Thank God for homeschooling. As public school systems struggle, parents are taking their children’s futures into their own hands. There are now so many excellent homeschooling curriculums and programs that the only difficulty, beyond arranging for one parent to be at home, is choosing one.
No matter how you choose to educate your child from 6 years old on, a basic fact remains: by the end of their sixth year, children have already created their fundamental brain architecture – the system of interacting nerves that determine how well a child thinks, learns, and communicates; and which determines in large part whether a child reaches close to their real potential in life. We are all the product of our experiences during our first six years of life. These years are a unique period of human development. If you want to homeschool in the most effective way, the early years are always the place to start.
But what to do? There are preschool activities galore online. Art projects, science experiments, sensory experiences, games, social activities, math and reading – it’s all there for the searching. Most parents know the basics. Learn counting, the alphabet, colors, shapes, and many names for things. Play games. Watch good educational shows on TV. Do fun art projects. Buy an iPad and get a bunch of apps. Start learning to read and write a bit. A set of blocks, some legos, and toys round out a child’s early experiences. Using these resources, even in an unstructured way, more children than ever today reach six years of age knowing basic math and at least starting to read.
Montessori education offers all parents two very essential tools: a brilliant vision of how children naturally develop; and an extremely practical, accessible way to support and encourage their development. Montessori education allows children to reach closer to their real potential in a fun way that supports their natural drive to learn, without struggles or the need to spend hundreds of hours creating lesson plans and scheduling activities. Montessori is perfect for starting your homeschooling journey. Montessori experiences will help your child develop excellent brain architecture, a positive and confident self-image, and a true love of learning.
Photo: Counting Coconuts
In our Montessori schools, I cannot recall a child who was with us for at least a couple of years before they turned six who was not reading, writing, and doing math at what public schools consider a second to third grade level. Children are simply capable of much more than we realize during their early years. The luckiest children are able to move from Montessori 3-6 programs into 6-9 and 9-12 programs to continue growing and learning in environments that help them reach their real potential in life. Homeschooling parents can arrange for similar experiences right at home.
The Montessori At Home! eBook is the perfect resource for starting homeschooling. It has all the information, activities, and links parents need, organized seamlessly, and focusing on exactly what parents need to know. It shows parents how to make most home activities using common materials available anywhere. Just this feature saves hundreds of dollars over purchasing classroom equipment. Every page has color photos and links to the best sites, blogs, and videos that expand on the information being presented. A complete guide to introducing digital learning to preschoolers is included. Parents can get started very quickly, know what they are doing and why, and progress through the activities as their children are ready. If parents are able to arrange appropriate socialization experiences for their preschoolers and use Montessori At Home! as their activities guide, they can provide most of what their children will experience in a Montessori school, right at home.
Get started today and see for yourself!