"Montessori House" preschool/pre-K anyone

[OneLittleWindow]

The best way I can describe it is that I'm looking for a non-curriculum preschool curriculum.. hahah.

 

I'm a Charlotte Mason/Classical HSer I think... but I have deep respect for Montessori also and almost put my son in a Montessori preschool program a while ago for a little while. I don't really want to do or push preschool until K age... but also... my son is bored. Seriously bored. We've just moved and our lives are still in a bit too much busyness crazyness for me to come up with a good program for him that will work. I don't want to push any book learning, and workbooks are definitely not something he's into or ready for. What I'd love is for a magic box of new activites, games, puzzles, crafts, stuff like that to be delivered to my door every morning all ready and organized for us to pull out and have fun with when we had the opportunity. I'd also like a beach house in Maui... BUT - We don't have the cash for such a magic program if it existed... but I at least need something drawn out saying - this is the activity, these are the thigns you need... now prepare for the week. Go!

 

I'm just looking for something to try for 3-9 months depending on how it goes to see if we're both happy. DS LOVES reading, will sit and read for hours, or watch leapfrog/superwhy for hours if I let him! haha! Except for that it's a new activity every 5 minutes.

 

Anyone tried Montessori house (on ebay and their own website) I've been looking at them for over a year... I feel like it might finally be worth trying. Or - anyone have another program they'd recommend? Maybe I should break down and try FIAR... but from the sounds of it I don't know if he's ready to focus for long stretches and I'm not sure if it would work for him? I think for where he's at now the Montessori way might work best.

 

sorry for the novel. Thanks for anyone who actually read the whole thing! :grouphug:

[mommymilkies]

I don't know about Montessori House, but there is a great inexpensive ebook called Montessori at Home: http://www.montessoriathomebook.com/

 

I am doing non-certified 3-6 and 6-12 training programs right now online.

[kristinannie]

I haven't used Montessori House, but I do use Montessori materials for preschool and pre-K and love it. It was expensive buying things, but so much cheaper than Montessori preschool.

[Aoife]

I haven't used Montessori House, but I do use Montessori materials for preschool and pre-K and love it. It was expensive buying things, but so much cheaper than Montessori preschool.

 

:iagree: this is how we pre-k here

[Teneo]

I own their infant/toddler binder and Primary 1 binder. It's useful. I tried using it as our primary way of "homeschooling preschool". Frankly my 3.5 year old prefers playing with someone (ie me) to the Montessori demonstrate, step away to let the child explore on his own, and step in again when ready to move on etc. I just switched to Flowering Baby with him while keeping My Montessori House as a resource. It's so far a month in a much better fit. Daily reading, daily activities that are easy to fit in whenever. Very play based and easy to use but still not cutesy just as Montessori isn't. Wide variety of activities and skills presented simply. Definitely keep Montessori items/binders as extra resources though just because i have them and still believe it's great. The binder itself is quite good. NAMC's expensive homeschool binders have a bit more info on setting things up and creating your own materials than MMH.

[OneLittleWindow]

I own their infant/toddler binder and Primary 1 binder. It's useful. I tried using it as our primary way of "homeschooling preschool". Frankly my 3.5 year old prefers playing with someone (ie me) to the Montessori demonstrate, step away to let the child explore on his own, and step in again when ready to move on etc. I just switched to Flowering Baby with him while keeping My Montessori House as a resource. It's so far a month in a much better fit. Daily reading, daily activities that are easy to fit in whenever. Very play based and easy to use but still not cutesy just as Montessori isn't. Wide variety of activities and skills presented simply. Definitely keep Montessori items/binders as extra resources though just because i have them and still believe it's great. The binder itself is quite good. NAMC's expensive homeschool binders have a bit more info on setting things up and creating your own materials than MMH.

 

 

Thank you for this! I think that's exactly whey I've struggled to find something for my son. He's very very gregarious and social (read needy and not an independent player) haha! He's deliciously interactive, but not one that you can suggest an activity and expect him to do it. And it's interesting, as much as he'll sit and "read" books, even by himself, he's not interested in any kind of printout/workbook kind of thing at all.

