tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10478886064911706842024-03-14T09:12:30.607+01:00SharingKarin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-88456124649265276812021-11-06T07:09:00.001+01:002022-10-11T07:10:39.126+02:00My first online course offerin<p> </p><table class="wsite-not-footer" id="blogTable" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; table-layout: fixed; width: 1120px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><div class="blog-body" id="643228141845505655-blog" style="float: left; width: 860px;"><div id="wsite-content"><div class="blog-post" id="blog-post-728783633576572726" style="position: relative; zoom: 1;"><div class="blog-header" style="border: none !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px !important; width: 860px;"><h2 class="blog-title" style="border: none !important; font-family: Actor !important; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 48px !important; margin: 0px 0px 10px !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px !important;"><br /></h2></div><div class="blog-content" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;"><div><div class="wsite-multicol" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><div class="wsite-multicol-table-wrap" style="margin: 0px -15px;"><table class="wsite-multicol-table" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; table-layout: fixed; width: 890px;"><tbody class="wsite-multicol-tbody"><tr class="wsite-multicol-tr"><td class="wsite-multicol-col" style="border: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 15px; vertical-align: top; width: 272.594px;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/karin-coaching-ostetrica-project-crop-3_orig.jpeg" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></td><td class="wsite-multicol-col" style="border: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 15px; vertical-align: top; width: 557.406px;"><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: black;">Dear friends and family,</span><br /><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">As you know, I postponed my first </span><u><em style="position: relative;"><a href="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/babys-basic-needs.html" style="font-weight: 600; transition: opacity 300ms ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #143ee4; font-size: medium;">online course offering</span></a></em></u><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> * until AFTER the free Montessori conference starting next week. There are currently almost </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">10,000 people registered for the conference! To look over the speakers and topics and to register, click </span><a href="https://childhoodpotential.com/?a_box=g8gqwp34&a_cam=1" style="font-weight: 600; transition: opacity 300ms ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2440e3; font-size: medium;">here</span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">I filmed my presentation with a beautiful six-month-old baby who agreed to help me. You will see that this baby has the confidence to explore her world, engages with others and has developed deep concentration. She feels satisfied and secure in life and is off to a really good start.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">She is a very lucky baby because her mom has read </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em style="position: relative;">the Newborn with Love, </em></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">a book</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"> written by Grazia Honegger Fresco, which is unfortunately only available in Italian (</span></span>we hope to get it translated as soon as possible, if you have a publisher in mind who might be interested please let me know<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">), and having an AMI 3-6 diploma, she knows how important it is to observe without intervening and to make sure the environment is set up specifically for baby's needs.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">My presentation will be available for free on Wednesday November 17, streamed for 24 hours. If you purchase the Lifetime Pass you can watch my talk and the entire conference anytime you wish. Follow <a href="https://childhoodpotential.com/?a_box=g8gqwp34&a_cam=1" style="font-weight: 600; transition: opacity 300ms ease-in-out 0s;">this link</a> to purchase the Lifetime Pass and </span></span><span style="color: #801900;"><span style="font-size: small;">Montessori for Life Non-profit</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"> will receive a part of your payment. If you wish to let others know about my talk and this conference, give </span></span>them the link below<br /><em style="position: relative;"><a href="https://childhoodpotential.com/?a_box=g8gqwp34&a_cam=1" style="font-weight: 600; transition: opacity 300ms ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #196ad4; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">https://childhoodpotential.com/?a_box=g8gqwp34&a_cam=1</span></span></a></em><br />and<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"> help us raise funds for our future projects.</span></span><br /><br /><em style="position: relative;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">* I changed the name of the course from “the Second Embryonic Life” to the "Basic Needs of Babies".</span></em></div><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/screen-shot-2021-11-06-at-12-47-58_orig.png" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">The course “The Basic Needs of Babies” will now start January 4, 2022. Hope to see some of you in the workshop (limited spaces) where we can work together in seven online meetings that accompany the self-paced online course. If you have any questions you can email me.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Warm wishes to all in this month of Thanksgiving,</span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Karin</span></span></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-187545617743438482020-09-02T07:06:00.001+02:002022-10-11T07:08:09.393+02:00Chiaravalle, Wednesday Sept. 2 - Book Presentation: The Montessori Alphabet. Words that can change the World<p> </p><table class="wsite-not-footer" id="blogTable" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; table-layout: fixed; width: 1120px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><div class="blog-body" id="643228141845505655-blog" style="float: left; width: 860px;"><div id="wsite-content"><div class="blog-post" id="blog-post-561840869249572718" style="position: relative; zoom: 1;"><div class="blog-header" style="border: none !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px !important; width: 860px;"><p class="blog-comments" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; float: right; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 4px !important;"><a class="blog-link" href="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/blog/chiaravalle-wednesday-sept-2-the-montessori-alphabet-words-that-can-change-the-world#comments" style="font-weight: 600; transition: opacity 300ms ease-in-out 0s;"><br />0 Comments</a></p></div><div class="blog-separator" style="border: none; clear: both; font-size: 2px; height: 2px; margin: 0px auto 30px; padding-top: 2px;"> </div><div class="blog-content" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;"><span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/editor/628-alfabeto-montessori.jpg?250" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.13); margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 14.4px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: -10px; text-align: center;"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">This book presentation is tonight's venue at the Teatro Valle. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend. Elena Balsamo will be presenting her newest book: the Montessori Alphabet, which has just come out and is written in Italian (</span></strong>Alfabeto Montessori. Le parole che possono cambiare il mondo, Leone Verde).<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Elena Balsamo is a "holistic" pediatrician, specialist in the care of the person in the first months of life, expert in perinatal issues and three times a mother. Her life is dedicated to supporting the mother-child relationship, especially in the period of pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, and to understanding the experiences of the newborn, which she seeks to interpret. For many years she has been working with intercultural mothering and Montessori pedagogy. On all these issues she carries out courses for parents and professionals in the health and educational fields (bio translated from the publisher's website).</span></strong></div><hr style="clear: both; visibility: hidden; width: 860px;" /><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">"A two-part dialogue, in which the author's poetic style alternates and mixes with Montessori's more technical-pedagogical style. Reflections, practically "daily meditations", to understand the most important, innovative and lesser known aspects of Maria Montessori's thought and vision, aspires to establish, above all else, that spiritual contact with Montessori that Maria used to make with the child and with her audience." (from the program MM150 Maria Montessori, Ritorno a Casa).<br /><br />Some of her other books (in Italian, I've translated the title here) are:<ul style="list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Cara mamma. Spunti per una maternita' consapevole <strong>(Dear mamma. Hints for a conscious maternity)</strong></li><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Compagni di viaggio, Come adulti e bambini insieme possono aiutarsi a guarire <strong>(</strong><strong>Traveling companions, How adults and children can help each other heal)</strong></li><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">L'alfabeto del bambino naturale<strong> (The Alphabet of the Natural Child)</strong></li><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Sono qui con te. L'arte del maternage <strong>(I'm here with you. The art of maternity)</strong></li><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Nato prima del tempo. Sacralità della nascita e accoglienza amorevole al neonato prematuro<strong> (Born before your time. The sacred nature of birth and a loving welcome for the newborn)</strong></li><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Girotondo intorno al mondo <strong>(Circle around the World)</strong> rhymes about baby wearing in the different cultures of the world</li><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Il latte della mamma sa di fragola <strong>(Momma's milk smells like strawberries)</strong> a story book to read with your child to remember the sweet time during which he or she was breastfed</li></ul></div></div><div class="blog-social " style="line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 10px; position: relative;"><br /></div><div class="blog-post-separator"></div></div><div class="blog-post" id="blog-post-937345583199514322" style="position: relative; zoom: 1;"><div class="blog-header" style="border: none !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px !important; width: 860px;"><h2 class="blog-title" style="border: none !important; font-family: Actor !important; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 48px !important; margin: 0px 0px 10px !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px !important;"><a class="blog-title-link blog-link" href="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/blog/the-chiaravalle-cigarette-factory-lady-workers-could-this-be-the-origin-of-montessoris-feminism" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Chiaravalle Cigarette Factory Lady Workers: could this be the origin of Montessori's feminism?</a></h2><p class="blog-comments" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; float: right; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 4px !important;"><br /></p></div><div class="blog-content" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;"><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/sigaraie_orig.jpg" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/sig-factory.jpg?1599038655" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">I had to see this cigarette factory with my own two eyes. As we know, we learn and absorb real impressions through doing, "Io imparo facendo". Watching a film, reading a book, listening to a lecture, these are all cognitive and virtual in that they enter our consciousness through the mind and not through the body. Montessori emphasized how the child learns through <strong>'doing'</strong>, but in reality it is the same for every person at every stage of life: we all learn best through <strong>'doing'</strong>. Everything we learn through the cognitive channels, we are <em style="position: relative;">only </em>taking it in through the mind, and it is at risk of being lost when the cognitive memories are compromised, during the last "developmental" stage of life, and the loss of declarative memory. This is for another blog... but this transgression is simply saying: I wanted to be there, go to the facotry, and take it in through my own senses, log an experience - after all of the talk about it. <br /><br />The film we had seen the evening prior had shown the history of the factory and it's vital importance to the town since 1759 when it was opened. The director had found historical footage of the women working there and rolling the tobacco leaves. Each employee was gifted 25 packs of cigarettes each month as part of their payment.