My 4Real Conference Talk and Handout Information!!

For all my visitors and 4Real friends, I have decided to provide you all with my transcript of my Montessori and Real Learning Talk from the Conference!  I know many of you will be pruchasing the DVD's, but I thought it might be helpful to some who may not be able to do that to just have my words and know that they come from the HEART for you all!!  Enjoy and many blessings!

4Real Conference Talk: August 11, 2007 Manassas, Virginia

Montessori and More:  Our Journey with Montessori in a Real Learning Lifestyle

When Elizabeth (Foss) emailed me and asked if I would be willing to come and speak at the first ever 4Real Conference, I was rendered speechless, or type-less momentarily before I hastily rattled off an emphatic YES!! 

I am truly humbled and honored to have been asked to speak among women with much more savvy and experience than myself, but I am so pleased to be able to be here with you all and to TRY and share with you how our Real Learning lifestyle meshes so nicely with Montessori. 

Since becoming the moderator of the Montessori and More Forums I have learned SO MUCH from many ladies that have contributed their thoughts and experiences. They have shared what works for their families as I have and I hope to bring some of that knowledge to you today and impart my feelings and thoughts on this philosophy of education! 

One of the things I love about Montessori in the home environment is that it fits so nicely with our Real Learning Lifestyle.  An environment that allows for free exploration of ideas and child led activities is the quintessential pillar of a Montessori education.  Many would argue that this can’t be done in a home setting but I beg to differ.  For me, there is a Nature and Nurture quality of Montessori at home that allows for all the children to benefit from each other as they work and progress through the materials.  This is very appealing to me!  And, it makes my job as mom and home educator that much more enjoyable and easier when I can teach and observe my little ones in their natural setting – HOME!

Maria Montessori was a pioneer in her own right.  Not only was she the first women doctor in Italy, but she also pioneered an educational philosophy and method for children that was virtually unheard of. She also traveled many unchartered roads regarding the psychology of “how” children learn. 

Like Montessori, Charlotte Mason was a pioneer of her own time and paved the way for many of us with a method of educating our children at home that is beautiful and natural.  She was passionate about helping children learn by their own account.  Both these remarkable women felt that children were born persons with an innate sense of wonder and readiness to learn, and at much younger ages than most adults would even dream of, from birth really. 

They were both advocates of training up the whole child and saw each little person as a human being worthy and capable of learning in a proper and well-prepared environment.  Much like a Charlotte Mason inspired education, the Montessori method focuses on the whole person and a person’s need to form habits and skills for life that can serve them well into adulthood.  Not just a method of memorizing facts that are long forgotten after the test has been given.  I truly appreciate the fact that these women were both of very strong faiths and held firmly to their beliefs and we can see how that shaped their lives and their teachings.

Now we fast forward to the 21^st century and home education.  How does Montessori fit into a Real Learning lifestyle?  For our home school Montessori has opened up a whole new genre of learning possibilities for us that weren’t present in my early home educating stages. I could say I dabbled in Montessori, but never really took the method seriously.   After I read Real Learning and saw how it was possible to create this atmosphere for my children with ANY methodology, I dove in a little further. 

I do want to preface that I am in no way a Montessori purist; anymore than I am a Charlotte Mason purist, or Classical or Unschoolish, but I can glean the BEST information from both (or many) sources, take into account the ages and personalities of my children and knowing the ways in which they like to learn, and find what fits for them.  So I can take the benefit of Montessori’s methods and philosophies and adapt it to fit my children. 

As with any vocation, my teaching style has evolved over our 7 ½ year journey. I really DO like the fact that I CAN readily adjust myself to meet their needs in the best way I know how, and for me this is with lots and lots of research and observation.  What works for one child won’t necessarily work for another, just as our family schooling style and situation will be vastly different than your own.  So for me, in a nutshell, this is the beauty of a Real Learning lifestyle.  Take the good things and apply them, tweak, tweak, tweak if necessary and really try and delve into it wholeheartedly.

So what does a Montessori education look like in a home school setting.  Let’s look at the elements of Montessori and see how it fits:

Ø      Materials are presented in an age-appropriate time frame; Birth to Three, Three to Six, Six to Nine, and Nine to Twelve

Ø     Materials are presented in a progressive format called the Three-Period Lesson

Ø      Children are Observed during Work Periods

Ø      Materials are re-presented or Rotated Out if there is misuse or no further need for that material

For example, at some point, the dressing frames will be put away as the child has readily learned how to put on his coat and zip it up.  No further practice or work is needed with the frames.

