Saturday, September 13, 2008
Day 3 of Montessori School
We had a GREAT school day on Wednesday! We worked for about 45 minutes. O chose different work today, which was fun. This is what she chose: wooden shape sorter (Melissa and Doug), Mystery Bag, transferring water with a dropper, jars and lids, sound cylinders, phonics bags, sorting colors into cups, and red rods. We had LOTS of fun with the Mystery Bag and the phonics bags. The red rods were the last work, and she carried the 1st one to the rug wonderfully, but then she threw the 2nd one (several times!). I was shocked, but I did not show my shock. I quietly, but firmly had her pick up the red rods, return them to the shelf, turn the shelf around (school was over), and then I took her to time out. O likes time out, so she wasn't upset, but I think she got the point. When I went to her room at the end of time out, she apologized, hugged me, and said she wouldn't be naughty anymore. She wanted to do more "school," but I decided that we were done for the day. I can't wait until school isn't "new" anymore, and she no longer feels the need to "research" the limits!
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Just wondering if you would be willing to share why you have decided to do a 'school at home' time? Are you trying to prepare O for placement at a school in the new future? Or has your philosophy just evolved away from the unschooling leaning you had at the beginning? If you still plan on unschooling in the future, how and when do you think you will transition away from the 'school at home' time you are developing now?
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one with a toddler that works on homeschooling for only about 45 minutes. I was worried that you may have an all day schedule with schooling and I was failing her somehow. In addition to our school time, we have a nature walk in the morning, and craft time in the afternoon. I also try to allow her water play in the tub and to help when she can with cooking (pouring items into a mixing bowl and stiring). My little one is two.
ReplyDeleteilluminated attic- I realized early on that O lost interest in her Montessori materials since they were always accessible on her shelves, and I've always wanted to have a set "school" time, but I just wasn't sure how to do it because we really don't have the space to have a separate school room. Building a shelf that we could have in our den and just turn it around when we weren't using it has been the perfect answer. We still "unschool" as everything you do with a toddler is "unschooling" :) I LOVE the Montessori method, and it is definitely a method that we will stick with in addition to a unschooling. We will never be strict montessorians or unschoolers. We're just doing our own version of things that work for us :)
ReplyDeletethe mommy- 45 minutes is definitely long enough for now :) Its actually hard to even find 45 minutes since there are so many other things to do...nature walks, playing on the beach, playing on her slide and swinging, arts and crafts, learning to ride her tricycle and scooter, taking wagon rides, going for pedal boat rides and kayak rides, storytime at the library, etc. You get my drift :) My main goal is to have fun and to find joy in each day. I want O to love learning and to never feel like it is a drudgery. That's easy now, but it may not last long...
Sounds like fun! I'll have to check out the book you recommended in your previous post!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to share an idea because since reading your blog my mind has been looking at ordinary things so differently. I came up with my own first idea for an activity. AND it's free. Go to the paint section of a store and get the free paint sample papers that have four paint shades on one paper--i.e. ranging from dark orange to pale orange. I picked them up for 6 different colors. Then you can cut the squares out and do the following activities:
ReplyDelete*have child sort by color to make sure they know all the shades of each color (all blues go in blue cup, etc)
* you can match shade to shade which definitely requires differentiation (you'll need two sets of each color)
*have child sequence the colors from light to dark
Thanks for helping me see learning opportunities in simple things!
Just wanted to say hello and that I love what I have read of your blog so far. I came across a link to you this morning at Like Merchant Ships. Look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteLynn
Hi - I just wanted to say how inspiring your blog is to me as the mother of a one year old girl. You always have the best ideas.
ReplyDelete