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New Feature for 2014 – Montessori Made Affordable

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We are a Montessori homeschooling family.  I have been homeschooling for five years and prior to that, I was the Chairman of the Board for a local Montessori School for three years.  We LOVE the Montessori pedagogy and believe it is one of the reasons our boys are so advanced in their education… Montessori created a strong foundation to build on.  However, Montessori materials are expensive which makes many of the items out of reach for homeschoolers. Because I really believe in the Montessori method, I want to help you by creating a new feature for 2014 – Montessori Made Affordable.

Montessori Made Affordable

As I find items that are either a less expensive version of a traditional Montessori work or material or a deal I’ve stumbled upon, I’ll post them here on our blog and on our Facebook page.  It may be an article on how to make the item, it may be a link to a sale, it may be a used item… but any and all will be opportunities to help you implement Montessori concepts in your homeschool more economically.

This blog is actually part of our upper level Montessori homeschool curriculum.  We teach creative writing via Institute for Excellence in Writing and part of my boys’ creative writing curriculum is to blog here at Live and Learn Farm. (Note:  We are starting a link up for tweens and teens in 2014 for other homeschoolers to have an outlet for their children to blog as part of their writing curriculum too!)

In addition to the blog being part of our boys’ creative writing curriculum, it is also part of their Montessori practical life studies. Maria Montessori suggested an Erdkinder environment for children in upper level grades.  We have created our version of an Erdkinder here at Live and Learn Farm… we call it farmschooling.  All of our boys have farm businesses, and they will also be blogging about their businesses.  In this plane of development, Montessori encouraged teaching our children a means to financial independence.

Maria Montessori Four Planes of Development

Along that line, and in the interest of full disclosure… we are an affiliate with some organizations (Amazon, for instance) and are paid a commission if you purchase due to our recommendation.  We will ALWAYS be honest in our recommendation and only recommend items we have used or would use in our homeschool. There is ZERO additional cost to you and it is a tiny (and I mean tiny) amount to us.  That is part of teaching the boys how to earn a living by doing something they LOVE to do (and me too) … writing.

If you are enjoying this post and want to see more, please sign up for our newsletter, join us on Facebook and Google+, follow us on Twitter and Pinterest or sign up on the right to follow our blog.

We hope by showing you how we are continuing to use the Montessori educational philosophy to teach our boys in the upper grades, sharing what is working, how we are implementing it and being genuine in our failures, that you will be blessed by our blog and that it will help you continue to Montessori homeschool into the upper grades.  If we succeed, we hope you will consider our efforts to share our experiences worthwhile and will help – by not only using our links when we introduce the items if they make sense for your homeschool – but also by sharing them with your friends.  We will learn together and help each other!

Thank you for being part of our community and we look forward to presenting Montessori Made Affordable in 2014!

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Homeschool – A 10 Year Old Boy Tells His Opinion

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Don’t miss a post! Receive all our blog posts in your inbox by Subscribing to our Newsletter.  We regularly update our Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest, and would love to connect if you are on those networks!  Thank you for reading our posts and being a part of our community!  If you have time, leave us a comment below and let us know how you found us!  My boys LOVE making new friends and meeting you all (and so do I)!!

Hello! Welcome to Live and Learn Farm.  I’m Blake and I am about to turn 10 (in 3 days).  I am going to share with you about my homeschool and my opinion of it. I was not sure what title to use for this post!  I finally chose: Homeschool – a 10 year old boy tells his opinion.

Disclosure

We have been homeschooling for five years now. I used to go to a Montessori school in La Grange for about 2 years. When I was about five the school closed and that’s when we decided to start homeschooling.  I could list a ton of things I love about homeschooling, but this post would be WAY too long so I’m just going to list my top 3 favorite things about homeschooling.

Blake Montessori School

My number one favorite thing about homeschooling is that we have flexibility in where we can do homeschool.  Like the time we went to the beach in 2010… my mom has written two posts about it here is part one and part two.  When we take a vacation we don’t stop school, we take it with us! When we went to the beach, we brought our Apologia Swimming Creatures with us so we could study the salt water creatures in the book and in real life! As we read in the book about shark egg cases and how they looked, the very next day when my mom got up and went early morning shell hunting she came back with shark egg cases she found on the beach!  Sometimes these are called Mermaids Purses!  It was so much fun!  I was only 7 and I still remember what shark egg cases are called!

