This article is placed at the end of this journal for the spiritual discussion of grace and courtesy: the child's relationship with God. It is chapter three of Patricia Coulter's new book," Like Leaven," which touches on the highest order of grace, one that comes through the child and is expanded to the parent's spirituality as…

David McNees' deep foray into creativity theory and drama begins with mindfulness as a preparation for adolescent focus. This article discusses role incarnation, the correlation of the three-period lesson to Landy's role theory, the creation and re-creation of personal story and identity, archetypal heroes, and how the adaptability learned in…

Clark Montessori Junior and Senior High School was the first public Montessori high school in the US. Marta Donahoe and Dean Blase outline the roots and founding principles of Clark Montessori in the context of Montessori pedagogy. Woven throughout this discussion of the Montessori high school environment are guiding principles that Clark adopted…

Nichole Holtvluwer writes for fellow guides who work in the toddler community. Recognizing that communication with parents is the most important path to serving the child, Holtvluwer offers concrete advice beginning with the guide's most important stance: withholding judgment. She details four steps to working with parents or caregivers: building…

"The most essential component to offering the children an education for peace is the emphasis on that which unites us." With this focus, Elizabeth Henke presents a picture of how Montessori students progressively develop a sense of moral, civic, and social responsibility. The foundation is set during the elementary years when children…

All the basics of the Montessori prepared environment are put into an extraordinary context of community and nurturing through personal encounter. The article emphasizes the longitudinal impact of an intentional community that results in character and concentration and looks to the spiritual attributes of the child in relation to the tangible…

Joen Bettmann's depiction of practical life exercises as character-building reveals how caring, careful, and independent work leads to higher self-esteem, more concern for others, better understanding for academic learning, and a self-nurturing, respectful classroom community. Particular aspects of movement and silence exercises bring out what…

Margaret Stephenson begins with the reasoning elementary child as he answers questions about "all things." She centers on the unity of knowledge, leading "from the whole via the parts back to the whole." Imagination is enhanced to bring abstraction to an engaging and lofty motivation, and the elementary self is referred to as…

Presents a history, since its founding, of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a training association devoted to spiritual preparation of adults so they can meet the spiritual needs of children in the Christian tradition. Focuses on the efficacy of the parable of the Good Shepherd and the future of the Catechesis in parishes and as an…

Illustrates how the spread of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in work with the Totonaca people of the Mexican states of Veracruz and Puebla indicates the universality of Montessori pedagogical principles and the power of the parable method of teaching within a culture with a strong oral tradition. (Author/KB)

It is within the prepared environment of the adolescent learning community that the adult comes into full connection with Montessori's universal picture of optimal development. Adolescents' search for meaning enables adults to come to a clearer understanding of the human condition. Thus, teachers of adolescents must endeavor to model the ideals of…

Describes cosmic education as the Montessori guide for educating 6- to 12-year-olds. Discusses practical consequences of Montessori's ideas, including the selection of the "great story," the need for physics at the elementary level to teach the laws of nature, the citizen's responsibility for the earth's survival, the importance of…

Draws upon Maria Montessori's writings to examine work as a universal human tendency throughout life. Discusses the work of adaptation of the infant, work of "psycho-muscular organism" for the preschooler, work of the imagination for the elementary child, community work of the adolescent, and work of the adult. Asserts that…