Catholic Hearts Domestic Church

The latest Celestial Almanack by Classical Astronomy at Fourth Day Press is here!

Homeschool astronomy – Montessori, classical, unschooling – any educational method! Including for us adults who just missed out

Biblically-based, written by a homeschool father, up-to-date, beautiful, multi-age and multi-ability – you can’t beat it!

See a free preview by clicking here.

It used to be that the trivium was taught before all else:

• grammar
• logic
• rhetoric

These three (the Trivium) taught the children how to think, preparing their minds to be open to all further learning. These pieces were *foundational*.

Now, unless you are fortunate to attend a truly decent school (whether public or private) or utilize a top-notch homeschool curriculum, these things are just not taught or experienced.

The Trivium paved the way for the remaining foundational studies in the Quadrivium:

• Arithmetic (number in itself)
• Geometry (number in space)
• Music (number in time)
• Astronomy (number in space and time)

I cannot speak for other curricula, since there is nothing I use so fully and completely as the AMI version of Montessori education for primary and elementary. A Montessori education allows me, as mother and teacher, as well as the student, to utilize whatever needed components from SO many other sources. Montessori provides the foundation and the framework, the child’s interests and local educational requirements fill in the rest.

I can say that Montessori albums, when followed in laying the educational foundation, both academically and spiritually, CAN and DO provide the liberal arts in their entirety.

So why do we care about the liberal arts? The most concise answer can be found in the article “On the Purpose of  Liberal Arts Education” by Robert Harris (click on the title for the full, long but fascinating article).

I. A liberal arts education teaches you how to think

II. A liberal arts education teaches you how to learn.

III. A liberal arts education allows you to see things whole

IV. A liberal arts education enhances wisdom and faith

V. A liberal arts education makes you a better teacher

VI. A liberal arts education will contribute to your happiness

From The Idea of a University by John Henry Newman

“[The purpose of a liberal arts education is to] open the mind, to correct it, to refine it, to enable it to know, and to digest, master, rule, and use its knowledge, to give it power over its own faculties, application, flexibility, method, critical exactness, sagacity, resource, address, [and] eloquent expression. . . .”

So don’t leave out these subjects because there isn’t time to fit them in (like astronomy…). These things are the fuel for all other learning. Said another way, other learning isn’t worth it without the foundation.

Montessori albums – album pages – album write-ups – huh? What ARE all of these people talking about? Are they doing some sort of scrapbooking in Montessori training?

And where do we get the lesson plans for doing the Montessori activities? The Montessori curriculum?

Aha! It’s all the same!

When a person goes to a fully certified Montessori training course, they receive each presentation as an actual presentation – the instructor generally uses a trainee from the course group and shows the student the work at hand as if the trainee were a child in that age range. Everyone else observes.

The student then goes back to their seat and the instructor goes through the presentation step-by-step, discussing points when needed, while the trainees (furiously) write or type out as much as they possibly can.

When they go home that evening, they type it all up, or re-format it so it’s pretty; add illustrations – either photographs or drawings or artwork or a combination; along with the 20 or so other presentations received that day.

These are each called an “album page.”

As album pages are compiled into their respective albums, there becomes an album for each subject area:
Primary – Exercises of Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics (and Theory)
(some trainings will break out art, geography, and some sciences; most AMI trainings keep these areas interspersed among the four *key* albums)
Elementary – Mathematics, Language, Geography, Biology, Music, Geometry, History
(yes geometry is separated from the mathematics; geography includes astronomy and geology; biology includes zoology and botany; and yes some trainings split things out and some combine things back together – ie art in this case)

The album pages are reviewed by “readers” and corrections are made. The final corrections are assembled into the albums, which are decorated as the trainee sees fit. They then go for a final reading before the trainee studies for their final exams.

See now why do Montessori-trained people like to stick to their albums so much? They are full works of art, blood may have gone into creating them! and certainly a lot of time, energy, sweat, and tears went into their creation.

And they still end up with typos! Sigh

Now – are you looking for something to download online? There are many options available (one post couldn’t hold the entire list of options!) – both paid and free; purchase hard-copy or download a file of them.

Looking to do complete or almost all Montessori? What you *really* want is to get all the albums from the same place, so that they are cohesive.

If you’re just looking to supplement a particular topic within a subject, individual album pages are perfect for you. If you’re looking to do most or all of an entire subject, you’ll want to get the entire album from one place. There are enough differences that the discrepancies become HUGE when you are pulling information from so many different sources.

Yes, the Montessori philosophy is the same, but you want a cohesiveness to the materials and the presentations, and since there *is* some wiggle room, downloading an entire subject (let’s say Math) from 5 different sources is going to prove more frustrating and time-consuming that it needs to be.

So pick one or two, and stick with it. You’ll be happy you did! The process of material gathering will be simplified, where to put each presentation, what materials can overlap, and which you need to duplicate.

Keys of the Universe has complete elementary Montessori albums, online support, a choice of “course lengths”, is affordable ($20/month or $40/month), and is flexible if you need to take time off, or just want to hold off on the next sets, or need to do so for budget reasons.  Plus you get the permanent discussion community so that if you have any questions or concerns, you have access at any time. Come visit!

This survey is now closed and the course information site can be found at Keys of the Universe.
Thank you for all your input!

We need your input! A new online homeschool course will soon be available – and we need your input to help us direct its development and focus.

If you have elementary aged-students (or just want to get started early) and would have some interest in this course, please take the following survey – and share it with other Montessori homeschoolers – the more input we have, the better we can serve your needs.

Thank you so much!

Online Elementary Montessori Homeschool Training Course

Updating to add a link to our free Daily Montessori Treasure: Montessori Nuggets Blog.

One of the things I briefly touched on with the children yesterday is the importance of being thankful no matter our life circumstances – in every struggle there is always God’s grace for which to be thankful. That each day we should find something to feel thankful for.

Today I am grateful for the sunshine and for NOT working outside my home today. I am also thankful for leftover turkey

There are a few things that make me sad or uncomfortable today, but I find comfort in (and have gratitude for) the fact that God’s plan is bigger than these situations; bigger than us; bigger than our hang-ups.

And so I am thankful for the all the life circumstances that have brought me to that understanding.

All the crosses, graces from the Holy Spirit and heavenly guidance.

Symbols of God's Plan of Salvation