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ALmom
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| Posted: June 19 2008 at 3:54am | IP Logged
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This may be posted in the wrong place but wanted it where the Montessori folks browse.
First, let me say that I am not even doing full Montessori but I have used a number of Montessori materials for specific purposes and tried to implement the observation and a certain degree of choice (not the full scope of Montessori and not a full Montessori classroom). I have been quite impressed by the benefits my children have derived from doing many Montessori activities. I have watched older children become engrossed in the 3 - 6 year old activities, doing the same work over and over again. These resulted in huge leaps in handwriting, and developed an interest in drawing that none of mine would even consider prior to this "experiment." Everything I hoped for and more happened here with my 5 - 11 year old.
My difficulty is that we began with older children and while I still want to make sure we do introduce things to them and have them available, we also need more work at a higher level if we are going to continue with this. I do want to continue particularly in science and geography as I have seen huge benefits to them in areas in which we are typically weak. I would like to do more and more Montessori style learning with my 5 year old. It is difficult to find presentation time - and such so we ease in a bit here and there, focusing especially in my weak areas.
Up to this point, Montessori for my older children was something they did when their seatwork/independent work was done and they were waiting for me for something else. I would like to have a bit more dedicated time for all, even while continuing regular work. I would like to pull even my highschooler in for some 3 part card type work and other hands on type things in science - along with nature studies. My problem is that I will obviously need much more advanced 3 part cards pretty quickly as they will learn basics more quickly than my 5 year old. I have only found the really advanced material at Niehaus and honestly that is way too expensive for us. Does anyone have any ideas? We need remediation with basic vocabulary in science and nothing works better than 3 part cards with all the visual and hands on reinforcement. I do want to be able to move into higher level vocabulary at a pace appropriate for the age.
Thanks for any ideas from the more experienced Montessori folks (or anyone else Montessori or otherwise who has ideas for ways to efficiently remediate in science particularly).
Janet
Janet
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montessori_lori
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| Posted: June 19 2008 at 8:11am | IP Logged
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Hi, Janet! Can you post a link to the Nienhuis materials you're referring to? That would be very helpful.
There are advanced 3-part botany cards (types of stems and roots, etc.) The North American Montessori Center (montessoritraining.net) has a Botany manual for 9-12 as well as coordinating materials on a CD for $23.
I believe these are their well-known "blackline masters" materials, where you copy and color them, paste them on cardstock, and laminate. They would probably include the more advanced 3-part cards, but you'd have to contact them to be sure.
Here's their price list; scroll down to see the 9-12 manuals and materials:
NAMC Price List
Sorry I didn't answer better in your email - I understood better after reading your post here. Thanks!
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marihalojen
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| Posted: June 19 2008 at 8:47am | IP Logged
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Janet, I understand exactly where you are coming from. I printed some of the botany cards off last summer and we used them in a very relaxed manner this year. Marianna loved them! I don't even think I did the three parts properly but in our eclectic way, it worked. There is no earthly way I am going to pay the $$$ that Nienhuis is asking though. I've been considering trying to find/make additional ones this summer to have them ready to go by the time that free laminating at the office store comes around again!
Generally, I've stayed out of the Montessori discussions as they seemed to be very definitely geared toward the younger crowd but now that you've asked for the older students I'll be following along very closely. If I find anything remotely related I'll try and come back and link.
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Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 19 2008 at 11:19am | IP Logged
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I use the 3 part cards with my jr.high student, then once the names and definition have been learned with ease, I just rabbit trail with living books from there. I use the 3 part card work in science in the same way that I use the timeline/book of centuries in history - it's really just a framework for them to hang information off of and keep us focused on a branch of science for study.
Very interested to see if there are other ideas and resources for this age - watching closely! 
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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ALmom
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| Posted: June 19 2008 at 4:45pm | IP Logged
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I'm not good at linking but I can tell you it is the botany cards I was most interested in. The description for Level I (20 cards) and you still have to purchase the labels seperately seem very much like what montessori-lori sells only Nienhius sells it at $30.40 (and this is a year old catelogue price and without shipping charges added). Not bad, but for the same thing, Lori is much better priced and just as lovely as far as I can tell. Nienhius level 1 include parts of plant, root, leaf and flower. Of course just looking at pictures it is hard to tell for sure.
They then have level 2 (63 cards) again with seperate names. These are used to classify roots, stems, leaves and flowers, fruits, seeds, parts of a bulb, and parts of a mushroom. This would be really appropriate for several of my children who are ready to go to the next step while I'm still trying to learn parts of a flower.  I'd really like to purchase something like this, but I just have a hard time justifying paying $106.30 for this and still having to buy the name labels. It is already in some sort of plastic cover and seems to be laminated or a permanent plastic, but still very expensive in my mind.
