Elementary Montessori Materials Continue into Adolescence

Montessori materials truly go DEEP. Perhaps Montessori didn't have time to develop every detail from birth to college, but she left us an outline and some people have been able to follow Dr. Montessori's trailblazing style. 

Looking at the Elementary and/or Primary Materials used into Montessori Adolescent Algebra

• Geometry Sticks
• Fraction Circles (metal works fine, but the plastic materials with the multiplies of each fraction family from 1 to 1/10 – you do NOT need or want the children to use fraction segments beyond 1/10)
• Bead bars, squares and cubes from the bead cabinet (“complete bead material”)
• Wooden cubing material
• Power of 2 (Power of 3 if you purchased that too – or just make one)
• Pythagorean Insets
• Binomial Cube
• Multiplication Checkerboard
• Pegboard (ensure it is sized to your geometry sticks – so they all align properly – this generally means holes that are 1 cm apart from one another)
• Yellow Area Material
• Large and small geometric solids
• Number/operations tiles – with some additions, including adding in the fraction labels as well (called Special Math Symbols on the adolescent album)
• Set of 12 blue right-angled triangles

For review purposes:

• Decanomial bead bar box (called “large bead bar box” in the album)
• Constructive triangles

Montessori Changes with Age

Montessori at preschool/kindergarten is NOT the same as Montessori at elementary or Montessori at adolescence.


But it is the same.

Same:

• Respect for the development of the child in that moment.
• Provide keys; time/material to explore interests.
• Development of child's innate human capabilities through human needs and tendencies.

Different:

• Primary (preschool/kindergarten) is keys to the WORLD; elementary is keys to the UNIVERSE; adolescence is keys to ONESELF and one's place in the cosmic plan.
  
• Primary we have movement and words separate - in elementary and adolescence we can give words with the actions.
  
• Primary (and infant/toddler) is the absorbent mind; elementary is the reasoning mind.
  
• Primary gets some work already prepared for them on trays or on a shelf; elementary, they collect the items they need from their natural locations or supply shelves (planning through what they need so they don't have to stop their work and get another item).
  
• Adolescence we are giving them the keys they need to live an adult life. They are not adults yet, but we start practicing those skills, so they don't entirely flounder later. Indeed we set them up for success.
  

Periodic Table of Elements

"When do we introduce the Periodic Table of Elements? Why is not showing up anywhere in the AMI (primary and elementary) albums?"

There are a few reasons, and a few ways to approach this topic. 

If your child is interested in this topic, by all means, go for it! Interest over-rides any "universal child" observation. 

But it's not there for everyone, because it's not a key. The periodic table of elements is actually the end-result of a process. A process that the child needs to go through as well in order to fully appreciate it and learn the most from it. 

It becomes a key later - in adolescence! After they have experienced it! 

How to approach the periodic table of elements - all of these are found in the primary and elementary albums: 

• Primary and Lower elementary: sorting objects by observable characteristics (color, shape, size, sinking/floating); explore the states of matter; explore magnetism; describe the characteristics of various objects; measure and compare using a variety of tools; explore substances vs. solutions
• Upper elementary: continue looking at characteristics that are less obvious; consider volumes of solids; magnetic fields; affects on non-magnetic objects; which objects are good/poor conductors of electricity (electricity is not explicit in the elementary albums, but is something to be explored at the time a child expresses interest; and it *should* come up as the child explore each key further); in the final couple of tellings of the Story of God With No Hands, highlight those particles - those basic substances that make up all of creation. You can have resources in the room that share information about the elements; but try to avoid the "official chart" for now if at all possible. 
• Adolescence: Now we start to look at chemical properties, if the child hasn't gone there already; start sorting various substances by their chemical properties; build atoms and molecules; use the term 'elements'; pull out a set of cards that has information on the elements for sorting purposes. Don't show the periodic table until the child has created a few different organizations of it himself (based on magnetism; based on atomic weight; based on other characteristics of the child's choosing) - what are the patterns? What are the similarities and differences? Then pull out the chart itself; but also pull out (or pull up online) samples of other methods of organizing the elements - there are MANY! And they are BEAUTIFUL! 

