagine a new barely 3-year old, coming to school for the first time, who watches some bigger kids do something that looks really neat and exciting...and the teacher tells her, "No, you can't do that" when she goes to take it off the shelf once they're done. Anything the teacher tries to show her next won't look as exciting as what she had chosen herself.
I said "No" a lot last year during our school sessions, and I saw the difficulties of it. The kids were sad they couldn't use the materials they wanted to.
But, there are always some limits in the classroom. It is definitely okay, and even a must, to say "No" when a child is misusing a material in a way that is hurting it, them self, or another person. The teacher can help them put it away, and say that they can't use it until the next day. But they will be given another chance, with perhaps a lesson first on the proper use.
I have put this into practice this year in our classroom. Everything on the shelves is accessible to everyone, even to Janie (just turned 2). If she chooses something that I don't think she is ready for, I still show her something she can do with it. Something educational...if not the complete lesson, then at least a mini-lesson. For example, she was in awe of the Numbers and Counters- laminated cards with the numbers 1-10 on them, and a bunch of colored stones to place under each number. She watched the other kids use them, and one day she got them out and put all the cards (in random order) out on the mat, and then put some counters on top of each one. She also counted (up to 20 or 30) as she put them all out, but she wasn't exactly counting them as individual stones. Last year I wouldn't have let her take it off the shelf, but this time I just watched her, and she was concentrating very well, and not hurting the material at all. She used them for probably 10 minutes (pretty good for a toddler!) and then put the cards in a fairly good pile, and asked for help with the rubber band. Since then she has chosen it almost every day we do school, and someday she will get the concept of exactly how to use it. For now, though, it doesn't hurt to let her do her thing.
One more example- scissors! I would never have given a 2 year old scissors. But she chose the cutting tray, and put her fingers in the scissors, and tried to cut a strip of paper. And she actually did (a little!). She has chosen this work a few times, and if I sit with her and run through the process of what to do with the strip after she has cut it (put it in an envelope, along with any pieces she has cut off), she really enjoys herself. Now, I really should make an easier cutting work for her (without an envelope, and just a container to put pieces), but for now this works. And I should have a tonging work out, and other works to strengthen her hand, but for now this works...
Not saying "No" creates a much more peaceful, pleasant environment:)
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Art Update
I have recently added "Painting with a Brush" to our school shelves, and it's been a hit, especially with the younger crowd (i.e. the girls). Everyone has tried it once now, but Jane and Lucy seemed like they really enjoyed it. Gene wasn't reluctant about it as he was about finger painting, but he didn't seem thrilled, either.
I have it set out so they can get everything they need, but I did ask that they bring the paint bottle to me to pour into the cup. And school things are only allowed during school time, so I'm bound to be right there when Janie decides she wants to paint.
She chose to work on the floor, probably because that's where I did the presentation of it. She was pretty wiggly, but really enjoyed herself and kept wanting to wipe her hands and the tray with the wet cloth (pictured in a tupperware container on her far left in the above picture). She kept going until the whole paper was blue, even (proudly) painting over the pieces of tape I had used to secure the paper to the tray.
I have it set out so they can get everything they need, but I did ask that they bring the paint bottle to me to pour into the cup. And school things are only allowed during school time, so I'm bound to be right there when Janie decides she wants to paint.
She chose to work on the floor, probably because that's where I did the presentation of it. She was pretty wiggly, but really enjoyed herself and kept wanting to wipe her hands and the tray with the wet cloth (pictured in a tupperware container on her far left in the above picture). She kept going until the whole paper was blue, even (proudly) painting over the pieces of tape I had used to secure the paper to the tray.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Circle Time Update
I think Janie is enjoying our Circle Time (CT) the most! She is a great lover of routine, and also an avid "follower" ("copy-cat" being the less polite way of putting it). So, needless to say she joins right in with the big kids. She must use the toilet first (see this post for explanation) and then she climbs up in her seat at the kitchen table. We start with praying a (shortened) decade of the Rosary (yes, we're Catholic!) Jane likes to pass out the Rosaries, but sometimes someone else will do it...usually whoever is ready first. They spend some time finding the right bead to start on (but they're getting quite good) and I show a picture of that decade from a small "Praying the Rosary" book. Then I read the story that goes along with it from my Bible. A little over their heads, at least the girls, but I keep the stories pretty short and it works ok. We pray the Our Father and three Hail Marys...and Jane says about every other word to both prayers. She probably could say more, but the rest of us just can't talk slow enough for her!
