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Homeschool Resources | Lesson Plans
The
curriculum has been in use in Montessori
schools for the past nine years and in home
schools for the past three years. It was developed over a period of
fifteen years by a Montessori teacher, led and directed by the needs
and interests of the children in her classrooms. A Montessori
classroom is a home-like environment where children of varying ages
function as a small community. This makes it well suited and easily
adapted to the home school environment.
The complete
set of four teaching guides
provides suggestions for every day of the year with flexibility and
options for use each year as it grows with the child, ages 3 to 12.
It is based on Maria Montessori's cosmic education theme. See Bird’s
Eye View of the Year for an overview of the year's themes.
Supplement to the Guides
was developed in
response to homeschool parents. It gives simple and concise
instructions for the Montessori materials, Grace & Courtesy, the
Great Lessons, for making many of the materials, as well as an
overview of Montessori philosophy, a list of recommended Montessori
material resources, and guidelines for using with ages 3 to 12.
The
Montessori Method
The
Montessori Method is based on respect and observation of the child
and the preparation of an environment based on the needs of the
child in which the child takes an active part in directing his or
her own learning. The child is allowed to learn through
self-discovery at his or her own pace. Maria Montessori’s emphasis
was on world peace by giving the child an overview of the whole
world and universe. Our curriculum is based on Maria Montessori’s
philosophy and peace curriculum, also called "cosmic education."
The
Montessori materials are introduced sequentially throughout the four
guides. It is not necessary to have all the materials to use the
curriculum and many of them can be hand made.
When
using the Montessori manipulative equipment no other teaching texts are needed for ages 3 to
6. Math, Language, and other areas of study are built into the
equipment. The older child will use research books to further
explore areas of interest. If the homeschool budget is limited
it is possible to use the curriculum with handmade materials only or
combined with traditional methods.
While it
is preferable to have Montessori training, this is not always
possible for parents making the choice to home school. Many parents
don’t have access to a Montessori school or simply choose the
homeschool alternative. Freedom of choice being a basic Montessori
principle we respect this decision. An overview of Montessori
philosophy and a recommended reading list for understanding the
philosophy is included in the Supplement to the Guides. Each of the guides include
an invitation for
one-on-one questions and suggestions with the author by email.
Explore the pages on
this site to see sample pages from all the materials.
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here
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