Maria Montessori

So, it turns out that just about everybody has an opinion about how children learn. And how they think they learn affects how they think children should be taught. I guess that makes sense. I have a few myself. I think my children have a few ideas of their own as well. Joe's ideas appear to involve not wearing pants. Sigh.

There are a lot of educational philosophies based on one, or a combination of theories by different psychologists and educators. I thought I would start with a fun one: Maria Montessori. Montessori has always fascinated me, although, I have to confess, I do not think I have the discipline to follow it. Plus, I really like just playing and getting messy. I am pretty sure children do, too. At least mine sure seem to.

Maria Montessori (1870-1952) started her school in Italy in 1907. I think of it as the "little adult" method. Yes, this is an extreme over simplification. Since I do not want to blog about just one method for pages and pages, I will summarize a bit, and maybe I will go into some things more later. In a Montessori classroom the teacher directs the activities which are divided into four big areas: daily-living skills, sensorial, academic, and cultural and artistic abilities. The goal of these activities is to build skills and to build the "inner construction of discipline, organization, independence, and self-esteem through concentration on a precise and complete cycle of activity" (Lillard 1972, p.71) Basically, the student chooses from several teacher selected activities that are self-correcting, completes the task, puts it back, selects another one. Obviously a little different depending on the catagory. For a different description of the Montessori method see Wondertime's description here.

I used to be fascinated my the Montessori method. However, it was not my favorite method. More of a "there are some very useful techniques and ideas that could easily be included" method. Don't get me wrong, the children in the classrooms I have visited seemed thrilled. I am just a big fan of opportunities to explore. Here are some things that I take away from Montessori:

1. They can do it. Montessori preschools have child size everything so that children can do everything that they need to. Wash their hands, get and pour themselves a drink, get a toy, put away a toy. Yes, pour the drink. From a child-sized pitcher to a child-sized glass. When I student taught preschool we were encouraged to have the children do as much as they could to put on their own winter gear, for the same reasons I do now, I found that a challenging prospect. It is so much easier to throw a child into the gear myself. However, three children later, I am starting to catch on. It takes a ton of time to get three children ready to go. And just like those preschoolers, my children would prefer I do it as well. However, my same son who insists he is incapable of putting pants on at my request, often shows up wearing different pants when he decided the pants in his drawer were so much cooler than the ones he had on. Bottom line: they can do it. I may have to help with some things, but we can get there. And maybe we start a policy of they try it first. This is not only helpful for me, it is helpful for them. To succeed in a task is pretty thrilling. Just ask my husband how I feel when the kitchen is clean at any given point in the day. :)
2. Do not be afraid to set higher standards. One of the things that fascinates me, is the children are happy. They are doing peaceful activities and they are happy. Not only that, they get out one project, complete it, put it away and find another. This is not like life at my house. Only in my wildest dreams. But I am working to accomplish my dreams. Maybe not that high, but all children are capable of a lot. And maybe when I spend all day seeing the shortcomings (aka sin) it is hard for me to remember that, especially when I miss one child's success because I am dealing with another child's sin, or poop. As a mommy, I am continually working to up the standards. I just occasionally need a little reminder that they can do so much more.
3. There is a sequence in learning. Sounds obvious, right? Well, sometimes I forget. Why is Joe always wearing his underpants backwards? It could be becuase he likes to be able to see Buzz Lightyear, which he clearly cannot do if Buzz is on his butt, or it could be becuase mommy never taught him how to tell the front from the back. Given the number of times all of his clothing ends up backwards, there is a good chance I neglected this skill. We taught getting them on, but I forgot the last part-front and back. This is a poor example, but often I find myself getting frustrated trying to teach something, and realize I forgot a step. I need to back up and start from the beginning. As if they know nothing about folding laundry, much less how to fold a napkin correctly, because they probably do not. I need to teach how to flatten and fold before I can teach how to fold in half once, and then another time and then once more. Take a deep breath and back up.
4. Did I mention they can do it? I think this is one of my favorites. I think I freaked my grandfather out when I let my 18 month son carry glasses to the dishwasher, but he so very much wanted to help, and I reminded him to be careful, and he was only to hand them to the person (his daddy) loading the dishwasher. With the reminder to be very careful, he did a great job!!
   