Mermaid Purses

My number two favorite thing is that I have the privilege to run VERY far ahead in my school.  Right now I’m doing  Algebra 1 Teaching Text Books and I love it! But honestly, it is somewhat review still because I did a Montessori Pre-algebra course before this and it covered most of this! There are about 600 pages in my Algebra 1 book and I’m almost at 300! I started this in August of this year and I’m half way through already and it only took 4 months.  I’ll finish it in March next year hopefully!

My number three favorite thing about homeschooling is that I get flexibility in my work. I can half way get to choose when I work.  We have an outline of “morning work” and “afternoon work” but other then that we don’t really have an order in which we do our work. Well except for virtual classes. I have none right now because my Spanish class has ended and there isn’t a photography class this year so right now all I have is our homeschool work and, as I said, we don’t really have a schedule for our work. I like to read and sometimes I read too late at night and am so tired that I don’t like getting up early.  I can sleep in some mornings as long as I get my work finished by the end of the day!

Of the three favorites I just listed, the privilege to be able to still school and move to other locations, being able to go farther in my school and being able to have flexibility in my work schedule…  my favorite is probably that we can still school while on the move.

Homeschool 10 year old boy's opinion

Do you homeschool?  What are your favorite things about it?

This post is linked at: Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, and The Homeschool Village, and Far Above Rubies, and Time Warp Wife,  and We Like to Learn as We Go: What I Learned Wednesday, and Living Montessori Now, and Enchanted Homeschooling Mom Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop Monday, and Fluster Buster’s Creative Muster, and The Mommy Club Share your Resources and Solutions, Ginger Snaps Wow Me Wednesday, Lady Behind the Curtain Cast Party, Raising Arrows Welcome Home Wednesday

NEW Middle School and High School Linkup Starting January 6, 2014

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This actually has been in the works for about 6 months… but I planned to have it up in the Fall. But God had other things in mind and I have just not had the time to circle back around and do this. But I am making the time now!  So, I spent last evening looking for an active and currently running middle school and high school linkup. There just are not many out there, but there are NONE like this one!  What is going to be so different about this linkup?  Keep reading….  

Middle / High School Link u

I am so excited to start this linkup and share and learn about middle school and high school ideas from other homeschoolers. The goal is for our students to become independent learners, right? So, here is where this linkup will be different.  My tweens and teens blog, so I wanted to create an environment where they can interact safely with other teens and tweens who are doing the same. So many moms have heard about what we are doing and LOVE the idea of allowing their children to incorporate blogging into their creative writing. Personally, I think blogging is a fantastic, practical, “real-life” way for them to do their creative writing homework! We use IEW to teach writing, so hopefully you will see some of their writing skills in action!  So, moms can share posts but so can our middle and high school students! If your children are blogging or you have thought about letting them do so… this is going to be a great place for them to share their posts about their homeschool experiences. It is going to be extremely flexible and easy to participate. I won’t even require that anyone link back to Live and Learn Farm (of course, I will be providing the button and you can if you want to 🙂 ). We will also be looking for other middle school and high school homeschool bloggers to host the hop with us!Summary:  This New Monday linkup for Middle / High Schoolers and their Moms to share our #homeschool journey!  

One note of caution… I have my blog set up where all comments are moderated. I also have all blog emails to the boys forward to me. It is sad that we have to have this level of protection in place, but we do. I highly recommend you do the same if your children will be participating!  

And finally, here is a little bit about who I am …

I am not sure if I have shared over here on Live and Learn, I am now one of the co-owners of Hip Homeschool Moms!  It is an amazing group of women that I am completely honored to be a part of!  These homeschooling moms have been blogging much longer than I have, have much bigger blogs than I do, and seem to be WAY more organized than I’ll ever be… they keep me humble, to say the least. But, I have learned a thing or two from them and I plan to keep learning from them. One of those areas that I have really been watching is how to host a blog hop… in case you are not familiar with the Hip Homeschool Hop, be sure to link up to it every Tuesday!  I will put all the things I’m learning into practice here to help our hop be active and visible!  

