Tuesdays in 2013: Charlotte Mason at Our House!

In 2013, I, Maureen, will be your Tuesday hostess.  I will be sharing with you how I use the Charlotte Mason philosophy and method in my home with my children, aged 9, 6, 3, and 5 months.  I hope that you will learn something new, find something to share, and maybe be inspired to see your children in new ways.

If you've always been curious about the Charlotte Mason method, but you've been too confused or overwhelmed to 'go there', I think you'll find some little jewels for meditation here!

Charlotte Mason was a British educator in the 19^th century who developed a system of education for governesses and mothers to use with their children.  It was also used in day schools, or cottage schools, for the working poor.  Relying heavily on the experience of the natural world and fine literature, Charlotte Mason’s philosophy was a revolution of gentleness in a harsh and dry educational climate.  She favored mothers keeping their children at home and not pushing early academics. 

 

There are many fine books on Charlotte Mason available on Amazon or at your local library.  Please see the reading list at the end of this post.

Charlotte Mason learning is unique.  It is not school-at-home.  The mainstays of a Charlotte Mason education are living books, narration, and short lessons.  Beyond that, there is a lot of variation in how modern home educators adapt the Charlotte Mason philosophy for their own use. 

So, what is a living book?  To begin, a living book is a book written by an individual.  In other words, NOT a textbook.  In edu-speak, that means a living book is a ‘primary source.’  It’s the difference between reading about  The Iliad, versus reading The Iliad.  Workbooks might be available over various subjects, but not required.  I will be sharing with you my family’s favorite living books for various subjects, focusing on some hidden gems I’ve never seen on other homeschool reading lists.  And believe me, I read lots of book lists!

Narration is another important concept in Charlotte Mason education.  And while I consider narration very important, I have never found the method Charlotte Mason originally used to adapt well to my real, modern family.  Nor have I found other modern CM homeschoolers’ methods to work very well.  So I have developed my own form of narration that I call ‘natural narration’ which I will be sharing in a series of posts this spring.

An while short lessons might seem self-explanatory, it can be tricky to apply the concept of short lessons with different children and with different curricula or books.  So I’ll be sharing some creative ways to break up tasks and exercises, especially for boys.      

Other Charlotte Mason topics on which I’ll be extrapolating include ideas for living math, nature study for the lazy mother, art and picture study for the lazy mother, and a Renaissance education on a shoestring.  Please do leave a comment if there is a topic you’re burning to hear about.  I am NOT a Charlotte Mason expert!  But I love Charlotte Mason and I love to see mothers discover how incorporating some CM ideas into their homeschool can make the days- not to mention the subject matter!- more enjoyable, less tedious, and *frankly* easier all around!!!

"Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life."
-Charlotte Mason

I hope you’ll join me on Tuesdays in 2013 here at Growing Your Homeschool!  Here are some quick reads to give you more background on Charlotte Mason and the Charlotte Mason method:

For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School  (By far the easiest to read, most inspiring CM book ever written.  In my humble opinion, obviously!)

Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series (May be a bit heavy reading, but this is the *original* CM 6 book series, by Charlotte herself!)

Charlotte Mason Study Guide  (Out of print, too bad, because this book is great, but definitely available through interlibrary loan.)

The Number 1 Reason NOT to Homeschool

Dear prospective homeschooling mum,

I got the comment I knew I would this month- did you?

"Well, I guess I can understand homeschooling better now."

In the wake of tragedy, it seems suddenly a lot more sane to people who always secretly consider us- me, you- kinda crazy.

But if you are reading this, and you're wondering about homeschooling, about whether it might be right for you and your family, please, please- I beg you- bear this in mind:

God does not want you to make decisions out of fear.

Homeschooling, at it's finest, is not a fear-based choice, a knee-jerk reaction to the ugliness and danger of

the world. 

And I've seen families where it was, and it is not a good thing. 

Homeschooling ought to be a choice of freedom, love, joy, and togetherness.  That's the number "1" thing I wish I could share with every prospective homeschooler.  O sure, it's nice to avoid some of the things kids pick up on the playground.  Nice to avoid competition over tennis shoes and Trapper Keepers (or whatever it is that's all the rage these days).  But to choose homeschooling because you are afraid of the alternatives... it's a dangerous thing.

Dangerous?  Yes, dangerous. 