<br /><strong>The workers were all women, and so the town of Chiaravalle, where Maria absorbed reality and incarnated her culture and personality up through the age of 3, women had work as laborers, they were an economic force in town.</strong><br />Every morning the town's women walked to work down the street built in 1870 to connect the town to the factory and it was named: "Boulevard of the Lady Cigarette Workers". The women of Chiaravalle were empowered by their economic independence. And Montessori's father, Alessandro, was the government employee who oversaw the factory's finances and state income from it. You can see in the photo below what his car would look like if he were working there today!<br /><br />And below is a link in Italian to an archive<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="height: 10px; overflow: hidden;"></div><a class="wsite-button wsite-button-small wsite-button-normal" href="http://www.chiarateca.it/azienda/4/view/risorse/26" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% -100px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 14px !important; height: auto; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 100ms ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span class="wsite-button-inner" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: inherit !important; display: inline-block; float: left; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; height: auto; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1; padding: 14px 30px; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: nowrap;">CIGARETTE FACTORY HISTORY ARCHIVE LINK</span></a><div style="height: 10px; overflow: hidden;"></div></div><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/manifattura-tabacchi.jpg?1599039571" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/dal-1759.jpg?1599039653" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-58956736968554345462020-08-31T06:58:00.001+02:002022-10-11T06:59:12.203+02:00 The Tobacco Factory - How Montessori's Parents Met<p> </p><table class="wsite-not-footer" id="blogTable" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; table-layout: fixed; width: 1120px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><div class="blog-body" id="643228141845505655-blog" style="float: left; width: 860px;"><div id="wsite-content"><div class="blog-post" id="blog-post-729614512153689720" style="position: relative; zoom: 1;"><div class="blog-header" style="border: none !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px !important; width: 860px;"><h2 class="blog-title" style="border: none !important; font-family: Actor !important; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 48px !important; margin: 0px 0px 10px !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px !important;"></h2></div><div class="blog-content" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;"><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/chiaravalle-bakery-3_orig.jpg" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">A morning Cappuccino at the Bakery next to Teatro Valle to begin the celebrations. Like most all cafes in Italy it is a family affair and the elderly woman comes over to clear our table. I burst out "It's Maria Montessori's birthday today!" and she smiles and acknowledges this fact. She begins to talk about how her mother worked for 45 years at the Tobacco factory just outside of town and she went to the factory childcare center, which was a Montessori program.<br /><br />Let's go back to 1870, when Maria Montessori was born. Her father had moved to Chiaravalle from Emilia, the region to the north, which today is part of Reggio Emilia. He was sent there by the Italian Ministry of Finance to oversee the finances of the state run manufacturing operations. Renilde was from the nearby town of Monte San Vito. They fell in love and married, and this Tobacco factory was the center of their life.<br /><br />The factory's history goes back to 1759, it was founded by the Benedictine Monks in an old mill as an economic activity for the monestary. In 1870 Italy was unified into a single state and the new government nationalized it and sent Alessandro Montessori there to oversee the finances. This factory was the heart of Chiaravalle, where many of the town's ladies worked and in 1870, the same year Maria was born, a boulevard was constructed from the center of town to the factory which was called "Viale delle Sigaraie" Boulevard of the Cigarettes, and in the morning and the evening the town folk went to work and came home. <br /><br />Silvana was dressed in pink, and as we talked I thought about the pink tower. She was happily reminiscing about her mother and the 45 years of work she put in in this factory, and how her aunt worked there too and she had gone to America to teach those in the American tobacco industry. She nodded yes when I asked if she remembered her experiences in the Montessori Asilo (childcare center) and she said, "I was there for all those years, while my mother worked there and I was too small to go to school." As we said good-bye and tried to pay for our breakfast she refused our money, "I'm treating today, see you tomorrow" she said.<br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-34828234543103667542020-08-31T06:55:00.003+02:002022-10-11T06:57:51.181+02:00 My Birthday Present to Montessori<p> </p><table class="wsite-not-footer" id="blogTable" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; table-layout: fixed; width: 1120px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><div class="blog-body" id="643228141845505655-blog" style="float: left; width: 860px;"><div id="wsite-content"><div class="blog-post" id="blog-post-653057234471771040" style="position: relative; zoom: 1;"><div class="blog-content" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;"><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/mm-quote-cards_orig.jpg" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">I had fun before coming to Chiaravalle making sets of cards with quotations to hand out with Montessori 150/31 Agosto 2020 printed on the other side - a little piece of memorabilia. My plan is to pass them out to those who I meet at the events and offer them a reading from the Absorbent Mind/La Mente Del Bambino of the paragraph where I cited the quote. This set of quotations is themed on the Newborn and his or her transition into life outside the womb.<br /><br />"To be forced to adapt suddenly to an environment totally different from the one in which he has been living, to be obliged to assume on the spot functions never before exercised, and to do this in the unspeakably exhausted state in which he finds himself- this is the hardest and most dramatic test in the whole of a man's life." pg. 69 Theosophical Society 2002<br /></div><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/umbrellas-in-the-piazza.jpg?1598888197" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-65684052475967186032020-08-31T06:53:00.001+02:002022-10-11T06:55:25.934+02:00A Visit Around the Town of Chiaravalle<p> </p><div class="blog-header" style="background-color: white; border: none !important; font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px !important; width: 860px;"><h2 class="blog-title" style="border: none !important; font-family: Actor !important; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 48px !important; margin: 0px 0px 10px !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px !important;"><br /></h2><p class="blog-date" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; float: left; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;"><span class="date-text" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0px 8px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 4px;">8/31/2020</span></p><p class="blog-comments" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; float: right; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 4px !important;"><a class="blog-link" href="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/blog/a-visit-around-the-town-of-chiaravalle#comments" style="font-weight: 600; transition: opacity 300ms ease-in-out 0s;">0 Comments</a></p></div><div class="blog-separator" style="background-color: white; border: none; clear: both; font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 2px; height: 2px; margin: 0px auto 30px; padding-top: 2px;"> </div><div class="blog-content" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;"><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/church-chiaravalle.jpg?1598895902" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Whiling away some time before the International premiere of the newest documentary on Montessori we explored the center of town. What did we find?<ul style="list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A professor from the University of Macerata who teaches pedagogical theory who instructed us on the importance of Montessori's studies in Anthropology and her evolutionary perspective on human development;<br /></li><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">a Cistercian Abby from 1147 in the Roman Gothic Style and the origin of the Tobacco industries in town;<br /></li><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">the Headquarters of the Chiaravalle Montessori Foundation where they offer Montessori Training<br /></li><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">the Plaza in front of Montessori's natal home, Piazza Mazzini and the town Library;<br /></li><li style="list-style: outside disc !important; margin: 3px 0px 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">and the 5:30 "Book Presentation for the Montessori Graphic Novel" Line up outside the Teatro Valle.</li><div style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/church-1.jpg?1598897861" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/piazza-in-front-of-the-house.jpg?1598896596" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/prof-macerata.jpg?1598897474" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/fcm.jpg?1598897528" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/teatro-comunale-1.jpg?1598898129" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/church-door.jpg?1598898171" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/apartment-chiaravalle.jpg?1598898201" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a></div></div></ul></div></div>Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-48053066846193292142020-08-16T07:00:00.010+02:002022-10-11T07:04:52.046+02:00Montessori's 150th Birthday Celebrations<p> </p><h2 class="blog-title" style="background-color: white; border: none !important; font-family: Actor !important; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 48px !important; margin: 0px 0px 10px !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px !important;"><div style="font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/chiarvalleprojection1_orig.jpg" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></a><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div></div></div><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Destination via Montessori (via means street) on the navigator, these were the instructions given by our AirBnB host. We find parking and walk a block to our apartment which, I'm happy to report, is directly across the street from the Teatro Valle, where all of the events are being held. The Casa Natale (the house where Maria Montessori was born) is just a few minutes walk down the street and in the heat of the Italian night we stop for a gelato on the way to pay our respects. Our host tells us that the town is projecting a slide show on the front facade of the Town Library, and the five photos they have chosen are from when she visited her home town of Chiaravalle the very last visit to Italy in 1951. Her house is behind bars due to the 2020 epidemic, because the work came to a halt and was not able to make up for the lost time. The grand opening for the new museum was supposed to be tomorrow. Somehow it feels like a metaphor. Maria Montessori, the person, is being celebrated in Italy but they haven't applied her vision to their schools. Italy has a culture that is comfortable with a vertical rather than horizontal power structure.</div><div style="font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/casa-natale-in-prison.jpg?1598824877" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%;" /></a></div></div></h2><h2 class="blog-title" style="border: none !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; font-family: Actor !important; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 48px !important; margin: 0px 0px 10px !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px !important;"><a class="blog-title-link blog-link" href="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/blog/montessori-on-the-lire-and-now-the-2-euro-coin" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: none;">Montessori on the Lire and now the 2 Euro Coin</a></h2><h2 class="blog-title" style="background-color: white; border: none !important; font-family: Actor !important; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 48px !important; margin: 0px 0px 10px !