Digital Object NAMTA Journal 39/1 01 Community: A Hallmark of Our Approach All the basics of the Montessori prepared environment are put into an extraordinary context of community and nurturing through personal encounter. The article emphasizes the longitudinal impact of an intentional community that results in character and…
Digital Object NAMTA Journal 38/2 10 Playful Learning and Montessori Education Although Montessori education is often considered a form of playful learning, Maria Montessori herself spoke negatively about a major component of playful learning--pretend play, or fantasy--for young children. In this essay, the author discusses this…
Digital Object NAMTA Journal 38/2 08 Quilt-Making in the Elementary Class As our world becomes more and more technological, it is essential that we remember that one of the main ways the child's brain develops is through meaningful work of the hand. Monica Nixon, the founder and director of Mountain Laurel Montessori School in…
Digital Object NAMTA Journal 38/2 09 Sacred Second Jennifer Rogers is emerging as a polished and prolific Montessori writer, and Sacred Second is a testimony to the pen. She explains the three-period lesson and the importance of the child doing the work of the second period that is enriched by experience and…
Digital Object NAMTA Journal 38/2 07 Work of the Hand through the Curriculum and across the Planes of Development: A Compilation of Creative… This article and the one that follows, "Quilt-Making in the Elementary Class" (EJ1077043), emerge from Mountain Laurel Montessori School and provide examples of the intrinsic links between the hand and academic lessons. This article features a compilation of…
Digital Object NAMTA Journal 38/2 06 The Work of the Hand Recognizing Maria and Mario Montessori's reverence for the hand, Pat Ludick takes the reader into the wonder of the human body, mind, and spirit and across the planes of education, into the making of a whole personality and grounded intelligence that is ready…
Digital Object NAMTA Journal 38/2 05 The Significance of the Hand for the Elementary Years The use of the hand is a physiological sequence. The prehensile nature of the human hand is an evolutionary feature as is the freeing of the hands due to bipedalism. Kay Baker outlines of the human hand's significance to the mind as found in chapter 14 of the…
Digital Object NAMTA Journal 38/2 04 Practical Life for the Older Children in the Casa Polli Soholt writes about advanced practical life and demonstrates that adding more challenge and complexity for older children leads to more social cooperation. Activities such as washing dishes, polishing, sewing, and food preparation take the child beyond…
Digital Object NAMTA Journal 38/2 03 Practical Life: The Keystone of Life, Culture, and Community Uma Ramani's characterization of practical life is philosophical and anthropological, suggesting that "human history is the story of the evolution of our practical life activities." Practical life is a collaborative activity that creates community and culture…
Digital Object NAMTA Journal 38/2 02 Movement and Character, Lecture, London, 1946 Dr. Montessori's words from the 1946 London Lectures describe principles of intelligence and character, the work of the hand, and movement with a purpose as being integral to self-construction. The perfection of movement is spiritual, says Dr. Montessori…
