In this interview conducted at the NAMTA conference, "Observation: The Key to Unlocking the Child's Potential", Molly O'Shaughnessy discusses the history of observation with Hilla Patell. Patell shares stories of the people who were instrumental in creating a culture of observation as an ongoing discipline to be practiced. She goes on to…

This piece of writing addresses the "boundless" garden created through the web of foresight and patience combined with the spontaneous activity necessary for growing food and harvesting the bounty. Most will be familiar with this unique writing by Montessori who suggests that it is not the work and actual produce of the garden but the…

Jennifer Rogers writes with apt and lyrical snippets from her perspective as a Montessori parent and from her long history as a primary guide. This short piece examines the word "grace" from multiple facets and serves as a meditation that uplifts and reminds us "that the life of a child is a gift."

Lili Peller's "The Children's House" essay begins where Maria Montessori left off in her description of space articulations. Peller does not name Montessori specifically as she always had a desire to become independent in her own right as a neo-Freudian child analyst. But the Haus Der Kinder founded in summer of 1922 suggests a total…

David Orr's classic article links education to living in the outdoors and studying all disciplines through the unifying lens of place. Pedagogy of place counters abstraction, it is the natural world embodying principles of learning that involve direct observation, investigation, experimentation, and manual skills. Place is the laboratory providing…

This article provides an interview transcript between David Kahn and Mario Montessori (1898-1982), son of Dr. Maria Montessori. Mario Montessori dedicated his life to the preservation, dissemination and application of Montessori's works. Herein Kahn asks Montessori about his time living in the hills of Kodaikanal, India. Montessori touches upon…

Defines imagination in Montessori terms, describes the power and centrality of imagination to emotional and intellectual life, and makes a carefully supported case for imagination as the foundation of the entire Montessori elementary experience and, perhaps, even for adult life as well. (HTH)

Examines the charge that Montessori trainers adhere too dogmatically to the original ideas developed in Montessori's texts. Maintains that Montessorians do apply Montessori precepts to unique situations, personally evolve as teachers, and introduce variations based on the needs of the children in their classrooms. Suggests that those who adapt…

Discusses Maria Montessori's approach to educating and caring for young children, focusing on her early experiences with poor tenement children in 1907 and the development of the Montessori Method of exploratory, child-centered learning. Argues that children do not have an inner spiritual hunger but are themselves the essence of spirituality,…

Claims that "Montessori Today" concretizes the Montessori developmental continuum from birth to adulthood for the first time in book form in a comfortable and unassuming style. States that the book coherently expresses the coalescing four planes of development, with a final review of what the Montessori adult of the future might be like.…

Presents a personal account of how haiku can be used with primary students not only to explore language arts but also to share a love of the earth and its various peoples. (HTH)

Discusses the experiences of a Montessori teacher educator in Britain during World War II, describing how the wartime situation affected teacher education practices. Also examines the main features of Montessori teacher education then in practice. (MDM)

Makes comparisons between theories implicit to flow and similar ideas integral to Montessori's thought. Points of similarity include universality, the foundation on practical experiences, the reference to subconscious activity, the call for challenge to spark interest, and the use of freedom and self-discipline as incentives to self-motivation.…

This reprint of a lecture published in 1976 examines the uses of history and literary stories for instructing children in grammar, creative dramatics, natural history, and prehistory, as well as literary analysis. Provides a starting point for thinking about the power of literature as an integrating medium in the Montessori elementary classroom.…

Compiles excerpts from two 1964 lectures that examine the use of folk and fairy tales for the teaching of prehistory, geography, and grammar. Provides a starting point for thinking about the power of literature as an integrating medium in the Montessori elementary classroom. (HTH)