When I think back to the experience with Dylan in the previous video, the first thing that strikes me is his attitude.
During the presentation:
- He observes without moving
- He is calm
- He smiles
During work:
- His hand and eyes start working
- He observes each cylinder and the notches to put them back in the right place
- He is calm
- He smiles
What does that mean? Well, he sets in motion what Maria Montessori calls the Absorbent Mind of the child.
What is the Absorbent Mind?
It is this form of intelligence that children use to learn by observing. They use their 5 senses for this purpose.
They are real sponges. The child does not learn through effort and hardship, but just by living and experimenting.
The Absorbent Mind is a mental power… Yes, I mean a power!
I remember when I was little and walking to school in the streets of Paris. I was fascinated by the roots of the trees that passed through the tar.
Well, the Absorbent Mind of the child is so powerful that we could compare it to those roots that pass through the tar. Tar could be compared to the famous handicaps! Yes Dylan can work in the same way as a child without any specific needs. Because the Absorbent Mind is so powerful that it passes through the barriers.
On this subject, I can tell you about Peter, an autistic child. When we started the first presentations, he refused to look and systematically turned his head to the other side. We decided to continue this presentation whether or not he was watching, each time we proposed to him to do the exercise again, he refused.
We were convinced that he was recording something of the presentation, even if only in terms of hearing! It lasted several weeks. And then one day, he started turning his head for a fraction of a second, still refusing to practice. We continued without any requirements.
A little later, he accepted and at the first try he did everything right…..
So the Absorbent Mind is present in all children of any age.
You have to give the child time! And above all, believe in it….
You remember the old silver cameras and their famous films. It was necessary to pass the films in different baths for the image to appear and well the child is like this device. It absorbs all the details of the presentation.
Different products will have to be used to make the image appear on the paper. The different products are called: Freedom, time, patience and kindness and above all faith in the possibilities of the Absorbent Mind.
To remember:
- The Absorbent Mind is the form of intelligence that pushes the child to learn through observation.
- The child is a sponge
- The Absorbent Mind is as powerful as the roots of a tree
My gift to you:
“The child is not a vase to be filled, but a spring to be sprinkled”
Maria Montessori
This applies to all children!