Fantasy vs. Imagination

I am a part of a montessori yahoo group (okay 3 groups). Anyway, one of them recently has been talking about Montessori's approach to children's literature. It has been VERY interesting. I have not read about this myself but apparently she discourages any type of fantasy literature before a child is 6 years old. This is because young children cannot tell the difference between real and make believe. So she discourages any books where animals where clothes and speak, where mythical creatures are involved and similar types of things.

Along the same lines she makes an interesting distinction between fantasy and imagination. She talks about fantasy play not being helpful to kids, while imagination should be encouraged. Fantasy play is when kids pretend to be a pretend character (like Batman, Arial, etc.). Imagination is when they pretend to be something that is real (a pilot, a teacher, a bus driver - whatever). The idea is that in fantasy play they are not really being imaginative they are fulfilling someone else's script (even if the words/ actions are there own). In imaginative play they truly are using their imaginations.

I am still learning more about this topic and I might have to hunt down some original sources. It did make me pause and think. I have known some 4 year olds that can only think about being one character - it becomes and obsession.

On a related note I started looking at the Charlotte Mason approach again. They basically have her whole curriculum laid out online. This includes a great reference list for books (scroll down the page to find it) worth reading. There is also an interesting conversation about how to choose books worth reading. Both approaches focus on helping the child learn for themselves - but they have MANY differences. Good thing I have another couple years to figure out which way we might lean.

Great Montessori Resource

I continue to enjoy the montessorimakers yahoo group and learn something new almost every day. Today I learned about a new website that talks specifically about doing montessori at home. The website clearly outlines the basic tennets of the math and language program more clearly than any other place I've seen. I did download the ebook and it provides basic but helpful information. I especially like the section about implementing Montessori at home. This outline, in combination with the step by step directions I bought earlier this year, will form the basis of our spring semester. We will start next week and we'll see how it goes.

From 0 to 60

I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged. My mom came into town last week and I took it easy for a while - so that's the zero. Now that the coop has started, my classes are still going and I have board meetings next week to prep for - so that's the 60. On Tuesday we had the parent meeting for the coop and it went really well. It is a more diverse group than I thought- which is GREAT. Many of the kids are right around the same age which is helpful.
Today was the first day of "school". Some kiddos got new backpacks, some took pictures for the day - I was surprised. They are all excited about school though. Overall the older students did very well. They seemed to enjoy the activities and catch onto some of the basic routines. I am realizing that our older kids are more advanced than I expected them to be - so I am playing catch up with that.
Two moms agreed to take care of the younger students. I think overall they had a good time except for the fact that little man spent most of the time crying because mommy wasn't paying attention to him. This is all part of the process I guess. The younger kids (18 months and under) are going to focus on baby signs, singing songs and some physical development activities (fun things to help baby stretch etc.). I am so thankful for these moms that are stepping up.
I hope to update weekly on how our coop is going.