Level III has 93 cards helps child identify and classify stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds. This sounds a lot like level II except from the picture it looks like you get into much more complicated leaf shapes, etc. It would probably help me sort out my leaf cabinet and actually be able to go out in the backyard and determine what we have. Unfortunately, this one is priced at $136.80 and does not include the name labels which are purchased seperately.
Then there are botany puzzle activities which have sketched drawings which are used as forms to place your puzzles in - much like the geography map masters that have borders drawn in. The child would label the part with the name label as they place the puzzle piece on the form. They can certainly use a labeled master to check - and this labeled master appears to be part of the set. These are priced at $53.50 and then you order the masters seperate for about $9. I'm thinking that if the botany puzzle fits neatly on Montessori-loris stuff, I wouldn't need this really and it is geared more for the younger crowd though, honestly, I thought it would help me get parts of things straight. 
There are also nomenclature cards which, honestly, if I needed to, I could use the catelogue to figure out what they are named, trace my insets, color them green and type names and have these cards ready to go. Not that I want to color - but ... My problem is that knowing that a certain form is orbiculate is meaningless to me and I haven't the foggiest what to do with that information other than to match leaf shapes from nature finds. I'm sure it is some help in identification but that must be what is included in the Level 3 stuff.
Leaf cards with various widths colored in is another item. Again, I am thinking this wouldn't be very relevant to my crowd. They don't generally have trouble with symbolic representation unless it is words - math, shapes, etc. are our strong suit. If I did need them, it wouldn't be really hard for me to make. I'd just trace my insets, get thick and thin marker and trace around the edge accordingly - or color in completely.
One thing I'm getting a bit antsy about is investing in a lot of the younger children's Montessori stuff beyond what I have unless it is a particular weak area and is something we can build on with further materials. Science and Geography just lend themselves to this type of thing. We just aren't going to be in 3 - 6 very long and I have plenty of opportunity in real life to reinforce much of this. I love the insets but have them all now and a lot of knobbed things. Botany and science puzzles are one exception just because of the need to learn the science - and the fine motor reinforcement doesn't hurt either. These are great if they lay the foundation for further work at a higher level. I am a bit worried that if I buy my stuff from the offshoot places, it won't match when I have to move to older level stuff. Plus, honestly, I had tons of warping problems and was disappointed with customer service from the Montessori places from which I ordered the actual wooden stuff. Just so it is clear- Montessori Lori stuff was great and she was immensely patient with my computer challenges. She has just e-mailed me with extreme promptness helping me sort out exactly what she is selling so I could compare it.
I am a bit shell shocked by the other Montessori places from which I ordered last year and don't want to go anywhere that the company won't pay for returns when something is defective or where it takes 3/4 of a school year to even get my order to me straight. Actually I'm still waiting for one replacement from last year and haven't heard from the company. I accepted some very, very warped items from the other place just because I didn't want to pay shipping them back. Both were more highly recommended places and I'm not sure I want to order from either again at this point, unless I really hear some means of customer satisfaction.
The cards from Montessori Lori look absolutely wonderful and I suspect I will be getting these regardless. They just won't take us too far past elementary and I need the information on how to identify stuff. My children take off on the simple stuff, learn from books for a while and then another explanation at the next level is needed. The cards make this painless and delightful for all of us. I love the 3 part cards!!!! I'd love to get level II and III from Nienhius but just cannot justify paying over $100 for fancy cards. I was really, really hoping someone else sold these kind of thinks more cheaply. I'll have to look at what you posted, Jennifer. That might be affordable.
Has anyone ordered from Nienhius. It does look like they have some freebies once you spend certain amounts and it isn't hard to spend that much quickly. I just don't know if that makes the price more competitive in the end if you "plan your freebies". It looks like stuff isn't made in China either. Still we need another car with a/c. One down and one to go.
I'm just wondering if in the long run it isn't cheaper to just get everything from one reliable source. Off to contemplate - guess budget will probably rule out Nienhius no matter how wonderful it looks. I've bought other stuff thinking it would take my children to the next level only to find out it doesn't go very deeply into much and gee, it was mostly what I already had off of the freebie site. Maybe we should have just gone with the original in the first place.
Janet
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 19 2008 at 6:08pm | IP Logged
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Dropping some links in here for clarification...
All from Nienhuis:
First Set of Botany Cards
Name Cards for First Set of Botany Cards
Second Set of Botany Cards
Name Cards for Second Set of Botany Cards
Third Set of Botany Cards
Name Cards for Third Set of Botany Cards
Botany Puzzle Activity Set
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Jen Mackintosh
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AndreaG
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| Posted: June 19 2008 at 8:28pm | IP Logged
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I'm not sure if this link will be helpful but I have been eyeing up the classification charts and chemistry (periodic table) materials from:
In Print for Children
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GrayFamilyCircus
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Meredith
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marihalojen wrote:
Generally, I've stayed out of the Montessori discussions as they seemed to be very definitely geared toward the younger crowd but now that you've asked for the older students I'll be following along very closely. If I find anything remotely related I'll try and come back and link. |
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Jen, I have used all the Botany cards from Montessori for Everyone for Violet over the past year in conjunction with Botany in a Day and she has loved it and totally taken off into her own Botany trails and discoveries!! She loves to do research (on her own) and has also used Lori's research guides for further exploration... I don't see why you couldn't take this to the highschool level on an independent level, there's so much available online, the possibilites are endless :)
Blessings,
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Meredith
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mumsrea
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 1:57pm | IP Logged
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Have you seen the extensive materials now available at www.montessorird.com?