So if you are interested, please leave a comment below so we can plan this in the next few weeks.

In the Kitchen with Dad

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Hello, I’m sorry I haven’t posted in… well, forever!  I will be writing one post a week now as part of my homeschool. I think you already know, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Most of the time I’m working with mom, but this post is going to be about me in the kitchen with dad.  

Disclosure

A few days ago me and my dad, were making one of our favorite dinners, Nachos.  

In-the-Kitchen-with-Dad

We got the Nachos recipe from All Recipes.  We have changed it a little bit, so I’ll list the changes:

  • 2 pounds of ground beef instead of one
  • 1 can of diced Rotel with green chilies instead of the tomatoes and jalapeno pepper
  • 32 oz Velveeta cheese and 
  • a medium onion instead of a small one.

You will also need a 3 quart pot as well as a large cooking pan.  

To start off, you will need to get the Velveeta and cut it into small cubes and add them to the pot.  Turn it to medium low (6 on our stove). Then you let the Velveeta melt, and add half of the salsa.  When the first starts melting good, then add the rest of the Velveeta as well as the other half of the salsa, and the diced tomatoes with green chilies.  Stir it.  

Kids in the kitchen

Now you move onto the stage where you add the ground beef.  To start off, add some butter and let it melt in the large cooking pan.  Then dice the medium onion into small cubes as well.  

In the Kitchen with Dad

Fry in the pan on 8 until it becomes clear.  Then, add the ground beef and let it brown.  This process usually takes up to fifteen minutes.  

After the ground beef is brown, then, add the nacho mix listed above. After that, serve in bowls.  We usually eat our nachos with white corn chips.  

It was fun cooking in the kitchen with dad for a change and the nachos were great!

 

 

We love linking up with blog hops.  Be sure to visit them and see the other posts:


Manic Mother

Meet the Chicken Snatcher

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Hello and good afternoon!

See, I told you I would be writing on Tuesdays… here I am!  I thought I would update you on Les and let you know he has been moved out to the big chicken pen and is fitting in quite well.  There are a few ladies hogging the food from him, but we are making progress. Do you remember back in August, when I told you something was getting our chickens?  This post will give you all the details and you will get to Meet the Chicken Snatcher!!!!! (cue: dramatic horror movie music here).

Meet the Chicken Snatcher

It all started back when we allowed our chickens to free range.  Regularly, we started finding piles of feathers and another chicken had vanished. One day mom walked outside and came face-to-face with a coyote (it was only about 10 feet away). So, we assumed the coyote was our culprit.  In order to protect my babies, I decided to put them back in the pens. The attacks stopped … but only for a short while.  

Disclosure

About a month ago, it started all over again but for some reason the snatcher was only going after my big chickens (Rhode Island Reds) not my round little basketballs (Bantams).  I got really serious about catching this chicken snatcher.  Dad borrowed a live trap, and we put it by the chicken’s door with cat food in it.  For several days… nothing.  No food gone.  No trap triggered.  Nothing.  Then, one evening as I was putting up my babies, I happened to catch a glimpse of a large bird flying away. The next afternoon, I decided to bait the snatcher!  I was going to leave the coop door open for the snatcher to get in… but with a twist.  

That night, when I put my babies up for the night, I put the live trap inside the coop right at the chicken door! So, when the snatcher walked into the coop, it actually would walk right into my trap.  We returned to the house to help mom get dinner ready.  It wasn’t too long before we heard Molly, our Australian Shepherd, barking up a storm and the chickens raising a fuss. We go out to investigate and my little brother, Blake yells “Oh No! We caught Nipper”.   But, as it turns out, it was not Nipper… it was a much larger bird.  

Nipper the Rooster

Chase and I grabbed a hoe and fished the trap out of the coop … but it was so dark, we really still couldn’t see what we had caught.  We yanked out our flashlights and shined them on the cage.  There it was … the Chicken Snatcher and it had the most beautiful eyes staring back at us.  This bird was huge. It was a Great Horned Owl.  

We raced back to the house to tell mom and to do some research to confirm that it was indeed a Great Horned Owl.   Once we determined that it was, we quickly realized it is on the endangered species list! So we were very careful not to hurt it… we would never want to hurt an owl anyway!  However, we had to do something to keep it from killing our chickens. So dad relocated it about 4 miles down the road from our house.  No birds were harmed this evening… not my chickens nor the owl!  