The Basic Layout of a Montessori Classroom will have the following set up with age-appropriate Materials in them:

• Practical Life Area
• Sensorial Area
• Language Area
• Math Area
• History, Geography & Cultural Area
• Science Area; Botany, Zoology, Human Biology
• Music & Art Area

Some of the reasons you might choose to incorporate the Montessori Methods into your home environment are:

v      You may want your child to be able to do more for him/herself at an earlier age, i.e., Wash her hands or wipe off a table

v      You may want your child to desire to seek out new ideas and follow them though

v      You may want your child to be able to work independently during school time without disrupting anyone else and their work

v      You may want your child to have a sense of purpose and value, in other words be self-confident

v      You may want your child to acquire a life-long love of learning

v      You may want your child to be a peaceful & respectful human being

These are just a handful of reasons, and I’m sure we could come up with many more, but these are a few of the benefits of learning with Montessori.

So HOW do you do it you ask, a couple of tips first:

1)     It is NOT necessary to re-create a Montessori classroom in your home to be successful or effective as a Montessorian. (Just as we can’t re-create an English Countryside for nature study, unless you happen to live in England)

2)     You can MAKE 90% of your own materials!

3)     You can BUY 90% of your materials!

4)     You can do 50/50 of the above, or some other combination that suits your budget and time commitment!

Now for the implementation:

q       Start SMALL and SLOW, as it can and will be overwhelming in the beginning stages – Do you all remember your first year of home schooling?

q       It isn’t necessary to go full-tilt Montessori for the method to be effective.  In other words, you can incorporate any “portion” of Montessori into your school, like maybe just Practical Life Activities to start, or only the Pink, Blue and Green reading series for an emerging reader.

q       For yourself:  Read, read, read everything you can get your hands on Montessori, especially the 4Real Forums, there is SO much wisdom there, I am continually learning for all those wonderful ladies

When I found out that I was going to give this talk I hastened quickly to the forums and begged for questions that I might answer, so the following is basically my compilation of answers to the questions of the many sweet ladies from 4Real!  And I imagine that many of you have questions also so we’ll finish up with any that you might have!

How do you structure Montessori activities in your day and where does the under three crowd fit into this scheme?

Well, considering the fact that I have a very busy 2 ½ year old this year our learning times may vary and are subject to change without warning.  We have always schooled in the morning hours with free time for reading, playing, nature study, and music practices, ballet lessons and usually art and teatimes in the afternoons.  This is very CM inspired and I really like this flow for our learning times, I am not inclined to change this.

One thing that I know will be key for my littlest guy is LOTS of mommy interaction early in the day to keep him focused and interested in a works. For him right now it’s mostly the Pink Tower, Red Rods, Brown Stair and Knobbed Cylinder Block 1, and lots of Practical Life trays and activities, like sweeping, window washing. 

The fact that he is still taking naps after lunch, let’s me take advantage of helping the older three with things we may not have gotten to in the morning hours due to disruptions.

I may have to do Presentations of new materials for the 5yo and other two during nap as well until everyone gets more fully integrated with this new set-up! I also like to have some nice cuddle and story time with my 5yo when the littlest is having his nap, as this is GOOD Mama time for us both.  The older two usually do chores or read, read, read!!  I will have a “choice time” (Angel of Three Plus Two’s phrase I borrowed J) in the morning’s for the 2 and 5 yo while I work intermittently with the older two on the more involved subjects like Latin, Math and Grammar. 

Stay tuned, and check back with me after a month or so, we’ll see.  Each year brings a new set of parameters, and this year it’s the 2 year old, bless his little sweet heart!

How do Real Learning and Montessori complement each other, or how can Montessori be incorporated with Real Learning?

My feeling is that they truly do complement each other, especially in a home educating environment. Charlotte Mason says “Education is an Atmosphere” and Montessori says that the environment influences the way in which a child will learn.  Sounds quite compatible to me!  The fact that one does not need to re-create a Montessori school in their home for the method to be effective is a REALITY of home schooling and it fits very nicely, true Montessorians will most likely disagree, but it’s going to work for me.  Homemade items will be just as much appreciated by a little person who has seen his mommy or daddy lovingly making these materials for them to work with and wouldn’t give quality a second thought.  You can make it work on a budget, and you can buy it all too!  It’s your choice!

