The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-11-18
Miss Lois Lindsay Gives Chill
dren Natural Training.
BIG HAPPY PLAYROOM THERE
Methods That Would Make Oid
SchOOlmaster Squirm.
Canary, Goldfish and Grey
hound Complete Setting.

Sixteen Riddles and greyhound. to
say nothing of the canary and the
goldfish. were having good time all
in a bunch The Riddles and the
greyhound seemed to be doing just
whatever struck the fancy OF the KID
dies.
Two of the youngsters were chasing
each other gleefu1ly around the fooIII'
one was seated at the piano struIn-
ming away; several were on the 1loor'
building tremendous structures with
big building blocks, and others were
scattered about the room at hlue u"
bles, playing"
Al least it looked that way when
reporter visited the Montessorian kim
dergarten conducted by Miss LOIS
Lindsay, assisted by Mrs. Williamson,
in the Second United Presbyterian
church at the corner of Huntoon ana
But, as matter of fact. the kiddies
were getting what some of the mod
ern pedagogs and PSYCHOLOGISTS as
sure us is the most practlcal, DaSlc
and valuable education to be had to-
day.
The Montessorian system varies
pointedIy from the system in use at
the public schools and in the old style
kindergarten. 1t differs just as wide
Nv from the system of control which Is
practiced in most of their homes by
their parents.
The Let EN- Alone Idea.
The doctrine of 1assez faire in eco
Monies is the Montessori doctrine OF
education. Roughly epitomlzed, the
whole idea is to Let 'em alone
81 never correct one of them unless
he is really in bad difficulties, or is
doing something very wrong, said
Miss Lindsay 1.-The exercises which
are given, the simplest ones first, the
more complicated later, must be work.
ed out by the children themselves IL
they make mistakes they figure out
the answers themselves, and the an
swers are thereby fixed in their plastic
minds, more firmly than If planted
there by the teacher.
Children have more perseverance
than grown-ups," says Miss Lindsay,
and she lets them exercise it when
| they get into trouble with some of
| their exercises. They are never hur-
ried faster than their psychological
development and they are allowed to
do pretty much as they please, within
certain bounds.
For twenty minutes, nearly the
whole roomful was busy with a dozen
varieties of fascinating games, puz-
zleS, or tasks which disguised the real
lessons in discrimination between diff
ferent forms, colors, and textures, be-
hind them.
In a Stampede.
| Then one of the kiddies suddenly
left his seat and with whoop and a
slide deserted his occupation. He was
followed by the rest, and the whole
! crowd was soon chasing about the
! Quoting themselves in a way calculated
| to scandalize a schoolmaster of fifty,
or even twenty years ago, into desper-
alton.
Their minds need relaxation. and
their bodies need exercise. Pretty
soon they'll settle down to their quiet
er work again, and do the best work
of the day." said Miss Lindsay tram
GULLY. And, sure enough, they did
The system employed is carefully
planned, to teach to the finest degree
the coordination of mind and muscle
In one of the boxes were some
twenty little slabs perhaps an eighth
of an inch thick and two inches
square. The slabs were cut from va
| riouS sorts of wood, some of them
| firm and heavy, others spongy ard
light. One of the exercises which the
Montessori pupils try is to detect the
| difference in weight of the little slabs
And their perception is more delicate
than that of the average grown per-
son.
The cards from which the letters
of the alphabet and the figures arc
learned have the characters pasted OF
in black sandpaper. THAT is so that
the sense of touch will help out and
Miss Lindsay. At an early age, the
sense of touch in children is more de-
pendable than is the sense of sight
Furthermore, there are three stages
or phases. of learning, for which a
tongue-twisting French name has
been devised, but which are, first
perceiving an object; second hearing
it named and associating the name
with the object; third. being able &c
, perceive the object, associate it with
. the name. and then speak the name