is home schooling using the Montessori Method of learning.
A journal of one man's path toward spiritual enlightenment by physical
and mental purity, fasting, raw food diet, few words, natural living,
good works, right thinking, and exhilaration of the mind
by following the guidance of the Inner Voice.
Please,
see "Home" for more information.
EDUCATION
Ready to Learn
The best option for educating the Christ Child is home schooling using the Montessori Method of learning. There are many sites on the internet and books about home schooling using the Montessori Method. Books written by Maria Montessori herself about training teachers and classroom procedures would be very helpful.(amazon.com) There are also online study courses.
Most of the materials can be made at home, made to order by a local handyman, or ordered from a supplier of Montessori materials. The exact dimensions of furniture and materials would have to be researched. It is very important that children learn by doing... by illustration and practice... rather than by reading books or computer monitor.
Another possible option would be to enroll the Christ Child in a completely normalized classroom of an IMAC or MACTE accredited Montessori school. Accreditation is very important because the term, "Montessori School," was never registered under copyright law; and anyone can open a school for young children and call it a Montessori school. Accreditation by either of these two organization insure that the teachers have been properly trained in the Montessori Method.
The Infant...
An infant
crying in the night,
An infant crying for the light,
And with no other language but a cry.
Tennyson
The Soul in a newborn baby is holy, divine and eternal... The Christ Child. How should we treat this Divine Being that has come into our midst, what should we say, what should we teach him/her about life here on earth and their place in it. The parents should remember that they are just caretakers of this new and wonderful being and they should be careful to teach the child appropriate things at the appropriate time.
The most important thing is to teach the child about God and their relationship to that Supreme Being. Teach the child that they are a Soul, living in a material environment, but that the Soul is not limited by that environment, but is free. As the child grows and can understand, they should be taught spiritual values, and how to keep the body and mind pure, and be introduced to different vocations so they can learn to use their hands as well as their head.
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv
As the child continues to grow various talents may appear, music, painting, dance; and certain spiritual powers may appear as well, being able to see and hear Angels and be able to talk to them. Parents should make every effort to help the child to develop and understand these talents, and find appropriate teachers if they cannot teach the child themselves.
Parents are the producers and directors of the world environment of the child they were given to care for and they should help to open and expand the child's understanding of that world, rather than closing the child down to things, they themselves as parent guardians do not understand. Parents are guardians of the childs body, and mind. The Christ Child is first the student... then the teacher.
SELF-ESTEEM IN THE INFANT CHILD:
Aiding the development of movement and language, and respecting natural rhythms, are the keys to helping an infant keep his natural self-esteem. In the womb the child has slept and wakened, and exercised his muscles exactly according to his needs. The child [properly nurtured] is born with a natural self-esteem, knowing that he is doing everything right. Here are some specific ways we can help him continue with this natural development of abilities, independence, and self-esteem.
1- From the first day on respect his ability to go to sleep naturally, being careful not to train him to think that he is dependent on the actions of someone else for this simple and natural function.
2- Let him sleep until he awakens naturally.
3- Dress him in as few clothes as necessary, and have movement areas in several areas of the house... to allow for free movement of the whole body.
4- Avoid swings, walkers, and other objects which put him into positions he cannot get into by himself. This gives the message that whatever he can do at the moment, turn over, sit-up, crawl, is exactly the right thing.
5- Talk to him with the same respectful voice and vocabulary as you would anyone else.
6- Learn to identify the meanings all of the many vocalizations from birth on they are messages such as "My left arm is asleep." "I want to see my dad." "Someone please talk to me." "This wet diaper feels creepy." "I'm tired of looking at this ceiling." "I am hungry." "Why is everyone in the other room?" "The Mozart sonata is far preferable to that TV ad." "Please touch my head." "Hey, how about a bath!", and so forth.
7- Respond as quickly and as correctly as you can to these requests.
8- Look before interrupting him. He may be concentrating on looking at something, learning to move forward on all fours, reaching a rattle, and many other important activities. If we wait until he has completed the effort before picking him up, the message is that his choice of work was important, and so is he.
The following quote from: Three Magic Words, by U. S. Andersen
The child in his crib desires all things, asks for all
things,
has complete confidence that all things shall be delivered unto
him for the asking, so recently has he come from the unity
wherein there never was denial. Only slowly does the child
come to know that there are other beings than itself who must
be considered.
Day by day the child learns it cannot have this,
it must do without that, it must conduct itself this way and
that way. If the child perceives that these denials are directed
to it with love, if it is aware of care and companionship and
tenderness and concern, it rapidly becomes accustomed to
consideration and mutual exchange.
But if the child is aware of malice or anger with each
denial,
then rejection and fear take root. Once reality
is given fear,
hate is born; for people fear that which they think may hurt them,
and once hurt, they hate the hurter.
Public Education Today
excerpt from
Love, by Leo Buscaglia
Timothy Leary, when he was doing his
interesting
work in language and awareness, called words:
"The imprint (the freezing) of external
awareness."
He explained that each time a parent or society
teaches a child a new symbol he is given both
an intellectual and an emotional content for the
symbol. The content is limited by the attitudes and
feelings of his parents and society.
This process begins too
early for the child to have much to say
about what words will mean for him. Once "frozen,"
the attitudes and feelings toward the objects or
person to which the words refer become very
stable, in many cases irreversible. Through words,
then, the child is given not only content but
attitude. His attitudes of love are so formed.
A sort of map is set up,
Leary continues, which is static and
upon which all subsequent learning of attitudes and
awareness take place. The child's "map" will be
determined by how closely the symbols resemble
the facts and how they are taken in, assimilated,
analyzed and reinforced through experience.
The important language for establishing
behavior,
relationships, action, attitudes, empathy, responsibility,
trust, caring, joy, response — the language of love,
in other words, will thus be set.
From this point the child is still at
the mercy of
his teachers. He has been coerced, due to lack of
experience and through his dependence, to trust his
teachers and to accepting the love world
they offer him as reality.
At about this time he goes to school.
Great hope
lies in education. Through education he's offered
his first possible escape — broad, new worlds to
discover, full of different, exceptional and exciting
attitudes and definitions of life and love.
But he's soon disillusioned.
In place of freeing him to pursue
his own world, he is now in a new environment
often even less flexible than his home.
Charles Reich makes this point
dramatically in The Greening of America:
"While the school's authority is lawless,
school is nevertheless an experience made
compulsory by the full power of the law, including
criminal penalties.
The option to go to private school
does exist for families that can afford it, but this is
not the students' own option, and it is obviously
available only to a few.
School has no prison bars,
or locked doors like an insane asylum, but the
student is no more free to leave it than a prisoner is
free to leave the penitentiary."
With the child thus imprisoned, formal
education
assumes as its major task the process of passing on
the "accumulated knowledge of the past," usually
at the expense of the present and the future. It is a
"feeding in" rather than a "leading out."
Everything is taught but seemingly what
is necessary for
the growing individual's knowledge of self, of the
relationship of his self to others. He finds many of
his teachers lifeless individuals, devoid of
enthusiasm, hope or joy.
Erich Fromm said, "Living is the
process of continuous rebirth. The tragedy in the
life of most of us is that we die before we are fully
born." Modern education does little to guide the
child from death to rebirth.
Neither the love of self—what educators
call
self-respect — nor love of others — responsibility
and love for his fellow man — can ever be taught
in our present educational system. Teachers are too
busy "managing" to be "creating."
As Albert Einstein said,
"It is nothing short of a miracle that
instruction today has not strangled the holy curiosity
of inquiry. For this delicate little plant lies mostly
in need of freedom without which it will fall into rack
and ruin and die without fail."
So the individual, now fully grown, leaves
our
schools confused, lonely, alienated, lost, angry, but
with a mind full of isolated, meaningless facts which
together are laughingly called an education.
He knows neither who he is, where he is or how he got
there. He has no concept of where he's going, how
to arrive there nor what he'll do when he gets there.
He has no idea what he has, what he wants, nor
how to develop it.
In essence, he's a type of robot
old before his time, living in the past, confused
by the present, frightened by the future, much like
the teachers who made him.
The following excerpts are from a wonderfully
insightful book, HIDE OR SEEK,
How to Build Self-esteem in Your Child, by Dr. James Dobson.
Human worth in our society is carefully
reserved
for those who meet certain rigid specifications. The beautiful people
are born with it; those who are highly intelligent are likely to find
approval; superstar athletes are usually respected. But no one is
considered valuable just because he is! Social acceptability is
awarded rather carefully, making certain to exclude those who are
unqualified.
