Tag Archives: Maria Montessori

Montessori Childrens Academy NJ

Montessori Around the World

Last spring, Montessori education made international headlines when the United Kingdom’s Prince George was enrolled at a Montessori school in England. George’s family has a history with Montessori education; his late grandmother, Princess Diana, worked in a Montessori school as a young woman. Diana later sent her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, to Montessori schools. Royalty aside, the Montessori approach has stretched across continents since Dr. Montessori first entered the classroom at Casa dei Bambini in Rome in 1907. We’d like to share with you a little bit of the story about how the Montessori philosophy made its way around the globe.

The Beginnings of the Montessori Method in Italy

The Montessori Method was born in Italy when Dr. Maria Montessori, one of the first Italian female medical school graduates, turned her interest to the field of education. Intrigued by her observations of children, Dr. Montessori began developing specialized materials to facilitate the children’s natural tendencies to explore and their desire to do things for themselves. She also worked extensively with teachers at training institutes, eventually conducting her own Montessori teacher training sessions, using the materials she developed to help teachers reach a wide range of students and promote their independent learning and growth.

The Spread of the Montessori Philosophy

After the publication of Dr. Montessori’s books The Montessori Method and Pedagogical Anthropology, the Montessori message spread beyond Italy and into England, France, Spain, Switzerland, Argentina, and the United States. Some schools adapted Dr. Montessori’s methods into their existing curricula, while other schools were being created specifically to follow the approach Dr. Montessori outlined in her books. International teacher training sessions were well attended, as more educators wanted to bring this innovative and effective approach to children in their home countries.

Due to political turmoil and the breakout of war in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s, Maria Montessori lived as a political refugee in many different countries, including Spain, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. During this time, she continued to travel widely, giving lectures about her philosophy and peace education.

Maria Montessori passed away in the Netherlands in 1953, where the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), established by Dr. Montessori, remains headquartered. This is significant because the Netherlands is a country known for its culture of tolerance and its support of education. After her death, Dr. Montessori’s son, Mario, carried on his mother’s legacy, enlightening educators about the Montessori Method throughout the world.

Montessori in the United States

Some of Montessori’s earliest supporters in the United States included the likes of Alexander Graham Bell and Margaret Woodrow Wilson, daughter of the President. However, her philosophy didn’t truly strike a chord in the world of American education until the 1960s when Nancy McCormick Rambusch returned to the United States after being trained under the guidance of Mario Montessori in Europe. With Mario’s support, she later founded the American Montessori Society (AMS). A resurgence of interest in Montessori education was cultivated, and new Montessori schools began to crop up throughout the country. Today, AMS oversees thousands of schools in the United States. Montessori schools that are affiliated with AMS are held accountable for upholding the classroom standards set forth by Dr. Montessori.

Montessori Around the World Today

Today, approximately 20,000 Montessori schools serve children from birth through 18 years of age. The Montessori Method, with over 100 years of practice, is recognized worldwide as an educational approach that helps children achieve their fullest potential. Montessori schools are often the first educational choice for immigrant and expatriate families because of the international recognition of the Montessori philosophy. The Montessori Children’s Academy (MCA) has certainly experienced this phenomenon in recent years.

MCA’s International Community

MCA’s school community reflects the international acceptance of the Montessori philosophy. Our area is culturally diverse in part because of the many international companies headquartered here. When international families relocate, they have a desire to enroll their children in Montessori schools because the philosophy is already familiar to them. In addition to the many MCA families born and raised here in America, our schools include families from Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, India, Pakistan, China, and Australia. Due to this diversity, a celebration such as the International Day of Peace becomes even more meaningful. Diversity also allows our students to expand their knowledge of different cultures and traditions, which we believe will encourage them to grow into tolerant, responsible, and informed global citizens.

Montessori Childrens Academy NJ

 

Notes and sources for this post:

The Montessori Children’s Academy is an AMS member school and the Montessori Center for Teacher Development is our Teacher Education Program that is fully affiliated by AMS and accredited by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE).

