Capturing Ordinary Days: The Child's Work

Young children are driven by an incredibly strong unconscious internal growth process to seek out experiences that meet their constantly evolving developmental needs. The vital role of the adult is to provide and gently guide the child through a setting filled with enriched language and movement opportunities for the child. Brain development and learning are deeply tied to movement in these early years. Children make the critical acquisition of using their hands to affect their environment and to explore using their mind and body together.The Montessori environment provides Practical Life activities to foster this growth and assist the child in mastering essential movements, further their sense of individual psychological agency and to introduce the elements of daily life in their community.  

Shorts: The Child's Work

1. water (7:28)
2. montessori's intuition (6:49)

Delving Deeper into Our Craft: An Introduction to Practical Life

by HEIDI PHILIPART

Practical life activities serve as a cornerstone of daily life in Infant Community practice. Heidi Philipart, a seasoned practitioner, gives an introduction to the essential elements involved in a rewarding and rich practical life experience in the classroom.....READ MORE

The Power of the Cotton Mop

BY RENE JANTZI

Rene Jantzi speaks from her heart and shares with us a glimpse into the simplicity, power and beauty of providing an environment which offers opportunities for children to grow and thrive. In this short essay, she focuses on the cotton mop......READ MORE

The Child's Innate Love for Nature

BY maria teresa vidales

This lecture was first presented at the 2013 International Montessori Congress in Portland, Oregon. The thoughts in this talk, conclusions drawn from the author’s thirty years spent pioneering Assistants to Infancy work around the globe, draw attention to a critical need of today’s child......READ MORE

In Her Words

In 1946, Maria and Mario Montessori, newly returned to Europe from a seven year exile in India during World War II, offered a teacher training course in London.  In Lecture 18 of the collection, The 1946 London Lectures, edited for publication by Dr. Annette Haines, we find an early discussion of an important feature of the young child’s environment: a low bed. These excerpts show Dr. Montessori’s emphasis on consistency of approach even when meeting children’s needs means going against conventional thinking. The logistics of the “low bed” have been ironed out over many years of Assistants to Infancy practice, with an additional emphasis on the infant’s need for appropriate movement .  It remains a centerpiece of the prepared environment for infants and toddlers......READ MORE 

Montessori Community Resources

The Montessori Community has come together to support greater access to Montessori Teacher Training and development of Teacher Trainers through the following Funds:  

‣ AMI Montessori Teacher Training (US)
‣ Black Montessori Education Fund
‣ Global support for Montessori
‣ MES Fund
‣ MM75
‣ Silvana Montanaro Fund