After six weeks of our new school routine, I finally feel like maybe we are hitting a stride with this homeschool, distance learning thing. I still don't feel like I know what I'm doing here, but we are seeing growth and I think that is really fun. I have never really felt a calling to homeschool, but I can definitely see some huge perks. I'm grateful for this extra time with my kids and a crash course in the details of Montessori elementary curriculum.
I thought I would just share some random things that my kids have been up to lately while homeschooling. As a reminder, Nora is 6 and in her first year of lower elementary. Her school is completely distance learning right now so her work is influenced by her school. Henry is 9 and in his first year of upper elementary. He is neurodiverse and follows his own path to learning. He is homeschooling but also has some contact with his normal school.
1. So much great lesson work! This is our DIY solar system back in action!
2. Moveable alphabet and reading cards
3. Combining so many fun math materials (geometric sticks, fraction circles, stamp game, and checkerboard) to talk about angles! He discovered why do we call a right angle 90 degrees, and went on to find 180, 270 and 360. This was so fun to watch.
4. I joined in the fun for making some painted charts explaining the layers of the atmosphere - this was more follow up from our great lesson study.
5. We've been doing lots of language analysis with picture books. Henry gets a picture book, then lists parts of speech he finds, then we chart them out. A dry erase board with a graph has been one of our most used tools. I think in this picture he was sorting types of nouns (proper, abstract, singular, plural, collective) in a couple of our regular picture books.
6. Math facts! Nora practices her addition math facts with the addition strip board.
8. Large digit subtraction problems, number line for help
9. So many fun patterns and geometric exploration with the stick material!
Use these ideas as inspiration but not as some sort of curriculum or guide. Remember that every child in a Montessori classroom will have 3 years in that space. Every child will have the opportunity to explore so many interests, dive in deeply, and hopefully find their own path toward a deeper understanding.
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