I created this blog so I can write about things I am so passionate about. Actually this is not the first time I'm blogging. I have another blog that I created two years ago (aestheticcorner), but because I changed my email add last year, now I could no longer access it for editing. Very sad. But let's hope I could keep up with this one and that it would work better for me. Follow me.
Hmm...okay, so what do I want to write about? Well the list is long, but let's start with Montessori - my current (and long-time) fav topic to talk about. I have been fascinated with Maria Montessori's work for as long as I could remember. In the recent years I started venturing with whatever little knowledge I had of her philosophy and teachings. When my youngest son was only about two-and-a-half, he attended briefly a Montessori kindy close to where we lived. The kindy closed down due to financial difficulties, so I decided to keep my son home and made some Montessori materials for him and homeschooled him. By the time he was four and entered kindergarten for the second time, he was reading and writing and was well advanced in his language than most of his peers. Inspired by the results of using Montessori in his education, I decided to continue using the method to support his schooling. I would have wanted to continue homeschooling him, but economic demands always stood in the way of that dream. Needless to say I had to content myself with "part-time" homeschooling (if there is such a thing)... Well this is how it works for us.. to this day, my son continues attending a state school (he's now in the third grade), and I support his learning by providing him with materials to work with so he can better understand what he's learning at school. Of course, there's the extra things I throw in here and there, totally not related to what he's currently doing at school. In other words he gets to taste what others in his class haven't tried yet. All these of course are based upon his interests and willingness to take things in. We don't do as much as I would like but during weekends, school holidays and maybe some afternoons after school we get some work done.
As you may imagine, I have now in my possession tons of Montessori materials I have both created and purchased in the last five years. I currently work in a local kindy (not Montessori) where most of these materials are being put to good use. I was lucky enough to have a boss who is open to alternative ideas in education, so she lets me apply Montessori's pedagogy in the kindy. The kids are particularly drawn to the Practical life activities and materials and also the sensorial ones. We also use some maths materials and a lot of the language ones. This is such a great opportunity for me to practise what I learned and keep adding to it as I go. It is also such a pleasure to observe the children at work and take notice of their progress as they persevere perfecting their every movement. The best part is witnessing Montessori's words come to life during those moments of observation... yes plenty of ah-ha moments there for me!
Later I will be sharing with you more on those experiences. But for now, I would like to mention one other thing I so like doing. Scrapbooking. Well, within this great hobby are other things that attract my interest too. To name a few there's card-making, photography (of course), graphics and design (I'm mad about Photoshop) and a host of other artistic endeavours.
So outside work hours, if I am not busy assisting my son or making Montessori materials and fiddling with Photoshop, you'll definitely find me creating a scrapbook layout or making cards. Don't ask me when I get time to get my chores done in the house. I don't. I just let the dust get so thick that I can no longer stand it, then the good old vacuum cleaner becomes my best friend for the day. And the rest of the family can feel normalcy returning to its place again.
Today I just finished making half (quantity) of the invitation cards and placecards for my son's party for April. They turned out really well. I may post some pics to show them later. Once I figured out how to do it, of course. Anyways I am really pleased with how they look. I ran out of cardstock, so will have to wait to get some more next week and hopefully finish working on them and send them off in the post.