Then someone collects the Rosaries and we move on to...singing. Definitely their favorite part. The "Songs We Know" notebook has been a big hit! We are up to 23 songs now that the majority of us know (and Janie chimes in for a good number of them). We try to add a new song or two every day, realizing how many songs we actually know. If we can't think of one, we practice a song on the "Songs To Work On" paper I keep in the notebook. Then we go around the table and everyone gets to pick one song for us to sing. This is a great way to review the songs we already have written down, and the kids have a great time picking. The big kids usually pick a different song every time (favorites are Yankee Doodle Dandy and The Grand Old Duke of York) but Janie's favorite is Skidamarinky-Dinky-Dink...she calls it "Dinky-Dink". And she tries to do the hand motions that we saw at a Gemini concert recently!
After singing we go on to "Poems We Know". We are just a few lines short of knowing A Little Shadow...but I am the one that is holding them back! I keep forgetting just one line, every time, and I also make a couple other little mistakes that I always get corrected on. Oh well...helps them learn, right! We add a line a day, so hopefully we'll get it by the end of this week.
And then we move on to Exercise Time. Sometimes I forget, but lately since it had been so nice out (I'm not counting today!) we've gone out for a sidewalk run. The kids run up and down the sidewalk, sometimes on a bike or scooter, and get their energy out. This morning we did get out before it started to rain and get cold...and Jane was the one with all the energy. She's recently learned how to run, and this time ran about 5 times up and down our block! Gene was keeping pace with her and promising to protect her from tripping over the bumps:)
Then someone collects the Rosaries and we move on to...singing. Definitely their favorite part. The "Songs We Know" notebook has been a big hit! We are up to 23 songs now that the majority of us know (and Janie chimes in for a good number of them). We try to add a new song or two every day, realizing how many songs we actually know. If we can't think of one, we practice a song on the "Songs To Work On" paper I keep in the notebook. Then we go around the table and everyone gets to pick one song for us to sing. This is a great way to review the songs we already have written down, and the kids have a great time picking. The big kids usually pick a different song every time (favorites are Yankee Doodle Dandy and The Grand Old Duke of York) but Janie's favorite is Skidamarinky-Dinky-Dink...she calls it "Dinky-Dink". And she tries to do the hand motions that we saw at a Gemini concert recently!
After singing we go on to "Poems We Know". We are just a few lines short of knowing A Little Shadow...but I am the one that is holding them back! I keep forgetting just one line, every time, and I also make a couple other little mistakes that I always get corrected on. Oh well...helps them learn, right! We add a line a day, so hopefully we'll get it by the end of this week.
And then we move on to Exercise Time. Sometimes I forget, but lately since it had been so nice out (I'm not counting today!) we've gone out for a sidewalk run. The kids run up and down the sidewalk, sometimes on a bike or scooter, and get their energy out. This morning we did get out before it started to rain and get cold...and Jane was the one with all the energy. She's recently learned how to run, and this time ran about 5 times up and down our block! Gene was keeping pace with her and promising to protect her from tripping over the bumps:)
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Pudding Paint
So fingerpainting has been out for a week. Lucy has done it a couple times (today she painting a "dragon" with talking clouds above him that were making him angry. I don't know where that came from ! Jane chose it once, and Gene hasn't chosen it at all. But, I did make chocolate pudding the other day and we fingerpainted with it.
