Technical Guidance

In the Montessori environment, children work on practical life activities to develop independence, body control and coordination of movement, concentration, and a sense of order. As the name implies, an important aspect of practical life activities is that they have a real-life application. The children can clearly see the purpose of each activity, and they recognize that they are contributing in a real way as they work on the tasks. Central to the early childhood program, practical life activities are also relevant in the lower elementary environment as they help students further develop their concentration, independence, self-esteem, responsibility, and connection to their community. Today we are pleased to share a practical life presentation that demonstrates these ideas in a wonderful activity created by NAMC Lower Elementary student Komang Krisna Arisusanthi. Komang lives in Bali where she works as an assistant in a Montessori school. Her activity, Making a Balinese Daily Offering...

�Thinkers in every age have been struck by the astonishing fact that a being which at first does not exist, should end by becoming a man or a woman, able even to think and to have ideas of its own.� � Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind , p. 34. When I first read Chapter 5 of The Absorbent Mind , The Miracle of Creation, I found myself thinking of the scientific advances that have happened since Montessori�s time. Studying the Works of Montessori - The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 4: The New Path I admit, I began skimming the first part of the chapter that discusses conception, cell division, and heredity. Then, I saw the illustration on page 37 and thought, �That�s a Golden Bead 100-chain.� Intrigued, I went back to read how the illustration fit into the idea of individual creation. A chain of 100 genes pictured as a line (Montessori, 1964) While talking about chromosomes and genes, Montessori purposely used an illustration that we are familiar with, the 100-bead chain, to help us connect...

��no one can do for the child the work he has to do to build the man he is making.� � Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind , p. 30. If you have ever watched a young child as her birthday approaches, you know that this is a time full of excitement and expectation. My niece, who recently turned 5, started counting down the days to her birthday several months before the big day. And who would not be excited to know they were growing bigger, stronger, and smarter? It is a BIG deal. It is as if with each birthday, children anticipate their newer, better self. Studying the Works of Montessori - The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 4: The New Path The child's aging process is a movement towards life. Adults, on the other hand, tend to downplay their birthdays, especially after they reach a certain age. I have a friend who enjoys celebrating her 29th birthday, but she has been celebrating it for the past 26 years! Why do we lose that excitement of our youth? Because, Montessori says, as we become a...