Technical Guidance

Adult High School students please be advised that Lab 21 on West Campus has new hours.  They are open Monday through Thursday 9:00AM - 12:00PM and 4:00PM - 8:00PM.  The lab is closed on Friday. 

" When you hold an infant, hold him not just with your body, but with your mind and heart. " � Magda Gerber In our continuing blog series studying the works of Montessori, we have looked at the first nine chapters of The Absorbent Mind . All over the world, educators and caregivers find common ground in many of Montessori�s ideas� especially so when it comes to the care of infants. Psychologist Laura Berk, like Montessori, states that �knowledge of the world is first gathered through the senses.� Berk notes the physical changes in heart rate and respiration in infants when there is a change in their environment � someone new arrives, there are new pictures on the wall, or mother starts wearing new cologne. (Berk, 2006) Montessori Values Around the World � Supporting an Infant's Development with Conscious Interaction Modern child philosophers also discuss the importance of respectful awareness of children, beginning at birth. Magda Gerber�s RIE philosophy calls for �res...

�Children become like the things they love.� � Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind , p. 101 A carefully prepared environment is central to the teachings of Maria Montessori. We often think of the Montessori environment as the classroom itself. However, the environment extends to all of the conditions that influence the physical and mental growth of the child. Studying the Works of Montessori - The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 9: The First Days of Life Dr. Montessori was very clear about the environment needed immediately after birth. She states that for the first few days the infant should be in direct contact with the mother. The surroundings must not be harsh, since this is infant�s first experience after the moderated, safe surroundings of the womb. �There must not be too much contrast, as regards warmth, light, noise with his conditions before birth, where in his mother�s womb, there was perfect silence, darkness, and an even temperature.� (Montessori, p. 98) The bond of mother and inf...

Children have a deep sense of fairness. At each stage of development the concept of fairness differs. For preschool children, the idea of fairness means following the rules and sharing. Elementary children want everyone to be treated equally, and older elementary and middle school aged children have a keen sense of justice. One of the common phrases parents and teachers dread hearing is �that�s not fair!� �But it�s just not fair!� The concept of fairness, while felt keenly by children, is not one that they understand easily. The idea that fair does not mean equal requires higher-level thinking and coping skills. Birthdays are a prime example. While the birthday child receives gifts, young children may think �it�s not fair� that they didn�t receive any. A modern approach taken to alleviate hard feelings is to provide each guest with a �goodie bag,� often filled with candy and small gifts. It seems to be the expectation from young party goers that they will receive goodie bags as compens...

�The child�s nature is to aim directly and energetically at functional independence.� � Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind , p. 83. I taught a parenting class once where I asked the question, �What important traits would you like your child to have twenty years from now?� Along with wanting their children to be happy, loving, and responsible, parents wanted their children to be independent. But when I asked them how they could help their children reach independence, they found the question was harder to answer. Independence is not a state at which one just arrives at a certain chronological age. Nor does it just happen. We hear about life skills teenagers need to become independent, yet learning and developing those skills must occur at a much earlier age. Dr. Montessori tells us that from the moment of birth, children are moving toward becoming independent. Studying the Works of Montessori - The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 8: The Child's Conquest of Independence �The child�s conques...

�Special care should be shown for the psychic life of the newborn child. If it already has such a life at birth, how much greater will this be as it grows older? If we understand by �education� a child�s psychic rather than its intellectual development, we may truly say, as it is said today, that a child�s education should begin at birth.� � Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood , p. 29. Word meaning and usage evolve over time. The word �psychic,� for example, today conjures up fortune tellers and people who commune with the dead. It can have a negative connotation that leaves one skeptical of these professed mental powers. Dr. Montessori used the word �psychic� in a somewhat different context, referring to the psyche, or one�s mind and soul, and the development of one�s personality. Montessori�s Use of the Term �Psychic� - Developing Personalities in Early Childhood This development lies outside the concrete and observable development of one�s body. It is the most abstract develop...

� It was really a very simple thing, after, � it was only that he had lived near a kind and gentle heart, and had been taught to think kind thoughts always and to care for others. It is a very little thing, perhaps, but it is the best thing of all. He knew nothing of earls and castles; he was quite ignorant of all grand and splendid things; but he was always lovable because he was simple and loving. To be so is like being born a king. � � Frances Hodgson Burnett, Little Lord Fauntleroy For those not familiar with Burnett�s tale, the preceding quote describes the tenderhearted and endearing nature of Cedric, Lord Fauntleroy. Seven-year-old Fauntleroy manages to captivate the hearts of all whom he encounters. Even the heart of his forbidding and unforgiving curmudgeon of a grandfather thaws and melts after his grandfather spends time with the innocent and trusting young lad. Faced with adversity beyond his control, Fauntleroy�s rosy outlook buoys spirits all around. When I read this pass...

I recently came across a surprising article titled I Don�t Want My Kids Doing Chores � Age-Appropriate or Otherwise . Curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on the link to read more. In the article, Meredith Carroll states �I�d rather just do my kids� chores for them� I don�t get � why I have to pain myself to teach them how to clean when what they�re doing is not actually cleaning, but usually making more of a mess, which is just work for me. It�s more work for me to nag them to tell them to do it.� As a Montessorian, I was puzzled. More Than Chores: Montessori Practical Life How did Carroll learn to clean house? Did it just automatically come to her at when she reached a certain age? Or did she have an adult in her life, her mother or grandparent perhaps, who invited her to help around the house. I remember my grandmother teaching me how to iron tea towels and handkerchiefs, sew on buttons, sweep the floor, wash dishes, and bake cookies. I am pretty sure that my grandfather�s h...

�It follows that at the beginning of his life the individual can accomplish wonders � without effort and quite unconsciously.� � Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind , p. 59. Just as the human embryo develops from a single cell into a complex organism, so too must the brain develop. Each of us, unless we are identical twins, has a unique and separate physique. The brain, too, must develop and grow. We are not born able to run and jump, nor are we capable of speaking and reasoning at birth. Studying the Works of Montessori - The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 6: Embryology and Behavior Dr. Montessori tells us that �there seems to be no kind of mental personality already formed in the newborn child.� (Montessori, 1964) Personality, which includes our thoughts, emotions, and our behaviors, is that which makes us mentally unique from one another. While personality is constant throughout one�s life, Dr. Montessori believed that personality can be influenced by external factors in the environment. ...