Montessori Monday~ Everyday Montessori!

I am tapping deep into the everyday here! Montessori is not just a great way to learn in a classroom setting, but it can penetrate deep into the family home as well! This week has been a lovey example of how very much learning can happen when children are left in their own element! Just having a place for them to work without time limits or plans can make a huge difference! Both of my girls have been rather peaceful and learning in full force! Here are a few pictures that I snapped this week!

We went on a family bike ride the other day and Bunny found a baby turtle on the concrete! It was so tiny and cute! Bunny thought it was cool to see that turtle's shells grow with them!

Pup set up the farm on her own.

See, she is sorting and identifying animals.

Bunny copied a picture out of an ocean book that she thought was really amazing! She loved to look at this shell art and we talk a bit about how the ocean has many pretty things, but that we need to be careful of how much we take from it.

We also spent some time playing with friends! It was a great chance to practice problem solving, and grace and courtesy!

Bunny found some rocks, and wrote a list of the amount she found. I then showed her how to start recording her work in a bar graph! She thought it was a cool idea and made her own. We ran out of stuff to graph though! :)

While Bunny and I graphed, Pup made squares using all the sidewalk chalk in the box!

Being able to really sit back and slow down, has allowed me to see how very much I have complicated Montessori work. As much as I love to find trays and create new things for the kids, I think that keeping it simple is really way more effective and exactly what the kids need. It is not about the materials and trays, its about the attitude! They learn so naturally and completely. There is no reason to make it look bigger or better. Maria Montessori showed the world that the child is a natural learner, that they have a drive deep within them to find out more, to master a work, to discover more about their world. Nothing will stop that in them! I dont need to improve what God has blessed a child with, I just need to give them the space to work! What a huge gift to be able to witness this daily in my own home! To see how amazingly simple learning can be! Now if only I can hang onto this through the next school year! I seem to make things more complicated then they need to be! :) Be sure to stop by and visit Deb at Living Montessori Now!  Happy Schooling Everyone!