Command Center

The specifics of this set-up will be changing to fit our new house, but I wanted to keep a record of the system here, so I remember what worked about it and why.

After trying lots of other organizational schemes, most of which were centered around a binder or notebook, I finally realized that I actually need to be able to see everything that I need to be able to see. Out of sight is out of mind.

Here we have a calendar, my bulletin board, which holds my weekly cleaning checklist and recipes on probation, and one of my two planning clipboards for school (the other one is usually up there, too, but I think it got packed already for some reason). One clipboard has the Montessori presentations for the week, and the other has the morning basket plans. I also use those for record-keeping.

On the counter is a tickler file and a file of stuff I've torn from magazines over the years. Neither of these have worked that well for me and will be eliminated as I move towards implementing a (more) paperless system. Not sure why there's an empty flattened pasta box stuck in there. Children.

On the white board on the fridge, I keep a running list of groceries we need and leftovers that need to be eaten. When I am really on the ball, I also write a list of all the week's produce as we unpack it into the fridge so that things don't get forgotten in the crisper drawer. It's also the place for Bob to leave notes and to-dos for me. The paper has an inventory of the freezer, which we're trying to empty before the move.

Our new house has a galley-style kitchen, so there is no big open wall for all this to live on. My current plan is to keep the whiteboard on the fridge, get a smaller bulletin board to fit one of the narrower wall spaces, and then keep the school-related clipboards in the school room. But we'll see.

Edmund Morgan, RIP

The Puritan Dilemma was one of the first works of real history I read; it revealed that textbooks had utterly deceived me about the nature of that discipline. If I could make everyone read one book about American history, it would be Morgan's American Slavery, American Freedom. NYTimes obit here; Jill Lepore has a tribute here.

Packing Up

To Goodwill

To Memphis

Preschool Lessons: Montessori

When I first started reading Maria Montessori's works and other books about her method when Joseph was still a baby, I was both compelled by them and equally sure that I was too disorganized and undisciplined to implement them with our children. I sill mostly think that.

But.

My increasing conviction that Montessori really knew what she was talking about as well as seeing how Joseph responded to a Montessori style environment in the atrium at our parish, finally let me to order a few basic materials and take a stab at some presentations this year. And, well, it didn't look anything like MBT's house.

So as I've been thinking about this year and what we want to do moving forward, I felt quite torn about whether to attempt continue my lame attempt at Montessori homeschooling. I certainly wanted to, but I also understand the arguments made by Montessori purists that all the details matter and in some cases a half-assed attempt at Montessori is perhaps worse than no attempt.

In one of my more optimistic moment, I ordered a set of albums. And while I heard from many Montessorians and thought I understood that materials in themselves are not really the point, in reading the theory album it finally clicked for me that I have been approaching the question from the wrong perspective. While it's true that there is a deep connection between the specifics of the classroom prepared environment and the philosophy behind them and you can't just go in and mix it up without upsetting that connection, that doesn't mean the Montessori classroom is the only expression of the philosophy. It just means you need to know what you are doing!

I am right to judge that I do not have the stuff mentioning abilities to stay on top of a classroom full of Montessori materials nor would doing so mesh well with the principles of simplicity and uncluttered-ness I am trying to implement in the rest of our home life. But rather than focus on a specific outcome as seen in a Montessori classroom, I need to immerse myself in the philosophy and observations underlying the specific materials and presentations. I think that a deep understanding of what is going on will allow me to make carefully considered judgments about which materials to invest in, as well as how to meet our children's needs within the other the confines of our family's style and mission. I have to accept this will be a long term project, one in which I will certainly be learning by trial and error. My goal is not to be completist about my albums but to understand the purpose behind every presentation so that I can ensure we are addressing all of our children's needs whether through "real" Montessori materials or by other means.

Our new home also has space for a dedicated school room, which I think will make a huge difference in making Montessori manageable for me. Lucy turns three in October, so I'll be focusing on practical life and sensorial with her, while moving Joseph along in language and math.