What is Montessori, Montessori classroom, Montessori preschools

The Prepared Environment

Be prepared!  This is the motto for scouting organizations worldwide.  Maria Montessori would have a said “Si Preparato!” in her native Italian tongue.  And this is the message that Dr. Montessori shared with educators as she created her Casa di Bambini for the children she first taught.  Providing a carefully prepared environment, in addition to well-prepared teachers, is the tradition Montessori schools uphold today and remains one of the essential elements that makes this method of education successful for the millions of Montessori students worldwide.

Dr. Montessori believed that the school environment best served children if it was welcoming and felt like a home.  Casa di Bambini literally translates to ‘house for children’, and her school was designed with the needs of the children at the forefront.  In his biography of Dr. Montessori, Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work, E. M. Standing tells us that “…realizing the peculiarly absorbent nature of the child’s mind, she has prepared for him a special environment; and, then, placing the child within it, has given him the freedom to live in it, absorbing what he finds there” (p.265).  The environment provides the framework that allows the children’s curiosity, confidence, and spontaneous learning to unfold.  It is central to Montessori education, and the environment is the first thing which makes an impact not only on Montessori students, but on visitors to Montessori schools, as well.

Walking into a classroom at The Montessori Children’s Academy (MCA), the first comment from guests touring the school is often to say how beautiful it is.  It is a carefully prepared, beautiful, organized environment filled with an abundance of the highest quality Montessori materials.  The natural wooden shelves display an array of neatly arranged, attractive materials.  The shelves and materials are organized by area of study, including Math, Cultural Subjects, Language, Sensorial, and Practical Life.  The child-sized furniture is carefully placed to promote both independent work spaces, as well as places where children may sit together to work and socialize.  There is a cozy place to read, a well-lit area to create artwork at an easel, and plenty of opportunity for controlled movement throughout the room.

Every component of the Montessori classroom has a purpose.  The unique materials created by Dr. Montessori grow with the children through various stages of development, as the children are ready to proceed.  The classroom and materials are organized carefully and in sequential order, providing another aspect to the children’s development and learning.  Materials of advancing degrees are placed left to right and top to bottom, just as we read text from left to right and top to bottom.  Children are taught from the start where each particular material belongs, and they learn to return each item to its proper place after they are finished using it.  This keeps things predictable for the children, and they know where to go to find what they need very quickly.

The environment and the materials within it provide the children with choices, and they allow the children to experiment and to learn with their special ‘control of error’.  If a child doesn’t carry the material carefully from the shelf to the table or workspace on the floor, it may spill.  There is no punishment involved in that—instead the child learns how to clean it up and put it back in order.  Similarly, Dr. Montessori’s materials are created as ‘self-correcting’.  The child will easily see whether or not he or she has used them in an appropriate fashion, and the child will learn inherently from his or her mistakes.  This is incredibly careful preparation, and it allows children to take on challenges without feeling fear of failure.  Instead, the environment promotes positive risk-taking and fosters innate encouragement for the child to succeed through his or her repeated experiences with the materials.

In addition to the academic materials, careful consideration is taken in placing furniture, decorations, and other components of the classroom.  Montessori classrooms allow children to work at tables or on the floor.  The furniture and shelves are arranged with purpose to allow children to navigate their way around the classroom and to practice “grace and courtesy” and self-control.  Artwork is placed at the children’s eye-level, not the adults, because after all, the classroom is for the children.  Generally, the artwork displayed is that of well-known artists, and it reflects the best examples of a variety of types of art or enhances a current class study of a particular artist.  Living plants not only bring elements of nature into the classroom, but they also provide the children with the opportunity to learn responsibility for their care.  Montessori classrooms usually contain a Peace Table (or Peace Area) where children may sit and meditate over natural objects, forming designs in a sand tray, building a small tower with smooth stones, or looking at symbols of peace, such as a wooden carving of a dove.

This beautiful, carefully prepared environment is an outward, physical example of the beautiful, carefully prepared education Montessori students receive.  Montessori teachers prepare their classrooms with the knowledge that children respond to beauty and order.  Of course, the final element to the prepared environment is the prepared Montessori teacher or guide who has created this place where children can feel at home, feel secure in taking risks, feel challenged, and are excited about learning each and every day.

