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Cheryl
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I have considered using the Montessori method in our homeschool many times in the past two or three years, but it doesn't seem like it will work. Maybe I'm just afraid to jump right in (like my gardening fear). I think at the beginning of the year I was having trouble making time for the presentations, observing and rotating the environment. Now our materials are a big mess in the closet because I shoved them in there when my dd 1 figured out how to dump them on the floor. (I even moved the bookcases into the closet and filled them with books.)
This week I was considering Montessori again for next year. I was reading Natural Structure and writing some notes. I wrote this quote from the top of page 15:
"Dr. Montessori found that too many possessions can become a spiritual obstacle"
The author was referring to children having an abundance of toys, but when I was reading my notes I thought, Is this true for me, trying to create a Montessori environment in my home, along with all of the possessions we already have here? And all of the other responsibilities that I have here?
I have to go, but I wanted to throw this topic out here to see what you think.
How do you find time for making materials? Doing presentations? Observing? Managing the materials?
What are the benefits you see to having spent time on these things?
Does it get easier as your dc begin to work with the materials on a regular basis?
Am I overcomplicating this?
I'm thinking that I might give up on the idea, except for the religious materials, just to keep things simpler around here.
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Cheryl
Wife to Bob ('97)
Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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Meredith
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Wow, Cheryl I'm so excited for you to be considering this!! I don't have enough time to give you a good answer right now, but would love to share about how we have arrived at moving towards more Montessori in our home and school. I'm sure many other's will chime in here too. I'll be back...
Blessings!
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Meredith
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Willa
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Cheryl, I am glad you asked these questions since I have been wondering some of the same things.
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Willa
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Paula in MN
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I don't do any Montessori right now, but have been thinking about incorporating some this summer. I am really interested in this topic, and I 'm so glad you posted this, Cheryl.
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 Paula
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MicheleQ
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I'd like to explore this more too. Beyond using the miniature mass kit, we haven't used the Montessori method here.
I have thought about it but not in depth by any means and I am wondering some of the same things that Cheryl wrote about above.
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Michele Quigley
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mary
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i have been on the fence as well because we always have a toddler who is constantly dumping out materials. this year i will have a 9, 7, 4 yr old and 15mo old in the fall. i know the 7 and 4 yr old would love to have more montessori items. the 9 yr old is pretty independent and the 15mo can be entertained in the highchair by rotating boxes of montessori toys. that's my plan anyway.
i do agree that too much is a spiritual obstacle. i have been trying to purge but 4 kids plus generous relatives have produced an amazing amount of stuff. my relatives have been wonderful and open to suggestions - my oldest got a purple martin house for his birthday last year. what a perfect gift that requires little upkeep and no dusting! my sunroom shelves are filled with very nice montessori type items. my problem is being organized enough to list them and then plan when to use them. i'm hoping to do this over the summer.
so to answer your questions:
i don't make materials, i ask for them for birthdays and often i make a substitution with a similar item that we already have.
presentations idealy will be part of 'school time.'
benefits - my kids love the items. if i don't fill their time with them, what else will my middles be doing? workbooks?
i am finding that the hardest thing to teach is to put back one thing before getting out another. i so wish i had started with this concept!
and finally, i think it's your toddler who is overcomplicating things, not you! 
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lapazfarm
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Excellent ponderings here!
OK. Time for a brutally honest post from me. Hold on to your hats!LOL!
As I am in the thick of organizing dd's things for next year I am doing a lot of evaluating as well. I am trying to decide which things to keep, which to weed out and which areas I need to beef up. I don't want to do this willy-nilly any more, which is how I have been going about it up til now. Winging it as usual is not working for me in this area because, honestly, this Montessori style does not come as naturally to me as the project-based learning that ds does. All those cards and those silly beads!Do they have some magical power? Do I really need all this??It is frustrating to no end! I have even given some thought to giving it up altogether.
BUT
Last night I prayed. On the eve of pentecost I prayed that the Holy Spirit would enlighten me as to what I need to do. And, believe it or not, I got my answer. Clear as a bell I got my answer.
I realize that the problem is ME and my lack of commitment.
When I do get my act together and present the materials properly, this method is working for my daughter. Amazingly and unexpectedly so. My dd who could not seem to learn even the names of numbers using other methods is now confidently ADDING after only two presentations with those silly beads I made.