Before We Begin

I think I might be a bit of a closet nerd. Or maybe not closet. I think this is really cool. I have been reading parenting magazines since I was in highschool. In my defense, I spent a lot of my time helping moms out, and it was helpful information in tiny, well illustrated bits. Nothing heavy, like a textbook. ;) I also find developmental psychology pretty fascinating. I always loved reading about it in the parenting magazines. Even getting to take a whole class on it. Maybe getting to take quiz after quiz on developmental stages in pretty much every class. Well, maybe not that part. Anyway, until becoming a parent, I completely devoured this stuff. Honestly, it can be useful, or at least interesting to notice and identify the stages as they pass by in a blur.

Now that I have my own children, physical and even mental development take a back seat to spiritual development. Yes, I realize that they are all connected. However, I would say that, other than time spent taking care of food and bottoms, most of my time and concern is spent encouraging spiritual development. I include discipline in this category, but cause that is the reason why I discipline. That plus my sanity. All of those weeks and months spent learning the socially acceptable discipline methods are thrown out the window after months of living in the trenches. I have come to the conclusion that discipline feels like a battle sometimes because IT IS A BATTLE. The most important battle I will ever fight. It is the battle for my children's souls. There are a few implications here. The first and most important one, is, not to sound cliched, but this is a battle that must be won on my knees in prayer before it will be won anywhere else. And here is the hard part, what does God say about discipline. Well, lots. But as with most things, He did not include a detailed handbook. (Oh, I really wish there was one for potty training.)

Ginger Plowman's book, "Don't Make Me Count to Three": A Mom's Look at Heart-Oriented Discipline is such a wondeful resource. One of my friend's responses to this book was "Where has this book been and why didn't someone give it to me when my first was born?" And that pretty much sums it up. Here is why I completely love this book:

1. It is completely biblically based. She has Bible verses to back up everything! It was the first parenting book that I read that I did not feel leaned too far one way. Not too strict. Not too lenient.
   
2. Lest I feel overwhelmed by my lack of memorized scripture, she has a "cheat book" with common discipline issues and the verses that relate the them, as well as some recommended phrases for helping kiddos work through it.
3. She has a wonderful combination of worst moments we can all relate too, happy moments that remind me why I love being a mom, encouragement to persvere, and very clearly explaining why this is important.
4. She walks through several comic and very relatable situations from her own life and clearly lays out guidelines for working through the most common issues.
5. Did I mention the "cheat book"? More like a calendar, called Wise Words for Moms? Destined to hang in my kitchen once I find where it was packed?
6. I usually begin discipline books skeptically. This one, everytime she would make a point, it felt like what my heart had needed to hear for so long. The mommy heart that is torn between compassion and tenderness, and knowing that discipline is a necessary part of parenting (and the occasional or regular frustration.)

I really cannot say enough good things about this book. It is on my list of books I think all mommies with young children should read.

Why am I starting a preschool/education series with this? Because as useful as the rest of the knowlegde is, or can be, this is the most important thing. Teaching our children to love Christ and training the in the way He instructs us. If we cannot do these things, the rest is meaningless. :)

Ah ha! I found it!

A few weeks ago I knew I had seen a great, simple recipe for home made finger paint. I saw the recipe in the September Wondertime, got really excited about, and set it down to deal with some child-related problem. The story of my life, right? But then, I could not find it when I went to write about it and share it with you. So, this morning, in a rare moment of peace, I found it again! Rather than lose it in a pile of magazines again, this time I tore it out. Here it is:

Edible Finger Paint

Pour 2 cups cold water into a large bowl. While stirring, slowly add 2 cups white flour. When mixed, divide into smaller bowls and add a drop of food coloring to each.*

*"Growing Up: Paint Primer" Lynne Bertrand, Wondertime. September, 2008.

Intro to Child Development

I was just sitting down to start my intro to preschool and realized that Christmas is this week, New Years the next. Plus, I find out tomorrow if I am moving next month to Atlanta, GA. So, I think I will wait to start this, because I am very excited to do it, and I want to do it well, not just barely holding it together while my life goes into boxes headed for storage units or a crazy car full on people on a big adventure. Not to mention Christmas!!! So I will take my time and read and get to it either in January, or if we move, after we move. :)

Getting Closer: Friday Review

This is more of a review of an author than one specific book, but here it goes. We found this book at the library this week: The Boy on the Bus written and illustrated by Penny Dale. It took me a few days to place why this book looked familiar. When I was a in high school, spending every spare moment babysitting, I found a book called Ten in the Bed at the library. I checked it out and dragged it around to all of my babysitting jobs. I was enthralled with this book. I wanted to read it forever and ever and ever. (Might be a useful quality in a book right now, eh?)

