After preparing endlessly, and I mean endlessly! I prepared a timetable, scheme of work for each subject so I would know what presentations to cover from each curriculum area each month. I also prepared all of the resources I would need for the first term. Which believe me is no mean feat, I am talking about endless printing, mounting, laminating and cutting. Even though I had done all of this and shed loads of research I tried to set realistic expectations as to what would happen when we actually started school. Ummmm..............
- I told myself that it would take about 6 -8 weeks for us all to settle in
- I told myself that all my planning was just a guidline and that we would find our own way
- I told myself that I felt thoroughly prepared.
Week 1
Day 1
I took Nuh into the school room (pics later) and showed him the layout and all of the new school materials. We then sat down and did circle time. This basically involved, doing the Montessori Quiet game. I then orally told Nuh a story, during this time my 1 year (the zuh) was busy trying to climb on me and Nuh. I then according to my plan got out the movable alphabet, brought it to the table with object 'box A' from the pink series. ( I know this is not true Montessori, but this is how I thought we would do it)
Nuh was happy to do this work and I helped him identify the sounds as per Karen's instructions in the Album. It quickly became apparent that he was struggling to identify the end sounds. I was not sure what to at this point, I need to investigate how to help him.
Day 2
Sussed it, or rather someone else has. I found some excellent resources for end sounds, they are picture mats with cvc words with the end consonant missing. (I don't know where I got these from so apologies to the person who made them). Armed with this resource I thought all would be plain sailing. How wrong can you be, we had no sooner gone into the classroom than Nuh started to whinge, 'I don't want to do school'. I thought this isn't meant to happen home schooled kids are meant to love school right!! Wrong, day 2 was a disaster of frequent outbursts of crying, whining and refusal to do work. We muddled through a few objects from 'box a' of pink series 1, we did a little bit of adding 'making 10' but that was it!! I was crest fallen and decided to call it a day. ( Oops forgot about the realistic goals I had set myself)
That night I spoke to my husband, I was seriously giving second thoughts to our choice of curriculum. I mean Montessori isn't for everyone, each child is different. My husband reassured me that I needed to be more patient. What he actually said was this, in most reception classes you will have several kids who cry most of the time when they first come to school, one or two who wee themselves, so be thankful you have only got one who is doing a little bit of crying.
Day 3
I decided to give up control and choice of the activities to Nuh. This meant no getting out the movable alphabet, then a maths tray, then an culture tray. I needed to rely more on the Montessori principle of the prepared environment. So I busily set about making up trays from culture and science. When circle time was over, I asked Nuh which work would he like to do, he moved around the room looking at each tray then selected the history tray with all of the timers on it. We took the tray to the table together ( he wasn't confident enough to do it himself) and I delivered the presentation for concrete objects from the history album. It went really well, umm I think we've cracked it!! Nuh then chose to do the geography, science and art trays.
Excellent day 3 went really well.
Day 4
Back to tears and moaning again today, I set out a bead stair tray and a 'making 10' tray from the maths album last night. Nuh immediately chose the bead stair activity, it quickly became obvious that he was recognising value by colour and not counting each bead stair. Oh well, I will have think of something to help isolate this skill so that he is forced to count. Nuh then chose the making 10 tray, disaster, I had included on the tray a sheet for him to write out the sum on, all was well until he made a mistake, which signified the end of the world. We had the full works, whining followed by crying followed by sweeping the materials off of the table. I then reprimanded him and before we knew it we were in a full scale crying fit. Wonderful!! Well this home school lark is a doddle, I cant wait for what tomorrow brings, maybe more crying. Oooh goody.
Day 5
After the past three days, school is shut today due to a stressed out mummy!!!!!
Week 2
I have read loads of blogs over the weekend on homeschooling, particularly how to get your child to complete work and how to do discipline the Montessori way. I learned some interesting things, one if your child is not completing a work or becoming frustrated then you have missed the 'learning sweet spot'. For instance Nuh becomes very frustrated very quickly with fiddly tasks that don't go exactly as planned straight away. He also gets very frustrated and very upset if he makes a mistake writing, so I again need to find the learning sweet spot.