 

I ended up searching online a LOT last night. Couldn't sleep well, and found the montessori at home book. It's so affordable and so far full of great ideas and links to other sites. I think I"ll just have to gather my own stuff together. But - I keep stumbling across Flowering Baby lately so I'll go check it out!

 

Thank you!

[fourisenough]

I finally broke down with DD3 and enrolled her in a Montessori preschool. I already had two homeschooling (7 & 9 at the time) and didn't feel like I could really 'do' Montessori at home. For us, it was a good decision and she remained there half-days through her 5-year old/Kindergarten year. I did implement some of the suggested activities from Montessori at Home into our mornings (she was in afternoon preschool), evenings, and weekends.

 

Fast forward to this fall: DD4 will begin at the same Montessori preschool, also in the afternoons. I like that she'll have mornings at home with us, but will have an authentic Montessori experience in the afternoons. If I were super organized and took the time to make some of the materials, I could give her that at home (there are some beautiful ideas on line for this sort of thing), but, alas, I don't have the time/energy/stamina!

 

Good luck. I think Montessori is a wonderful foundation. I credit much of my girls' independence & internal motivation to having parented/educated in a Montessori spirit during the first 5 years of life.

[mom&nana]

I have considered buying the Montessori House albums for a while now, but haven't taken the plunge. I love the idea of Montessori, I have some of the Montessori Materials and try to incorporate some into our school. I do find it difficult to do true Montessori at home though. The problem for me has been storage of everything and I don't have enough space to set out a prepared environment with shelves and trays.

 

I do have the Montessori at Home ebook and I think it's great. It's very practical for those trying to do Montessori at home.

[Aoife]

with careful budgeting and making a lot on your own you can easily implement Montessori in your home!

 

We have shelves placed throughout our homeschool with Montessori type things on them as well as two bookshelves that are full purchased Montessori manipulatives. If you look in my blog link in my siggy you can see our schoolroom and our shevles. We also have some cheap common place items that work for the Montessori philosophy that the kids really enjoy doing such as:

 

Mini broom and dust pan (http://www.amazon.com/Schylling-Little-Helper-Broom-Set/dp/B000BN8Y8G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1344083981&sr=8-3&keywords=mini+broom) you can male a square with painters tape on the floor and have them sweep floor yuck into the square then teach them how to sweep into a dustpan.

 

A dishpan and drying rack from walmart for under 10 dollars - the kids have a supply of plastic dishware and such they can wash.

 

a tray with cloth napkins they can fold.

 

these are all practical life ideas.

 

You can pretty much find a wealth of knowledge for free on the techniques behind Montessori. You do not need the instructional binders IMHO I too wavered back and forth on getting them and taking some training courses but we have done just fine on our own. I do have and love this book though which explains A LOT! http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Montessori-Learning-Activities-Under-Fives/dp/0312018649/ref=pd_sbs_op_54

 

our "real" Montessori shelves are filled with my favorite manipulatives which are:

 

Bead material

thousands cubes

hundreds flats

movable alphabet

sandpaper cards (upper and lowercase)

stamp game

metal insets

cylinder blocks

sandpaper numbers

 

then a bunch of Montessori inspired less expensive items from amazon. Just do a search in the toy section for "Montessori" It took me little why to budget it all and build my Montessori setup but it was well worth it and the kiddos love it

[OneLittleWindow]

Alright - I'm making a trip tomorrow afternoon with the husband to the dollar stores and a few other places... I never go shopping with help, and it's so hard to look carefully and think creatively at stuff to come up with activities...

 

i think I might get the Montessori house binders eventually, depending on our money flow closer to fall.

 

The Montessori at Home book has so many amazing links all organized to other free sources as well! I had to print most of it out because I'm just not an ebook person... but the links are so handy!

[FO4UR]

Ah, Montessori sought to replicate home as much as possible in a school setting. You *have* the home. (Charlotte Mason's ideas on certain things may apply better for homeschooling.)

 

Pull a chair up to the kitchen counter for him to stand on and work together, talk together. Get a little broom & dust pan just for him. Set aside space in the fridge/cupboards at his height for some water/snacks that he can fix for himself (and you and his sibling...) independently. (Breaking cheese slices into quarters and putting on crackers would be a snack that a 3yo could make himself.) Hang a hook at his height for his coat, assign a specific place for his shoes...

