May 22, 2007

• Last week I finally got a chance to go through Barbara Curtis’ new books, Mommy, Teach Me! and Mommy, Teach Me to Read! These are the books that I wish had been around when I first started homeschooling over a decade ago.

  Because of my own wonderful early experience in Montessori school, I originally started out trying to homeschool with Montessori materials. I had an old copy of “Teaching Montessori in the Home” and I made sandpaper letters, bead material and all sorts of stuff. I had lots of fun making things, but when it came to getting Brendan to use it, I was less than successful. Now, maybe if I’d had a different child, or maybe if I’d been a different kind of person, I’d have had more success, but I didn’t. I concluded that Montessori worked if you had lots of fancy materials and a Montessori trained teacher.

  But I always held on to that dream of a Montessori style classroom, with everyone working quietly on self-directed tasks. In fact, by the time baby number 6 came around, it seemed absolutely imperative. I got a copy of Barbara’s earlier book, “Small Beginnings” and things started coming together.

  I think the biggest difference between Barbara’s books and other Montessori books is the fact that Barbara is a writer who happens to be a Montessori teacher, not a Montessori teacher who wants to write a book. She explains things in a way that helps you understand not only what you need to do, but why. Most preschool education books might present an activity and list that its stated purpose is concentration, but Barbara spends a couple of pages on concentration, self control, order and other goals of early education, then provides a very detailed descriptions of how to introduce the activities. Having homeschooled five children through the preschool years I’ve picked up a lot of things along the way, but there’s lots of information in here that I can’t wait to implement with Mairead and our next child.

  I’m especially excited about “Mommy Teach Me to Read!” I’ve always known that children could learn to read at a very early age, since I myself started reading when I went to Montessori school, and it’s been very frustrating to see signs of readiness in many of my children (not all, they’re all on their own timetables) and not know what to do about them. Yes, I had all the stuff from all the other Montessori books, but I didn’t know how to put it into practice, so I just waited until they were older and started them on “Phonics Pathways” or “100 EZ Lessons” or another course designed for older children. I’m so excited to be starting with Mairead right now while I can tell that she’s at a sensitive period for language.

  I highly recommend these books for anyone with preschool children, whether or not they intend to homeschool. They’re wonderful resources for enriching your child’s life, helping them achieve their potential and all those other things that schools are supposed to do, but you can do perfectly well in your own home.

  • 3:11 pm
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