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Elizabeth
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Real Learning
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Location: Virginia
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| Posted: May 16 2006 at 11:10am | IP Logged
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Mari,
I think it was very helpful. Thank you for taking the time and care to write. I've been priveliged to see normalized children at work in excellent Montessori schools and in an ideal atrium founded and directed by a master Montessorian with years of training.
But I have also seen a child--several of my children, actually--concentrate with the same intensity on buttoning or typing laces of real clothing as the children working with dressing frames. Sometimes, they have been wearing the clothes and sometimes, the clothes are on a mat and the are kneeling in front of them.The dressing frame is not the necessity. No mother should feel guilty that she doesn't have the means to buy one, nor can she sacrifice precious hours of rare sleep to make one. It's a sensitivity to the necessity of cooperation and some kind of appropriate material to learn the skil that is necessary. I really do not believe that Montessori, a champion of chidlren, particularly poor children, would exclude home educated children of little means from fuly engaging in an environment founded on her philosophy. The principles are for everyone. They are not dependent upon the prepared environment of an institution. Instead, mothers more than a century later can and should help each other understand the principles and apply them to the home.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Mama Moon
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| Posted: May 16 2006 at 11:17am | IP Logged
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"I'm talking about things like touch boards and scent bottles. How much more wonderful to be out in nature, experiencing textures and smells and sounds, or baking in the kitchen with Mom, sniffing and feeling the ingredients."
I agree this is important and vital. But the idea of the bottles and touch board is to permit the child to develop this sense during the sensitive period - so that the child can concentrate on refining that one sense. It does not mean that this replaces the child which Montessori repeats should have continual contact with nature. They are just two different things.
The development of the senses (and making the most of those sensitive development periods) and experiencing nature. COoking too is an important part of life - so that is why a child is always encouraged to participate. This is practical life.
Then there is the smell sense that we would like to develop. This can be helped and refined when the child can concentrate on just the smells, even blindfolded, and not be thinking of helping with cutting up vegetables, adding herbs to the soup, making bread, etc.
Of course all these different areas overlap. A child can grow herbs in the garden, learn their smell, cook with them. But both of Practical life and Sensorial practice have their part to play. The sensorial part is vital to the whole sense of Montessori: making use of the sensitive periods. Otherwise nature walks and baking is present in most households bringing up children. What is special about Montessori is making use of those sensitive periods.
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Mari
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Joined: March 09 2006
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| Posted: May 16 2006 at 11:30am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
Mari,
I think it was very helpful. Thank you for taking the time and care to write. I've been priveliged to see normalized children at work in excellent Montessori schools and in an ideal atrium founded and directed by a master Montessorian with years of training.
But I have also seen a child--several of my children, actually--concentrate with the same intensity on buttoning or typing laces of real clothing as the children working with dressing frames. Sometimes, they have been wearing the clothes and sometimes, the clothes are on a mat and the are kneeling in front of them.The dressing frame is not the necessity. No mother should feel guilty that she doesn't have the means to buy one, nor can she sacrifice precious hours of rare sleep to make one. It's a sensitivity to the necessity of cooperation and some kind of appropriate material to learn the skil that is necessary. I really do not believe that Montessori, a champion of chidlren, particularly poor children, would exclude home educated children of little means from fuly engaging in an environment founded on her philosophy. The principles are for everyone. They are not dependent upon the prepared environment of an institution. Instead, mothers more than a century later can and should help each other understand the principles and apply them to the home. |
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I'm sorry if I made it sound as if I thought anyone should be excluded. When I was talking about the dressing frames it was to help those who perhaps in their home environment were not acheiving normalisation. It is wonderful that your children have. I wanted to suggest the importance of isolating a task for those whose children are having difficulty in concentrating. I hope the example I gave of the South Africa will show that anybody with the will even without means can make a difference to the life of a child.
Blessings
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Mari, mother of 2 loving daughters aged 8 and 10
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Mama Moon
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| Posted: May 18 2006 at 9:29am | IP Logged
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Mari,
Thank you for your thoughts. Don't worry, I only found what you said encouraging and it didn't make me feel left out or guilty.
We don't have much to spend but we do what we can. All that I can do, I do. If I had the means to get more materials I am the last person to pretend it wouldn't help, and of course my children would benefit too.
In an extreme way it is like comparing teaching children who all share one book, don't have enough paper and are hungry, to children with proper shelter, libraries and endless art supplies. You can give them the same love but of course the materials help to do more.
Thank you for sharing.
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: The *stuff* vs the *principles*
