Montessori for Family and Community
Engagingly written, this book makes the important elements of the Montessori approach accessible to a wide audience, using clear practical examples to explain profound developmental concepts.
—Lynne Lawrence, MBE, Executive Director of AMI,
the Association Montessori Internationale
Many black and white illustrations, 154 pages. There are QR codes that lead to YouTube video clips I have used in my work in thirty countries. They show the potential—especially in the first years—much more convincingly than words could (14 QR codes in the 0-3 section; 6 in the 3-6 section; and 3 more). There are pictures and practice from my own teaching, and other authentic Montessori programs around the world.
Chapters:
Introduction . . . 1
Birth to Three Years . . . 10
Age Three to Six Years . . . 39
My Primary and Elementary Consultant and Mentors . . . 74
Age Six to Twelve Years . . . 81
Age Twelve to Eighteen Years . . . 115
Conclusion . . . 139
Maria Montessori . . . 140
To purchase in the US, CLICK: Family and Community
This is fascinating stuff and quite aligned with how I understand things. Evolutionary wisdom.
—Dr. Gabor Maté, MD, Canadian MD, speaker and author
Here are a few examples pictures with QR codes, and text, from Poland (0-3 section) and Bhutan (the 6-12 section).
(From page 19)
A father in Poland, who was using Montessori ideas at home with their new baby, sent me an amazing video of his son who was just learning to crawl. The infant slept on a mattress on the bedroom floor and even though the door to the rest of the apartment was left open the parents carried him to the living room to be with them when they heard that he was awake. One day he decided to make the trip on his own. He crawled to the edge of the mattress and rocked back and forth, sometimes reaching down to touch the floor, as if he was judging the exact movement necessary to get to the floor. Occasionally he looked up at the dad and smiled but it was clear he wanted to do this on his own.
Finally, slowly, he touched the floor with both hands, pulled himself onto the floor, and crawled into the living room to join the family.
(From page 86)
In Bhutan I once filmed the very first day of the first classroom in the country run by a Montessori trained teacher. There were very few “Montessori” materials, mostly simple bead stringing, sorting objects and puzzles and practical life. The children were welcomed into the classroom one at a time, invited to choose a floor mat or table mat, and then to select one of the activities and take it to the place they had chosen to work. The teacher gave a brief 1:1 lesson on how to use this material and explained that when they were finished, they could take it back to the shelf and choose something else.
The children responded beautifully, walking carefully and handling the objects with respect. Such results are the same all over the world—because Montessori practice is natural to the child.
The parents crowded around the one window through which one could observe the class from outside the school in amazement. They had never ever thought that their children would be able to walk so carefully, choose work, be so calm, and concentrate.
[Ed} When students are not restricted by assignments and adult-imposed schedules, those in the age 7-18 programs reach unexpected heights in intelligent choice of work, concentration, accomplishments.
The inspiration often comes from the fact that everyone around them has chosen to research and work on something different so there exists a great variety of self-chosen areas of knowledge. And every subject appears interesting and worth exploring.
(From page 110)
A colleague once shared a video with me of his student who was soon to be celebrating his ninth birthday. To mark this event, the student had decided to divide the largest number that might work, which was one centillion (1 followed by 303 zeros or 10^303), by the number nine. It took many pieces of paper, and a yardstick to keep the rows of figures straight, as the solution went on and on.
This enormous undertaking is a typical example of the Montessori saying, “The teacher is in charge of the minimum, the child is in charge of the maximum.”
This book was inspired by the Romanian representative to the European parliament who wanted to bring Montessori to the families and other community members of the small villages of his constitutions.
Update: because this book was not allowed to be published in Russia, colleagues have created a free PDF version to share; versions in other languages are being created. CLICK: free Russian PDF
This very short, easy-read, requested by many people, has been adapted from Montessori for Family and Community.
The title is: Joy and Purpose, the Infant-Toddler Years. CLICK: Joy and Purpose, the Infant-Toddler Years
For more Birth to Three information, the author, with her friend and colleague Judi Orion, of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), created an updated version of The Joyful Child: Montessori, Global Wisdom for Birth to Three . It is used in human development classes in Montessori adolescent communities, birth preparation classes, and as a 0-3 overview in Montessori teacher training courses for all ages. CLICK: JC
Home page, CLICK: Susan
To see other books in this series, CLICK: Books
Congratulations God bless you always,
Mónica Ferri