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Montessori’s first plane of development begins at birth and extends through the first full six years of life. It is a time of immense physical growth, monumental brain development, increased physical coordination, body awareness, and movement, development of independence, and tremendous growth of language. The young child works constantly to create himself, finding his way in a complex social structure, developing his will, establishing his independence, and making his thoughts and desires known. All of this intense development is done joyfully through play and sensorial exploration. Through observation, Montessori found that even very young infants make an amazing effort and are able to concentrate greatly during sensitive periods of development. Sensitive periods, or windows of opportunity, are times when a child develops one specific area of interest to the exclusion of others, according to his individual needs. Sensitive periods begin and end abruptly, and are unique to each child....

Over her lifetime, Maria Montessori examined childhood behavior throughout various countries and cultures and during times of war and peace. Her discoveries in human development and behavior uncovered universal principles that apply across cultures and time. In the first chapter of Montessori Today, Paula Polk Lillard discusses key points surrounding the origin and theory of Montessori education. Following is a brief review of Lillard’s discussion, focusing particularly on human development and behavior as it relates to Montessori’s shift from science to education. [Montessori] believed that within the formative years of children lay the answers to humanity’s ability to renew itself in each succeeding generation. — Paula Polk Lillard, Montessori Today, p. 3. Human development is not a constant linear advancement but a progression that occurs during four formative planes Montessori noticed profound differences in what she described as the four planes of development. She recognized that...

With this blog, we begin a new series, reviewing Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood by Paula Polk Lillard. Written for parents and educators, Montessori Today is Lilliard’s overview of Montessori education, with emphasis on the elementary years. Reading the preface for the first time in a while, I found myself moved to share quotes and excerpts with my friends concerning Lillard’s views on Montessori children and the state of conventional education. Although this book was written two decades ago, its message remains timely and relevant. Reviewing Montessori Today: The Introduction and Preface Lillard points to an educational reform movement in the 1960s that embraced an open classroom concept following ideas in John Holt’s book How Children Fail, originally published in 1964. Holt describes how schools work on the assumption that “most children don’t want to learn, are no good at it, and won’t try unless made to.” He further states that scho...