Maria Montessori lectured in Italian during the first International Montessori Course in 1939 at Madras, India. These 75 lectures were translated into English by her son Mario, as she spoke. And were taken down near verbatim in short-hand, transcribed and set into galleys overnight. One such set of proofs forms the original manuscript for this book. For the most part, each chapter in this book encompasses a single lecture. The lectures are left in the same order as they were given, swinging between psychology and the use of the materials.
India’s diversity of language, social custom and religious practice enriched her research. During this time, Dr. Montessori worked with children in Madras and put into practice her theories of adapting the environment, furniture and the Practical Life materials to local conditions.
In these lectures, Maria Montessori speaks with the mature wisdom of a lifetime spent studying, not just early childhood, but human development as a whole and gives a complete, wonderful and colourful overview of her pedagogy and philosophy.
This new publication from Montessori-Pierson, replaces the editions (Volumes One and Two) by Kalakshetra Press which were formerly in our inventory.
Paperback of 424 pages + illustrations
CONTENTS:
Editor’s Note
Introduction
Chapter 1 Adapting to the environment
Chapter 2 The power of movement
Chapter 3 True assistance to development
Chapter 4 The need for order
Chapter 5 Development through effort
Chapter 6 The child and his environment
Chapter 7 The need to communicate
Chapter 8 Learning to speak
Chapter 9 The Exercises of Practical Life
Chapter 10 The need to work
Chapter 11 Walking on the line
Chapter 12 Working towards perfection
Chapter 13 The silence lesson
Chapter 14 Conditions affecting development
Chapter 15 The intelligence and the senses
Chapter 16 The freedom to work
Chapter 17 Understanding dimensions
Chapter 18 Isolation: materialising abstractions
Chapter 19 Learning through observation
Chapter 20 Introducing geometry
Chapter 21 The three basic figures
Chapter 22 Mental organisation through mathematics
Chapter 23 Geometry through activity
Chapter 24 Towards abstraction
Chapter 25 The importance of touch
Chapter 26 Self construction: the child’s task
Chapter 27 Seeing with the hands
Chapter 28 Obedience and discipline
Chapter 29 Towards normalisation
Chapter 30 The world of colour
Chapter 31 Imagination and art
Chapter 32 Understanding sounds
Chapter 33 Growth of the psyche
Chapter 34 Understanding the world
Chapter 35 The planes of development
Chapter 36 The keys to the environment
Chapter 37 Learning to write
Chapter 38 Preparing to obey
Chapter 39 Building the intelligence
Chapter 40 The concept of numeration: 1—1
Chapter 41 Development through activity
Chapter 42 Freedom and discipline
Chapter 43 Operations within the Decimal System
Chapter 44 Obedience: an organising power
Chapter 45 Preparing the family
Chapter 46 Love: an essential need
Chapter 47 Offering a lesson
Chapter 48 Learning through touch
Chapter 49 Linear Counting
Chapter 50 The emerging Social being
Chapter 51 Memorising with interest
Chapter 52 The role of the adult
Chapter 53 Preparing to write and read
Chapter 54 Offering the whole
Chapter 55 More about geometry
Chapter 56 The study of water
Chapter 57 Passage to abstraction
Chapter 58 Child and God
Chapter 59 Circles and fractions
Chapter 60 The cosmic task
Chapter 61 Evolution of life
Chapter 62 The upkeep of the earth
Chapter 63 Culture to sustain inner life
Chapter 64 Transmitting ideas: writing
Chapter 65 Structure in the language
Chapter 66 Analysing the language
Chapter 67 Theories of evolution
Chapter 68 Maintaining a balance
Chapter 69 More about fractions
Chapter 70 Learning to research
Chapter 71 Offering aspects of chemistry
Chapter 72 Cycles of matter
Chapter 73 The function of verbs
Chapter 74 The human task
Chapter 75 Spiritual preparation of the adult
Epilogue
Index
