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AndreaG
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I am reading the Advanced Montessori Method Vol 2: The Elementary Materials and it describes teh grammar boxes in great detail. I am excited to make them, or at least give it a try since they are SO expensive to buy. I have been using First Language Lessons for grammar with my oldest, but although I like the memorization approach I think he could also really benefit from a hands-on experience of grammar to really understand it. Has anyone made grammar boxes? I was originally thinking of making actual boxes (or dividers for boxes from the craft store) but I think I might try some sort of posterboard (or perhaps fabric?) pocket envelopes instead (as suggested in Teaching Montessori at Home Elementary Years by Hainstock). I definitely want separate boxes as opposed to one big tackle box for all grammar (or drawers such the one at Waseca Learning) because I think my kids will learn better if they just see one box at a time. Otherwise they want to get into everything at once and don't really digest it.
As far as what to put on the cards that go in the boxes the Advanced Montessori Method has good lists, and JMJ publishing has the first two already done. But I wonder if I shouldn't just wait till I have the R & D manuals as I suspect they are very detailed and organized about what specific materials are needed, and then my materials would match the presentation guide. Hmmmm.
Does anyone know why the color scheme is different between the grammar symbols and the farm type work and the grammar boxes? I'm thinking of changing it to match the symbols.
Thanks for letting me think out loud- I'd appreciate any suggestions! Next I'll be tackling sentence analysis.
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Andrea
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Meredith
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Andrea I had to return my library copy and didn't get to the Grammar section yet  This sounds like a great project to me!! I am not sure about the color variations, maybe look at Montessori for Everyone or email Lori bout it and see what her thoughts are on this, as an aside, did you order all of the R & D Grammar Manuals, or just some of them?? I would be very interested to hear how you like them and definately how they are laid out and how they will flow with your materials
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AndreaG
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Well...I didn't actually order any R & D manuals yet, but I think if and when I order them I will get them all, since the first 4 are meant to be used concurrently, and I'm sure my oldest will be ready for the 5th soon enough that I might as well throw it in the cart too! In the meantime I need to renew my libray copy of Advanced Montessori method- the detail is great!
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kjohnson
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I just did a search for grammar boxes in the Montessori forum and found this thread. My head has been spinning this evening on this topic and I was hoping to find that someone else had figured this one out. 
I have the R&D manual here in my lap and it goes into great detail as far as the word cards to print (and the color-coding) for each grammar box. The R&D manuals are extremely detailed, but there are absolutely no details and it can be overwhelming.
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kjohnson
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I meant to say that there are absolutely no pictures...see how overwhelmed I am? 
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AndreaG
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Well I have been slowly working on this project- I made a grammar box. I used a white pencil-type box from the craft store and made dividers from foam core. I made the last box with spaces for all the parts of speech, b/c I figured that if I never get around to making all the boxes I can just change the cards in the one. I found the pictures in the Nienhuis catalog helpful.
Also there is someone on montessorimakers who is typing up all the cards to go in the grammar boxes from the info in The Advanced Montessori Method Vol. 2. She is almost done and planning to share when finished- I'm glad I checked montesorimakers before I started typing! That will save me alot of time even if I have to reformat them or change the color-coding. I don't know how similar these will be to what is in the R & D manual. Katherine (or anyone else who has the R &D manuals) would you mind sharing the colors for the boxes?
I keep thinking I should just order the album so my boxes would match, if I am going to be buying them eventually anyway. But what fun would that be?
Hopefully this link will take you to some pictures of my homemade grammar box. I will probably do a bit more to pretty it up, but this gives you the idea.
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AndreaG
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Here are some more grammar box pictures from Albanesi
And the Albanesi cards to go in the boxes.
Here are the Nienhuis Grammar boxes
Basically for each box there are sentence cards in the large compartment. Then word cards color coded by part of speech in labeled compartments. So in the adjective box would be a control card with:
the large cube
the small cube
The child would take cards for each word from the appropriate compartments to form the first phrase. Then they would go and find the large cube. Then they would leave the "the" and "cube" cards alone since those words are repeated in the next phrase. They would only be replacing the word "large" with "small". Then they would fetch the small cube and also hopefully understand teh function of the adjective.