 

Teach him to care for his own hygiene and possessions and needs as much as reasonable. *That* is the heart of much of what Montessori sought to teach. Translate the end goal into practical things you can do in your own home, with your specific children. Teach one habit at a time (ala Charlotte Mason).

 

 

As for the language and math and geography and science...I find it more helpful to branch out from the specifics of what Montessori did and used, looking into the method and process and thoughts behind them. The same can be said of Charlotte Mason and every other educator that I read. Sometimes there are things make sense to do the same (The sandpaper letters are a perfect way to introduce letters/writing for many children.), and sometimes it makes more sense to use materials that have been invented since Montessori/CM lived, (I would not trade a room full of Monti. math manips for my little box of Cuisenaire Rods.:tongue_smilie:) , and sometimes it simply makes more sense to use what we have at our disposal...in our own backyard, in our own community....rather than trying to recreate an artificial setting. (How can I teach this skill/concept with what we have at home? )

[OneLittleWindow]

Ah, Montessori sought to replicate home as much as possible in a school setting. You *have* the home. (Charlotte Mason's ideas on certain things may apply better for homeschooling.)

 

Pull a chair up to the kitchen counter for him to stand on and work together, talk together. Get a little broom & dust pan just for him. Set aside space in the fridge/cupboards at his height for some water/snacks that he can fix for himself (and you and his sibling...) independently. (Breaking cheese slices into quarters and putting on crackers would be a snack that a 3yo could make himself.) Hang a hook at his height for his coat, assign a specific place for his shoes...

 

Teach him to care for his own hygiene and possessions and needs as much as reasonable. *That* is the heart of much of what Montessori sought to teach. Translate the end goal into practical things you can do in your own home, with your specific children. Teach one habit at a time (ala Charlotte Mason).

 

 

As for the language and math and geography and science...I find it more helpful to branch out from the specifics of what Montessori did and used, looking into the method and process and thoughts behind them. The same can be said of Charlotte Mason and every other educator that I read. Sometimes there are things make sense to do the same (The sandpaper letters are a perfect way to introduce letters/writing for many children.), and sometimes it makes more sense to use materials that have been invented since Montessori/CM lived, (I would not trade a room full of Monti. math manips for my little box of Cuisenaire Rods.:tongue_smilie:) , and sometimes it simply makes more sense to use what we have at our disposal...in our own backyard, in our own community....rather than trying to recreate an artificial setting. (How can I teach this skill/concept with what we have at home? )

 

 

I so agree with you! Off and on I've had some great (and some not so great) little learning centers, montessor style stuff. If I HAD to pick one "category", I'm totally Charlotte Mason. It's interesting, though. Our lives were in some chaos for the past 6-12 months and I think because of the stress and business I just haven't been really on the ball. For me it takes energy and thought to be really engaging about montessori type activities. I guess it's like parenting in general, especially Homeschooling probably. When I need a break to catch up on "life" I don't do as good a job for the kids, which makes me feel horrible, which makes me even more stressed, which makes me do even worse for the kids. You know? Or maybe I've just unnecessarily venting - haha.

 

Anyhoo - I think I'm going to break down and get Flowering Baby. Between that and the list of activities in the montessori book - it's something for me to start with when my brain is on vacation. Just descriptions, gather materials, etc... My son doesn't really fit well into any "curriculum" for his age group. he's behind in some physical stuff, doesn't focus for long on much, but already is trying to blend phonics sounds... so this is at least a way for me to have 2 big places to pick from once in a while... Just to have entertaining stuff for him to do on the days when my brain and body are just not up to par.

[Momof3littles]

Pinterest has lots of great fine motor and Montessori themed activities-tonging, transferring with tweezers, pouring, etc.

 

Looking through catalogs like forsmallhands always gives me lots of ideas, and many of those ideas can be replicated in the home with things you already have. Thrift stores are a great source for little baskets, divided containers, small pitchers, sifters, manual egg beaters, tongs, items for open/close baskets, etc.