So think about what God wants for you, and remember that he has "thoughts of peace, and not of evil" for you and your family in 2013.

All the best,

Maureen and breadwithhoney

"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in.  A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves."  ~Bill Vaughan



Christmas Treasures: Good King Wenceslas

I'm to the point where I hesitate.   Majorly.   Before any given homeschool purchase.  Even if said purchase is something as innocuous and non-space-guzzling as a book.  And the longer I homeschool the more wary I become of recommending "things"- any  "things"- to any one.  I'm a minimalist, to be sure.  Plus there are only so many slots in any homeschooler's library!  And I think we all hold our wallets just a little tighter these days. 

So when I call something a treasure, I don't do it lightly.  Let alone a book!  Books.  Books.  Books.  There are so many.  Good ones.  Bad ones.  Sometimes I think I'll write one but then every time I go to Barnes and Noble I get sort of sick looking at the sea of books... only a small fraction of which are worth anybody's time.  Too many books.

We have a treasury of Tomie de Paola'sw Christmas books which we lovingly display and read each Advent.  We don't need any more Christmas books!  But I couldn't walk by this one.  I had to stop and look.  Then I had to read it.  Then, well, I had to have it for our collection; despite all my misgivings, I just couldn't pass this beauty up.

The book tells the story of St. Wenceslas with exquisite illustrations.  And his story couldn'y be more apropo  for the children of our time.  I don't want to tell you the story in case you've never heard it.  But King Wenceslas embodies the spirit of giving in a concrete way that really sinks in for children.  So if you only buy one Christmas book this year, may I be so bold as to say, this should be it! 

God bless, and happy reading.

Good King Wenceslas

"Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers.  My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them.  There's many a bestseller that could have been prevented by a good teacher." 
~Flannery O'Connor

Work with What You Have, Because What You Have, Works

Even before I started homeschooling, and especially after I started, I had a dream.  The dream was a house... with an eat-in kitchen... and a playroom/ schoolroom off that eat-in kitchen... all separated from the 'formal' living area....

And the walls would be lined with IKEA Trofast shelving... and book displays... and a door would lead from this wondrous room into the back yard, per Maria Montessori's recommendation.... 

I didn't feel sorry for myself (most days), just a little frustrated, by the materials stuck here and there, but never where I needed them, when I wanted them.  Aggravated by the sticky door on my jumbled supply closet.  Piqued by our meticulously de-cluttered toy collection that never got picked up, despite its manageable size and scope.  And I dreamed of that room... wood floors, hopefully... a fireplace even?

Well, ladies and gentlemoms, here it is:

this year I got that room.

Oh, I paid for it I think, with a stressful move during a wicked-hot drought, a messy third trimester with a messier house... and the room doesn't have any windows except that door into the backyard (forgot to add windows into the dream...).

And add to that, my  husband had to go to Minneapolis on business a few weeks ago, and guess what?  Trofast shelves hitchhiked home in his trunk.  And guess what else?  Ruined carpet meant ripping out the carpet and laying wood down (well, actually faux wood plank tiles, but good enough for me).

So go on, ask me- is it heaven?  Has our homeschool achieved new heights; has the play in this hallowed space been more soulful, more perfect?  Has my dream layout brought true happiness?

O friends, you know the answer by now, don't you?  You do.

It's just a room.  Right now, those wood planks are covered with toys and the art table looks like Picasso's studio recently vomited all over, spilling down onto the floor.  And several projects are still in progress on my dining table.  The more school-ish math and phonics books still sit in a stack on my bookcase in the living room because hey, I like to nurse where it's quiet and little people apparently like to do math where it's quiet, too. 

Last week, I'll admit, I felt a little let down.  All my great ideas weren't magic.  Things work just like they always have, and frankly, it robs the sweetness of achieving my dream set-up.  My books are organized, well, a little bit- but I still have to use them. 

What I used to have- rubbermaid totes for sorting the toys, stacks of books here and there, art supplies stuffed in the dining room cabinet- worked for us just fine.  And what I've designed and done in our new home works, too.  But it's US who work, really, isn't it- myself and my little people!  Not the storage furniture.  And by the way, IKEA Trofast shelves do look nice, but someone still has to put the toys away in them....

Do you ever do this?  Dream of how you wish you had more space, better shelves, enough baskets for all the toys, an organized supply closet, and so on and so forth?  Are you waiting to carve out that art nook/ reading nook/ nature table till you move to a bigger house/ declutter/ organize your supplies/ have a weekend to yourself?