When an elementary child has an interest in this area of study, just pull out those cards and go from there. 

To Be

Children need free time.

Large blocks of free time.

To be bored.

To explore nature.

To find themselves.

To be in silence.

To be in company with others.

To be.


So do adults.


Make that time.

Trinomial Cube - LONG Life

I would like to introduce you to a long-time companion of mine - the Trinomial Cube:

The "big" cube in primary!

The Binomial Cube
The small guy in primary

He has a few buddies: 

The Algebraic Cube - Elementary

Power of Two Cube - Elementary

Binomial and Trinomial are beautiful puzzles in the primary environment. But the Trinomial - he goes places! While the binomial is also useful in the elementary class, the trinomial does most of the work. 

(a + b + c)^3 

The children are learning this sequence, sensorially at age 3 1/2, and it builds and grows from there. 

The children continue to use the material sensorially in elementary, then they start doing some squaring work with the lid (the lid has (a + b + c)^2). 

And one day, they hear of the Story of the Three Kings. Oh, no,  not THOSE 3 Kings - the OTHER Three Kings. These Kings: A-Cubed, B-Cubed, and C-Cubed. They were marching along happily in procession - and... there was a REVOLT! That revolt overturned the order of the procession! It was chaos! It was order! And the children learn algebra! And cubing!

And the Trinomial Cube has a new lease on life! 

And the children work with the trinomial cube; then expand into the algebraic cube; finally they work with the power of two cube - it all began with the trinomial cube and his little brother the binomial cube.

But the children have moved on. And the trinomial cube appears done. A wash-out. Used up. It's all over for him. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I recently read through an older NAMTA journal, on the topic of teaching geometry in adolescence, using Euclid's Book of the Elements (all 13 volumes are currently available in a set of 3 books).  

Guess who makes an appearance! The trinomial cube is truly an ever-present material for the children in Montessori environments. And a credence to the AMI stance that we don't need "more" materials - we need to go DEEP with the materials!
ETA: The adolescent Algebra Album available through NAMTA - lists it as one of the necessary materials ;) NICE! 

Just looking at it, consider for yourself: how deep does this material go for you? What uses could you see for your children, even if you don't have all the album pages for all the levels? What could your children experience with just this one piece of Montessori equipment? 

Adolescence: Adult Training

Barring being able to attend NAMTA/AMI's Orientation to Montessori Adolescent Studies, the primary foundation that the adult needs for working with the adolescent age:

• elementary training/experience of some sort because of the continuation of studies which adolescence builds upon
• primary training/experience of some sort because of the parallels of the first and third planes of development

At bare minimum:

• fully fleshed out theory albums at both levels
• cosmic education access at elementary
• read Childhood to Adolescence
• read all required primary and elementary reading selections
• observation at both earlier levels in a full Montessori environment
• Reflection on one's own adolescent experience and what could have been improved; what good should be maintained

In addition: 

• NAMTA's adolescent reading list - found at the bottom of Montessori Nuggets Reading List Page

Cosmic Education in the Third Plane - Adolescence

Margaret Stephenson:

For the third plane, the exploration is even wider, encompassing the farm and the community of the rural area.

It echoes what the children explored at the second plane: civilization and how it came about.

But now the exploration takes place in reality because the adolescents are actually doing it.

Cooperation with the land, cooperation in commerce, and cooperation in the cultural life of the rural society touch materially the things studied in the second plane and afford the adolescent the opportunity to see his or her place in society. 

Cosmic Education at all Planes: An Aid to Life

Margaret Stephenson as quoted in NAMTA Journal 23:3 Summer 1997:

Underlying the Montessori idea of "an aid to life" is her vision of the child as the cosmic agent of humanity and its survival. The theme that runs through the four planes is putting the child in touch with the cosmic task of the world and its inhabitants in a manner that is fitted to the psychology of each discrete plane. If a child does not get the connection in one plane, he or she cannot move on to the next plane fully prepared. 

(end quote)

The child does move on to the next plane, just not fully prepared.