Gene was VERY unsure about it, and once he came closer and looked at his little bowl of pudding, he said, "Mama, this smells gross!" It just smelled like chocolate pudding...kind of like brownie batter. He kept complaining, but did get his fingers in it and smear them around...a little. Just not his thing, I guess. Lucy, however, loved it and I had to convince her to stop after AN HOUR of sitting at the table, once the pudding had really decided it was too warm to stay on the table and started to drip on the floor. She ended up eating almost the whole bowl, after it got onto the table and was smeared around, just by licking her fingers every couple of minutes:)
Gene was VERY unsure about it, and once he came closer and looked at his little bowl of pudding, he said, "Mama, this smells gross!" It just smelled like chocolate pudding...kind of like brownie batter. He kept complaining, but did get his fingers in it and smear them around...a little. Just not his thing, I guess. Lucy, however, loved it and I had to convince her to stop after AN HOUR of sitting at the table, once the pudding had really decided it was too warm to stay on the table and started to drip on the floor. She ended up eating almost the whole bowl, after it got onto the table and was smeared around, just by licking her fingers every couple of minutes:)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Art 101
Our first art lesson this school year is Fingerpainting. I am still trying to figure out how to make it accessible to the kids, so they can choose it when they want to, but I just wanted to do it today, so we did it all together. I haven't fingerpainted in ages...I tried to do it with Gene a couple times when he was younger, but he always ended up watching and it just wasn't any fun to do it by myself like that.
This time was great. I taped the kids' papers to the kitchen table, gave them a small bowl with paint in it (just one color) and we went to work. The girls loved it, and Janie especially kept asking me to "look, Mama" as she made a line or a squiggle or something. Gene wasn't so thrilled, and wanted to stop after a minute, but I told him he had to use ALL his paint. And I showed him how he could write words in the paint, or make designs. He was somewhat interested, but Lucy went and wrote "Hi".
We'll see if they choose it once it's on the shelf. I have a feeling the girls will choose it EVERY DAY and I'll regret putting it out because Janie at least will need a lot of help. But, oh well. I've neglected this part of mothering for the past 5 years...I think I can do it now!
This time was great. I taped the kids' papers to the kitchen table, gave them a small bowl with paint in it (just one color) and we went to work. The girls loved it, and Janie especially kept asking me to "look, Mama" as she made a line or a squiggle or something. Gene wasn't so thrilled, and wanted to stop after a minute, but I told him he had to use ALL his paint. And I showed him how he could write words in the paint, or make designs. He was somewhat interested, but Lucy went and wrote "Hi".
We'll see if they choose it once it's on the shelf. I have a feeling the girls will choose it EVERY DAY and I'll regret putting it out because Janie at least will need a lot of help. But, oh well. I've neglected this part of mothering for the past 5 years...I think I can do it now!
Monday, September 14, 2009
First Couple Weeks
Well, we're starting the second week of homeschooling, and so far...it has been alright. I am not on top of things as much as I'd like, but we're getting there, and we have established at least a few basic school routines. We have started a daily Circle Time in the morning, after we all get dressed, clean up the upstairs, do hair, have breakfast, and brush teeth (in that order). I wanted to have them all up by 7 to get started on the day, and that has been working fairly well, as they've been up by 6:30 on many days! (I'm not quite ready for them then).
Circle Time the first two days consisted of my trying to teach them a song and a poem, and a short prayer time...it was mostly a flop. Janie wanted to sit RIGHT next to me, but then also move around a whole lot. She was also very noisy, and yet wanted to participate and wasn't interested in playing by herself! Lucy was mostly bored and didn't want to sing, and Gene was mostly interested but annoyed by the girls. So, after this same thing the second morning (while also dealing with a potty accident on the kitchen floor and a 2 year old slipping and falling on her back in it!) I was a little frustrated! But after thinking for a while, I came up with this:
New and Revised Circle Time-
Pray decade of rosary (everyone picked their Rosaries ahead of time, and we'll keep them without trading for at least a month...last year there were a lot of tears over Rosaries!)
Pray a short prayer for each person in our "close extended" family- immediate family, grandparents, aunts and uncles (only those who aren't married in) and the priests we know by name. We put the name of each person on a popsicle stick, and we divide them up and each pray for a few each morning. I hope to add "married in's", cousins, friends and special intentions, but we are starting with these.
