| Volume 34 Number 1
Winter 2009
N·A·M·T·A
J 0 u
The First Three
Years of Life
from All
Developmental
Perspectives
R N A… |
| WHAT Is AMTA?
The \lorth Ameril:an \llonte"ori Teacher< \,,oc.:iation
prm 1tk, .1 medium of ,tu<l).… |
| THE NAMTA JOURNAL
VOL. 34, No. 1 • WlNTER 2009
THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF LIFE FROM
ALL DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
In… |
| THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF LIFE FROM
ALL DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF LIFE FROM
ALL DEVELOPMENTAL… |
| MOTHER AS THE FIRST PREPARED ENVIRONMENT·································
by Susan Tracy
THE PSYCHO-MOTOR AND SENSORIAL ROOTS… |
| THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF LIFE FROM
ALL DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
by David Kahn
As a proponent of the who/e-sc/100/… |
| ----------------------------------
~ --
Silvana Quattrocchi Montanaro
2
The NAMTA Journal • Vol. 34. No. 1 • Winter 2009 |
| WHY IT Is IMPORTANT TO
KNOW THE CHILD
by Silvana Quattrocchi Montanaro
Citi11g the words of Marin Montessori, Dr. Montanaro… |
| The family is certainly a prime determinant
for the positive
development of the child. The parents should therefore… |
| Maria Montessori spoke of education as giving an "aid to life" but,
in order to achieve this, adult… |
| The child, with its immense physical and intellectual potential,
is a miracle standing before us, although it is only in the… |
| In this book we shall consider the different stages of human de-
velopment and try to understand their significance with the… |
| 8
Tiu• NAMTA Joumal • H>I. 3./. No. I • \Vimer 2009 |
| CHILDREN'S EDUCATION AND THE
FUTURE OF HUMANITY
by Silvana Quattrocchi Montanaro
This final chapter of Dr. Mo11tanaro… |
| This child is
ready to contin-
ue his advance,
and all of cul-
ture is awaiting
him, but first he
has to learn to
read,… |
| of the presence of other human beings, both adults and those of their
age group, with whom to live and establish vali.d… |
| Instead of forging ahead, children are held back, even though it may
be in a pleasant enough way, by giving them many things… |
| should recognize that we have not yet taken all the possible steps
to favor the harmonious and integrated development of… |
| Judi Orion
14
The NAMTA Journal • Vol. 34, No. I • Winter 2009 |
| THE MONTESSORI INFANT AND THE
WHOLE DEVELOPMENTAL CONTINUUM
by Judi Orion
Ms. Orion explicates the concept of the spiritual… |
| brain where visual images are processed. The eyes could be heal thy,
fully functioning, but it is the brain that "… |
| malformations. Some slight malformations can be surgically remedied
after birth; in the majority of cases, the effects are… |
| acquisitions; she referred to one of these as the absorbent mind-
that particular way the mind functions in the child under… |
| absorb both languages. It
doesn't matter what lan-
guage the parents speak
with each other; it does
matter that the… |
| • six million for the working-class child
• eleven million for the child of professionals
Montessori wrote about the apparent… |
| fast. Would it be possible for a young child to decipher my language
clearly? Can they hear clearly articulated words? J don… |
| around the block. Especially during these early years when walk-
ing is maturing, children need lots of time to practice their… |
| placed in this position, he protests. That protest is interpreted as "He
doesn't like it," and the baby… |
| children are offered more and more challenge to their hand-under
close supervision-we
find they are capable of doing many… |
| tive connotation when referring to children. Interesting! If we want
an adult to have a strong will, i.e., not be misled by… |
| As the child gains experiences, her knowledge base expands. If
given choices in both acquiring and then using this new know… |
| A toddler bites for many reasons:
• not enough language to yet express her feelings, desires,
thoughts
• frustration-when… |
| organism to realize its full potential. The toddler is pushed from
within to move, to chatter, to explore, to experiment. It… |
| REFERENCES
Eliot, Lise. Wl,at's Goi11g 011 /11 There? How f/,e Brai11 a11d
Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life… |
| Annette Haines
30
The NAMTA Jour11al • Vol. 34, No. 1 • Winter 2009 |
| INDIRECT PREPARATION:
OLD VISION; NEW PERSPECTIVES
by Annette Haines
Dr. Haines elucidates the subject of indirect… |
| the brain are called
engrams. These are
the representations
of experience,
be
it visual, auditory,
gustatory,
olfac-… |
| are laid down. Then the windows close and much of the
fundamental architecture of the brain is completed. (7)
So we… |
| is this phenomenon that teachers often describe as the "light bulb"
turning on: The brain lights up like a… |
| conscious understanding of what he already knows. He knows that
he knows. This, of course, is the beginning of self-awareness… |
| Indirect preparation is the means
whereby a child can progress, i.e.,
jump to a new level of development,
in a natural way,… |
| spontaneously, in an explosion of enthusiasm and the child
has the impression not only of being self-taught, but of
having… |
| units are green, tens are blue, hundreds are red, and thousands
are green again, because a thousand is simply a unit of the… |
| • Total Reading, which the Casa dei Bambini indirectly pre-
pares the child to do, often does not emerge until second
or… |
| This is what Piaget missed, leaving so many early-childhood
programs adrift in a morass of developmentally appropriate activi… |
| Montessori, Maria. The Formation of Mn11. 1949. Madras,
India: Kalakshetra, 1986.
