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

Saturday 4 April 2015

Introducing Montessori to our homeschool / Inviation to play & create..


I'm Back....... again! dont know how many times I'm going to say that lol, will I ever be consistent with this blog? maybe not, oh well just popping in to give an update on whats been happening with us. My two girls are back in the learning centre they used to attend, they were missing their friends alot so decided it was probably best for them in that sense, they're doing ok alhamdulillah. My eldest son is now on InterHigh maybe only until the summer, but we're thinking of maybe having him continue his learning on there, not sure yet though. 

 I did mention in one of my previous posts that I was becoming more interested in Montessori, especially for my 1 year old daughter, I've set up a shelf for her toys now, it's from Ikea, at the moment she likes to come along and knock the odd toy on the floor, some she will spend a little time with but I'm hoping as she gets bigger she'll start interacting more with them God willing ! (Excuse the grubby walls behind, well overdue for a re-paint!)



 I recently bought the book 'How to raise an amazing child the Montessori way' , it's a good read and packed full of inspiration and beautiful pictures. It's helped me to understand a bit more about how to observe the child and what to look for. I've also ordered a montessori album to give me some guidance on what kinds of activities to do with her and in what order, theres so much on pinterest but I'm the kind of person who benefits from a visual plan, telling me what to do and when! I think that's why I like The well trained mind so much :)

I've signed up for The Keys Of the universe elementary montessori albums for my 7yo, just printed it all out, there's alot of theory to read to start with to understand how it all works and then bit by bit will get started with some lessons. I will continue to use alot of the resources recommended by The well trained mind, I'm going to try and merge them somewhat together if I can, I'm always open to using something in my kids education which will be useful, so don't think I'm going to be stuck exclusively to one way, not for now anyway, will see how it all pans out though, God willing.  

At the end of last year I set up an invitation to play/create for my 7yo and 11yo, using natural materials from the house and garden and play dough, they absolutely loved it alhamdulillah and it was fascinating to see them get so creative with what I laid out for them. Definitely want to set another one  up for them soon iA.