I wouldn't.  Because it's pretty rare and pretty miraculous for some dreams to come true.  I know I never really expected to have my daydream come true.  That's why I always forced myself to make an art nook when there wasn't really room for one.  And now I realize that the real secret is:

Work with what you have, because what you have, works.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite.  Or waiting around for Friday night or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil or a better break or a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance.  Everyone is just waiting.  ~Dr. Seuss


Enjoy yourself.  It's later than you think.  ~Chinese Proverb

As you grow older, you'll find the only things you regret are the things you didn't do.  ~Zachary Scott
For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life.  But there was always some obstacle in the way.  Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.  Then life would begin.  At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.  ~Fr. Alfred D'Souza

Amidst Chaos...

"Amidst chaos lies opportunity."
-Albert Einstein

I admire mothers who have it all together. Or who have it together enough to appear, you know, to have it together.

And while there are limited areas of my life where I do have things pretty well together, I will admit that homeschooling isn't one of them. It gets crazy around here.

I was more organized with 2 children and only 1 of school age, but adding children seems to make it harder. I certainly don't feel that God has called me to homeschool and limit my family size to make it happen in an, um, orderly fashion...

ON THE CONTRARY! It began to occur to me that the 'chaos' of a large household is actually a true benefit to a homeschooling family, depending on how it is received.

Whaaat?

Well, look with me. With a smaller family, I as a mother, have more time and energy to make plans and execute them smoothly. As more children, and more pregnancies, come along, I am stretched thinner and- let's be real here- formal lessons don't happen with the regularity they would without those pesky morning of puking, or those insane growth spurt days where I nurse a baby so much I hardly have time to go pee.

And did I mention those mornings when the 2 year old wakes up screaming because he's not in his shark pajamas... and he won't calm down... till 10 am???

So what's a responsible homeschooling mama to do?

I'm not sure- hehe- as sometimes I'm definitely not that picture-perfect matron, but I can tell you what I, an average, sometimes wiped out, sometimes cranky pregnant lady with three wild and wooly kids, do on any given day that is so nuts-o I can't even remember what's for lunch, or if there is even anything to fix for lunch.

I sit back, smile really big, and open my eyes to the grace.

While I was calming the 2 year old down, or laying in bad trying not to throw up from ravaging morning sickness, my 8 year-old snuck off to write in his secret journal... or to copy Chinese characters from some packaging material (he's currently obsessed with all things Chinese)... or to build a block tower using every block in the house. And my 5 year old choreographed a dance to the Blue Danube which she can play over and over and over and over on the keyboard... or joined in the block building... or made her own slingshot.

Are these things somehow less educational, less important to their development both academic and human than math pages and grammar excercises? Not to me.

Is a day spent playing with siblings (and yes, fighting and making up with siblings) less worthy than a day spent memorizing verb charts or slaving over math facts? And if I think it is less worthy, why?

I remember very clearly the day I took the school books off the high shelf and put them down on the shelf with all the, well, normal books. And something happened. Learning became somehow more normal... more real to us. Interestingly, my kids choose their 'school' books as often as they choose their other books, but it ceases to be a point of contention if today that poetry anthology doesn't get opened. Am I worried that my children won't learn 'what they need to know' because I don't direct their choices like I did in the days of yore: those everyone-has-quiet-time, snacks-at-3 (and ONLY at 3!), march-to-my-drummer days?

No. I see to much evidence that, for me at least, for my children at least, learning happens ALL the time. I can't stop it, hold it back, even if I want to. And as sick as I get of homemade catapults crowding my yard, endless keyboard jam sessions (WHERE ARE THE HEADPHONES YOU GUYS?!!!), art projects that overflow from the 'art table', and requests for math worksheets to be printed at 10 pm (yes, this happens... it seems to be the time of night when the math angel whispers into my children's ears "don't go to sleep... go wake up your mother and ask for math to do for fun...") I wouldn't trade the exuberance, the shouts, the wild adventure, for anything.


My other realization was that I can't schedule every minute of my children's learning and expect to grow self-motivated learners. I need to trust more that their interests will blossom if they have the time to pursue them... and not just on the 2 hour lesson-break planned every Wednesday afternoon!

