Catholic parents considering a Montessori approach to home education should find The Montessori Homeschool Curriculum Organizer a helpful for figuring out how to utilize different resources to pull it together. This 97-page book is not a detailed how-to-teach guide or a complete explanation of Montessori’s philosophy. Rather, it is a guide for implementation. Author Sara Shea assumes that her readers have already been introduced to the general concept of Montessori education and have some idea of the key components. For example, she discusses Montessori albums as if the reader understands what these are; instead of describing them, she stresses the importance of using one. She does have a brief introductory section on “Montessori Environment Ideals” as well as a few pages on “How to Give a Montessori Presentation” since both environment and presentations are vital components of Montessori education. These two articles preface the six parts of the book that are titled, “Theology, Character, Practical Life, Living in Community, All about Creation,” and “The Arts & Physical Education.”
Sara recommends resources and suppliers for particular needs. She admits to not following all Montessori specifications for materials and lessons exactly and explains what she did differently.
The book is targeted toward parents of children ages three through nine, but it will likely be most useful to those with younger children. While non-Catholics might also find this information valuable, there is a distinctly Catholic outlook in the theology section as well as numerous recommendations of Catholic resources.
The book is available in either print or e-book editions. However, the e-book edition is not printable, which might be an issue if you like to highlight and make notes in books such as this.