Believe it or not, a five-year-old is capable
of "feeling" his own
lack of worth in this system. Most of our little ones
have observed
very early that some people are valuable and some
aren't; they also
know when they are one of the losers! In many ways, we parents
inadvertently teach this system to them, beginning in infancy to
place a price tag on human worth. The result is widespread inferiority
and inadequacy which has probably included you and me in its toll.
Very early in life, a child begins to learn
the social importance of
physical beauty. The values of his society cannot be kept from his
little ears, and many adults do not even try to conceal their bias.
It's
a dull child who fails to notice that the ugly do not win Miss America
contests; the ugly do not become cheerleaders; the ugly seldom star
in movies; the ugly may not get married; the ugly have fewer friends;
the ugly are less desirable!
It is surprising just how effectively we
teach our small children to
appreciate the beauty cult. In examining the traditional literature
of
childhood, I was amazed to see how many of the age-old stories center
around physical attractiveness in one form or another. Consider these
examples [concerning beauty]: The Ugly Duckling;
Sleeping Beauty;
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; Cinderella; [and physical difference]
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; and Dumbo the Elephant.
Most children are able to determine the
relative worth of their own
physical arrangement by the time they enter kindergarten. A thirty six
year old man told me recently, "I was five years old when I realized
I was ugly, and I've never been the same since." His entire adult
personality had been shaped (distorted ) by that awful realization.
Children are keenly aware of their relative
worth among their
classmates. There are numerous events which reveal their standing
in this regard. Who, for example, is elected captain of the baseball
team? Who is never even nominated? Who is chosen first in games
and contests? Who is selected last? Who is invited to the important
birthday parties? Who is excluded?
How many Valentine cards does an unpopular
child receive, compared
to the superstars? There are many simple and direct ways to evaluate
one's social worth, and some children draw the same conclusion from
each assessment: "I am a complete washout and a failure."
If beauty represents the primary ingredient
of self-esteem and
worthiness, the second most important attribute in our culture is
certainly intelligence.
Children already understand the importance
of physical attractiveness
by the time they are three or four years of age.
Every conceivable
educational resource is mobilized to drill home the necessity of
"looking good." Fortunately, however, the second essential
human
attribute, intelligence, is much more subtle in its impact.
The child with low-average ability does not have
his IQ tattooed on his forehead, and he often survives the preschool
years with his self-respect intact. In fact, he may be five or six years
old before he notices the vast differences between himself and his
brighter friends. Then it happens! He begins his school career and
the whole world cracks and splinters in slow motion.
Make no mistake about it! School [Public school] is a dangerous place for children with fragile egos.
For the slow child, the typical setting
is unintentionally programmed
to disassemble his self-esteem, bit by bit, until
nothing remains but
broken pieces. Having been a teacher, I am well acquainted with the
many ways self-esteem is innocently assaulted in the classroom.
For example, Miss Lodestar announces to
her students that they are
going to have an arithmetic contest. The ever-popular Johnny and Mary
are asked to serve as captains, choosing team members alternately.
Mary is granted first-draft choice and she grabs the ranking intellectual
superstar, who moves to the side of the room nearest the captain. Johnny's
first choice also goes to a kid with exceptional brain power.
Through this entire process, dumb little
Arnie is slumped down in his seat,
knowing trouble is coming. He's thinking, "Somebody
take me!" But Arnie
can't even read much less do math and everyone knows he's stupid. The
captains go on choosing until there's nobody left in the center of the
room
except Arnie, the local dummy. Johnny says, "You take him,"
and Mary says,
"No! You take him."
Finally Miss Lodestar orders Johnny to include Amie on his team. And
sure enough, when the contest begins, guess who flubs up? Guess who
causes his team to lose? Guess who wishes he could curl up and die?
Amie's learning problem is one of five
common academic difficulties,
each leading its victim to believe he is stupid and of course, unworthy.
They are illustrated as follows:
(1) The Slow Learner. Arnie, the child
described above, is a slow
learner... a very slow learner. No one knows why, least of all Amie.
He tries to do the work but nothing turns out right. He can't read.
He doesn't understand science. He rarely receives a "happy face"
for doing things properly, and never has his teacher written "Nice
work, Amie" on his paper. He is the only child in the room who
won't get a gold star on his spelling chart.
Does all this bad news escape Amie's observation?
Certainly not!
He isn't that slow. How foolish he feels! There is no explanation he
can offer. He is utterly defenseless. He must sit there in front of
everybody and fail, day after day. Consequently, something precious
is dying inside Amie. Oh, he'll go on living, but the youthful
enthusiasm and excitement will soon be extinguished. Several decades
from now, people will wonder why Amie is such a bore, such
an uncreative insecure bore. And no one will be there to tell them
that his light went out when he was six years old.
(2) The Semiliterate Child. Maria is a
seven year old Mexican-
American girl who is repeating the first grade. Two languages are
spoken in her home, but she has learned neither of them very well.
She is so incapable of expressing herself that she feels incredibly
stupid. That is why she never makes a sound unless utterly compelled
to talk. Silence is her only defense against the hostile world
around her.
(3) The Underachiever. Sherrie is a bright
young lady. Her IQ
places her within the upper ten percent of her classmates, and she
can handle most academic tasks with ease. Unfortunately, Sherrie is
very unself-disciplined by nature. She is easily distracted, frequently
bored, and seldom motivated. She does her work as quickly as possible
just to get it finished, and avoids any unnecessary effort.
Homework is out of the question, and she effectively conceals from
her parents what is required there. Every attempt to get Sherrie
moving is followed by yet another burst of inertia. Furthermore, she
doesn't know she is bright. The comments on her work papers give
no clue as to her ability, since they merely reflect her sloppiness
and
inaccuracy. Her parents and teacher are obviously displeased with
her performance, and Sherrie is likely to draw the same conclusion
as her less able friends: "I am dumb!"
(4) The Culturally Deprived Child. Willie
is a black child from an
impoverished neighborhood. He has never visited a zoo, or ridden
on a plane, or been fishing. His daddy's identity is a mystery and his
mother works long hours to support five little children. His vocabulary
is minuscule, except for an astounding array of slang words, and
he has no place to read or study at home. Willie knows he isn't going
to make it in school, and this fact is already influencing his personal
evaluation.
(5) The Late Bloomer. Finally, I want you
to meet Donald, who is
a "late bloomer." Donald was placed in school before he was
able to
assimilate his lessons. He would have done much better if he were held
back a year... but his father insisted that he was six and should enter
the first grade. Donald was an immediate failure in school because of
his
fathers lack of understanding.
Certainly, beauty and intelligence are
not the only ingredients
in self-esteem. We have all known attractive intellectuals who could
not conceal their own personal dissatisfaction. My point has been,
simply, that inferiority is most often related to these two important
values. A few of the other common influences are as follows:
(1) Parents have a remarkable power to
preserve or damage the
self-esteem of. a child. Their manner either conveys respect
and love or disappointment and disinterest.
(2) Older siblings can crush the confidence
of a younger, weaker
child.
(3) Early social blunders and mistakes
are sometimes extremely
painful, being remembered throughout a lifetime.
(4) Financial hardship, depriving a child
of the clothes and life-
style of his peers, can cause a child to feel inferior.
(5) Disease, even when unapparent, may
represent the child's
"inner flaw."
(6) A child who has been raised in a protected
environment, such
as a farm or a foreign missionary outpost, may be embarrassed
by his undeveloped social skills.
(7) Embarrassing family characteristics,
such as having an alcoholic
father or a mentally retarded sibling, can produce feelings of inferiority
through close identification with the disrespected relatives.
Unfortunately, this list could be almost
endless. In working with
the problem of inadequacy, I have drawn this conclusion: whereas a
child can lose self-esteem in a thousand ways, the careful reconstruction
of his personal worth is usually a slow, difficult process.
It is high time that we declare all-out
war on the destructive value
system I have been describing the system which reserves selfworth
and dignity for a select minority. I reject the notion that inferiority
and inadequacy are inevitable, that the present epidemic of self-doubt
is unavoidable.
Although our task is more difficult for
some children
than for others, there are ways to teach a child of his genuine
significance, regardless of the shape of his nose or the size of his
ears or the efficiency of his mind. Every child is entitled to hold
up his head, not in haughtiness and pride, but in confidence and
security. This is the concept of human worth intended by our
Creator.
THE MONTESSORI METHOD OF LEARNING
Montessori, compared the development of the human being to a succession of new births. She said, "it seems that one psychic individual ceases and another is born."
