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Angel
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| Posted: May 14 2008 at 8:03am | IP Logged
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I thought it would be interesting to look back over the last school year, in light of how excited everyone seemed to be about Montessori *last*summer.
If you chose to incorporate Montessori into your routine, did it meet your expectations? If not, why not?
Was there anything you did that worked really, really well? Anything that really tanked?
Anything you wish you had bought? Anything you wish you hadn't?
Did your space work for you over the course of the year, or did you find yourself reorganizing frequently?
And finally: how will you incorporate the lessons you learned this year into your plans for next year? (Here I mean, not the subject material, but the experiences you as the homeschooling mama gained from attempting to implement Montessori in your home.)
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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Mackfam
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| Posted: May 14 2008 at 10:15am | IP Logged
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Angela - What a great idea!! I'm so glad you started this, and I can't wait to see what worked and what didn't for everyone else so I can take notes
One caveat - I spent most of my year in the throes of hyperemisis and that really spent a lot of the energy I had. I throttled back a lot, and flew a lot by the seat of my pants - much more than I wanted too. Having said that...
Did it meet my expectations...
Yep. My main motivator was my 7yo ds. His needs cried out for this kind of approach. The more we worked with Montessori materials, the more he responded. It held his attention and opened up his desire for learning, especially in the area of math! I loved having trays and work set out for my 3yo because it gave him something purposeful to do. And my 11yo was drawn to the materials as well. It addressed everything I needed it to, so I'm pleased.
What worked really well...
Good grief, the list is long. Let's see...
*Lori's Comprehensive Lists have to be the biggest hit for me. They provided much needed direction and guidance. We really got into a groove once I started rolling with these lists. Actually,
*Everything I bought from Lori at Montessori for Everyone, but especially the 3part cards for science topics. These were a big hit and were the backbone for an entire science curriculum last year and will continue to be next year. In terms of budget, they fit better than anything else too.
*Geography Cabinet and Maps from Alisons. Big hit. And we've only just started to open up the potential here. This was a good investment for all of the children.
*All of the math materials. The golden beads were such a mystery to me at first, and I was really intimidated! I'm glad I got to know them though. They are so attractive to the children, and my 7yo took off in math with them.
*The metal insets. The kids enjoyed them, but I loved them. They transformed handwriting around here.
*The Decanomial Bead Box
*Oh, and for my 3yo, nothing beat the bang for the buck around here like the little spring loaded scissors from Michael Olaf and the handwork downloads from MWEI I am anxious to do more handwork with all of the children next year. A big (cheap) hit!
Anything that tanked...
ummm...  the pink tower and brown prisms. Not sure why. It could have been our year, could be that neither of my boys were in a sensitive period for those. But, I presented, they worked with them once and then they just looked like blocks on the shelf. If I can't re-present and recover some potential in these they are going to be donated to the block bin.
Anything I wish I had bought...
The short bead chains. I ended up using the decanomial beads to just line up a row of perfect squares or cubes. It worked ok, but it would have been nice to have the chains.
Anything you wish you hadn't...
Hard to say. If it didn't go over well this year, it could be somebody will be more open to it next year. The pink tower and brown prisms are possibly in this category, but everyone else thought they were so essential so I have to believe I was doing something wrong with them.
I do wish I hadn't bought the addition/subtraction, multiplication boards. The decanomial bead box was our preferred material of choice in all of these applications.
Did your space work...
Yes. I was glad to have the shoe shelves to have space to put work trays out, and the rotation closet was ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL!
Lessons learned...
I want to be more organized next year, and by that I mean I'd like to have presentations printed and ready to go in the order I'd like to present. Especially for the 3yo. If I didn't have material and presentations ready for him it was chaos. If he was occupied and working on his own, others were able to work peacefully. And...I've got to get those control maps labeled 
I cannot wait to see other responses!!!
Thanks for starting this Angela. 
__________________
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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hobbitmom
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| Posted: May 14 2008 at 3:08pm | IP Logged
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You beat me to it, Angela! As a member of Montessori: The Next Generation, I can't wait to see what the veterans say!
Amy
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montessori_lori
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| Posted: May 14 2008 at 3:19pm | IP Logged
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What worked for me:
1. Giving my 7-year old son almost carte blanche when it came to choosing work. He does so much better - and learns so much more - when he decides what to study. We use the workplan, but the "free choice" section gets the most use! :)
2. Going on at least one field trip a week. This was reduced in the winter months, but we still tried to get out a few times a month. We aren't picky - a walk around the nearby (free) nature center is just as educational as a trip to the Art Institute. We do them all!
