Kinderplanning

Posted by lapazfarm on July 12th, 2006 filed in Curriculum or Lack Thereof...

Alright. I have though at least PART of kindergarten out. I know I would like to do a combination of Catholic CM (aka Real Learning) and Montessori. For the most part. Between unit studies that is. emoticon

For now I am focusing on the Montessori part. I am putting it together slowly, but would like to share some pictures of what I have so far so that I can get some input from those more knowledgeable than me.

Here is the Montessori environment area. it is in the dining room where she does most of her work at the kitchen table:

These shelves used to be so crammed full of stuff that JBug would get overwhelmed and not use most of it because she couldn’t really see what was there. I have learned that less is more and so have moved the majority of items to another area and I only put out a few items at a time, neatly displayed, rotating weekly (or more or less often as I see her needs change). The top shelf is all the Mommy-directed stuff (left to right: her nature journal and our nature study prints, basket of her portfolios and current phonics workbooks, phonics cards, current read-aloud and magnetic whiteboard and markers). The cubbies and low drawers are for her to explore Montessori style.

This picture shows closer-up how her cubbies are arranged, roughly by categories. The items within the categories will be rotated, but the categories will remain the same, ensuring she gets a well-balanced offering each week.
top row: Language arts, practical life (currently cofee service), and sensorial/fine motor (currently rice).

middle row:nature and science (currently baskets of 1. magnets and metal nuts and 2. frogs, bird cards, and bug puzzle), math/logical, music (currently misc. shakers and a basket of various bells)

bottom row: art, writing and construction paper, basket of file-folder games.

Drawers: 1. coloring books, markers and crayons, 2. assortment of plastic animals.

As you can see, this is not at all strictly Montessori (there are a few picture books stuck in there too), but are inspired by the ideas of simplicity and order, independance and responsibility, and are in categories that make sense to me. The materials are not expensive, but will serve the purpose I am looking for.

This picture shows my storage area of the items I will be putting through the rotation. Not as neat as her area, but organized well enough for me to find what I need. Lots of the Melissa and Doug products JBug loves, basket of smaller items to put into the display baskets, a basket of pre-assembled materials for mini art projects (puppet making kit, mask-making, etc), blocks, play-doh and supplies, lots of puzzles, beads for sorting and pouring, etc., boxes of lentils and mixed beans…

This was a major de-cluttering project as well.

Here I have cleared off some shelves to extend her environment a bit. I’ve started a small home altar and have another shelf and lower cabinet ready to fill. Suggestions?

This is a closer-up of the home altar. I still need to make some liturgically colored altar cloths, but for now construction paper in the appropriate color will have to do. Other items will be rotated through the liturgical seasons.

OK all you experienced Montessori Moms, I am ready for your input. Where am I missing the boat, what have I done well, and what are my glaring omissions?

20 Responses to “Kinderplanning”

Jennie C. Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 5:21 am
That very nice. I don’t have much to offer, but I am inspired. One montessori item that has been enormously useful for us is a movable alphabet. You can print this and many other things at jmjpublishing.com, I think. I’ve used it with my third learning reader, introducing a new sound, building words, reviewing old sounds, and even though she isn’t fluent yet, she can outspell her two older sisters who didn’t use a movable alphabet! I highly recommend using one.
Rebecca Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 6:56 am
Very inspiring! I’m thinking of homeschooling my pre-k, and love, love, love how you’ve set that up! I may copy you!
My suggestion for the empty shelf? A changing nature display! We keep a nature table that changes every so often, and my kids really enjoy it.
You have a great site! I really enjoy it!
Dawn Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 7:04 am
Your environment looks wonderful, Theresa! I don’t know a lot about Montessori (I was more Waldorf before CM) but I like how neat and friendly it all looks. I am feeling very inspired!
Lara Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 7:19 am
Your shelves look great! We have been doing lots of montessori math and language stuff, but I never got it so neatly organized.
dumboxacademy Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 7:23 am
Hi Theresa,

How did you do that so fast? I have been working on the same things, but my environment doesn’t look so great yet. I am still sorting through things. Wow, I am impressed, jealous and inspired all at once!

How do plan to present lessons? Are you following any albums or relying on any particular books? That is the part that trips me up!
How to present all this stuff.

