montessori, sound pouches, doman knowledge & readings

& so i've finally finished the sound pouches. i got my inspiration from here and here. i got lucky and found the cosmetics bags at Target back in June that were on 75% off! so i got 4 for $1!! i got 23 total from 2 stores. so i have a through w as individual pouches and xyz are lumped together in a felt pail that my noori got from her pre-k treasure box at her school. for the letters, Target has cardboard lower case letters for scrapbooking at their $1 section and i got the pink and blue thinking i might use them as moveable alphabets when needed. instead i used the pink ones for the front since the main body of the pouch is aqua blue! i think they look pretty cool!! as far as the objects go, i had so much fun collecting all the small objects (at first i was searching the internet (lakeshore learning, etc.) for these objects but they are a bit pricey..then i just started picking up the girls toys and just simple things around the house...and before i knew it i was playing treasure hunt for the sound pouches)... i'll post pics tomorrow.

my sis asked me today that she'd really like to know how parents who have montessoried their child(ren) at home feel that their children have faired compare to other kids their age? do they feel the kids have an advantage somehow? she feels that the amount of work involved in preparing and presenting things to the kids is horribly too much and overwhelming... i really couldn't answer for others and it got me thinking of my own pursuit of montessori at home...

i have spent considerable amount of time and energy in trying to read and read and read and understand as much of montessori as i can (i have not read MM's own writings as they r pretty serious and heavy readings and my brain is not focusing on anything intense these past few years... aftermaths of pregnancies and nursing??).. additionally, i've dabbled into Charlotte Mason, Thomas Jefferson, Glenn Doman, and more recently Reggio Amelia (i might look into Waldorf next..)... But as far as actually putting into practice any of these, i have failed miserably as i've missed several windows of opportunities for my older dd and now my second dd. I have purchased from a former Doman parent, a set of knowledge BITS, plus books that the mom had done with her son. I did some birds with my kiddos when i recieved them earlier this year, but they are still nicely packed up in boxes...waiting for the day when i will actually use them....

overwhelmed and not getting anywhere

ok. so i've been trying to get something done since i posted last about the Move over, rover project. but sadly, i've gone only as far as finally laminating (actually contact type paper i got from 99cent store) all the pics from the book and typing the words out.

now, i'm thinking i'll breakdown the stuff i need to do into each day's target and see if i get anywhere...babysteps.

my major goals as far as homeschooling goes are:
1. get my area defined & organized for Montessori space, and add other things (like encyclopedia bits, word cards, and arts materials) as i want to use them.
2. have a master plan for each month for the subjects i want to cover in general
3.

preschool activities websites

great coloring pages collection www.coloring.ws
www.dltk-kids.com
www.kidzone.ws
bird coloring pages
www.liketocolor.com
based on subscription but free downloadables available www.enchantedlearning.com
free printable coloring pages www.thecoloringspot.com
great source of poems www.surlalunefairytales.com
another source of printables www.first-school.ws

some other links

i just found another link i really like.. it was from a long time ago and it could've been from my surfing the net late at nite or from another mom's blog... but nevertheless, i like the suggestions given here..

Ideas from moms-Preschool activities
Homeschooling 3- & 4-yos

potty training adventures

Started potty training as soon as we purchased the tickets for pakistan... so far have had quite a few accidents. i thought this missy would get it faster than aapi but it seems to be going a bit slower.. could be 'cuz i put diaper on her almost everyday when we are going out. i haven't limited my outside time 'cuz it's summer and the days are lonnng and i have a tough time entertaining them after their nap (around 3-4pm) and before dh comes home (between 9:30 (on good days) - 10pm)...

anyhow, she has consistently done #2 in her underpants or diapers. she doesn't tell me until after she's done. at the beginning (last week) i questioned her as to why she doesn't tell me about #1 and her answer was, "it coming too fast mama!" bless her tiny heart! May Allah protect them from all that is evil, or remotely evil.

i found a link where this lady calls herself the "potty whisperer"...she trains 2-3 yos how to do potty. basic premise is that you tell the kids they are responsible for their own potty. when it comes, they run and do it. if accidents happen, they clean it up. Now, my question is how on earth do they clean the carpet? and how do you enforce it when they do not want to do it? and if they do #2 on the floor or in the underpants, especially on carpet? hmmm.. i'm sure if i ponder long enuf, i would be able to find some solution to this.. but the brain is on snooze and it's easier to just mechanically clean up myself than have patience to teach her to... how sad is that? if i just change my attitude to "wow, how exciting that my baby is learning this very mature phase and i'm honored by my Lord to be a part of the whole thing, all the ups and the not-so-ups"..

