The Absorbent Mind

I am currently re-reading one of my favorite works of Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind. When I last read this work, it was about 2 and a half years ago when my oldest child had just entered the toddler program at her Montessori school. I decided that it was time to revisit this masterpiece now that both of my kids are older and in a different stage of development.

There are a few things that I have read this second time that have rung a bell concerning my Kindermusik classes. This is one of those books that is very difficult to quote because every paragraph seems to perfectly encapsulate the spirit of aiding life through education rather than simply filling an empty vessel with knowledge.

One of my favorite passages is the following: "Our day has seen a great awakening of interest in the mental life of the newly born. Some psychologists have made special observations of the baby's growth from the first three hours after birth. Others, as a result of careful study, have come to the conclusion that the first two years are the most important in the whole span of human life." To many of us, this is not a new idea. However, at the time period in which this was written, the concept of education beginning at birth was quite radical. However, I believe the education of which she speaks does not concern itself with the filling of an infant's brain with facts, or the pressuring of the child beyond his developmental level, but with the environment in which the child lives. It is about exposing the child to nature, fine art, musical experiences, and culture at an early age. It is about providing order and peace in the home and early classrooms. These early experience become a part of the child in a way that we cannot fully observe and help the child to become the person that they will be.

Montessori quotes Carrel saying, "The period of infancy in undoubtedly the richest. It should be utilized by education in every possibly and conceivable way. The waste of this period of life can never be compensated. Instead of ignoring the early years, it is our duty to cultivate them with the utmost care." Maria then responds to this quote by saying, "Today we are beginning to see the value of these ungathered fruits, more precious than gold, for they are man's own spirit."

So what?
So what are we doing to nurture our own children? Certainly I am not talking about hyper-parenting by cramming each day with enrichment activities with little to no time for relaxation. I am also not suggesting that we allow the children do explore and do whatever they want. But are we parking the kids in front of the TV as a babysitter all day? Are we handing them a video game to keep them busy? I know we are all guilty of that and in my opinion, educational TV and educational video games can even be good in moderation. But are we providing our kids with the opportunity to take an enrichment class that interests them? Are we exposing them to fine art and music, or do we assume that they are too young to appreciate "grown up" culture. Are we taking the time to teach them spiritual lessons, or are we waiting until they are older because we think they will not "get anything out of it" at a young age. Are we spending one on one time with our kids?

Often times parents wonder if a child is too young for Kindermusik. An infant under 12 months will probably not be singing along, will probably not be playing the glockenspiel and may not perfectly follow directions in class at that age. But by being exposed to the classroom setting, hearing the music, moving to the music and experimenting with the instruments, you child is absorbing these things into their very being. You may not see the results right away, but by providing your child with an enrichment activity, they are becoming who they will be and developing a love of music.

"There is-so to speak- in every child a painstaking teacher, so skillful that he obtains identical results in all children in all parts of the world. The only language me ever speak perfectly is the one they learn in babyhood, when no one can teach them anything! Not only this, but if at a later age the child has to learn another language, no expert help will enable him to speak it with the same perfection as he does his first." Maria Montessori