Some mamas need to be in control. They want to lead. Some mamas let go of all control and give it over to the children. They let the children lead.

But for me, there's Someone else who leads.

And when life hapens- and OH! does it happen- I remind myself Who is in control. Who is the real Educator. Who gives the Light. Who more than me communicates the important stuff directly to these precious souls in my care.

And He will never let me down.

Nourish the Child: Music

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."
-Victor Hugo

I love talking about music education because I can, in no way, be misconstrued as an "expert"! I have very little formal music training, but I have been a voracious reader on the Japanese Suzuki method (that is in rather sharp contrast to the American Suzuki method). I have also taught myslef the piano and penny whistle and I really enjoy all forms of music.

So when it comes to my own children and music, I proceed by intuition more than philosophy, and the results are pretty exciting.

My children are familiar with a wide range of musical styles and can recognize a lot of 'famous' music and composers for the very simple reason that mom and dad listen to 'famous' music for sheer enjoyment and our enthusiasm just rubs off on the little people. (They can also rap and free-flow... thanks daddy... age appropriate lyrics, of course.)

An aunt gave my oldest a very nice children's piano before the age of 1 and it remains a favorite toy for my own children and all visitors. No curriculum needed, it is so natural for children to try to 'play' their favorite tunes on this inviting little instrument.

In the spirit of Suzuki, I play the piano for my children. I play children's songs and I also work (and boy, is it work!) through difficult pieces and they notice the progress I make. I had Isaiah in piano lessons for 1 semester to learn the basics of music reading (he is famously resistant to 'learning' anything difficult from me). His own books sit by the piano and he regularly plays out of them for fun. The younger two patiently wait their own turns to 'play' the piano nearly every day.

This year we invested in this Yamaha Touch Sensitive Keyboard. (Be aware that Amazon regularly puts this keyboardon sale for under $100.) We had to leave our antique piano behind in Kansas and I didn't want to be a year without a piano to enjoy. It was VERY inexpensive, but the quality is excellent. Keyboards, as long as they are touch-sensitive, are wonderful tools for music education. They are superb for self-teaching visual learners. (Sorta hard to explain, but all Yamaha keyboards have a feature that teaches musical pieces with a little screen for you to copy with your hands... you have to see it to get this.) Most keyboards also have a large memory of folk tunes and classical music that you can toy around with. My kids spontaneously play 'guess-this-tune' by turning the piano off after a few bars of a piece have played and trying to figure out what the piece is.

Next year, we are planning to learn the penny whistle (also called the tin whistle or celtic flute) as a family. My penny whistles were all lost in a move years back, so I am pretty rusty. My oldest son wants to learn the penny whistle from me versus going back to piano lessons, and my 5 year old daughter has begged to join. The penny whistle is a particularly good beginner instrument because it is cheap and the fingering is quite simple (simpler even than a recorder, that other excellent and inexpensive beginner's instrument).

This is the book I used 20 years ago to teach myself the whistle:

(Want to know how good this book is? A couple years after picking up the penny whistle for the first time, I was able to join in with a Celtic band made up of adult professional musicians! I am no prodigy, it's just a great book and an easy instrument.)

So generally, my philosophy is- create joyful access to music of all sorts, enjoy it yourself, and watch your children learn. I will never forget when a good friend of mine sharply criticized my musical "method." She asked "what if Tiger Woods' dad, or the Williams' sisters' dad, or Mozart's dad had said, 'well, I just want my kid(s) to enjoy golf/ tennis/ music?"

Personally, I want my children to find their way in this life by their own internal compasses. I encourage, provide access, and give support. I am not out to create prodigies, though I would support one if God planted one amongst my offspring. Rather, I think what we do in our home makes for well-rounded thinkers who, I hope, will appreciate beauty even if they don't make music or art their life's work. (And as someone who chose to make art her life's work... some days I dearly hope my little people do NOT choose music or art as their life's work!!!)

"A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."
~Leopold Stokowski

"The joy of music should never be interrupted by a commercial."
~Leonard Bernstein

Nourish The Child: Art

Art is a part of our family. It is an effortless joy for us to look and learn from great and beautiful pictures. We have an impressive collection of art books, nearly all of which were bought by my husband and myself before we even met. Because he and I value beauty, our children have inherited a sense of awe and reverence for art.