In her book Education and Peace, Dr. Montessori said, “There is a constant interaction between the individual and the environment.  The use of things shapes man, and man shapes things.  This reciprocal sharing is a manifestation of man’s love for his surroundings.  Harmonious interaction – when it exists, as in the child, represents the normal relationship that should exist between the individual and his surroundings.  And this relationship is one of love.” (p.57)  At the Montessori Children’s Academy, the teachers and children all share in a deep love of learning as they continue their Montessori journey together each day, prepared for a variety of daily adventures in their beautifully, carefully prepared Montessori environment.

Seven Extra Hours

By: Alex Chiu

What if you and your child were given the gift of seven extra hours to your day or even to your week? Most of us would probably be thrilled to have that extra time to do all of the things we complain that we never have the time to do! Looking at some shocking statistics from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), it might just be possible to find those seven extra hours. According to the AAP, “today’s children are spending an average of seven hours a day on entertainment media, including televisions, computers, phones, and other electronic devices” (www.aap.org). Seven hours a day. That is longer than an average school day in the United States. And adults might be right up there with their own screen time, too, if they carefully and honestly looked at how they spent their leisure time.

So why should we be concerned, and what can we do? The prevalence of media and modern devices has many of us in a frenzy to keep up with the latest trends and to be ‘connected’ at all times. There are great advantages to having access to media and all of the new technology, and there are many excellent and appropriate times and places for its use. However, we need to be careful that too much screen time, especially for children, doesn’t negatively impact their growth and development.

And we do know that are consequences to our children’s media use. Childhood obesity and shorter attention spans are just two issues linked to media overuse by children that have raised the alarm for parents and experts alike. From a child development perspective, young children need hands-on, real world, sensory-rich activities that promote concentration, experimentation, and socialization much more than they need to leap into a cyber world. As Maria Montessori said, “It is through appropriate work and activities that the character of the child is transformed.  Work influences his development in the same way that food revives the vigor of a starving man.  We observe that a child occupied with matters that awaken his interest seems to blossom, to expand, evincing undreamed of character traits; his abilities give him great satisfaction, and he smiles with a sweet and joyous smile.” (San Remo Lectures).

The work that Dr. Montessori saw as crucial to healthy development in children was that related to real world, daily life activities where children touched, smelled, tasted, carried, tended, learned about, and experienced the world around them. She said, “The hands are the instruments of a man’s intelligence” (The Absorbent Mind), and it’s hard to imagine her thinking that little hands constantly holding onto electronic devices would lead to this goal.

To be fair, some of our children’s screen time is constructively spent on educational purposes and schoolwork. Schools rightly take pride in the technology they offer to their students. Teachers work tirelessly to find creative ways to incorporate technology into their lessons to capture their students’ attention and to make this very big world a little smaller and more accessible to their students. We do want our children to become familiar with cutting edge technology and to not fall behind on the rapid developments in that field. Staying savvy with progressive technological advances is necessary in our modern, fast-paced world. We can even find wonderful Montessori apps that extend traditional lessons, and technology certainly can be seen as something which promotes children’s curiosity and desire to learn more. It opens doors to places some children might not otherwise experience, and it has real benefits as children continue to broaden their scope of learning as they grow.

However, the emphasis from the AAP is that seven hours is spent on entertainment media. So, how can we limit our children’s media use and help our children find other ways to entertain themselves? Healthychildren.org suggests creating a “Family Media Plan” where you set boundaries for what media your children may use, when they may have screen time, where in the house screen time takes place, and how long your child may spend with entertainment media. But once the screens are powered down, what will your children do? Consider moving more, playing more, connecting more (face to face, not online!), and creating more. Just being aware of how much time your family spends in front of a screen may help you take a step back and start to brainstorm other things you’d like to be doing instead.

We know that childhood passes so quickly. Freeing up some of those seven hours spent on entertainment media may provide you with the opportunity to do more meaningful activities where you are engaged with your child. It may ultimately help to slow things down for a little while and result in some of your family’s best memories. You can share those memories on social media when you’re done!