3. Reading to the kids every day. We read, read, read.
4. Not trying to re-create a 3-6 and 6-9 classroom in our home. We don't have the room, and it's just not necessary.
What didn't work:
1. Me trying to impose *my* ideas of what our homeschooling should be onto the kids.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: May 14 2008 at 3:35pm | IP Logged
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If you chose to incorporate Montessori into your routine, did it meet your expectations? If not, why not?
Yes, and then some!
Was there anything you did that worked really, really well?
The golden beads and number cars, the addition strip board, the hundred board, the bead chains and arrows. Really all of the math materials.
The cylinder blocks, the Moveable alphabet, pink series materials (home-made), trays of sensorial materials for the littles (pouring, spooning, tonging, etc)...
The geometry cabinet, the botany cabinet, the metal insets, the map cabinet and maps, and the continent boxes (homemade).
I could go on and on!But the very best things of all were the beads and the cylinder blocks. Love, love, love!
Anything that really tanked?
The red rods. I absolutely could not prevent them from whacking each other with them.
Three-part cards are not used much here. As dd becomes more of a reader they may pick up, but I don't think so. They are not really our style.I think I spent too much time making some of them.I could have just collected some good picture books and accomplished the same things in a more fun way.
Anything you wish you had bought? Anything you wish you hadn't?
I need to get a multiplication board and division board.
No regrets on purchases yet. Except maybe the insect puzzles. They are not so great. But, you never know.
Did your space work for you over the course of the year, or did you find yourself reorganizing frequently?
It worked pretty well, but I did reorganize a bit here and there.
And finally: how will you incorporate the lessons you learned this year into your plans for next year?
I think I will be more at ease with the materials next year, and so will my kids, so I should get even more use out of them.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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AndreaG
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| Posted: May 15 2008 at 6:26am | IP Logged
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If you chose to incorporate Montessori into your routine, did it meet your expectations? If not, why not?
Yes, I've been using montessori for about 5 years now, so it must be meeting my expectations 
Was there anything you did that worked really, really well? Anything that really tanked?
I think my biggest montessori successes this year were the Great Lessons with my 8-year-old and the toddler shelf for my 1-year-old. I just loved the way the Great Lessons gave a big picture and sparked my son's interest. They really seemed to hit at where he was developmentally. And my toddler really loved taking out the works I put on his shelf, working with them and putting them back, it was neat to see him just go into the learning room and choose this focused work whenever he felt the need.
I think that what tanked was my idea that I would be more spontaneous with my presentations to the 3 and 6 year olds. Without a schedule I just didn't do as many as I would like. I think I am going back to more of a scheduled presentation approach for them next year.
Anything you wish you had bought? Anything you wish you hadn't?
You know, I wish I hadn't been so obsessed with recreating every single "montessori" material. As I go along I find that many non-montessori manipulatives, books, curricula work just as well or better in a "montessori-style" homeschool. So nothing specific that really tanked, but I do suggest adding expensive or time-consuming to make materials slowly, and not stressing about having it all.
Did your space work for you over the course of the year, or did you find yourself reorganizing frequently?
Yes, my learning room was the best ever this year! Of course there is always room for improvement. My rotation closet just has too much crammed in it, I need to simplify. Also my older kids like to go in the closet rather than have shelves so mid-year I removed some shelves which made the room more open and nicer to work in.
And finally: how will you incorporate the lessons you learned this year into your plans for next year? (Here I mean, not the subject material, but the experiences you as the homeschooling mama gained from attempting to implement Montessori in your home.)
Well, I can think of two major things I am going to do:
1. schedule presentations for the 2,4, and 6 year-old
2. encourage more free choice and self-directed learning. I really noticed this year that I get excited about learning and projects and try to impose my ideas on the kids (which isn't a bad thing) but I'd like to have them take more of a lead in their education, both so they can learn independence and so I don't get burned out
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Andrea
GrayFamilyCircus
Read Through the Catechism in a Year- For Moms!
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SeaStar
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| Posted: May 15 2008 at 7:29pm | IP Logged
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If you chose to incorporate Montessori into your routine, did it meet your expectations? If not, why not?
Yes, overall I was pleased with our Montessori lessons.
Was there anything you did that worked really, really well?
The pink, blue and green reading series worked really well for my ds.
We used three part cards for a lot of matching games, which my dd loved.
Anything that really tanked?
The pink tower, the brown prisms and the knobbed cylinders just didn't seem to grab the interest of the kids... also, neither really touched the metal insets much. I plan to put the insets away for now.