Work on filling in our "Songs We Know" notebook. I thought an incentive for learning a new song would be being able to write it down. So, we have a list of songs we're working on, and the kids and I brainstormed and came up with a few that we all know ("know" meaning know ALL the words). It was really fun, because they were actually trying, and realizing which songs we all knew was enlightening. Janie knew all the words to Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and a few others. But mostly we count just myself and the 2 big kids.
Work on filling in our "Poems We Know" notebook. I asked them the first day of our new routine what poems they knew, and there were blank stares! So, we started learning A Little Shadow (don't know who wrote it). I taught them the first line, and once they could recite it a couple times, I wrote it down. We're up to four lines now, and it is fun to do it all together. And again, the notebook is a good incentive. It's not just Mama wanting them to learn a poem, it's learning a poem together so we can write it down and say we know it. Much better!
Then, I read a Bible story from my Bible. I decided to do this instead of reading from their Children's Bibles, though we haven't put those away, it's just that they know the basic stories and I want to introduce them to the language of the Bible. However, we haven't quite figured this out yet. Gene is interested, and wants to sit next to me and follow along with the story. Lucy and Janie want to be there, to "see" but can't sit still, can't stop touching the Bible or each other, and can't BE QUIET. I may just start reading to him during quiet time...at least he appreciates it!
That's the routine. I decided to try and stick with it for a few weeks before changing anything, to wait till they get adjusted. I think I usually try to change my mind too soon on things, and the kids get confused about what we're doing.
As for other schoolwork, Gene has a chart of things to work on every day, and a few things to work on for each week. Daily- writing, math, art and spelling test. Spelling is a favorite (we're doing it phonetically so he learns a few spelling rules and can spell many, many words). And art is becoming so. I gave each of the kids a "story book" and they dictate a story to me and draw pictures. The art part comes in here, with the illustrations. Gene hasn't drawn much before this year, and now I'm strongly encouraging him to draw people, animals and whatever else from his stories. It's going well, and he's quickly building his confidence. For writing, it counts for now that he dictates a story (yesterday he dictated 4 pages double spaced) and we'll soon move into journal and letter writing.
I'll keep this updated as much as possible. We're just getting our bearings again:)
Circle Time the first two days consisted of my trying to teach them a song and a poem, and a short prayer time...it was mostly a flop. Janie wanted to sit RIGHT next to me, but then also move around a whole lot. She was also very noisy, and yet wanted to participate and wasn't interested in playing by herself! Lucy was mostly bored and didn't want to sing, and Gene was mostly interested but annoyed by the girls. So, after this same thing the second morning (while also dealing with a potty accident on the kitchen floor and a 2 year old slipping and falling on her back in it!) I was a little frustrated! But after thinking for a while, I came up with this:
New and Revised Circle Time-
Pray decade of rosary (everyone picked their Rosaries ahead of time, and we'll keep them without trading for at least a month...last year there were a lot of tears over Rosaries!)
Pray a short prayer for each person in our "close extended" family- immediate family, grandparents, aunts and uncles (only those who aren't married in) and the priests we know by name. We put the name of each person on a popsicle stick, and we divide them up and each pray for a few each morning. I hope to add "married in's", cousins, friends and special intentions, but we are starting with these.
Work on filling in our "Songs We Know" notebook. I thought an incentive for learning a new song would be being able to write it down. So, we have a list of songs we're working on, and the kids and I brainstormed and came up with a few that we all know ("know" meaning know ALL the words). It was really fun, because they were actually trying, and realizing which songs we all knew was enlightening. Janie knew all the words to Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and a few others. But mostly we count just myself and the 2 big kids.
Work on filling in our "Poems We Know" notebook. I asked them the first day of our new routine what poems they knew, and there were blank stares! So, we started learning A Little Shadow (don't know who wrote it). I taught them the first line, and once they could recite it a couple times, I wrote it down. We're up to four lines now, and it is fun to do it all together. And again, the notebook is a good incentive. It's not just Mama wanting them to learn a poem, it's learning a poem together so we can write it down and say we know it. Much better!
Then, I read a Bible story from my Bible. I decided to do this instead of reading from their Children's Bibles, though we haven't put those away, it's just that they know the basic stories and I want to introduce them to the language of the Bible. However, we haven't quite figured this out yet. Gene is interested, and wants to sit next to me and follow along with the story. Lucy and Janie want to be there, to "see" but can't sit still, can't stop touching the Bible or each other, and can't BE QUIET. I may just start reading to him during quiet time...at least he appreciates it!