Obviously this Montessori lady knew something about my child that I don't yet quite grasp!
The problem here is not the method or the materials, it is that I have been trying to go at it half way (or less). I have not bought the books or read them, I have not invested in the materials, and most importantly of all, I have not been consistent in my presentations, observations and organization. MY WORK. It's my work and I've only been playing at it!What an eye opener!
Presenting the materials, observing, training proper use and care of the environment...all this takes time and energy that I quite honestly have not been expending. I have been using as an excuse the lack of funds to buy proper materials, lack of books to educate myself, and the presence of my two grandsons. But those are only excuses. The info is out there in one form or another, and materials can be bought, made, or traded if I commit myself to doing so, and my gransons will be back in the fall and a part of our homeschool ready or not. So I need to be ready. Maria Montessori had three-year age spans in her classrooms. I'll have a four year spread in the youngest three dc, plus ds (11) who is going his own different way. Not that big of a difference and no excuse, really for not haing it better together than I have had.
(please keep in mind I am only talking about myself here, not anyone else)
It's the commitment I've been lacking and what I so desperately needed. Waffling was getting me nowhere fast. I'd be better off giving it up than going halfway.
So now I am committed.
My plan is to go to the MWEI site that Donna Marie posted on the pink cards thread, and print up those presentations, and commit to doing them. And commit to having, one way or another, the materials I need to make it work.
I am determined. I am motivated, and I have the Holy Spirit on my side!
What more could I ask for???
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Rebecca
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Cheryl, You've asked some great questions. Here are my thoughts as of late.
I never intended to homeschool my children. When my oldest was three years old I enrolled him in Montessori kindergarten (which is a three year program). I was going to go Montessori all the way through. My son, however, had different ideas and did not want to leave my side at that young age. By the time he was ready to spend some time away from me he was almost five and they would no longer accept him, since he did not start at three, when the program began.
That was when I became sure that we would homeschool. I have used Montessori materials in our home since my oldest was only a toddler. We started out collecting materials purchased on ebay, making some of our own, buying some from catalogs. I purchased cubicle style laminate shelving to store the materials. Those cubicles line my learning room all the way around and each shelving unit is dedicated to one "subject". We have a math area, a language arts area, science, history/geography, practical life, etc.
No matter how disciplined I am, no matter how I teach to put things away, I cannot keep up with that room. I have seen four toddlers come and go and it is not just the age of the kids but the sheer number of people in my learning room that adds to the commotion. I know that ideally I would have a small shelf and rotate the materials but I simply do not have the time or the storage space to put the "extras" (in, say, a closet for next term).
There have been times when I cannot use the room at all for a couple weeks because one small person was in there for 10 minutes by themselves and wreaked havoc on the shelves. I suppose if I locked the door when we were "finished" learning, it would have helped but part of the reason I love the Montessori method is that the children can access the materials when they are interested in using them.
I am slowly clearing out materials from our learning room that are not being used. No matter how much I like the way they look and the concepts behind them, if my children are not interested in them, out they must go. I plan to use the cubicles for books that are now all over the house on various shelves. I will still hang onto our favorite materials but I just cannot keep it all. I would rather not have materials than have them strewn around a room that we cannot use because there is just too much.
I think that someone who is considering beginning to use Montessori materials in their homeschool should purchase or make only those materials that fit your current needs and be wary of collecting each and every material. Rarely did I pay full price for an item, which makes reselling them or passing them on painless.
I feel that our homeschool has benefitted most from Maria Montessori's ideas and philosophy on the dignity of the child, the child's absorbent mind and the child wanting/ loving beauty and order. While her materials are wonderful, her idea are a revolutionary way of thinking about the child. I have learned so much about not interrupting the child at work and allowing him to work alongside the adult with real tools. Right now, in this season of my life, I cannot have a full-fledged Montessori homeschool and that is OK. I can still glean much from this amazingly perceptive Catholic woman who loved children so dearly.
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mary
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Rebecca wrote:
I am slowly clearing out materials from our learning room that are not being used. No matter how much I like the way they look and the concepts behind them, if my children are not interested in them, out they must go. I plan to use the cubicles for books that are now all over the house on various shelves. I will still hang onto our favorite materials but I just cannot keep it all. I would rather not have materials than have them strewn around a room that we cannot use because there is just too much.