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px !important;"><div style="font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><table class="wsite-not-footer" id="blogTable" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 16px; table-layout: fixed; width: 1120px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><div class="blog-body" id="643228141845505655-blog" style="float: left; width: 860px;"><div id="wsite-content"><div class="blog-post" id="blog-post-336409866904594929" style="position: relative; zoom: 1;"><div class="blog-content" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;"><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto;"><a href="https://www.cronacanumismatica.com/i-2-euro-per-maria-montessori-nel-suo-metodo-spuntano-anche-le-monete/" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><br /><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/editor/200-lire-montessori.jpg?1598430331" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.13); margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 14.4px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: -10px; text-align: center;"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"> <br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">Maria Montessori on the front of the 200 lire coin produced in 1980, the first time her image graced Italian money. On the back side of the coin are the words:<br />"VALORIZZAZIONE DELLA DONNA"<br /><br />"DEDICATED TO WOMEN"<br /></span></div><hr style="clear: both; visibility: hidden; width: 860px;" /><span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: right; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: right; display: table; float: right; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: auto;"><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 14.4px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: -10px; text-align: center;"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br />On June 6, as the most difficult scholastic year in the history of the Italian Republic was ending, the 2 Euro coin dedicated to Maria Montessori was put on the market in honor of the 150 years since her birth. The proof version, sold in a small collectors box, was but 5000 coins, and the supply was immediately exhausted. <br /><br />There good news is there are still rolls of 25 available, "fior di conio" which means they are of a quality between the "proof" quality (the highest) and the coins made for circulation.<br /><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><br /><br /><br />She is the first and only Italian woman who was given the honor of being on a bank note. It was the final version of the 1000 lire bill.</span><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/2euro-montessori-3.jpg?250" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.13); margin: 5px 10px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative;" /></a></div><hr style="clear: both; visibility: hidden; width: 860px;" /><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/1000-lire-mm_orig.jpg" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></a></div></div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><br /></a></div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"></a><div class="blog-header" style="border: none !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px !important; text-align: left; width: 860px;"><a style="color: inherit;"></a><a style="color: inherit; text-align: center;"><div class="blog-separator" style="border: none; clear: both; display: inline !important; font-size: 2px; height: 2px; margin: 0px auto 30px; padding-top: 2px; text-align: left;"> </div></a></div><div class="blog-content" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;"><span class="imgPusher" style="display: block; float: left; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"></span><span style="clear: left; display: table; float: left; margin-top: 6px; max-width: 100%; position: relative; width: 307px;"><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" class="galleryImageBorder wsite-image" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/published/chiaravalle-road-sign.jpg?1597578363" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.13); margin: 5px 10px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 3px; position: relative;" /></a><span class="wsite-caption" style="caption-side: bottom; display: table-caption; font-size: 14.4px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: -10px; text-align: center;"></span></span><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">August 31, 2020 - Come to Chiaravalle, where she was born, so you can (virtually) join the celebrations. I will be launching this new blog over her birthday weekend with updates and reports from her hometown. Many people had planned on attending but will not be able to travel to Italy. You can join <strong>Montessori For Life</strong> for a virtual voyage to the town where she was born on her 150th birthday!<br /><br />It was the year 1870, the same year Italy became a unified State. Maria Montessori's mother went into labor and was attended at home by a midwife and a few other women, according to her father's memoir, and "despite being a long and difficult labor, the newborn seemed robust and healthy." This memoir is part of the AMI archival collection. I found this quote about her birth in the biography written by Grazia Honegger Fresco.<br /><br />The house where she lived for her first few years is now a museum with collections of her early editions of her books and a historic photo collection. And as it is under renovation, we are excited to see the transformation. <br /></div><hr style="clear: both; visibility: hidden; width: 860px;" /><div><div class="wsite-multicol" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><div class="wsite-multicol-table-wrap" style="margin: 0px -15px;"><table class="wsite-multicol-table" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; table-layout: fixed; width: 890px;"><tbody class="wsite-multicol-tbody"><tr class="wsite-multicol-tr"><td class="wsite-multicol-col" style="border: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 15px; vertical-align: top; width: 415px;"><div class="wsite-spacer" style="height: 50px;"></div><div><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative;"><div style="font-size: 14.4px;"></div><a style="color: inherit;"><img alt="Picture" src="https://www.montessori-4-life.org/uploads/1/5/4/7/15470478/editor/1936-bambino-in-famiglia.jpg?1597863192" style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: none; border-width: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></a></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div></div></h2><h2 class="wsite-content-title" style="font-family: Actor !important; font-size: 37px !important; line-height: 48px !important; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1936 edition of <br />the Child in the Family</span></h2><h2 class="blog-title" style="background-color: white; border: none !important; font-family: Actor !important; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 48px !important; margin: 0px 0px 10px !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px !important;"><div style="font-family: Birdseye, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><table class="wsite-not-footer" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 16px; table-layout: fixed; width: 1120px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><div class="blog-body" style="float: left; width: 860px;"><div class="blog-post" style="position: relative; zoom: 1;"><div class="blog-content" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;"><div class="wsite-image wsite-image-border-none " style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><a style="color: inherit;"><div class="blog-content" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;"><div class="wsite-multicol" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><div class="wsite-multicol-table-wrap" style="margin: 0px -15px;"><table class="wsite-multicol-table" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: relative; table-layout: fixed; width: 890px;"><tbody class="wsite-multicol-tbody"><tr class="wsite-multicol-tr"><td class="wsite-multicol-col" style="border: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 15px; vertical-align: top; width: 415px;"><div class="paragraph" style="color: rgb(14, 67, 97) !important; font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px auto 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2 - The Newborn</span><br />"... who experiences a more sudden and radical change in environment than the child who is born? And what kind of care has civilization created to help the newborn … this person who must undergo the most difficult adaptation, who passes suddenly from one existence to another, in being born? ... experience has revealed a terrible truth: we carry the wrongs of early infancy with us for the rest of our lives. The life of the embryo and the vicissitudes of childhood are decisive - for the health of the adult ... for the future of the human species."</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div></div></h2>Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-15908652376364657462020-06-11T12:20:00.002+02:002020-06-11T12:20:32.203+02:00What Babies Want<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://josephchiltonpearce.org/?fbclid=IwAR3YS0Ocjc19UFSjpBTu3KHD4BLltzU31SPBKuFZwNwellKNHJrROj_tPNc" target="_blank">Joseph Chilton Pearce</a> (January 14, 1926 - August 23, 2016)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ancient Encoded Wisdom</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>What Babies Want</i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">audio interview series - volume 1 (excerpt)</span></div>
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<a href="http://touchthefuture.org/">TouchtheFuture.org</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://ttfuture.org/academy/joseph-chilton-pearce/introduction-joseph-chilton-pearce?fbclid=IwAR3YjJ-ba6iDglbnYq3vEMZ-fWiTuPkJ8xE9nDWoovQFLcvskpMrVvyYxi4" target="_blank">video archive </a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I think one of the surprising things about the 21st century is coming into full awareness of what’s involved in the birth process. At one time we probably had that awareness, way back there, women just carried it in their genes, but it kind of just got lost in the shuffle, particularly in the Middle Ages and male domination and so forth. And so the rediscovery, the full dimensions of what birth means, I think has been one of the great scientific discoveries of the world, if you like.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There really is no such thing as a natural childbirth, because we are nature. What we do with childbirth is what nature is doing with childbirth. And I think we have the chance now, through all of the research and study that has been done, to seriously bring about a revolution of the type and kind of human being we have on this planet. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-weight: 700;">We have the chance to erase all forms of violence through the proper approach to pregnancy and birth and the first three years of life alone.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that is a big statement but I am convinced of it by the research that has been done and that is opening up now.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think of the work the Swedish pediatrics group has done in Sweden and the way their government has picked up their research and brought about a real revolution there in the elimination of crime and violence, saving all the great human tragedy and expense that kind of violence is. We could do the same thing here. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Research now shows very clearly that the mother's emotional state during pregnancy determines the actual shape, nature and character of the brain structure that grows in the infant; this has been established without question. All mammals follow the same pattern.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the mother is in a state of high anxiety, fear, worry, and so forth, she gives birth to an entirely different brain structure, one with much larger - what we call the old hindbrain - the survival brain, the sensory motor brain and a much reduced size of intellectual, creative brain. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is though, at every birth, nature is saying, well, ‘can we go for more intelligence or do we have to defend ourselves again?’</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fact that we know that now, we know that it makes a profound difference on the types of citizens we have in our country. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Through that then, we can simply, by serious massive support of the mother from the moment of conception on, we can bring about tremendous change - just in that support of pregnancy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then the discovery of people like Allan Schore and others that show that within the first 18 months of life the shape of the brain is literally, again, transformed or deformed by the emotional state that the mother is in in her dealings with the child. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Research and information like that, especially neuro-cardiology, the new discoveries about the brain, literally the neurostructures in the heart, and the unmediated neurostructures that connect the heart to the emotional brain and the affect this has if those connections are made, and those are the connections made at bonding or are lost, and if those connections are made you have a totally different operation in that child than if they are not made. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">James Prescott, 14 years as the head of all of child development at the National Institutes of Health turned out a study, he and his whole department, on the Roots of Violence. