GOOD SENSE

Once again, I want to share Marnie’s excellent website, http://carrotsareorange.com/montessori-sensorial/, to remind parents and educators how important an awareness of sensorial activities is for the developing brain. Maria Montessori’s observations and experiences in the 1900’s showed that a child’s intellect is developed through his senses—a philosophy based in science and since confirmed in modern day studies.

Montessori schools offer a variety of sensorial materials and methods to encourage the child’s development.  Websites like marnie@carrotssareorange.com, www.kidstalknews.com , debchitwood@livingmontessorinow.com, and many more, are created to help parents with at-home children. Homeschooling is becoming popular with parents studying Montessori methods and making their own materials. Maria Montessori would be happy with whatever works for the families and the child.

Marnie quotes from Pat Wolfe’s book, How the Brain Learns, “The only way to get information into the brain is through our senses,” and from Bronowski: “You could not get a human being to build anything unless the child had put together a set of blocks.

I’m reminded of the thousands of Legos, Tinker toys, Lincoln logs, and electro pieces that my five sons enjoyed creating imaginative structures. Today they are entrepreneurs and doctors.

Another recent, very creative post of Marnie’s is, http://carrotsareorange.com/sensory-activity-toddlers-preschoolers,

Please read my book, Montessori—Living the Good Life. www.montessoritheory.com

COLLABORATING

…, a favorite Montessori word and not always an easy accomplishment. I certainly haven’t perfected it. I watch parents shopping with their children to observe how others do it. Little ones sit in the basket or walk along the side wanting to push the basket, maybe grabbing merchandise off the counters. “Mommy, can I have this?” One mother may just say no while another, understanding that the child wants to do what she is doing, will give the child an option to choose something meaningful.

The key to collaborating is to understand another’s point of view. An older child, of reasoning intelligence, can be told no and with some understanding of their parent’s point of view, will collaborate and accept the no or begin a discussion. The young child, not capable of collaborating, will normally cry. They need the adult to do the collaborating. Collaborating can satisfy even infants and babies when the adult soothes the child with rocking, singing, petting, music, feeding, or change of scene, and of clothing.

The key to understanding, Maria Montessori tells us, is observation, the first essential principle of collaborating with the child’s development of his human intelligence. It takes a lot of heart, patience, and love to sacrifice one’s time for the love of another; but this is the calling of parents. Consistency in awareness of the young child’s point of view will lead parents to the habit of collaboration. This habit will carry over to the frustrating teen years when the young adults struggle to have their own mind. Ideally they will come to their parents for discernment.

Please read my book, Montessori—Living the Good Life. www.montessoritheory.com

ALL SAINTS AND ALL SOULS

 . . . days to remind us of our ancestors—Days of the Dead, some call them. I like to think of these days as reminders of our passing loved ones whose spirit lives on in our choices of behaviors and attitudes, which we, in turn, will pass on to our next generation to create eternal life on earth.

Is this not what eternity is all about? I think, if Maria Montessori were alive today and involved in our latest studies of our DNA, she would confirm the passing on of eternal life to a new generation of humanity, as our ancestors, living in us and with us share our life. Our ancestors’ life in us and with us, from the beginning of our conception, a psychic energy in fetus and embryo, is the beginning of our absorbent mind which in turn brought to life a new world for our parents to enjoy.

Growing up with my children gave me unmatched joy. Today I pray for parents and educators all over the world to appreciate the lives, past and present, God gives us.

Please read my book, Montessori—Living the Good Life. www.montessoritheory.com

GOOD LIFE

I had a table at a craft bazaar this past weekend, promoting my book: Montessori—Living the Good Life. A person stopping by and, looking at the book, asked, “. . . what does ‘living a good life’ have to do with Maria Montessori?” The remark reminded me that my publisher questioned me on the title, as well. It seemed obvious to me, when I chose the title, that families understanding Maria Montessori’s way would know how to ‘live the good life.’ This is the passion I try to express in my book—that peace could reign if civilization came to appreciate the secret of childhood.

As adults, we spend much of our time focusing on our fears and discomforts, on our wrongs and evils in the world. As parents, we work hard to instill our values in our children. As teachers, we impart our knowledge to our students along with our standards. Surely goodness will happen if all the ‘ours’ come true, and we will live a good life ‘our’ way.