I realize it isn't so natural for many homeschooling families. There are hundreds of (mostly pricey) art programs that promise to produce little art historians and such. But even for a homeschooler who is completely unversed in the visual arts, I think it's mostly overkill.

An art center in your home doesn't require much space at all. A couple drawers in the kitchen will suffice, plus a place to display some books or prints.

I mostly stock our art center with better quality PLAIN WHITE PRINTER PAPER. Coloring books are a silly invention. Children don't need them. Children are creative. They will get the pictures they want. They will experiment, trace, beg mummy to draw whatever it is they need. "Draw me an 'A', Mommy!" (My children actually call all writing, drawing. They 'draw' instead of 'write' letters and words.) "Draw me a squirrel on a branch, Mommy!" (Um, dear, go find that in your nature book...)

To go with your white paper you'll need crayons, colored pencils, and markers. Don't be sweduced by the fancy brands- beeswax crayons are not magical. Believe me I have used every art supply on planet earth, and for children under the age of ten, and for most children OVER the age of ten, washabe Crayola is fine. Don't buy the cheaper brands because they really don't work as well, but save the fancy Lyra, Prismacolor, Stockmar, and Koh-I-Noor stuff for older children who really want to pursue art seriously.

The best accompaniments I have found for these simple supplies are Ed Emberley's drawing books. Have a child with poor handwriting who hates to practice? Hand him or her Ed Emberley's Make a World or Ed Emberley's Animals on a Saturday morning and see what happens. These books utilize basic handwriting strokes to make very cool, quick, fun drawings of anything and everything. The child is motivated to observe closely and make the strokes properly in order that the item (s)he is drawing comes out right. Just don't require anyone to work out of these books or I think you'll really spoil the effects!

For clay play, regular or homemade play-dough and some fun tools will do the job. Older children may enjoy Plastalina, a clay that never dries. (It's what's used for claymation movies.) A stack of construction paper is all most children need for endless crafts (cutting, glueing, and sculpting masks, teepees, paper dolls, and whatever else), with maybe a couple of magazines for cutting out nice photos and pictures to use. I'm very amused by the kits and packs sold for homeschoolers with pre-cut shapes for different 'crafts', as if children with a pair of scissors and a pile of colored paper needed any of them!

Really, that's all you need. We also have lots of craft sets that have been given as gifts, as well as pan watercolor paints. Any other paints are at your discretion... sometimes too much paint creates insane mothers, if you know what I mean.

The art books and prints you choose to have in your home should be those you love and really enjoy looking at. Some kid-friendly artists include Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Raphael, Pontormo (Italian), Velazquez(Spanish), M.C. Escher, Grandma Moses (a wonderful choice when studying American History), and Rembrandt. Another lesser-known artist whose work is very informative and appropriate for children is the painter Morandi. He is what is called "a painter's painter"- meaning painters love him and most other people have never heard of him! It is very good to have several books of individual artists so you and your kids can get a true feel for their particular styles. For a wide variety of artists is one book, try the Come Look with Me series of children's art books.

Tracing paper can be helpful for a child who wants to copy pictures out of these books- my oldest son recently spent days tracing and freehanding the Mona Lisa. He decided, in the end, that there was a good reason it was one of the most famous pictures in the world!

Used book stores and Barnes & Noble's bargain section are wonderful places to find art books economically. A cheap acrylic or wooden book display that allows a book to be held open is a nice touch, with the book and page changed often. Many libraries have full-sized, framed art prints you can check out for 6 weeks at a time. My husband checks out a diferent print for our home and his office faithfully every month.

None of this promises that your children will become extreme art lovers, prodigy art historians, or draughtsmen of wonder. But it does promise an easy, inexpensive, enjoyable way for your whole family to explore the visual arts.


"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."
~Pablo Picasso

"Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do."
~Edgar Degas


"When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college - that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared at me, incredulous, and said, "You mean they forget?""
~Howard Ikemoto

Learning Centers: Preparing the Banquet

Thou shalt prepare a banquet for me
Amidst them that trouble me...
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

-Psalm 23

This week I am going to take you through my main living area (no, I did not clean it first)

and show you how our learning materials are set up. I am an extremely visual person; if it's outta sight, then it's outta my mind. My children seem to be pretty visual, too. They rarely get bored, and I think the way our toys and materials are set up helps with that. I keep things where we can all see them, which makes things get used a lot more than they would otherwise.

I spread the banquet, but each child fills his or her plate.