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He said the roots of violence are right there in the delivery room and of course we know it is also in pre-natal as much but that was not known really at that time, and the first critical year or so after birth. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we know that the result of that constant betrayal of the child, feeling betrayed by the world, we know there is a great rage factor. We know the rage factor is caused by literally hormonal imbalance in the body. If you read Allen Schore’s studies of what happens to the betrayal of the toddler is they are caught between the conflict of maintaining a relationship with the mother and the same time to trying to explore their world. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He points out that the average American mother issues a harsh prohibition against their, child’s behavior, once they get on their feet, not so long as they are in the crib, they are safe there, but once they get on their feet and start exploring the world, the average American mother issues a harsh, negative prohibition every 9 minutes that the child is in a waking state. That is they hear a constant ‘no’, ‘don’t’ from every direction, about their behavior. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the result of this is a collapse of the neurostructures in the brain that produce such things as dopamine and all of those hormones which keep us in a tranquil state. And a tremendous activation of those fight/flight hormones that put us on alert against a world we can’t trust, so that we are constantly on guard and defensive and quick, reflexive, retaliation for anything we interpret as an insult to us or a threat to us. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so you get the hindbrain, with its reflexive survival instincts accentuated and the forebrain with its reflective, intellectual, nurturing kind of intelligence suppressed by the treatment of the caretakers of that child during that critical period. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And as Allen Schore shows in the huge work of his 2,300 research citations, by golly, that this affects the infant’s behavior for the rest of his life. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-weight: 700;">And he traces all pathologies of the adolescent and the adult to that critical period between the 11th and 18th month. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); vertical-align: baseline;">And he has got massive research behind him. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Conflict between the child’s caretaker and the child’s need to build and structure and explore his world as a toddler, that conflict, profoundly affects the emotional brain itself which shows up as the rage factor and violence later in life.</b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So it is a very specific and very easily spotted biological response to treatment of the child in the earliest period.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bruce Lipton said we are just a glorified cell. When nature created a cell a billion years ago it was the most incredible creation in the universe and everything since then has just been an expansion of this cell, which is just its own brain and everything else. And he said ‘When this new life, whether human or anything else, comes into this world it has only two choices, it can expand and embrace the universe or collapse and defend against it; it can’t do both.’ </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And our children, through betrayal in their world out there, collapse into a harsh, defensive reaction against a world that they can’t trust. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So it all depends on whether or not they are met with love and unconditional love and support and nurturing by their caretakers in the first three years of life or if they feel abandoned you will have violence later on. It is a one-to-one correspondence between the two behaviors." </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">JCP - "What Babies Want" interview back cover: <i>Joseph Chilton Pearce is a well known author of many books, including Crack In the Cosmic Egg, Magical Child, Evolution's End and more recently, The Biology of Transcendence. He is an exceptional speaker on human intellignece, creativity, and learning.</i></span></span></div>
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Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-34440915462850397932020-02-01T12:27:00.002+01:002020-04-17T16:51:34.784+02:002019 Rome 0-2 International Montessori Course<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">0-2 Course participants with Paola Della Camera (CEMEA Lazio) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">and Newborn Assistant Letizia Varrone</span></div>
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Rome June 21- July 6, 2019</div>
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The course was a first attempt to recreate a learning atmosphere where the participants learned through direct experience and self discovery, rather than didactic lessons given as lectures. It was not an easy mission and we experienced many emotions about how things went. Paola Della Camera was our Italian grandmother, our Nonna, who had us put down our notebooks several times a week and led us in CEMEA activities that felt like going to Montessori summer camp. CEMEA was described in the article "Reflections on the activities of independent discovery in the first two years of life" in a previous blog found <a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2018/" target="_blank">here</a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">"The preparation of the social climate was important to create a safe non-judgmental space where every form of comparison and competition was eliminated, helping the participants <i>confront and eliminate the primary obstacle in human relations: continuous judgement." GHF</i></b></div>
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The video created by one of our participants opens with Rosa Maria Muzzarelli talking about meeting Adele Costa Gnocchi. Minnie (Rosa Maria) and Letizia offered us a view into the original Scuola Assistenza all'Infanzia and what they learned from their teachers Anna Di Palermo and Rita Carusi. The newborn is the most difficult to understand since you have to learn to read behavioral communications, not just which cry you are hearing and what it means - but how autonomic movements and reflexes indicate stress and over stimulation. </div>
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The opening audio of the video:</div>
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<i>Miss Costa Gnocchi would call every new student into her office and tell her "sit there, now I'm going to ask you some questions" and she would ask: "What do you do? What don't you do? What have you studied? Are you interested in the Child?" And she would continuously say, "You must observe, that's what you have to do, observe."</i></div>
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Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-26831336162604487682019-10-31T10:24:00.003+01:002019-11-01T23:26:50.335+01:00Are 0-3 materials Montessori materials?<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Question: what is the origin of the materials that are in Montessori 0-3 Training Albums?</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Juneau Montessori toddler classroom shelf</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On many occasions I have said "The Montessori materials for 0-3..." to the folks at Centro Nascita Montessori and they look confused, "but Montessori did not develop these materials. The Montessori materials are those that she developed for the Casa dei Bambini." To these pedagogues, Montessori's materials are in a different category. The 0-3 materials came after and were developed by Adele Costa Gnocchi's students (Adele Costa Gnocchi was one of Montessori's students from her 1909 course.) From 1947 to her death in 1952 she was in contact with Adele Costa Gnocchi but she was not living in Italy, and while the study was being done for the youngest children and the newborn, she was not directly involved.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">That said, it is all just semantics, after all, which words we choose to use... </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">But we <i>are</i> so very careful with the words we use because we know that words reflect culture and carry meaning in and of themselves, so we do want to be attentive with words and clear about why we have chosen them. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">For example, we are very careful in Montessori circles not to say "toilet training" because, though we <i>train</i> (conditioned experience, think Pavlov) puppies to use the newspaper and then later to go outside, we offer a learning experience to children. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">But isn't it interesting that we are so careful not to say it regarding babies who are learning to pee in the toilet but we use it almost 100% of the time for us adults in most every context. We go to trainings to learn. We have a training center where we get a diploma. We are trainers, those who teach others. Is it disrespectful to say "we are getting a Montessori training" because it has a different context than "we are learning about ourselves and how we can work with children in a respectful way"? Are we being 'trained' (conditioned) or are we 'learning something through our own direct experiences' like learning to use the toilet is for a young child?.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">So I've been 'trained' here in Italy not to say "Montessori materials" for 0-3. They are simply not her personal inventions. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 400;">But who did invent them?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My understanding from reading the testimonial by Gianna Gobbi and Rita Carusi on page 116 of the book <i>Radici nel Futura: La vita di Adele Costa Gnocchi</i> (Roots for the future: the life of Adele Costa Gnocchi, by Grazia Honegger Fresco):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">During the 10 years that the Montessori Assistants to Infancy School (<i>la Scuola Assistente all'Infanzia Montessori, </i>AIM) was Adele Costa Gnocchi's "Training Center" (before it became a government run program) they created, all of the students, a selection of materials that were designed and invented and then could be experimented with, under the direct supervision of Adele Costa Gnocchi. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>"Fin dagli inizi fu assai formativo per le allieve imparare a progettare e a costruire gli oggetti..." </i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"From the beginning it was an important part of the formative experience as students to learn how to design (progettare) and build (costruire) materials based on what we were observing" and </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>"andavano studiati...</i>"</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"they had to be studied" meaning the clothes, the furniture, the toys (all of the diverse aspects of the material environment) had to be understood based on the aim of the child's direct use of them rather than based on the practicality of the adults needs, as was the general custom at the time (and still today in the commercial offerings).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the footnote to the sentence I summarized above goes into more detail about how they had invented many materials after 10 years of working on them (the students at the Scuola AIM), it seems that in particular, Laura Bolasco, under Adele's direct supervision, designed various small pieces of furniture and diverse wooden materials based on "the creative efforts of all of the students" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>"piccoli mobili e numerosi oggetti, sopratutto in legno, particolarmente studiati per i primi tre anni di vita. Non tutelati da brevetto, vennero facilmente imitati e rivenduti ad alto prezzo negli stati uniti, sotto altra... paternita'!"</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"small furniture e various objects, mostly made out of wood, and carefully designed for the first three years of life. Not being protected by a patent, they were easily imitated and sold at high prices in the United Stat</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">es, by another ... lineage!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the article "the Cosmic task of the youngest children" also by Grazia Honegger Fresco, recently published and available online through the link below, you can find this excerpt where she talks about inventing materials.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.journalofmore.org/articles/10.16993/jmre.10/" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #196ad4; font-weight: 400;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">www.journalofmore.org/articles/10.16993/jmre.10/</span></a></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Just
after receiving my diploma from the School AIM, I began working at the<i>
Scuoletta </i>at<i>
</i>Palazzo
Taverna in Rome, directed by Signorina Costa Gnocchi (as everyone
called her). I was working with 10 children between the ages of 14
and 30 months. We soon realized that the children between one and two
needed something more. At one point in 1949 or 1950, I don't remember
precisely, I started to create materials that were made specifically
to meet the need that I saw emerging intensely in the youngest ones.