A Few Tips for Monitoring Media Usage at Home

  • Designate screen-free zones at home—especially consider no media in children’s bedrooms.
  • Let your children know when they are permitted to turn on the electronics and set time limits.
  • Utilize parental controls to keep your children safe from inappropriate content, websites, etc.
  • Have a TV/Media “Turn Off” Week—no screen time for 7 days, not just 7 hours! Or consider “No Media Mondays” where at least one day a week is spent without any screen time.
  • Make the media meaningful: watch television together and discuss and ask questions about what you are watching. Or research a topic of interest together online or help your child find a YouTube tutorial for something he or she is interested in learning.
  • Mix up media with movement – decide that after 30 minutes of screen time that you and your child participate in 30 minutes of exercise. Dance, walk, play tag, anything that gets you up and going!

 

 

 

For more ideas and information about children and media, visit the sites used as references in this article:

American Academy of Pediatrics www.aap.org

American Academy of Pediatrics Information for Parents   www.healthychildren.org

PBS Children and Media Site for Parents http://www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia

Center on Media and Child Health www.cmch.tv

Solutions for your Life http://solutionsforyourlife.com

 

School Is In Session for MCTD’s Adult Learners

By: Hannah Ferris with Doreen Adamo and Bernadette Fasolas

The summer months are filled with activity at The Montessori Children’s Academy (MCA).  We are busy running our MCA Summer Camp, preparing our classrooms for the upcoming school year, and our Teacher Education Program, Montessori Center for Teacher Development (MCTD), is hosting our third cohort of enthusiastic Adult Learners.

Montessori Center for Teacher Development, which is one of the seven subsidiaries of The Montessori Children’s Academy’s family of schools and services, was founded in 2014 and is one of just three Montessori Teacher Education Programs in the state of New Jersey. MCTD operates out of the Morristown campus of MCA and is led by Program Director Doreen Adamo and Assistant Program Director Bernadette Fasolas.  Mrs. Adamo and Mrs. Fasolas are also Head Teachers at MCA during the school year that bonded over their own shared Montessori training experience years ago.  Together with the rest of the talented and experienced MCTD staff and guest lecturers, they are excited about sharing their passion for the Montessori Method with future generations of Montessori teachers.  MCTD’s Early Childhood Teacher Education Program is affiliated by the American Montessori Society (AMS) and fully accredited by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE), and works closely with both to develop and deliver the highest quality education for future Montessori teachers.  Upon successful completion of the program, the Adult Learners will receive Montessori Early Childhood Certification through AMS, permitting them to become Head Teachers at Montessori schools throughout the US.

In addition to our Early Childhood Teacher Education Program, MCTD is happy to announce a new Early Childhood Assistant Teacher Training Program that will be offered later this summer,.

Early Childhood Teacher Education Program

MCTD’s Early Childhood Program is affiliated by the American Montessori Society and fully accredited by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education.  This program is for Adult Learners seeking certification that would allow them to become Head Teachers in a Montessori Early Childhood environment.  Recent Adult Learners have come from diverse backgrounds to gain additional certification in the field of education, to re-enter the workforce, or to completely change careers.

The Early Childhood Teacher Education Program begins each summer with Academic Phase I.  This involves a four-week, intensive session with courses in Child Development and Montessori Philosophy, as well as Practical Life and Sensorial curricula.  Academic Phase II begins in September of the same year, as the Adult Learners reconvene for evening and weekend courses in Math, Language, and Cultural Studies (Science, History, Geography, Art, and Music).  Throughout both phases, the Adult Learners participate in Student Teaching Seminars that are aimed at preparing them for a Montessori school setting during the Practicum Phase of their training.  These Seminars include Parent Involvement, Classroom Management, Observation, and School Administration.

To begin the second year of the Early Childhood Teacher Education Program, the Practicum Phase, the Adult Learners seek an Internship in a Montessori school to fulfill the requirement for student-teaching hours.  Gaining practical experience in a classroom alongside an AMS Montessori-certified Head Teacher is a perfect example of the “learning by doing” principle set forth by Dr. Montessori.

Some of MCTD’s current Adult Learners are looking forward to beginning the Practicum Phase in September, while others will continue to work through Academic Phase II.  All are looking forward to the next steps in their Montessori journeys.