[My wife and I had four children... two older boys and two girls. They all went to elementary Montessori school. The girls started school around 2 1/2 years old. The girls could both read and write, and do simple math by the time they were six years old. It is amazing how fast children learn... when they learn to concentrate and learn things at the appropriate time.
The first thing that really made me take notice was the self-esteem and confidence Montessori school gave our kids. Very soon after the girls started school they could dress themselves, tie their own shoes, and put on their winter coats.
I was used to helping my girls put on their coats. My youngest daughter was about to go out and took down her coat, and I said, "Can I help you with that?" She replied, "No, Dad, I can do it myself." She laid the coat on the rug, with the front up and the collar toward her, bent down and put her arms in the coat sleeves, and stood up throwing the coat over her head... she had her coat on. She smiled at my astonishment, buttoned her coat, and went out without another word... very proud. She was just a little over 2 1/2, and had only been going to Montessori school two or three weeks.]
First Stage: 0-6 years
A Period of Transformation—divided into:
(a) 0-3 years: The Absorbent Mind (unconscious)
(b) 3-6 years: The Absorbent Mind ( conscious)
***
Second Stage: 6-12 years
A Period of Uniform Growth, an intermediate
period...
the second stage of childhood.
***
Third Stage: 12-18 years
A Period of Transformation—subdivided, as in stage one,
into:
(a) 12-15 years: Puberty
(b) 15-18 years: Adolescence
After about eighteen years of age there
is no longer any trans-
formation. The individual simply becomes older.
The (unconscious) Absorbent Mind.
First Epoch of Development (0-6 Years):
This first period, taken as a whole, makes
a complete
life in itself. There are in it, as we shall see, definite
changes forming subdivisions; but the whole period is
characterized by the same type of mind.
It is a form of mind which is quite different
from that
of the adult, which Montessori describes as
The Absorbent Mind. The nature and workings of the
absorbent mind are full of mystery, and the further we
go back to the beginning of life the more mysterious
they become.
The universe, as it appears to the child, may be compared
to a huge jigsaw puzzle made of an infinite number of
separate pieces not one of which, at the beginning, fits into
another. Instead they are all jumbled up, higgledy-piggledy,
in an inextricable confusion.
It is the office of the intellect to fit the pieces together
so as
to form one comprehensive, meaningful, harmoniously
interrelated whole. To the end of our lives this "fitting in"
process continues, and we never complete it.
The Child, the Mystic, and the Artist
The inner rhythm of the child's life in some ways
resembles that of a mystic; for both may be said to live in a
sort of "eternal now." The contemplation of the mystic does
not produce anything practical outside himself—it is an end
in itself—and the end is self-perfection.
The child resembles the artist, too, as well as the mystic;
because he has the task of creating a great masterpiece...
which is the man-to-be. That is why you can no more
hurry him than you can hurry on the work of an artist.
In the Book of Genesis we read how God created the
world from the formless void; and man from the dust of the
earth. Something similar happens in the development of every
individual. As Margaret Druimnond used to say, "In every
child the world begins anew."
The Joy of Work... the building of a personality.
Because the child's work springs from this "internal
fount of energy" it is no burden to him—any more than we
feel the beating of the heart to be a burden. They are both vital
functions. But the work of the child is on a higher plane than
the beating of the heart—a mental plane; hence he consciously
rejoices in it, "as a strong man to run a race."
Work is for him a necessary form of life, a vital instinct
without which his personality cannot organize itself. So
essential is it for the child to have the opportunity and means for
this creative "work" that if it is denied him his deviated energies
will result in all sorts of abnormalities.
Conversely, there is one thing, and one only, which will
cure
the child of his abnormalities—and that is work. This is
Dr. Montessori's doctrine of "normalization through work"
Toddler...
into everything Explorer.
The process of "building a personality" for
the young child
is one of trail and error. During this time the young explorer
of life may choose some behavior... that works for him or
her... which is truly abnormal and self defeating. It is these
abnormalities or "deviations" that the Montessori Method
of learning works to normalize.
Forms of Deviation in Childhood
The forms of deviation in childhood are legion. In fact
it is much easier to describe the characteristics of normality
than to enumerate all the various possible forms of deviation.
We may, however, mention two main groups of deviations.
In the first we have a series of traits which are generally
recognized as abnormal by most writers on child psychology.
These include lying, timidity, quarrelsomeness, gluttony, fears
of various kinds, stammering, talkativeness, disorderly and
destructive movements, continued disobedience, and so on.
Besides these well-known and unpleasing traits Montessori
also regards as deviations certain ways of behaving which most
people would regard as normal. Amongst these are possessiveness.
Another is the excessive development of make-belief—to
an extent
which causes children to live in a fantastic world of their own.
Then again we have the child who is constantly asking
questions without waiting for the answers; or the child
who shows such an extreme attachment to another person
that he can hardly exist without them.
It may surprise some readers to learn that Montessori
also
includes in her list of deviations that marked instability of
attention which most psychologists regard as an essential
feature of childhood.
it is much easier to describe the characteristics of normality
than to enumerate all the various possible forms of deviation.
We may, however, mention two main groups of deviations.
In the first we have a series of traits which are generally
recognized as abnormal by most writers on child psychology.
These include lying, timidity, quarrelsomeness, gluttony, fears
of various kinds, stammering, talkativeness, disorderly and
destructive movements, continued disobedience, and so on.
Besides these well-known and unpleasing traits Montessori
also regards as deviations certain ways of behaving which most
people would regard as normal. Amongst these are possessiveness.
Another is the excessive development of make-belief-to an extent
which causes children to live in a fantastic world of their own.
Then again we have the child who is constantly asking
questions without waiting for the answers; or the child
who shows such an extreme attachment to another person that
he can hardly exist without them.
It may surprise some readers to learn that Montessori also
includes in her list of deviations that marked instability of
attention which most psychologists regard as an essential
feature of childhood.
Young student (2 1/2)
Normalization through work:
There is one sovereign cure for all these forms of deviation...
one only... says Montessori, and that is normalization through
work. If we regard the child's work as being the construction
of his own personality.
But it was not as a conclusion drawn from a reasoning that
Montessori was led to this point of view. It was in fact just
the other way round. She did not start with any theory at all.
She started with the children... the free children in the Prepared
Environment...and they demonstrated it to her: first in
Italy, then in Spain, then in America, and after that in every
part of the globe.
What the Prepared Environment Contains
It will be obvious then that the prepared environment
will have to contain a great many more things than just the
small tables and chairs, cupboards, etc. We can
group what is required under the following heads:
(1) The materials necessary for the carrying out
of the
exercises of practical life and similar occupations.
(2) The sensorial materials.
(3) The materials for the acquisition of culture, the
Three Rs,
history, geography, art, handwork, etc.
(4) Those things necessary for the development of his
spiritual life.
The Teaching Materials
Since our aim therefore is to feed the mind, the
objects which we give to the children, placed at their disposal
in the environment, assume a paramount importance in our
method. These objects are not chosen at random, or because
they happen to arouse a passing interest.
Each possesses as it were within it an idea to be realized...
not an idea to be announced by the teacher and handed over
directly from her to the child. But rather the idea is implicit in,
or latent in the material itself.
As the material is used, this idea becomes presented.
And in
time... for it is only as the child works with the materials,
lives with it hours at a time, and day after day, always active
with hand as well as brain, that the idea inherent in the material
comes off from it into the child's mind.
The idea seems to detach itself from the material, quietly,
gently,
unobtrusively, as an exhalation or perfume... or even a spiritual
emanation... thus entering the child's mind to become part of
his very self.
The Directress
This explains why, when the directress sees all her
children concentrated on the various occupations... the little
hands busy placing and replacing, touching, arranging, feeling,
sorting, counting, and comparing, according to the nature and
use of each material... she can be well satisfied, and contemplate
the busy scene with the deepest joy.
For then she knows that, corresponding to all this concentrated
activity, development and growth is going on in that inner mysterious
"center" of the child. Experience will
soon reveal to her that
when her children work in this way they are capable of making
a mental and moral progress which is truly astonishing.
The children and the teacher unite to form in separable
parts of a single educational whole, which is a dynamic
and continuous process of development for both of
them. It would perhaps be more true to describe it as a single
"social" whole rather than an "educational" one. In
saying
this we should only be restating, in different words, the truth
that the fundamental problem in education is not an educational
one... but a social one.
The Montessori directress may indeed be defined as one
who
understands this "new relationship" and carries it out faithfully
into the smallest detail. Since this new relationship is the first
thing to be aimed at in the training of a Montessori directress,
it follows that Montessori's method of training teachers differs
considerably from most others.