These materials were designed to respond to the passion for the
in-and-out activities that the children, driven to find the many
spaces into which they might insert different kinds of objects, and do it in
all possible variations.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The
first piece I built was a large dowel with rings. I made it by
attaching the end of a broomstick to a wooden disk (six inches in
diameter and three quarters of an inch thick). I put three wooden
curtain rings on the dowel. It was very successful: the children
would carry it around and from time to time they would stop to take
off the rings and put them back on, repeating this action with great
attention. </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This encouraged me to create other things such as simple
wooden shapes cut out with a jigsaw and inspired by the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Flat Wooden
Insets, c</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0px;">ommonly referred to as the Geometric Cabinet, and historically called Geometric Insets in Wood, or Cabinet of Wooden Insets and Frames)</span></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">just one or two circles with large knobs for easy grasping. Later on, some colleagues started designing and building educational toys as well. We built cardboard trays with compartments for the first simple experiences in gluing as well as trays for collections of pictures, so important as an aid to emerging language. We also made frames that had three large buttons, like the one I saw in a photo from a Montessori Nido in Sochi, Russia (</span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Il Quaderno Montessori</i><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0px;">vol. 110, page 6, 2011).</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1047888606491170684#sdfootnote2sym" name="sdfootnote2anc"><sup></sup></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Throughout
the 1950’s and 1960’s, one of Adele Costa Gnocchi’s students,
Laura Benedettini Bolasco, designed and produced many new types of
materials. Some of these were even bought by the Americans who had come
to Rome to study the new methods for the youngest children </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0px;">In 1963 Rita Brandimarte, an Italian woman, studied under Adele Costa Gnocchi and earned a 0-3 diploma. She then moved to the USA and is the first to introduce Montessori 0-3 to Americans, the first ones were Virginia Varga and Pam Wise. In 1966 the first toddler Montessori childcare is opened in Dayton, Ohio.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was common practice thereafter in our training courses for 0-3
educators for the students to develop their own handcrafting
abilities in order to respond to the needs of these youngest
children. Inventing and creating educational materials is an
excellent opportunity for adults to reflect on children's motor
development in this phase of life."</span></span></blockquote>
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</style>Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-72274927590607573852019-06-05T12:01:00.000+02:002020-04-17T16:48:56.973+02:00Part 6: Reflections on the activity of independent discovery in the first two years of life<style type="text/css">
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[This article is by Grazia Honegger Fresco, you can read the first five parts in previous blogs]<br />
<a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2018/09/reflections-on-activity-of-independent.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2018/11/reflections-on-activity-of-independent.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2018/12/part-3-reflections-on-activities-of.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2019/01/freedom-and-limits-part-4-by-grazia.html" target="_blank">Part 4</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2019/05/part-5-reflections-on-activities-of.html" target="_blank">Part 5 </a><br />
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<b>Conclusion</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: #f5f5f4; box-sizing: border-box; color: #484846; font-family: "nexa" , sans-serif;"><i>Il metodo della pedagogia scientifica applicato all’educazione infantile </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="background-color: #f5f5f4; box-sizing: border-box; color: #484846; font-family: "nexa" , sans-serif;">nelle case dei bambini.</span><span style="background-color: #f5f5f4; color: #484846; font-family: "nexa" , sans-serif;"> </span></i><span style="background-color: #f5f5f4; box-sizing: border-box; color: #484846; font-family: "nexa" , sans-serif;">Città di Castello, S. Lafi, 1909.</span></span></div>
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<li class="li3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>In 1909 Maria Montessori wrote a book called <i><b>The Method of the scientific pedagogy applied to the education of children in the Children's House.</b> </i>From the very beginning this book was spread around the world under the title<i>The Montessori Method, </i>thus leaving out the most important part, <span class="s1"><i>the scientific pedagogy</i></span><i>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i> “Scientific pedagogy” means<i> </i>an educational science based on observation and therefore, a <i>scientific method</i>. The change of the title and the misunderstanding that it is Montessori’s Method has slowly led to a rigid construction of an unchanging method that is not always congruent with the reality of who children are today.</li>
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<li class="li3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Maria Montessori had <i>an extremely keen scientific mind</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and was very attentive to new developments in science. She demanded precision and rigor, but not as an end in itself, but as regards the needs of children and adolescents.</li>
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<li class="li3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Maria Montessori said that w<i>e can never really teach anything to another person. </i>She said this in many different ways, speaking about people who were studying to be future teachers, as well as referring to how children learn. Do we attempt to <i>teach</i> children how to live in the world? Or do we create the conditions in which they can express themselves and optimize their potential? How can we realize her most fundamental principle<i>:</i><b><i> Follow the child?</i></b></li>
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<li class="li3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Maria Montessori said “<i>Every unnecessary help is an obstacle to development." </i>Is this just a figure of speech or is it the most basic educational clause that goes all the way back to Socrates?</li>
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<li class="li3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Maria Montessori's <i>positivist ideology*</i> carried over into her work of observation of the child: first we must have practical and observable experiences and then we can apply a theory to our experiences. Nowadays, most everywhere, courses are organized under her name as conceptual learning experiences, mostly theoretical, in which students learn modalities and norms in an abstract sense, without the possibility to question or engage in discussion (see chapter III of <i>the Advanced Method (</i>1916) or<i> The Montessori Elementary Material </i>(1965).</li>
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<li class="li3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Galileo risked being burned alive when he declared that the earth revolved around the sun. If astronomy had stopped there, we would still be dealing with the <i>Inquisition</i> of four centuries ago.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></li>
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For this reason I hereby declare that we are at risk of a gradual transformation to a closed minded dogma or orthodoxy that could eventually become the end of a great revolutionary thought.</div>
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Maria Montessori, as I was able to know her in her last years, and as I found many many times reflected in some of her best students, offers us intelligent true heartedness, openness to innovation, and a continuous search, given that humanity is constantly changing. Every new child brings unique and absolute innovation, to the extent which we are not even able to imagine.</div>
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<i>Grazia Honegger Fresco, Castellanza, Italy June 2018</i><i style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"> quadernomontessori@fimail.org</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US"><b>* Positivism</b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">
is a</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">
philosophical theory </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">stating
that certain ("positive") knowledge is based on natural
phenomena</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">and
their properties and relations. Thus, information derived from
</span></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">sensory
experience</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">,
interpreted through</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">
reason </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">and
</span></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">logic</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">,
forms the exclusive source of all certain knowledge.</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">Positivism
holds that valid knowledge (certitude or </span></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">truth</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">)
is found only in this </span></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i><b>a
posteriori</b></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US"><b>
</b>knowledge (wikipedia).</span></span></span></span></div>
<br />Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-29454965339923275372019-05-12T17:29:00.000+02:002020-04-17T17:10:29.183+02:00Part 5 - Reflections on the Activities of Independent Discovery in the First Years of Life: What methodology?<style type="text/css">
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[This article is by Grazia Honegger Fresco, you can read the first four parts in previous blogs]<br />
<a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2018/09/reflections-on-activity-of-independent.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2018/11/reflections-on-activity-of-independent.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2018/12/part-3-reflections-on-activities-of.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2019/01/freedom-and-limits-part-4-by-grazia.html" target="_blank">Part 4</a><br />
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Part 5 (below)</div>
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The methodology commonly used in 0-3 Montessori trainings, both in Italy and abroad, is:</div>
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<li class="li1">To establish what a child "is able to know how to do" at a given age and then train the child to be able to do this, <b>this does not respect each individual child's own initiatives,</b></li>
<li class="li1">To continuously talk to the child, intervening and interrupting the child's activity, even when the child is very focused on what he or she is doing, <b>which does not respect his or her concentration,</b></li>
<li class="li1">To prepare the environment with all of the objects that are theoretically correct and then adapt the child to the environment, with the goal to "normalize" the child. This denies the child of his or her potential discoveries, or personal discoveries, <b>and is therefore an attempt to condition the child and develop prescribed abilities.</b></li>
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<h3>
The method used by Maria Montessori, Adele Costa Gnocchi and their collaborators begins with specific observations of <b>each individual child </b>in order to respond to particular interests and personal needs. </h3>
It is not done with the<b> </b>aim of stimulating the child but is, in fact, responding to the child. It is not done by giving unnecessary help which might be pushing the child to reach developmental milestones before their time. This kind of 'help' inhibits the development of independence and concentration and undermines the foundation of the sense of personal liberty.<br />
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We do not need pedagogical theories. What we really need are observational skills, especially in light of the latest scientific knowledge in brain development that looks at the effects of interactions between humans and the environment [epigenetics] and studies on the genome, ecology and comparative ethology.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Recently, we have seen the discovery of mirror neurons by Rizzolatti and his team. This research is remarkable, and confirming, on the scientific level, of Montessori's intuitions, which unfortunately are very often ignored or misunderstood these days.<br />
<br />
To learn more about this you can look at the research done at the University of Parma in Italy, Fogassi et al. <i>Mirror neurons and the simulations theory of mind reading. </i>See also the writings of the neurophysiologist Alberto Oliverio, <i>Geografia della mente</i>, R. Cortina 2008 (Geography of the Mind) and <i>Il cervello che impara/ Neuropedagogia dall'infanzi, </i>Giunti 2015 (The brain that learns, the neuro pedagogy of childhood)</div>
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<b>Misunderstandings</b></div>
