There was a great New Yorker cartoon several years ago showing a chaotic school of fish pointing every which way. Two fish are observing from afar, and one is remarking to the other, “I believe that’s a Montessori school.”

Wednesday, March 15th, several Three Tree Montessori staff and parents had the pleasure of attending a talk by Dr. Steven Hughes, board certified pediatric neuropsychologist and vocal supporter of Montessori education.

When we bring something new into the child’s mind, we must dedicate exclusively to the child the few minutes needed to offer him these items in knowledge. No matter what happens around us, no matter what calls us, only one task must exist for the teacher at that moment, the imparting of the lesson to the child. The child knows that during these few minutes we exist for him alone and nobody else.

For anyone who has worked in a bustling commercial kitchen (or who enjoys watching the myriad cooking shows on TV), preparation and organization are key to maintaining order and preventing chaos. The French term mise en place (“put in place”) means all ingredients and tools are gathered and arranged before cooking takes place, thus paving the way for smooth execution of the dish.

“The first aim of the prepared environment is, as far as it is possible, to render the growing child independent of the adult.” -Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood

Ah, the season is already upon us. Montessori practitioners can at times rightly be accused of ambivalence toward the holidays. Perhaps that can be said of a lot of us, when our local department stores are already festooned in Christmas regalia before we’ve even cleared the Halloween hurdle. It can be hard to reconcile the true meaning of holidays with the fatigue induced by the marketing juggernaut that bombards us from every TV, radio, billboard, and store display.