The 2017-2019 Early Childhood Teacher Education Program is currently accepting applications on a rolling basis. Open Houses will be held in January, February, and March of 2017.

Early Childhood Assistant Teacher Training Program

This summer, MCTD expanded its course catalog to include our Early Childhood Assistant Teacher Training Program.  This program is designed for individuals currently employed as Assistant Teachers who are looking to expand their knowledge or for those interested in gaining employment as Assistant Teachers in a Montessori environment.  MCTD holds the belief that a more thorough understanding of the Montessori Philosophy will allow Assistant Teachers to flourish in the classroom.  This new program gives a foundational overview of the Montessori Philosophy and the basic curriculum areas of a Montessori classroom, with both lectures and hands-on experiences.

Two “Modules” are being offered for the Early Childhood Assistant Teacher Training Program.  Module I includes two days of classroom instruction on the Montessori Method and Philosophy.  Module II includes three days of training on the materials used in the Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math, and Cultural areas of the classroom.  Adult Learners have the option of taking either Module I or Modules I & II. (Module I is a prerequisite for Module II.)

Montessori classrooms, especially Early Childhood classrooms, are incredibly busy places.  There is not always ample time, especially at the beginning of the school year, for a new Assistant Teacher to learn the ropes from his or her Head Teacher.  MCTD recognizes this gap in teacher education and has designed this new program as a stepping stone into the world of Montessori.  MCTD is excited to be welcoming Adult Learners into our new program this summer and hopes that it will inspire some of the current Assistant Teachers to become AMS certified Montessori teachers in the future.

MCTD is currently accepting registrations for the Early Childhood Assistant Teacher Training Program. The program will run from August 15-19, 2016. For more information and to register, please visit: http://www.MontessoriCenterForTeacherDevelopment.com/AsstTeacherTraining.html.

Lunchtime for the Adult Learners

I recently asked Doreen Adamo and Bernadette Fasolas (MCTD’s Program Director and Assistant Director) to share their favorite things about leading MCTD.  They fondly reminisced about their own experiences as Adult Learners during their training years and then pointed me in the direction of the MCTD lunchroom. The MCTD Adult Learners studying this summer in Academic Phase I were preparing to share a meal. Once a week, a self-selected student takes her turn in preparing a family-style lunch for her classmates. They began this little tradition after bonding over their love of trying different cultures’ cuisines.  This summer, they have already experienced a variety of loving prepared meals including homemade Sri Lankan curry.  The most recent menu item was a colorful, fresh veggie and pasta salad.  They are also eager for this cohort’s exceptional baker to take her turn to participate in this new tradition!

The current Adult Learners have more than just adventurous eating in common; they have bonded over their desire to work with children, their previous work experiences, and their varied life journeys.  Their friendships are just beginning, and given the lasting friendship between Doreen and Bernadette, which was formed during their own Montessori training, it is likely that these, too, may last for many years to come.  Moreover, these friendships formed during MCTD’s Teacher Education Program are complemented by the common passion of carrying on Dr. Maria Montessori’s legacy.  Both MCTD and MCA is delighted to support this current cohort of Adult Learners as their Montessori journey begins.

For more information about MCTD’s programs, please visit http://www.MontessoriCenterForTeacherDevelopment.com/ or contact Doreen Adamo, Program Director at MC4TD@aol.com.

A Joyful Start to the Montessori Journey with MMC&M

By: Camilla Nichols-Uhler and Alex Chiu

This fall, The Montessori Children’s Academy (MCA) proudly launched an exciting new program called Montessori, My Child, & Me (MMC&M).  Designed for children ages 18-30 months, this program offers young children the opportunity to explore a modified Montessori environment with their parents or caregivers.  MMC&M also provides the adults with an opportunity to learn about Montessori education and to see firsthand how it benefits children.

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MMC&M sessions are 1 ½ hours once a week for eight weeks and are held in a classroom specifically designed for this younger age group.  The classroom is a beautiful, welcoming environment equipped with specially designed furniture and materials that are the appropriate size for little arms and legs.  Everything in the classroom is of the highest quality, obtained from renowned companies such as Hello Wood in Rickman, Tennessee and Community Playthings in Ulster Park, NY.

