Maria's House Doylestown

PONTE MONTESSORI 2021 Our seven-week summer session is ready and waiting. The online application period begins Monday, April 5. Check back here for more details. We'll see you at the House!

THE PURSUIT OF... What word did you say? Excellence... freedom... wealth... justice... what word? Montessori practitioners track dozens of metrics for each child in our cohorts. That data, carefully correlated over time, provides our guides and our parents with valuable insights into the unique paths that each of our explorers are traveling, driven by curiosity, fed by diverse and satisfying experiences. Every one of the hundreds of Montessori works has an accessible entr...y point that leads to a road, a process and (eventually) mastery. For some, a child's mastery of a complex and subtle work might be their sole criterion for success. For the Dottoressa, there was a far more important measure of our effectiveness as guides and mentors: "The first indication of the value of any educational approach is the happiness of the child." ~ Maria Montessori We love walking them through the intricacies of mathematics, the allure of global geography, the endless and understated beauty of human languages, cultures and histories, but the true measure of our practice can only be found in their smiles. Have a safe and happy last week of February, dear friends. We'll see you at the House.

Just one more day of snow and ice. We'll see you Monday, which will be nice! Stay safe and warm out there.... Love, ~ Your Friends at Maria's House

Let's make some tea and find our cars while Perseverance lands on Mars. https://mars.nasa.gov/mars20/timeline/landing/watch-online/

Before we went our separate ways last Wednesday, we decked the little pine by our front door with stars and lights, sang our songs, celebrated the quiet beauty of winter and remembered the relentless power of hope. If you have two minutes sometime soon, sit back, click on the video, and join us. Welcome to the Twelve Days. We'll see you at the House.

"Understanding and mastery require experience. Watching only builds our capacity to daydream." ~ Dottoressa Maria Montessori No one learned golf by staring at a bag of clubs, or earned pilot's wings by logging hours on a game console. Our intrepid heroine herself completed practical requirements in engineering, psychiatry and medicine (including the cadaver dissections that she was prohibited by law from even considering). These days, when so many of our young friends ...are bound to screens and stuck in chairs for hours on end, it's helpful to remember how unnaturally heavy that yoke is to their spirits, their drive, their innate curiosity. They were made to do. There are times in life for reflection, discussion, even tedium, but not now, not at the beginning of the journey, when everything is bright and new and the brain, that "miracle of electricity, chemistry and magic" is filled with interest and ready for those answers that will only come through carefully guided experience... each leading to another question. That's the root of the root in a Montessori house. Curiosity is the growing light between us, carried within our explorers and scholars, kindled by our guides, and always leading to what's next. Light kindling more light. Happy sixth night of Hanukkah. Be kind to one another, stay safe out there. and we'll see you at the House.

With profound respect... So ended a letter sent from Philadelphia to Washington, DC in September of 1863. Its author was 75 year old poet, journalist, activist and editor Sarah Josepha (Buell) Hale. In the middle of the American Civil War, less than three months after the Battle of Gettysburg and with cholera and typhus running rampant around the world, Sarah wrote to the President with a simple request: Reestablish the custom of a "retreat to gratitude", a national day de...voted to "remembering all that sustains our life together, especially in these most challenging times." Sarah also wrote her long-time friend, Secretary of State William Henry Seward, and just a week after her letters arrived at the Executive Mansion, Henry composed a proclamation that Abraham signed. It set aside today, the fourth Thursday of November, as a time for remembering (even in the middle of life's challenges) how we together have been reliably sustained. Seward and Lincoln released their 1863 Proclamation on October 3, seventy-four years to the day after George Washington created the first national day of thanksgiving just two years after the Constitution of the United States was adopted and signed. Here. In Philadelphia. By coincidence, both of those "first thanksgivings" took place today, November 26. And though it is neither 1789 nor 1863, our days hold (amidst their challenges) countless reasons for gratitude, hope and resolve. Look around. Remember the heroes who serve, protect, encourage, teach, feed, heal and lead us. Remember everyone who loves you. Remember everyone you love and serve. Remember. Our work is far from finished. After 1863, Sarah, Henry and Abraham still had two more years of national conflict ahead of them. But, like us, they faced them together, joined by women and men "of good will and stalwart heart." And, once a year, Sarah, Henry and Abraham turned away from their work and "from the troubles of the times" to enjoy the "quiet replenishment of the soul" that comes from time shared (in person or at a distance) with those we love. Wherever you are in this unusual year, Happy Thanksgiving. With profound respect, ~ The Faculty, Directors and Board of Maria's House

Wishing all scarecrows everywhere a very safe and very happy Thanksgiving. (And remember to wash your hands.) Love,... ~ Maria's House Montessori Doylestown See more

"Children are influenced not by words but by mastery." ~ Dottoressa Maria Tecla Artemesia Montessori While our indoor space is fully sequestered, we continue to use our deck and garden opportunistically (and carefully), basking in the expertise of our guides and adjuncts, responding to our ongoing need for beauty, and feeding the relentless curiosity of childhood. Authentic Montessori practice invites every child to engage in real experiences, surrounded and ...led by guides who understand the slow, steady process that real mastery requires. As we walk through these days together, consider setting aside five minutes sometime soon to remember something that you loved learning to do, something that you have a feel for, maybe something you'd like to get back to. Remember the joy of curiosity, discovery, mastery. And imagine finding ways to share what you know with a child who you love. They're ready and waiting. For you. In the meantime, take care, be safe, wash your hands, and we'll see you at the House.