The Spiritual Training of the Teacher
To know how to direct the child's natural energies
into those creative channels ordained by his Maker is no easy
matter, and requires a very special preparation. The basis of
this preparation consists in going through a fundamental
change of outlook.
The teacher needs to acquire a deeper sense of the dignity
of the child as a human being; a new appreciation of the
significance of his spontaneous activities; a wider and more
thorough understanding of his needs; and a quicker reverence
for him as the creator of the adult-to-be. How is this to be done?
Montessori makes it quite clear that is is not primarily
a
question of studying psychology, nor of the acquisition of
certain items of culture. The first essential is that the teacher
should go through an inner, spiritual preparation... "cultivate
certain aptitudes in the moral order." This is the most difficult
part of her training, without which all the rest is of no avail.
The idea that a moral preparation is necessary before
one
is fit to be entrusted with the care of children is a principle
hitherto chiefly confined to members of religious orders. But
according to Montessori such a preparation should be the
first step in the training of every teacher whatever her
nationality or creed.
She must study how to purify her heart and
render it burning with charity towards the child. She must
"put on humility"; and, above all, learn how to serve. She
must learn how to appreciate and gather in all those tiny
and delicate manifestations of the opening life in the child's
soul. Ability to do this can only be attained through a genuine
inner effort towards self-perfection.
The first thing, then, the would-be teacher has to acquire
is what one might call a "spiritual technique." And to attain
it she will have to experience something akin to a religious
conversion, for it will involve a "re-evaluation accepted Values.''
The process of normalization is always the same. Into
the
ordered, tranquil, and harmonious atmosphere of the
Montessori class enters the deviated child. It does not matter
that his particular form of deviation may be. In some way or
other, however, he is a disordered being... that is the essence of it;
he is out of harmony; his movements undisciplined, his mind
without focus.
Very often he is a veritable thorn in the flesh
to the directress; a trouble to himself, and a nuisance to his
neighbors. He will probably spend a good part of his time
pottering around the room trying now this occupation and now
that; but he does "everything by fits and starts and nothing for
long."
If he is not watched he may disturb the others, even to
the extent of tormenting them. Very likely, too, he is extremely
disobedient, and wholly lacking in self-discipline. In short, the
elements of his personality are in conflict within himself, as
he himself is in conflict with his social environment.
This state of things may last a short or a long time;
but
short or long it will be terminated in the same way. If the
directress has done her duty properly, if she has treated him
with a mixture of firmness and respect, if she has been tireless
in presenting him with occupations (however indifferent he
may seem), if she has encouraged him without coercion, and
left him free to wander round at will... provided he disturbs
no one... and if she has let him choose his occupations, then
one day will come the great event.
One day... Heaven knows why... he will choose
some occupation (very likely one he has trifled with many
times before) and settle down seriously to work at it with the
first spontaneous spell of concentration that he has ever shown.
This is the beginning of his salvation. Though he knows
it
not, but his directress does, he is now at the beginning of a
new phase of life, almost a new life. His feet are now on the
path which leads to normality.
Concentration:
Concentration is the key that opens up to the child the
latent treasures within him. We need not repeat here what we
have said elsewhere with regard to the nature of this work:
suffice it to point out that through it those two separated
streams of energy... physical and mental... have been brought
together again.
The "point of contact" having been established
at the "periphery," down in the "center" of the child's
personality a mysterious but beneficent change is taking place.
As the scattered elements of his personality come together,
order begins to take the place of disorder, and the work of
self construction, which had been interrupted, is now taken up
again, as nature had intended all along.
Montessori often compares this inner change which takes
place in the child's whole aspect and behavior to that
re-orientation of the elements of personality which accompanies
religious conversion... a change which also sometimes takes
place quite suddenly.
It does not matter with what deviation a child may start.
A
dozen children may start with a dozen different forms of
deviation. But as each child-individually and in his own
time and place achieves this experience of spontaneous
concentration, until it has become a habit, each and all will
eventually arrive at the same place... at normality.
It was thus, through experience, that Montessori discovered,
one might say stumbled upon-the characteristics of the
normal child. She was not looking for them; she was not
expecting them; she was not even thinking about them. It was
a genuine and unforeseen revelation.
These normalized children... "the new children"
as they were often called... have appeared again and again in
almost every country in the world for a whole generation.
Race, color, climate, religion, civilization, all these made no
difference. Everywhere, as soon as hindrances to development
were removed, the same characteristics appeared as if by
magic.
And, what is of the greatest practical importance, they
are being revealed still whenever and wherever the right
circumstances prevail, as anyone can verify for himself if he
takes the trouble to do so.
The Characteristics of the Normalized Child...................
"But what are these wonderful characteristics of
normality
that you keep talking about?"... we can almost hear the
impatient reader exclaim! They include:
A Love of Order, which extends down to
the most minute
particulars; and expresses itself in an intense "love of the
environment," and a corresponding desire to preserve the order
in it. It is well to remember that the intellect is the principle of
order; and that the child seeks and finds order around it...
not only in the general aspect of the room, but also in the
various occupations which are to be found within it.
Love of Work: Work in this sense means
any activity which
involves the child's whole personality, and has as its unconscious
aim the construction of personality. It is definitely a
form of self-expression, and brings the child a corresponding
joy in the performance of it. But it is work and not play (which
satisfies only a part of one's nature). "I have to defend myself,"
says Montessori, "against those who say that my method is
a play-method."
Profound Spontaneous Concentration. This
concentration,
which is so complete that it often "isolates the child from his
environment," is a biological phenomenon. We might call it
the attention of life, i.e., of the species, acting through the
individual.
Or if we put it in another way, we can say that it is
a
phenomenon of growth. Or again we may compare it to the
selective attention, to certain objects in the environment, seen
in the instinctive reactions of animals.
This is however something on a different and higher plane,
for it is the child's intelligence which is concentrating here;
constructing itself through commerce with the outside world.
Which brings us naturally to the next characteristic, which is:
Attachment to Reality. The mind constructs
itself through
contact with reality, not with the projections of make-believe.
The foundation of all is the external world, as taken in first
through the senses and movement, and, later, by the reason
and imagination.
The information so received is worked upon, assimilated
and
raised to the order of intelligence. So, to function properly and
to grow, the intellect must be subject to the discipline of external
reality.
Love of Silence and of Working Alone ("The
little hermit").
This does not mean that the child likes to work in solitude; but
rather in that psychological isolation mentioned above which
is the result of concentration. At other times... when the aim
of the work is more conscious and external... the children
frequently work together in spontaneously formed groups.
Sublimation of the Possessive Instinct. The
attitude of
normalized children to their prepared environment and to all the
engaging occupations contained in it, though one of intense
love, is not possessive in its nature.
It is true that in the first flush of their enthusiasm
children
may wish to take the materials home with them; but even in
these cases, possession as such is not their aim; but only use.
I have heard Dr. Montessori remark that members of religious
orders and these normalized children might adopt the same motto
with regard to property, ("To use and not to possess").
The reason why the normalized child has shed this defect
of
always wanting to possess things is because he has sublimated
his interest in them. In normalized children the active possibility
of interesting themselves in any object leads them to a stage
where it is no longer the object but the knowledge of it which
fixes the attention.
So we can say that this possessiveness, because
of an intellectual interest, is raised to a superior level.
Instead of the instinct of possession we now see on this
higher level three things: to know, to love, and to serve.
Possession is transformed into love; and
when this has
come about there is not only the desire to conserve the
object but also to serve it. The same children who once tore
plants out of the garden, now watch for the plant's growth,
count its leaves and measure its sides. It is no longer my
plant; it is the plant.
Power to Act From Real Choice and Not From Curiosity.
From what has just been said it will be seen that these
children are now motivated in their actions by real choice and
no longer by mere curiosity.
Obedience. These normalized children
are remarkably obedient.
With the process of normalization through work they pass
through a sort of "novitiate" in this virtue. This involves
progressive degrees of obedience... the last being that in which
they are not only obedient, but will to be obedient. To carry
out the command of another has now become a form of
self expression, just because it involves the joyful exercise
of a newly developed faculty... the will.
This willing docility has nothing in common with the blind
obedience of suggestion, nor the inevitable submission of
the weaker to the stronger will. This is proved by the fact
that it goes hand in hand with a high degree of:
Independence and Initiative. The whole
aim of the Montessori
system can be summed up as the "valorization of personality"
at each stage. This involves, amongst other things, that the
child should acquire as much independence as is possible for
him to acquire at each stage of development.
