I’ve always wanted to homeschool my kids but never realized how soon these years would creep up on me! I don’t have babies anymore. My son is now 3 and our baby girl is already 1! Pure craziness.
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| My kids reading our gardening books. |
We’ve always done fun and educational activities with J since he was a baby but I started to do some homeschooling research last year and have slowly been implementing different activities into our daily routine.
A lot of you have asked me for info and ideas on activities I do with my kids at home so I thought I’d share some of what we do in this post. I’m not an expert by any means and I’m learning as I go.
I started by researching Maria Montessori’s educational philosophy. I remember attending a Montessori school in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it! The more research I did the more I liked what I was reading. Now, I will say that I have never been one to follow rules to the T so, I wouldn’t consider myself a Montessori purist. I think it’s about finding what works for your children and family.
A friend of mine recommended an e-Book she discovered called Montessori At Home! eBook. It didn’t take me long to realize I had to have it! In short, the e-book has almost 300 pages of history, info, activities, charts and printouts written just for parents to get a start on early education Montessori-style. When I saw the price was $8.95 I jumped on it! (Note: I am in no way associated with the author of the e-book but I would recommend it to anyone if this is something you think you may be interested in doing.) Tons of valuable information, ideas, activities and inspiration…and my favorite part is that it’s written for parents and specifically teaches you how to make most of the activities from stuff you already have at home or can buy for very cheap! Ok. I’ll leave it at that. If you want more info you can check it out HERE.
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| Use toilet paper, paper towel or mailing rolls cut to smaller pieces. I wrote numbers on each and he glues the number of pom poms needed to match the written number. |
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| Practicing independent life skills. Cutting grapes into smaller pieces. |
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| We built a wooden airplane together (from a kit) and he painted it himself. |
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| We make homemade play-dough and then he rolls/cuts out shapes with cookie cutters. |
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| Puzzles of any kind! He loves puzzles… he gets that from me! |
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| Sorting metal washers by size. |
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| Counting activity with dried garbanzo beans. |
So yeah… you get the idea. I’m always looking to learn new things so feel free to leave me a comment with your homeschooling recommendations for any must-have materials, books or blogs I have to follow.
Before the year is up I hope to convert the play area in our house into a full blown Montessori-inspired classroom. I have a lot of work to do and a lot of furniture to build. Wish me luck!
The Busy Cookie
I love this post! I wanna see more so we can share ideas! 🙂 I got this checklist earlier in the year and this is what I use as a guideline for doing the activities.
http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/Comprehensive-Lists_c_19.html
They are pretty much in order on when to introduce each lesson. I use the 3-6 list.
Wife, Mama, Teacher
I would LOVE to see more posts like this! I am currently a public school teacher, and as soon as my hubby graduates college this spring, I will be making the switch to become a SAHM, so that I can homeschool our kiddos (currently 26 months and 6 months 😀 )! Like you, we already do many Montessori-inspired activities with both kids, and we are always on the lookout for new ideas and activities to try out.
Hobbieswithtina
HOMESCHOOLING is awesome. I am home schooled almost my whole life and it’s the best thing to do. I was home school from kindergarten to 3 went to school in 3 throw 5th and i rather say home. And still home school still. Home schooling is the best thing to do.
MillieMe127
Do you do these in both Spanish and English?
Vanessa Wilson
Yes, I try to explain each activity to him in both languages taking the opportunity to teach him new words in spanish that I don’t regularly use in my everyday vocabulary but that he may often here in English. I haven’t started teaching him letters in spanish though.
Jackson
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Anonymous
Hi Vanessa,
Your kids are so cute. I can see they are happy healthy kids, so you are doing the right things. I did many of these kinds of activities with my kids as well, but only home-schooled the youngest for a few years. I think all the gardening you’ve done with J has taught him so many good life skills, most kids miss today: where does my food come from?
Some of the fun little tools that have become inexpensive now are older Sizzix or Accucut Zip’e Slim cutting machines. These the hand-crank variety that are smaller versions of bigger die-cutting machines. I got my Accucut Zip’e slim cutter, which also cuts Sizzix standard thickness dies, for about $20 on ebay. For your little ones, shapes are one of those things that are part of early math understanding. I also find some of these dies on ebay and craigslist very cheap. I think your kids would enjoy sponge painting with shapes, and these can be cut with any die-cutter from cheap sponges. Craft foam sheet is another material to cut shapes from. Your children may be a little young yet, but my kids loved the Tangram blocks; to make patterns.
Best wishes, Cathy
hideawayfarm
I “discovered” you when searching around YouTube for quilting and sewing tutorials. It never occurred to me you would have a blog (doh!). I came here today after learning you won a Craftsy blogger award (congratulations!). But I was very tickled to see that you homeschool. I have been homeschooling my 9 and 11 year olds since the very beginning and just love it. This year we implemented some Project Based Homeschooling (from the book by Lori Pickert) and we’re all really enjoying it. I think it would appeal to you – she is very into Montessori style and incorporating art into learning. She has a blog, too, you might find an interesting read (Camp Creek Blog). Anyways, nice to “meet” a fellow homeschooling, crafty mum!