That's the routine. I decided to try and stick with it for a few weeks before changing anything, to wait till they get adjusted. I think I usually try to change my mind too soon on things, and the kids get confused about what we're doing.
As for other schoolwork, Gene has a chart of things to work on every day, and a few things to work on for each week. Daily- writing, math, art and spelling test. Spelling is a favorite (we're doing it phonetically so he learns a few spelling rules and can spell many, many words). And art is becoming so. I gave each of the kids a "story book" and they dictate a story to me and draw pictures. The art part comes in here, with the illustrations. Gene hasn't drawn much before this year, and now I'm strongly encouraging him to draw people, animals and whatever else from his stories. It's going well, and he's quickly building his confidence. For writing, it counts for now that he dictates a story (yesterday he dictated 4 pages double spaced) and we'll soon move into journal and letter writing.
I'll keep this updated as much as possible. We're just getting our bearings again:)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Beginning Again...
This is a quick post, but I will have more (though still sporadic) throughout the upcoming months. We are planning for another round of homeschooling, after many months of seriously considering sending the kids to a local Montessori school. To put it briefly: Brendan's company was affected by the slow Michigan economy, and he started looking for another job back in early spring. We decided that I would try to talk to local M schools and see if I could get a teaching job (and send the kids there as well). I talked to two schools, and one said they had a position and I would qualify for it if I signed up for a teacher training course. I was very excited, and we started talking with the school and working out the details. The kids all came into the school and were given an informal evaluation, I filled out initial paperwork, etc. The school kept me waiting, though, to actually fill out the final paperwork until they knew their enrollment figures for the fall. And as I was waiting and waiting, I had a feeling that it wasn't going to work out. In the end, it did come down to enrollment- they were short 20 preschoolers (they only have two preschool classes) and didn't need/couldn't afford to pay another teacher.
I was pretty sad to think of all that my kids would miss by not going to that school. Besides a traditional Montessori curriculum, the school also offered a large playground (with three sandboxes), a sledding hill and ice-skating rink in winter, swimming lessons for the Kindergarten and Elementary kids, and the chance for Gene and Lucy to make some new friends. I was also excited about the toddler program for Jane. It would have been kind of like homeschooling, just away from home, since we would all have gone together, and come home together, and the school in between would have been a great version of what I try to do at home.
Regardless, I am mostly over feeling sad and now am getting excited for the Fall. I will post more about what we'll be doing, but it will be a mix of traditional Montessori (as much as I can afford or have time to make) and a few other activities (Gene loves worksheets, and I will take advantage of that as long as it doesn't become a chore for him!) We will have some daily work (math, writing, spelling), Montessori choices out on the shelf for free choice, and a weekly or biweekly art and science lesson. I was sadly lacking in my art and science presentations last year, and I am going to try and remedy that this year. I found a neat book that presents art in a Montessori way- skill based instead of project based- and I will post about how the kids like it.
We start the day after Labor day, if I can get everything ready. And even if I can't, we're still going to start...!
I was pretty sad to think of all that my kids would miss by not going to that school. Besides a traditional Montessori curriculum, the school also offered a large playground (with three sandboxes), a sledding hill and ice-skating rink in winter, swimming lessons for the Kindergarten and Elementary kids, and the chance for Gene and Lucy to make some new friends. I was also excited about the toddler program for Jane. It would have been kind of like homeschooling, just away from home, since we would all have gone together, and come home together, and the school in between would have been a great version of what I try to do at home.
Regardless, I am mostly over feeling sad and now am getting excited for the Fall. I will post more about what we'll be doing, but it will be a mix of traditional Montessori (as much as I can afford or have time to make) and a few other activities (Gene loves worksheets, and I will take advantage of that as long as it doesn't become a chore for him!) We will have some daily work (math, writing, spelling), Montessori choices out on the shelf for free choice, and a weekly or biweekly art and science lesson. I was sadly lacking in my art and science presentations last year, and I am going to try and remedy that this year. I found a neat book that presents art in a Montessori way- skill based instead of project based- and I will post about how the kids like it.
