Just a little more

I have a link that goes with my last blog but for some reason BlogSpot won’t let me cut and paste a link, or let people comment along with a few other things. Be patient please while I figure all this out because this BlogSpot set up is a lot different then my other BlogSpot set up.  Thehomeschoolmom.com is where one of my recourses for my last blog and my NAMC certified teaching guides that I was lucky enough to get my hand on *I might add that I saved $800.00 bucks on them, talk about lucky*!

After re reading my blog my Aunt brought it to my attention that I didn’t mention who the actual inventor of the Montessori Method was. I guess I forget sometimes that not everyone that reads my blogs know anything about Montessori and I just assume everyone knows who the inventor was.

Maria Montessori was from Italy, born in Ancona to be specific. Her father was in the military in his youth, and then worked as what would now be called a civil servant. Her mother came from an academic family and was well educated for a women living in the 19^th century Europe. As a child Maria attended a typical school where children received rudimentary training in reading, writing, arithmetic’s, and natural sciences up until the third grade. Many rural schools then stopped at the third grade. The children who continued after the third grade would study history, geography, and geometry. Most young women who pursued a secondary education chose what was called classical education which focused on the study of literature history, languages of Ancient Greece and Rome. Maria at the age of 12 had intentions to attend a technical school for her secondary education. For the first three years students studied history, geography, French, Mathematics and bookkeeping and some science. Then for the next 4 years they studied modern languages, mathematics, physics and chemistry and business subjects. Marias decision to attend a technical school did not favor with her father who believed that the education of females should be restricted to certain subjects but Montessori mother had more liberal ideas.

While attending technical school she became interested in engineering but by the time she graduated she became more interested in medicine. After graduation she applied for a university in Rome. After two years at the University she applied and got accepted into the Collage of Medicine at the University of Rome. Long story short they think the reason why she got excepted was because the mixed up her name thinking it was Mario not Maria. Fast-forward. She became the first women in Italy to be certified as a medical doctor. Fast-forward a little more she started working with children that then after sometime lead her to work with children with mental and physical disabilities. Back then children were kept in the same Asylums as adults with major psychiatric disorders. Now fast-forward a lot, she then developed the Montessori Method for those children and after she saw unbelievable progress allowing for many of those children to attend regular schools in caught the attention of many others. 

Maria learned that children learned best,

-by receiving neither reward or punishment

-by having the opportunity to correct their own mistakes

-by having freedom to choose what work to do or what materials to work with

-by doing things themselves

  And SHABAM! Welcome Montessori method.

Okay, so there is way more to it. Maria was born in 1870 and died in 1952 and in that whole time period she stayed active within her method, doing lectures and so on but if you want to know the whole story I suggest you read a book because it is way to long to type here! But it really is a very interesting story and totally worth the read.

also wanted to share a wonderful site that offers a lot of inexpensive and free printable that coordinate with the Montessori Method. 

http://www.montessoriprintshop.com/  <- look at that, i can now cut and paste! WOOT WOOT!

 as I blog more i will also show you how we DIY a lot of our materials.