Hello Gracy,
Reflections
The Man In Making
-By Aishwarya Dwarakanath
What’s that I feel? It’s new to me!
I’ve never felt it before.
A push, a scream, it hurts! No, Please!
I’m not yet ready for the door.
I’m squeezed through tight and then there’s light!
Burning, my eyes shut close .
My chest, it pains, I cry in vain,
This is NOT something I endorse.
My body feels skin, I take it all in,
Confused, I sniff the air.
I hear that voice! I hear her rejoice!
She promises me she will care.
I am hungry, I forget! I’m sleepy, I’m wet!
And all I can do is cry.
I hear you, I see you, I feel you, I need you,
And now days and nights go by
“You tire me!”, they say, Well I’m tired too.
I’m building myself, brick by brick.
New hands, new smells, what that he tells?
Oh, I’m soon going to learn what’s that trick.
Ten fingers, a nose, what’s that? I have toes?
And wait, am I learning to think?
That face, a shape, new movements, I’m awake!
Oh how I wish I just wouldn’t blink!
This world is new, and so am I too!
Great plans you may have for me.
But for now, I’m seeing and thinking and feeling…
I’ve got quite a lot to do, I’m a busy bee!
Remembering Meenakshiji
Yamini Natarajan
Second Batch, CMTC (1999-2000)
A Mentor to students,
Who wanted us to think,
So that what we learned,
Would flow in and sink …
Awe and awesome,
Are the words in my mind,
When she was before us,
I had nowhere to hide.
I still use her wisdom,
To deepen my learning,
‘You dont know, that you don’t know,’
Kept me discovering…
She will always remain,
A guide by my side,
For whenever I think,
I see her smile…
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Book 2: Chitty: A Dog and her Forest Farm By Serow
The events of Chitty the dog’s life in her forest home, told by Serow, are brought to life through award winning illustrations by Rajiv Eipe. Chitty’s empathy for those around her, her love for nature and her instinct for safety, make for an enjoyable read. When Chitty passes away after an illness, the author writes about how she misses Chitty and how by and by, as time passes, she remembers Chitty with a smile on her face. The passage of time and the seasonal cycles of nature in the forest heal and bring joy once again.
Montessori at Home
– Aishwarya
2. Land, Water & Air: Make three labels for –land, water and air. Find miniature objects or pictures of transport and animals that are on land, in water and fly in the air. Take a large piece of cloth or cardboard and paint the land and water features. Leave space for the sky and add clouds, the sun and maybe some rain too to present a lovely biosphere. Introduce the three elements to your child by having three bottles. (each filled with sand, water and air).Talk about how everything on earth is made up of these elements. Discuss with your child and sort out the vehicles and animals.
New Blog
Three Years, No Change of Classroom-
-edited from an article by Mrs. Meenakshi Sivaramakrishnan
Among the several FAQs that are asked about the Montessori child one is “ the child is in the same classroom with the same teacher for three years. How will he develop? Will he not be bored?”
It is a question that can be expected from every parent who does not know Montessori. Such a concept is difficult to understand even by trained Montessorians. They find in challenging to explain the advantages of the ‘mixed age group’ concept. Read More on the Indian Montessori Centre website!
News From IMC!
A Shraddhanjali (Memorial service) for Meenakshi Sivaramkrishnan was held at CPR Convention Centre, Chennai on Saturday 25 February 2023. It was an evening to remember her and celebrate her life and work in the Montessori world.
Gathered there were members of her family, friends, students and alumni of IMC. It began with a melodious invocation by Maythini that brought a feeling of peace to the auditorium. Mr. Nikhil Sriram, Meenakshi ma’am’s grandson had been invited to speak about her. Nikhil spoke warmly of the times he had spent with his grandparents in Bangalore and remembered doing jigsaw puzzles with her during the holidays.
Ms. Uma Shanker said that it was Meenakshi Ma’am’s courage and intrepid sense of adventure that had led to the establishment of a training centre at Chennai in 1998.
She was the Director of the courses till 2001. Many of her students remembered her way of responding with a question when they asked her a question to clarify their doubts. They agreed that while it was challenging at first, later they realized that it had set them reflecting more deeply into the philosophy. Yamini Natarajan has penned a poem in English that will be reproduced here. Manimekalai has written a poem in Tamil which she presented at the event.
We are grateful to Ms. Sharmila Aravind for the documentary that she has done on Meenakshi Sivaramakrishnan and to our friends in IMC CGC for sharing it with us.
It felt as if Ma’am was actually there speaking to us. We are hoping that it will soon be available for public viewing and will keep you posted on that.
To celebrate a life, we realized, was a time to acknowledge Meenashiji’s contributions to the movement and express our gratitude to a teacher who was more than just a guru….. each one of us feeling that we had a special bond with the her.
Meenakshiji inspired us to take the path of working with children following the Montessori philosophy.
Om Shanthi.
- Freethinking foundation led by Ms. Sandy Philip and IMC Karnataka led by Mr. Ananth Padmanabha conducted a five week Assistant Teachers Training courses between February and March. There were 22 women who benefitted. These women will assist in Anganwadi centers that The Freethinking foundation has adopted. These women will also work in the popular project ‘Montessori on Wheels’ where an environment is set up in old government buses (which are about to be sold). These buses will reach out to remote places.
- Mr. Ananth Padmanabha, Vice-President, International Relations, IMC also conducted a Montessori Assistant Teacher Training program in Vietnam for 40 students. It was a 30 hours program that ended in March.
- Ms. Latha Rao, Director, IMC-Karnataka conducted the 2nd batch of the 12-week session on ‘Inclusive Practices in a Montessori environment’. She also conducted a refresher on ‘Observation and Record keeping’ for the working Montessorians in Vietnam on 26th February, 2023.
Events for the next month:
Thank you for subscribing to Indian Montessori Centre’s newsletter! We hope to keep you updated with news from
- the different training centers- (Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurgaon,
Vietnam), - HOCs (House of Children),
- IMC Members (click to be a member)
- and IMTC Alumni!
With regards
IMC Newsletter editorial team
