With Montessori, we try to support the child’s development of independence from infancy. We often address movement, toileting, care of self and the environment. What about communication? Can we support independence with communication from infancy? Can we help our babies tell us what they are thinking? Yes! One of the Read more…
If you have ever had a young child then you have probably experienced it before, an unrolled roll of toilet paper. Sometimes you find it in a long strip or other times in heap. Sometimes it was a mistake and other times, not so much. What if instead of an Read more…
Month 4 = weeks 14 to 18 This is the 6th post in this series where I am attempting to share some of the ways that we applied the Montessori principles from birth. Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Observations at 15 weeks Handling the Child I’m sorry it has Read more…
Parenting is a pretty challenging job especially during the first year. While there are no manuals, there are a few ideas that make a difference for the parent during that first year and a lifetime of difference for the child. Check out my article on www.mariamontessori.com and do share with any expecting Read more…
“The tiny child’s absorbent mind finds all its nutriment in its surrounding. Here it has to locate itself and build itself from what it takes in. Especially at the beginning of life must we therefore make the environment as interesting and attractive as we can. “ – Maria Montessori (The Absorbent Mind)
We set up Montessori spaces for our son from birth. He has also been given a lot of freedom of movement from birth and the result has been very good gross motor skills, body awareness, confidence and independence. He is very aware of his capabilities and doesn’t take uncalculated risks. I really believe these have been largely due to the environment. I have shown his spaces during the symbiotic period. Those spaces were temporary. Because we were not in our home for the first 7 weeks of his life, we created small but temporary spaces to meet his needs. Once home, he spent most of his time in his room, and because it was prepared for him, he had freedom to move. I just observed and made simple modifications to the room when needed but never really got in his way or tried to help him and he figured it out. So let me show you his room!
Welcome to our Montessori Infant room. I wanted to put a book shelf in the room but didnt want to take up space so I used this wall space behind the door. He is now able to reach the lowest shelf at 10 months.
Please click on the pictures to enlarge and read the text. I would love to hear your comments, questions or contributions. Live a Good Life!
While reading a report for me today, my sister asked me “why does a non-mobile child need a movement area?” It was a great question and a reminder to continue my series on the symbiotic period. Calling a newborn a non-mobile child is actually a misnomer because from birth, a Read more…
The last post talked about pregnancy, today I would like to talk about the symbiotic period, which is the first two months of the child’s life. During this time, the child need his mother and the mother needs her child. They have a symbiotic relationship. He needs her for nutrition Read more…
” 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.