MR
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marihalojen
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 2:56pm | IP Logged
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Meredith, the Botany cards that I printed off were a huge success this year with Marianna too! I really should try and find more for the next year.
Would it be helpful if we brainstormed some topics or extensions for the older student?
Botany
*leaf shapes (we did this last year off a freebie)
*roots
*stems
*flowers
*fruits
*seeds
*parts of a bulb
*parts of a mushroom
*trees
*plant cells - cell wall, cell membrane, chloroplasts, vacuoles, nucleus, cytoplasm
Geography
*land forms (another freebie? Or maybe I just made my own?)
*Flags (we used a sticker book to make the cards)
*continents
*countries
Marine Science
*types of coral
*Local fish
*marine invertebrates
*water features
- types of currents i.e. rip, longshore, up and down wellings,
- types of waves i.e. spilling or rolling, dumping or plunging and surging, capillary, swell, fetch, water particle movement within a wave, wave length, height, trough, crest
- underwater geography i.e. abyss, abyssmal plain, trench, continental slope and shelf, mid-ocean ridge
Astronomy
*Moon phases
*Solar stuff (flares, sunspots, coronal mass ejections etc)
*Revolution & Rotation
*types of galaxies
*common constellations
These were from last year that I'm planning on expanding.
-------------------------------------------------------
These are new that I'm pondering for this year.
Microscope
*parts
Cells (good take-off from microscopes, right?)
Body
*cardiovascular
*digestive
*respirtory
*skeletal
*endocrine
*muscular
Periodic Table
*elements
*atomic structure
Electricity
(my dh loves electricity and is always bring up bits about it, I need to do more with it rather than just blow stuff up for them to fix)
*voltage,
*current
*resistance
*Electron
*Free electron
*conductor
*insulator
*circuit
*switch
*watt
Energy
*Kinetic & Potential
*mechanical,
*electrical,
*chemical,
*heat,
*nuclear
Keep in mind I'm doing this without training, manuals or catalogs handy, so chime in!!!
Gosh, this got huge! That's what happens when you leave a window open and wander off till you think of more stuff. I did look up Montessori Science and got returns like this:
The Montessori middle school science curriculum is diverse and covers an array of topics with the aim of providing an introduction to the wide variety of sciences as well as a base of knowledge in many areas. Topics include: geology, astronomy, laws of motion, weather and climate, ecosystems, plants and animals, atmosphere, energy, and oceanography. The eighth grade curriculum rounds out the middle school base of knowledge and focuses on chemistry, physics, biology, and earth science. Students also attend health classes, which focus on the human body, the different systems within the body, and how to take care of your own body.
What topics are you all looking for?
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~Jennifer
Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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marihalojen
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 3:23pm | IP Logged
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Oh, I thought of another set (anything but vaccuuming!  )
Foriegn Language cards like Maitri's.
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~Jennifer
Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 3:25pm | IP Logged
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Jen,
This is an awesome list, and a thread I really, really want to pursue!!!
Would you mind if I start a new thread so we can brainstorm all of our upper elementary/jr. high Montessori science ideas in one place???
I have some things I'd like to add to your list - and there are some things on your list I'd really like to pick your brain about...such as all of your marine knowledge! I had no idea there were different types of currents!
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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Donna Marie
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 3:43pm | IP Logged
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Just as an aside here...
it is so much fun for the kids to get in on some hands-on type of work at this level! My older children will be (if all goes well) learning botany from a lady that runs a program through our local fish hatchery. (if you ask around you might just find someone like this!) They will be taking digital photos of plant life and labeling and dissecting them. They will also learn about edible plants and how to create things with them (soup, lip balm...etc) I plan on having the cards/defintion cards available for them...as well to peruse and learn from. They will also keep their own journals of the entire experience. all this and a baby coming in October...oi!
God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 7dc +one more due 10/08!
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God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 9dc!!
Finding Elegant Simplicity
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 3:58pm | IP Logged
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Starting a new discussion here - Montessori Science - Older Students to discuss general science ideas and resources for upper elementary/jr. high/high school science with a Montessori flavor.
We can keep discussing Janet's question here regarding Botany specifics for the older student and in particular, Neinhuis pros and cons.
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Jen Mackintosh
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: older elementary
