Imagination in Montessori

We had a great conversation about imagination yesterday. We were discussing his new shirt, the one that he had painted himself, when we started to hone in on colors and what it means to imagine. What is imagination? How is imagination understood in Montessori? Let's find out. Imagination is one of those terms that's extremely hard to define, primarily because it comes with so much baggage.

Close your eyes. What do you think of when we say the word imagination? We stumbled upon a beautiful quote that we thought we would share. It comes from Lucian Freud, the grandson of Sigmund Freud, who was an admirer of the Montessori approach to education. "A great deal of what is normally thought of as intelligence, he points out, is actually imagination - that is, an ability to see things as they truly are." What better definition of imagination than that!

In Montessori, imagination is running wild with your thoughts. It's not about creating things that don't exist, but exploring possibilities that already exist, and pushing them to new limits. For children, nothing is impossible. They're constantly asking and exploring the questions that start with, "What if..."In many respects, "what if…", is the beginning of imagination. It's not about coloring in lines in a coloring book, (how could we ever find the right lines to express imagination) rather it's about creating your own lines, taking charge of creating your own world.

Imagine the possibilities! 

Learning to Pour: A Presentation.

Watch as this yet to be three year old boy engages with a pouring presentation from Ms. Wood. She presents the material, carefully and methodically, using deliberate motions and exaggerated gestures.

As adults, we're used to doing things quickly, mainly to accomplish the task, and to "get things done". For children, however, they're looking to master their movements, and refine their coordination.

When presenting, it's important to break down the process, so the children understand what's happening. It's not about the product, but about the assemblages of components.

Everything is new for children, and the enjoy learning new tasks. Watch his joy and enthusiasm, not only observing Ms. Wood, but when he actively participates in the exercise!

Baan Dek on Instagram

Did you know that Baan Dek is on Instagram? Instagram is a fun and quirky way to share photos. It's definitely worth looking into. Our username is: baandek. You should follow us! Also, we post most of these photos here: http://baandek.tumblr.com. Check it out!

Cursive in Montessori

Did you know that Montessori schools start with cursive, as opposed to print? We thought we would take this opportunity to point out a few of the benefits, and to explain the rationale in greater detail. 

There are at least two main reasons to start with cursive:

1. Letter Recognition: As many of you know, learning about b's, d's, p's, and sometimes q's, can be very confusing for students. Recognizing the differences between these printed letters is a common challenge. With cursive, these issues are nearly completely alleviated and the children have a leg up on writing and reading.

2. Movements: Writing in cursive is a natural movement for children. It's smooth and unencumbered. It doesn't require the vertical lines and perfect circles that are employed in print. It's based on circular motions and "scribbles". In many respects, cursive is a natural extension of the free flowing movements of the hand.

Typically, it's much easier for children to transition from cursive to print, then it is to transition from print to cursive.

Our friends at www.montessori.org have some nice thoughts about cursive: "When writing in cursive the act of connecting the letters that form a word help the child’s mind to see those letters as a word. The letters of each separate word are connected and then there is a space distinguishing it from the word that follows. This will make it easier for someone else reading the child's writing to be able to distinguish each separate word." 

They go on to articulate that, "the most compelling reason for using the cursive script is that the children who learn to read cursive words first make a very quick transition to reading print. In fact, they very often have an innate curiosity about all forms of lettering and an enjoyment in puzzling out unusual alphabetical signs."

Here's Maria Montessori:

"Must one begin with strokes? The logical answer is “No.” These require too much effort on the part of the child to make them. If he is to begin with the stroke, it should be the easiest thing to execute. But, if we note carefully, a straight stroke is the most difficult to make. Only an accomplished writer can fill out a page with regular strokes, whereas a person who is only moderately proficient can cover a page with presentable writing." - (Dr. Maria Montessori, 'The Discovery of the Child', Clio Press Ltd, 193)

FAQ:

Q: If my child transitions to public school, will they be behind their peers? 

A: Of course, each child is completely different and learns at their own pace, but introducing cursive first, as opposed to print, will not delay their learning. If anything, it will help strengthen the student's understanding of the language. 

Q: In traditional school, children are usually taught cursive in third, or even fourth grade. Why do you start so early in Montessori?

A: Montessori believed that cursive was the best introduction to writing and reading because it was the most natural. There are at least two primary reasons. The a) continuous movement of the hand, or body-wide learning, is organic and would develop b) a greater appreciation and understanding of the letters, maximizing writing and reading abilities, while limiting confusion.

Q: Is there any value in teaching cursive? I mean, we only use cursive to write checks anymore, and even that is going away. Isn't cursive a relic of the past?

A: We live in a world of print. We're surrounded by it. It's everywhere. Everyone will learn print. By teaching cursive first, however, children are offered a smoother introduction to the world of language. 

Any more questions? We would love to hear from you. Send us a note!

Summer School 2012

We're very pleased to announce the line up for Summer School. We think you're in for an adventure. Take a look! www.baandek.org/summer. We're mixing things up this year, adding a Passport theme. Sign up, and you'll receive a passport. Attend a week, collect a stamp. Stay for the Summer, see where the adventure leads! Each week will be a wholly different theme, and an entirely unique experience. Summer School starts May 21 and goes until August 17th. Space is limited. Sign up now!

Montessori in the Huffington Post

Our friend, and collaborator, Laura Flores Shaw, who runs Oak Knoll Kinderhaus, the Collaborative Montessori Initiative, and frequently participates, if not pioneers Montessori Madmen projects, recently wrote a piece for the Huffington Post. It's entitled, "Montessori: The Missing Voice in the Education Reform Debate", and we highly recommend taking a minute to read her inspiring article. We'll leave you, with her closing lines, "I can tell you that the solutions we are all looking for are both simpler and more radical than the noisy debaters would have you believe. We need to do more than reform education. We need to transform it. We need to talk about Montessori."