Beautiful Eyes Staring Back at us

 

One of the harder parts of being a chicken keeper is dealing with the loss of chickens precious to you.  These chickens are my pets. Being on a farm, you do get half-way used to it, but it still hurts.  

Thanks y’all  for reading all my posts!!!  See ya soon!

 

We love linking up with blog hops.  Be sure to visit them and see the other posts:


Manic Mother

Fowl pox in the Pen

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Disclosure

Good Afternoon! Sorry I have not posted in a while.  But I am going to be catching up and starting to write every Tuesday, so be watching for my posts.  Five weeks ago when I fed my chickens I noticed one of my frizzled red roosters standing out in the middle of the walkway not going after the food. This was strange since when I feed them they normally go straight for it.  As I approached him to see why his behavior was not normal, he turned his head to look at me, and I noticed a bunch of odd lesions on his comb and wattle.  Oh no, it looks like we have Fowl pox in the pen again.

Fowl Pox in the Pen

I immediately went to create a “sick pen” for him in the garage.  I reformed the small pen out of book cases and feed sacks that we made months ago.  I filled the floor of my makeshift pen with the normal pine shavings then I added a small roost, food and water feeders and a door. Then I worked with my brothers to catch him. I gingerly put him In the temporary pen and put the wire covers on top.

Chicken Sick Pen

I had been researching this virus and it is transmitted through mosquitoes which have the disease, the only other way it is transmitted is by getting in contact with another bird with the disease. Although it is not transmittable to anything but other birds it is still reasonable to to wear safety gloves when touching or treating the bird. At first my research brought up “If you leave it alone in about 1-2 weeks it will go away” after two and a half weeks I knew that my big boy had caught a severe case of it. By then it had covered both of his eyes and he could not see to drink or eat.  We regularly set him on a plastic bowl similar to what he regularly ate out of so he just knew what was in the bowl so he pecked down and ate food. But after it had come to three and a half weeks he mostly slept.

But then I discovered something scary… if his eyes stayed closed for too long, he could go blind.  The only treatment for the pox was to put drops of Saline solution on the pox via q-tips (being very careful not to get it in or around his eye) and Triple Antibiotic ointment for his eye.  I also started spoon feeding him yogurt. After about a week his pox started shrinking!  

Then we started the wait to see if his eyes would open.  In three days one of his eyes opened and he could see out of it!  Then the lesion fell off his other eye, but the eye had remained closed. Today when I went out to check on him, his closed eye is cracked (as in cracked open, barely)!!  Hallelujah!  So he might not go blind after all! He only has a few more lesions but it is still there so he will stay in his temporary pen a bit longer. Please pray for my rooster to get better 🙂

Update:  ~~A week later~~ Les is now free of fowl pox! Another small issue arose when we put him back in the pen.  All the other chickens wanted to pick fights with him. After being around him for a few hours, everything seemed to calm down, and was able to be around them without being picked on. Then 2 days ago, I went out to find him with a bloody comb and acting very shy toward the other chickens. He was all by himself standing in the chicken house door instead of out with them. I dropped what I was doing, grabbed my baby and ran back to the garage (where his makeshift brooder pen was) I gave him clean water and more food immediately. Then, when all was taken care of, I had to sit down and think of what to do, he could not stay in the sick pen in the garage, nor could he stay in the big chicken pen because Rocky our rooster didn’t want him in there. Nor could he stay in the little chicken pen with the newly nicknamed “rooster attack force”.  Then yesterday my answer came as our oldest rooster who was in the big chicken pen passed away.  He was over 6 years old!  Now my big boy Les can move in and take his spot as “the boss”. Thank you all for praying for my big boy!!!

I decided to name him Les because of a man named Les Stroud who is best known for his television series Survivorman.

Survivor Man / Rooster named Les

 

See ya soon!

Edmund Scientifics and Hip Homeschool Moms

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Just wanted to be sure my readers saw this fabulous giveaway happening thanks to Edmund Scientifics and Hip Homeschool Moms!  The first giveaway is for a Tech Light Kit.  It is fantastic!   Jennifer, a local friend , sister soccer mom, and teammate on Hip Homeschool Moms, reviewed this product and she said her son, River,  just loved doing these experiments!  Be sure to check out her review and share your thoughts on it!