I think that someone who is considering beginning to use Montessori materials in their homeschool should purchase or make only those materials that fit your current needs and be wary of collecting each and every material. Rarely did I pay full price for an item, which makes reselling them or passing them on painless. |
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i think this is so true. i wonder if we listed the items that our children actually used (perhaps another thread so as not to hijack Cheryl's!) would there be 'must have' items that most (all?) of our children use?
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Rebecca
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Great idea, Mary! Please list your favorites here.
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Angel
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Cheryl,
I have been meaning to write up something on this issue since you asked about it on my blog, but things have just been falling apart around here lately. I find it very hard to make any kind of decisions or plans in those so sorts of circumstances, since basically most of what I am doing is just fighting fires and/or trying to survive. But I'll try to be coherent, as this is kind of where I am, too.
For the past 2 or more years, I've been trying to get started with Montessori, but it's been very hard to get my act together. Part of the problem is me, since organization doesn't come naturally, and part of the problem is that we have challenges in our home that aren't faced in a Montessori school environment.
In terms of Montessori age groupings, I would have one in 9-11, one in 6-9, one in 3-6, two toddlers, and then -- a newborn. If I were a teacher in a Montessori school, I would probably be responsible for only one age group. Not only does this mean more research and more materials, but the materials can't be displayed in the same way as in a Montessori classroom because of certain active little people.
I have one child with attention and behavior problems, and other special needs.
I have another child who is highly distractable.
At a Montessori school, the school itself acts as a big limit. The kids are not there by choice (usually), and they have only the materials, books, etc. provided to work with. They cannot run out of the room to play with their Bionicles. They cannot take important school items with them into the woods and lose them. It's here that the "too much as a spiritual obstacle" becomes apparent. Then again, we live in a *house* not a school. We don't have to artificially simulate home living because that's where we are. So I guess it's a two way street.
My experience so far with Montessori has been a sort of spiral path. When I've been more organized, I can see progress in most of my children. My little ones respond very well to the Montessori principles I've incorporated into our daily life. They *like* to work. My 8 yo can't learn math any other way (and believe me, we've tried every other way), and I'm beginning to suspect, most other subjects. She *needs* to use her hands. My 4 yo gets really grumpy when he's just allowed to play all the time; he wants to *do* things at the same time as his older brother and sister.
I kind of think of Montessori in the homeschool in terms of a continuum, though. We started out the year in a much more Montessori vein, and I felt for the most part like we were getting things accomplished. Then the year got harder on me -- it was winter, the kids got sick, my husband started traveling a lot, and I got pregnant -- and we reverted to workbook mode along with our normal read alouds. Technically we were covering a lot of subjects pretty consistently, but I don't think my 8 yo retained much of it. And I know that my 4 yo got really bored, and the twins got into a lot of trouble. The exception was my 10 yo; he seems to do better when he knows he has a finite amount of work to do, as long as he gets to choose the order in which he does it. I think the regular schedule actually helped him, because now he has been choosing his own topics in math and enjoying it a little more... which, come to think of it, is fairly Montessori in nature.
Anyway, our regular workbook schedule screeched to a halt a while back when everyone was sick of it. So then I started thinking again about Montessori. And in my thinking, I came to realize a few things.
1. When I think about "Montessori" as one kind of amorphous whole that encompasses all my kids at once, it is *totally* overwhelming. I have had to make myself focus on one child at a time, and ask, "What style of learning will this child benefit from?"
2. I made a list of pros and cons for each method I was considering: a more workbooky approach, a relaxed approach, and a Montessori approach. Again, I had to apply this to each of my children individually, but almost all the cons on the Montessori list were on *my* side -- that is, they all fell into the "organization is hard for me" realm. I am not really sure this is an excuse, but it *is* the reality of the situation -- I am not very organized, my husband does travel a lot, and I have many little ones to keep track of. Is Montessori possible in our situation? Or am I letting my kids down if I don't make the effort? There has to be some balance here, but it's something I'm still thinking about.
3. Another thing I'm thinking about is materials. I actually bought a lot of our materials when the babies were newborns. They are sitting in Rubbermaid bins right now. Most of them are for the 3-6 range, and I have very few materials suitable for the older kids. My questions here are: should I feel like I have to make materials if I can buy them? Or what materials do I *actually* need?
4. Organization and toddler-proofing of environment is, of course, also pretty high on my list of stuff to ponder, and a factor inwhether I think I can do this at all.
