Eternal Principles

   “The Montessori method is not based-on ever-changing theories, but on eternal-principles,” Mother Caspari told me. “That’s the secret. These principles have-helped children everywhere, from the-most affluent neighborhoods of New-York City to the poorest areas of India.”

    
Here are some of the principles that Mother Caspari taught.

~There is a perfect window of opportunity for learning various skills and concepts. By teaching a child at the optimal time, you make the most of their natural development. In most schools, children begin learning the alphabet at age six. With Montessori, they are reading fluently before they enter the first grade.

~In the first six years of life, children have an absorbent mind. They learn by absorbing all that they see and hear. Parents and teachers must pay special attention to what a child is exposed to during those years because what is absorbed before age seven can never be erased. Keep your child away from the television set. Maria Montessori used to say, “Six years is such a short time, give them to your child.”

~Children copy adults. Adults have to be careful of everything they do, everything they say, everything they think. If they are not genuine, children know it.

~Learning starts at conception. You can teach your children them by singing and reading to them while they are still in the womb, and by playing classical music.

~Children must have order around them. Order gives children a sense of security and helps them form their minds. They also need a very regular schedule. Parents need to make room for the child’s schedule and not expect the child to adapt to their schedule. A child who has an orderly life with scheduled activities they like will not have discipline problems.

~The child’s motto: Help me do things—all by myself.

~Exercise and coordination of movement is very important. Proper movement with correct rhythm helps children develop both sides of the brain.

~Children love to do adult tasks like dusting when they are not forced.

~It is very important for adults to slow down around children, to move more slowly, and to speak slowly and very distinctly.

~Children need their father to take time with them and teach them. Fathers provide a sense of protection and stability.

~Every child is reachable and teachable. There are gallopers, average learners and crawlers. The crawlers take their time and get there too.