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Our care of the child should be governed, not by the desire to make him learn things, but by the endeavor always to keep burning within him that light which is called intelligence. —Maria Montessori The Advanced Montessori Method, p. 198. Maria Montessori was a maverick. An educational maven years ahead of her time, she turned the focus of education to the needs of the child. She taught us to respect children as human beings capable of extraordinary feeling and an immense capacity for learning. Her insight into child development brought about such changes as child-size tables and chairs, tools that fit the hands of growing children, and materials that appeal to the child at the current stage of development and that prepare them to be independent, capable adults. Montessori didn’t use conventional “approved” methods of educating children. There were no textbooks, no basal readers, no math worksheets. Through scientific observation, she watched to see how and what children wanted to lear...

All the people on this impressive list of authors, statesmen, scientists, entertainers, and athletes have one thing in common — they are all dyslexic! Learning disabilities include: Perceptual handicaps Brain injury Minimal brain dysfunction Developmental aphasia Learning disabilities are not: Visual, hearing, or motor handicaps Intellectual disability Emotional disturbance Caused by environmental disadvantages Children who have a learning disability have, according to the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), “a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations.” Montessori Teachers Working to Understand Learning Disabilities: Education for Every Child Learning disabilities cannot be outgrown and they are not a result of laziness, poor academics, or a poor home li...

ADHD is a misunderstood disorder. Many people associate it with hyperactivity or with a child who fidgets, is constantly moving or talking, and has trouble participating in quiet activities such as silent reading time. Conventional classroom settings ask children as young as 3 and 4 years old to sit still, listen, follow directions, and work quietly. Montessori tells us that movement is crucial to learning. Sitting still at such a young age is difficult for all children, but for children with ADHD, it is almost impossible. How do we tell if a child has ADHD or if this is just a child who has a lot to say, has more energy than most, or is less socially mature than his/her peers? And we need to remember that the inattentive subtype (ADHD-I) has very little, if anything, to do with hyperactivity. There are some strong indicators that teachers and parents should be aware of in order to make a referral to a medical professional. Indicators for Referring for ADHD Behaviorally Socially Emot...

What if … • Someone copied your original photograph or video, sold it in volume, and became a rich and famous “artist” as a result? • Someone copied your term paper, which you spent the better part of a semester working on to obtain your degree, and has published it online as his own? • Someone took credit for an original song that you wrote and it hit number one on the charts? • Someone published your manuscript under her name and it becomes a best seller? • Someone duplicated your product without your permission, sold it, and ended up providing customers with inferior products that have your name on them? And now you are getting calls, comments, and tweets from unhappy customers who think you are to blame? Unfortunately, the last scenario is a familiar experience for NAMC. In the past few weeks, we have encountered someone reproducing and selling multiple copies of our curriculum support material to purchasers who thought they were buying NAMC’s original work. This person illegally u...

My son was diagnosed with ADHD-I (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-Inattentive) when he was 18 years old. In high school, he struggled as math classes became more and more complex and abstract. A true Montessori student, he was able to explain the big picture ideas and theories, but he had difficulty with step-by-step application. After a series of events that led to psycho-educational testing, we were all surprised by the ADHD diagnosis. How could we have missed it? ADHD is a common developmental and neurobehavioral disorder affecting at least 50 genes and affecting the prefrontal and parietal lobes of the brain. (Comings, 2005) In short, this means that the brain cells and neurons have difficulty communicating with each other. Prevalence of ADHD across Cultures (2003) UK 16.6% India 11.2% The Netherlands 9.5% US 9.1% Germany 6.4% Hong Kong 6.1% Canada 5.8% China 5.8% (Faraone, 2003) It is estimated that 5–10% of the global child population (Faraone, 2003) and 1–6% of the glob...

If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man’s future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual’s total development lags behind? —Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 4. In her recent webinar, “The Power of Playful Learning: How guided play sparks social and academic outcomes,” Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek stated that, according to her research, “…adult directed play was better than free play when there is a learning goal.” (Hirsh-Pasek, 2014) Why the Montessori Environment uses Guided Play to Foster Learning In the Montessori environment, there are specific learning goals assigned to each area of the classroom as well as to each material. If we look at the Pink Tower, we see that it looks like a set of basic stacking blocks. And if we were to allow the children to freely play with them, they would learn to build a tower, knock it over, and start...

One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child. —Maria Montessori What You Should Know About Your Child, p. 73. When adults talk about work, we often think of it in negative terms. We say “I have to go to work” rather than “I get to go to work.” We refer to weekdays as the “work week” and to our weekends as “play time” or as time to relax. We see work as that which we must do in order that we may enjoy ourselves later. The Montessori Environment Provides Opportunities to Explore through Play Play is the Work of Children The negative connotations we associate with work cause us to look perhaps a bit too harshly upon the use of the term in the Montessori context. “The child can develop fully by means of experience in his environment. We call such experiences ‘work.’” ( The Absorbent Mind , p. 88) We already know Dr. Montessori thought play was the important work of childhood. If you watch a child of three, you will see that he is always playing with...