Sometimes inspiration strikes us at unlikely times. Trevor Eissler, Montessori parent and the author of Montessori Madness, was watching the Super Bowl this past February when an idea hit. Why not have a Super Bowl ad to promote Montessori?
If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you’ll know that one thing I love about Montessori is how we use small objects to enliven our materials.
There are some great ways to use objects, especially in the Language area, so I had some fun today taking pictures for all of you. Hopefully you’ll find a few new ideas here.
As with many curricular areas, geometry in Montessori is quite different than it is in traditional education. Almost all of the study is hands-on, using wooden shapes and nomenclature cards to teach geometric concepts.
This is very important when it comes to geometry, as research shows that it takes children a long time to be able to picture shapes correctly in their minds, and even longer to be able to mentally “rotate” them. Working with them in a hands-on manner helps immensely.
I’ve been wanting to do this post for awhile, since so many of you ask me about how to organize materials – both behind-the-scenes and in your classrooms. I’m going to share some of my favorite ways of organizing and storing materials, and hopefully you’ll come away with some new ideas (and of course, share your own!)
One of the neat things about Montessori is how “customizable” it is. I doubt that any two Montessori classrooms anywhere are identical – not only do the materials and the set-up vary, but the way everything is done can differ greatly. This can be a negative, too, but right now I want to focus on the positive aspects of it.
When I was knee-deep in the Montessori training (you know, making materials day and night, talking non-stop about Montessori theory), I asked my husband this question: “What do you really think of the Montessori method? Is it a viable way to teach children?” I figured by then he had heard enough to form some kind of opinion. His response: “It really depends on the person doing it.”
The wide range of glorious Montessori materials is one of the best things about the Montessori method, but putting it all together in a classroom so that everything is neatly arranged (and easy to find) is a challenge.
I often get questions from both parents and teachers on how to arrange a classroom, and I’ve blogged about it quite a bit, but the posts are spread around so I’m going to bring them together in one giant post.
As many of you know, this past fall my husband and our two children and I moved to a new house. We had lived in our previous house for 10 years, and while it was a lovely house, we felt that with homeschooling and a home-based business, we needed more room.
One thing we were looking for was a basement that could be a combination classroom/playroom for the children. The house we chose not only had a spacious basement, but it was a walkout with sliding glass doors leading to our backyard and a large picture window (lots of natural light!)
Yesterday I was surfing the internet when I happened upon the website of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. If you’re not familiar with it, Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft) and his wife, Melinda, run a charitable foundation that funds projects all over the world, including those that combat poverty and disease.
Here we are at the end of our giveaways for December, thanks to Alison’s Montessori (with a little help from me!) I have enjoyed all your comments so much.
This week’s winner is…
*************This giveaway is now closed!**************
Welcome to the last giveaway between Montessori for Everyone and Alison’s Montessori! I hope you’ve been enjoying the contests, especially all the great comments that have been left.
This week’s giveaway is our grandest! The winner of this giveaway receives a $50 gift certificate from Montessori for Everyone and a lovely weaving loom from Alison’s Montessori!
Check out our free Montessori materials!
