Posted by admin on Jan 5, 2009 in
Homeschooling Well, we are back to doing homeschool work again much to the dismay of my kids! They were happy to have some friends over today – so, that made the day more bearable….
Today I want to share a great resource I just got in my email. Micki over at Senari has a new section (New to me anyway!) that she offers monthly freebies on. It’s in the “Teaching Tips” section. For January she has freebie bingo games for Rhode Island, Maryland, Louisiana, California and Nevada. There is also a state outline bingo. The games are detailed and great for older elementary /middle school.
There are language arts resources and Catholic education resources as well. From her email “January features the Sentence Board, a reference tool, practice lessons and manipulatives for the Noun-Verb Pattern. The lessons and manipulative integrate Catholic/Christian sentences, and they are in Word format so you can enter your own sentences if you wish.”
These are all great resources for those of us that take a Montessori approach! (Other eclectic homeschool families may find them equally useful. Montessori uses a sentence diagramming type approach – jut colored coded and easy for the student to comprehend!)
Tags: Montessori
Posted by admin on Oct 25, 2008 in
Homeschooling 
In 2004 FAO Schwarz started selling this fabulous world map that I drooled over for months. I kept thinking it would be perfect for homeschooling, plus, it was in all the right Montessori colors! But, I didn’t have an extra $300 and decided if I wanted one I’d just have to make it. So, I did. Since then versions have shown up at other stores such as Pottery Barn Kids, Montessori-n-Such, etc. The price has stayed at around $200, but I was able to make mine for under $15 (Plus several hours work!) Mine is a bit smaller, doesn’t hang on the wall and has flat labels – but, it is a great version for a much lower price! Read more…
Tags: geography, Homeschooling, Montessori
Posted by admin on Oct 24, 2008 in
Homeschooling 
In last night’s post I mentioned The Game of the Changing Paper that Albanesi Montessori sells. Today, I came up with my own version. (Probably similar to Albanesi’s, but different since I have never seen anything but the one page of the activity Albanesi has on the website.)
In my version there are 12 sheets of square 5.5 paper. You print & cut these out. (or use scrapbook paper in the place of the printed paper.) There are also 3 files that include article – adjective strips and noun lables that all say “paper” and a template that the strips fit onto. This provides somewhat an error of control since the lables are different sizes. You can download my version here. FILE 1 ——–FILE 2——–FILE 3——–FIle 4
Tags: Homeschooling, Language Arts, Montessori
Posted by admin on Oct 23, 2008 in
Homeschooling 
For grammar this year we are using the Montessori manuals from Montessori Research and Development. It’s an amazing way to teach grammar – very hands on – but, requires some work from the parent to make the cards. (Find a friend who is interested in using the manuals and share the work!) The teacher presents the lessons in the Montessori fashion and then the students use the materials (cards, solid and wooden grammar symbols, small objects) to make sentences etc. and then records them in a language notebook. (No fill in the blank activities, no worksheets) I was browsing though some Montessori websites and saw a really neat idea at Albanesi Montessori - Montessori Adjective Strip of Paper. They only show 1example – so, I took the idea and made my own. I only had room for 8 adjectives as opposed to the 10 spaces they have. Other than that I pretty much copied their format. So, it’s not an original idea, but since I haven’t seen their other 9 pages mine are probably somewhat different. I also like their Adjective Game of the Changing Paper and will probably try to recreate a version of that as well. Click here to download the zip file with all 11 Adjective Papers.
Tags: Homeschooling, Language Arts, Montessori
Posted by admin on Oct 7, 2008 in
Homeschooling 
Mikah uses Singapore Math and has for the past year. (She has completed 1A-2A so far and is very close to completing 2B. We use the Primary Math US Edition) We started off with Shiller Math and it’s great - (wonderful manipluatives, a huge selling point, in my opinion) – but we needed a more workbook approach because she just wasn’t “getting it” once we moved from manipulatives to the paper. (I think Shiller now sells a workbook, fyi) She still sometimes struggles with math on worksheets – so, I try to use a lot of manipulatives to help give her more concrete examples. (although I am not a worksheet mom, math is one area where you have to be able to write your answer down and show how you got it.) We also read Living Math books to help her apply what she learns to the real world.
Read more…
Tags: Homeschooling, math, Montessori
Posted by admin on Sep 26, 2008 in
Homeschooling 
Mikah’s “Rain Cloud in a Jar”
(Shows how the water cycle works- evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection) Place about an inch of hot water in the bottom of a jar. On the top of the jar place a baggie filled with ice. The baggie acts like a rain cloud, the water at the bottom of the jar is a lake. Kidzone has some coloring sheets for younger kids about the water cycle. Heads up – The web page has some reference to evolution but the coloring sheets don’t.
This week we continued working on Weather in Mikah’s science curriculum. Today, we went back and reviewed cloud formation and types. I decided I want her to do a bit more in that area this upcoming week. Therefore, I searched online for materials about clouds. (We continue to enjoy our curriculum… I like the CM & notebooking approach, and am not a fan of worksheets. However, I want to add a little more structure than open end notebooking “What I learned today.” I also think it’s important to teach data collection at an early age.)
Read more…
Tags: freebies, Homeschooling, lapbooking, Montessori, notebooking, physical science, science, weather
Posted by admin on Jul 15, 2008 in
Homeschooling Both of my kids are beyond the level of these, but they came to my attention from a Montessori email list I subscribe to. I use Montessori philosophies with both of my kids but as they get older less and less of the actual materials. At any rate, I wish these had been around about 5 years ago! These videos are well done and easy to understand. They make working with and understanding the materials easier. I will list them in sections with a link to each.
Preschool Language Activities in Montessori
Preschool Montessori Activities
Montessori Methods & Activities
Montessori Math Methods
Montessori Counting Methods
Montessori Language Activities
Montessori Sensory Activities
Montessori Visual Activities
Tags: Homeschooling, Language Arts, math, Montessori