Thanks for bringing this up, Cheryl; it's very timely for me.
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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Cheryl
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I'm very pleased with all of your replies. I'm printing them out now so I can read them in bed (or in the tub). I hope to do some more pondering on this tonight and maybe some more discussing with you tomorrow. 
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Cheryl
Wife to Bob ('97)
Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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Cheryl
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I'm back. I might as well post now, while the dc are asleep. Tonight's ponderings:
Theresa, I (obviously) have been winging it and waffling too. I do agree that commitment is needed to make it work. I'm glad you are committed now. I'm (obviously) not there yet.
Mary, I love your idea of listing the favorite items.
Rebecca, I appreciate you sharing your experience because you have experience with the method and my dc are very close to the ages of yours. If you know that you would not have the time to be putting all the extra materials away, then I doubt that I would have the time either. Purchasing or making only those materials that fit my current needs is great advice. I started out trying to have Language materials on hand. I spent hours making sandpaper letters. I presented them to my ds 6 and my dd 4 and they never use them.
Angela, I too think the cons of using this method are to do with me. Although I consider myself to be an organized person, I am currently outnumbered by cute little people who don't understand my systems and who can tear them apart faster than I can maintain them by myself. That is reality.
One more thing. Boy, am I talkative tonight. I had too much soda and some chocolate frosted brownies at the picnic today. I wanted to share some of my notes from Friday night so you can really see my thought process.
Natural Structure has a list of sample art trays. These are to be set up and made available for the dc to choose from. I can't have art trays lying around my school room. It would also be hard to store art trays in my cabinets or closet. BUT, I came up with this great idea.  I could take pictures of the art trays, and make a poster or a binder with the pictures. Then my dc could choose what they want to work with, and I could take the appropriate supplies out of the cabinets and put them on a tray for them. When they were finished working with the materials, they would need to bring them back to me before they could choose another tray that I would set up for them.
BUT... on the other hand... isn't this a bit? I don't know what to call it. Obsessive? Unnecessary? It would take quite a bit of time to set up the trays and take the pictures and make the poster/binder. And then, would my dc like to choose from the pictures? Would they get bored being limited to only working with what I put on a tray? Would they want to change trays every 10 minutes? Or would they love it? Should I save myself the time and just say to my dc, do you want to draw, paint with watercolors or use playdoh?
See how on the fence I am? And this is only art. Art is the easiest. I have all of the supplies. Imagine how indecisive I would be with math.
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Cheryl
Wife to Bob ('97)
Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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AndreaG
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Cheryl wrote:
| "Dr. Montessori found that too many possessions can become a spiritual obstacle" |
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Actually this is why I decided to go with the full montessori curriculum for my 3-6 kids (or at least my homeschooly version of it!) I love educational games, curricula, hands-on things, so sticking with just montessori actually limits me and keeps me from going overboard with stuff. I used to look at all the educational catalogs I got in the mail and panic b/c there was so much great stuff- I could never afford it. Now I just look and don't feel like I really need any of it. So going montessori has actually helped me to simplify. I like how the montessori materials seem to work together to provide a very complete curriculum. My 8-year-old benefits from the 3-6 materials also. I put a summer into making what I could and bought the rest gradually as birthday and christmas presents. I am taking Karen Tyler's training class and use her albums and Homeschool Tracker to schedule presentations, I keep out of use materials in a closet and have one shelf that I use to display current works. I feel like the time and effort I put into this is worth it when I see how much my kids are learning. I love that they can pull things off the shelf and work with them while I am teaching their older brother or changing a diaper. I certainly don't think montessori in the home is necesary for a good education, but I love the theory and it is fun and rewarding for me to do it, and I think the mom enjoyment factor counts for alot! So I guess my point is if montessori is stressing you out- ditch it! If you feel drawn to it, go for it, you'll get more out of it if you put the full effort in and if you change your mind montessori materials have a great resale value!