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It is not true that <i>the sensitive period of order begins around 18 months.</i> This is a very serious mis-interpretation and is completely unfounded. Certainly, at 18 months the child is able to protest strongly against unwanted changes, but sensitivity to order, namely orientation, the gradual process of coming to know the mother (and the environment around the two of them) is an intensely active process and present from birth onwards, as are the sensory abilities of the child. <i>Orientation and sensory awareness</i> are like two compasses, particularly active in the first three months, a time when a baby is passed around to too many different people, seemingly with indifference to the need for stability. People who visit a newborn baby will handle him as they like: one day he is exposed to the bright light, the next day he is left in a dark room (“<i>he is so small that he does not understand”</i>). The child has an extreme need for stability and order during the first days; he needs to find the same sensations without radical changes and in principle – as Elinor Goldschmied argued as well – he should primarily have contact with only one person, his mother, and maximum with two.<br />
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For those of us who studied with Maria Montessori and Adele Costa Gnocchi, the 0-3 training verified the specific nature of each newborn beginning at birth,<b> and believed the establishment of the first mother/infant bond to be incredibly important </b>based on the observable, innate, self-regulating skills that we share in common with the young of every mammal. An extraordinary genetic and cerebral patrimony leads the newborn to immediately establish a relationship with his mother and to manifest from day one the need for continuity in the relationship with her, and for the habits that gradually are established between them.<br />
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And as for the two events of<b> giving birth and being born</b> – two individuals are involved and two experiences are lived – it is important to remember the fundamental contribution of Frédérick Leboyer (1918 -2017) to our understanding of the suffering inflicted on newborns, with his first book <i>Birth Without Violence</i> (Bompiani 1974) and, in his wake, the Italian Lorenzo Braibanti. And then there is Michel Odent, the author of a vast number of books in many different languages, including <i>Primal Health, </i>(Clairbooks 2002, ISBN I902636 33 3) and founder of the Primal Health Research Centre in London.<br />
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Despite all of this attention about the beginning of life, about the sensitivity with which every newborn must to be greeted – beginning with Montessori until today (see <i>The Child in the Family</i> – though poorly translated into English – and <i>The Secret of Childhood</i>) – nothing has changed in the standard practices. The recent World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, on birth, the care of the newborn, and breastfeeding – that we could have written ourselves - are completely ignored in the majority of the world's maternity wards, even in Europe and America.<br />
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The problem is that all of this is not central to Montessori courses today for 0-3, neither those given by AMI nor the ones in Italy offered by the Opera Nazionale Montessori, and this is a very serious concern. [Grazia is saying there is no guided experiential part in these courses for working with newborns and it is only presented theoretically]. The newborn and the child in the first year are completely undervalued: the initial phase of life is completely overlooked.<br />
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The result is that everywhere a 0-3 course is carried out, <b>the practical focus is on children between 18 months and 3 years</b>, and the result is a w<i>atered down Casa dei Bambini. </i>In P. & L. Lillard's<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Montessori from the start</i> (Schocken Books, N.Y. 2003) and Angeline Lillard Stone's <i>Montessori: the science behind the Genius (</i>Oxford Institute<i> </i>2005) there is not the slightest hint to the work of Montessori and Adele Costa Gnocchi on the child from birth to three).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></div>
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Fundamental differences became clear at the Prague Congress in 2017, where Karin Slabaugh, representing the work of <i>Percorsi per Crescere</i> and Centro Nascita Montessori, presented several films in the breakout session 'the Cosmic Task of 0-3' showing the creative activity of small children and illustrating the necessity, above all else, to give them a stable, protective and attentive relationship with a caregiver. Contrary to what we had understood, our <i>school films</i> were not screened during the Congress, and we were not able to share the novelty of these observations of the littlest ones that these <i>school films</i> demonstrated.<br />
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Grazia Honegger Fresco</div>
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The final part of this article will present Grazia's conclusions...<br />
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Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-48860985315663272792019-04-17T17:17:00.000+02:002019-04-17T17:17:28.414+02:00Our Cosmic Task and Saint Francis
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<span style="color: #006dbf;"><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As
I'm writing this just before Easter, I often think about Saint
Francis, who I have spent the last few months studying. Recently, I
went to Assisi to explore the town where he was born in 1182, 701
years before Adele Costa Gnocchi, but only 20 miles away. </b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #006dbf;"><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>He was a
nature lover, living often under the open sky, and he was friends
with all animals. He wrote a song-poem Laudato Si' shortly before he
died where he expressed the universality of nature, the oneness that
we are all a part of.</b></span></span></span></div>
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<b style="color: #006dbf; font-family: HelveticaNeue; text-align: -webkit-center;"><br /></b></div>
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<b style="color: #006dbf; font-family: HelveticaNeue; text-align: -webkit-center;">"Be praised, my Lord, through all Your creatures,</b></div>
<b style="color: #006dbf; font-family: HelveticaNeue; text-align: -webkit-center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>especially through my lord Brother Sun,</b></div>
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<b>who brings the day; and You give light through him.</b></div>
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<b>And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!</b></div>
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<b>Of You, Most High, he bears the likeness."</b></div>
</b><br />
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<span style="color: #006dbf;"><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Laudato
si' is also the name of the second encyclical of Pope Francis, the
first pope to take his name. The encyclical has the
subtitle "on the care for our common home". In it, the pope
critiques consumerism and irresponsible development and laments
environmental degradation, and calls all people of the world to take
"swift and unified global action."</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #006dbf;"><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Maria
Montessori sang a similar song: she said that it is our “cosmic
task”, the protection of the biosphere. And Grazia Honegger Fresco
says that this “cosmic task” has its origins in the very
beginning of life through the expression of what she defines as “the
alphabet of human work”, universal characteristics of development
that are completely observable. Respecting each person's drive to
explore in his or her own way from the earliest days of life creates
a culture of respect that is incarnated.</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;"><b style="background-color: white;">From
the Cosmic Task 0-3 Films shown in Prague:</b></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">“<span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-style: normal;">Maria
Montessori thought that humans, like all species, have a task to
fulfill, she called it "cosmic" </span>- in harmony with
the cosmos - that leads us to the awareness of the responsibility for
the biosphere and the protection of all living species. </b></span></span>
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;"><b style="background-color: white;">The
sensitivity to such a task is not acquired all of a sudden in the
adult phase, rather it is constructed step by step by the child,
beginning at birth. But only if we respect him and foster all of his
potential.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;"><b style="background-color: white;">It
is our task, I believe, as early childhood educators, to protect to
the greatest extent possible, the originality of each child in the
first years of life, allowing him to experiment in his own way with
the objects he is attracted to. This is the first step on the path of
peace that Maria Montessori envisioned: an education as an aid to
life, for all of humanity.” GHF</b></span></span><br />
<br />Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-29839140404685851072019-04-04T18:53:00.001+02:002019-04-04T18:53:19.921+02:0080 days to go: The newborn observation countdown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We are counting down the days until the launch of a new Montessori International Course in Rome that is about the youngest children, from the fertilized egg to the second year of life: the Primal Period as Michel Odent calls it. </div>
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I have been working in a hospital for the last two years as a Montessori trainer for the staff of public health midwives and have been able to observe newborns there. It is precious to be in contact with new life.<br />
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Recently we added a corner to the room where pregnant moms and dads come for the prenatal courses. I moved my movement mat to Italy with me, believe it or not.... the movement mat that I sewed together myself by gutting my organic futon and using some of the cotton batting to make a thinner mat, covering it with organic duck cotton, a smooth canvas like cotton weave.<br />
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We hung a kicking ball over head by an elastic, constructed some mobiles and last week began inviting two moms at a time to come in for observations. The goal is to develop observation skills and the only way to do this is to put in time observing. We decided to invite a mom and baby to the prenatal class last week and 8 pregnant women spent an hour in silence, watching and listening to the comments I offered every once in a while.<br />
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Today we had two 2-month old girls. Both of them were fascinated by the mobiles above their heads and we watched them watch the mobiles turn slowly in the air currents. After 15 minutes sitting beside her little one, interacting with her and tapping the mobile every once in a while to make it spin, I invited her to sit in the "relaxation chairs" that make up the seats in this prenatal environment, and watch from there. Her little girl spent another 15 minutes studying the mobile and we talked about how they learn to focus through direct experience, and how movement is complex to understand and how interesting it is to them to watch things that they are trying to figure out. Mom was surprised by how concentrated her baby was and it was obvious that she was studying this set of moving objects above her.<br />
<br />
This seemed like an important moment for these moms, who for two months have been immersed in being with and caring for their babies, to realize that "she's all grown up" "she doesn't need me anymore" for 15 or 20 minutes at a time, a new sense of freedom.Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-79554504010462239882019-04-03T17:40:00.002+02:002019-04-03T17:40:48.633+02:00Lying down nursing: 100 newborn observations in 100 days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><span style="color: #0000ee; text-align: start;">image from kelowna-lactation-consultant.com</span></div>
I've been sick for almost two weeks and had to let go of the daily blog idea ... Even not being sick, I realized that daily blogging is a major commitment! But I'll get back on the horse, and see if we can't manage at least a phrase or two each day leading up to the International Montessori Birth to 2 course in Rome, as I had set out to do...<br />
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March 2, 2019<br />
I go into a room at the hospital one morning to observe and a mom and a dad are working together to try to get their newborn son to latch on to the breast. She is lying down on the hospital bed with him next to her with his head cocked up on her arm. It reminded me of how it feels to have my head on my husband's shoulder, when I'm cuddled up to him. A little awkward at best, mostly uncomfortable, like a pillow that is too high for my head and it is not in natural alignment with my spine.<br />
<br />
Mom and dad are trying to get him to latch on, he is alert and awake, but fussing a bit. They are a bit nervous and agitated that he won't latch on. It's only the day after he was born so they have very little experience so far with him at the breast. They did not have him during the night as they hold all the newborns in the nursery at night. He had just been returned to them after a few hours in the nursery for the morning doctor's visit.<br />
<br />
I suggest trying a different position, with mom sitting up perhaps. She tells me she can't sit comfortably just yet which is why she is trying the lying down position. I hear this a lot. Very few births at this hospital happen without tearing or an episiotomy. This is yet another topic, so I won't get into this now.<br />
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So I suggest we try the other side and that she turns herself, dad holds his baby boy while she does this and I go into the bathroom to wash my hands. I am very careful to wash my hand immediately before handling a woman's breasts when I am offering assistance with the latch.<br />
<br />
