Amine is starting a new business venture. He has been in Toronto for three days and now that the end is in sight I can reflect. I survived, the kids survived. Our house was a bit of a mess when we left for North Carolina and it didn't really recover last week. Amine had a busy week at work and next thing I knew it was Sunday and I at least managed to get many loads of laundry washed and mostly put away. I went a little nuts and picked up most of the first floor yesterday. Last night I saw the state of the playroom and my office area, so the house has a ways to go still, but some order and sanity was found in clearing the first floor and the kids' room. Both Tayeb and Aya were a little under the weather yesterday, so that didn't help matters, but both seemed better today. Iman has been "mommy" to Adam which is very sweet and I think helping him with the fact that he isn't the baby getting all of Mama's attention anymore. Today I overheard him soothing her and being incredibly sweet with her. I miss that it isn't shown to me as often, but I am glad my 'love bug' and 'cutie patootie' are still inside that little boy.
We got more Montessori materials in the mail today and I need a crash course at this point. I know whatever I do is something positive for them, but I would like to be more than a half step ahead of them which is tough when I am opening boxes and we are both seeing the materials for the first time. I have to say there is something enticing about the simplicity and quality of materials. Even as a forty year old, the tactile nature of the counting beads and wooden boxes with wooden materials neatly placed inside makes me want to sit and play and wish I was a kid again. Part of this I am sure is about my own learning style, I would have loved math introduced more visually as it is in Montessori. I loved it anyway, but I think I would have really gobbled it up if I had seen these materials when I was a kid. I see that in Tayeb. Today he counted the beads as I introduced skip counting/ multiplication and even getting into the square and cube of a number. The materials made it so easy to explain and show what I was talking about. When Iman came over, I asked her if she wanted to sit and learn too, she said no and continued to play with Adam, dressing him up as a prince with a blanket cape. I value her free playtime as well and don't want to force any of our little school on her. Our mornings can be pretty great and as I get in the frenzy of whipping together lunch and racing everyone to the car to bring Iman and Tayeb to school, racing home to get Adam down for a nap while Aya is still resting in the car seat so that they will be somewhat rested when I have to throw them back in the car for school pick up 2.5 hours later, it is then that I get homeschooling. Freedom and flexibility are good. Not having to race around for those school hours would be nice. I think next year will be different with Iman and Tayeb in a full day of school, Adam starting Montessori preschool and Aya not being as physically demanding all my waking hours. Yes, the fall will look totally different than life now, but then I will miss our chaotic house with everyone buzzing around, learning complex math while fielding requests for nail painting, ponytails and more milk.
We got more Montessori materials in the mail today and I need a crash course at this point. I know whatever I do is something positive for them, but I would like to be more than a half step ahead of them which is tough when I am opening boxes and we are both seeing the materials for the first time. I have to say there is something enticing about the simplicity and quality of materials. Even as a forty year old, the tactile nature of the counting beads and wooden boxes with wooden materials neatly placed inside makes me want to sit and play and wish I was a kid again. Part of this I am sure is about my own learning style, I would have loved math introduced more visually as it is in Montessori. I loved it anyway, but I think I would have really gobbled it up if I had seen these materials when I was a kid. I see that in Tayeb. Today he counted the beads as I introduced skip counting/ multiplication and even getting into the square and cube of a number. The materials made it so easy to explain and show what I was talking about. When Iman came over, I asked her if she wanted to sit and learn too, she said no and continued to play with Adam, dressing him up as a prince with a blanket cape. I value her free playtime as well and don't want to force any of our little school on her. Our mornings can be pretty great and as I get in the frenzy of whipping together lunch and racing everyone to the car to bring Iman and Tayeb to school, racing home to get Adam down for a nap while Aya is still resting in the car seat so that they will be somewhat rested when I have to throw them back in the car for school pick up 2.5 hours later, it is then that I get homeschooling. Freedom and flexibility are good. Not having to race around for those school hours would be nice. I think next year will be different with Iman and Tayeb in a full day of school, Adam starting Montessori preschool and Aya not being as physically demanding all my waking hours. Yes, the fall will look totally different than life now, but then I will miss our chaotic house with everyone buzzing around, learning complex math while fielding requests for nail painting, ponytails and more milk.
"Real" Montessori math materials
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