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Angel
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AndreaG wrote:
| I feel like the time and effort I put into this is worth it when I see how much my kids are learning. I love that they can pull things off the shelf and work with them while I am teaching their older brother or changing a diaper. I certainly don't think montessori in the home is necesary for a good education, but I love the theory and it is fun and rewarding for me to do it, and I think the mom enjoyment factor counts for alot! So I guess my point is if montessori is stressing you out- ditch it! If you feel drawn to it, go for it, you'll get more out of it if you put the full effort in and if you change your mind montessori materials have a great resale value! |
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This is sort of how I was thinking of it, too -- although I have to say that in our house I think that homeschooling will *always* come with a certain level of stress, just due to the special needs we have. I think part of my problem has been that I'm always trying to find a magic bullet, and one of the things that appeals to me most about Montessori is the reports of self-directed, orderly, *peaceful* children. I think you hear less about all the work it takes to get to that point, though... which would be helpful to me when we're in the middle of chaos!! Yesterday in church I was thinking, "You know, I guess this isn't *supposed* to be easy." (homeschooling/parenting in general, I mean.) I keep looking for "easy", but sometimes it's just not. And I wonder if I haven't been affected quite a bit by all the messages our culture sends about how our lives are "supposed" to go.
Back to Andrea's post, though... about the kids being able to work while Mom is changing a diaper, etc... *that* was one of my goals when I first started out. (In a larger sense of "being independent" anyway.) I had newborn twins, my oldest was throwing ENORMOUS tantrums if asked to write anything or do math or -- anything hard for him, really -- but I needed him and his sister to be able to do *some* things on their own. I thought that if I set up a prepared environment for them, they would then have the limit of being able to only choose what I put out for them at certain times, but they could choose what to do on their own.
Unfortunately, I only put out language and math works, which nobody was really interested in. What I probably should have done was to set up a few culture, science, and art areas to introduce them to the method, since they like those subjects, then added the rest in later. But I didn't have the guts to do it that way. Instead most of what we did was reading aloud in the morning, and then I would sit down and work with them on bead bars or the multiplication board and the movable alphabet in the afternoon, when #3 (then a 2 yo) was napping. (One baby was always up it seemed like, but I could work ok with just *one* baby awake.) It wasn't perfect, but it was a lot better than fighting over those workbooks!!
Also, I've never been able to have a real 3 hour work period, which I've also come to believe is pretty essential, just as far as the kids having *time* to choose what they're going to do. I've started off many times trying to work toward a 3 hour work period, but for some reason I can never keep it going. However, I think that this time I'm going into things with a little more experience and a far more realistic view of how life really works in our house.
(And as far as the art materials go, Cheryl, I have a buffet style cabinet with open shelves on top and doors on the bottom. I store the paints in the closed part -- locked with a baby safe lock -- and things like colored pencils, clay, playdough, watercolors, collage materials on the upper shelves where the older kids can get them, but the toddlers can't. I don't make trays, but having many materials accessible seems to insure that they are used pretty often. I probably ought to do a better job rotating the upper shelves, though, and periodically the shelves do need to be reorganized.)
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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AndreaG
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Cheryl,
About the art trays- it is my understanding that trays are only used for the 3-6 children. The older kids use command cards and locate the supllies themselves. We don't use trays for art at all- we have an art corner with bins of art supplies and a table to work on. I like the idea but haven't been able to pull it off yet! I do suggest/present things to the 3-year-old but my olders are fine with pulling out what they need. I think your picture idea is really neat and might be a good solution for displaying materials for those with the toddlers that get into everything. But it does seem like alot of work for you so you should way if your kids NEED something like that to be able to engage in the art materials that you have. An easier idea might be just to have books with craft ideas that your kids could look through and choose from, that method works for us here. That is also my approach to science experiments- while I would love to set up little science trays, it has worked fine to provide books with science experiments. The boys will pick an experiment and I will help them get the supplies from our science cabinet. These are a few examples of how I have modified montessori to my home.
Angela,
I really appreciate hearing about your montessori efforts with your older kids- I am going to try to go a bit more montessori with my 3rd grader next year. It really helped me focus my montessori energy on the preschoolers this year, it was work in the beginning, but setting things up at the beginning of the year really payed off. Now that i feel good about how that is going, I am ready to expand. Although I don't think I will ever be able to let go of requiring math and language arts to be done everyday, I am trying to give him a bit more free choice during school time.
I am really enjoying the discussion!
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Andrea
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Meredith
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WOW, have you guys been busy, was I the only one busy this weekend??? I can't believe I missed so much and thank you ALL for such great responses to Cheryl's (and other's) ponderings. I love everything you all have said and how supportive you all are for each other's particular situations. Just as in Real Learning when Elizabeth states that we will not be schooling like her family because we are moms to our own children, everyone's Montessori efforts and disciplines are going to look different for each family.
