"... a study of the psychology of the child in the first years of life is so marvellous, so full of miracles, that all who understand it cannot help but feel a great emotion... is not nature full of magic? Full of miracles?" Maria Montessori. The Absorbent Mind. p38. Bear is in the thick of his sensitive period for order. It is a joy to watch him play in a new way. He radiates peace and calm as he lines things up neatly or puts something in it’s proper place. These amazing moments happen when the environment is just right. "If the child meets with obstacles, his creative work becomes less perfect... We have realised that the child is endowed with great creative powers, that these great powers are delicate in their nature and can be thwarted if obstacles are placed in their path." (p39). Everything needs to be in its place. He needs to have an uncluttered space. He needs time and peace and quiet to work. Then - just as Montessori described - "whatever is in his environment comes to be part of his mind"(p35). I feel a profound pride and connection with him as I watch him play like this. It is a joy to watch him incorporate into himself something that speaks so strongly to me. I love order and symmetry and patterns. I feel real peace and tranquility when things are where they should be. On the other hand I feel such uneasiness when there is chaos. Chaos makes me long with such homesickness for heaven. I love the image of heaven in Revelation 4. God is sitting on his throne with a sea of glass, clear as crystal, spreading before him. Even the power and unpredictability of the ocean - an ancient symbol of chaos - is still before this God. This God forms little toddlers - wild and chaotic as they can be - in his own image. He has them sit still, mesmerised, to organise screwdrivers - for the joy of it. It’s like watching a seed germinate or a flower open. The complexity and beauty nature at work takes my breath away. “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Revelation 4:11
Praise God for his amazing Creation. And thank you Maria Montessori for observing it and explaining it to me.
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My name is Vicky and I have 3 boys - Bear (10), Fox (8) and Wolf (6). Somehow I stumbled across Montessori and now my goal is to raise and educate my children with a Montessori approach in Dubbo. Archives
April 2024
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