We start the day after Labor day, if I can get everything ready. And even if I can't, we're still going to start...!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Summer Busyness
So...I realize I haven't posted in a long time. I don't think of blogging as something that I necessarily need to do often, but I do enjoy reading other people's blogs, and the ones I enjoy most are the ones that post the most. That said, this blog probably doesn't have a lot of regulars!
Anyway, our school has wrapped up for the summer. I was seriously considering keeping it going until August, thinking the kids would need something to do or else they would start going crazy, but I hadn't realized a couple of factors:
-there is enough for them to do in the summer without school, factoring in outside time, vacations, having friends over, etc.
-I don't have time to do school in the summer...there is plenty enough for ME to do! I had forgotten about things like mowing the lawn and keeping up the gardens, as well as garage sales and swimming at my mom's house. Also, my husband and I are training for a triathlon, and that eats up a lot of extra time. I could possibly see having the actual school-time still, but I have no time for prepping new materials or changing the shelves around. And nothing new to work on results in bored kids who may be better off doing something else, anyway.
So...we did a couple weeks of "summer school" and then kind of abruptly ended. There was no "closing ceremonies" so to speak, which looking back on I kind of regret, but so be it. The kids are young enough that closure isn't as important to them, as it is to older kids. I think after how bored they were getting, they were kind of glad to be done with it:(
But...we had a great year. I just looked back at all the previous posts, and they sure did come a long way. I am really glad we did school the way we did it, and would do it again in a heartbeat!
Stay tuned for news on what we'll be doing in the fall:)
Anyway, our school has wrapped up for the summer. I was seriously considering keeping it going until August, thinking the kids would need something to do or else they would start going crazy, but I hadn't realized a couple of factors:
-there is enough for them to do in the summer without school, factoring in outside time, vacations, having friends over, etc.
-I don't have time to do school in the summer...there is plenty enough for ME to do! I had forgotten about things like mowing the lawn and keeping up the gardens, as well as garage sales and swimming at my mom's house. Also, my husband and I are training for a triathlon, and that eats up a lot of extra time. I could possibly see having the actual school-time still, but I have no time for prepping new materials or changing the shelves around. And nothing new to work on results in bored kids who may be better off doing something else, anyway.
So...we did a couple weeks of "summer school" and then kind of abruptly ended. There was no "closing ceremonies" so to speak, which looking back on I kind of regret, but so be it. The kids are young enough that closure isn't as important to them, as it is to older kids. I think after how bored they were getting, they were kind of glad to be done with it:(
But...we had a great year. I just looked back at all the previous posts, and they sure did come a long way. I am really glad we did school the way we did it, and would do it again in a heartbeat!
Stay tuned for news on what we'll be doing in the fall:)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Toddler Montessori
So, my daughter Janie is 19 months now, and has been "doing school" with us for the last 4 months. She has never fit in extremely well to the classroom, but we've made do. I put some learning materials/toys out on the floor against one wall, and she can take them to a table or work with them on the floor. She sometimes gets out a floor mat (she loves those!) and will work there.
It has been hard to be consistent with her, because she is so much younger and doesn't respond as the older kids do. She wants to use a material at a table, so she goes over and sits down...for about 30 seconds. Then she leaves the material there, and goes to see what is going on across the room. Then she'll get a floor mat and try to scoot as close as she can to someone else's floor mat...this occupies most of her time, and the work she was thinking of doing on the floor mat is forgotten. She also likes to roll up other people's mats, whether or not they are done working with them. Oh, and she is a chronic chair-stealer...sitting down on someone's chair while they are on it (or slightly off it...) In short, she has contributed to a lack of concentration on the part of all the kids (though they don't really get upset with her...they tolerate her and generally enjoy having her around...they just don't get as much work done). She is really a good lesson in practical life for the big kids (how to get along with a toddler), and a lesson in patience and perseverance for me.
