mommymilkies Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I briefly attended a Montessori preschool as a child. I have read about the materials and methods for years. But for some reason, I just don't get it. It is just so overwhelming-so much to do, so many things to buy or make. It's like my ADD is anti-Montessori. But I would really like to learn more and set up some Reggio or Montessori areas and lessons for my youngest kids. Can anyone link me to "Montessori for Dummies" materials so I might get it? Are there any inexpensive training programs online or anything? What resources or materials are "must haves"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 (edited) You might look for youtube videos once you have specific works in mind. Edited January 12, 2016 by wapiti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatA Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I usually lurk in the main board, but I just came over to this and saw your thread. I have a couple of Montessori at home books: this and this. I really like the first one, it makes it idiot proof for me. I also bought this e-book. Which I like as well. I'm sure there is free resources, but I could never find them, and these 3 are easy to understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I just wanted to point out that the method was designed for schoool rather than home. I thi.k it would be difficult to replicate anywhere close to the complete curriculum. :iagree: You can take pieces that are appealing to you -- encouraging independence in everyday living activities (cooking, cleaning, budgeting, shopping, etc...), using manipulatives to teach concepts in math, grammar, geography, etc..., giving choice in which subjects to study and allowing longer times to focus on it, setting up your homeschool in a way that your kids could take care of everything themselves if you mysteriously disappeared... but really, it's a classroom model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Montessori at Home ebook is a nice start http://www.montessoriathomebook.com/Home.html/ Check out some Montessori blogs like Chasing Cheerios and 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 Most people direct you to reading Maria Montessori's original works. Kind of like people referring your to reading Charlotte Mason's original works, I find this unappealing. I do not have the time to wade through volumes of teaching philosophy - give me the distillation, the pure essential components and ideas! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caitlinsmom Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I have implemented a lot of Montessori ideas into our daily routine. I love the entire concept and philosophy. I would recommend checking out Counting Coconuts. She is a Montessori teacher who home schools her son. Also if you want a bunch of great links you can check my homeschool board on pinterest. I have quite a few links from trained Montessori teachers turned home school moms. I have read a lot of the books out there and while most have some good information, they don't break it down quickly enough for me. I have lots of email lists I subscribe to, youtube channels I watch, and websites that I pay attention to. Have a visual model to see has helped to bring it all to life for me. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 One aspect of Montessori philosophy that resonates with me and that I have been able to translate into our home school is the 3-hour work period. We don't have all the beautiful materials in our home (oh how I wish...), but we do try to have a quiet, purposeful period between 9-12 noon daily. This is usually independent work time, but for the youngers I give brief one-on-one lessons (maybe 5-10 minutes of instruction for 30 minutes of work time). I schedule any outside activities, online classes, appointments, etc. outside of this work period. It has been a good way to ensure everyone gets plenty work done every day. I guess my advice would be to try to identify what elements of Montessori appeal to you and attempt to implement just one or two at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Yeah, I know that I'm not going to set up my home as a Montessori classroom. ;) I just feel a little overwhelmed. I've read about every book on the subject out there, but I still feel overwhelmed. Sdunckel-good idea about one bit at a time. I think my biggest problem is that I try to jump in all of the way and then I feel like I'm sinking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 I was looking at doing this, after spending several hours on google and searching the forums here. :tongue_smilie: http://worldwidemontessorionline.com/course-specifics.html Does anyone have experience with this? I would love to finish my B.S. someday and a real teacher training in this area would be great, but it's not geographically feasible at the moment. But this looks affordable. I also found these. Opinions? :lurk5: http://www.montessorifortheearth.com/4and5programspublic.html http://www.newchildmontessori.com/ http://www.ebay.com/itm/Montessori-Theory-Album-AMI-Primary-ages-2-6-CD-ROM-and-Download-/300702613817?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item460345c139 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Yeah, I know that I'm not going to set up my home as a Montessori classroom. ;) I just feel a little overwhelmed. I've read about every book on the subject out there, but I still feel overwhelmed. Sdunckel-good idea about one bit at a time. I think my biggest problem is that I try to jump in all of the way and then I feel like I'm sinking! I've been there for a really long time - loving Montessori and wanting to implement as much as possible and then just not being able to. I really love RightStart Math - it uses a lot of the math curriculum from Montessori, but also tells you what to do. I also really liked this book - http://www.amazon.com/Montessori-Classroom-Teachers-Account-Children/dp/0805210873/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT1_S_nC?ie=UTF8&coliid=I27HJUV8WNX5RJ&colid=2J3JJGVT4HLB6 it was the first book that really got me to see HOW to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 I sold my RS C manual. :lol: I just never get around to doing RS with my 7 yo and she prefers workbooks. :blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I like this blog for ideas. Counting Coconuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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