Age 0-3

Montessori 0-3 Environments, Washington DC

SusanMayclinStephensonLeave a comment

In July, 2023 I was an AMI examiner at the Washington Montessori Institute near Washington DC. I am sharing a few pictures of the lovely environment to inspire anyone creating such at home or in Infant Communities.

THE MONTESSORI NIDO (FIRST YEAR) ENVIRONMENT
“Nido” (Italian for “nest”) is the name denoting the environment for the first year of life. It considers the physical, mental, and emotional needs for this age – such as the need for a secure attachment, appropriate mobiles, a floor bed, beginning toilet learning, clothing that supports independence and movement, and the celebration of the first meal where the infant participates as much as possible.

THE MONTESSORI INFANT COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT

PRACTICAL LIFE, CARE OF SELF
Learning to independently wash hands, comb or brush hair, and use a mirror to blow one’s nose

“Dressing Frames” teach the necessary skills to tie, button, and dress oneself; caring for shoes, and pouring water into a pitcher, and then into a glass, whenever thirsty Continue reading →

AMI Annual Global Meeting 2023 and San Francisco Infant Community

SusanMayclinStephenson1 Comment

In April the first in-person AGM since the Covid epidemic was held in Delft, Netherlands. Here are just a few of the highlights of the focus on “Sowing Seeds” projects around the world seen by 250 people from 50 different countries.

The first day was sunny and beautiful, people seated outside the cafes and restaurants. Above you can see Catalina Ivan(the picture taken by her husband) from Romania, and Joanne Kaya, a Welsh Montessori teacher I met in Moscow years ago, and with whom I am staying this week in a village nearby. Continue reading →

Art & Montessori, From Birth to Age Twelve

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In the Montessori tradition it is the child’s own original and unique art that is preferred over adult-generated forms to be colored in. This gives the child not only a very good self image, but skill at both observation and draftsmanship. As Dr. Montessori said, we cannot teach a person to be an artist but we can help him develop an eye that sees, a hand that obeys, and a soul that feels. For many years this Michael Olaf Montessori Newsletter has been shared by schools around the world.

The First Year
In the first days and months of life the child’s attention is on the environment. Since the infant cannot yet move about, he is exploring visually. There was a small print that I had brought back from India taped to the wall next to where my second child spend the first weeks of life. Then it was packed away. When it was unpacked many years later she remembered and said that she loved that kind of art all her life. I am sure that it was imprinted on her idea of what should be in the environment, what is “beautiful” in just those first few weeks.
 Continue reading →