Move Over, Rover

So, we signed up finally for the summer reading program at our local library and among the "new" books they had for the preschoolers was Move Over, Rover by Karen Beaumont. The girls have fallen madly in love with this book. We read it at least 3 time the first day and thereafter, they have gone through the book together and individually several times. The storyline is great and the illustrations are beautiful. It's funny how much we missed when we first read the book. We didn't notice the details about other animals until after we discovered the skunk! and that is when we started noticing all the different details we completely overlooked. Sooo, i was thinking i'll plunk right in and do some fun stuff with the girls this week based on this book. Here are some ideas I was thinking about:

1. Make a feltboard story with pics of all animals and a doghouse cut out of paper and with sandpaper glued to the back.
2. Concept of size- line up animals from smallest to largest (where would the snake go??)
3. Story sequence cards (i need to figure out how to do this)
4. Words of the week (animals, action words (loved the vocab), weather (sunny, rainy)
5. Color the animals (find some pics from the several great preschool websites)
6. Collage- cut animal pictures from magazines, paste on construction paper, and put craft sticks around to resemble a doghouse- can be decorated with other materials or pictures
7. 3-part cards (i still haven't really made any yet..)
8. Play game- Red Rover, Red Rover... another twist i read to this game was each kid having a shape, or a color, etc. and calling that instead of the person.
9. Beeba loves the Brown Bear what do you see?... so we'll play that with each animal looking at the next animal coming inside the doghouse
   
10. Math concepts i can think of that'll be covered i think: -how many animals total, how many with each addition (addition), size, and sequence

that's all the things that came to mind so far... now i need to get moving on making and organizing the stuff!

Here is a link i found dealing with the book: Speech_sounds_v

carrot seed lapbook example

The girls love the Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. I just came across this website where a mom did a lapbook for it...I've got to try it...

Carrots in my lap

I got the link to this site from Shannon's Sharing website.. i luv browsing her blog.

good summary of a montessori curriculum

A Well-Rounded Montessori Curriculum

An ideal curriculum for children under six provides a good balance between physical activities and projects that require sitting down and working.

For those of you have not seen our earlier post from "The Montessori Method," here is the link Montessori Schedule.

Here are some tips for home and school:

1. Include three to four physical activity times per day. These activities can include group games, outdoor play, and anything else that lets children run and be active.

2. Make available equipment and instruction for all areas of classroom education including language, art, math, practical life, sensorial, geography, foreign language, music, and nature (botany, biology, zoology). Children will not usually develop at the same speed in all areas.

3. Focus on material that involves touching, manipulation, fine and/or gross motor skills, and hand-eye coordination.

4. Create child-sized equipment, shelves, and quiet areas for work. Present a new exercise several times a week in general.

5. Leave your child alone to work. Avoid the temptation to go and "check on him or her" unless your child asks your for assistance or wants to show you what he or she is doing. A lot of parents and teachers meddle out of habit, not necessity.

a. In teacher training, we observe other trainees and comment, critique, and use feedback to develop teaching skills. You can do this at home by video taping your classroom area and watching yourself at the end of the day. Or ask a friend or older child to watch you and take notes. Try to learn how to step back and observe yourself, too! It can be pretty tough to do, but it is a great way to learn.

b. Young children can focus on projects for a very long time. Let them do it! Even if you would prefer to steer your child away from drawing and towards a reading activity, stop yourself from doing it.

c. Look at your child's schedule and work activities over a one week or one month period. Your child doesn't necessarily need a balanced work day on a 24 hour basis. If you look at a longer period, you can introduce new activities in the areas in which you want your child to spend more time. For example, if you want your child to do more math, instead of talking about it, make a note to yourself to introduce a new and appealing math activity the next morning.

d. No talk about "bad at math" or "not good at reading" or anything else. Your child is too young to have preferences, anyhow. If a subject is not appealing, you can probably fix it by changing or improving your presentation. If you hit a subject area that you are not comfortable presenting (e.g. you are a tone deaf math professor and you want to teach your child to play the recorder), enlist a friend, hire a tutor, or buy an instructional DVD! You can share the lesson with your child and learn together, too!