Faith
Kim Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 7:45 am
Theresa I saw your note on 4real and you have done an awesome job organizing and decluttering. It will help her self-select. Observation of the child is key in Montessori so you basically stay tuned in to sense when rotation is warranted. Ialso try to set up a presentation with the little ones before the big kids begin lessons each day. That set them up and get them oriented to the materials. You can ck my blog for tons of Montessori links to free lessons etc. Enjoy! Early education is so much fun! : )
Lynn S Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 9:50 am
Good gravy. I am SUCH a bad homeschooling mom.
Jenn Miller Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 10:04 am
Theresa, It’s beautiful. I’m stymied at approaching MOntessori at home. I just feel like I don’t have a full grasp to do it nor present it in the right way…so we don’t do anything.

What I want is your cubbies and shelves. Where did you get such awesome furniture?
Kristin Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 10:42 am
Theresa - I think what you’ve done looks GREAT! As others have said, I don’t know how you got it all together so quickly — good for you! I love your little divided cabinet - what a perfect way to have a variety of areas all at once in a small space! I started learning about Montessori about a year ago and have managed to pull together quite a bit myself. It definately can be very overwhelming, especially when you are anxious to have it ready for little ones to use asap! Keep up to great work! Kristin
Cindy Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 11:38 am
Alright, you’ve also inspired me . . . I’ve really got to take the next month to arrange an area that will be more conducive to using so much of my stuff.

The good thing about a large homeschooling family is all the stuff you keep from the first ones and the latter ones have a bunch of stuff to choose from. The bad thing about it is there is too much stuff . . . LOL! . . . and it gets lost in all the storage and never gets used. So, this is a perfect idea in so many ways for this family.

Thanks for sharing!
lapazfarm Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Thank you all! I am so excited about how it has turned out so far.
To answer some questions:
The cubbies I pulled out of a junk heap when Superboy was a baby (10 years ago!) and they were his until last year. I love them!
The corner cabinet is built in. My storage shelves are cheapo particle board (also about 10 years old) from walmart.
How did I do it so fast? One entire day spent neglecting everything and everyone else!LOL!
Materials collected over time and many kids, plus a year’s conscious effort to supply this particular child with high quality stuff rather than the cheap plastic junk my other kids grew up with!
Cheryl Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
Wow! I can’t believe you did all that in one day. I am having such a hard time getting started on organizing my new school room. I keep looking at my closet, but not taking action. You are an inspiration!
Dawn Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
Wow! Theresa, I just checked back in and I *love* the new look! Beautiful!
lapazfarm Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 3:40 pm
Yea, I was ready for a change. Inspired by all the decluttering chatter going around I wanted to choose something less cluttered. I am not sure which one you saw, as I went through several before I landed on one. Was it this or the pink/aqua stripey one? I can’t decide which one I like better.
Dawn Says:
July 13th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
I saw this one, this soft pale peach and beige. Very pretty. The pink/aqua stripey one sounds nice too, though!

I get very fidgety about my blog template ~ I’m sure I’ll be changing it again come fall, LOL!
playingitbyear Says:
July 14th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
It looks absolutely amazing, and very inspiring! Our oldest is only 3 right now, but I’m seriously considering pinching some ideas from Montessori - the more I read about it the more I like it. I don’t know if you’ve ever visited this website: http://www.timsellers.net/montessori/ or if it’s any good for what you need…I just know it’s there and thought I’d let you know about it!

BWs
Meredith Says:
July 14th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
Theresa, you are way ahead of me girl!! I have been planning to email you and what I’ve set up so far, but I’ve been pre-occupied with hmm, the pool, LOL!!! You’ve inspired me now, I better get on it! I’ll try and do some pics on my blog too soon!! Bug me about it that will help, LOL!
Angel Says:
July 15th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Wow, this looks great! And you did it so fast, too!

I’d second the moveable alphabet recommendation; we’re getting a lot of use out of ours. (Nobody seems interested in the sandpaper letters, though, not even my 3 year old.)
Your home altar looks lovely. I am trying to figure out where to put one in our home, too, and I love to see pictures of what other people have done! (I don’t seem to understand anything unless I can see it.)
lapazfarm Says:
July 15th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
Me, too, Angel! I am very visual and a picture truly is worth a thousand words to me!
Apple Stars » Blog Archive » Organizing . . . William and Joseph Says:
July 25th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
[…] Combining the inspiration I received from Theresa at Lapaz Home Learning in her post called “Kinderplanning” and Faith at Dumb Ox Academy in her post called “Natural Structure” I’ve come up with something that I think might just be a good fit this year for these two children. I found a nine cubbie wall unit (in the closet organizer section of Lowe’s), bought two, and put one in the living room (William and Joseph’s) and one in the kitchen (Alex and Adam): […]