My 18-year old daughter has always shown signs of giftedness, complete with overexcitabilities. Her emotions being one of them.
She has known for years that we just took it for granted that she was gifted. She often rejected us thinking it. But she doesn't even seem to remember now that we ever told her, as a matter of fact.
This morning, in a bright mood, she told me she'd learned all kinds of things last night. In addition to certain details involving the cast of "Once Upon a Time" ;), she said she'd learned that she was gifted (I laugh now because we've never hidden our belief about that!) and she learned about one of the excitabilities: emotional intensity.
Her reading about the ties with giftedness and intense emotions of any kind, it was like a weight has been lifted from her. And yet, she'd heard things about it from me before. So what's the difference?
She was ready.
She was ready to hear it. Ready to learn from it. Ready to connect with it.
This is sooo Montessori, isn't it?
Don't get frustrated or fall into despair if your children of any age aren't hearing something that is as plain as day to you. It's no different from presenting the right materials/lessons to the young or elementary child. If they're not ready, it's just not going to click.
Showing posts with label Montessori. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montessori. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Montessori High School Schedule
I came across this and thought I would share it:
http://montessoriky.org/acedimics/daily-schedule/
I found it very interesting that they have 20 minutes of Care for the Environment and Closing time. I'm not entirely sure what the rest of the schedule means exactly, though. Does each grade have their own subject for each time block? Is the time block simply the time they can choose which of the listed subjects they can work on?
I'm not sure that such a schedule would be required at home with a single student. I do like the scheduled 15 minutes of physical activity, but I think I would make it EVERY day.
http://montessoriky.org/acedimics/daily-schedule/
I'm not sure that such a schedule would be required at home with a single student. I do like the scheduled 15 minutes of physical activity, but I think I would make it EVERY day.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
What Are Your Electronics Rules for Teens?
I'm curious to know what your electronics rules are--both for your teens (homeschooling or not) and parents.
We don't have any set rules--something that bugs my husband because he's more black-and-white in his thinking than I am--but that doesn't mean we don't go at one point, "Hey, you're spending an awful lot of time doing this on this device," or "Hey, you've already spent a ridiculous amount of hours doing this electronic stuff today, so no, you're not allowed to go on the Playstation." When they were younger and didn't really have devices, it was rather easy to set limits for screen time. With them being teenagers and having their own devices--and in their rooms--it's creating some challenges which might not be real issues, but definitely something my husband and I are thinking about. Are they spending too much time? What's a reasonable amount of time? What's a reasonable location?
My husband and I grew up differently, which creates some conflict there: he was in a house where there was a TV in his parents' room, a TV in the living room and a TV in the rec room in the basement--which was really his and his two brothers' area to watch TV and play video games. I grew up in a house where my mom had a TV, there was a TV in the living room (that I never had to ask to watch) and when I was in high school, I got my own TV for my room. I don't recall any rules being put on it, but I was the kind of kid who really needed my sleep, so I wasn't prone to staying up super late anyhow. Granted, we didn't have as many channels and such, so that difference is admitted by me.
So, my husband has his idea of how he grew up is how things should be; I have my idea of how I grew up isn't how things "should" be, but it's fine. My thinking, too, is what's not fine is if they watch things they know we won't approve of or if it gets to be too much. I have, for example, put a limit on our son's watching because it seems to affect his sleep more than his sister--he will literally watch something on his iPad until midnight and be awake at 8:30 or so and tired because he needs more sleep than that. His sister might watch something on her laptop, and until midnight or past, but it doesn't seem to affect her sleep the same way AND she tried on her own for a bit to follow some sleep recommendations and not watch anything for half an hour before she tried to fall asleep and it took her an hour or more longer to actually fall asleep. It's more for the background noise of familiar programs or lately, things like My Little Pony: silly, not too engaging, relaxing.
He didn't really say anything about our daughter watching stuff on her laptop until it had become something she'd been doing for a while. She's 17.5; doesn't seem like a time to be telling her to stop, something he realizes. He has concerns about what she might be watching; I check her browser and Netflix recently watched fairly often. There's never been anything of any concern to me, although he wonders about the horror movies she watches (except he and I both talk about horror movies we saw in junior high and high school). She pretty much watches stuff after everybody else is in bed, and given she has always been a night owl, since birth, she watches a bit before she's ready to fall asleep, usually around midnight or so. Is this a habit we should be discouraging is the question on my mind today.
Another issue in our house is our daughter's use of her phone after a certain hour. My husband said today he thinks she should have a curfew on it; I'm not opposed to that, but his idea of a curfew, I believe, is based on what his students have as curfews--but his students have to get up between 6-7am each day, whereas she can sleep in, and does, often until sometime between 8:30-9:30. If a school student has a phone curfew of 9 or 10, then is it unreasonable for her to be checking things at 10:30 or 11? So many questions to ask oneself as a parent! I do think that if she goes to school next year, as it looks like she will do, and she's on her phone at 11pm every night at that point, yes, it might be time to say something, although I would take more of a position of discuss it with her and work something out and I think my husband would like he and I to figure something out and tell her. (Is that a man vs woman thing? Or maybe it's just the Montessori in me: work with the child!)
My son spends HOURS AND HOURS on his iPad watching YouTube videos about games, mostly, although sometimes he does share cool stuff like Matthew Santoro's videos. (He's got awesome educational videos, btw!) I am starting to feel like it's really too much, but again, do I just determine the limit, or his dad and I determine the limit, or do I figure out a way for him to choose to cut back and regulate himself? Maria Montessori would say we need to set the limits when the kids can't set them themselves. I guess I'd like to see first if he and I can figure out a limit together.
Each teen has their own iPad (well, Mini), my son has an iPod Touch, my daughter has an iPhone (yes, she pays for the monthly bill), we have an iMac, I have my Asus laptop, my husband has an iPad from school, we have a TV in our bedroom, there's a TV in the family room and a TV in the basement, which we had designed to be the "teen cave" and it hasn't really turned out that way... (My husband puts the TV on and the sleep timer every night at bedtime. Every night. I know in high school, I often had to put something on--radio, TV, music, something--to get to sleep. As our daughter is finding is useful and our son thinks is useful, but it's typically just listening to music that gets him to sleep.)
That's just a little picture into what's going on around here. Homeschooling offers the possibility of much more openness and while the Sudbury Valley school might say, "Hey, let them do as they please!", the Sudbury Valley school also has all kinds of kids and activity opportunities around that change the environment and influences. (I hear the "change the environment, change the child" quote. I suppose it applies to teens just as much to little ones or adults. I'll have to think about this more.)
A long way of giving you some info on my side of things to ask you: What are your electronics rules for your teens? Be it the amount of time, do they have to ask permission to use this or that, is there a curfew for certain things, restrictions on locations...?
And with that, I think I need to go upstairs and check if my son is actually getting ready for the day. He went upstairs about 10 minutes ago, but that's not a guarantee he isn't watching something else on his iPad instead of getting dressed.
We don't have any set rules--something that bugs my husband because he's more black-and-white in his thinking than I am--but that doesn't mean we don't go at one point, "Hey, you're spending an awful lot of time doing this on this device," or "Hey, you've already spent a ridiculous amount of hours doing this electronic stuff today, so no, you're not allowed to go on the Playstation." When they were younger and didn't really have devices, it was rather easy to set limits for screen time. With them being teenagers and having their own devices--and in their rooms--it's creating some challenges which might not be real issues, but definitely something my husband and I are thinking about. Are they spending too much time? What's a reasonable amount of time? What's a reasonable location?
My husband and I grew up differently, which creates some conflict there: he was in a house where there was a TV in his parents' room, a TV in the living room and a TV in the rec room in the basement--which was really his and his two brothers' area to watch TV and play video games. I grew up in a house where my mom had a TV, there was a TV in the living room (that I never had to ask to watch) and when I was in high school, I got my own TV for my room. I don't recall any rules being put on it, but I was the kind of kid who really needed my sleep, so I wasn't prone to staying up super late anyhow. Granted, we didn't have as many channels and such, so that difference is admitted by me.