Anything you wish you had bought?
geometry cabinet
Anything you wish you hadn't?
I bought much of my math supplies in a big purchase. I wish I would have spread that out over time and bought according to what I needed at the time.
Did your space work for you over the course of the year, or did you find yourself reorganizing frequently?
Space worked pretty well
And finally: how will you incorporate the lessons you learned this year into your plans for next year? (Here I mean, not the subject material, but the experiences you as the homeschooling mama gained from attempting to implement Montessori in your home.)
I learned that my ds is never going to use the three part cards the way they are intended. I learned that the "hands on" aspect of Montessori is what the kids love the best.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Angel
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| Posted: May 15 2008 at 8:47pm | IP Logged
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Ok, I'll answer my own questions now:
*Were my expectations met?*
This was my third year of using Montessori. Some of my expectations were met, and some of my expectations were unrealistic. Considering that I started off the school year by having a baby and promptly getting sick for a month, I think the year went really well.
(Which expectations were unrealistic? I think I expected to be able to do more with my 2 yos than I did, especially with large lapses in planning.)
*What worked really well?*
Writing concrete projects on the white board for choice time for my 5th and 3rd grader, and only requiring a few basics -- math, spelling, a language workbook -- to be done daily.
Also, practical life for my just-turned 5 yo. He loves pouring and serving juice, cutting cheese for snack, and helping in the kitchen. When I could get trays and projects ready for him, his behavior got better and he really blossomed. When I couldn't... things sometimes didn't go so well. He also really liked the 1-9 bead hanger, and Lori's life cycle of an apple and a pumpkin cards.
The twins liked to wipe down everything and anything, to build with the geometric solids, and the thermic tablets, which I got on sale for about half that price.
*Anything that really tanked?*
How about my ability to keep up? (sigh)
The R&D manuals I bought because I thought that with a new baby, I would definitely need a guide. What I discovered was that I definitely need a guide in math, not so much in other things, and R&D was not the best guide for me.
The botany cabinet and cards also did not get the response I'd hoped it would. And neither did the Native American cards. But I don't really think I would say that they "tanked"; they may get a better reception next year if I present them differently.
*Anything you wish you had bought?*
Well, I wish I had been able to buy the map cabinet in the summer time instead of having to wait until the holiday season, when I was already going downhill in terms of preparing "stuff". We haven't used it much, and I need to make it a point to get the maps out more often.
*Anything you wish you hadn't?*
All those R&D manuals.
The fraction skittles. I actually bought these when I first decided to give Montessori a serious go; my oldest ds and my dd played with them for a short time, but that was about it. This year I got them out for my pre-K ds, but he'd already figured out fractions from food. I don't think they're necessary in a home setting. But who knows; maybe the twins will enjoy them.
I'm on the fence about the red rods. My twins like them... but they are far, far too tempting as swords.
Did your space work?
Well... no, not really. Mostly this was because a)our learning spaces are divided between 2 -- possibly 3, if you count the kitchen -- rooms; b)no way for the big kids to work on the floor without being mauled by toddlers; c)inadequate shelf and cabinet space, which was way too out of sight out of mind because we had to use closed and locked doors; and d)my stuff for rotation is split up in 4 different places, and at least 2 of them were ransacked by toddlers.
My art cabinet, however, worked very, very well, even when I let it go for a while.
*How will I incorporate the lessons from this year into next year?*
Hmmm. I've been thinking about this. I think I learned a few things from this year. I learned that keeping our choice time helps keep me and the kids from burning out; I learned that what works best around here is to incorporate Montessori principles into every day life (such as allowing the 4 yo to help peel and chop potatoes at dinner, child size shovels for the garden and suggested jobs, such as weeding, pruning, planting,that sort of thing); and I also learned that a little planning and consistency go a long way.
My 5 yo will be in kindergarden this coming year, so I'm going to have to be a lot more on top of things as far as planning goes. He can't read and workbooks are not his thing, so I'd like to do a lot of Montessori with him -- which means I'll need to rethink and reorganize my space, and make up and rotate trays with much more regularity. Fortunately, the twins are getting older, so they're not quite as destructive as they once were... one of the boys has been working quite calmly with a puzzle from a low shelf lately. Another lesson I learned (over and over again) this year was that I need to have things for the 2 yos to do, and I need to be able to focus on them while they are doing those activities. I think this is going to result in my having to schedule my time with each of the kids, at least as far as I am able (considering that this fall I'll have a brand new toddler.)
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Montessori: what worked and what didn't?