How can I approach Montessori without getting overwhelmed?

Let’s go back to what we heard for implementing, start slow!  It is very important to remember with ANY new method or habit of learning that we don’t try and “do-it-all” in the first month of schooling.  Montessori especially is all about the presentation and mastery of materials during a three-hour work period (or less depending on age).  For some children they will get it right off, for others they will return to that activity and work on it for many days/weeks/months until they have satisfied their inner clock so to speak on that skill.  It’s a very internalizing method of learning.  Slow and Steady, that is the best motto for Montessori!  Oh and READ everything you can get your hands on regarding the method for your own peace of mind.  It’ll help to slow you down to ponder on her ideas.

What if I have a toddler(s) on the loose?

Start EVERYDAY with PRAYER.  I say this in jest, but I truly believe the toddler years are going to be the hardest.  I don’t have any teens yet, but I am betting toddlers vs. teens I’ll take teens any day of the week, LOL!

You WILL have to re-think how your day(s) are structured.  I call it “flex” learning times, cause there’s going to be many disruptions and you just have to know when the good times are and when the cuddle-with-your-toddler-times are.  And this will be an evolving and fluid situation as they get to know their new Montessori environment with you J  I will add all moms with toddlers who are embarking into the Montessori world to my evening Rosary!

What are the Montessori activities most suited to rabbit trails through a living book, or exploration - like reading Frogs and Tadpoles after completing the parts of the frog nomenclature/puzzle, and then perhaps a collection of tadpoles...or arranging a group of grammar/parts of speech symbols and asking an older child to construct a sentence following that pattern...I know there are so many more, I'd love to get more ideas.

I would incorporate some form of recording during these discovery periods, like a lap-book or notebook project.  That way it becomes the child’s possession and they tend to take ownership over their own learning when they have carefully and joyfully recorded it!  As for activities, unit studies can easily conform to a Montessori way of learning with the right materials available, it’s really just a matter of presentation and how in depth you want to go with that rabbit trail.  I have a few samples of lap-books that were Montessori inspired for you to peruse.

2.How do you set up the learning environment so that it is orderly, visually pleasing, and fosters a wedding of Montessori and CM - like for instance, more ideas for those “baskets of goodness” we talked about a while ago...pairing cloud/weather nomenclature cards with weather books, weather kit, monitoring sheets, and maybe a collection of color pencils ranging from shades of gray to shades of blue for illustrations in the child's nature notebook.

I love this, this is brilliant, see how much one can learn just from visiting the forums!!  I would also like to interject as a way to solidify the learning for the older child is for them to teach what they have learned to a younger sibling, in the same presentation or discovery fashion that is was taught to them. This is very in keeping with the Montessori method and beneficial to the sibling bond.  I would also encourage the older student to journal about his or her experiences with sharing and teaching the material to his sister or brother.  We’ve also talked a lot about Centers of Learning much like what Theresa at lapazfarm learning does in her school!

There is this challenge for me in setting up the environment in a way that allows my toddler beautiful materials for his “choice time” (I think that's Angela's phrase I'm borrowing because I love it!) and allows the older children access to Montessori materials that are visually arranged to bring in living materials and foster those natural rabbit trails. Does that make any sense?

It does make complete sense, and this is the challenge that we will face in the home environment with small children; we can’t possibly re-create the perfect Montessori classroom for any of the age ranges when we have learners across the spectrum.  This is MY biggest challenge for this year is the HOW of set-up to mutually benefit my 2, 5, 8, and 11-year-old students.  There will definitely have to be some major compromises, but I don’t think anyone will suffer for it, we just have to remain flexible, remember, it’s REAL LEARNING!!

3. When to rotate? How much to keep out?  So...since there has to be this balance of faithfulness to the basic philosophy of Maria Montessori and the reality of home life and all of its challenges...I'd appreciate hearing your insight on how much material is wise to set out at one time, the ideas you might have on materials that might stay out, and maybe a couple of ideas you might have for those *red flags* that signal us, it is time to rotate a material out of the choice area.