So, my husband has his idea of how he grew up is how things should be; I have my idea of how I grew up isn't how things "should" be, but it's fine. My thinking, too, is what's not fine is if they watch things they know we won't approve of or if it gets to be too much. I have, for example, put a limit on our son's watching because it seems to affect his sleep more than his sister--he will literally watch something on his iPad until midnight and be awake at 8:30 or so and tired because he needs more sleep than that. His sister might watch something on her laptop, and until midnight or past, but it doesn't seem to affect her sleep the same way AND she tried on her own for a bit to follow some sleep recommendations and not watch anything for half an hour before she tried to fall asleep and it took her an hour or more longer to actually fall asleep. It's more for the background noise of familiar programs or lately, things like My Little Pony: silly, not too engaging, relaxing.
He didn't really say anything about our daughter watching stuff on her laptop until it had become something she'd been doing for a while. She's 17.5; doesn't seem like a time to be telling her to stop, something he realizes. He has concerns about what she might be watching; I check her browser and Netflix recently watched fairly often. There's never been anything of any concern to me, although he wonders about the horror movies she watches (except he and I both talk about horror movies we saw in junior high and high school). She pretty much watches stuff after everybody else is in bed, and given she has always been a night owl, since birth, she watches a bit before she's ready to fall asleep, usually around midnight or so. Is this a habit we should be discouraging is the question on my mind today.
Another issue in our house is our daughter's use of her phone after a certain hour. My husband said today he thinks she should have a curfew on it; I'm not opposed to that, but his idea of a curfew, I believe, is based on what his students have as curfews--but his students have to get up between 6-7am each day, whereas she can sleep in, and does, often until sometime between 8:30-9:30. If a school student has a phone curfew of 9 or 10, then is it unreasonable for her to be checking things at 10:30 or 11? So many questions to ask oneself as a parent! I do think that if she goes to school next year, as it looks like she will do, and she's on her phone at 11pm every night at that point, yes, it might be time to say something, although I would take more of a position of discuss it with her and work something out and I think my husband would like he and I to figure something out and tell her. (Is that a man vs woman thing? Or maybe it's just the Montessori in me: work with the child!)
My son spends HOURS AND HOURS on his iPad watching YouTube videos about games, mostly, although sometimes he does share cool stuff like Matthew Santoro's videos. (He's got awesome educational videos, btw!) I am starting to feel like it's really too much, but again, do I just determine the limit, or his dad and I determine the limit, or do I figure out a way for him to choose to cut back and regulate himself? Maria Montessori would say we need to set the limits when the kids can't set them themselves. I guess I'd like to see first if he and I can figure out a limit together.
Each teen has their own iPad (well, Mini), my son has an iPod Touch, my daughter has an iPhone (yes, she pays for the monthly bill), we have an iMac, I have my Asus laptop, my husband has an iPad from school, we have a TV in our bedroom, there's a TV in the family room and a TV in the basement, which we had designed to be the "teen cave" and it hasn't really turned out that way... (My husband puts the TV on and the sleep timer every night at bedtime. Every night. I know in high school, I often had to put something on--radio, TV, music, something--to get to sleep. As our daughter is finding is useful and our son thinks is useful, but it's typically just listening to music that gets him to sleep.)
That's just a little picture into what's going on around here. Homeschooling offers the possibility of much more openness and while the Sudbury Valley school might say, "Hey, let them do as they please!", the Sudbury Valley school also has all kinds of kids and activity opportunities around that change the environment and influences. (I hear the "change the environment, change the child" quote. I suppose it applies to teens just as much to little ones or adults. I'll have to think about this more.)
A long way of giving you some info on my side of things to ask you: What are your electronics rules for your teens? Be it the amount of time, do they have to ask permission to use this or that, is there a curfew for certain things, restrictions on locations...?
And with that, I think I need to go upstairs and check if my son is actually getting ready for the day. He went upstairs about 10 minutes ago, but that's not a guarantee he isn't watching something else on his iPad instead of getting dressed.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Have You Observed Your Teen Lately?
I have to admit to not having read much lately in terms of Maria Montessori's approach to teenagers. But observation was definitely a key thing for the early years; surely it's just as important in the later years?
When was the last time you observed your teen? Have you ever--in the same way you might have observed your preschooler or elementary child? I'm not sure I have, or perhaps I do observe or notice things, but I don't sit and just observe the way I used to. And this thought came to mind today and has me thinking.
One thing I observed in my son (14) today, and my husband commented on it, is that he is just not in a rush to do anything or get anywhere. He was invited to his "brother from another mother's" house (lol--his cousin, the one who started in my dayhome at the age of 18 months and my son was 15 months; the two are strongly bonded) for a sleepover this evening. My husband and I were out when we got the invite; I assumed our son knew because he knows these things ahead of time. We got home and I asked if he knew; he didn't know it had been confirmed. He had started his laundry and just had to put it into the dryer. Okay. That done, I napped. I woke up from my nap and his laundry was still going and he was still in his pyjamas (at 4 in the afternoon). We had said we could drop him off around 5, and it's about a 25-minute drive from our place. At some point, while he was waiting for his clothes, he checked them, saw he had another 10 minutes and I told him he could get everything else ready: sleeping bag, pillows, toothbrush... He went to the basement and put the sleeping bag and sleep mat. His clothes were ready shortly before 4:30, at which point I texted his aunt that he was going to be late. He took his clothes into his room and shut the door. 10-15 minutes later, I knock, asking if I can come in. He said he's changing. I don't know if he was changing for 10-15 minutes or packing before changing or what, put it's one night. His sister would have been changed and back packed in that time easily. At the age of 10.
Finally, he was dressed and I go in and we chatted about what else he needed to get ready. He didn't have his toothbrush packed; that was the last thing he did. Didn't have his pillows downstairs (yes, he insists on having two, even though my observation is that when I peek in before he's up, his head isn't on a single one). But it honestly took him 5 minutes to do I'm not even sure what. He is always eager to go to his cousin's, but it doesn't somehow translate into speed. And this has honestly been something I've noticed since he was little. He was pretty much always the last one to get outside--even if he was the first one to start getting ready. To the point that sometimes, his cousins and sister had been outside for 10-15 minutes before he was ready to head out. His other aunt noticed the same thing that past winter when he was over there, everybody got ready to head out into the snow and there my son was, 5-10 minutes later, still not ready.
I wish I could observe the actual thought processes that are going on while he does all of this. Is this just his style? Is it something to leave alone or to work with him on? Is he lost in thought? Does he have trouble with executive planning? What is going on inside that brain of his?
It doesn't help that I'm probably the one who speeds through many things. We're heading to the store? Okay. 5 minutes later, I'm dressed, hair's brushed and make-up on. And then I'm trying to figure out what to do with myself as I wait for my husband, who's not so much slow as much as he can easily get caught up in other things, like looking out the window at the construction going on on the other side of the street. Typically, I'll start doing something else while I wait, but then he sees me doing something else and thinks I'm not ready, so he starts doing something while he waits for me, but because he has a tendency to do other things before really being ready--even if I'm at the door in my coat--I don't realize he's ready. lol. Ah, but that's a whole other issue.
So... I have this observation: My son is slow at getting ready (going to the bathroom, having a shower, eating snacks...). But I don't have enough information with my observation. I'm going to have to observe more or start questioning him more. Or observe more first and then ask him, "What were you thinking when...?"
I'm actually looking forward to observing my teens a bit and hope I'll remember to do so this week. Clearly, I can't observe my son this evening and my daughter is currently napping (although, that is not to say that you can't observe some things while someone sleeps, like position, twitching, how restless, breathing...), but perhaps I will pay a little more attention to what my daughter does this evening when she's in my presence. If even it's only to just love having her there. :)
So, have you observed your teen (or any other age of child) lately? What have you noticed? Any amazing conclusions you've come to?
When was the last time you observed your teen? Have you ever--in the same way you might have observed your preschooler or elementary child? I'm not sure I have, or perhaps I do observe or notice things, but I don't sit and just observe the way I used to. And this thought came to mind today and has me thinking.
One thing I observed in my son (14) today, and my husband commented on it, is that he is just not in a rush to do anything or get anywhere. He was invited to his "brother from another mother's" house (lol--his cousin, the one who started in my dayhome at the age of 18 months and my son was 15 months; the two are strongly bonded) for a sleepover this evening. My husband and I were out when we got the invite; I assumed our son knew because he knows these things ahead of time. We got home and I asked if he knew; he didn't know it had been confirmed. He had started his laundry and just had to put it into the dryer. Okay. That done, I napped. I woke up from my nap and his laundry was still going and he was still in his pyjamas (at 4 in the afternoon). We had said we could drop him off around 5, and it's about a 25-minute drive from our place. At some point, while he was waiting for his clothes, he checked them, saw he had another 10 minutes and I told him he could get everything else ready: sleeping bag, pillows, toothbrush... He went to the basement and put the sleeping bag and sleep mat. His clothes were ready shortly before 4:30, at which point I texted his aunt that he was going to be late. He took his clothes into his room and shut the door. 10-15 minutes later, I knock, asking if I can come in. He said he's changing. I don't know if he was changing for 10-15 minutes or packing before changing or what, put it's one night. His sister would have been changed and back packed in that time easily. At the age of 10.