Well, all that perseverance is going to pay off soon. After some deliberation, I decided to give Janie some shelf space (two small shelves in our classroom are now for her materials). That way she can get them when she wants them, and not just during school time (usually I put her materials away after school, as I wanted them to be fresh and keep her interested as long as possible). They were a "diversion" before, but now she's old enough to somewhat join our school. I also made a temporary table for her to work on, so she won't steal the other kids seats.
Two stools from Ikea and a board work wonders! She's sitting on the bathroom stool...
Anyway, I realized that now she has taken on (with the acquisition of shelves) a degree of responsibility she's never had before. She must now put things away before using other things. And she understands this! This doesn't mean she is eager to follow directions, but I know she'll get there. She wants to take her work all over the house, but understands now that it must stay in the schoolroom. She wants to leave work on the table and go play with something else, but if I bring her back and ask her if she's done or if she wants to keep working, I know she get's it. She's growing up!
Congratulations Janie!
It has been hard to be consistent with her, because she is so much younger and doesn't respond as the older kids do. She wants to use a material at a table, so she goes over and sits down...for about 30 seconds. Then she leaves the material there, and goes to see what is going on across the room. Then she'll get a floor mat and try to scoot as close as she can to someone else's floor mat...this occupies most of her time, and the work she was thinking of doing on the floor mat is forgotten. She also likes to roll up other people's mats, whether or not they are done working with them. Oh, and she is a chronic chair-stealer...sitting down on someone's chair while they are on it (or slightly off it...) In short, she has contributed to a lack of concentration on the part of all the kids (though they don't really get upset with her...they tolerate her and generally enjoy having her around...they just don't get as much work done). She is really a good lesson in practical life for the big kids (how to get along with a toddler), and a lesson in patience and perseverance for me.
Well, all that perseverance is going to pay off soon. After some deliberation, I decided to give Janie some shelf space (two small shelves in our classroom are now for her materials). That way she can get them when she wants them, and not just during school time (usually I put her materials away after school, as I wanted them to be fresh and keep her interested as long as possible). They were a "diversion" before, but now she's old enough to somewhat join our school. I also made a temporary table for her to work on, so she won't steal the other kids seats.
Two stools from Ikea and a board work wonders! She's sitting on the bathroom stool...
Anyway, I realized that now she has taken on (with the acquisition of shelves) a degree of responsibility she's never had before. She must now put things away before using other things. And she understands this! This doesn't mean she is eager to follow directions, but I know she'll get there. She wants to take her work all over the house, but understands now that it must stay in the schoolroom. She wants to leave work on the table and go play with something else, but if I bring her back and ask her if she's done or if she wants to keep working, I know she get's it. She's growing up!
Congratulations Janie!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Taping- update
So Lucy has really been interested in the tape dispenser lately, and this morning I came down from a shower and saw that she had just been leading Janie in a coloring session. On her own initiative, she got a piece of paper and a crayon for Janie, taped the paper to the table (like I usually do) and let her draw. They proudly showed me Jane's picture when they were done. My stipulation: that she stay right with Jane to help put the crayon away!
Snapping
My kids know how to do the snapping frame, but they can't snap their own clothes. The snaps on the frame are super-easy to press together (made of plastic) and clothing snaps are almost always made of metal and really require a strong force to close. So, I found some clothes that no one wears right now, and put them in a laundry basket. They all have at least one snap on them. I put the snapping frame in their too, and am going to show my kids today informally (we don't have "school" on Saturdays). I think they'll like it, but we'll see if they actually master any of those tricky blue-jean snaps!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Paper punching- update
So, the paper punching work is a hit, at least with Gene. He has chosen it every day, and has now moved on to punching longer lines (the length of an index card). He didn't complete a whole line, but asked to put it away and finish it later. He was really motivated when I talked to him about the ultimate pin-punching goal- tracing out and punching the pieces of the world map puzzle. He is really excited about that, and would love to just try it...I almost let him try to trace a continent, but I KNEW he would be frustrated and not want to do it again. He needs a lot more work tracing the metal insets and some other stencils I've put out. But, he could also just practice tracing around the continents pretty soon...when he feels confident with that, he could then go ahead and punch one out. What a fun incentive!
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