A book that I have been enjoying and mulling over and over this summer is Montessori in the Classroom, by Paula Polk Lillard.  She is a famous Montessori teacher and this lovely little book is her personal account in the year in the life of her Montessori Kindergarten classroom and all the experiences and notes she has to share.  It’s truly a book all those interested in Montessori should have on their shelf, as it is a goldmine of information about how the method truly works, for real!  I especially appreciate her account of the first few days and weeks of a new class as it gave me a birds-eye view of how the class functions, and in my mind is quite applicable to the home setting.  Rather than have any shelves set up, the room is virtually bare except for a medium sized box of toys that are familiar to the children, such as puzzles, blocks, stuffed animals, etc.  The children are encouraged to choose a toy and play with it at a table or on the floor, eventually on a mat after it has been presented to them how to use it and this is the initial indoctrination into the classroom setting. 

Well I do like the fact that the class starts out pretty bare bones and this will be somewhat the way in which we will begin, but I only have so much storage space for all the materials, so mine will be in closed cupboards for the time being until a work is introduced, and then it will be available according to how high the toddler can reach!  Yes, welcome to my toddler world! 

As far as when to rotate materials out, I think this is going to be an observational issue.  Also if the child is misusing the material or taking an extension to a level that isn’t really appropriate, then it’s time to put it away.  This is one part of Montessori that some may find controversial, is that there is supposed to be an inherent respect for the materials and they really are NOT intended to be used for imaginative play, i.e., red rods for swords, etc.  We’ve had quite a bit of discussion regarding whether or not to LET the children play with materials and the general consensus is that MM would not allow it. 

What are some signals you may have found that let us know that our interior peace has been disrupted because we have focused too much on the *stuff* of it all, and have not let the children be the focus. I mean the reminders to participate in the joyful everyday in our homes.

This is an excellent point and not so much a question, but I’d like to elaborate here.  For me, no matter what educational philosophy you are following, there is nothing that brings me more joy with my children than living out the Liturgical year together.  This tends to re-establish any discord or issues that may have emerged amongst the troops and certainly gives me some grounding.  We always start our school day with prayer and intentions and read about any Saint’s feasts for that day.  This seems to help set the day right.  Not that everyday will be joyful because of the prayer, but it sure helps to get the right perspective on the day, no matter what difficulties may arise.  I also find that if I’m not doing enough read-alouds each day, then everyone tends to go off in their own direction/rooms and I don’t see them the rest of the day.  This is one of the reasons why I LOVE having daily or at least two to three times weekly teas, as we do lots of reading aloud during tea and it helps to keep our focus on other’s needs within the family and not just about what one may want to do.  Does that make sense?

I'd love to hear how you integrate Montessori into all of the fun projects your littler ones are doing (especially between the great lap books you've posted on your blog and your nature studies). For me even one of those seems to take over my whole curriculum. I'd love to hear how you "manage" it all.

Well, keeping in mind that I am NOT superwoman, we just pick and choose what we want to focus on and go with it!  Honestly for my preschooler last year we focused on about four or five units and just enjoyed TONS of books and a little bit of lap-booking with them.  I brought samples of the lap-books he and I worked on together, and it was awesome!  I truly LOVE the pre-K and early learning ages, and I love the older learners I have too, cause of all the great discussions we get to have about what we’re reading, but I digress…Integration of Montessori into this type of Real Learning could be accomplished by doing more nomenclature type learning, or for the Owl Moon unit I could have printed out parts of the Owl cards for him to name and color, things along those lines. But as with any method, there are always going to be cracks, even in a Full CM education there will be cracks.  Think of all the cracks you had with your own education in the public/private sector and it’s a perfect example that even the educational experts can’t fill it all!

Also, how does our ability to facilitate our children's learning progress through the later elementary years into the middle school years? What I mean is, what's next when they're not using hands-on manipulatives as much as they were used to in the early years? What makes a Montessori curriculum still "Montessori" when the kids get older? (I'm trying to get an idea of where we're going in the future with this Montessori journey! ) 

Well, you and me both as I am kind of just embarking on this portion myself, although much like the Elementary Montessori levels I have always tried to instill independent learning and a desire in my children to want to go above and beyond the call of any particular assignment.  Further research in all subjects of extreme interest have always been encouraged and is fairly in keeping with Montessori’s ideal of forming the whole child. My plan is to continue working towards this goal and also to have the older ones work with the younger ones at select times, I do think this will bear some good fruit.

I'd love to hear how you structure Montessori for your oldest?