A few memorable Tweets.

Has everyone seen the new Twitter feature? You can now embed tweets. We thought we would take advantage of this option, and highlight a recent thread by our friends at Maria Montessori dot com.

One of the fundamental tenets of Montessori is that everyone learns at their own pace. We're not here to judge their progress, we're here to evaluate and support their needs.

With reading, as you can glimpse in the exchange below, children need the space to develop and understand. If they're afforded this freedom, the world becomes their possibility.

Maria Montessori famously said that everyone can learn to read Shakespeare, but not everyone can truly come to understand what Shakespeare meant.

If we fully adopt the hypothesis that everyone learns differently, and that there is no set age at which you must perform x, then the landscape of education completely changes.

In the sample below, the student started "reading late", but only a short time later, he was exceeding any and all expectations. While it took him a little longer to get started, he burst "ahead" in no time.

The reason for this, of course, is that he was afforded the time, and offered the support that he needed to develop his confidence. Reassurance guides everyone.

Just had a conversation with a Montessori alumnus about reading. He started reading late (3rd grade) but by 5th was at "12th grade level."

— Maria Montessori (@MariaMontessori) December5, 2011

We imagined if he'd gone to public school & been forced to do reading assignments before he was ready to read...would probably hate it.

— Maria Montessori (@MariaMontessori) December5, 2011

With space, love and support, anything is possible. It's not our expectations children need to meet. They need to foster their own lines of interest, and meet their own demands.

Join The Montessori Madmen

By now, everyone has probably heard of this wily, ragtag group of impatient Montessori advocates from around the world. They're united by a common zeal: to bring the Montessori method to millions more.

They've just launched a new website: http://montessorimadmen.com. And, they're looking for your support. Join them in their quest to make Montessori a viable option for every family on the planet.

Don't be afraid of their abrasiveness. They're really softies, inspired by you. They have a list of projects that they've started, but they are always looking for more ideas. 

A Primary Education

Yesterday, the most magical thing happened. Well, as a matter of fact, it actually happens each, and every day in our classrooms. You'll notice that when we do art, we work with the primary colors. 

Why don't we put out one of every color? Why no purples and pinks, and oranges and greens? Because we want the children to discovery the colors on their own.

For example, yesterday, a three year old boy decided to paint. He was mixing the blues and the reds, swirling them together on the paper, and in his imagination, and then, "Ms. Wood! I just made purple."

This is how children learn and experience color theory. They don't memorize that red and blue make purple. Instead, they come to experience the concept, through their own artistic proclivities.

Unlike memorization, this boy will never forget that when you mix red and blue you magically create purple. It's emblazed in his mind.

Work and Play: Fantasy and Creativity in Montessori.

For prospective families that research Montessori prior to their visit, there are at least two main areas of inquiry that they are most eager to have us address.

1. First, they've read that Montessori has a different approach to creativity, and they want to learn more. In particular, they want to discuss the concept of free play and see how this is handled in Montessori. 

Free play. As many of you know, and as we've written about previously, there is a misconception in Montessori about the nature of play, primarily because we call the activities they're engaged with, "work". The secret, of course, is to understand that if you substitute the word, "work", with "play", you arrive at something like the practice of practicing, which is exactly what happens on a daily basis in Montessori classrooms. Montessori fosters a positive conception of work.

There's a particularly relevant quote from Lewis Hyde's wonderful book, The Gift, as captioned by Maria Popova that conveys the point, although different terms are used: "Work is what we do by the hour. It begins and, if possible, we do it for money. Welding car bodies on an assembly line is work; washing dishes, computing taxes, walking the rounds in a psychiatric ward, picking asparagus–these are work. Labor, on the other hand, sets its own pace. We may get paid for it, but it’s harder to quantify… Writing a poem, raising a child, developing a new calculus, resolving a neurosis, invention in all forms — these are labors. Work is an intended activity that is accomplished through the will. A labor can be intended but only to the extent of doing the groundwork, or of not doing things that would clearly prevent the labor. Beyond that, labor has its own schedule....There is no technology, no time-saving device that can alter the rhythms of creative labor. When the worth of labor is expressed in terms of exchange value, therefore, creativity is automatically devalued every time there is an advance in the technology of work.” In short, Montessori creates the conditions in which children are free to explore their own rhythms with the activities they're involved with. Maybe we should term it free work?

2. Second, prospective parents are also interested in learning more about how the concept of fantasy is treated in Montessori. This is an especially hot topic.

Fantasy. The topic of imagination is often construed with the conversation of fantasy. In Montessori, these are wholly separate topics. Imagination is what is generated each and everyday. Fantasy, on the other hand, is more of an imposed activity. For example, let's say that a student wants to work on an art activity. If the student puts paint to paper and fashions a world of their own creation, we would term this, "imagination" of "fabulation". They're creating their own lines of flight. They're discovering and exploring what they find of interest and what they would like to see in existence. Fantasy follows another path, a path that is one of imposition, rather than self-creation. It's often remarked that children are "creative" if they see a cartoon of a ladybug driving a car, and attempt to draw that scenario. For us, what is truly creative, and emanates from imagination, is if the children fashion their own worlds. It's not a creation ex nihilo argument, but one of generation.

With many 'creative celebritites", like Larry Page of Google, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Beyonce, etc. all of whom recognize that Montessori played a vital developmental role in their creativity, these concepts have come to the forefront. What are your thoughts on creativity?