Remember that areas of the curriculum such as personal care (bathing, tooth brushing, etc) area equally as important for development as math and reading, even if they seem less exciting!

Posted by Montessori House at 12:08 AM September 2007-12-22

sampling of a classroom schedule for a children's house..

Friday, April 20, 2007

Montessori Classroom Schedule...From "The Montessori Method" Publication

This is a long quote from Maria Montessori herself in her 1912 publication, The Montessori Method. You will see our notes after certain particularly poignant sections. We wanted to post this to give everyone a bit of the flavor of Maria Montessori's thought on the subject of sitting down and "working" versus social interaction and physical play.

"Opening at Nine O'clock–Closing at Four O'clock

9-10. Entrance. Greeting. (...)Exercises of practical life; helping one another to take off and put on the aprons. Going over the room to see that everything is dusted and in order. Language: Conversation period: Children give an account of the events of the day before. Religious exercises.

10-11. Intellectual exercises. Objective lessons interrupted by short rest periods. Nomenclature, Sense exercises.

11-11:30. Simple gymnastics: Ordinary movements done gracefully, normal position of the body, walking, marching in line, salutations, movements for attention, placing of objects gracefully.

11:30-12. Luncheon: Short prayer (blogging note -- remember prayer was part of life in Montessori's time).

12-1. Free games.

1-2. Directed games, if possible, in the open air. During this period the older children in turn go through with the exercises of practical life, cleaning the room, dusting, putting the material in order. General inspection for cleanliness: Conversation. [Page 120]

2-3. Manual work. Clay modelling, design, etc.

3-4. Collective gymnastics and songs, if possible in the open air. Exercises to develop forethought: Visiting, and caring for, the plants and animals.

(blogging note: from 11am to 4pm, the children have been engaged in non-classroom exercises! notice the attention open air, plants, and animals in an interactive setting with other children).

As soon as a school is established, the question of schedule arises. This must be considered from two points of view; the length of the school-day and the distribution of study and of the activities of life."

my own ideas about tarbiyya, education, homeschooling

this is an ongoing list of things as they come to me:

10/7/07

• my accountability is to Allah. Raising children, taking care of myself and husband…
• how do I set up our education system in the house to make sure that the children will be prepared to follow the fiqh of each of our basic responsibilities? I’m still struggling with several questions regarding salat, zakat, and saum…then there is the marriage issue..
• how do I keep myself motivated to report back to Allah at each salat???
• My own study of the deen….i need to make this as much a top priority as the kids education and raising them….
• Renew my relationship with Allah every single day…..
  

5/15/10
what should children learn?..good list

• 
  

Reggio related websites

So now i will try to put together a list for the Reggio list or similar:

Scrapperlicious (documentation)
Camp Creek Blog (artful parent's resources)
Learning (general stuff- About libby..)
The Living Classroom (100 languages of children)
The Urban Preschool (not necessarily reggio but similar approach)

not much i could find...will update as i find them...

Montessori blogs

Here is a list of the Montessori Blogs I enjoy reading and using as my Montessori sources. The list will be updated on a regular basis, God willing. I will finally organize my misc. bookmarks in one place (educational related). Next on list: Reggio Emilia blogs

Shannon's Sharing
Sew Librated
Chasing Cheerios
Good Tree Montessori
Mommybahn
Montessori mama
Montessorifreefall
The moveable alphabet
Our homeschool
Peacefulmann
Rowdy pea
a bit of this and a bit of that
Montessori at home
Lisia's montessori homeschool
Joy of learning
a garden of roses and lilies
montessori by hand
mama says
jojoebi's flicker
confessions of a montessori mom

reliance of a traveler

Bismillah - starting my journey as a homeschooling mom to my amana (trusts) from my Lord. I know this will be a challenging endeavor requiring my utmost sabr (patience), tawakul (reliance) on Him, tazkiyatun nafs (purification of my soul) as each day unfolds