Montessori Moods: Your House is a Classroom

I have been dreading this post, because there are times in my life when doing formal Montessori just doesn’t fit. Either I’m tired, we’re busy, or my kids just aren’t into it (and I don’t have the patience to work with them). The thing that encourages me during these times is that my entire house is a Montessori classroom. And yours is, too. My kids put their own clothes on. They did Montessori.

They helped me mix up pancakes for breakfast. They did Montessori.

We read a whole bunch of books together and the older one sounded out some words and was reminded of some puzzle words. We did Montessori.

The older one demanded a chore to do and mopped the floor. He did Montessori!

If you are letting your children live life with you and allowing them to do things on their own as much as you can (and your patience allows), you are doing Montessori. Give them space to do things themselves and let them mess up and get things wrong. And then let them try to figure out how to get it right. This is one of the most difficult things for Mamas to do. I want to rush in and tell them what to do and fix their backwards clothes, but what they really need is for me to leave them alone and let them try to figure it out on their own.

So don’t be hard on yourself when you’re not doing anything formal! Every day has opportunities for your child to learn without you preparing for it.

Home Education: Relaxed or Eclectic

The most common approach that I found among homeschoolers was an eclectic approach.  This was comprised of families using unit studies, boxed curriculum, various workbooks, hands on learning, audio/video materials, computer based learning, and resources from outside the home.  Some characteristics include:

• one of the most common forms of homeschooling 
• families mix different styles and philosophies to choose a variation that works for them
• student's interests typically are focused on, as well as the parent's teaching style
• the way of schooling is forever evolving to fit the family's needs

Here is a small glimpse into the life of one eclectic homeschooler:

1.  What would you declare is your style or philosophy of home education and why?

More Eclectic than anything else. We tried a homeschool school, but it was very tedious.  I discovered very quickly that trying to have school at home wasn’t going to work.  I started using the curriculum I’d already paid for to teach my children myself, but I had to tweak it to death.  When it was time to do a new year, I decided that, if I had to tweak a prepared curriculum that cost so much, I could buy a textbook for less than $20 and tweak that.  Then, we could use the extra money for things like athletics and field trips.

2.  What does an average day of schooling/unschooling look like in your home?

We usually get up around 8:00am, though I sometimes get lucky.  We get ready for the day – breakfast, getting dressed, etc. – and then my daughters (aged 6 and 8) play for a bit.  We start school with pledges to the American and Christian flags, a short devotional, and prayer.  We study science, reading, spelling and vocabulary for around 1.5 hours in the morning.  We break 2 hours or more for lunch, then study grammar, math, and history.  Followed by a walk a couple times of week, if they don’t have anything else (sports, gym class) going on.  That usually takes around 1.5 hours.  Fridays, we break things up with journaling, art projects, field trips.

Our ‘classroom’ is the living room.  My daughters are just a year apart in school, so it’s easier on me to sit between them on the sofa, switching between them to instruct them.

3.  Have you ever used a different philosophy or homeschool style in your journey?

I tried video homeschool when I first started out.  My kids were bored out of their minds.

4.  Why did you change styles?

I realized that my daughters were bored and were starting to hate school, so I chose to start teaching the material myself.  When I did that, it hit me that the material was boring to them, I started trying to make things more interesting for them.  Looking around the internet, I realized that teaching from textbook curriculum would be no more difficult than what I had been doing, and that it made much more sense economically.

5.  What resources do you utilize outside of your home for educational purposes?  (ie:  museums, programs, co-ops, cottage schools)

We belong to a homeschool group that organizes field trips, parties, etc. , and it provides an opportunity to hang out with other kids their age.  We also use the library, museums, farms, stores, etc., for field trips.

The Treasure Box

August is "Back to School" Month at The Motherhood Collective. Over the next few weeks, our writers will be sharing their teaching moments, the ways they encourage learning, their thoughts on education or the things THEY are learning as a parent. Even if your child isn't heading back to the classroom in a few weeks, we hope that our thoughts on learning will inspire you. ~TMC ---

I decided to start schooling my son, Gabriel, a few months ago. He was seven months old at the time. I’m a big believer that schooling and educating does not just take place September through June, in a classroom, from 8:00-3:00, once your child turns six years old. I was homeschooled from Kindergarten through high school, and though I’ve always loved the “bookish” side of things. Some of my fondest school memories are the opportunities I had to experiment outside the classroom—to take head knowledge and apply it to everyday tasks (such as baking, sewing, and piano playing).

I was inspired by a post from the blog www.ellekeepsmoving.com. She writes a post about a Montessori Treasure Basket. The Montessori School of Thought is very student-driven, and it seeks to create an environment in which the child is encouraged to discover on his or her own. Some begin school as early as two months! Many say that it’s an approach that fits very easily with what parents already do with their children—provide opportunities for them to discover the world in very sensory ways. Typically, they turn six, and we then expect them to learn through only reading and writing. The Montessori Method has been called the learning of life, because it is an approach that translates so easily into the every day.

Though my husband and I have not yet decided on our approach to schooling, we do like the idea of providing Gabriel with more than the just the flashy-loud-button-pushing toys that you can find at any store. There is nothing wrong with those toys, but we just feel that in an age of technology (i.e. plenty of button-pushing to go around), this will not encourage the same mental development as putting our son in front of a mound of blocks. Or a pile of cardboard boxes. Or a treasure basket.

A treasure basket is simple, and it has provided hours of fun and learning for my son. I merely found a small basket and filled it with sensory objects from around the house. I tried to provide as many textures as possible for him to experience. Remember to only allow things that are safe to place in the mouth. Some ideas include:

--A ball of yarn --Pieces of felt --New sponges --New paint brush --Silver spoon --Scraps of fabric, ribbon, trim, and fringe --Wooden spoon --Silicone Pastry brushes (his favorite by far!) --A sealed jar filled with dry beans

Place the item in front of your child and enjoy watching him or her explore and learn! Voila! First day of school! Be sure to take a picture!

The treasure basket has kind of bled into the desire to let him explore many areas of our house (the safe areas, of course, and always supervised!). I love watching him dip his head into the food cupboard, and reaching way back to grab the box of macaroni, or letting him pull open the drawers in his bedroom and dump all the clothes on the floor (then watch him fill it with his own toys instead). I love to lay him on a blanket outside, and hand him blades of grass, a flower, and a pine cone. Gabriel now loves following me around the house because he knows that I will give him a small part of whatever I am working on. If I’m folding clothes, he sits right in the basket with the clothes all around him, and hands me one at a time, or plays with the buttons on my husband’s shirt, or sits on the bed and unfolds every piece I’ve just set neatly aside (sigh).

There are many ideas you can find online as well. One of my friends put her boy in the tub, dumped flour and raisins all around him, and let him enjoy digging, throwing, and licking the fun, powdery texture.

Check out this website for more ideas: http://www.ellekeepsmoving.com/2012/02/raising-baby-treasure-basket_1501.html

What are some fun sensory activities that you have enjoyed with your child?

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