The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1914-02-06
IN AMERICA;
EDUCATIONAL IDEA
Comes From Rome to Note
Progress In "Houses of
Childhood" Here.

a desk and follows Its own inclination
as to position. To insure its physical
well being and for plenty Of fresh air
there are gardens connected with the
school.
Even babies are perfectly good II
they are treated properly. says Nine.
Montessor. I'm a hospital In Rome
there are in one ward sixty babies
and there is not sound. II they de.
sire anything they ask for it. They
are separated from their mothers. who
are poor and ignorant women and
would not understand that they must
be left tranquil. They are fed every
two hours. and when that time comes
they make slight noise with their
lips, but they do not cry"
A child. she says, will recognize q
ray Of light when 1t is seven days
old, and then it's psychological life be-
gins.
Guiding Young Mentality.
A passive, not an active guidance
of the eagerness of young mentality
is DR.. Montessori's principle, as has
been indicated. From three years old
up the child is irrepressibly anxious
TO learn 1t need never be driven. the
streams OF its ever active intelligence
require only channels to lead 1t from
the things IL already touches. sees and
hears. TO an association with things.
names and ideas that make up the
stock of knowledge of mankind. Rough
and smooth detected in the different
surfaces of cards played with: hot and
cold in the child's ablutions, high and
low. thick and thin, round, oval-all
abstract ideas gained directly from
concrete experiences in games with
blocks. cylinders, disks, stones. colors
and the familiar furniture Of the home
lead the expanding mind to the knowl-
edge that may be gained from books.
Games of identifying words with their
objects lead to reading; counting
games to arithmetic.
It was during the vacation Of July,
1907, that Montessori considered the
instruction of children in reading and
writing. She had an inspiration one
day when handing out the cards used
by the children in distinguishing
rough and smooth. That night, with
the help of the teachers, she cut out
letters in clear, round script. The
vowels were Of pink and the 1consos
nants all Of blue. A little strip of
white cardboard pasted at the back
of each of the letters precisely at the
point where guiding line would be
drawn on writing paper enabled the
little ones TO correct themselves IT.
they were tempted to put the bottom
Of on level with the base Of
an O.
All children love to scribble, and
she placed this passion to good ac-
count She placed paper under one OF
the tablets with the removable insets
Of geometric figures. and having first
removed the figure from its frame she
showed the children how to fill In the
figure with Il crayon. The children
battered themselves that they had
made wonderful circles, ovals and tri
angles.
The children choose the letters they
wish to learn. ~ and 20" are the
most popular. when Il child brings
to the teacher the letter which he
takes out of a box. he receives Its du-
plicate in black sandboard on white
card. The little ones finger is then
drawn over the letter from the start
ing point to the finish. while the teach
er says touch it." The name Of the
letter is tEen repeated distinctly and
slowly.