Montessori Monday~ Getting Ready for Elementary!
Today I spent the day going through all of my Elementary albums and was making a material list! One that that I realized as I went through is the Bunny is WAY behind where the albums put her in the beginning! This make Bunny what the AMI albums call a remedial student. WoW! That sounds so bad doesnt it? Well its not as bad as I thought as I as read on. What we have is that Bunny didnt get through all of the primary albums. Why? Because I didnt know what I was doing, because she wasnt ready, because we started Montessori when she was 4 1/2 and it just isnt enough time! Well, regardless of what you do or dont do, a child is still moving into a new plane of development! She is ready to move on, but she needs more information! So what my albums do is break it down so you can cover the missed materials quickly and in a way that will make more sense in their new plane. What happened in May when we started our summer break was that Bunny hated using the materials. She was board and frustrated with having to move so many pieces each time we did math and things like that. She was done with all the sensory hands on. However, I felt like I needed to keep presenting her with the material that we didn’t get to. She never got through the strip boards or even memorizing any of the facts. Because she has had some reading challenges, we never got into any grammar work or word study. We missed alot! So I was feeling pretty bad as I dug into my new plan, but then I found a plan to make that better! The albums I have show you have to cover the work we missed without using all the materials and going through all the steps that the primary albums do. Whew! I was so excited to see this! Bunny will respond so much better to the simplified presentations and I will be able to make sure we cover the missed materials while still getting into some of the awesome new work too! There is so much wisdom in the remedial plan. Same info, at the child’s pace, but presented in a way that make more sense to them at their plane!
So Now that I have worked out what to do for the missed work, I need to really make sure that I have what I need for the new work! The amount of materials that I need is more then I thought. I need some science stuff like test tubes and microscope. We need math materials like more bead bars, multiplication board, and division materials. We also need some geometry materials! WOW! That is where I can rack up some serious cash! I am hoping that with some research I can find a way to teach the same thing, but with some either homemade materials or repurposed materials. Hmmmm…I will have to keep thinking on that! And finally, it is time for me to really do some music! This is the year that I start the bell work! I think it is something that both girls will be able to use. Pup for sensory work and Bunny for music. Having read all about What DID We Do All Day’s awesome Music Plan I thought that is was something that we could do! So I plan to try and make the bells like she did! Here’s hoping! We are also going to do rather alot of art since it something that is so near and dear to Bunny’s heart! So I plan on doing some artist studies from Adventures of Bear! I also think that we may do some of the Drawing with Children. I also found out that our museum offers free art projects weekly, so I hope we can stop out there too! As for the biology and zoology, I am sure that Bunny’s interest will cover that, so I am not worrying too much about it! So those are my thoughts and plans at the moment! Things always change though, so I will post more when I get it together! I thought I would link this up over with Deb at Living Montessori Now. Now I off to keep shopping! Wish me luck! Happy Schooling!
July 18, 2012 @ 1:31 pm
I LOVE your honesty and enthusiasm. Kind of overwhelming for me at times. WE start homeschooling officially this fall. I am getting certified in Montessori. A lot to take in….thanks for this post!
July 20, 2012 @ 2:53 am
Hi Marnie! I am so excited that you are starting your journey! Its going to be great! I am so glad that you stopped by !If you ever need (or want) to talk Montessori send me a message! I am a bit nerdy like that! 🙂 Happy Schooling!
July 23, 2012 @ 12:17 am
Stephanie,
Great post! And great information on how “remedial” is not a *bad* thing!
Our society gives the word remediation a negative connotation; and I have considered changing the name of it in my albums to only say “bridge” – but I’ve not decided yet. So I’m a mini-campaign to emphasize “Montessori remediation = bridge” from one plane of development to another.
There is so much wonderful elementary work to get into at language and mathematics, and the children’s characteristics have changed to the point that we just need to move on with things. Here are the basic things to assure understanding, covered in a slightly different way from primary; and jump into the fun elementary stuff 😉
You can also begin a good deal of the elementary math along with the remediation – more depending on where the child is with things. Fractions can get started, along with introducing the wooden hierarchical material.
And geometry is FUN. The wooden sticks are SO worth it. After years of using laminated cardstock, and finally have wood…. get the wood if you can! That material will be your main-stay in geometry; along with the solids and keeping some of the primary material.
And you can always pass it along to someone else when you’re done! 🙂
July 23, 2012 @ 2:28 am
Hi Jessica! Thanks so much for the tips! The geometry stickes were a work I was still thinking about , but I think I will get them! The wooden hierarchical material is a bit out of my budget right now and I am trying to figure out another good way to either make it or something that will work for it.
I love your idea of calling the remedial work Bridge work. It takes so much of the negative out the idea. I loved that there was a faster easier way to get Bunny to learn the material that she needs to. She was honestly ready to start remeidal work back in May and Had I know about it, I would have been all over it! When we stopped schooling for the summer, it was because she was so frustrated with using all the materials that I kept asking her to work with. She was done trying to move all the pieces and wanted to just know it! Today I started remeidal math and it went like a charm! She was happy to learn again! Thanks for your support!
July 23, 2012 @ 1:53 am
I love reading about your elementary preparations, Stephanie! It is definitely a transition, and it’s wonderful you have some great guidance. Thanks for linking up with Montessori Monday. I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page and added your elementary category posts to my Montessori Elementary Homeschool Inspiration and Ideas post at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/04/12/montessori-elementary-homeschool-inspiration-and-ideas/
July 23, 2012 @ 2:30 am
Thanks so much Deb! Part of me was so sad to move on, but it turns out that I am super excited and I think that Bunny will be too! Thanks for sharing my ideas! Your resources are priceless!