Understanding and Supporting the Toddler

An online Montessori course for parents navigating the toddler years. The course will help you gain a deeper understanding of your toddler by looking and his developmental needs and then provide you will tools to support him using the Montessori philosophy. Price: $199 A lot of popular opinion about toddlers Read more…

Maria Montessori’s Joy!

It was Dr. Montessori’s birthday yesterday. Encountering her work has changed my life and I am constantly seeking to understand more. I want to share a beautiful passage by Renilde Montessori that I read at the Educateurs sans Frontieres assembly in Hyderabad. It speaks to Dr Montessori’s personality which can be Read more…

BrainDev 1: … The moment they enter the world

The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth” – M. Montessori

This is another favorite quote of mine. Montessori believed that education must begin from birth since the child begins the work of constructing his intellect and personality the moment he is born. I actually think the greatness of the human personality begins at conception but that’s another story. Today’s post is going to talk about brain formation and why I agree with the thought that education should begin at birth. This topic is a little scientific but I’ll try to make it as simple as I can.

The Short and  Simple Version

A large part of brain development (which is linked to intelligence) happens between birth and the second year of life. Brain development slows down significantly after the second year. Therefore, education is very important in the first two years of life. The education that I refer to here is not necessarily putting the child in school i.e. education as we know it. The next post in this series will discuss the practical side of education from birth.

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Makers of Men

“And if education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped for from it in the bettering of man’s Nigeria’s future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual’s total development lags behind? Read more…