We are a Real Learning family in the truest sense in that our learning seasons move with an ebb and flow that can adjust to the needs of each child's learning stage. Montessori is such a good fit right now for my younger two that I am kicking myself that I didn't incorporate it sooner as I know my older two would have certainly benefitted with the methods.
However, they have learned remarkable things with a living books lifestyle and the Catholic Charlotte Mason style of learning that we have used for so long and will continue with throughout their learning.
What I appreciate about Montessori and why I'm finding it to be so effective with my littler two boys is that Montessori has such a respect and dignity for the child and there is such a sense of order that they seem to appreciate and respond to when doing their *work*. My caveat here is that the two yo only *works* for about 30 seconds on some activities which can be extremely frustrating  (for me), but I've just learned to accept the fact that he is at that "age" and it too will pass and it's part of the package in a home educating family.
Theresa, I LOVE the fact that you asked for the Holy Spirit to guide you. I too have been praying and contemplating for a long time and I just see so many benefits that to me it is worth saving for Montessori items or trying to make them myself as I know they will get used.
My (very limited) experience with presenting the materials thus far has proven to me that if I'm slipshod at presenting it, they won't use it, period. And it's my own fault for doing if half-way. With Montessori, the importance of the presentation is clearly marked within the parameters of the control, which in this case is me, the parent 
Angel and Rebecca, you've done a remarkable job incorporating Montessori into your school. And I know Andrea has been busy making materials that fit the needs of her dc as well and I can't thank you ladies all enough for sharing your wisdom and what has worked (and not worked) for you all. I better quit rambling here and go post at the Must Haves thread.
Blessings in all your efforts, remember that whether you ultimately *Go* with a certain method or not, it's all about what's best for you and your dc in the long run, and that may change over time...it's all about the journey 
__________________
Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
Sweetness and Light
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Meredith
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| Posted: May 28 2007 at 11:27am | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
Here is my idea to solve our art problem.
I am going to make a spinner with pictures of art supplies/projects on the circle.
Ex:watercolor paints, puppet making, collage, colored pencils, stencils, stamps, markers, crayons and coloring page.
DD can spin the wheel any time and choose what it lands on, or spin again until she is happy with the result. Then I can get the materials out for her.
I think this will entice her to choose art more often, allow her choice, but still keep materials up and out of toddler reach. Plus, the spinner will only take up one small space on my limited shelves.
Then when I have a different "special" art project prepared for her, I will keep it on a tray up high and let her do it during toddler nap time.
I will likely have a similar, but simpler wheel for dgs (3).
It's still just a thought bubbling around in my mind, but I hope to get it together soon. |
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Love it, let's start an Art Supplies/Trays Organization threadhere!
__________________
Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
Sweetness and Light
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Betsy
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| Posted: May 28 2007 at 11:34am | IP Logged
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Meredith wrote:
My (very limited) experience with presenting the materials thus far has proven to me that if I'm slipshod at presenting it, they won't use it, period.
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This is so true with any method of home schooling and it is probably my biggest obstacle across the board!
Betsy
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lapazfarm
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Joined: July 21 2005
Location: Alaska
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| Posted: May 28 2007 at 12:01pm | IP Logged
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Betsy wrote:
Meredith wrote:
My (very limited) experience with presenting the materials thus far has proven to me that if I'm slipshod at presenting it, they won't use it, period.
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This is so true with any method of home schooling and it is probably my biggest obstacle across the board!
Betsy
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Yes, this is exactly what I found.
When I saw the pictures and read the descriptions of Montessori classrooms, what I saw there is this wonderful orderly, self-directed dreamland! What I failed to see was the work it took to accomplish this.
What I really need is a "behind-the-scenes tour" of a Montessori environment!LOL!
I guess I was originally looking at Montessori as some kind of magic bullet, and it is in many ways, but it also isn't. I find that it is not going to let me off the hook from sitting down and working with my children. But as Betsy said, neither will any curriculum or method, even unschooling!
I was able to be more slip-shod about it this year because the kids I am intending this for are still little and I was just testing the waters of this method, so to speak. I am going to have to get my rear going next year, which is the impetus behind all my organizing and planning.
__________________
Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Montessori Pros and Cons