Or to put it the other way round, the directress must
always
seek the limit of her intervention by giving "the minimum dose;"
always acting in accordance with the famous slogan, "Every
useless aid arrests development."
In a class of normalized children mutual aid naturally
takes
the place of competition. Far from trying to out do each other,
or displaying any jealousy, these children are always helping
one another.
The older and more advanced show a keen
interest in the progress of the younger and more backward;
and it is often quite touching to observe the way in which
the former regard the triumphs of the latter with as much
joy as if they had been their own achievements.
Another important point to remember is that Montessori
will have none of that horizontal grading of children according
to age and attainment, or intelligence, which is so common
today. She insists on having, if possible, several age groups
together, that mutual helpfulness can have full play.
Spontaneous Self-Discipline. This is
one of the features that
usually astonishes visitors most when they see a Montessori
school for the first time. This discipline is so complete that
the absence of the directress for quite long periods of time
does not affect it.
This discipline is one of the fruits of liberty.
In fact we might say that such discipline and liberty cannot
really be separated: they are like the opposite sides of the
same coin.
Joy. The crowning characteristic of a
group of normalized
children is joy. It pervades the little community like a perfume;
and is as hard to describe as it is easy to perceive. This joy
which shines in the children's faces, and indeed in their
whole demeanor is something more than pleasure or the
happiness of being entertained.
Like the concentration referred to above it is a deep
and
mysterious emotion. It is in fact the joy that nature always
grants as the accompaniment to the right use of our faculties.
It is the joy which comes with acting in obedience to the laws
of our nature.
In September 1955, at the opening of the new session of
the Montessori Training Course at the Montessori Center,
22 rue Eugene Flachat, Paris, 18, an address was given by
the famous French writer, Gabriel Marcel. In the course of
his speech he spoke of "the astonishment which I felt when,
for the first time, I visited a small Montessori school at Sevres.
What struck me most... it is not too much to say, what
caused
me a profound emotion... was to see with my own eyes in
this school, children not only working with perfect calm, but
children who were in the grip of a mysterious happiness.
A mysterious happiness... I repeat the words... for 1
would have
them penetrate your souls like a melody. What was it, this
happiness? An 'ensemble' of favorable conditions had been
realized in conformity with Maria Montessori's ideas, which
permitted these children to give themselves without reserve
to the miraculous act which we call knowledge.""
Normalization the First Step in Education
If one listens to experienced Montessori directresses
discussing their pupils together, especially those who have only
recently come to school, one does not usually hear them saying,
"How is Tommy getting on with his sums?," or "Has Francis
begun to read?" but "Is he normalized yet?" For until this
has happened his real education has not begun; indeed cannot
begin. "Our schools," says Montessori, "may be compared
in
the first place to a sanatorium; for the first thing that happens in
them is that the children are restored to mental health."
“The parent’s primary responsibility is
not to teach the children to be
good little workers filled with marketable skills and pathological
ambition, but to awaken the Divinity within.”
Nurturing
Spirituality
in Children
Simple Hands-on Activities
by Peggy J. Jenkins, Ph.D.
"Indispensable In developing children's
self-esteem and a balanced life."
Jack Canfield
Preface
This book is a revision of my earlier work, A Child
of
God. I have found that many people who believe in a
Prime Creator, Great Spirit, etc., are not comfortable
with the word God. Therefore, I have de-emphasized
that word and invite people to substitute their favorite
terminology.
These lessons are based on universal principles...
principles that hold true no matter what the country,
culture, or religion.
With my background of mother, parent/teacher
educator, and student of spiritual and universal principles,
I felt it was only logical to bring these fields together
in the hope of accelerating the consciousness growth our
world needs.
As a parent, I felt a great need for more information
on
mental and spiritual principles in a form easy to share
with children. The result was the combining of two favorite
teaching tools—visual aids and analogies... to teach
children the principles of truth.
The saying that we teach what we need to learn
never felt truer to me than when I was writing this book.
I am joyous about sharing it with you, and I hope that it
may help you as it has helped me. It is certainly not a
book just for teaching children but for teaching the child
in each of us.
Nothing of this nature is ever achieved alone, so I
acknowledge with great appreciation all the invisible
help I received, by whatever name one chooses to call it.
It is my loving hope that you and the children on
your path have a joyful time as you journey through
these lessons.
Laying the Foundation
"The child must rise to the higher
order of the spirit
through concrete things."—Dr. Maria Montessori
A goal of this book is to help young
people start believing
the things that are true about themselves as children of
the Creator. When they know these truths, fantastic things
begin to happen to them and to their world.
Someone once said, "Woe to the
man who has to learn
principles in the time of crisis." The principles children
learn from this book will help prepare them for whatever
they may encounter, because they will understand that
theirs is a mental and spiritual world, and whatever is
in their lives is the material expression of their beliefs.
Many people see the outside world as
cause and themselves
as effect. I hope children will come to see themselves as
cause and the world as effect. Then they will provide the
leadership needed to bring in a new era.
For every physical law, there is a parallel
law in mind
and spirit. Teaching children to work with the spiritual
laws as well as the physical ones will bring them the
gifts of peace, confidence, and joy, which will enable
them to weather the storms of life.
The lessons that follow are simply to
start the process.
They are intended as aids for busy parents who
are willing to take ten minutes a day to teach higher
principles to their children. Many teachers, spiritual
leaders, and counselors will find them useful, too.
The lessons do not represent all the
principles that need
to be taught. They are simply those that meet the criteria
of being quick to teach with common objects at the level
of understanding of most school-age children.
The highest kinds of learning are in
symbols, not
words, and easy-to-understand objects can symbolize
many hard-to-understand truths. Common objects have
long been used to make clear the unfamiliar. These
lessons, therefore, use the concrete to support the
abstract.
You do not need to know all the answers to use
these lessons. Just set the stage and tickle the children
with these concepts, which their Inner Teacher can mold
into perfect understanding.
Throughout the book I have tried to be as
nondenominational as possible. Although I use words such
as God, Spirit, Source, the Creator, and Inner Teacher,
please realize that these words are only labels.
Language attempts to define what is indefinable. These
words are attempts to describe what each of us knows
in our hearts, our souls. Let these words mean whatever
your beliefs are. Feel free to change them to suit
your beliefs.
You needn't be in full agreement with this book, but
if the ideas trigger your thinking and give you other
ideas for teaching truths that are meaningful to you, the
book will have served its purpose.
How to Use This Book
"Brain research shows that 83 percent of what we
learn is
through seeing and doing." —Dr. Edward
de Bono
The best formula for using these lessons is KISS (Keep
It
Short and Simple). Short and simple makes for a more
lasting impression. Children's minds really don't need a
lot of words and explanations. Adults' minds do!
There is no sequence to the lessons. Treat the book
as a smorgasbord or buffet, and pick and choose lessons
depending on your child's needs and your interests.
Watch for "teachable" moments.
These lessons are adaptable to any age group from
elementary through high school. Even if young people of
diverse age groups are hearing a lesson together, they
will "get it" at their level of understanding. That is why
I have not included scripts or explanations for specific
age levels.
Offer explanations that correspond to your child's
age and level of understanding. Since these lessons pertain
to different levels of awareness, it is OK to alter or
eliminate any that are not entirely accurate according to
your philosophy. It is much better to teach the lessons
you are excited about. This kind of enthusiasm is contagious.
With children, much more is "caught than taught."
The dialogue in the lessons is not intended to be read
directly to your child. Use it as a starting point for your
own thinking and augment it with examples familiar to
your child.
Studies show that children have greater retention
when tasks are left incomplete. So it's better to cut the
lessons short, letting them want a little more, than to
exhaust the subject and bore them. Just plan to revisit the
idea occasionally.
Most lessons can be accomplished in five minutes
or so. I suggest adding the lessons to your morning
schedule, because the mind, as well as the body, needs
to be nourished. Otherwise, use the lessons at after
school snack-time, dinnertime, or bedtime. Try to
have a regular schedule and to be consistent.
[Sample Lessons]
Seedlings... FOR THE BEGINNING LEARNER
7
We Are All Connected
MATERIALS
A variety of beads or buttons with two or four holes
(not
shanks) and a long piece of cord or string. With a group
of children, use individual strings, or each child could
add beads to one very long string.
LESSON
In this lesson the cord represents Spirit, or God, the
beads are our individuality, or our individualization of
Spirit, and the colors, shapes, and textures represent our
different personalities and appearances.