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kjohnson
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You did a great job, Andrea. 
I just looked in the R&D Grammar manual and the color coding is spread out over a hundred pages. The info is listed within each lesson. That's what I love and hate about these manuals...totally thorough...totally overwhelming. So far I can tell that nouns are black.
I'll figure it out and let you know. And, by the way, those prices on the grammar boxes. What? Are they made out of platinum or something? Geez! I see craft store and spray paint written all over that one.
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Mare
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Your box looks great!
I, too, am just getting into trying to wrap my mind around the grammar boxes. I'm not sure what I'm going to do right now.
I was just perusing the files over at MM_share group. There are a ton of things available for printing in the Files section under English -> Grammar Boxes.
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AndreaG
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Well I would guess that the color coding is either the same as you see in teh Albanesi or Nienhuis catalog links above:
nouns - black
article -tan
adjective - brown
verb - red
preposition - purple
adverb - pink
pronoun- green
conjunction - yellow
interjection - blue
This is a different scheme than the grammar symbols which are:
noun - black
article - light blue
adjective - dark blue
verb - red
preposition - green
adverb - orange
pronoun - purple
adjective - blue
conjunction - pink
interjection - yellow
Why two schemes? I don't know. Discussion on montessorimakers seemed to conclude that Maria wanted the focus to be on parts of speech, not color. However I can see the argument that two color schemes might be confusing so I considered changing the boxes to match the grammar symbols. I even printed two sets of labels for my box (and didn't paint the box itself)- b/c I am still going back and forth, but I think I will probably leave it at the two different color schemes. The person at montessorimakers who is typing all the cards is changing the colors to match the grammar symbols- but she says she is leaving the files in a changeable format so we can all put in different words and colors. The cards at mm_share (which are the same as at www.montessorimaterials.org) are the colors of the grammar symbols.
Also JMJ publishing has cards for the first two grammar boxes, which I was planning to use and make my own for the rest.
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lapazfarm
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The whole color-scheme issue is what threw me when I started this project awhile back. I ended up just not doing it until I get a better grip on it as I don't want to have to re-do it later. Plus I quizzed my son and he is beyond it, while dd is not ready for it, so I decided it was not a priority at the moment.
I do have a question, though. On the neinheis site it shows the color boxes, plus something called color filling boxes. Do you know how they are both used? Are the filling boxes for storing the cards for the child to draw from and use in the color box, or does the teacher pull the cards from the filling boxes and put them in the color box for the child to use? In other words, when the child is using the color box, is it filled with the cards or does he pull them from the filling box to use in the color box one at a time?
Does this make sense? Does anyone know of pictures or video of the children using these materials, or is it described in the R&D manuals?
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I don't know any answers, but after reading this I need to check my cards that I printed from jmjpub. I have ordered the grammar symbols, and it would surely be nice (for my sanity) for everything to match!
I'll have to look at those pictues again, but I had a thought about those little cardboard boxes that Walmart sells for ~68 cents or so. Those could be painted to match the symbols, and the words stored inside each box. I don't know that it would be a space-efficient idea though.
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Meredith
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Nicely done Andrea!! My head is whirling right along with you all  I have children on either side of this learning curve so I am going to glean as much from you guys as I can until I have to buckle down and put these together!! Your boxes look great Andrea, you've done a super job replicating them IMHO
Theresa, I haven't been able to figure out the *filling* box thing yet either....Katherine, we'll send you some coffee so you can finish reading the manual for us all
Blessings!
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Donna Marie
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How did I miss this thread? I am hoping to start on this material tomorrow...I am working on materials all day after this crazy one is over!
As far as the color goes, it always confused me and like Theresa, I put it down for a long time before picking the project up again. I would have thought that color would be more like once something is a certain color it should always be. My understanding is that the color should not be the lesson so that is why the color changes. If the color remained the same it would only be a color matching exercise. The symbols were introduced later for the older children and MM thought the older children would have no problem with the color change. I remember an old discussion in Montessori makers saying that one trainer thought that having the same color would only be a crutch for the child and interfere with his understanding.