(Math shelves: Miquon math workbooks and cuisenaire rods, origami and tangram supplies, rulers and measuring tape, subtraction machine, cuties box of fill-able geometric solids, teaching clock, number balance, pattern blocks. Shelf below holds loops for fingerweaving- yep, that's a math activity! We also have tons of math-ish games like SET, Quirkle, Farkle, Connect 4, etc.)

They way I set up, operate, and record-keep in our homeschool reflects my basic philosophies about education:

"What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child."
~George Bernard Shaw

and

"Children have to be educated, but they have also to be left to educate themselves."
~Abbé Dimnet, Art of Thinking, 1928 (Have you not read this book? It is fantastic!)

and the quotation I intended to put here in the first place:

"Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire."
~William Butler Yeats

(Math shelves on right, history and geography shelves on left. Atlases, history and geography story books/ fun facts books, unbreakable stuffed globe- finest $19 you'll ever spend, unceremonious stacks of random books we've read recently. The Infant of Prague, in appropriate colored vestments, watches over from above.)

Perhaps the most pervasive influence on how we do things around here is Mari Montessori. She was my original inspiration to homeschool. Although I find that many things about a Montessori classroom do not translate well into a home setting (at least not my home), much of her philosophy can be applied to whatever material or situation is at hand.

(Science shelves: my resource books on top shelf, next shelf has picture books, flash cards, bug catcher, leaf press, rock and bark specimens, flashlight, nature journals, next has more books, nature guides, experiment kits- storebought and homemade, next shelf holds fish box- books, models, shells, puzzle, books, magnetic rod with fish magnets, etc, sink or float experiment, lacing cards, next shelf dinosaur and rock collection box, rice play box for toddler.)

My children are not required to work with their 'school things.' They choose them. If Isaiah wants to play math games for days on end, fine. If he wants to draw for a whole week, fine. Over the course of a month or two, like a toddler with his food, I find him to be balanced in his choices.

It's been a long process to let go of the mental picture of more traditional schooling, and it's been quite an effort. But the joy and self-motivation I see in my oldest, at the time when many of his peers are losing these very qualities, is satisfying.

The little booklet I used as an inspiration to gather all our materials together is "How to Set Up Learning Centers in your Home" by Mary Hood, author of "The Relaxed Homeschool." It's available from Rainbow Resource for about $5 and $1.50 shipping. It has checklists of items you could include in your centers.

We also have an art center and a music center, but those are ever changing and never, um, presentable. I am blessed right now to have room for all these centers in my home, but for less visual families with limited space, a (well-organized) tub holding the same sorts of materials could be just as fun and effective.


"Can you do Division? Divide a loaf by a knife - what's the answer to that?"
~Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

Montessori-style Activities

Today I'm going to show you some of our Montessori-style activities. I keep a big tub in a closet and when I come across interesting boottles, boxes, jars, corks, boucy balls, beads, spools... you get the idea- I toss them in there. Then, when I have a chance, maybe once or twice a year, I go through and put together a few new activities.

Most of my ideas are pirated directly from Montessori catalogs/ websites. My favorites are Montessori Services, For Small Hands, and Montessori-n-Such. A good book of super-easy, super-fun ideas is Do Touch: Instant, Easy, Hands-On Learning Experiences for Young Children, and another is Preschooler's Busy Book (See all Crafts for Children Books).

There are many books about Montessori and the Montessori method. Many are stuffy and want to make sure that you walk away feeling that only a professionally trained individual can successfully teach Montessori-style. But many are good. I can't really begin to make recommendations here, though, or this post would never end.

Here's what's important with these activities:
-the child can do them on her own after being shown how;
-the activity has natural control-of-error (i.e. yellow botton in red basket: child sees mistake, or, circle lid doesn't fit on heart box, etc.)
-easily set up and put away by child.

Here's what's important with mom:
-DO NOT interrupt child to point out her mistakes, let her find them herself;
-be willing to help clean up.

These first are from "Do Touch," referred to earlier:

Jumbo craft sticks. Pics 1 & 2 are just matching 2 sticks with same patterns. Pic 3 is a simple puzzle.

Also from "Do Touch," sponge sey cut up. One left whole as a control. These are actually quite difficult to put back together!

Button sorting. 3 peanut butter lids with colored paper glued in, heart container with lid to store buttons in the activity's bag.