Have the children choose beads or buttons to place
on the string and a person who each bead represents,
such as Dad, Uncle Charlie, Nana, baby sister, teacher,
mail carrier, and themselves. Each bead or button should
have a different feel and look, just as each person does.
Lead the children to see that all these people have
something in common—a common thread at the center of
their being. This cord, which connects us like the string
connects all the buttons or beads, could be called Spirit.
People have many names for it, and it is at the center of
everyone. Make sure they know you are not talking
about the center of the physical body.
"It is good to look beyond the beads' colors and
shapes
or beyond people's different appearances and personalities
and to know that way inside, at the center or core of us,
we are all the same. This core is perfect and is the most
important part of us.
If we look at people as if they are like the beads with
different colors and shapes, we can feel very separate
and different from others. But if we remember that we are
all connected by the cord of Spirit, we can feel close to
others. We can choose to look for this center of perfection
within people rather than looking at just the outer person."
If appropriate, take a few minutes for the children
to still
their minds, go within, and feel that cord of love, peace,
and perfection.
SUGGESTED AFFIRMATION
"I look for the perfection in others."
***
Sprouts... FOR THE MORE ADVANCED LEARNER
28
Listening for Guidance
MATERIALS
A large bowl of water and a wooden spoon (or any large
spoon). Optional: a picture of a scene reflected in water.
Or, if possible, take the children to a lake or pond.
LESSON
Begin by discussing how it is possible to look into
a quiet
pool and see the reflection of a tree growing on its bank.
But if the water is rough or churning we lose the image.
Encourage the children to remember such a scene as you
discuss the lesson.
Pretend that the bowl is the pool and the spoon
(held vertically) is the tree. As you swish the water with
your fingers, explain that if the wind were blowing the
water or if children were splashing in it, we would be
unable to see the tree's reflection.
Explain at their level of understanding:
"We each have a guidance factor within us. Some
call it the Inner Teacher. It tries to speak to us
and give us direction, but it can be heard only if our
minds are calm and still like a very quiet pool.
" The beauty of the tree is not seen in churning
water, and
the guidance factor is not heard by a churning mind.
An overly busy mind focuses on problems. But when the
mind is made very quiet, these problems are usually
answered. A quiet mind can see beyond confusion to a
solution."
Suggest that the children frequently practice stilling
their minds so they can listen to that still, small
voice of Spirit. You could suggest meditation techniques
such as holding a word like peace or love in their minds,
staring at an object, or making a steady humming sound.
There are many, many more.
As is possible with many of these lessons, role playing
could enhance your teaching. One child might
whisper a message such as "Call home right away"
while another child busy with noisy thoughts (churning
the water) is not able to hear it.
SUGGESTED AFFIRMATION
"I still my mind and listen within for guidance."
***
Full Bloom... FOR THE EXPERIENCED LEARNER
50
Keeping Connected to Source
MATERIALS
A small table lamp, preferably without a shade; 25,
60, and 100-watt light bulbs; and an extension cord if
needed. If you don't have a lamp, draw a picture or ask
the children to use their imagination.
LESSON
Point to the outlet where the lamp is plugged in. "We
will call the outlet Source, and the lamp will be us. The
cord will be our connection to Source, our pipeline to the
pure, positive energy that flows from Source."
"The light bulb will represent the degree of our
connection to
Source, that is, the amount of positive energy flowing
through us, the level of our vibration, the amount of light
and love we are emanating."
Turn the light on with the 25-watt bulb in it. "The
pure, positive energy is always flowing into us from
Source, but with our free will we have the power to
disconnect from it. [Turn the light off.] "
'How do we break our
connection or block our energy flow? Judgment is one of
the most common ways we block the energy flowing into
our bodies. [Be careful not to judge their responses.] All
negative emotions, which stem from fear, interrupt the
flow of pure, positive energy."
Point to the lamp, which is still turned off. "Most
people are like this light bulb: existing, but not bringing
light to the world. They are still plugged into Source [show
the plug], because if they weren't their bodies would not
be alive. They have only blocked the pipeline to Source."
Ask the children how people might get the energy
flowing again. Suggest that pure love, unconditional love
for self and all others is the greatest power in the
universe. This love can break through blockages.
"Unconditional love may be too big a step for many
people, so what are some small steps these people can
take?"
"Appreciation or gratitude is one of the easiest.
If people could find gratitude for all they have, for the
people around them, and for the beauty they see, their
lights would start shining. [Turn the light on.] But
there are days when all of us become critical and selfish
and angry, and guess what? We're not shining our light
anymore. [Turn the light off.]"
While replacing the bulb with a 60-watt bulb, talk
about how there are some people who spend time each
day praying or listening for guidance from the Inner
Teacher. These people have increased their capacity for
light and love, and so their light shines really brightly.
Turn the light on.
Ask for ways people can open their hearts and show
more love (for example, seeing more good in others and
everything that occurs, trusting the Universe, feeling
more love for oneself, forgiveness, not judging others).
If it is not mentioned, bring up that service to others
is one
of the most powerful ways to keep connected to the pure
love energy that is flowing from Source.
Turn the light off and explain: "Here is the switch
of
choice. Daily we have the choice of how much of the
Creator's love and energy we want to open up to and
allow in. [Replace the 60-watt bulb with the 100-watt bulb.]
We can decide if we want to block it with negativity
or if we want to be a really powerful light on this planet.
[Turn on the 100-watt light bulb.] Notice how much
brighter this light is. It reminds me of some people on
earth who are so committed to Source and to serving
earth and its people that their light is brilliant.
That is because they keep their connection strong and
pure.
Many have a daily silent sitting, meditation, or prayer
time that keeps them tuned in to Source and their Inner
Self." Name some people in this category who they may
know about.
Go back to the plug in the outlet. Remind them that
they are always connected to Source, but they have a
choice (the switch) as to how much of the pure, positive
energy they want to allow in.
Optional: "Some people have a lot of light, but
they
keep it hidden. [Put a lampshade or a newspaper over
the light bulb.] It's important that we let our light shine
and not keep it hidden. The world is in great need of
light right now."
SUGGESTED AFFIRMATION
"I allow the energy of Spirit to flow
through me, and I
bless others every day."
Child Yoga
An affirmation concludes each lesson, so I suggest you
read this section before you begin the lessons.
Affirmations, as used in this book, are positive
statements about who we are and what we can become
or experience. They are useful as change agents... as
tools for bringing about the change we want in our
thinking and experience.
This change is our belief about ourself. We need to
bring our self-awareness into harmony with the
divine perfection that already exists within us.
Our beliefs are stored in the subconscious area
of our mind. It is made up of emotions, fears, doubts,
actual happenings, and the accepted opinions of others.
It accepts negative thoughts just as easily as it accepts
positive thoughts, and it creates what we feel is true for
us. Here is where the tool of using affirmations comes in.
Affirmations can help us counteract some of the negatives
we've told ourselves or accepted from others .Because we
are spirit, we are, in essence, perfect. We have a right
to call forth that perfection.
Affirmations work very rapidly with young children,
because they are closer to the truth about themselves.
They have not had as many years of brainwashing as
have most adults.
We adults have unconsciously used
negative affirmations most of our lives, bringing about
many unwanted conditions. We affirm negatively
when
we say, "I can't do this," "I'm so tired," "I
think
I'm getting sick," "I'm such a slow reader," "I'm
lousy
at spelling," or "My memory is poor."
Usually this kind of affirming,or self-negation,
is carried on silently in our "self-talk,"
that steady
stream of internal verbalization.
Most anything we really want to change about ourselves
can be changed by using positive declarations or
affirmations. They help counteract the bombardment of
self-inflicted put-downs we experience throughout the day.
Affirmations clothed with feeling have the power to
impregnate our subconscious minds through the process
of osmosis, such as a stalk of celery that turns red when
it sits in red-colored water and absorbs it. Other useful
analogies are in the lesson "The Power of Affirmations."
Affirmations must be believable to our conscious
minds before they will be fully accepted by our
subconscious mind.The subconscious part of our minds has
formative power. That is, it will give form to what we feel
is true for us now. It is the feelings, not the words, that
give rise to the form.
Suggestions for Forming Affirmations
Make the affirmation personal by using "I,"
or "My," or
your name. Powerful affirmations begin with "I am."
"I can" affirmations are also very effective.
Word your affirmation as if you have already made
the change you want to make, as if you are already the
kind of person you want to be.
Use present tense, because future tense can destroy
the value of an affirmation. The subconscious mind is
very literal, and if your affirmation is worded to take
place in the future, it will always be in the future. Avoid
"I will . . . ," "I am getting . . . ," and similar
statements.