What is given at each plane:

1. This connection is made subconsciously yet concretely through the materials. 
2. This connection is made more consciously, through approaching Cosmic Education as a drama, not as a lifeless curriculum. This drama is the vision of Montessori. If this drama inspires the child of the second plane...,
3. then when that child reaches the third plane, he or she will be able to ask, "What is my role in this drama?"

Ms. Stephenson again:

Going Out is also important to give the Elementary child a complete vision of the universe, and a particularly valuable aspect of Going Out is community service. This is the basis for the service we've been talking about for the adolescents; it needs to begin earlier than adolescence (in order to reach its fullest fruits). 

Cosmic Education: When to Present the Great Lessons

Margaret Stephenson:

Too often I ask teachers, "Have you done the Great Lessons?" and they respond, "No, not yet, because they can't read and write." I say, "Have you ever thought that maybe they only need ears to listen with?" How can we open for the child these doors into the cosmos if we don't give the Great Lessons until the year is half over?

(end quote)

 Main points:

• children do NOT need to read and write - they only need to have ears (or ability to read sign language) and an imagination
• Margaret Stephenson: "The cosmic plan can not be fully explored at the second plane. It is too vast. That is why Montessori tells us to sow seeds. And after these seeds are sown, there has to be a period of silence, darkness, and rest, during which the roots grow deeper, before any shoots appear above the ground."
• There will be some results from the Great Lessons - subject areas open up, interests are enticed, the children receive a REASON for reading and writing --- but the most obvious signs will be seen in adolescence when they start asking of themselves their own place in this Cosmic Plan. 

So tell those stories early in the year! 

     The 5 lessons should be told by the 8th week of the school year at the latest; preferably 5th or 6th. 

Tell them EVERY year! 

    Throughout elementary, they will hear something new; invite them to pick a new point and explore it. 

Do NOT give the children everything! Many of the original demonstrations from the first Great Lesson have been separated out from it into separate album pages for follow-ups; so the children have more opportunities for follow-up work, inviting them to delve deeper into the story with each new demonstration they do. 

Entice their imaginations and enthusiasm for exploration - again don't give them *everything* - but do give them enough to get going on their own. 

Have adolescents new to Montessori? Tell them the stories too! Have them help create some of the charts after they've heard the story without it; invite them to help prepare materials and demonstrations for the youngest children; and work on helping them answer their own questions of "where do I fit in?"

Keys at Every Plane of Development

Consider how the following words apply to EVERY plane of development. 

John McNamara as quoted in NAMTA Journal 23:3 Summer 1997:

Like I did when I taught at the Elementary level, I am still trying to help the students' passage to abstraction, to stimulate their interest, to capture their imagination, to meet their need for group work, to respect their growing moral awareness, and to give precise keys so they can proceed to make discoveries on their own. 

He refers to the adolescent age, but how does this apply to every age?

Environment Not Working

Always keep in mind the psychological characteristics of the children and teach to them. 


Anytime there are bored or frustrated children in a Montessori environment, the adult must ask, 

“Where are the needs of their psychological characteristics not being met? What should be done differently within the environment to change their attitudes?” 

It is the adult’s role to find those solutions.

Adolescence - Third Plane of Development

There are many questions about how to apply the Montessori method to the third plane of development.

There are no solid answers, since every child is unique as is every situation.

Some universal and general principles to consider:

• the Montessori approach is about respect for life, meeting the needs and tendencies as differently expressed at every stage of life, and a balance of freedom and responsibility
• at every age, we want connection with real life, a building upon the past plane and a foundation for the next - while fulfilling needs and tendencies NOW, at THIS age. 
• preparation for adolescence (in the primary and elementary years) will include fulfilling both the first plane and second plane of development as much as possible; providing skills and intellectual knowledge at the times appropriate for maximize the child's potentials. Art skills, language skills, history studies, cosmic education. 
• The adolescent is looking for his place in the grand scheme of things; has ideas that are grand; yet has crazy things going on with bodily development, so less mental capacity for continued learning at the same rate as elementary. 

Please contribute your ideas! 

If you have children ages 10 and up right NOW - we have an Adolescent Montessori discussion group starting at Keys of the Universe on June 21 - it is not too late to join. 

Later, we will add a discussion group for the general public. See this Montessori Trail post for more information. 