Flower beads to sort. Three sizes of flower beads (found these on ebay for $1 and knew Rose would love them), 3 peanut lids, tweezers to pick up the beads for fun, pouch to store beads, all in a baby shoe box.

John Paul at work!

These little number puzzles are part of a huge, overwhelming set and were a gift. I rotate a few at a time into a bag with "jewels" to place on the completed puzzles. The jewels make the puzzles much more fun to do.

Letter puzzles. Were also a gift. 26 puzzles are too much for most preschoolers all at once. So a few with objects to match get rotated for this bag. I love that tiny ball of yarn!

Fruit bead sorting, tweezers missing. Sigh. This idea was stolen from the Montessori-n-Such catalog. Fabric covered cardboard, Cezanne picture glued on, jar lids glued on. I like these beads but this tray isn't used very often. I'd really like to replace it with the M-n-S set, but it's definitely a want and not a need!

Lauri crepe rubber toys. Top pic is puzzles that go in a bag together. Bottom is a sorting toy I found for $1 at a thrift store. Lauri toys are great! They are safe, non-toxic, and your toddler can hurl one across the room and it sticks together! They make some cool, inexpensive puzzles for older kids, too. Most of their toys are available on Amazon.

Feel 'n find. A traditional Montssori game. There are 10 objects in bag 1 and their matches in bag 2. Birthday candles, big screws, marbles, thimbles, small spoons, plastic flowers, you get the idea. Make sure the blindfold is easy to get on and off. I actually did buy this one from Montessori services beacause it was cheap and I was feeling lazy, and it is a really nice blindfold!

More bead sorting. We're kinda heavy on bead sorting these days!

Butterfly toss. Just a target and some plastic butterflies. Less dangerous to your breakables than a bean-bag toss.

Bendaroos shape making. I need a laminator, see my bent control card? This is much tougher than it looks.

Boxes and lids. Really fun for 2 year olds. These boxes are usually $1 each, but stock up when Hobby Lobby puts them 50% off.

Hands down favorite! Opening and closing activity. Random assortment of containers, each requiring a different skill to open. Usually each one has a frog or lizard who lives inside, but I'm down to 2 frogs at the moment. JP gets this out at least 3 times a week, and so did my older kids from about ages 14 months to 3 years. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT put child=proof pill bottles in here. They will figure them out quickly and then you'll have a serious problem on your hands.

Transferring activity. Jars of different objects (with tight screw-on lid!), variety of tongs and spoons to use, 2 pails to transfer to and fro. John Paul likes to pour, which is ok, too.

Some of Rosie's activities in a deep basket which sits on a shelf in the dining room.

OK, friends, I am too tired to photograph my science kits. But you can see them at either catalog website mentioned above. We have a sink or float set and a magnetic/ non-magnetic set, plus a rice play box.

I hope this peek into a selection of our Montessori-style activities inspires you!


"It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself."
~Joyce Maynard


"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you."
~Robert Fulghum

Hi, from the newbie

Hello, new friends! I hope this special day finds you all surrounded with the warmth and comfort of friends and family. I couldn’t think of a better day to join “Growing Your Homeschool.” I am thankful to be a part of this blog, thankful for the gift of home education. And most thankful for the awe-inpiring gift of motherhood. My name is Maureen

and I am a homeschooling mother of 3 delightful little people. (Isaiah almost 8, Rosemary almost 5, And John Paul just-turned-2.)

We live, at least for now, in the wild mountains of northern New Mexico.

When you read what I write, there are a couple things you’ll probably want to keep in mind.

I am not your typical homeschooling mama. I do not promote the use of curricula. I believe that children should be self-motivated, and I really, truly mean that. I mean it NOW, not ten years from now, when they turn 18. I believe that a nurturing environment is an education in itself. I believe academics prepare children for life in one way, but that education for living is a much broader thing, and that is what so many children, even many homeschooled children, are missing today.

I believe that if you don’t like it, change it!

I am always seeking a gentle path, a joyful path. I take education seriously, and I seriously consider the way children *feel* about their learning to be important. I want you to take everything I say with a grain of salt. No, TWO grains of salt. Because I am not the expert on your children.

YOU ARE!

I am really pleased and humbled to be here, sharing with you, walking with you. Thanks for having me! I can’t wait for us to get to know one another.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.


“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”
~Albert Einstein