Virtual Montessori

I mentioned the other day that Cherub is having a lot of fun with Montessori iPad apps. I love the idea of Montessori education for young children, but have never quite been able to justify the expense of buying the classic Montessori materials. Looking for apps that Cherub might enjoy I stumbled across a Montessori style hundred board - designed to look like the real thing, but you touch the numbers to move them to the board instead of picking them up. From the hundred board we moved onto geography - continents, countries of the United Kingdom, and now (big hit!) flags.

All the apps we have tried so far come from one developer, Rantek, which turns out to be a family business led by an experienced Montessori teacher. Their website, Mobile Montessori, explains their thinking about translating the tactile Montessori material into touchscreen apps:

At first, the idea of using a digital device to reproduce the Montessori concepts seemed like a conflict of interest! After all, without the concrete experiences of touching and holding the various Montessori materials, could children really learn from these activities? Our concensus was, these iPad and iPhone applications could never become replacements of the physical materials, however, for children enrolled in the Montessori curriculum, they could provide a supplement to their education, and for children who do not have the opportunity to attend Montessori school, a partial introduction and exposure to this time tested method of educating. Activities, such as the Hundred Board, helping children with their counting from 1 to 100, seemed like perfect activities to translate into applications for the iPad. Our goal was to create exact replicas of the physical materials in the app itself. We were very pleased with the final product and, to our pleasant surprise, so were our customers!

And yes, pleased customer here. Montessori translates to iPad better than I would have expected, I think because it is still tactile in its own way. It also retains the independent exploration, with its own built in control (touch the wrong thing and it won't work!). I can't see a way to rotate this screen shot on the iPad but it gives the idea - touch the red button to hear the country name, and the green button to be shown the location. Once the child is familiar with the flags and countries they move on to placing them on the map themselves - Cherub is a long way off that, but seems fascinated by the flags.




Next up I think we will be exploring the moveable alphabet and the geometric cabinet. I have also downloaded another Montessori app from a different developer, Montessori Place Value from Montessori Tech, but haven't shown it to Cherub yet.

Spooning and Pegging

Over the last week I have dipped a toe into Montessori with Cherub, offering her a couple of simple activities from Teach Me To Do It Myself.

We started with spooning rice. I already had the small Pyrex bowls, and picked up the small tray from IKEA last week - the only trays I had were too large for Cherub to carry comfortably. I would have liked a less distracting plain tray, but this swirly pattern was all I could find. She spooned the rice happily from one bowl to the other several times before she lost interest, with very little spillage. There was a bit of enthusiastic stirring in there too!


The next day we moved onto using clothes pegs. I put a couple of dozen into a small square basket and showed her how to clip them onto the edge of the basket, and then when they were all done, how to take them off and put them back into the basket. Again, she repeated the activity several times. After a couple of times she decided off her own bat to sort the colours as she pegged, so two activities for the price of one ... sorting and fine manipulation.


Yesterday, I put both activities out so she could choose for herself, and she happily did both until we ran out of time. I don't have anywhere I can leave Montessori activities out permanently, so I'm just going to set them out temporarily on the shelf where I normally keep her toy baskets when we want to use them. I'm planning to add a sensorial activity next (rough and smooth sandpaper), and then a couple of mathematical activities as she is very into counting. I'm thinking it should work to have four or five activities available and rotate them out as she loses interest.

Book Review: Teach Me To Do It Myself

Teach Me To Do It Myself: Montessori Activities For You and Your Child, by Maja Pitamic, published by Dorling Kindersley. (I think it has been republished under another title - I Can Do It: Play-and-Learn Activities to Help Your Child Discover the World the Montessori Way)

If you want Montessori for Dummies, this book is for you. If you want educational theory, lots of information about Maria Montessori and her philosophy, and the whole Montessori caboodle then it isn't. Teach Me Do It Myself has a limited remit, but what it does it does very well indeed.

The book has a simple format. It is a collection of activities to do with your child, divided into five sections: Life Skills, Developing the Senses, Language Development, Numeracy Skills, and Science Skills. I have read enough about Montessori to see that the activites are all based on the standard Montessori sequence, but the author uses layman's language rather than Montessori terms ("life skills" instead of practical life, "graduated building blocks" rather than pink tower). It completely removes the whole Montessori mystique and what is left is clear, simple and looks very do-able. At the beginning there is a brief (very brief!) introduction to Maria Montessori and her method, a double-page, bullet-pointed list of instructions as to how to use the book, and a set of frequently asked questions. After that you simply get on and do it.

