Dedicated to Developing the Whole Child
THE ABSORBENT MIND “The ‘absorbent mind’ welcomes everything, puts its hope in everything, accepts poverty equally with wealth, adopts any religion and the prejudices and habits of its countrymen, incarnating all in itself. This is the child!”– The Absorbent Mind {pg. 292} An Absorbent Mind is defined as when a child is “effortlessly assimilating the [Read On]
I just completed a final draft philosophy paper discussing The Directress’. A little long but I would be remiss not to share with you all. Happy reading! ~ Marnie THE DIRECTRESS “The teacher’s part and its techniques are analogous to those of the valet; they are to serve, and to serve well: to serve the [Read On]
When I first began reading about Montessori, I found myself a bit overwhelmed by the philosophy. Maria Montessori was a scientist and a doctor. So, her writing wasn’t exactly an “easy read”, at least for me. In my quest to learn more and eventually landing in a Montessori training program, I recommend the following books [Read On]
Montessori believed that mental and motor activity should act in unity, that a children must be given the chance to act as a whole. Movement with thought is a “synthetic movement” or a “knowing activity”, directed by the intelligence to a reasonable end. Practical life (and within practical life, grace & courtesy) lessons are examples [Read On]
Concrete to Abstract “A logical, developmentally appropriate progression that allows the child to come to an abstract understanding of a concept by first encountering it in a concrete form, such as learning the mathematical concept of the decimal system by working with Golden Beads grouped into units, 10s, 100s, and 1,000s.” (Source: American Montessori Society) [Read On]
Normalization A natural or “normal” developmental process marked by a love of work or activity, concentration, self-discipline, and joy in accomplishment. Dr. Montessori observed that the normalization process is characteristic of human beings at any age. (Source: American Montessori Society) Michael Olaf describes this term very effectively: “Normalization is a technical word borrowed from the [Read On]