Finally, he was dressed and I go in and we chatted about what else he needed to get ready. He didn't have his toothbrush packed; that was the last thing he did. Didn't have his pillows downstairs (yes, he insists on having two, even though my observation is that when I peek in before he's up, his head isn't on a single one). But it honestly took him 5 minutes to do I'm not even sure what. He is always eager to go to his cousin's, but it doesn't somehow translate into speed. And this has honestly been something I've noticed since he was little. He was pretty much always the last one to get outside--even if he was the first one to start getting ready. To the point that sometimes, his cousins and sister had been outside for 10-15 minutes before he was ready to head out. His other aunt noticed the same thing that past winter when he was over there, everybody got ready to head out into the snow and there my son was, 5-10 minutes later, still not ready.
I wish I could observe the actual thought processes that are going on while he does all of this. Is this just his style? Is it something to leave alone or to work with him on? Is he lost in thought? Does he have trouble with executive planning? What is going on inside that brain of his?
It doesn't help that I'm probably the one who speeds through many things. We're heading to the store? Okay. 5 minutes later, I'm dressed, hair's brushed and make-up on. And then I'm trying to figure out what to do with myself as I wait for my husband, who's not so much slow as much as he can easily get caught up in other things, like looking out the window at the construction going on on the other side of the street. Typically, I'll start doing something else while I wait, but then he sees me doing something else and thinks I'm not ready, so he starts doing something while he waits for me, but because he has a tendency to do other things before really being ready--even if I'm at the door in my coat--I don't realize he's ready. lol. Ah, but that's a whole other issue.
So... I have this observation: My son is slow at getting ready (going to the bathroom, having a shower, eating snacks...). But I don't have enough information with my observation. I'm going to have to observe more or start questioning him more. Or observe more first and then ask him, "What were you thinking when...?"
I'm actually looking forward to observing my teens a bit and hope I'll remember to do so this week. Clearly, I can't observe my son this evening and my daughter is currently napping (although, that is not to say that you can't observe some things while someone sleeps, like position, twitching, how restless, breathing...), but perhaps I will pay a little more attention to what my daughter does this evening when she's in my presence. If even it's only to just love having her there. :)
So, have you observed your teen (or any other age of child) lately? What have you noticed? Any amazing conclusions you've come to?
Thursday, December 18, 2014
When You Want to Encourage Someone to Homeschool...
...But Know You Shouldn't
I have a friend with 4 girls. Two of them are school age, one just recently having been diagnosed with Borderline Intellectual Functioning. What does that mean? Essentially, she's a slow learner who needs things presented concretely and needs adults around her to check frequently for understanding. (Okay, so that's a really, really brief description; more complicated than that.)
It also means, however, that she doesn't qualify for any special program. She's seen as doing as well as she can with the material based on her cognitive abilities. Her cognitive abilities aren't low enough to be in a special program, or if some of her abilities showed she should be able but she has blocks.
So, this girl is going to be in a classroom of I don't know how many children, being given modified work with a teacher who has to try to use all kinds of strategies just with her on a daily basis.
I so want to suggest to my friend to homeschool. But it really doesn't feel right to do so.
Maybe it's because I know her life circumstances and her and just think it would be overwhelming at this point for her--and perhaps her daughter. Part of me wishes I were still homeschooling others or were in a position to take it up again because, dang, doing Montessori with this child all day would be fantastic for her.
I suppose that is one thing I can do: keep supporting this friend with Montessori ideas or fit in Montessori tutoring with this girl if my friend wants to go that route. When you see a recommendation of "concrete" and know about Montessori, how can the two not be put together? :)
Have you ever been in a situation where you really wanted to encourage someone to homeschool but decided it was a bad idea?
I have a friend with 4 girls. Two of them are school age, one just recently having been diagnosed with Borderline Intellectual Functioning. What does that mean? Essentially, she's a slow learner who needs things presented concretely and needs adults around her to check frequently for understanding. (Okay, so that's a really, really brief description; more complicated than that.)
It also means, however, that she doesn't qualify for any special program. She's seen as doing as well as she can with the material based on her cognitive abilities. Her cognitive abilities aren't low enough to be in a special program, or if some of her abilities showed she should be able but she has blocks.
So, this girl is going to be in a classroom of I don't know how many children, being given modified work with a teacher who has to try to use all kinds of strategies just with her on a daily basis.
I so want to suggest to my friend to homeschool. But it really doesn't feel right to do so.
Maybe it's because I know her life circumstances and her and just think it would be overwhelming at this point for her--and perhaps her daughter. Part of me wishes I were still homeschooling others or were in a position to take it up again because, dang, doing Montessori with this child all day would be fantastic for her.
I suppose that is one thing I can do: keep supporting this friend with Montessori ideas or fit in Montessori tutoring with this girl if my friend wants to go that route. When you see a recommendation of "concrete" and know about Montessori, how can the two not be put together? :)
Have you ever been in a situation where you really wanted to encourage someone to homeschool but decided it was a bad idea?
Sunday, June 8, 2014
A sample Montessori junior high schedule
I thought this was interesting from the Montessori Academy of London (Ontario):
http://teacherweb.com/ON/MA/juniorhigh/apt63.aspx
W.W. = Writer's Workshop
Given it's almost all the same, I'm guessing that they have simply set aside the morning as being for these different subject areas, but not necessarily at a specific time?
http://teacherweb.com/ON/MA/juniorhigh/apt63.aspx
W.W. = Writer's Workshop
Given it's almost all the same, I'm guessing that they have simply set aside the morning as being for these different subject areas, but not necessarily at a specific time?
Junior High Weekly Timetable
Time
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
8:50-9:00am
|
Morning
Gathering
|
Morning
Gathering
|
Morning
Gathering
|
Morning
Gathering
| |
9:00-9:45am
|
W.W.
Math
French
|
W.W.
Math
French
|
W.W.
Math
French
|
Full Band
|
W.W.
Math
French
|
9:45-10:30am
|
W.W.
Math
French
|
W.W.
Math
French
|
W.W.
Math
French
|
W.W.
Math
French
| |
10:30-11:15am
|
W.W.
Math
French
|
W.W.
Math
French
|
W.W.
Math
French
|
Student
Services
|
W.W.
Math
French
|
11:15-12:15pm
|
Phys. Ed.
Sectionals
|
Prep/Set up
Cooking Support
Business/Tech
Solo Time
|
Prep/Set up
Cooking Support
Business/Tech
Solo Time
|
Phys. Ed.
Sectionals
| |
12:15-12:40pm
|
LUNCH
|
LUNCH
|
LUNCH
|
LUNCH
|
LUNCH
|
12:40-1:20pm
|
PLAYTIME
|
PLAYTIME
|
PLAYTIME
|
PLAYTIME
|
PLAYTIME
|
1:30-3:15pm
|
Science or
Humanities
|
Science or
Humanities
|
Science or
Humanities
|
Art/Work
Period
|
Science or
Humanities
|
3:20-3:50pm
|
Advisor Time
|
Advisor Time
|
Advisor Time
|
Advisor Time
| |
3:50-4:00pm
|
Care of the
Environment
|
Care of the
Environment
|
Care of the
Environment
|
Care of the
Environment
|
June means...
June is here! That means a few things:
*last month of school; we don't finish, officially, until the last Thursday
*I'm already thinking about next year and doing some planning.
There are some things to decide still for my 16yo's classes next year, but she is still working toward the provincial diploma and has decided to switch from the online program she was doing to the basic homeschooling we had been doing. I think it will work much better for her, to be honest! There will be some work required in the planning, but course selections have to be made first. One thing that's nice is that she will be able to give input into the types of work she would like to do to meet the provincial outcomes.
