SILVER LININGS

Hmm . . . how does that song go? . . . look for a silver lining and . . . . The young child sees the silver lining while the adult is looking for it. We can learn from the developing child by recognizing and understanding our differences. Adults can come to see the silver linings like the young child if they can uncritically watch the baby or little ones do their own work—not the work the adult is expecting them to do, or the work the adult is teaching them to do. Sometimes when I’m not looking for it, I see and experience joy and realize this is what the developing child sees most of the time.

But why does the child cry? That is where the work of the adult becomes essential—the work of changing the environment so the child’s happiness will continue. The adult’s work is to discover the cause of the distress and to collaborate with the child to restore their joy.

Maria Montessori discovered the secret of childhood over a century ago. She observed this eternal joy in the child and worked to encourage parents to see how the child sees. Through her studies and observations she created materials and a method for an environment for the developing child to know joy.

Please read my book, Montessori—Living the Good Life. I’m blogging on my website: www.montessoritheory.com