Montessori is one of many approaches you can use with your elementary student. Here's what it looks like.
Here's what you'll learn in this article:
- A Montessori-style approach is one of several options for homeschooling an elementary student.
- The highlights of what a Montessori homeschool day can include for an elementary student.
- Answers to frequently asked questions about using a Montessori approach to elementary home school.
- Key takeaways that you can use today to try a Montessori approach in your homeschooling.
- How to learn more about following Montessori approaches in home school.
Montessori is a Unique Approach to Learning that You Can Use in Your Elementary Home School Years
Montessori is an approach to learning designed by Maria Montessori in the early 20th century. The approach still garners a strong following in traditional schools and home school alike because of its focus on respect for the child and independent learning.
At its core, a Montessori approach is about offering prepared materials across a variety of subjects that promote practice and, ultimately, mastery of the material, which leads to other more challenging material in the future. Montessori is often a much more fluid approach to learning with mixed-age classrooms, as it emphasizes allowing the child to progress at their own pace. Teachers are commonly referred to as "guides," and they spend much of their time observing students, offering guidance, and giving them lessons on how to use newly prepared materials.
Highlights of a Montessori Day for an Elementary Home Schooler
Montessori is an adaptable approach to education that can be followed from preschool to high school. If you are getting ready to start homeschooling, here is what it can look like for a homeschooled elementary student:
1. Prepared Materials
If you know anything about Montessori, then you may picture the ubiquitous beautifully minimal shelves that hold neatly organized learning materials. At the elementary level, expect your shelves to be filled with prepared materials that cover the core subjects: art, culture and geography, math, language arts, practical life, and science.
Your shelves will contain materials for each subject that your child can select and use independently during their work cycle. As a Montessori guide, you should observe which materials your child chooses to learn about their interests and preferences. You should also use these materials to give your child regularly schedule lessons (such as one in the morning and one in the afternoon).
When you home school your elementary student with a Montessori approach, you will put a lot of emphasis on your prepared materials, so it makes sense to put a lot of effort into choosing these materials, too. While you can buy expensive hand-made wooden materials, you can also make many common Montessori materials yourself.
2. Work Cycle
Children need time to work with the prepared materials as part of the Montessori learning experience. A major element of Montessori is giving your child work cycles during which they can select materials of their choosing and then work with them independently.
The work cycle is dedicated time that is intended to allow your child the space to deeply focus on their learning. At the elementary level, there are typically morning and afternoon work cycles of at least 2 hours each.
As part of homeschooling and elementary student with a Montessori approach, you’ll want to build these work cycles into your daily schedule.
3. Respect
Following a Montessori approach to learning is also a way of being. With this approach, children are first and foremost recognized as people with all the complexity and nuance that comes with being human, no matter their age.
As a result, Montessori at the elementary level will involve more independence than in traditional learning environments. For example, not only do children select their materials for their work cycles, but this is viewed as their highest work for the day and treated with respect. Just like you would ask your child not to interrupt you when you are deeply focused, you should show your child the same respect during their work cycles.
Work with your child to develop guidelines for your home school days that foster mutual respect. Guide your children's learning while allowing them to find and explore new experiences and information themselves.
4. Openness
Montessori is an approach built around promoting a lifetime of learning. At the same time, it does not follow the age-based limitations of more traditional educational structures. For example, from the earliest ages, a Montessori approach includes using the correct terms for things. Words are not treated as “too big” or “too hard." Not only does this promote respect for things beyond ourselves, but it also helps children experience the expansiveness of their world and the connections within it.
In science, for example, learning the classification system of life exposes children to root languages like Latin. This exposure can cultivate interests in other topics that they will explore later on.
A Montessori home school experience includes openness to following interests within and across subjects. By focusing on your child's capabilities rather than any perceived limitations, you can help your child build a well-rounded knowledge base that will serve as the foundation of his or her learning for decades to come.
FAQs: Using a Montessori Approach During the Elementary Years of Homeschooling
Is it expensive to follow a Montessori approach?
The prepared materials often used in Montessori classrooms are typically well-crafted and can be expensive. However, because the Montessori approach is progressive, the materials are often used for years in increasingly complex ways, which can make them more affordable. There are also a lot of options to recreate materials at home by using paper versions or crafting your own (e.g., stringing beads to use in place of purchased bead material).
How do you know what materials to prepare?
You can purchase a variety of curriculums that provide all of the information you need to use the Montessori approach to learning at home. One option is from the North American Montessori Center and includes curriculum sets from Infant/Toddler all the way to Upper Elementary. Another option is to review your state's education requirements in tandem with books and online Montessori resources to build your own curriculum.
Key Takeaways
-
Montessori is a novel approach to homeschooling your elementary student. The Montessori method was developed in the early 20th century and continues to be well regarded.
- Prepared materials are a key part of the home school day. For Montessori at home, you’ll want to have materials across subjects prepared and available to your elementary student.
- Build work cycles into your daily schedule. A fundamental part of the Montessori approach is having multiple daily work cycles for your child to engage and focus on their chosen materials.
- Respect your child’s desire to learn. Respect your child’s development by encouraging their questions and supporting their work.
- Be open to all learning. Montessori is an approach that focuses on helping children learn how to learn by providing materials that build and connect across subjects.
Where to Learn More
If you are getting ready to start your homeschooling journey, consider becoming a Crush Home School member. Our members receive a monthly membership package in their inbox that contains tips, insights, suggested schedules and plans, exclusive resources, and much more. Members also receive a 10% discount on all other resources purchased through our website. Learn more about becoming a Crush Home School member.