For my son, while he's definitely made progress this year, it was, naturally, not anywhere near what I had planned on. But, without a plan, he probably would not have made as much progress, so I'm okay with that. He will be grade 9, which is the last year of junior high here. It really hit me how I have to do more "transitioning" next year, more adding in things that will be like the high school courses (I've decided to have him do the provincial high school credits because of just his general nature and approach to life! lol) he will have to do in grade 10. Writing will be a huge focus for next year and we've already picked Writing Strands 4 as a starting point. I may have him work through it faster than the book says to just so we can get to other writing sooner.
It hit me, though, that grade 9 is high school in the USA and that perhaps the Montessori High School at University Circle might have some good ideas for me. They do! I'm copying and pasting exactly below from their page Younger Level Elements of Study. I won't have two years to cover topics the way they do for history and such and besides, I would like to continue with Canadian and American history as planned (even though we didn't finish French and British history this year; we could do a month of super quick overview). I do, however, feel that I need to move beyond just the CM-inspired literature and narration (which I barely had him do, to be honest; we did more discussion of things than narration) and back into Montessori-style projects and such. There's something about the CM-style that doesn't feel... modern enough... if that makes sense. In any case, I have this vision of having portfolios and/or notebooks collecting their notes, work, pictures, etc., related to the outcomes they are covering. I've had this vision before and it keeps coming back, but I've somehow never properly implemented it. And both my kids can take this approach next year, which will, I think, bring a better unity to our little group. (Oh my, it just hit me that if everything goes as planned, it will be my daughter's last year of high school!!! WHAT?!)
From the Montessori High School at University Circle's site:
*last month of school; we don't finish, officially, until the last Thursday
*I'm already thinking about next year and doing some planning.
There are some things to decide still for my 16yo's classes next year, but she is still working toward the provincial diploma and has decided to switch from the online program she was doing to the basic homeschooling we had been doing. I think it will work much better for her, to be honest! There will be some work required in the planning, but course selections have to be made first. One thing that's nice is that she will be able to give input into the types of work she would like to do to meet the provincial outcomes.
For my son, while he's definitely made progress this year, it was, naturally, not anywhere near what I had planned on. But, without a plan, he probably would not have made as much progress, so I'm okay with that. He will be grade 9, which is the last year of junior high here. It really hit me how I have to do more "transitioning" next year, more adding in things that will be like the high school courses (I've decided to have him do the provincial high school credits because of just his general nature and approach to life! lol) he will have to do in grade 10. Writing will be a huge focus for next year and we've already picked Writing Strands 4 as a starting point. I may have him work through it faster than the book says to just so we can get to other writing sooner.
It hit me, though, that grade 9 is high school in the USA and that perhaps the Montessori High School at University Circle might have some good ideas for me. They do! I'm copying and pasting exactly below from their page Younger Level Elements of Study. I won't have two years to cover topics the way they do for history and such and besides, I would like to continue with Canadian and American history as planned (even though we didn't finish French and British history this year; we could do a month of super quick overview). I do, however, feel that I need to move beyond just the CM-inspired literature and narration (which I barely had him do, to be honest; we did more discussion of things than narration) and back into Montessori-style projects and such. There's something about the CM-style that doesn't feel... modern enough... if that makes sense. In any case, I have this vision of having portfolios and/or notebooks collecting their notes, work, pictures, etc., related to the outcomes they are covering. I've had this vision before and it keeps coming back, but I've somehow never properly implemented it. And both my kids can take this approach next year, which will, I think, bring a better unity to our little group. (Oh my, it just hit me that if everything goes as planned, it will be my daughter's last year of high school!!! WHAT?!)
From the Montessori High School at University Circle's site:
Younger Level Elements of Study
In the first two years of their high school career, students’ understanding of the world is developed through introductions to the distinct perspectives of the following disciplines and integrated work across the disciplines in application to real-life problems.
History and the Humanities are focused on exploring the evolution of human civilizations throughout time through the lens of the question “How have we come to the here and now?” The unifying central value of humanities work is the quest for peace through constructive human endeavor.
History
History is the study of human civilizations through time with the intent to find patterns of cause and effect and to create narratives that make sense of the human story. History gives insight into the human condition by identifying human universals and hopes in order to create awareness of opportunities for positive change in the student. In 9th and 10th grade, students are focusing on important episodes in world and American history, and they develop a strong understanding of the roots and methods of the discipline. Students conduct original research, discuss primary and secondary sources in seminar, and develop clear and coherent writing. Students learn to orient themselves in space and time, assisted by the use and creation of maps and timelines. The overarching theme is the human tendency for migration, as identified by Maria Montessori, and its effects and consequences. The study of history is enriched by work with the following social science disciplines or lenses which provide an emerging social justice perspective appropriate to the adolescent:
Social and Cultural Anthropology
Social and Cultural Anthropology is the comparative study of cultures and human societies. The study of the particularities of social and cultural life and emerging appreciation of general principles that govern human societies fuel the students’ understanding of self and other, empathy, and a drive to be engaged citizens of the world.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of human experience through thought and feelings and how they inform behavior. The introduction to psychology focuses on developmental and social psychology as a reflection of what it means to grow and become an adult in 21st Century society. It explicitly explores the role of motivation in exploration throughout history.
Geography
Geography is the interdisciplinary study of place in relation to economics, health, climate, plants/animals, and human populations. At MHS, geography orients to the study of place and human migration in close connection to orientation in time through the study of history. Students study both physical and human geography and build their understanding of how human population impacts the planet through the building of civilization, thus connect to the unifying central value of sustainability in the study of the sciences.
Philosophy
Philosophy is the critical, systematic study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. Students are introduced to both Western and Eastern philosophical traditions, with an explicit focus in 9th and 10th grade on the Enlightenment in relation to the study of revolutions and nationalism. Chinese philosophy in the context of European exploration and the evolution of global trade is also a focus.
Sociology
Sociology is study of society through empirical investigation and critical analysis to apply for betterment of society. Students are introduced to the discipline when they study the Industrial Revolution and socialist challenge to capitalism. They continue their study of migration, urbanization, and demographics in application to the history of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.
Political Science
Political Science is the study of theory and practice of politics and analysis of political systems and behavior. Students are introduced to the discipline in the context of studying the revolutionary political, social, and economic changes associated with Enlightenment thought and industrialization of the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Economics
Economics at MHS is the holistic study of humans’ production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services with the understanding that market exchange has ecological, ethical, social, political, and social-psychological dimensions. In 9th and 10th grade, students are introduced to the discipline in the context of exploring the history of colonialism and imperialism.
Current Events and Ethical Thought
Current Events and Ethical Thought (CEET) class challenges students to think through current events by employing ethical theory as a tool of both critical reflection and discussion as well as moral self-construction. CEET engages students to see themselves in relation to others and in service to society. The course engages students by moving through concentric rings from a virtue-focused individual ethics towards the ethics of human relationships, society as a whole, and the environment considering the ethics of distributive justice, distribution of resources, human rights from the perspective of the modern adolescent.
Integrated Science
MHS offers an integrated science approach that allows students to understand natural phenomena from the perspective of biology, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, and the earth sciences. The course’s integrative character is enhanced by unifying themes such as energy, or the interconnectedness of all life. The course also addresses the ethical implications of scientific discovery and incorporates the use of manipulatives, formal lab work, seminar, written assignments, and cumulative projects. The arch of discovery reaches from understanding the origins of the universe and of life to the central unifying value of sustainability.Mathematics: Geometry and Algebra
The mathematics curriculum at MHS is unique in that students not only learn mathematical skills, but actively explore and come to understand the why of mathematical operations. The study of geometry, for example, includes direct work with Euclid’s The Elements to understand proofs as they were historically developed. Math class also includes seminar and lab time, which allows for open-ended exploration of mathematical concepts and individualized attention and progress in skills.Foreign Language: Spanish and French
Foreign language instruction at MHS gives equal attention to speaking, reading, and writing in another language. Both Spanish and French classes immerse students into the lived culture of places where these languages are spoken and include many opportunities to speak the language, project work, written assignments, and opportunities to go out, including optional trips to Spanish and French speaking countries.English Language Arts
English Language Arts works in close cooperation with the History class and focuses on the exploration of literature through studies of genres and forms, evolution of grammar and writing skills, as well as creative expression and other project work. The course opens venues for students to try out identities and create utopias to broaden their understanding of possibility. In addition, writer’s workshops, a popular elective course, offer opportunities to explore particular forms of writing such as poetry, dramatic writing, or the short story in a focused, two-week intensive.The Arts: Visual Art, Theatre, and Music
All three areas of the arts are introduced to 9th and 10th graders, one semester at a time, with a choice of deeper exploration for a second semester in one of the arts. In all three courses, students are given the opportunity to develop their understanding of the theory and history of the arts, and develop their own skills through creative processes. Students are also given the opportunity to visit the institutions of University Circle and the city of Cleveland in order to experience the arts. Art is happening at MHS all year round, in theatre productions, music performances, including coffeehouses in the evenings, art exhibits, in electives such as Parade the Circle, and in the annual Arts on Magnolia event.Physical Education and Health
Physical education, in coordination with the study of health, is focused on promoting the physical, mental, and social health of our students. Students may choose different PE activities each quarter. Options include work-outs at 1 to 1 Fitness, basketball, swimming, urban hiking, soccer, yoga, dance, and seasonal activities such as skiing or tennis. The health course holistically explores human health through lessons and project work on human development, nutrition with a hands-on component in the kitchen under the guidance of our culinary artist, and the impact of drugs and medicine on human health.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Missed Montessori Lesson
It would appear that I should have given a practical life lesson in how to open cereal bags:
The bag is cut, not ripped, at least. I asked my son--my 13-year old son--if he had trouble opening the bag. He looked at it and laughed the way he laughed when I asked him about the utensils and placemat and said, yes, he had. And didn't elaborate.