Third Plane of Development - Characteristics

Some online resources for Adolescence:

Comparison of Late Childhood and Adolescence

Third Plane of Development

Adolescent Characteristics

Characteristics of Early Adolescence

Older Children Coming In to Montessori - Can it be done???

How do I start Montessori with an older child? CAN I start Montessori with an older child?

Short answer: Yes!

The foundation of Montessori is respecting the child where he is right now and the direction he is going.

And that is the beauty of Montessori as well.

We adults gain so much from Montessori training - and reading - and just being in a Montessori-designed environment; that yes, children of every age can benefit. Children who are new to Montessori in upper primary, any age of elementary or adolescence, and adults - all people who are new to Montessori gain a LOT from it.


But adjustments will need to be made.

At any age, start with the How to Get Started in Montessori Homeschooling.

Primary (2-6): 

• 4 year olds: can generally start at the beginning of each primary album, but will move through some things faster; if the child is in a school, encourage lots of language games at home in particular
• 5 year olds or close to 5: again, they can start at the beginning, but make sure it is truly a game; they like to be a bit silly (that sense of humor is kicking in), so meet them in that place; for example, they won't want to trace sandpaper letters as much but are starting to use reason, so explain, "This will help with writing". You will likely move quickly through some things, but make sure to have thorough understanding - and I can't say enough: make it a game! They love those language and environment games ending each of the sensorial album pages - the sillier the better! (examples: scattering items and needing JUST the longer rod; or having them match all the geometric shapes to ALL the cards, but you have a set hidden underneath you and you just giggle as they get to the point of frustration (a hint that there is something up)). And do move at THEIR pace - which may be quicker than a 3 or 4 year old. Or slower in some areas - it is all fine! 
• Some areas this older-primary child just needs the experience - no need to have perfect mastery before moving on with new presentations. You'll know when it's time to slow down on presentations. 

Elementary (6-12): 

• All elementary children, but especially those without primary experience: get them working with their hands, even when they've moved out of the fussy-hands-on stage - handwork such as weaving, pottery, crochet, knit, cross-stitch, sewing, wood-working, mechanical work - whatever and as much as possible give them these skills NOW. They will need them to express themselves properly in the adolescent years. 
• 6 year olds with no primary experience, or the albums didn't quite line up: there are remedial/bridge sections for language and mathematics - utilize only as needed. Think of remediation as a "bridge" - it is just an adjustment into a new plane of development. Keep them integrated into ALL other presentations (Great Lessons, Key Lessons), they do not NEED to read/write/do-math in order to have their needs fulfilled by the Great Lessons. You'll want to keep the most practical and preliminary of practical life available in the beginning (pouring dry and wet, for example) for children who have not had this practice at home. 
• 7-9 year olds: also utilize those remedial album pages ONLY as needed. Just verify the child has those skills and move on. These children love "challenges" with the primary level materials - it has to be a game, a challenge; while use of the primary materials by these children is not required, it is amazing how much they get into the challenges and fine-tune their skills. 
• 9-12 year olds: They likely do NOT need the remediation, though some situations justify it. Again, start where they are at with the elementary albums - have them show you what they know. They still need the Great Lessons whether or not they are continuing from a younger Montessori experience, so start there and proceed through the album pages at their pace. Review what they already know and go on to the next activity. Get them working independently on research projects. They prefer to be less "fussy" about beads and small parts, but should be strong on their handwork skills. 

Adolescence (12-15): 

• Their minds are slowing down in pace of development as their bodies are going through so many changes, including physical and hormonal. They crave to find their place in the grand scheme of things and need to be connected with nature. 
• Encourage lots of handwork. 
• No elementary experience at all? Introduce the Great Lessons and Key lessons - the best way is if they can be helping make materials and work on presentations with actual elementary children. But if this is not possible, just get them involved as much as possible. 
• Definitely cover the upper elementary presentations, especially on economic geography, history, geography. Mathematics and geometry in whichever areas needed (do not drill and kill). ETA: Many of these experiences are outlined in the Keys of the Universe Cosmic Education album, available in several places. 
• There is also now an adolescent algebra album that they can move into when ready (it covers FAR more than just algebra!!!). See Montessori Albums page (scroll down to the adolescent section) for the links. 
• Get them outside as much as possible - camping, hiking, working with animals, gardening, farming if possible, planning and building structures (ie for a farm or small business). 
• Encourage entrepreneurship - think consumer mathematics here. Business math programs designed for this age - economics. 
• For mathematics, focus on mathematics as part of life: in history, art, geometric designs; utilizing those math skills for practical purposes such as managing a household or a small business. 
• Essentially, they should be LIVING cosmic education. 

