When putting together any sort of plan for E and V for homeschooling I try to base it upon their needs, not a particular curriculum. Right now they are really into ballet, so you will see that what I have put together is heavily influenced by ballet and ballerinas/dancers.
I also want to clarify (as you have likely heard me do many times before) that E and V are two. The most important thing for them is play and movement. What I put together are invitations, not requirements. That being said, by following their interests they are more likely to participate in what is out.
You’ll notice that we cover one topic a day; Monday is music, Tuesday art, Wednesday is usually an outing as well as ballet, Thursday is food, and Friday is ballet. While those are out they have full access to their homeschool room that contains, mostly, traditional Montessori materials.
I want the girls to learn about others and appreciate the cultures that others have. So we look at a different country each week and use that as a guide, as well as their influences.
When able, I look at a particular instrument that a composer or artist favours and try to listen for it, like Beethoven and the piano. So many artists we love use a variety of media to create their masterpieces, I try to focus on one piece and technique at a time.
The planner I use not only helps me plan out the months but also has spots for weekly observations, reflections, as well as pages to track therapies. Truly the perfect Montessori planner.
Week one: Italy
-Monday: Puccini and his influence on opera.
-Tuesday: Michelangelo. We will read about him and study his David as we are going to focus on the technique, chiseling, which will be on page 9 of this book. I am seriously considering purchasing this so that they may have hands-on. To give them the experience of chiseling we have similar kits to these. Another time we will provide more accurate and appropriate materials, but at this time these are perfect.
Wednesday: We often like to do an outing, like a museum or farm. With their interest in ballet, we will be learning a pose a week. We have this book as well as using these cards, with the pose of the week being displayed. First position is the pose for this week.
Thursday: Antipasta. I want to keep everything skill appropriate and this will be perfect for them to take the lead.
Friday: Ballet. They aren’t able to take a class at this time, so we follow along to a short video so that we may see the poses we are learning in action. We use the video that came along with our book.
Week two: France
Monday: Debussy. We will read about him on pages 32 and 33 in this book as well as listen to some of his work.
Tuesday: Degas and sculpting. We will read about Degas’ Little Dancer in this book as well as read about sculpting with clay in this book (pages 28-31) and hands-on with this small version. We will then use clay so that they may sculpt their own art pieces.
Wednesday: Outing and second position (see week one for resources).
Thursday: Ratatouille.
Friday: Same as week one.
Week three: USA
Monday: Copland. Pages 32 and 33 in this book as well as listen to some of his work.
Tuesday: Joseph Carnell and assemblage. We will read about assemblage in this book on pages 38 and 39 as well as gather and create our own pieces.
Wednesday: An outing and third position.
Thursday: Making frybread as well as reading this book.
Friday: Same as week one.
Week four: Japan
Monday: Kanno and soundtracks, similar to composing to ballet. Listening to their work.
Tuesday: Hokusai and blockmaking and printing. We will read about printing in this book on pages 14-17. We are going to create our own blocks for printing using rubber. This kit would be a great set, but we are going to use erasers that they will draw and I will carve out as well as ink pads and a roller. His famous work The Great Wave will be displayed from these cards. We will also read about this piece in this book.
Wednesday: An outing and fourth position.
Thursday: Sushi. This may be an opportunity to see it made in person or to make ourselves, to be determined.
Friday: Same as week one.
Week five will be the end of January and the beginning of February.
Week five: Russia.
Monday: Tchaikovsky. Particularly Swan Lake; Pages 26 and 27 in this book as well as read this book. We will talk about how he is well known for putting music to ballet similar to Kanno and soundtracks.
Tuesday: Kandinsky and abstract art and music. I love this children’s book and we will display and read about Yellow-Red-Blue and then create our own while listening to music.
Wednesday: An outing and fifth position.
Thursday: Blini.
Friday: Same as week one.
I hope this helps you along your own homeschooling journey, please, let me know what you think.
Disclosure: French Family Montessori uses affiliated links through Amazon. There is no additional cost to you, but provides a small compensation that helps support this site. I only share products that we use, have used, or are on our wish list. There is no obligation to purchase an item through an affiliated link.
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