Your affirmation should indicate that you have
achieved the result, not that you are "growing into it."
Affirmations work best if accompanied by a mental
picture. It is easier to picture an accomplished fact than
a vague process of growth.
Your affirmation should describe the attitudes you
wish to cultivate and not what you want to move away
from. Use positives, not negatives. Instead of "I don't lose
my temper," say, "I am even-tempered."
Do not compare yourself with others in your affirmation,
such as "I can write as well as Susan." Focus on
yourself: "I express myself clearly."
Be specific as to the exact level you want to achieve:
"I can swim three laps of the pool," or, "I play this
week's
piano lesson perfectly."
Inject feeling words into your affirmations to give
them an emotional charge: "I enjoy doing math," or, "I
am
proud of my computer skills."
Suggestions for Using Affirmations
The most important affirmations for children are those
that build their self-esteem. Self-esteem is the foundation
of joyful, successful lives. Many parents and teachers
teach their small children to use the magic words
"I like myself." Such words foster friendliness and
cooperation, because we must first like ourselves in
order to like others.
Encourage the children to use these magic words
three times when they wake up and when they're about
to go to sleep in order to counteract the bombardment of
put-downs from self and others that they may experience
throughout the day.
Older children can use "I feel warm and loving
toward myself" or "I love myself totally and completely."
The self referred to is the Higher Self, and these
words mean that the children are affirming the Spirit
within them.
I urge you to use affirmative prayer before you
begin the day's object lesson. Before coming together
with the children, write or say something like, "The
minds and hearts of these children are open to receive
the lesson at their levels of understanding."
Affirmations impress our subconscious mind most
powerfully if they are used when we are in a very
relaxed state, such as falling asleep, waking up, or
meditating. That is why many parents speak affirmations
softly to their children while they are falling asleep.
That is also why negative thoughts held at such times
can do so much damage. For this reason, you may wish
to make sure that your children don't fall asleep while
listening to the radio or television.
The formative subconscious mind is very receptive
to detailed visualization, so a mental picture accompanying
the affirmation is extremely effective. A strong
picture can be worth a thousand words.
The more joyous the emotion you attach to the
affirmation, the more effective the affirmation will be.
Feelings, both negative and positive, have formative
power.
Repetition is another key to successful affirming.
Use it many times each day. Display the affirmation in
several places as a helpful reminder and change the
places frequently.
The more senses you involve, the more power you
will add to your affirmation. For rapid results, I
recommend writing it, speaking it, chanting it,
singing it, and dancing it.
Epilogue
Now that you've read this far, you've absorbed a lot
of
universal principles—principles that work, just like
gravity, whether we believe in them or not.
I feel that many young children intuitively know
these truths, but they need parental support in fully
remembering them. Consider creating a family support
group around these ideas.
Each week at a family meeting, select
one lesson to focus on for the following week.
You may choose it as a group, or each member may take
a turn choosing one, or you may simply open the book at random.
During the week give thought to that principle or
exercise. Look for examples of it working in your life or
in others'. Decide together what else seems appropriate
to do with that lesson. Share questions, concerns, and
examples at the next meeting.
You may even wish to have a daily five-minute support
group around a lesson at the start of the day or at
the dinner table. Support each other in remembering
the principle, and then say the affirmation together.
The support might sound like this: "(Name), we unconditionally
love you and support you in remembering (that your
words have power)." Say this in unison with loving
eye contact. Then tailor the affirmation as needed and
say it together in unison also.
The more your children are reminded that there are
spiritual and mental laws at work in this world and that
through them they create their experience, the less they
will feel the victim of circumstance. They will have more
control over their lives, a feeling of oneness with others,
and inner joy.
They will not so easily succumb to anxiety
and fear, the two tremendous blocks to learning and to
joy. Fear is usually False Evidence Appearing Real. The
more our children understand the higher truths, the less
they'll be affected by the false evidence that has seeped
into mass consciousness and appears so real. Also, the
more they'll be able to tap into joy—the energy of love
that is their birthright.
Let's keep reminding our children that they are not
just the forms we see, the body, but multidimensional
spiritual beings here to enjoy a physical experience.
It is our duty to turn them within to their Inner Teacher
so that they might get clear about their purpose here and
the desires of their heart and then to offer them the
tools—the universal principles—to create their heart's
desires. When head and heart are in alignment, they'll
know joy.
Afterword
Albert Einstein was once asked
what's the most important question
that a human being needs to answer?
He responded,
"Is the universe a friendly place or not?"
It is intended that the preceding lessons will help
children
understand that this is an orderly and benevolent
universe. As these lessons are modeled and discussed,
our children will indeed see this as a friendly place
because it responds to the thoughts they hold in mind.
The state of the world is a collective state of mind.
As our children understand the creative power of their
thoughts as well as the other universal principles, they
will be playing a part in healing our world.
And please remember, our modeling is more important
than any lesson. We must embody the consciousness
we want for them.
About the Author
Peggy J. Jenkins, Ph.D., has authored three other highly
acclaimed parent/teacher-education books: Art for the
Fun of It, The Magic of Puppetry, and The Joyful Child:
A Sourcebook of Activities and Ideas for Releasing
Children's Natural Joy. The latter received a Golden
Balloon Award at the United Nations from the World
Children's Day Foundation, a branch of UNICEF, for the
book's contribution to the well-being of children.
Dr. Jenkins is founder and president of Joyful
Child, Inc., a not-for-profit organization serving parents
and teachers. In 1989 she started Joyful Child Journal,
a national magazine offering educational and inspirational
articles for parents and teachers as well as
values-based stories for children.
Currently Dr. Jenkins trains facilitators for Joyful
Child parenting classes across the country. It is her goal
to have such classes available in every state, thus helping
to create the needed shift in consciousness toward
children. She is planning a level-two course based on
this book.
Her formal education includes an M.Ed. in early
childhood education and a Ph.D. in adult education. She
is the mother of a son and a daughter and has two
young grandchildren. She currently resides in Phoenix,
Arizona.
For information on her books, tapes, other materials,
or the magazine, contact Joyful Child, Inc., P.O. Box
54476, Phoenix, AZ 85078.
***
This book was published by:
Beyond Words Publishing, Inc.
443 NE Airport Road
Hillsboro, OR 97124
1-800-284-9673
Our corporate mission
INSPIRE TO INTEGRITY
Our declared values:
We give to all of life as life has given us.
We honor all relationships.
Trust and stewardship are integral
to fulfilling dreams.
Collaboration is essential to create miracles.
Creativity and aesthetics nourish the soul.
Unlimited thinking is fundamental.
Living your passion is vital.
Joy and humor open our hearts to growth.
It is important to remind ourselves of love.
Our promise to our customers:
We will provide you with the highest quality books
and related products that meet or exceed your expectations.
As our customer, you will be satisfied with your purchase
and will receive your order promptly, or we will
refund your money.
This inspired book is a "must have" for anyone caring for children! Pete
What
We Teach Our Children
by
Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science
We teach our children that God is Life...
the Life within each of them and in all Creation; that all are children
of the one God... regardless of race, color or
creed... and therefore all are brothers and sisters.
We teach that God can be called Divine Being, Being, Buddha Nature, Divine
Presence, Great Spirit, Goddess, Holy Spirit, Brahma, Higher Power, or
Love.
The name we use for the Higher Power in our lives is not as important
as the belief in an ever present force for good.
God is Good... all Good... and we are all
created in the image of God-Good.
We teach that God is Love... that we love God because God loves us; we
obey God's laws through Love... NOT fear.
We teach that sin is a mistake and when we make mistakes, we are punished
by them... not by God.
We teach that God is spirit and present everywhere... that this Spirit
is within us and speaks to us through our minds when we are willing to
listen.
We teach that there are Spiritual Laws that must be obeyed... just as
we obey man-made laws.
We teach that religion is something to be used every day... not just on
our chosen day of worship whether it is Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays.
We teach that a person's spiritual practice can be used at home, at school
and at play; that since God is within us, Heaven is also within us; that
if we learn to live our lives in harmony with God's Laws, we live in Heaven...
NOW.
We teach that God's Love heals our sickness and hurt... if we believe.
We teach that God is Truth and Beauty... Peace and harmony; that as we
grow to be more like God, being better reflections of God, our lives will
be filled with Health, Happiness and Success.
We teach that:
"NOTHING IS TOO WONDERFUL TO HAPPEN; NOTHING IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.
EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE TO GOD THROUGH ME AND YOU."