Adolescence (14-18): 

• Their minds are picking back up in pace and their bodies are slowing down in changes. 
• Incorporate all suggestions from the 12-15 range. 
• Can handle theoretical lectures, but still need real work. 
• Essentially, they should be LIVING cosmic education, now adding a deeper intellectual component. 

Handwork in Montessori

I like Margaret Homfray. I agree with so much of what she says in the videos that are posted on Google Videos. Remembering that in these videos she is focusing on the primary age, which is a different plane of development from elementary, she does present some really excellent information on the other ages.

She says something in one of her videos (sorry! I cannot remember which one! If you know which one it is, please send me the link so I can link to it and note the location of what she says) about the adolescent plane of development that is very striking.

Children are innately creative at the third plane of development. They want to create artistic ideas. They *SHOULD NOT* be hindered by the process of learning the artistic skills needed to express themselves and the turbulence inside them.

We have unruly teenagers because of the lack of emotional and *technical* preparation beforehand.


At primary, at elementary, children should be given the skills they need to be artistic at the adolescent age.

Yes, she says, girls AND boys should learn needlework. She explains that women historically did these things for the home; but the men (tailors, monks) did these things for the priests, for the kings, for the public offices.

If we give the children enough skills and exposure at the younger ages, anything they didn't learn but want to know can be readily picked up when needed. We don't have to teach everything, but to what should we have exposure in our homes and Montessori environments?

• Knitting
• Crochet
• Needlework and/or embroidery
• Cross-stitch (yes different from needlework)
• Basic sewing skills: buttons, mending of various materials (mending leather is different from mending a hem) - think "what are basic repairs that can be made?" - children will take this further when needed
• Drawing 
• Painting
• Origami
• Clay
• Music expression and enjoyment
• Writing styles
• Using hammer and chisel
• At least 1 other sculpting technique (whittling, etc)
• Weaving
• From-Scratch Cooking

Most of these are covered in the primary art area (in the Exercises of Practical Life album in AMI) or in music (language and sensorial albums); but all skills should be developed as the child studies in the other areas:

• re-creating the puzzle maps in a variety of media
• design work with ALL the metal insets (typical insets; fractions; elementary plates, etc)
• draw images of their work (golden beads lead to both geometry AND art; tower and stair in combinations are beautiful to draw and it covers mathematical principles)
• salt-flour maps of various landforms (yes, they are doing art with the clay landforms in primary)
• whittling (teach with soap bars)

In elementary, the children can be choosing works of art to re-create from other cultures and other time periods: 

• pottery and painting styles come to mind
• book-making
• furniture styles
• origami styles through the centuries
• house styles - architecture - the Roman Arch for example
• Calligraphy
• Illumination
• Sculptures
• candles, soap, other common household goods - make them from materials as close to natural state as possible
• textile creation; spinning thread and yarn; dying textiles, threads and yarns
• beginning food preparation skills

Do not think *crafts* - think ART. Think beauty, aesthetics, function, style - and provide the very basic materials and simple presentation to get them started. 

Do not think *projects* - think inspiration. Give the basic material and simple presentations on how to use particular tools; then let them be inspired (it's ok to drop hints and there; and if something is a requirement for the child, imposed by the adult, then the adult should be right there with the child through the process). 

When we provide this foundation for our children, those emotional disturbances in middle school, when their brains need a rest and their hearts need an outlet, will be joyful exploratory years, in which the child comes to know himself and the world around him in a new way. And we adults come to see the wonderful creation that is this particular child. 

Nothing in a "Montessori" environment is learned in isolation. Everything connects in history, in mathematics, in practical life, in beauty. 

Are we starting to see how cosmic education works?