We covered the study of Light in our Astronomy curriculum from Apologia!  I wish we had this kit to help us study the bending, blending, reflection and refraction of light back then!  It is so much fun to watch their eyes light up when they have the “aha” moment that happens with understanding… the moment  we are all addicted to!

Edmund Scientific Tech Light Lab

As a Montessori homeschool mom, my goal is to ignite my children’s interest, to spark their imagination and offer tools that encourage exploration… these products do just that!  If you are not familiar with the products from Edmund Scientifics, you should get to know them!  When I was the Chairman of the Board for my boys’ former Montessori School, I purchased so many of their items for the school… and have continued since we brought the boys home to homeschool!

This review / giveaway is  only the first of 9 weeks of giveaways from Edmund Scientifics!  Be sure to watch for all the fabulous reviews and giveaways coming up for the weeks leading up to the holidays! We celebrate Chanukah and it comes early this year… it starts around Thanksgiving!

The Hip Homeschool Mom team and their families are thoroughly enjoying writing these reviews!  Thank you Edmund Scientifics for the opportunity to partner with you!

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5 Hands-On Field Trip Ideas for Memphis TN

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There are just so many wonderful field trip destinations, but I’ve decided to write about 5 Don’t-Miss Field Trip Ideas for Memphis TN.  As most of you know, we are Montessori-ish homeschoolers, so we prefer  hands-on experiences to help create active learning opportunities.  So, that is the aspect that I’ll be focusing on for my field trips list.  For each Field Trip destination I have provided their address which is hyper-linked to MapQuest.  (Note:  If you have not used MapQuest lately, you need to check them out.  Their directions now include landmarks and “if you see xyz, you have gone too far” directions!  When I am traveling to unfamiliar territory, I love having landmarks to help me know I’m still on the right road!)  Also, all the pictures link to the website of each field trip destination.  I have not linked hours nor days of operation because they are seasonal and subject to other variables I can’t track.  And, lastly, I provide a phone number.  Worse-case scenario, you can call to see if they are open!  So, let’s to those field trips!

Memphis Hands-On Field Trip Ideas

1.  Memphis Zoo.

 2000 Prentiss Place. Memphis TN 38112.

(901) 276-9453.  Memphis Zoo

With 3,000 animals on over 70 acres in the heart of Memphis, the Zoo is always the top of my list.   And I’m not the only one that thinks the Memphis Zoo is fantastic… In 2008, the Memphis Zoo was ranked America’s number one zoo by TripAdvisor.com. In 2009, the Memphis Zoo was rated the top zoo in the country in a national survey by Morey Associates!  My favorite exhibit is the giant pandas.  Memphis is one of only four zoos in the United States that have giant panda residents full-time!  And just for a bit of interesting trivia, you know the lion roar heard at the beginning of the classic MGM movies?  That was  recorded in the old Carnivora Building at the Memphis Zoo and featured one of the Zoo’s lions, Volney!

The Memphis Zoo is also very homeschool friendly, even hosting Homeschool Academy, a week long homeschool program for interactive learning!  To bring a trip to the Zoo alive, you can approach from various perspectives.  The most obvious is a zoology perspective, but you might also want to study geography and the animals of a certain country.  Or you could study biomes and why certain animal characteristics would fit each biome better and then identify the animals with those characteristics.  Or how about studying camouflage and how animals might hide in their environments.  Finally, it can be a writing activity and they can record their zoo trip in a field trip journal!

2.  Children’s Museum of Memphis.

2525 Central Ave.  Memphis, TN 38104.

(901) 320-3170.

No list of hands-on field trips in Memphis should exclude the Children’s Museum!  It is a fun and very interactive private museum with ever-changing learning activities.  The site says it is for children 1 – 100,CMOM but I would say once you reach upper elementary, the exhibits are “babyish” and your children will tell you so (as mine have)! Some of the things that we find so unique about our Children’s Museum is the ability to fly an airplane or drive a firetruck!  Honestly, this is very high on my don’t miss list of Memphis!