I sometimes feel like there are all kinds of basic Montessori lessons I didn't do enough with him (or at all). He is like the disheveled, clumsy, absent-minded professor, constantly in another world when he's not in the middle of reading, playing guitar or on electronics.This leads to opening the cereal bag like above, and his room constantly being a disaster, and his not knowing how long it's been since he had a shower and still making a mess with the milk most of the time when pouring milk into his cereal. He still stomps up and down the stairs, even though we have tried how many times to train him not to? I lovingly laugh as I think about all of this, he is just... so him. lol.
Think it's too late to have him do the Walking On the Line lesson and have it have an effect? lol
The bag is cut, not ripped, at least. I asked my son--my 13-year old son--if he had trouble opening the bag. He looked at it and laughed the way he laughed when I asked him about the utensils and placemat and said, yes, he had. And didn't elaborate.
I sometimes feel like there are all kinds of basic Montessori lessons I didn't do enough with him (or at all). He is like the disheveled, clumsy, absent-minded professor, constantly in another world when he's not in the middle of reading, playing guitar or on electronics.This leads to opening the cereal bag like above, and his room constantly being a disaster, and his not knowing how long it's been since he had a shower and still making a mess with the milk most of the time when pouring milk into his cereal. He still stomps up and down the stairs, even though we have tried how many times to train him not to? I lovingly laugh as I think about all of this, he is just... so him. lol.
Think it's too late to have him do the Walking On the Line lesson and have it have an effect? lol
Friday, December 13, 2013
Is Montessori parenting radical?
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started reading this article, but I did find that instead of "radical", it was very much in line with Montessori parenting! I thought I would share:
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/12/love-your-kids-leave-them-alone-the-art-of-radical-parenting-kristin-s-luce/
Is Montessori parenting, therefore, radical? What do you think?
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/12/love-your-kids-leave-them-alone-the-art-of-radical-parenting-kristin-s-luce/
Is Montessori parenting, therefore, radical? What do you think?
Friday, January 25, 2013
Know What I Want?
It's a little after 8:30 pm here as I start typing this. I'm dreadfully tired, but if I go to bed now, I'll either just nap--and then not fall back asleep until something like 1 am and completely mess up my sleep cycles--or I'll sleep through and be wide awake around 4 am. Or earlier. What to do? My mind can't focus on reading, I can't work on my other website, computer games are holding no interest and if I put on a movie or the TV, I'll just fall asleep.
So, I'm blogging. :D
I was thinking I would babble about how much I like the way we use Faith and Life (nope, I'm not an affiliate with them! ;) ). But instead, I've decided to babble about what I would like to see:
Yeah, I know, demanding request. It can be hard to find any real solid information about Montessori and the adolescent years. Training programs are few and far between and, afaik, don't have online options that we homeschoolers could take part in.
Maybe what I need to do is to gather all the information I can find and make myself a little book. A guide I can hold in my hands.
Of course, I could do as I always tell other people to do: Experiment! ;)
My thoughts are multiplying and jumbling together. I'll stop here for now, but I think I might babble to myself in a Word document. And maybe share some stuff at a later point!
So, I'm blogging. :D
I was thinking I would babble about how much I like the way we use Faith and Life (nope, I'm not an affiliate with them! ;) ). But instead, I've decided to babble about what I would like to see:
A Montessori homeschool curriculum or book for the adolescent years.
Yeah, I know, demanding request. It can be hard to find any real solid information about Montessori and the adolescent years. Training programs are few and far between and, afaik, don't have online options that we homeschoolers could take part in.
Maybe what I need to do is to gather all the information I can find and make myself a little book. A guide I can hold in my hands.
Of course, I could do as I always tell other people to do: Experiment! ;)
My thoughts are multiplying and jumbling together. I'll stop here for now, but I think I might babble to myself in a Word document. And maybe share some stuff at a later point!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Ups and Downs of Homeschooling
Homeschooling is life. And when you are a homeschooler, your life is homeschooling.
With that said, since life has its ups and downs, so does homeschooling.
This year has had a rough start. My dreams of what I would do with my son have not worked out. I have either been having crazy dreams or haven't taken the appropriate steps to make it all happen. I see a glimpse of interest in him, then it's back to brooding. Part of it is sleep on his part, I know that. We had a wonderful couple of weeks (albeit, without much work getting done) before the time change. Since the time change... Argh, argh, argh. He looks tired, he acts tired, he's a grump and resistant to everything. And he's 12. Ack. He asked this morning if he could have a short computer turn. I said no. I reminded him that he was supposed to get one turn a day (which I'd love to cut back, but that's a different thing to deal with) and it somehow became more than that (I think when sick kids were here, rules were loosened and not retightened). I told him that if he spent his time doing more than just reading comics in his bed all day, I might be more open to him having more time. His response, as he slumped away with his tired face, "There's nothing else to do around here." Oy.
We've been hit with viruses (I had the flu AND pink eye at the same time; joy! (sic)) and snow storms and this and that and the other.
Right now feels like one of the downs. My 15yo only just woke up, which means she's got that much less time to get work done this morning. At the same time, I know how she is when she's not sleeping well and everything school-wise becomes an emotional trigger and she falls apart. (That sounds so much more dramatic than it really is. lol)
I know that sometimes in life--and in homeschooling--you've just got to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Take charge. Not only make a plan but follow through on it. Regardless of grumpy kid moods.
So, today's a new day where I'm actively working to get out of this slump. Right now is brainstorming time:
*I used to make a plan of lessons I would give the kids and follow up work options. The expectation was to be working on something all morning long. It might be too much to do with my son, but if I can plan for the entire morning, have directed lesson after directed activity, etc., it could work, rather than having open time to choose during the morning. At least as a transitional phase.
*One idea: A set list of work (ugh, my Montessori insides are cringing) to get done before he can have a computer turn.
*Find the planning charts I had and really plan properly for him.
*Find some already-made resources that I can use with him rather than trying to do it all from scratch. Have a mix of Montessori and just "regular" stuff.
*Read the science manuals I have and actually follow through, for crying out loud! (Lol, yes, I'm getting ornery with myself.)
*The Great Lessons took forever, but went well. The follow up of unschooling-style "strewing" with resources--absolutely nothing happened with that. I may need to do more than just strew and actively plan how much we'll look at and follow up work options.
*It's occurred to me that my son doesn't like to be expected to work on his own. He would rather work with someone than simply have work options to do on his own. I need to keep that in mind.
Okay, a little unloading here has helped. One thing I've done so far this morning is install Homeschool Tracker Plus
[ADDENDUM: I got interrupted at that point with my son coming up behind me and just hugging me. :) Somehow, that just spurred me on with my determination and I said, wait a second, I'm going to get the chemistry manual and we'll do something. Well, I opened the physics manual first by accident, but it was great, because one of the first activities is using clear soda (I used club soda) in a glass, dropping some raisins in and seeing how buoyancy is affected. I wrote down the basic info, so he saw how that worked--the question, the hypothesis, the materials, etc.--and he had a great time. It completely brightened him up. I could not help but think of this quote by Maria Montessori:
If science is the only thing we do for the next while--and it gets him happy and eager to do things again--then I think I'm still on the right approach! To finish off what I had started saying above, I managed to install Homeschool Tracker Plus, which I've had for years and use on and off. A little voice was nagging me that it has always been useful in planning and it has a journal component, too, where I can just hammer off thoughts and not lose them. I have not yet set up a new file (no point in using an old file at this point!), but that's on today's to-do list. As is seeing what the next science activity we will do is.]