Maria Montessori brought a new understanding to this equation when she discovered, through observation and scientific experience, the secret of childhood.  By collaborating with the child’s developing intelligence, a new ‘OUR’ is created.  When all these ‘ours’ work together, ‘Living the Good Life’ is possible.

Please read The Secret of Childhood, The Discovery of the Child  by Maria Montessori, and  my book, Montessori—Living the Good Life.

HALLOWEEN

Time for ghosts and goblins . . . makes me wonder how these terms were initiated. As children, my brother and sister and I toured our neighborhood in Miami trying to scare and waiting to be scared. We’d knock on neighbor’s doors for trick or treating, screaming, “BOO”. Sometimes a neighbor would be dressed as a ghost or skeleton and they would scream at us. It was a fun and safe time.

Today, scary news was revealed on Anchorage Daily News front page—stories of goblins and ghosts being created by Boy Scout leaders. Victims of their not-normal behavior will find monsters under beds and in closets for years if not a life-time. These monsters, now called ghosts, buried in the subconscious minds of young boys and girls may never have an opportunity to come out as a “boo”. These young, innocent lives may never have a chance to be normal. Some may grow-up as a victim who has learned to wear a predator’s costume.

 I’ve been involved in two generations of Scouts. My sister, brother, and I were all Scouts. Our five sons kept their father and me busy as Scout leaders. Being in the Scout community was a normal, healthy activity for our sons growing up. It’s pretty scary now. God bless our teachers for their patience, time, and talent to help our scared kids be normal.

If you have a copy of my book, Montessori—Living the Good Life, turn to the chapter, Rocks of Darkness, on page 121. See what can be done to get rid of our ghosts. We all have them.

SEASONS

In Alaska, when the colors change, the snows come, the green landscape turns white, the human body shivers. We look for the first signs on the nearby mountains—termination dust, we call it. Many leave for warmer climate—snowbirds--not returning until the cold and darkness finish their spell. Those who stay may experience a depression with their spirits turning grey and cold.

It is a difficult time for the young child unless parents and teachers plan ahead for an environment of joyful activities appreciating the changing of seasons, learning to enjoy the life of nature, coming and going.

Marnie and Deb always have relevant and fun activities going on at their websites: www.carrotsareorange.com and  www.LivingMontessoriNow.com.  Maren Schmidt’s newsletter, www.kidstalknews.com, is also an important website for teachers and parents to understand the theory behind many of her activities.  AND . . . for you wonderful homeschooler parents, there is a new E-book: Magellan-Montessori-Homeschooling-Early-Elementary, an Amazon Kindle edition.

Below freezing weather and our long winters in Alaska make it especially difficult to experience the joys of nature outside. I end with a quote of Maria Montessori’s: “Of all things, love is the most potent.”

Note: I'm having to close my other blog site due to too much spam. This is a spam free site. Some of the blogs on the other site will be re-blogged safely here. There is a contact address on my website: www.montessoritheory.com if you want to comment.

NORMALIZATION

 . . ., a technical term Maria Montessori uses frequently in her book, “The Absorbent Mind,” and in other writings—behavior the teacher observes.

Parents are usually concerned that their newborn is normal, that their preschooler, their first grader, their teenager is normal. For many different reasons, parents will love and accept their child as normal and might feel threatened for a Montessori teacher to speak of the process of normalization for their child. I remember, as a parent, I did.

Once I began to observe children in a Montessori classroom, I understood and looked forward to the natural or “normal” changes in the behavior of the new students in September and of their returning in January. Maria Montessori speaks of the characteristics of normalization including: love of work, concentration, self-discipline, and sociability. This process of each child, in a prepared Montessori classroom environment, takes time.

As a parent of five, in an environment of some Montessori homeschooling, but primarily public school, as well as two parents who did not model all the characteristics of normalization, it didn’t happen.  Our family was not totally normal. Bits and pieces of normality bounced around here and there.

Parents who can model normalization is the best environment, the best teacher.

“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” Einstein

Please read my book, Montessori-Living the Good Life.