Discipline Montessori style involves guiding the child to work, in a Montessori school the teacher would take a child with them to observe another child. obviously at home I cannot do this as observing the 'zuh' would involve watching her create a massive mess or maybe eating some paper, not very academic. What all of the blogs suggest for this is to do the work yourself, so get the tray down and actually do the work yourself whilst providing a running commentary on what you are doing and thinking.
Day 1
Today was good, thankfully I needed a win after last week, he did a practical life task, which he enjoyed but finished very fast. He then chose science, so I did the presentation on matter 'liquids'. After that he did the bean jar tray from history, and then the 3 part cards for a dragonfly.
Day 2
Today was a very mixed bag. Nuh started 2 trays but quickly became disinterested in them and then moved onto something else. I didn't want to force him at this point to finish the trays as I wasn't sure if it was in keeping with Montessori or not, I need to do some research.
After his two incomplete works he chose the dragonfly 3 part cards which he quickly mastered.
Day 3
Resistance is futile, or so the Borg say!! I wish, Nuh is a master at resistance. Today was a nightmare, Nuh chose to do a fiddly task of making a bead stair book using the paper punchers and glue. I set it all out in a basket complete with an example book, I should have known better this was way too fiddly for him and after doing a few he got bored then when it didn't go right he got MAD! Very mad, I in my wisdom decided that he would finish this task so I was insisting on him completing it, cue entrance of Husband, I should say at this point that my Husband works from home at least 2 days a week. Anyway by this point Nuh was crying, so was 'the zuh' who was on my knee and I had a face like thunder. My husband decided for the mental health of all that school should end early today, we had been in the classroom approximately an hour. Ooh the Joys of homeschooling, cant wait for tomorrow.
Day 4
Hooray the sensorial material has arrived. I put out the Pink Tower, Brown Stair and Knobbless cylinders on the shelves ready for this morning. When Nuh entered the room I could see he was immediately interested in them and that he wanted to experience them straight away. I told him we could work with the new materials after circle time. This is the one bit of school that has being going right so far, we have a good routine for circle time. ( see circle time page for details) As soon as we had finished circle time, Nuh got out a rug and brought the pink tower over to it, because Nuh is 5 I decided not to follow the exact presentation in the album but to simply show him how to use the material carefully and that it is sequential in order. I then simply left him to it, he worked with this for about 40 mins, building different structures and making patterns. He then asked if he could get the brown stair and use it with the pink tower and proceeded to use them both. This was bliss, easily the most productive morning we have had, he worked with the sensorial materials for about an hour and a half, yipee!!!
Day 5
I ordered the sensorial extension material from the Montessori Printshop last night, printed it out and stapled it together. This shop is awesome, its cheap excellent quality and comes straight to your in box so you can just download it. Fantabbidozy!!!
Anywhoo, I put the book with the Pink tower and Brown stair extension work on the shelf, after circle time Nuh went straight over to the sensorial materials and got the book and made a beautifully sequenced pattern. Heres his work below:
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| I know we need a longer work mat, but sometimes you just gotta go with what you've got! |
The next task was the bean jar, he added another bean and then marked it off on the calendar that I made. Note we have 38 days on our calendar because that is how long until my parents arrive from Spain.
He then chose to do some bead stair work and to spell the word dragon with the movable alphabet.
Alhamdulillah ( all praise is due to god) we seem to have turned a corner. A corner to what I dont know, but a corner at least.
Summary
This past 2 weeks has been an utter roller coaster, there have been times when I could have cried myself, never mind Nuh and times were things have seemed to work. I wanted to write this account as I hope that someone will find it useful to see that in the beginning and maybe the middle and the end, homeschooling is hard, rewarding but hard, and that it is not all skipping through the roses!!
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