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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 25 2008 at 9:44pm | IP Logged
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Angela -
Do you mean how much time do I spend planning over the summer or throughout the year...or both?
I read your post up there about filing your presentations in your file crate. I love it. It's more streamlining - and right now I'm all about simplifying my system and streamlining! In my overall planning and dividing up the year into terms, I see now how I could assess monthly as Meredith does and perhaps file presentations for each new term in my file crate. Then, I could include a file for my observations and notes along with the Comprehensive lists. That also allows for S. to readily see what presentations JP will be using so that she can assist. Yes.  That is a very good idea! 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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websterm
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| Posted: June 25 2008 at 9:47pm | IP Logged
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So much wonderful information! It takes me some time to digest it all...
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Angel
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| Posted: June 26 2008 at 7:26am | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
Do you mean how much time do I spend planning over the summer or throughout the year...or both? |
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Well, both... I just wondered because it seems like I can only keep one thing at a time going. So if I'm focused on planning, the house falls apart.  If I focus on the house... there's no time for planning. This is probably because of all my organizational issues, but I did wonder how much time is reasonable to devote to it.
(Actually, I think this is a bigger question, so I think I'll start a new thread with it on the Real Learning board. Then again, Montessori *does* bring with it a few extra time-challenges, in that part of our planning consists in figuring out and keeping up the environment. And then there's making or aquiring the material... Sometimes when I read non-Montessori articles, books, blog posts about planning I just sort of sigh, because - if only it were as easy as deciding which books I was going to use!  Which is not to say that making decisions about books is always easy or that Montessori isn't a very valuable part of our home learning, but it *does* take more time.)
Mackfam wrote:
I read your post up there about filing your presentations in your file crate. I love it. It's more streamlining - and right now I'm all about simplifying my system and streamlining! In my overall planning and dividing up the year into terms, I see now how I could assess monthly as Meredith does and perhaps file presentations for each new term in my file crate. Then, I could include a file for my observations and notes along with the Comprehensive lists. That also allows for S. to readily see what presentations JP will be using so that she can assist. Yes. That is a very good idea! |
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Well, we'll see how it works out in practice for me... I often have grandiose schemes at the beginning of the year that completely fall apart by the end of September  . Being this organized is a stretch for me, but hopefully it will help in the long run.
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 26 2008 at 8:17am | IP Logged
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I'm in a metaphor using kind of mood. Here's how I think of planning, and this will be different for every family I think.
It is really a lot like Charlotte Mason's idea of laying down the rails. So when I plan, I must lay down the rails first! I need to take a look at the big picture, think about the journey, think a little about this year, this season's journey and plan for that first. Then, I can start adding cars to the track. Montessori is only one of the cars on my track.
I plan for the engine first. For our family, that has always been a Charlotte Mason very literature based approach. The engine will pull us when all else has to be jettisoned in time of crisis. For some families this might be FIAR or picture book planning, for others the engine might be Montessori. So, I think you plan first for that part of your curriculum that is your underpinning.
Then, after that is well in hand, I start adding cars to my track - Montessori, picture books, whatever else. These are important to our journey, but I learned quickly last year as we struggled to survive that I must plan for the engine - that car has to be set upon the tracks purposefully and with enough fuel to pull the other cars for the entire year. Sometimes, my Montessori car pulls in tandem with my Charlotte Mason car for one of my children so I do tend to think of us as having two engines at times.
It will be different for each family - each family uses the train that will pull them for the long haul. But, we're all chugging down the track towards an end goal.
Does this make any sense? I just learned that my planning has to be quite methodical and focused in order to move through this with any rhythm. I agree with you, Angela - Montessori is a valuable part of our home learning, but it does take more of my time to plan for.
Nuts and bolts of my Montessori planning (and this evolves - esp. as you guys offer great insights here)...Well, for the summer I plan on laying down those rails - getting my comprehensive lists in place in each of my term files. I'd like to make notes on my Comp. List (or maybe do something unique on an Excel spreadsheet) that lists presentations for each child along with the source of that presentation (Shu Chen, R&D, Montessori Matters...) Then, I am setting up my year with teacher assessment days built in to my schedule. I'd like to *plan* one day a month (I liked Meredith's idea) to sit down with my comprehensive lists and plan - pulling out presentations and filing them in weekly files, adding and subtracting from my shelf, coordinating Montessori studies with ongoing studies elsewhere. A day set aside. I think this will be important and gives me easier, more bite size chunks to plan for.
The challenge with Montessori is that you can't really project out too far - KWIM? It's hard to schedule something that is child-led. What if my son only works with a material for 2 days and then it sits - boredom. What if my son is engaged by a material for 2 to 3 months? So, I'll need to be flexible, but I think if I have an overall plan with the comprehensive lists I can more readily accomodate the children's needs.
Gotta run - I'm off to take S. to horseback riding lessons - I can't wait to come back and get more insights from your planning ideas.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: planning Montessori