D. Quigley
5 Basic Unity Principles for Children
1. God is all good and active in everything, everywhere.
2. I am naturally good because God's Divinity is in me and in everyone.
3. I create my experiences by what I choose to think and what I feel and believe.
4. Through affirmative prayer and meditation, I connect with God and bring out the good in my life.
5. I do and give my best by living the Truth I know. I make a difference!
Older student (6-12)
looking outward, interest in exploring the world.
From the Oahspe Bible:
At six years of age, they were entered as apprentices to labor, devoting half an hour daily to knitting, or sewing, or working with tools, giving them an opportunity of manifesting their best adaptation.
At six years of age, they were also taught for half an hour one evening in the week to sit in the sacred circle for angel communion, that they might become conversant with angels, seeing them, and hearing them discourse on heavenly things. Here they were taught praying in concert, and the order of praise to Jehovih [Almighty God] and His creations.
And the angels appeared amongst them, oft carrying them in their arms, and otherwise demonstrating the tangibility of the presence of the spirits of the dead.
And the children were delighted, often giving thanks unto Jehovih and praise for His everlasting heavens.
Now was also the time that many of them began to manifest su'is, being capable of seeing and hearing angels whilst in normal condition, and also of seeing and hearing corporeal things miles away, and without their corporeal eyes and ears.
This, then, is after the manner of their angel communion, to wit: The
sacred circles were composed of sixty-six children, seven teachers and
one chieftainess.
The chieftainess sat in the midst, and was representative of the Light,
repeating from the words of Jehovih or His Ambassadors. And the responses
were by the children, and by the angels, and many of them were after this
manner, to wit:
Chieftainess: I am the Light and the Life; My creations are for the joy and glory of My Sons and Daughters.
Response: All Light is Jehovih; let His Sons and Daughters rejoice in Him.
Proclaim Him with great joy; shout with glee in the house of the Almighty!
C.: To show them the glory of My love, and the wide dominions I created for their everlasting inheritance, I send My holy angels from My kingdoms on high.
R.: Who shall fathom the inventions of Jehovih, and the foundation of His love! He provided His holy angels to come down from the skies, the light and joy of His everlasting heavens.
He fashioned a way for the soul of man to live forever; from the resting-place of the spirits of the dead, He bringeth them in the Voices of His love.
C.: I have swallowed up death in victory; the pain of the parting, betwixt the living and the dead, I have bridged over with Mine own hand, for the joy of My chosen.
R.: Greater than life, greater than death, is the Almighty; with His own hand He handleth them as toys; by His breath bloweth He away all terrors.
He provided us a life on the earth to learn earthly things; death was His invention to adapt us to His imperishable heavens.
Glory be to Jehovih on high; glory for His beloved angels who come to bless us.
Sing unto the Almighty, O ye little ones; His eye guardeth over you; His hand reacheth to the uttermost places.
C.: The earth is My paradise; the songs of My beloved reach up to My realms in the skies.
R.: Proclaim the Creator to the ends of the world; to His children He gave the earth as a paradise.
Sing a song of gladness unto the Almighty; with the harp and the horn, and with the voices of His beloved, mete out praise forever!
Let us praise Him; let us adore Him; the Almighty hath given us loves on the earth and loves in heaven.
Shout unto Him in love; be outspoken to the Almighty; He answereth in fair fields and plenteous harvests. He filleth the air with sweet perfumes; the color of the fields and forests are records of His skill.
Now, during the chanting, the angels came and joined audibly in the response, and often took on the semblance of corporeal forms and walked about within and without the sacred circle, and, at times, spake a few words of greeting and joy in Jehovih's name.
At six years of age, the children were entered in the school of oratory,
and also given the signs and graces of unspoken words by means of gestures.
And, now, they began to take part in theatricals and operatic performances.
For such purposes these two houses were provided with angel chambers adjoining
the stages, and during the performances the angels came in sar'gis, [physical
form] also taking parts in the operas, ascending and descending before
the audiences, singing and speaking audibly, so all could hear them.
Many of the plays and operas were composed and prepared by the angels, who also gave directions how to put the pieces on the stage. And in some of the pieces there were, of the children and angels combined, more than three hundred performers on the stage at one time.
Instead of the crude and loud-sounding horns and hideous instruments, as used by the Uzians [the worldly] for their operas, the opera here was provided with an organ of full power, and with instruments of delicacy and sweetness, so that the most refined ear should not be shocked or pained by any crude or disgusting noise, so common in the Uzian orchestras.
Now, as to the plays, whether in the opera or in the theatre, they varied on different nights, as to being adapted to young children, or to older ones, or to adults. But, for the most part, the plays and operas pertained to illustrations embracing a life on earth and an entrance into the lower heavens, showing also the part in real life which angels of purity take in guarding and advising mortals, by inspiration, to righteousness, and also showing how drujas [evil spirits] inspire mortals to sensual things and to wickedness.
So, that the plays required the presence of angels, to illustrate their parts in the affairs of mortal; and every play was made a lesson and sermon on life, so simple a child could understand them and apply the instructions to their own soul.
Herein, then, was the difference betwixt the plays and operas in Shalam, [A community gathered to create Heaven on Earth.] as compared with plays and operas with the Uzians: With the latter, they apply to the lives and adventures of mortals, and to histories of mortal affairs and occurrences wrapt up in inexplicable causes; but the plays and operas with the Faithists, in Shalam, illustrated the same things by showing the causes that govern and control mortals by spirit-presence.
So that (for example), were it necessary to exhibit a drunkard on the stage, it was also shown how the drunkard was surrounded by dark spirits (drujas), who inspired him to his course; and also was exhibited the struggle of his guardian angels to save him, showing thus how the choice lay with himself as to who he would serve, satan or Jehovih.
In the simple plays, where the children took their parts at first, they were taught without books, by repeating after their teachers.
And here was a new school, not known amongst the Uzians; which was, to learn by hearing words spoken, to repeat them. First, they practiced with half a dozen words, then with a dozen words, then with two dozen, then four dozen, and so on. And it came to pass, in a little while, many of the children could repeat whole chapters, by simply hearing the words spoken once.
Tae said: Here, first of all, began to manifest that clearness of mind resulting from an herbivorous diet which was and is wholly unknown amongst the Uzians.
Tae said: And Jehovih further blessed our children in su'is, so that many of them who had not yet been taught to read, could lay a hand on a printed page, and repeat it word for word.
Tae said: And their little playmates, hearing them, could repeat the same things. And some of them would hold a sealed letter in their hands, and read it word by word; so that dissemblance and secrecy were become as a farce before Jehovih's children.
Jehovih said: Let the order of the labor of My little ones be increased;
one half hour a day at six years of age, one hour a day
at eight years, two hours at twelve, and three hours at fourteen.
Nevertheless, these thou shalt temper according to their strength and
inclination, making labor itself a delightful pastime.
And it was so; all avocations were as a change from one amusement to another. And so great were their capacities to comprehend all things, that, at the age of fourteen, they were master of all trades and occupations.
And, of the first thousand children that reached fourteen years, scarce one could be found but was master of horticulture, agriculture (with botany), engineering, surveying, landscape gardening, architecture and general mechanics. They knew how to make shoes, hats, clothing (also spinning and weaving cloth), the mathematics of musical instruments; and they were musicians as well.
Tae said: Though they lacked the age and strength of full-grown men and women, yet they had attained to practical knowledge, the like of which had never been known to any adults in all the world. Scarcely anything was known that they could not make, or describe how it should be made.
And yet, in all things, scarcely any part had been taught them
by means of books, but by practical observations and by illustrations
and actual measurements.
Jehovih hath said: By My spirit, I move infants to ask questions; answer
ye them, and, behold, they shall become as Gods. For this is a door I
opened with Mine own hand; whoso answereth them not, shutteth the door
against knowledge, and ill-useth My loves.
Majority (14)
...age of reason. The Christ Child will be an adult and will begin His or Her mission on earth.
And I will emancipate them from infancy [childhood]
at fourteen years of age; and bestow upon them the rights of [adult] man
and woman, in their thoughts, words, deeds, choice and actions. Throwing
upon them, at that age, their responsibility unto Thee, [Jehovih, Almighty
God] for their thoughts, words, ideas, behavior, as fully as I claim the
same unto mine own self. Oahspe Bible
Christ Child born of an Immaculate Conception...
"The flow of destiny is yours to change."
1Creation of the Superman by Dr. Raymond Bernard
2Survival into the 21st Century by Viktoras Kulvinskas
3 Maria Montessori; Her Life And Work by E. M. Standing
4Healthy Children... Mother Nature's Way by Ann Wigmore, D.D., N.D.