Within each section the activities are presented in sequence of difficulty, and each activity ends with some extension ideas. Almost all the activities in the book can be put together using items you are likely to have at home without requiring a great deal of preparation time. A few worksheets are included at the back of the book so that you can make simple manipulatives, including a very basic set of red and blue number rods using thick card.

Each activity is set out in the same clear and simple format:

• A brief introduction explaining what skill the activity is intended to teach or develop
• A "tip box" with suggestions on how best to present the activity
• A list of what is needed for the activity
• Simple bullet pointed instructions on how to present the activity.
  
• Other related activities to try

The activities are suitable for children from age two or three up to five. The author avoids giving age suggestions for individual activities so that children can progress at their own pace.

I have toyed with the idea of using Montessori at various times and did dabble a little when Angel was young, but I soon gave up because I couldn't justify buying lots of expensive Montessori items and doing it myself just seemed too overwhelming (I think I gave up making sandpaper letters somewhere around F!). This book makes the idea of dipping a toe into Montessori seem both attractive and manageable. After the Easter break I am going to try a few of the activities with Cherub and see how it goes.

Stations of the Cross: Three Part Cards

I made a set of Montessori style three part cards for the Stations of the Cross to go along with the Rosary cards I made last year.

You can download them as a .pdf file here.

Early years education

I am still pondering the shape I would like Little Cherub's early learning years to take. (What fun to have so long to ponder ... I can change my mind lots of times ... just think of all those plans I can make and discard.)

I have been reading Montessori books, and trying to work out what would work for me and what would not. I think taking some Montessori ideas would be good, but that diving right into Montessori is not a viable option for practical reasons - investing in "proper" Montessori materials for one child would be too expensive, physically it simply isn't possible to provide a Montessori environment (not enough space, too much clutter), and I think Montessori ideally needs a small group, or at least a couple of siblings. There are aspects of Montessori I think would suit us, though - practical life activities, some of the easier sensorial materials, the whole-to-parts approach to geography and history, and possibly the bead materials for maths.

Over the past few days I have been reading a lengthy thread about Waldorf-inspired education on the 4 Real boards. This has brought into focus the overall shape I would like our days to take - kind of Waldorf-ish in following daily and seasonal rhythms, and with a greater emphasis on art and crafts than I had with the older two. Waldorf in its entirety does not appeal to me - all that anthroposophy is a turn off, and while I like fairy tales it has too much in the way of fairies and gnomes for my taste - but the rhythm and art aspects do.

Next stop in my ponderings is Charlotte Mason. I want to re-read her ideas on early education in the light of the reading I have done on Montessori and Waldorf.

Rosary Three-Part Cards

I have been gathering things to put into the Faith Boxes I want to make for Little Cherub. I started downloading pictures of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary for Advent and Christmas, and ended up making an entire set of Montessori-style three-part cards for all twenty Mysteries. For now I will just put copies in the boxes as pictures to look at - though I am beginning to wonder whether I should extend the boxes for Star and include the full three-part cards now.

You can find a beautifully clear description of how to use three-part cards over at the Onion Dome, where Katherine has made available cards illustrating the Great Feasts of the Orthodox liturgical year and icons of North American saints.

If you would like to download copies of the Rosary cards, you can find them as a .pdf file here (if I have done the technical stuff right!)

Montessori inspiration

... from the Onion Dome.

If you are at all interested in Montessori education at home, don't miss reading about how rich, varied and beautiful it can be. And if you have not already seen it, make sure you also take a look Katherine's learning room.

Love or convenience?

From The Secret of Childhood by Maria Montessori

When the child goes to bed in the evening he calls the loved person and begs him not to go away. When we go in to dinner the tiny child that still feeds at his mother's breast would like to come with us, to stay near to watch us, not to eat. The adult passes by this mystical love without perceiving it. But the little one who so loves us will grow up, will vanish. And who will ever love us as he does? Who else will ever summon us on going to bed, saying, "Stay with me"? When the child is grown, he will say an indifferent "Good night". Who then will be eager just to watch us while we eat, though he eats nothing? We defend ourselves against this love that will pass away, and we shall never find anything to equal it. We in our turmoil say, "I haven't time, I can't, I have a lot to do," and we think in our hearts, "The child must be taught better, or he will make us his slaves." What we want is to be free from him to do what we ourselves like doing, so as not to give up our convenience.

Children Who Are Not Yet Peaceful

When I posted my summer reading list I forgot to add another book I had ordered ... Children Who Are Not Yet Peaceful, by Donna Bryant Goertz. I had seen it recommended on an email list, and when it arrived I wondered how useful it would be. It is essentially a series of case studies of off-the-wall children in a Montessori early elementary classroom (ages 6 to 9). My eccentric, non-peaceful child is nine, the child I am thinking of taking a Montessori approach with is only one, and this is not a classroom situation. Despite my initial reaction I am finding it an interesting and worthwhile read, both for the insight it provides into how a Montessori classroom works, and for illustrations of ways in which difficult behaviour can be handled respectfully.

