Montessori Homeschooling

Montessori homeschooling is one of the most popular approaches to at-home learning. This method combines many of the best elements of homeschooling, like student-led learning, flexibility, and social-emotional growth. Many families have found amazing success with Montessori homeschooling — and many use Miacademy to help them achieve this!

Curious to learn more about this homeschool style? Read on to discover what makes the Montessori method so timeless.

What is Montessori?

The Montessori method is all about hands-on learning, student choice, and real world skills. Named after educator Maria Montessori, this method focuses on childrens’ natural ability to soak up information and knowledge from the world around them. This method of teaching may seem unorthodox to some, as it doesn’t look like the formal teaching methods you might see in most schools, and doesn’t even label grade levels! But, for the homeschooling family, Montessori may be the perfect way to let kids’ natural interests guide what they learn. Just like at Miacademy, Montessori’s goal is to inspire lifelong learning!

Benefits of Montessori Homeschooling

When you’re searching for the right homeschool method for your family, it can seem like there’s a never-ending amount to research. What’s the right way to provide instruction, or to assess what your student has learned? These decisions are important, but when it comes down to it, we know you just want your kids to be safe and happy. The Montessori homeschool style’s flexibility and nurturing approach has helped countless kids thrive academically and emotionally.

Dr. Angeline Lillard’s studies into the benefits of Montessori have shown that kids who learn using the Montessori method have a greater sense of wellbeing, even into adulthood! In Montessori homeschooling:

1. Children choose what they learn, which keeps them engaged.
2. The focus on real world skills helps children understand the practical applications behind what they’re learning. 
3. Children feel respected and trusted when given the opportunity to take control of their learning.

How to Homeschool With the Montessori Method

If the homeschool Montessori method interests you, you might wonder how you can start using it with your own kids. To start using the Montessori method, you may need to let go of some of the control. Your kids should be in the driver’s seat! Start by letting your kids choose what they want to learn. 

Learning in the Montessori method is all about exploration — and that means, sometimes, kids will make mistakes! Don’t give the answers, but do provide your kids with the tools and resources that they’ll need to explore and problem-solve. These tools and materials don’t need to be expensive. In fact, they are often found for free in our natural world! One of the hallmarks of Montessori is plenty of opportunities for children to explore the natural world.

Science

Create a sensory tray or exploration area with natural materials like feathers, rocks, acorns, beans, or sticks. Rather than giving your child a prescribed science curriculum, let their experiences guide them. As they explore their world, students may encounter topics like:

• The difference between solids and liquids
• Magnetism
• Measurement and weight
• Textures and materials

Then, when your student finds a topic that fascinates them, they may wish to research it further or explore it more in nature. 

Language Arts

As your child explores and describes what they observe with their five senses, they may begin to use a wide variety of adjectives! This important element of a traditional language arts curriculum comes naturally to them as they might search for more words to describe what they are experiencing. In this way, the Montessori method naturally lends itself to cross-curricular connections.

Math

Provide your child with some traditional Montessori materials, like blocks, to use for counting and investigating numbers. While the Montessori approach favors specific blocks, many different kinds of manipulatives can be used by children to improve their fine motor skills, spatial awareness, and number sense. Combine math and science by using natural items like acorns, beans, or sticks to continue this counting exploration.

Social Studies

Understanding the diverse people and cultures that make up our world is a cornerstone of the Montessori homeschooling approach. Additionally, many opportunities to explore social studies topics like history and geography will come up organically for your student as they follow their fascinations. Your student may be interested in your area’s history, or even in finding out how some local traditions came to be. Exploring these topics can be a great way to integrate resources in your community into your Montessori homeschooling!

Montessori Homeschooling With Miacademy

Many features of Miacademy work seamlessly with the Montessori method of homeschooling. The flexibility of the site allows children to work on any lesson from any course. This means, like in a Montessori classroom, they aren’t tied to a specific “grade” or year level. In fact, our grade levels are just recommendations that show only in the parent portal. Your child doesn’t see a grade level; they only see what they’re learning!

Not only can children work at any level, parents also have the ability to assign all of the lessons that Miacademy offers:

1. Go to the parent portal, where you can assign lessons and customize your child’s program
2. Assign all of the available lessons, at all levels, to your child
3. When your child logs in to their portal, show them the “All Lessons” tab
4. Based on their interests, children can choose any lesson in any subject: Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Music & Arts, Foreign Languages, or Life Skills!
   

With this method, children have the freedom to choose from any lesson on the site. Our program is completely customizable within the parent portal, allowing children to choose what they want to do! 

Explore Deeper With Our Online Montessori Homeschooling Curriculum

Miacadem’s flexibility also allows children to choose from a wide variety of supplementary activities included in PDFs that accompany lessons. These activities and suggestions involve children in cross-disciplinary activities and experiences. Many of these activities also lead children out into their real world!

Another hallmark of Montessori homeschool learning, uninterrupted work time, fits with the Miacademy platform. While lessons will be split up based on the school year you choose in the parent portal, children can work at any pace. All of our practice quizzes and assessments are untimed, even allowing children to decide if they want to pause to take a break.

Miacademy’s Community Features

Paralleling the mixed classes often found in Montessori, children on Miacademy can make connections with kids of other ages, all in a safe, moderated environment. With these social features, Miacademy goes beyond core classes and traditional teaching methods. Within the “My World” tab, children are able to:

1. Create art and view peers’ art
2. Open their own digital business
3. Contribute their writing to the Miacademy newspaper

U.S. News and World Report quotes teacher Jill Morgenstern as saying that, in Montessori, “children have the opportunity to choose their own activities and lessons in a way that’s not possible in a traditional school environment.” Miacademy allows children to choose what they want to learn, whether it’s:

• All about Tanzania in our Social Studies “Let’s Take a Journey” series
• How to say the word “dog” in multiple languages
• Emergency preparation in our Life Skills course emphasizing independence and real life experiences

We can’t wait to be a part of your Montessori homeschooling journey, or, whatever homeschooling journey you choose! Reach out to our friendly customer service representatives with any questions!