I help position him and explain that if he is not in a comfortable position he might not want to latch on. I suggest that they consider first the comfort of the mom in how she is positioned, and after she has found a position she likes, she do the same for her baby, evaluating if some aspect of how he is being held or positioned might not be agreeable to him.<br />
<br />
Like you see in the above picture, the baby's head is not on the mother's arm, tilted upwards, but flat on the bed. You might need a pillow or folded towel under the baby to raise him up to the level of the breast, or the mom might need to rotate more toward the baby, but the important thing is that the baby and mother are in a relaxed position and the alignment is correct for latching on.<br />
<br />
We made a couple of attempts with his open and searching mouth and her nipple and after a minute or two the magic suction happened, the little mouth vacuum-sucked inward and the breast was pulled in. He had a good solid latch, and I watched the expression on the parents' faces melt into love and amazement.Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-59187007443658653832019-03-25T20:52:00.000+01:002019-03-25T20:52:27.155+01:00The First Latch: 100 newborn observations in 100 days89 days to go<br />
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This blog is titled The First Latch because this is how a newborn survives. Soon after birth, he or she has to figure out how to latch on to his mother's nipple. A good latch is the key to stimulating the mother's breasts to produce life producing milk. It means the nipple doesn't get damaged because the suction produced from the latch pulls the nipple way up inside, along with some of the areola.<br />
<br />
I have observed that after birth it takes a little bit of time for the suckling reflexes to activate. Immediately after being born there seems to be a period of time dedicated to orienting to the environment outside of the womb. If the two to three hours after birth are undisturbed and the baby is skin to skin against his mom during this time he has the possibility to latch on and "imprint" what this feels like and how it is done. Usually after a few hours, the newborn baby falls asleep and takes a rest after the long series of events associated with being born.<br />
<br />
One of the nurses I am working with has been taking an informal survey: when a mom in the hospital says to her, "my baby doesn't seem to like the left breast" she asks her which breast he latched onto right after birth. Her results? She claims that the preferred breast is always the first breast he attached to.Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-65298249696261609872019-03-23T23:35:00.002+01:002019-04-18T18:27:06.241+02:0091 days to go: 100 newborn observations in 100 days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am slowly telling the story of a newborn who I followed around from 5 minutes after birth until he was about 3 hours old. I'm using his story to illustrate what it is like for two people to be separated at birth, two people who are actually one person, so separation is actually a simple act of violence. The cord is cut but they are still one person. This baby, like all babies in this hospital, is taken away from his mother after one hour. This is the protocol. Many are returned after 2 or 3 hours. Many are not. This little man was returned after 18 hours. And he was not really in need of extreme medical care, isolation, incubation.</div>
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He was subjected to 30 minutes of attempting to take a blood draw, then tested and found to be low in blood sugar. He was then put in the incubator for the next bit and given some sugar water to boost his blood sugar level. He had yet to taste the rich colostrum of his mother, that would help prepare his stomach for digesting, act as a laxative and help clear out his system, and of course, provide the antibodies to help him defend himself against sickness. He stays there for visiting hours, and is most likely again checked for blood sugar, which most likely was still low, though I'm guessing. All I know for certain is that he is given back to his mother the next morning. In nature, animals of many different kinds will simply abandon their young after a separation, no longer recognizing them as their own child. Are we so different? Yes we are, and most likely, no we aren't.</div>
<br />Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-23311006255605275392019-03-22T22:04:00.004+01:002019-03-22T22:48:53.499+01:0092 days to go: 100 newborn observations in 100 days<style type="text/css">
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Tomasso is rolled down the hallway and
into the nursery. He is placed on the examining table and undressed. The two nurses begin to prepare for a blood draw, one nurse puts
the rubber tubing around his upper arm and the other nurse gets the needle ready. She begins to search for a vein. A blood draw in the first hour after birth is not
standard procedure and I'm a bit confused. But I just watch, and don't ask any
questions. He lays there, one nurse holds his arm down and the
other inserts the needle multiple times... nothing. He is not crying
desperately like I have seen many times before during the delicate
procedure of the newborn blood draw. I wonder why. He cries a bit and then doesn't.</div>
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They don't find a vein and haven't
gotten any blood from him after what seems like an eternity of
trying. So they flip him around, take the rubber tube off his arm and
place it on the other arm. They work for some time on this arm.<br />
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At
this point I ask them why they are doing a blood draw. They are used to me
asking questions, for two years I have been following around these
newborns and these nurses and asking questions. As I've never before seen a
one-hour old get a blood draw, though surely it has happened, but I've not seen this before. They tell me that the blood
sample from the cord blood, which is usually adequate, was not enough
so they need to take more of his blood for normal testing. They still
haven't found a vein and will have to take another try on another part of his body, but I can't
watch anymore. I leave. What seems
strange is that
he doesn't seem to be suffering from this procedure as much as I am. </div>
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<br />Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-53798764485315517802019-03-22T00:06:00.002+01:002019-03-22T00:09:32.748+01:0093 days to go: 100 newborn observations in 100 days<style type="text/css">
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The Quaderno Montessori is a journal in
Italian that Grazia Honegger Fresco published for 35 years. It has
articles on birth and the early years, as well as the older child.
One of the regular column titles was <u>cronaca di
normale violenza</u> or <i>the narrative of</i> <i>normalized violence</i>:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>Normalized Violence: violence that we accept, that we become
accustomed to, that we don't speak out against, because no one does.
It is accepted simply because it is happening.</i> </div>
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<br /></div>
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For those of us who
are sensitive to the needs and feelings of the smallest people, we
see it all the time. Toddlers, for example, have breakdowns because
they can't tolerate any more injustice from the adult world, which in the adult language is known as the “terrible twos.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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So back to my story of the first great
separation, the one-hour old baby boy who had to go to a separate
area of the maternity ward for a thorough examination by a
pediatrician. Every baby in this hospital has to say good bye to mom
before 60 minutes pass, it's the protocol. The pediatric nurse
arrives at 59 minutes past birth and whisks away the newborn and says "just for a bit", not unlike the
Grinch says to Little Cindy Loo Who, “Why my sweet little tot, there's a light on this tree that won't light on one side. So I'm taking it back to my workshop my dear, I'll fix it up there and I'll
bring it back here.” Little did his mom know that
she would hold him in her arms again until the next morning.</div>
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If the baby is checked out and
everything is normal, this separation lasts two to three hours, or sometimes up to 4 or 5 hours because of added <i>wait time</i> due to “visiting hours” or the afternoon doctor's visit. </div>
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<br /></div>
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This
guy, I'll call him Tomasso, disappeared, under the care of his medical, staff for 18 hours. After the first hour of his life, he was
separated from his life-source for 18 hours...</div>
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<br /></div>
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They brought him back to her at
5:30 the next morning, when they deliver all the babies to their moms
after a night in the collective. And they took him back two
hours later. Every morning they have all the babies in the nursery
for about 2 hours, for the doctor's visit. They all stay for the time it
takes to do all the procedures to all of the babies. No one gets to
go back to their mom until everyone is free to go.</div>
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They come back for the babies 3
hours later in order to sequester them during visiting hours, and
there they stay for at least 2 hours, sometimes more. After visiting hours they have
their longest stretch of the day with mom, a four-hour “nap”
after getting topped off with growth producing fluids. They may not
wake up during this time to latch on due to the food coma they are
in.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Again they are put on display for the
families and spend 2 hours in the nursery before an evening date with
mom, from 8:30 until midnight. Total time with mom? 12 hours out of
24.</div>
<br />Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-43114255359453752762019-03-20T22:52:00.000+01:002019-03-20T22:52:19.339+01:0094 days to go: 100 newborn observations in 100 days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Eq0Z7H8x0Qw/XJK0mg8aitI/AAAAAAAAAVI/p1BpmOyw3VA3ATTPZdT7V82Cz0oKFiw9QCLcBGAs/s1600/leboyer%2Bphoto.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="201" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Eq0Z7H8x0Qw/XJK0mg8aitI/AAAAAAAAAVI/p1BpmOyw3VA3ATTPZdT7V82Cz0oKFiw9QCLcBGAs/s1600/leboyer%2Bphoto.jpeg" /></a></div>
<br />
Yesterday's post is a Suzanne Arms quote that speaks to the idea that peace is incarnated through experience. In my last few days of observations I have witnessed the extreme opposite of <i>respect and kindness... at the beginning of life. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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Francesco is now a week old and I have been able to spend at least a little time with him and his parents 5 out of the 7 days of his life. Yesterday the family returned to the hospital to have their check up where the newborn is again examined, blood is drawn yet one more time, and weight gain is assessed.<br />
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If I were to write up the whole story I would take up a page or two and I would have lined up a dozen negative experiences by insensitive and disrespectful people so I'll go right to the heart of it. This little baby who I am calling Francesco, after the Saint who was the most peace loving man, who has only asked us for peace during his entry into the world, was treated so disrespectfully while he was being undressed and examined, I was left with the idea of how a Nazi might have undressed a newborn who was headed to the gas chambers. His clothes were literally yanked off of him and when they got to his head, the nurse tugged on the onesie, no longer supporting his body, which was now dangling by being caught in the neck opening of the onesie. One final yank and it popped off and she lowed him down to the changing table by an arm. She then got out her needle and stabbed him in the heel, as fast as she could, as if she was in a race with time. She stabbed him again to get more blood, each time with absolutely no sense of having a person in her hands.<br />
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<br />
I can't imagine how this nurse would have felt having been treated like this. But in the end, maybe that is what is behind it. Maybe she has been treated like this, maybe as a newborn she was handled this way. Maybe as a young girl she was mistreated and abused. Maybe as a wife she was treated disrespectfully. Maybe she is only doing what has been done to her.<br />
<br />Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-41252941815165275522019-03-20T00:18:00.002+01:002019-03-20T00:18:28.875+01:0095 days to go: 100 newborn observations in100 days<div style="text-align: center;">
If we hope to create a non-violent world</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
where respect and kindness replace fear and hatred,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
we must begin with how we treat each other</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
at the beginning of life.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For that is where our deepest patterns are set.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
From these roots grow fear and alienation</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
~ or love and trust.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Suzanne Arms</div>
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<br />Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-10040606642111170582019-03-18T22:42:00.002+01:002019-03-18T22:45:17.226+01:0096 days to go: 100 newborn observations in 100 days96 day to go until what, you ask? June 22 is the launch of the first International Course for 0-2 offered by Centro Nascita Montessori in Rome. And I am counting down the days.<br />
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I took on this self-challenge as a way to make blogging more tangible. I was not sitting down at the computer often enough to "blog" for a variety of reasons, and there are still many <a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2017/12/the-list-of-questions-from-prague.html" target="_blank">questions</a> from the Congress in Prague that I have not answered.<br />