With that said, since life has its ups and downs, so does homeschooling.
This year has had a rough start. My dreams of what I would do with my son have not worked out. I have either been having crazy dreams or haven't taken the appropriate steps to make it all happen. I see a glimpse of interest in him, then it's back to brooding. Part of it is sleep on his part, I know that. We had a wonderful couple of weeks (albeit, without much work getting done) before the time change. Since the time change... Argh, argh, argh. He looks tired, he acts tired, he's a grump and resistant to everything. And he's 12. Ack. He asked this morning if he could have a short computer turn. I said no. I reminded him that he was supposed to get one turn a day (which I'd love to cut back, but that's a different thing to deal with) and it somehow became more than that (I think when sick kids were here, rules were loosened and not retightened). I told him that if he spent his time doing more than just reading comics in his bed all day, I might be more open to him having more time. His response, as he slumped away with his tired face, "There's nothing else to do around here." Oy.
We've been hit with viruses (I had the flu AND pink eye at the same time; joy! (sic)) and snow storms and this and that and the other.
Right now feels like one of the downs. My 15yo only just woke up, which means she's got that much less time to get work done this morning. At the same time, I know how she is when she's not sleeping well and everything school-wise becomes an emotional trigger and she falls apart. (That sounds so much more dramatic than it really is. lol)
I know that sometimes in life--and in homeschooling--you've just got to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Take charge. Not only make a plan but follow through on it. Regardless of grumpy kid moods.
So, today's a new day where I'm actively working to get out of this slump. Right now is brainstorming time:
*I used to make a plan of lessons I would give the kids and follow up work options. The expectation was to be working on something all morning long. It might be too much to do with my son, but if I can plan for the entire morning, have directed lesson after directed activity, etc., it could work, rather than having open time to choose during the morning. At least as a transitional phase.
*One idea: A set list of work (ugh, my Montessori insides are cringing) to get done before he can have a computer turn.
*Find the planning charts I had and really plan properly for him.
*Find some already-made resources that I can use with him rather than trying to do it all from scratch. Have a mix of Montessori and just "regular" stuff.
*Read the science manuals I have and actually follow through, for crying out loud! (Lol, yes, I'm getting ornery with myself.)
*The Great Lessons took forever, but went well. The follow up of unschooling-style "strewing" with resources--absolutely nothing happened with that. I may need to do more than just strew and actively plan how much we'll look at and follow up work options.
*It's occurred to me that my son doesn't like to be expected to work on his own. He would rather work with someone than simply have work options to do on his own. I need to keep that in mind.
Okay, a little unloading here has helped. One thing I've done so far this morning is install Homeschool Tracker Plus
[ADDENDUM: I got interrupted at that point with my son coming up behind me and just hugging me. :) Somehow, that just spurred me on with my determination and I said, wait a second, I'm going to get the chemistry manual and we'll do something. Well, I opened the physics manual first by accident, but it was great, because one of the first activities is using clear soda (I used club soda) in a glass, dropping some raisins in and seeing how buoyancy is affected. I wrote down the basic info, so he saw how that worked--the question, the hypothesis, the materials, etc.--and he had a great time. It completely brightened him up. I could not help but think of this quote by Maria Montessori:
One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.
If science is the only thing we do for the next while--and it gets him happy and eager to do things again--then I think I'm still on the right approach! To finish off what I had started saying above, I managed to install Homeschool Tracker Plus, which I've had for years and use on and off. A little voice was nagging me that it has always been useful in planning and it has a journal component, too, where I can just hammer off thoughts and not lose them. I have not yet set up a new file (no point in using an old file at this point!), but that's on today's to-do list. As is seeing what the next science activity we will do is.]
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
September's gone, October's here
September was an interesting month:
- my 14yo dd started high school (at home) but with an online program rather than me being the "primary educator"
- confusing teachers whose lack of clarity have led to my 14yo being quite behind in one subject
- she and I got sick (and to be honest, it's been over 2 weeks and we're still not completely over it);
- the first two weeks couldn't have any sort of routine due to my niece being in the transitional phase to start kindergarten
- various activities--although very worthwhile activities, like a homeschool picnic, homeschooled teen get-together at a recreation centre, a Friday Mass and potluck followed by playing at the park and my daughter already off to camp one weekend with her Rangers (Girl Guides for high school students) group
- family get-togethers, including my son's 12th birthday, my mom's birthday (I probably shouldn't share her age :D) and more
- start of evening activities
- a Stampin' Up! meeting for me
- start of the French classes I am running and all the changes that have ended up happening within them
- start of picking up my nieces and nephew after school each day, something that takes an hour in all to do!
It was a tiring month! Getting used to a different routine is definitely hard. I've been realizing just how much I am a "comfort zone" person. I guess we all are to a certain degree, but I am seeing clearly now how my comfort zone borders are getting in the way at times. But we are still managing to adjust. And I have to say: I am loving it just being me and my kids!! My son has never really known not having others around during the school year: he was a year old when I started looking after full-time kids. My daughter was only 4, so it's pretty much all she's ever known, too. I love not having to be prepared for 8am (or earlier), I love just how relaxed everything feels around here (well, except Thursdays, when I have 2 French classes, and Monday afternoons when the other French class is held). I love that my kids can sleep in. I did, however, have to wake dd up yesterday morning at 9 because she does a few online class meetings each week and she has one at 9am every Tuesday morning. She doesn't usually sleep that late, but she did yesterday! I will add that she is loving being able to do that, too. She had toyed on and off with the idea last year of going to high school--mainly so she could hang out with certain friends--but given she's a natural night owl and likes to sleep later and is hitting that stage in the mid-teens where she needs to sleep more, she is really appreciating the fact she does not have to get up early and scramble off to school.
She's "getting there" with getting on track with her work and getting into a work routine and starting to maximize little pockets of time to catch up. With my son... Well... Let's say he is as resistant to change as I am, if not more. I have noticed a few things, however:
- If I don't call it work and it's fun and has nothing to do with math or handwriting, it's not "school".
- He will read comics all day if I don't invite him to do something else. I suppose the good part, at least, is he has moved on from just Garfield and Calvin & Hobbes to The Far Side and Pearls Before Swine (although I do wonder how many things he doesn't understand! That's okay: there are certain things in them he doesn't need to.)
- "Inviting him" does sometimes mean I simply need to start reading something to him or sit down next to him with something and get him going.
What have he and I accomplished so far this school year?
- We've made it through some of the Montessori Great Lessons. Yes, that's right, some. One of them took far too long. But he loves them, so it's all good. (Those, btw, are not school in his eyes. Not even going outside and measuring how long an apatosaurus was. The weekend after we had done that and some other things to do with that Great Lesson, his Grand-papa asked him what he had done in school this week. The only thing he mentioned was math. lol)
- We've worked inconsistently on math, but he does understand the early algebra stuff very well. So well that when I gave him 4 questions to try to do on his own, when I checked to see how he was doing, he had marked as correct the 3 he had already done. I have not begun geometry with him, but since his sister has started a unit on trig, it could be a good time to start some work on triangles. And keep up the algebra.
- We have worked a couple of times on handwriting. I have decided I am definitely going to push the cursive handwriting--not for when he does his own writing stuff, but for the instructional part of it. I have also decided to step back and have us do letters next to each other so I can see how he is actually doing them.
That's all I can think of!