The first thing to grab me was this statement in the introduction:

Children today respond to the Montessori prepared environment in various ways, just as they did in the early years. Children who are surrounded at home by excess in the way of toys and pampering require greater talent and effort on the part of the teacher over a longer period of time to reach regular, deep, and lengthy engagement ... children who lead less cluttered and indulged lives respond more immediately to the Montessori classroom.

To what extent do my children have cluttered and indulged lives? Are they surrounded by excess? Are they pampered? In some respects I fear the answer is yes.

What do I need to change?

Food for thought.

More Montessori Musings

In my musings about Montessori education one of my concerns was my inability to be a purist about the method. In the light of that I was delighted to read Don't Throw the Baby Out With the Bath Water by Suzanne at Blessed Among Men. She makes a case for Montessori being about principles rather than method, about a way of viewing education rather than a collection of materials. Here is her list of the principles at the heart of a Montessori-style education:

*The freedom of the child
*The absorbent mind and its functioning
*The importance of work: How a child's work differs from that of an adult
*The sensitive periods of development: Child led learning
*The prepared environment
*Spiritual preparation of the teacher
*Poverty of spirit
*The need to protect and shield the child
*The importance of joy in work

I confess that part of the attraction of Montessori for me is the stuff. I like the idea of having lots of manipulatives and activities available. However, I can see I could easily end up obsessing on collecting the right bits and pieces to the detriment of the underlying principles - of putting the bathwater before the baby. I ordered The Secrets of Childhood from the library and collected it yesterday. There should be lots of food for thought there.

Funny ... I intended to make myself a reading list for the summer, but never got round to it. Now it seems to have made itself:

* A People's History of Britain
* In the Steps of St.Paul
* The Secrets of Childhood
* Flatland by Edwin Abbot (a "living geometry" book recommended to me by a friend, also collected from the library yesterday.)

And when I finish those, more H.V.Morton.

Montessori

As I have no homeschooling plans to put together for next year, my mind has turned to Little Cherub. Yes, yes. I know she is only thirteen months old. And I learned a lesson about overdoing early education with my poor experimental first child. But still ...

When Angel was small I dabbled a little with Montessori. Read a couple of books, and started (but never finished) making various manipulatives. I did manage to teach her to put on a coat Montessori-style, but that was about it. Star came along, and somehow time to make materials and prepare an environment went out the window. I discovered literature-based learning and Charlotte Mason and forgot about Montessori.

Recently there has been a lot of talk about Montessori education on the 4 Real Learning boards, and it has inspired me to think about this for Little Cherub. This time round I have time - at least in theory - to prepare Montessori activities (buying anything more than a select few isn't an option), and should also find it easier to create and maintain a suitable environment. Space is an issue, but with some creativity I should be able to manage. If I ever finish decluttering, that is.

There are a number of things that appeal to me ...

• the emphasis on practical life activities and fostering independence. I can see Little Cherub going the same way as her eldest sister ("I do it mine self! I do everything mine self!": Angel, aged 2) and this could help to minimise frustration.
  
• the ordered environment in which everything has its place and in which the child can function freely.
  
• freedom within limits. I like the idea that she can choose which activities to work on so that she can learn at her own pace.
• the materials. Many of them look so appealing and I can see how they would be enjoyable for a child to use while also being educational.
  
• lots of ideas for learning activities, which I hope would mean a child who was busy rather than bored.
  

On the other hand I know I would never be able to be a Montessori purist as I can't resist changing and adapting. Certain aspects do not sit well with me ...

• I understand Montessori discourages imaginative play, and that bothers me.
  
• I wonder how well Montessori would work with just one child. While it would certainly give me time to prepare and present materials, and to observe her needs, I suspect it could become too intense.
  
• My understanding is that Montessori materials are presented in a highly sequential way, and my older girls - Star in particular - have often learned in leaps rather than a steady progression. How would this work with Montessori?
• Is Montessori an all or nothing approach? I know I would end up picking and choosing parts and leaving others, and wonder if this would undermine the whole idea.
  

Lots to think about here, and to plan for. I'm afraid what would be typical of me would be to jump in with enthusiasm, spend a year or so making Montessori materials and then switch directions at the last minute and never use them. Either that or to spend too long thinking and then never put the plans into action. Can I manage a happy medium? Think ... decide ... construct ... implement. Maybe.