3.  Pink Palace Museum.

3050 Central Avenue.  Memphis, TN  38111.

(901) 320-6320.

The history of the Pink Palace Museum is quite interesting even before you get on site!  The palace was built by the Piggly Wiggly grocery store magnate ClarenceThe Memphis Pink Palace Museum Saunders.  He named his 36,500 square-foot house “Cla-Le-Clare” after his three children.  Memphians nicknamed it the “Pink Palace” because it appeared pink due to the pink Georgia marble exterior.

The museum focuses on cultural and natural history of the Mid-South.  It presents history through engaging exhibits, dioramas, and audio-visuals. I was a bit skeptical about my boys liking this museum, but they were fascinated and have asked to return many times.   But with exhibits that include such intriguing items as a shrunken head, I really should not be surprised they enjoy returning!

3a.  IMAX Theater.

3050 Central Avenue.  Memphis, TN  38111.

(901) 320-6320.

Yes, this is the same address as the Pink Palace Museum and no, this is not a mistake.  The only IMAX Theater in the Mid-South is also housed at the Pink Palace Museum!  So, I’ve added this field trip as being a part of my number three field trip (is that cheating?)!IMAX Theater But, this IMAX Theater is different … it is only one of three in the WORLD with a movable screen that is four stories high!  I’m telling you, this IMAX experience makes viewers really feel like they are part of the action!

The movies change out about once per quarter or so.  We are about to visit before Mid November again to go see Journey Into Amazing Caves.  My middle son is fascinated with Blue Holes and caves, so this will be a great field trip!  The only downside is the theater is only open three days a week (Saturday – Monday).  And the best movies are only shown on the weekend…. so they are not very homeschool friendly!  But that won’t stop us from being a frequent visitor!

3b.  Sharpe Planetarium.

3050 Central Avenue.  Memphis, TN  38111.

(901) 320-6320.

Deja vu!  Yes, you have seen this address once (or twice) on this list.  Believe or not, the Pink Palace Museum is also home to the Sharpe Planetarium.   It is a 130-Sharpe Planetariumseat theater-in-the-round, which uses planetarium technology to project star fields, visual images and patterns on a domed ceiling.  The Sharpe Planetarium is now open Tuesday through Saturday.

Images are projected on the domed roof of the Memphis night sky and common constellations are located and pointed out.  The planetarium’s projections change every quarter or so, which keeps the night sky pretty current for what constellations you see each season.

4.  The Metal Museum.

374 Metal Museum Dr. Memphis, TN 38106.

(901) 774-6380.

The Metal Museum in Memphis is the only institution in the United States that is exclusively devoted to the advancement of the art and craft of fine metalwork…Memphis Metal Museum so it is truly one of a kind!  The museum has exhibitions that rotate in and out throughout the year, as well as permanent exhibitions.  But the thing I LOVE the most about the Metal Museum is the hands-on aspect.  They offer classes for you to learn metal working and make your own items!  They offer many different choices for these classes  from afternoon ones to weekend long workshops.  For this Montessori-ish Mama, this is one of the most fascinating museums in Memphis to visit (and certainly the most unique of them all)!

5.  Mud Island.

125 N Front St. Memphis, TN 38103.

(901) 576-7241.

Mud Island is another venue in Memphis that has multiple things to see and do here.  One thing my children love is the Monorail to get to the Island.  Mom is not so wild about it and would prefer to walk the sidewalk above it.  It’s only 1/3 of a mile, after all!  The first to see on the island is the Mud Island River Park, with it’sMud Island primary feature, the Riverwalk.  It is an exact scale model of the Lower Mississippi River (scale is 30” =  One Mile) and is one of the most unique representations of the river Mark Twain loved to write about in Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. If you visit during the warmer weather, they also have peddle boats in the “Gulf of Mexico”!  

The next feature to explore on Mud Island is the Mississippi River Museum.  The museum is made up of 18 galleries that show the history of the Lower Mississippi River Valley.  The exhibit cover the early inhabitants in the valley to modern day transportation and contain over 5,000 artifacts; including two full size boat replicas which you can board and explore.

For more Fun Field Trips Ideas Around the World, see the growing list at Hip Homeschool Moms.

