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kristinannie
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| Posted: Nov 28 2012 at 12:52pm | IP Logged
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I am considering buying the botany cabinet and/or the geometric cabinet. They are relatively expensive though. I was wondering if any of you had experience with these items and whether or not they are worth the price. I have many Montessori items and have really liked all of them, but I still get worried when spending a lot of money on something!!! Thanks.
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John Paul 8.5
Meredith Rose 7
Dominic Michael 4.5
Katherine Elizabeth 8 months
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Meredith
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| Posted: Nov 28 2012 at 2:22pm | IP Logged
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Kristinannie, we love our botany cabinet, I recommend Alison's Montessori, it's great quality, we've had ours for about 6 years now, it's still in use and much enjoyed!
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Meredith
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 28 2012 at 6:21pm | IP Logged
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I don't have either of the ones you mention, Kristin, but I do have them as an app on our ipad. I can't remember if you have an ipad or not?? I would have been skeptical of an app adequately substituting for a Montessori work, or even being moderately worthwhile, but Mobile Montessori has changed my mind entirely! They offer a number of wonderful and worthwhile Montessori apps, including many Botany apps, Geometric cabinet, fantastic moveable alphabet, geography apps, etc.
I just wanted to introduce that idea for your consideration because it's affordable and takes up NO floor/shelf space...if you have an ipad.
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Jen Mackintosh
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kristinannie
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| Posted: Nov 28 2012 at 7:17pm | IP Logged
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I have a Kindle.  That actually sounds interesting. My mom has an ipad. Maybe I will have her check it out for me. BTW, I couldn't get the link to work.
Mackfam wrote:
I don't have either of the ones you mention, Kristin, but I do have them as an app on our ipad. I can't remember if you have an ipad or not?? I would have been skeptical of an app adequately substituting for a Montessori work, or even being moderately worthwhile, but Mobile Montessori has changed my mind entirely! They offer a number of wonderful and worthwhile Montessori apps, including many Botany apps, Geometric cabinet, fantastic moveable alphabet, geography apps, etc.
I just wanted to introduce that idea for your consideration because it's affordable and takes up NO floor/shelf space...if you have an ipad. |
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John Paul 8.5
Meredith Rose 7
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Katherine Elizabeth 8 months
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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: Nov 29 2012 at 8:03am | IP Logged
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I like both cabinets - but I made the insets for the geometry cabinet - I would have preferred just to buy - so much easier!
The difference between the real item and an app is that the children have to use a pincer grasp (writing practice) to pick up the knobs. On the geometric shapes, the way they traced the inside the outside of the shapes is a practice in handwriting. With the botany cabinet a narrow pointer is used to do the tracing, further reinforcing handwriting.
But not just handwriting - also art. The children not only physically the shapes to their corresponding cards, not just by sight, but by physically aligning them, looking all the way around to make sure the shape on the card is fully covered (whole body movement) --- through this work they also develop aesthetics and art skills of various kinds.
If you have the geometry cabinet, you will NOT need the metal insets as the shapes replicate. While the cabinet insets are thicker than the metal insets, they are quite functional in a homeschool.
The botany cabinet really gets the children exploring leaf shapes in a way that no other material or curriculum I've seen. And they can still do art with the insets.
BOTH cabinets get a lot of use - by my son and by our co-op children. I do not regret owning both of them, despite our very limited budget.
The geometry cabinet continues to be used in elementary albums; the botany cabinet is not officially in elementary albums, but the children keep using it! And they LOVE those botany names learned from the cabinet - in elementary they can start looking at the word patterns, parts of the words, and see the shape in front of them that requires the use of certain suffixes or prefixes.
Yes, some of that you can get from an app - but there is the whole body movement, the actually writing process in various stages, and the overall "reality" of it, that has left me feeling bleck when I've used the few Montessori apps I've tried.
:)
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Montessori Question