So now I have read a grand total of two book written and illustrated by Penny Dale, which does not qualify me to recommend all of her books. However, I really enjoyed both The Boy on the Bus and Ten in the Bed. And I think I will request Ten Out of Bed from the library. The illustrations are sweet and enjoyable. Actually, very adorable. The words are variations of the familiar nursery songs-a big plus for reading to toddlers! I am a big fan of books that have staying power with moms. It takes a lot to be willing to read a book over and over and over again.


On a completely unrelated note, Ralph has a song called Abbie's Alphabet Soup. I am not sure how I feel about Ralph, his music seems fine. His music video's disturb me, but not my children. Regardless of how I feel about him and his music, it is worth pointing out that this is an alphabet song that presents phonic sounds for the letters! (He looks less scary on his website. Maybe I just don't like his suit in the music videos.)

Lucy's Early Brainwashing-I Mean Introduction to Good Things

What exactly is a good thing? Well, the kids have sung her Aunt Abbie songs since day one (sorry, Aunt Ruth. Keep hoping. Maybe the next baby will not so very much prefer Aunt Abbie.) And now,she sits watching Fox News dutifully watching the exit polls and election results. We found a book about elections and voting for kids and so we talked with Emily and Joe about it. I am not sure how much they understood. Emily wanted to vote for Cinderella. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. We'll hit it again in two years.


Our theme this week is transportation. I have to confess a lack of enthusiasm for this particular theme. But, I managed to find some fun books at the library, there are oodles of fun songs, and best of all-we made cars out of cardboard boxes. Boasting moment: We used coffee cup lids as headlights! What better than another way to justify coffee? I will post pictures of the cars tomorrow.


Can you tell how enthused I am about transportation? I don't really even want to write about it. No brilliant ideas here. But I do need to make one other boast-new achievement of mommy greatness: nursing while hiking!! Lucy's bottom was supported in the moby wrap (and other things discreetly hidden) while I held her shoulders and head with my arm. It was wonderful to be able to feed her and not make the entire crew wait, or just my wonderful husband while everyone else walked ahead.

Please don't think that my boasting means I have it all together (or when I share ideas.) I do not have it all together. In fact, the stuff you see on here are probably the only accomplishments I will have during the week. Although, I cling to the hope that things are happening in my children's hearts and minds that may not be visible to me as I persevere on the mommy front. (Every now and then something peeks through and I am encouraged.) My life is made up of triage parenting and scrambling for a moment to get something else accomplished (like cleaning the bathroom that never stays clean.) Who is screaming the loudest? Or rather, whose need is more urgent? I lean very heavily on God's grace. Ok, poopy diaper calls.

Monday's

Well, the middle of birthday season finds us all very tired and very behind. Everyone has taken a nap, the kitchen counter has been found, and no one starved over the weekend-thanks mostly to Grandma! One more weekend to go and we should be in the clear. At least birthdays mostly fell on weekends this year.

This week's preschool theme is Space. I am so excited to read the books we got! We cheated and read one about Neil Armstrong last week-did you know that he would work 25 hours to pay for one hour of flight instruction? But, the end result was he had an aviator's license before he could get a driver's license. :)

Facts, Terms, and Principles:

1. There are eight planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
2. We live on Earth.
3. The planets all orbit around the sun.
4. The sun gives us light during the day; the moon and stars give us light at night.
5. We group the stars into constellations; sailors used these to help find the way home.

I am excited about our projects this week. If I can get caught up and organized (ha ha. . .) we will make a planet mobile. Either way, we are definitely going to make our own constellations with glow in the dark stars on the walls. I am still viewing preschool as pretty low key and afraid to make any huge commitments when I cannot seem to keep the house clean for more than a few days at a time. (I made it almost two weeks a month ago! New goal: one month clean!)

Facts, Terms, and Principles

Back in preschool teaching days, we had these sheets that we sent home with a letter every week with a list on it. We called the list "Facts, Terms and Principles", which is a fancy way of saying goals. It was a list of basic things that we wanted the children to learn that week. Things to point out while reading or doing activities. Things for parents to mention at home, or while driving in the car. . . I think we had 12-15 on the list. I am not nearly that ambitious right now. I am going for five. This week's theme is Autumn. Here's my list:

1. Autumn and fall are the same season.
2. Autumn comes after summer and before winter.
3. The leaves change color and fall off the tree in autumn.
4. God made the trees so they do this.
5. In the spring, the trees get new leaves.