The weather has finally started changing into more fall-like weather and I always forget how much it drains us. He is sleeping more, which is good because he had months of likely not getting enough sleep, but tired in the morning. I just feel like I can't get a proper night's sleep. But, with it being only us today until I have to leave to pick up my nieces and nephew, we can take things slowly and I might even fit in a nap. :)
On a completely different note, my Montessori heart gets broken every time my kindergarten niece tells me about getting a sticker on her hand for good behaviour. It's even become a part of her after-school games, where she will tell someone they can't get a sticker unless they behave well. :'(
Friday, September 7, 2012
Sucking him in ;)
My "evil" plan is working! Ha ha ha ha ha! (lol)
I started reading the second Great Lesson yesterday, the Coming of Life, and it led to my son pulling out one of his books on... hm, either pre-historic life or specifically dinosaurs, not sure which... and bringing up all kinds of things and tying in this and that and so on and so forth. Yes, he loves animals, including prehistoric animals and just about anything, to the point that last night he and I were watching "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and at the part where we see Uncle Monty's animal room, he said something like, "I'll probably have a room like that when I'm older. " lol. In any case, we didn't manage to finish reading through the whole lesson yesterday, what with the little related interruptions/discussions and other stuff going on, and I was going to finish it today, but reorienting ourselves, he was reminded that I had said we should go outside and measure just how long 70 feet is. So, since it was beautiful weather at that moment and since the weather's been blah and even changed from nice to blah very quickly, we went ahead with measuring distances. We took some sidewalk chalk and a metre stick and I calculated how many metres 70 feet is on paper. (Ha, can anybody see a potential math lesson to suck him in with here? :D) We picked a starting point and marked every metre. He decided he wanted to see other measurements, too, so we took note of 14 metres (the wingspan of a particular dinosaur; I can never remember the names; the bucket is at the starting line):
21 metres, the length of a smallish apatosaurus (I tried to take a picture from the side to get a real feel, but I would have had to get on someone's roof! lol):
and 40 metres, which was the length of I can't remember what.
When we told my niece about it being the length of some dinosaurs, she kind of looked at us like we were nuts. lol.
I, incidentally, had initially written down 70 m and when we went outside and I said something about 70 m, my son gave me a look and asked what we were measuring that was 70 m. I said the apatosaurus. He said it was 70 ft. I was silly enough to have to go check; he is always right with these kinds of things!
In any case, he was a happy camper with the school work this morning and recognized it was school work and he was enjoying himself and decided he would stay outside with my 4yo niece (kindergarten starts for her next week) to "do phys. ed." (jump rope and then ride around the block a few times on his bike).
Dd is doing okay getting started with her online school work. She's a tad behind in math because it wasn't really made clear ahead of time where she should be in her work by now and what exactly she was supposed to be doing, so she ended up doing some work she didn't need to do at all (oops) and she just needs to learn about not being too perfectionist when doing certain school work--especially stuff that isn't being handed in! She'll catch on with the pacing. She finished her English that has to be handed in, but that first English assignment is always so hard because so much of how something is marked depends on the teacher, regardless of how many rubrics they give you about how they will mark. She's done some stuff for phys. ed., hasn't started religion yet, hasn't started art (the last two are full-year and just because of the nature of the courses, won't be a problem to catch up on) and we have no clue what's going on with her German course yet, so that's not touched at all either. But she's got the mandatory stuff done and is now enjoying having the afternoon free to do as she wishes. :)
All I can say is: TGIF. :D
I, incidentally, had written down 70 m at first and when we went outside and I said something about 70 m, my son gave me a look and asked what we were measuring that was 70 m. I said the apatosaurus. He said it was 70 ft. I was silly enough to have to go check; he is always right with these kinds of things! lol.
In any case, he was a happy camper with the school work this morning and recognized it was school work and he was enjoying himself and decided he would stay outside with my 4yo niece (kindergarten starts for her next week) to do phys. ed. (jump rope and then ride around the block a few times on his bike).
I started reading the second Great Lesson yesterday, the Coming of Life, and it led to my son pulling out one of his books on... hm, either pre-historic life or specifically dinosaurs, not sure which... and bringing up all kinds of things and tying in this and that and so on and so forth. Yes, he loves animals, including prehistoric animals and just about anything, to the point that last night he and I were watching "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and at the part where we see Uncle Monty's animal room, he said something like, "I'll probably have a room like that when I'm older. " lol. In any case, we didn't manage to finish reading through the whole lesson yesterday, what with the little related interruptions/discussions and other stuff going on, and I was going to finish it today, but reorienting ourselves, he was reminded that I had said we should go outside and measure just how long 70 feet is. So, since it was beautiful weather at that moment and since the weather's been blah and even changed from nice to blah very quickly, we went ahead with measuring distances. We took some sidewalk chalk and a metre stick and I calculated how many metres 70 feet is on paper. (Ha, can anybody see a potential math lesson to suck him in with here? :D) We picked a starting point and marked every metre. He decided he wanted to see other measurements, too, so we took note of 14 metres (the wingspan of a particular dinosaur; I can never remember the names; the bucket is at the starting line):
21 metres, the length of a smallish apatosaurus (I tried to take a picture from the side to get a real feel, but I would have had to get on someone's roof! lol):
and 40 metres, which was the length of I can't remember what.
When we told my niece about it being the length of some dinosaurs, she kind of looked at us like we were nuts. lol.
I, incidentally, had initially written down 70 m and when we went outside and I said something about 70 m, my son gave me a look and asked what we were measuring that was 70 m. I said the apatosaurus. He said it was 70 ft. I was silly enough to have to go check; he is always right with these kinds of things!
In any case, he was a happy camper with the school work this morning and recognized it was school work and he was enjoying himself and decided he would stay outside with my 4yo niece (kindergarten starts for her next week) to "do phys. ed." (jump rope and then ride around the block a few times on his bike).
Dd is doing okay getting started with her online school work. She's a tad behind in math because it wasn't really made clear ahead of time where she should be in her work by now and what exactly she was supposed to be doing, so she ended up doing some work she didn't need to do at all (oops) and she just needs to learn about not being too perfectionist when doing certain school work--especially stuff that isn't being handed in! She'll catch on with the pacing. She finished her English that has to be handed in, but that first English assignment is always so hard because so much of how something is marked depends on the teacher, regardless of how many rubrics they give you about how they will mark. She's done some stuff for phys. ed., hasn't started religion yet, hasn't started art (the last two are full-year and just because of the nature of the courses, won't be a problem to catch up on) and we have no clue what's going on with her German course yet, so that's not touched at all either. But she's got the mandatory stuff done and is now enjoying having the afternoon free to do as she wishes. :)
All I can say is: TGIF. :D
I, incidentally, had written down 70 m at first and when we went outside and I said something about 70 m, my son gave me a look and asked what we were measuring that was 70 m. I said the apatosaurus. He said it was 70 ft. I was silly enough to have to go check; he is always right with these kinds of things! lol.
In any case, he was a happy camper with the school work this morning and recognized it was school work and he was enjoying himself and decided he would stay outside with my 4yo niece (kindergarten starts for her next week) to do phys. ed. (jump rope and then ride around the block a few times on his bike).
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Behaviour Management
I wasn't planning on writing about this, but I saw an image in Pinterest with a little description that just completely broke my heart. :( I don't know that I will share it, because it feels like I'd be attacking the person who uses it in her classroom and I don't want to do that. I do, however, want to address the whole idea of behaviour management.
The picture in particular was part of a system where early elementary children were earning sort of points for their good behaviour and then they could trade in their accumulated points for a special activity at the end of the week. The ones with the most points get to pick first from the available activities, which means the ones who likely consistently have the fewest may never get to pick what they really want. And, of course, if they misbehave, they lose points. This is nothing new, I know. But I have been so long in the Montessori world/my own little world, that it breaks my heart to see people so happily talking about such systems and how "well" they work.
Do they work that well? I suppose it depends on your goal: do you just want good behaviour from the kids without changing what's causing the behaviour, fine, it works. But this is all just about controlling the child, giving carrots and sticks for them to behave how we want them to behave.
"What's wrong with that?"
Control is control. And if kids are learning from us, what are they then learning? These reward systems don't teach the children how to behave; they simply expect the child to behave and they'll get a reward if they do. The assumption is that the child already knows how to behave exactly right. So, what are they learning if they aren't learning to behave? That they can use punishments and rewards to control others, too. It is very easy to see in kids what they have learned about "behaviour management": those who get punished or otherwise controlled for not behaving the way adults want them to are the ones punishing or trying to control friends for not behaving the way the kids want them to. They also use the same sort of language on younger siblings that the parents do. We have to remember that when we are guiding them to behave in a certain way, they are also learning how we are guiding them. The child who is yelled at is more likely to yell; the child who earns treats is more likely to bribe a friend with a treat. (Yes, I have seen it!!! "I'll give you some of my ... if you...")
