Packing up my shelves this week as we transition from our units on geological eras and prehistoric life towards ancient civilization. I wanted to share some books before they go back on our “library shelf” (which currently is just an avalanche of books waiting to happen. Organization fairy, please come rescue me from my good…
Speaking of “painting windows” in my last post… I always forget to share activities we do to the blog. So here’s one of the activities we did at the end of January for the Second Great Lesson (Coming of Life). I keep reading about the “Mural of Life” used in Montessori classrooms. Aside from the…
The Montessori Great Lessons are a series of stories that tell the single cosmic tale of the Earth from its creation to the marvelous interconnectedness of mankind. They’re the framework all of Montessori elementary is based on; these stories inspire the kids to want to learn math, science, language and more. For the third cosmic…
Almost forgot to share this fun outing we had last month. The Florida Museum has such great displays covering the geological eras; it has amazing prehistoric fossils, a huge Mammoth fossil that was found in a tiny river not far from our home, and giant megalodon jaws. If you have a chance to visit this…
In science we are currently talking about the timeline of life and all that goes along with the second great lesson. In the past we’ve used the traditional Montessori Clock of Eras in printed form. I struggle with it though because technically some of the “eras” are really “eons” now. I want our science work…
I know I skipped over a couple week-in-review posts. In my absence, I have blissfully read books for pleasure and binge-watched all of The Handmaid’s Tale. Also my sister got married, I was a matron of honor planning and assisting many-a-thing, and the kids were flower girls, and… little handfuls. In the upcoming week, we…
We’ve been fervently studying animal classification around here, and the Tree of Life material from Waseca Biomes has quickly become a favorite hands-on exploration; it’s been used many times over the last couple of weeks. The material, a tree puzzle, is intended for advanced learners — and between you and me, I have no idea…
Last week we introduced Montessori’s Second Great Lesson: the Coming of Life. The Great Lessons are a series of stories designed to spark the fire of curiosity surrounding science, history, communication, numbers, geography and more. These stories along with key lessons serve as a framework for further explorations throughout the year. Materials With the 2nd…
Second week of homeschooling is in the books. I’m not sure how that happened so fast. We’ve been focusing on our Great Lessons work (we are doing one per week the first five weeks, you can read more about them here). I figure our first five weeks back are kinda a jumpstart and transition period after…
We have a big trip to Disney planned soon, and with the Great Lessons on my mind, it’s no surprise that I’m seeing Montessori homeschool lessons everywhere. Epcot is particularly wonderful for homeschool experiences. Specifically — I think it’s entirely possible — that Epcot presents to the masses the first four Montessori Great Lessons each day….
