“We have to let children experience the beauty of arithmetic… it is always something to discover and to perceive by the hand before being understood by the mind.” – Philip D. O’Brien, from the introduction to Psychoarithmetic by Maria Montessori.
“There is no description, no image in any book that can replace the sight of real trees and all the life around them in a natural forest. Something emanates from those trees which speak to the soul, something no book, no museum is capable of giving.
There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature, to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature… so that the child may better understand and participate in the marvellous things which civilisation creates.” – Maria Montessori.
“Movement, or physical activity, is thus an essential factor in intellectual growth, which depends upon the impressions received from outside.
Through movement, we come in contact with external reality, and it is through these contacts, we eventually acquire even abstract ideas.” ~ Maria Montessori
“The exercises of Practical Life are formative activities, a work of adaptation to the environment. Such adaptation to the environment and efficient functioning therein is the essence of proper education.”
“The teacher’s task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child.” Maria Montessori
Reading allows us to be transported from our world to another. Between the pages of a book, we can become immersed in the lives of fictional characters and learn about a culture entirely different from our own. We can also learn new words and phrases, experience various emotions, and acquire skills and knowledge.