In any case, the blog post about the behaviour management system in question talked about inherent problems with such systems:
*some kids try to cheat (and I would guess these are typically the children who need the most guidance in social skills and perhaps have problems at home or some underlying issues, the ones who never earn enough for the special activities... they are doomed from the beginning of the week, know it, and since the focus is on the points...)
*other kids get excited about trying to see just how many points they can get during the week--the focus becomes the reward and not the behaviour
Do we not live in a society where so many complaints are made about the youth (14-25-year old's, maybe older) of today who have an attitude of "What's in it for me?"? Could it not be possible that the reward systems that have been prevalent in recent decades are part of what has created such an attitude? If the reason to behave is to get something out of it--rather than behaving because it helps those around you, keeps your relationships better, etc.--then are the youth with such attitudes really doing something other than how they have been trained?
Alfie Kohn (I love his books!!) writes about the problems with reward systems in Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes. (Yes, I am an Amazon affiliate. This link will take you to the US site; I think I have more US readers than Canadian readers. I will at some point have Canadian and American shops set up with the books I recommend, all nice and organized so you don't have to find the individual posts with them.) I think it is a must-read for every adult who interacts with children. He talks about the very problems the teacher shares (oh, should I recommend the book to her? :D): cheating, focus on reward (the teacher in question didn't see that as a problem though! :( )... How many of the kids who are struggling will simply give up because they can't get the reward that they want? I think my heart goes out to them most of all. These kids need guidance, not simply, "Behave and you'll get your points." They need to be treated like people. He wrote it sometime ago and I don't know that he addresses the prevalent attitude among youth, but perhaps an updated version of it should! There is so much great stuff in the book; you will never see rewards the same again.
"What then, are we supposed to do to get our kids to behave?" How about talking with them? Working with them? Helping them think about how others feel? Here are a couple of books I would highly recommend:
What I remember most from the first book (it's been a few years since I touched it) was the language and scenario playing that they give you. It worked fantastically! Just little things like helping children distinguish between their wants and another's wants and how they can be different and it's okay... Very helpful. So many behaviour problems can be fixed by kids simply learning more about themselves and other people. Giving points and rewards for "good behaviour" doesn't address the misunderstandings and lack of knowledge that they have!
Another fantastic book, I love this book so much:
A must-have book, one to read and re-read and reference throughout the years.
As adults, we certainly don't have other adults rewarding us for individual good "parenting behaviours" (good grief, could you imagine????). What do we do if we're struggling? We learn different ways of doing things. That's what kids need. And they need to learn them for the sake of learning them, for harmony with others, not because they get to have a cool activity at the end of the week. (Barbara Coloroso takes the same approach and even applies it to money: don't give kids an allowance because they've done chores. What happens if they've decided they don't want the money anymore? They'll stop doing the chores!)
Maria Montessori would add to all of this: normalize them. Yes, you need to step in when their behaviour is destructive or problematic, but then put them to work. Get them involved in meaningful (to the kids) activity, activity that requires their focus. There's a lot of talk about how to help kids' self-esteem and when I think of the Montessori Method and the focus on work that engages the kids and builds them, there is the building of self-esteem right there. Self-esteem is not just about words: it is about ability and knowing you are able. The more kids are focused on what they are doing and the stuff they are learning, how can they not think of themselves as other than able? With the Montessori Method always about meeting the child at their level and pushing them a tad further, it goes a long ways to helping build them. And the activity somehow calms them, levels them, and just that reduces so many behaviour problems.
There is so much else that can be done than punishment and reward system to guide children in their behaviour! It's not necessarily easy to change what we grew up with, and even after we have changed, we might resort to the good old tactics we know so well, but in my opinion, whatever we can bring into it to treat our children like people and not little creatures to control, the better.
The picture in particular was part of a system where early elementary children were earning sort of points for their good behaviour and then they could trade in their accumulated points for a special activity at the end of the week. The ones with the most points get to pick first from the available activities, which means the ones who likely consistently have the fewest may never get to pick what they really want. And, of course, if they misbehave, they lose points. This is nothing new, I know. But I have been so long in the Montessori world/my own little world, that it breaks my heart to see people so happily talking about such systems and how "well" they work.
Do they work that well? I suppose it depends on your goal: do you just want good behaviour from the kids without changing what's causing the behaviour, fine, it works. But this is all just about controlling the child, giving carrots and sticks for them to behave how we want them to behave.
"What's wrong with that?"
Control is control. And if kids are learning from us, what are they then learning? These reward systems don't teach the children how to behave; they simply expect the child to behave and they'll get a reward if they do. The assumption is that the child already knows how to behave exactly right. So, what are they learning if they aren't learning to behave? That they can use punishments and rewards to control others, too. It is very easy to see in kids what they have learned about "behaviour management": those who get punished or otherwise controlled for not behaving the way adults want them to are the ones punishing or trying to control friends for not behaving the way the kids want them to. They also use the same sort of language on younger siblings that the parents do. We have to remember that when we are guiding them to behave in a certain way, they are also learning how we are guiding them. The child who is yelled at is more likely to yell; the child who earns treats is more likely to bribe a friend with a treat. (Yes, I have seen it!!! "I'll give you some of my ... if you...")
In any case, the blog post about the behaviour management system in question talked about inherent problems with such systems:
*some kids try to cheat (and I would guess these are typically the children who need the most guidance in social skills and perhaps have problems at home or some underlying issues, the ones who never earn enough for the special activities... they are doomed from the beginning of the week, know it, and since the focus is on the points...)
*other kids get excited about trying to see just how many points they can get during the week--the focus becomes the reward and not the behaviour
Do we not live in a society where so many complaints are made about the youth (14-25-year old's, maybe older) of today who have an attitude of "What's in it for me?"? Could it not be possible that the reward systems that have been prevalent in recent decades are part of what has created such an attitude? If the reason to behave is to get something out of it--rather than behaving because it helps those around you, keeps your relationships better, etc.--then are the youth with such attitudes really doing something other than how they have been trained?
Alfie Kohn (I love his books!!) writes about the problems with reward systems in Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes. (Yes, I am an Amazon affiliate. This link will take you to the US site; I think I have more US readers than Canadian readers. I will at some point have Canadian and American shops set up with the books I recommend, all nice and organized so you don't have to find the individual posts with them.) I think it is a must-read for every adult who interacts with children. He talks about the very problems the teacher shares (oh, should I recommend the book to her? :D): cheating, focus on reward (the teacher in question didn't see that as a problem though! :( )... How many of the kids who are struggling will simply give up because they can't get the reward that they want? I think my heart goes out to them most of all. These kids need guidance, not simply, "Behave and you'll get your points." They need to be treated like people. He wrote it sometime ago and I don't know that he addresses the prevalent attitude among youth, but perhaps an updated version of it should! There is so much great stuff in the book; you will never see rewards the same again.
"What then, are we supposed to do to get our kids to behave?" How about talking with them? Working with them? Helping them think about how others feel? Here are a couple of books I would highly recommend:
I did not follow the program all the way through, but have had in mind lately to return to it and to the one for older kids:
Another fantastic book, I love this book so much:
A must-have book, one to read and re-read and reference throughout the years.
As adults, we certainly don't have other adults rewarding us for individual good "parenting behaviours" (good grief, could you imagine????). What do we do if we're struggling? We learn different ways of doing things. That's what kids need. And they need to learn them for the sake of learning them, for harmony with others, not because they get to have a cool activity at the end of the week. (Barbara Coloroso takes the same approach and even applies it to money: don't give kids an allowance because they've done chores. What happens if they've decided they don't want the money anymore? They'll stop doing the chores!)
Maria Montessori would add to all of this: normalize them. Yes, you need to step in when their behaviour is destructive or problematic, but then put them to work. Get them involved in meaningful (to the kids) activity, activity that requires their focus. There's a lot of talk about how to help kids' self-esteem and when I think of the Montessori Method and the focus on work that engages the kids and builds them, there is the building of self-esteem right there. Self-esteem is not just about words: it is about ability and knowing you are able. The more kids are focused on what they are doing and the stuff they are learning, how can they not think of themselves as other than able? With the Montessori Method always about meeting the child at their level and pushing them a tad further, it goes a long ways to helping build them. And the activity somehow calms them, levels them, and just that reduces so many behaviour problems.
There is so much else that can be done than punishment and reward system to guide children in their behaviour! It's not necessarily easy to change what we grew up with, and even after we have changed, we might resort to the good old tactics we know so well, but in my opinion, whatever we can bring into it to treat our children like people and not little creatures to control, the better.
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