Enjoy reading Ashley’s take on how the body is part of the way that the Toddlers grow and learn.

“Fundamental to her pedagogy, Maria Montessori observed that very young children, birth to age three, had rapidly developing brains, absorbing the world with all their senses at once. This is one reason why the Montessori Method resonates so deeply with the toddler age group. Toddlers learn with every sense actively engaged, physically participating in developing social and emotional knowledge, forming cognitive building blocks that will last a lifetime. In The Absorbent Mind, Dr Maria Montessori refers to the hands as instruments of intelligence, stating, “the child’s intelligence can develop to a certain level without the help of his hand. But if it develops with his hand, then the level it reaches is higher, and the child’s character is stronger. So even here, in what we tend to think of as a purely psychological matter, the facts are that a child’s character remains rudimentary unless he finds opportunities for applying his powers of movement to his surroundings.” How beautiful is it to foster whole body learning, instead of trying to stifle it?”

– Ashley Akers, Toddler Acorn Guide

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