 

 

Another Reason I love homeschooling

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Tuesdays.  They are not my favorite days.  Not because of the day of the week, but because we are on the road for 40 minutes one way to our local homeschool co-op.  I love how much the boys are getting out of their art Class (Thanks Ms. Mary), but I just hate driving that far for one class.  This is our second year taking art classes and the boys’ skills are improving dramatically. (Remember, I am determined they will not grow up to be an art vacuum like me, so we will soldier through.) However, this Tuesday was different. It was one of those days that remind me of why I love homeschooling.

This morning we worked on their Institute for Excellence in Writing, Student Writing Intensive A. it is really review, but is a great place to start before they leap into major history writing via Trisms.  Because it is review, success is almost guaranteed. We love those scenarios! After we finished IEW and lunch, we piled into the car for the drive to co-op.  Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of the book my nine-year old has in hand. This book.

Light Reading

Blake brought it along for the boys to quiz each other about the elements… for FUN! Have I mentioned lately I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING! I’m sure over the course of writing I’ll end up sharing the other 999,999,999 reasons along the way.  

Until next time!  

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Our Middle School Classroom

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When my boys were young, we had a full Montessori elementary curriculum and classroom with very hands-on materials to assist with their learning of abstract ideas.  Now that they are abstract thinkers, our middle school classroom has morphed along with them. As you will see, Montessori Middle School and High School classrooms look VERY different. Once your students have passed the need for those beautiful works (see my post about when I fully mourned the passing of this fabulous stage), it’s time to move to a more traditional curriculum and classroom.  It still has the Montessori educational philosophy at its core with lots of hands-on experiments and exploration, but all grown up! 

Classroom Pictures

Montessori and the Outdoor Classroom

One aspect the older classrooms have in common with the younger classrooms is that our classrooms are everywhere. Wherever there is a teachable moment THAT is the classroom.  This is foundational for the Montessori curriculum. Montessori starts teaching botany at the age of three in the early childhood classroom and with the customary Montessori approach of being very hands-on. So we have always spent a vast amount of time outdoors, on our farm and in our community exploring not only botany, but astronomy, zoology, physics, chemistry, geography, photography, art, and the list goes on and on.  So the outdoor classroom has always been intricate to a functioning Montessori environment.

Montessori Inside Middle School Classroom

The inside classroom is where you will see the most dramatic changes taking place. Our classrooms look more like a library or study now. The boys are at the age where they are doing a lot of research, so we have a ton of books! We still spend a lot of time in the kitchen conducting experiments, studying geography via cooking regional dishes and using the kitchen table to spread out on. 

Must Haves for a Middle School Classroom

Some of the pieces we could not live without in our Middle School classroom are:  

  • Computers and Printers (I still require about half of their research to be done in books);
  • Research Books with lots of biographies, World Books, How to books, etc;
  • Comfortable chairs to spend hours reading;
  • Kindles for the vast amount of books;
  • An animal to love and have full responsibility of its care — we have two red-eared slider turtles, one in each classroom and lots of cats.  Gage has started a business raising chickens (Deluxe Clucks).  This is very much a piece of the Montessori middle school curriculum.  Teaching them, via the farm environment, how to earn a living, run a business and care for animals.  
  • Science equipment — microscopes, prepared and clean slides, dissection equipment, measurement equipment;
  • Storage areas for all the materials, reports, art works, etc. they are creating!  
  • Games, games and more games — educational games, thinking games, strategy games, we love to play games!

The Rest of the Story and Pictures

If you are interested in seeing how a Montessori Middle School works and what we use for curriculum, be sure to read my post here.    

I created two slide shows, one for each environment!  I hope you enjoy seeing how a Montessori Middle School Classroom works.  

Here are a few pictures from our outdoor space, where so much of our time is spent!

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Here are a few pictures from our indoor spaces. You will see, we use the whole house!

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I hope you have enjoyed getting a peek into our middle school classroom! If you have any questions about how we do something, please leave a comment!  If you are interested in seeing other classrooms, be sure to visit Hip Homeschool Moms the week of September 16th for more classroom pictures from the team and our readers!  There will even be a linkup where you can share your own classroom!  

Remember to walk your faith and not just talk about it… be a blessing to somebody today!  James 2:14-26

Until next time…. 

 

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