Montessori, Maria. Unpublished lectures. Dr… |
| Kay M. Baker
42
The NAMTA Journal • Vol. 34, No. I • Winter 2009 |
| HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE
PLANES OF DEVELOPMENT AS
DEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES
by Kay M. Baker
Dr. Baker defines l/llma11 nature… |
| The practice based on
this theory has specific re-
quirements. These include
the continuing observation
of the constancy of… |
| to survive but to live well in the environment, in the universe, in
which one finds oneself. The prepared environment needs to… |
| one orients the self to the whole of where one is situated and then
one finds out the details that allow a full adaptation.… |
| part of this universe has its laws. When these laws are followed,
human development can achieve its potential. Jn a lecture on… |
| is not available sensorially. It follows that the human being can not
only examine things past but can project into the future… |
| Therefore, the idea of an environment prepared especially for the
stage of development is born. That is to say, each plane has… |
| ity. With this knowledge, the child is adapted to the universe as it
is. However, this development is not sufficient for the… |
| the cause of humanity-to
bring human society to a unity wherein
each contributes to the harmonious existence of all.… |
| next plane. What happens in the previous plane affects the possibil-
ity of what can happen in the next plane. It is necessary… |
| be understood as knowing functionally and not necessarily knowing
all the permutations used throughout the history of human… |
| REFERENCES
Montessori, Maria. "The Four Planes of Education." From
lectures given in Edinburgh, 1938, and… |
| The NAMTA Journal
55 |
| Lise Eliot
56
The NAMTA Jo11mal • vbl. 34, No. 1 • Winter 2009 |
| THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE
ABSORBENT MIND:
NEUROBIOLOGY FOR MONTESSORIANS
by Lise Eliot
Drawing on her extensive experience in… |
| others the importance of what 1 am going to call the critical period.
What we've discovered through our cellular and… |
| advocate on behalf of children. Legislators, policy makers (men, in
particular)-when
they start understanding about synapses… |
| I think the best example is language. Yes, as Judi mentioned, children
can become bilingual or trilingual, but there is a… |
| "Synapse": connection between 2 neurons
\{)
dendrites
ce II body 4 synapse
--
- \
"f
:i -,.… |
| One thing we do know is that these synapses are the greatest
site of plasticity or change. The brain is not fixed; it is… |
| stroke or other trauma. We are hoping to use those new neurons to
treat disorders like stroke, but the brain does not… |
| that trend, but it's very hard to fight convenience and scheduling
and planning your baby's birthday.
POSTNATAL… |
| Vision and the Critical Period
1n the visual. cortex, postnatal brain development has been quan-
tified by Peter Hutten… |
| visual system. If their rooms are painted in subtle tones, they will
look out the window and see these dark branches against a… |
| problems are very, very treatable. If babies are squinting or if their
eyes are misaligned, encourage the parents to get the… |
| on him and would follow him all around. But this only happens in
the first two days. If the chicks are Left alone for two days… |
| [t acts as a neuronal insulator, like the plastic wrapped around an
electrical cable, which prevents me from getting a shock… |