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Recently I saw a movie about Julia Childs called Julie & Julia staring Meryl Streep as Julia Child, where a young writer begins a blog based on a challenge she gives herself: to personally try cooking and write about the 524 recipes found in Julia Child's book, <i>Mastering the Art of French Cooking</i>, in 356 days. This was my inspiration for this 100-day challenge.<br />
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I am not sure what I have gotten myself into but there's no turning back now. I've been observing newborns for the last two years. And Grazia tells me regularly that I have to write about what I am seeing. So as of 5 days ago, I wake up in the morning and head off to the hospital with a new vigor. And there are plenty of notebooks full of the last two years if I miss a day.<br />
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Today I went to the hospital to work with 17 pregnant moms and three father's to be and we read the <a href="http://blog.cosmictask0-3.education/2019/03/98-days-to-go-reflections-by-grazia.html" target="_blank">excerpt</a> that I put in the blog a few days ago and talked about the points that Grazia makes.<br />
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My only newborn observation today was a home-visit with six-day old Francesco and his newborn parents. They called me in desperation, since coming home two days ago he has had many "unconsolable" crying fits. They are in a delicate phase of figuring out how to be parents, how to understand their new son, how to balance the "advice" they get (that goes against the new family's best interest, in my humble opinion) and what they feel instinctively and see directly in a positive way.<br />
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Not wanting to do harm, they are torn, in their inexperienced state, between the world of newborn socialization based on cultural tradition and the world of allowing Francesco to decide when and how long to nurse, to decide when and how long he will be held in mom's embrace, and to decide with whom he wants to sleep. I did my best to represent him and negotiate with his folks on his behalf and when I left for home at 9:30 pm there was one satisfied newborn asleep in his mother's arms, nose one inch from the tip of the nipple, and a parting smile reflex (or a good dream of yummy milk) was my payment for a day's work.Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-79214053232206310072019-03-17T22:38:00.002+01:002019-03-17T22:48:00.702+01:00Day 97: 100 newborn observations in 100 days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was sitting in a hospital room with two moms talking with them about breastfeeding when one of them paused to listen to the sound of a woman who appeared to be towards the end of labor. At this hospital they do vaginal examinations to see how advanced labor is but Michel Odent says when he is assisting a birth he can tell at what point she is at by listening, even from another room. Every so often we heard another sound liberated from the depths of this birthing mom wafting down the hallway. These two moms were following her experience from afar, having just gone through their own labor and birth.<br />
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When the sounds of laboring came no more to call at our ears I excused myself to go see the newly born and observe his first hours of life. This is my favorite time to observe. They call it the Golden Hour, when the newborn is in the sensitive period of the first opportunity for bonding. This little guy was getting his first bath when I arrived. He was looked over by his doctor and got the all OK. He then spent 20 minutes on his mom skin to skin while she delivered the placenta and had a few stitches. It was the first time I had seen a mom with her newborn skin to skin during this process. Every other time I had observed, the baby had been dressed and was in his little bed, or was being kept warm under the heat lamp in a separate room just around the corner. These moms all cried out from the pain and discomfort of delivering the placenta and from the process of being stitched up.<br />
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Today, mom was so deeply absorbed in this new little man she had in her arms that she barely seemed to notice what they were doing. I stood next to her to spot her and her baby, just in case they needed me at any point. We noticed that his eyes were wide open so we shifted him to be able to see her face, as where the nurse had placed him he was looking at the breast. They gazed into each other's eyes and she talked him through these first 15 minutes of life outside the womb. She was done being stitched and he was dressed so the two of them could spend some more time together before he was taken to the Nursery to be thoroughly examined by the pediatrician. When that moment came I followed him there and tomorrow's post I will describe this next chapter of his life, his first great separation from the woman who created him and nurtured him in her womb for 9 months...<br />
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<br />Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-2375824185100904482019-03-16T10:25:00.002+01:002019-03-16T10:29:53.569+01:0098 days to go - reflections by Grazia from "Abbiamo un bambino"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Every day that I am around newborns, I overhear someone say to leave them to cry so they don't become used to being held, spoiled and therefore <i>manipulative</i>. "Moms don't have time to always have their baby in their arms" one doctor told me when I picked up a baby in the nursery that had been crying desperately for over 10 minutes and no one had offered a tender response of consolation, "and you are spoiling the baby, making it harder for the mom when she gets home and has to do so many other things."</div>
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<u>Amare un neonato</u> <span style="text-align: start;">(an excerpt from the book Abbiamo un bambino)</span></div>
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Falling in love with a newborn isn't something that happens all of a sudden. It's always a mixed bag, even for the tenderest new mother. She may be full of fears, feel the weight of the huge responsibility of caring for another, and be extremely tired from all that has just happened. She may be overwhelmed with the sense of loss of her former life and all that she will have to put aside for a period of time.</div>
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For as little as we talk about it beforehand, and for how ambiguous and undefined it really is, the job of being a parent is one that is taken on with the least preparation, especially today in our urban lifestyle. Rarely do people have previous experience with taking care of a newborn before they themselves become parents. The love that they feel for their new baby can offer much in this combination of factors.</div>
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For example, it must free them the prejudices that we so often hear: </div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">let her cry or she will always want to be in your arms </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">don't spoil her</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">put her in her own room from the very beginning so she gets used to it</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">don't let her nurse for too long</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">don't keep her close during the night</li>
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These "recommendations", offered to new parents from all directions, sets up a very difficult scenario that establishes a conflict from the very beginning, a play between opposing forces that is damaging, harmful, toxic.</div>
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When parents listen without fear and are open to understanding, they are able to find a harmonious relationship with their child and have little difficulty discovering if she needs to breastfeed some more or needs to be held close, if she is asking for a change of position or wants to hear the music of her mother or father's voices.</div>
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Interpreting her wordless language, or her various types of cries, from the first smiles, the first vocalizations, it will all become easier with time.</div>
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It is important that the two parents are "united" in searching to interpret the first communications; working to understand them and realize that you have understood what they mean offer a great sense of security to new parents. </div>
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In a way, the baby guides them along, and they, at the same time guide her along in a gradual reciprocal process of adaptation.</div>
(page 46, RED, 2004)<br />
<br />Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-8746166419724356242019-03-16T00:08:00.002+01:002019-03-16T00:08:29.829+01:0099 days to go<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Papa Kangaroo care<br />
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Today I went back to see Francesco and his parents again. Mom was happier, his bilirubin level had dropped a bit. His dad had arrived yesterday just before I was leaving and asked me the sweetest question: how can I be involved with my son in this early phase? I told him one thing he could do as a special routine is to be the one to give him a bath, and described the preparations necessary to make it a calm and relaxing event, spa like, in a warm room, with a warm towel at the end, and even a gentle massage and then putting clothing back on slowly and with care. Or, I said, you could offer him "kangaroo care" and spend time skin to skin after a bath. I offered to show him what I meant and we made an appointment for today. I brought my stretchy material I had used for my own baby wearing experiences. He held Francesco against his chest as mom and I wrapped the two of them up together, positioning the material so baby was fully supported. Dad sat back and wrapped his arms around his son and looked down at him; he was overcome with emotion at how incredible it felt to be in such intimate contact just two days after birth. After 20 minutes, a nurse came in to take the babies into the nursery for visiting hours, and stood for a few seconds at the door, not happy with the scene, and made some comment that at best was a negative judgement. Dad was in no hurry to unwrap but "visiting hours" were approaching fast, and babies must be put on window display twice a day here. I wont ever forget this day and how this dad's face shone with love for his son.Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1047888606491170684.post-77325025265126452202019-03-14T22:17:00.000+01:002019-03-15T23:39:03.599+01:00100 days to go<style type="text/css">
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100 observations in 100 days</div>
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March 14, 2019</div>
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Today I went to the hospital, the day
after we had a day-long course for the project I've been involved in
for the last two years: Montessori 0-6 months in three hospitals and
3 clinics in Abruzzo, Italy. Abruzzo is a region that has very little
international tourism and many earthquakes so you may not be familiar
with it. Abruzzo has 131 kilometers of Adriatic coastline and
mountainous regions known as the Appennino, made up of two areas, the
Grand Sasso and the Maiella. It is an incredible part of Italy but
little known. Like Naples, it has a southern Italian culture. Life
moves according to a rhythm that is not modern nor logical.</div>
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I changed my shoes, put on my white
doctor's jacket, took my notebook and went into the first room with
blue ribbons on the door. There was a chair next to the door and my
first thought was that I would sit down there to observe. I presented
myself to the two moms sharing the room and asked it I could observe,
said that I was doing research and one of the two greeted me with “I
saw you at the clinic when I took the prenatal class.” So I went
over to her and asked how she was doing. “I'm so disappointed”
she said, “I was supposed to go home today.” Her little one, who
I will call Francesco (not his real name) was a little bit yellow, with an elevated bilirubin level.
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I spent an hour with her and Francesco,
and she was grateful for the company and my assistance. The nurses
and midwives all have a "busy" schedule and don't ever linger just to
listen. They respond when the mom's call with the bell but have one foot out the door the whole time. When I visit I am
prepared for a one hour observation per room each time, whether I interact or
not. I come in and ask if it is alright with them if I observe and if
they invite me to interact, I spend time working with them. Usually
they are concerned with how to breastfeed and I do what I can to help
them, though I do not have a formal training.
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Today was a success. Mom was concerned
because Francesco was sleeping and not wanting to attach to the
breast. “Jaundiced” meant he was (her fear) overly sleepy and not
healthy. I asked if I could undress him and play with him a bit to
see if the stimulus would wake him up. I explained that with a
jaundiced baby the more he nursed the better... after undressing him,
we could see if he wanted to latch on, to see if cutaneous
stimulation helped. We spent a half hour talking about states of consciousness, newborn observations according to Brazelton and much more. Finally I said, since
he seems to be sleepy, you could just put him next to your breasts
while he sleeps. We set him down there and immediately he began to
turn his head from side to side and open his mouth, searching for his
mother, searching for the breast. Placing him in a position where he
can latch on, he opens wide and does just that.
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<br />Karin Slabaughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14229395785952494658noreply@blogger.com0