As far as storage, I was going to use a tackle box and put a small piece of packing tape along the bottom to keep the cards from sliding under. I was also going to tape the label to the back of each compartment. I have several types of tackle boxes here and I have to figure out which one will work best.
Ack! I forgot to purchase some sculpey from the store...I was going to use that to make some of the 3D shapes. (did i mention that I am teaching 3 levels at once?) I already printed out the paper symbols and laminated them...just have to cut them out and put in a tackle box.
I am so excited about having "material making day" tomorrow. I am even painting my globes...why? oh WHY does God make little ones faster and smarter than their mothers...
God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 7dc
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Finding Elegant Simplicity
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AndreaG
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I am all for sending Katherine coffee!
I think I've got a handle on the boxes, but I still don't really get how they work in sequence with the grammar symbols works.
And I am guessing on the filling boxes- but I think they are for the teacher. There are different series of cards for each box. For adjectives there is a series on size (large/small, tall/short, etc), color, shape, etc. I was assuming the teacher would switch the contents of the grammar box from the cards in the filling box. But perhaps the kids do it?
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Oh Donna Marie a tackle box is perfect for these!!! Have a super fun day tomorrow, will pray for your efficiency and expediency!!
Blessings!
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AndreaG
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Ok one more grammar box link:
Waseca Learning
I think I am going to use a drawer-box like this for all my other grammar cards- plurals, animal homes, command cards, etc. I like that you could just pull out a drawer, rather than always having the whole tackle box out (and possibly within reach of the strewing toddler). I might also use it as a filling box for the grammar boxes themselves. I'm not sure how many drawers I am going to be needing...
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Kristee
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Thanks for the insights and a mini view into a future project for me. I am amazed at how diligent you all are at accomplishing so many things and all the while balancing your family obligations with parenting and educating. I hope to be there some day. Keep up the good work.
Kristee
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This is paraphrased from the original NAMC Language Arts Manual 1: The filling boxes are for storing the phrase and word cards. They are coded, and the cards have the same code on the back.
I love this note in the manual: "The Nienhuis filling boxes are beautiful and an asset to any classroom; however, they are costly and take up space in the classroom. If your school does not have the luxury of having the thirty-six colored filling boxes for storage, there is an alternative. Many schools store the cards in large plastic organizing boxes, the kind with separate compartments. [He goes on to describe tackle boxes, with which we are all quite familiar!] Once the classroom has a couple of these boxes, the teacher can then sort the grammar cards (according to the codes on the back), secure each set with an elastic band, and place them in the separate compartments. Then each compartment must be labeled with the same code that is on the back of the grammar cards in that compartment."
I like Waseca's hardware cabinet, but I don't think I would put the grammar symbols on them.
Celeste
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Celeste
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If you're interested, here are the codes:
Black box/tan top (article): IIA, IIB, IIC, IID
Brown (adjective): IIIA, IIIB, IIIC, IIID, IIIE, IIIF, IIIG
Red (verb): IVA, IVB, IVC, IVD, IVE, IVF
Purple (preposition): VA, VB, VC, VD
Pink (adverb): VIA, VIB, VIC, VID
Green (pronoun): VIIA, VIIB, VIIC, VIID, VIIE
Yellow (conjunction): VIIIA, VIIIB, VIIIC
The numerals stand for the number of compartments in the box. The letters refer to the different concepts being reinforced. (The concepts are introduced in the Function of Words lessons; the grammar boxes are only for reinforcement.)
The adjective boxes, for example, would reinforce these aspects of the adjective:
IIIA-simple, qualitative
B- simple, qualitative, and opposite
C-numeral (or limiting: much, many, any, every, which, what, all, few)
D-simple, qualitative, opposites
E-simple (olfactory and auditory)
F-positive, comparative, sperlative (ages 9-12)
G-logical adjective matching exercises
and then I have penciled in, from what source I don't remember:
H-proper (American, French, Mexican)
I-demonstrative
(I also have "descriptive" penciled in by A and "possessive" by D, with his crossed out.)
I didn't check the MM files, but perhaps this information is laid out there.
Celeste
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Grammar Boxes
