With Limited Tools
Quotes by Dr. Maria Montessori
From: The Secret of Childhood
These two booklets were put together by Mother, in 1985, when she was working for a very pioneering Montessori program, in Los Angeles. When she got the job, which consisted of her setting up and supervising home based Montessori day cares, throughout the metropolitan area; she was not a certified Montessori teacher, thus she was able to take graduate classes in education, as well as study the Montessori curriculum, for free!
One of her favorite parts about this job was that she would frequently travel to the San Francisco area, for staff meetings and training, in a light aircraft, that she was sure she could fly, if just given a chance. The aircraft could hold four people, and she said it took her a while to assert herself, about having her turn to sit in the front, but eventually not only did she get to sit in the front seat, but she also got one or two flying lessons, thrown in the deal!
When I look at these booklets, they remind me of so many school reports that I turned in, festooned with the same touches. I have always said that if there were two people who would have fully loved today’s technology, it was my parents.
In my sisters, I see among other things, how they each inherited my parents interest and talents in this area. My younger sister shares my Father’s passion and ability to create items for publication. He at one point, in his life, set up a printing press, in an extra room at church, and designed all of his stationary, business cards, and posters for their revivals, with typeset!
While my older sister, whose paper craft creations are exquisite, reminds me so much of my Mother who used whatever she had available to add an extra touch to her projects and ours; but I can only imagine what she might have done with access to my sister’s die cutting machines!
My Mother was a lifelong learner, and when she traveled between my home and my sister’s houses, there was always at least one suitcase filled with books, and if she was going to be gone more than a few weeks, there would be a box or two of books coming in the mail.
I remember how much she was impacted by Dr. Maria Montessori’s work, and how she lamented not having been exposed to this material earlier in her life. She often spoke about how much my sisters and I could have benefitted, as children, from what she was then learning – thus I think she chose a picture of her grandchild to grace the cover of one of the booklets.
(A program created by and featuring my Father)
