I just wanted to share this new blog that has been created by the Beehive's art teacher at the Montessori School. She promises to update this with lots of videos and how-to's so I am predicting we'll be taking many ideas from here for our art time.
www.leonasartclass.blogspot.com
Roll up your sleeves and enjoy!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Education for Life and integrated projects
It's March - supposedly the first day of the new season. Unfortunately there isn't much sign of new life here just yet. No daffs or snowdrops pushing through, however, there is up to 8 inches of snow forecasted for tomorrow *sigh* which is not a good concept when we're expecting movers to start packing and they're driving in from NY State.
We've not officially started Home Edding yet, but Master Beehive the elder is entering a geography competition which requires him to do a project on planning a trip to the North Pole, so he's quite caught up in that right now and ... well, monkey see, monkey do, Mr Beehive the younger is keen to do a research project too, so has decided to do one on "Elictisity". He wanted to know how electricity worked and inspired by the integrated projects that the Middle School at the Montessori did this week, he wants to do similar. He made a list of 10 items in the home today that use electricity.
We'll probably go to the library this week sometime to get out some books on the topic and he has already learned to build a circuit with Daddy, so when we get to Edinburgh we'll just reinforce this by getting the electricity kit out again.
I am envisaging a lot of work of this nature, the boys choosing something that grabs their interest and then we incorporate other subjects within it. It's true to life education i think. Education that happens as a natural extension to curiosity of the world. We may have to be a little more specific with maths and english, particularly for Master Beehive the elder, primarily because I feel there are things that "ought" to be known in english and things that will come up in exams in the future in maths that, even if they are never used in daily life, are necessary if he wants to sit an exam or return to school at some point. His dad is an accountant, so I am definitely expecting some form of natural mathematical tendencies to show through in one of the children, but then saying that, they have me, the maths dud, as their mother, so it may balance itself out :-)
Master Beehive the elder is supposed to be in the school Spelling Bee this Monday (weather permitting of course). We've had a lot of fun looking at the origins of words and then breaking them down. This is more my cup of tea!! Hopefully he'll get the chance to give it a bash before we leave, but the snow is not in his favour right now.
Okay, back to my real cup of tea!
We've not officially started Home Edding yet, but Master Beehive the elder is entering a geography competition which requires him to do a project on planning a trip to the North Pole, so he's quite caught up in that right now and ... well, monkey see, monkey do, Mr Beehive the younger is keen to do a research project too, so has decided to do one on "Elictisity". He wanted to know how electricity worked and inspired by the integrated projects that the Middle School at the Montessori did this week, he wants to do similar. He made a list of 10 items in the home today that use electricity.
We'll probably go to the library this week sometime to get out some books on the topic and he has already learned to build a circuit with Daddy, so when we get to Edinburgh we'll just reinforce this by getting the electricity kit out again.
I am envisaging a lot of work of this nature, the boys choosing something that grabs their interest and then we incorporate other subjects within it. It's true to life education i think. Education that happens as a natural extension to curiosity of the world. We may have to be a little more specific with maths and english, particularly for Master Beehive the elder, primarily because I feel there are things that "ought" to be known in english and things that will come up in exams in the future in maths that, even if they are never used in daily life, are necessary if he wants to sit an exam or return to school at some point. His dad is an accountant, so I am definitely expecting some form of natural mathematical tendencies to show through in one of the children, but then saying that, they have me, the maths dud, as their mother, so it may balance itself out :-)
Master Beehive the elder is supposed to be in the school Spelling Bee this Monday (weather permitting of course). We've had a lot of fun looking at the origins of words and then breaking them down. This is more my cup of tea!! Hopefully he'll get the chance to give it a bash before we leave, but the snow is not in his favour right now.
Okay, back to my real cup of tea!
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