Tips to Optimize your Home-Environments for Children

by Carmen Gamper Help your children feel welcome at home by re-arranging some basic things around the house based on Montessori-principles: Allowing independent activities within healthy emotional boundaries and within a safe inspiring environment. Intentionally prepared spaces directly influence the kind of activities children are drawn to. Observe your children lovingly, soon you will see [...]

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Race to Nowhere – Finally a movie about the immens unnecessary pressure and suffering our kids are exposed to at schools

Director Vicki Abeles turns the personal political by igniting a national conversation in this groundbreaking documentary about the pressures American schoolchildren and their teachers face moving into the 21st century What started as a private family matter widened into a cogent examination of systemic pressures faced by youth and teachers today an increased focused on [...]

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Non-Invasive Teaching

NON-INVASIVE TEACHING” by Carmen Gamper) “Non-Invasive Teaching” describes a variety of teaching modalities which avoid giving direct orders such as “Come to the blackboard and show me…”, and group orders, such as “Now we are all opening up our books…”. Carmen Gamper developed the guidelines for “Non-Invasive Teaching” based on Maria Montessori, Klaus Dieter-Caul, Reggio [...]

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Playing is Learning

Learning with joy is playful by its own nature. It wouldn’t make sense to expect mastery from a beginner. A novice has the right to make mistakes, to try the same thing over and over again, to learn from his/her own mistakes, self-correct, feel the joy of the first successful steps. When learning is fueled [...]

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Education based on Self-Directed Learning

Montessori education surrenders to the child’s inner learning guidance. In Montessori-schools children experience an emergent academic curriculum as they follow their inspiration to learn at their own pace, in a very active way – having at their disposal a multitude of intelligent hands-on learning materials. Montessori-education is still revolutionary in the regard of allowing the [...]

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Learning needs to be Free of Fear!

In our educational system, for various reasons, learning is very much connected to fear. Of course, there is little joy, where there is fear. Studies in neuro-cardiology have been proving: fear is an obstacle to deep, holistic learning, and the development of heart-based intelligence is hindered. It does not need to be this way! Children [...]

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Single Elements of ‘Inspired Self-Directed Learning’ can be used in any Teaching Situation

The six essential elements of ‘Inspired Self-Directed learning’ can be used independently in many different ways. 1. Utilizing Hands-on Learning Materials (Pre/K-8) Manipulatives can be utilized in traditional teacher-guided class-rooms, small-groups, individually at home, for home-schooling, or as a help for home-work, to play with, to be creative with, tore-learn and understand abstract concepts of [...]

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Fostering Mindfulness in the Classroom with Hands-on Learning Materials

Mindfulness in the Classroom can be achieved by offering work with hands-on learning materials. The wonderful program by The Community Partnership for Mindfulness in Education (CPME) enhances the student’s ability to pay attention through meditative exercises. Utilizing a great variety of hands-on learning materials in classrooms is a practical extension to meditative exercises. It’s another [...]

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Healthy Boundaries

Excerpt from: “THE SACRED CHILD COMPANION, A Handbook for ‘Inspired Self-Directed Learning’.” Setting Healthy Boundaries Each space where kids can make free choices needs stable and clear boundaries. Inspired Self-Directed Learning can only be successful in a friendly environment, when appropriate physical and emotional boundaries are stated clearly and patiently. New Learning Culture services help [...]

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Being a Learning Companion

‘Safe Self-Directed Learning’TM for children depends on adult companionship. The loving attention of an adult is an enormous catalyst for a child’s learning process. Children thrive when adults show true interest in their activities and in their way of thinking. Children get a chance to explore for themselves when adults let go of entertaining and [...]

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