Our big activity this week: Family hike!!!! I am really excited about this. We are going to make a scavenger hunt out of it. We will make a list with things like an orange leaf, a yellow leaf, an acorn, a puddle, and so on. Then we will have lots of fun looking for these things. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Preschool Has Begun!

As I stood in line at Safeway today, the bagger asked Emily if she was in school yet. She told him she was doing preschool with her mommy. I was so proud and happy-especially since she sounded proud and happy. :)


I'll try to get pictures of our calendar and post that tomorrow, but for today: memory verse tip. Obviously dependent on the child, but Emily has learned two Bible verses in the last two days. One at church, and one today. We have been repeating them during the day, but here's the best part-she really wants to! We say them and then she asks, "Can we do it again? Can we do it again?" Does it get much better? Here's the trick, we've been doing sign language with the verses (its really helping me, too!) This site has some basic, or less basic signs, but really, its ok to make up your own for personal memorization, too. Go for it, have fun!!

Starting tips:

1. We're using the same sign for God and Lord.
2. If I can't find the specific word, I look for one with a close meaning.
3. If the sign looks too complicated for Emily and Joe, I simplify, or look for the sign for a similar word. (Shout instead of declare.)

Remember, we're saying the verse with the signs, so the point of the signs is just to help us remember the verse (kinesthetic and visual additions to an auditory and verbal skill.)

For our memory verses right now, we are doing the one from church, as well as one from our family devotion. I look ahead each week and pick one that is simple and relevant for our memory verse. We'll see how it goes, this book is a little mature for them. It takes a little over two years to go through it, and the readings are short. So, I think its really good for them to hear it, and we'll keep reading their Bible(or this one,) too. And, when we reach the end, we will restart, and it will sink deep into their hearts. :)

Preschool: Music

I have my own 24/7 preschool! The trick is how much we actually learn. . . But a friend asked if we wanted to do a homeschool preschool coop recently, and I am so glad she did! A wonderful kick to get me going. I have wanted to, but have been a little nervous about trying it with all three. Last time we tried, Joe was still napping in the morning, and it was just Emily. Now it would be Joe and Emily, and hopefully Lucy napping. But I am hoping to start next week, and I will post my basic "lesson plans" for anyone interested. I think the goal will be one group project/week, and daily reading, art, music, sensory, and free play time. Mostly, I hope to just be intentional about how we spend our time and what activities are available.
I had hoped to get a lot more done this weekend, but oh well. Weekends have this amazing ability to run away. I did download a few songs from iTunes, though. Music is an important part of child development. Even better when you can get other good things in with it, such as Bible verses, abc's, counting, colors, or just getting wiggles out. Here's a few of my favorites for a place to start. (Please keep in mind, my tolerance level for preschool music is pretty high.)

• Seeds of Courage by Seeds Family Worship: very practical verses put to catchy tunes. I don't mind having these stuck in my head. :) In fact, when I'm up with a croupy baby, these are wonderful to have running through my head.
• Imagination Movers: They have some of the songs on their site! Some of my favorites are 7 Days a Week, Shakable You, Mover Music, and Can You Do It-great for getting wiggles out!
• Barney: I hate to say it, but he has some great children's preschool songs.
• Sesame Street or Disney have a lot of options as well. :)
  
• Local Libraries are a wonderful resource!

Fine Motor Skills: Toothpicks!

An easy way to help build fine motor skills: Give your preschooler lunch with a toothpick!! Today Emily had cheerios, peas and lunch meat for lunch. I rolled the 2 slices of meat up and used a toothpick to serve them. After finishing her meat, she proceeded to loop the cheerios onto the toothpick so she could eat them with the toothpick as well (a similar motion to stringing beads.) It was great for getting her to eat her peas, too! We were even able to count the peas as we stabbed them with the toothpick. (Disclaimer: obviously, know your child and keep an eye on them- if your child is likely to stab herself, the table, or share the toothpick with a baby brother, you need to be on top of them, or maybe wait a while to try. It works great with Emily, but it may not work well with Josiah. :) This is my favorite, easy way to spice up boring lunch food, but it also helps build her fine motor skills!