A Montessori Handbook / Teaching Montessori in the Home

Over sixty years ago, in Naples, Italy, Dr. Maria Montessori first opened her “casa dei bambini” and quietly began a revolution in education—a revolution whose impact and importance have only recently been recognized by American psychologists and educators. The results of decades of research in the behavioral sciences have supported Montessori’s conclusions about the nature of childhood and the learning process—conclusions which she drew from her own observations and without the scientific tools now available to educational research.

It was apparent to Montessori that the first six years of the child’s life are crucial to his proper development; that he exhibits what she termed “sensitive periods” in which learning a particular skill becomes nearly an “obsession”; that the child craves order and structure in his life, profiting most from a “prepared environment”; and that, above all, a child needs freedom of movement, freedom from interference when bent on a particular task, and the freedom to communicate his intense joy at achieving success.

Having observed this in the children in her charge, Maria Montessori commenced to create her joyful garden of life. The philosophical underpinning to her didactic method was the conviction that if the child were given liberty within a rationally structured environment, self-discipline would ensue; if he were given the didactic tools which encourage the productive growth of his every faculty efficacious mastery of the enrironment, interpersonal respect and selfdignity would be achieved.

It has taken us nearly this sixty-year span to catch up with Montessori’s astounding achievement. Fortunately for our children, dedicated professionals, parents and former Montessori students the world over are paving the way for an authentic resurgence and expansion of the Montessori revolution. New and improved training centers for accredited Montessori instructors and school facilities are becoming available.

Accompanying this movement is the continued publication of Montessori’s written works and of subsequent books about her method and its application. Foremost among her works is Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook, a concise guide to both her theory and practice. A particularly excellent edition of this work—A Montessori Handbook, edited by R. C. Orem—contains not only the complete text of the Handbook, but up-to-date commentary by ten professional educators and psychologists and a guide describing crucial criteria by which a school may be judged authentically “Montessori.”

In another enormously helpful work, Elizabeth G. Hainstock, a certified Montessori “directress” and lecturer, explains the principles and methodology of Teaching Montessori in the Home. This book is a must for parents interested in guiding their children by the principles of Montessori education but who cannot send them to a Montessori school. Mrs. Hainstock provides a description of the necessary didactic materials, how they can be made at home inexpensively and step-by-step instructions for assisting children in the use of the materials. Coupled with the more theoretical Handbook, this work offers tremendously important educational assistance.

Dr. Montessori’s work in general and these two books in particular provide invaluable intellectual guidance for those who wish to help their children develop into thinking, creative, reality-oriented adults.

Reviewed by Peggy Farrell / Education / Handbook (189 Pages) / BFL Price $1.75 / Teaching (117 Pages, Indexed) / BFL Price $6.95