Montessori Summer School at Home

A few days ago I was lying in bed, stressing out about how I'm ever going to manage homeschooling.  It's still quite a few years off and I'm doing all I can to prepare, but I still sometimes get overwhelmed with the whole idea. 

The thing that I was mulling over this time was how I'm going to manage the transition from school to home learning.  Sam is going to be in Montessori for at least three years, and I'm considering keeping her there for first and second grade, too.  Especially if she stays in school through second grade, I worry about that transition.  Knowing what I know about her personality, I don't think she will simply accept the idea of school at home, especially with mom as the teacher.  I started thinking about ways that I could ease that transition.

And suddenly it hit me - I can homeschool her each summer!  I don't know why this didn't occur to me before, but it really addresses four issues: it will help get Sam used to school at home, it will give me practice at this teaching thing without much pressure, it will keep the continuity of her education going year-round, and it will fill up some of that scary empty space during the summer that I've been dreading.  (I plan to homeschool year-round, too.)

So for the past week or so I've been planning.  I'm going to stick with the Montessori method and materials for the most part because it is what both Sam and I know and because, obviously, I think it is the best kind of pre-school education.  Along with advice from a few friends, I'm working almost exclusively from Elizabeth Hainstock's Teaching Montessori in the Home: The Pre-school Years.  I also plan to use some activities from June R. Oberlander's Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready.  (Both are indispensible books for educational activities from 0-5 years old.)   Please don't hesitate to give me any suggestions or pointers in the comments, if you have experience.

I'm going to try a two hour work cycle, three days a week to start, but we'll back off of that if it is too much in the beginning.  If it goes well, we might increase the amount of school, but this is supposed to be fun and low-pressure.  However, school time is going to be clearly defined; we will start right after breakfast, we will be dressed, and we will have a dedicated school area in the house.  I have plans for a special (kid-sized) table and chairs, a few bookshelves for the materials which will be closed off during the rest of the day, and a rug for working on the floor.  We'll start with circle time (15 minutes?), which I hope will put us both in the right mind-set.  Some activities I'm considering for circle time are:

• Reading (will try non-fiction, descriptive library books instead of her usual fiction)


• The silence game


• Days of the week (memorization through song or rhyme)


• Months of the year (memorization through song or rhyme)


• Counting (memorization)


• Other, new songs


• Walking the line


• Walking with a bell without ringing it (one of my most distinct memories from my own Montessori education)

Then we'll spend the balance of the time on independent work.  When Sam doesn't need me, I plan to read a book on the sofa nearby and watch her out of the corner of my eye.  Here is the menu of activities that I've come up with so far, with links to descriptions of the work in many cases.  (The page numbers are all from Hainstock, except for SAS which refers to the Oberlander book - they are descriptions of how to demonstrate the task to the child.)

• Cutting paper along a line (pre-prepared paper with various types of lines)


• The hole punch row (SAS, pg 192)


• Polishing pennies with lemon juice.  Include squeezing the lemons into the water. (Come up with my own demonstration by practicing myself first)


• Phonetic object box


• Pouring (pg 24, and try it with a funnel into a slim vase)


• Scooping (Need to find or come up with a specific process)


• Gluing (Need to find or come up with a process)


• Washing doll clothes (Need to find or come up with a process)


• Washing baby doll (Need to find or come up with a process)


• Largest to smallest 


• Dressing frames (pg 23)


• Metal insets (pg 64)


• Washing dishes (use her tea set, pg 30)


• Sweeping the floor (try the basement or living room, pg 34)


• Bead stringing (use set she already has, pg 39)


• Using a dropper (pg 41)


• Puzzles (do it once myself then allow her to do it herself)


• Instead of the Pink Tower, use stacking cups (pg 49)


• Sandpaper letters (pg 70 and 74 when more advanced)


• Number rods (pg 80)


• Home made spindle box  (AFTER number rods, pg 81)

We may not need all of these, or we may need a lot more for the summer, but this is what I'll start with.  Most of these activities are things that I know she is already doing in school, but which will probably still challenge and interest her.

I'm not much of a make-it-yourself kind of person, so I had to buy some of the materials.  I bought the metal insets, the sandpaper letters, a puzzle, and the dressing frames.  Everything else uses materials that I already have or can be fashioned from other, common household objects.  (I'll make my own spindle box and spindles from an egg carton and marbles or pasta or something, but that's about the extent of my craftiness.) 

In doing this research, I came across this lovely video that explains the idea behind the "practical life" exercises in a Montessori school.  (Oh my god, what a beautiful environment in this school!)  It also includes a detailed demonstration of the bow tying dressing board, which I think shows how Montessori is fundamentally different from so many other pre-schools.  From what I gather, many pre-schools teach practical skills.  But in Montessori, each skill is isolated and then placed into a specific order, each movement is precise, time is allowed for as much practice as the child needs, and, of course, the child can work independently after a few demonstrations.  Montessori is not all about "freedom" and self-expression.  I believe the Montessori Method does foster independence and creative thinking, but only by means of teaching a child how to master himself and his environment.  And there are specific, objective ways to accomplish this.