During each class meeting, the children and adults are introduced to a sampling of age-appropriate Montessori materials from each of the five main learning areas found in a typical Montessori classroom: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math, and Culture.  However, the materials for the MMC&M classroom are adapted to meet the distinct needs and abilities of the young children in this special program.

One example of a lesson modified for MMC&M participants is the Pink Tower from the Sensorial area.  In the MMC&M classroom, the tower contains five cubes for our little explorers to use in order to build the tower from the largest cube at the bottom to the smallest cube at the top.  In our MCA 3-6-year-old classrooms, the Pink Tower contains ten cubes, and the children learn to transfer one cube at a time from the shelf to their workspace.  As children use this material, they gain a sense of sequence and order.  When they are finished, they return the Pink Tower to its place in the classroom and arrange it in the same way that they found it when they began their work.  This way it is ready for the next person to use.

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As our youngest MMC&M students began to learn the process for using the smaller version of the Pink Tower, the adults observed that this activity is so much more than what it appears to be on the surface.  Many of the parents and adult caregivers marveled at how the children were able to follow directions, concentrate on the activity, and put away the materials in the appropriate place when they were finished!  This is just one example of how Montessori engages the whole child in each activity.  Gaining skills in independence, small and large muscle control, planning, and care of materials all are the essence of this seemingly simple lesson.  And as our adults observed, even the youngest children can be successful when given the guidance and opportunity to take on new challenges!

In addition to using a sampling of modified Montessori materials, the MMC&M children and adults participate in music, movement, art, and yoga activities under the guidance of a certified Montessori Head Teacher.  Movement is an important aspect of the Montessori environment.  Studies have shown that children engaged in movement while learning are able to retain information more easily.  In Montessori classrooms, the children often are moving to choose and complete their work.  Movement provides time to release energy, to think, and to plan.

Within the MMC&M classroom, children have many opportunities to move and to develop their large motor skills as they crawl through a tunnel, push a carpet sweeper, or balance a wooden wheel on a yellow line.  The MMC&M children also practice yoga poses and participate in a variety of songs and games that allow them to move their bodies in controlled, purposeful ways.  At the same time, they are having quite a lot of fun!

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And it’s not only the children who benefit from participating in the MMC&M program. The adults also glean a great deal of knowledge not only about Montessori but also about their own children. By welcoming parents and caregivers into the prepared Montessori environment and guiding them while their children explore the materials, the adults are given the opportunity to see their children through a different lens.  This allows them to come to a deeper understanding of their children’s needs and unique capabilities.

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During the course of the morning, the parents and caregivers are invited to visit the cozy adult area that offers a comfy couch, lounge chairs, and a coffee table. There, with a cup of coffee or tea, they can sit back and observe the classroom in action.  Past participants have told us that by taking note of how the classroom is organized and seeing the types of child-sized tools we provide, they have learned how they can model the Montessori layout in order to promote their children’s independence at home.  There are some simple things parents can do to adapt the kitchen, bathroom, and child’s bedroom to facilitate more practice with important daily life skills.  As Dr. Montessori once said, “The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one’s self”. By modeling the Montessori environment at home, parents give their children the gift of independence, as well as a sense of pride in being able to do things for themselves.

The adults in our MMC&M program also have the opportunity to peruse Montessori resources, including books and articles related to the Montessori philosophy and methodology, and to read a collection of parent testimonials from current and former Montessori parents. Through observation and in conjunction with the parent education materials provided and guidance by the Head Teacher, the adults can witness how the Montessori environment addresses the needs of the children and fosters their natural curiosity, making learning meaningful and fun! They can also begin to build a bridge between home and school by implementing what they see in the MMC&M classroom in their own homes and family routines, which is one of the main goals of the program.

The Montessori Children’s Academy plans to expand the successful Montessori, My Child, & Me program in the future so that it is available at all three of our campuses—Morristown, Chatham, and Short Hills.  We are excited to offer even more parents the opportunity to join our community and to embark on a beautiful Montessori journey together with their children.

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“The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth. From this almost mystic affirmation there comes what may seem a strange conclusion: that education must start from birth.”  ~ Maria Montessori