My oldest is my girl and she is a reader like I’ve never seen before.  She is beyond voracious!  Her year will be based on a really great reading list taken from many familiar sources:  The Real Learning Booklist (aka; suggestions towards a curriculum) Sonlight, Reading Your Way Through History, TWTM, to name a few.  As far as Montessori directed learning, as I mentioned earlier, this is new territory for me so it will be a work in progress.  I do plan on using some wonderful Research Guides that I bought from a great resource:  Montessori for Everyone.  A former Montessori teacher who is now home schooling her two children, she also has a business selling very high quality Montessori Printables and these Guides are a wonderful springboard for exploration and discovery for an older child.  They are set up for all subjects (well, except Latin, Math & Grammar) and they will be a natural go-along to her reading lists.  I can also recommend the Comprehensive List of Materials and Concepts for the 9-12 years that Lori offers on her site.  This will be the spine with which I will direct my oldest.   I may include her in the Grammar Symbols lessons with her younger brother but she’s already pretty far ahead of the 6-9 range for all Montessori subjects at this point.  I will be using Montessori activities and principles for her in the Math department, as it is not a subject she loves although she is very good at it when she applies herself.  I hope to re-invent some of her initial motivation towards math by having her teach to the 5yo once he’s learned a material to help reinforce it for him and solidify the basic concepts for her as well.  Nothing like killing two birds with one stone, eh?

The way I understand the 9-12 years for Montessori, they are based more on hands on learning and experiencing real life and the world around them like working on a farm, doing research at a preserve, things like that. So for us, it will be field trips and online research in these areas.  And of course as much hands-on that I can provide for her.  She is also a very talented dancer, so we will include that as part of her independent study.

Here are the Handouts I prepared for the Conference, please feel free to ask any questions if something isn't clear:

• My Favorite Montessori Links:  Download recommended_links_for_montessori_education.doc
• My Favorite Montessori Books:  Download recommended_booklist_for_montessori_and_more.doc
• A Few Suggestions for Home-Made Montessori:  Download homemade_montessori_handout.doc
• Not to be Missed Montessori Article:  Download Why_Our_World_Needs_Montessori.pdf 

I hope I haven't left anything out, and there is actually more here than was included i my talk as I was able to open up for discussion to the ladies at the conference, so I did omit some of these Q & A's!!  Enjoy!

ETA:  Sorry about ALL the different font sizes, Typepad and my Word doc's are haing fun with me tonight ;O

Comments

[Cindy]

Oh, Meredith - thank you so much for the handouts and the full transcript of your great talk. Reading through it, I could hear you giving the talk and it just brought back all the great points you spoke about. You are a treasure!

[betty]

I am so glad you are providing this for everyone!

Blessings!

[hobbitmom]

How thoughtful of you, Meredith! Thank you! I just printed it out and can't wait to read it.

[Angel]

Thank you, Meredith! I just skimmed through this (will have to print and read thoroughly later) and it's wonderful! :-)

[Genevieve]

Oh my Meredith! This took a lot of work! Bless your heart & thank you for sharing such a wonderful talk!

[Theresa]

Fantastic! Now I can read through that last bit I missed in my futile attempt to catch some of Janette's math talk.

[Taffy (Susan)]

Thanks for posting on this, Meredith! You can bet that I'll be printing it out!

[Marianne]

Thank you! I can't wait to read this a second time, and I will be getting the dvd, too!

[Andrea]

Wow! Welcome back and thanks for posting this! It was such a treat to get back online ( I was without a computer for a week due to a thunderstorm zapping the motherboard) and read this! I can't wait for the DVD!

[Kim]

As I told Dawn I am SO jealous you all got together!! Your talks are wonderful and I am sure you were a blessing to the attendees! Someday Meredith.... CO and ID really arent that far are they?

[Michele Q.]

Meredith thanks so much for posting all this. You certainly worked hard - i am impressed!!

It was great to meet you. i wish we had had more time to chat. i didn't even get a photo with you. :-(

[Diane]

Meredith,
It was great to meet you and to hear your talk! It was even better to find you all alone at the end of the day for some personal counseling :-) You were so kind to share yourself so cheerfully even after that long day. It will be remembered fondly.

[Ouiz]

Thank you for posting your talk! I can't wait for the DVD to come out!!!

[residentmuse]

What a wonderful presentation! Thanks so much for your time and effort in putting this together, and putting it here so that those of us who missed the conference can still benefit. I do hope to make it down next year when my little one does better on long car trips!