MAY 8th is the 60th anniversary of the Gatehouse School, London.
I ask a blessing on all past and present pupils, and on those pupils during my thirty years of creating Gatehouse.

We were a school that had a mixture within it and took turns for our own special prayer at assembly. We had many children of other ethnic backgrounds when it was rare in London. However if they entered they had to agree to take part in the annual Nativity Play as literature which used the St. James version Gospel words.

I thank the Gatehouse pupils for the most wonderful thirty years when we were creating the all age Learning Centre.

This year I have been round the world with my wheel chair, lecturing and visiting Montessori schools.

My lectures link the Montessori ac3tivities with the latest brain research. .

My travels to Montessori schools all over the world was a most wonderful experience but I couldn’t help thinking how disappointed Montessori would be at the very few schools going up in age in the wonderful way she spent so many years developing in theory.

Her work went even through the university years, saying what she thought about university and how there should be a difference between vocational universities and those pursuing pure research.

My own senior work has been lost, as Gatehouse now doesn’t go into the senior adolescent years. However my second lecture is always showing slides of the Gatehouse as a Learning Centre, and telling of our experiences.

We were the first school to integrate children with profound disabilities. We learned so much.

Thank You so very much staff and pupils during those thirty years of our all age Gatehouse Students.
Thank you BBC for the fine documentary about us and also for the BBC radio Broadcast with us at The Festival of Britain.
Remarkably we neveer had a prospectus as we always had a very long waiting list which we took in at date order. May The Gatehouse always have this fine social and also ethnic mix.
Every child said every day with his or her own meaning:
“Oh God I love you! Help me to love you more and more every day. Amen

Do write to me. I am just about to be ninety!
phylliswallbank@aol.com

For more help in Maths, pupils and teachers may obtain extra help from Wolfram Projects.

Stephen Wolfram devised Mathmatica, a soft ware program used by space travel to the moon.

What is The Wolfram Demonstrations Project?

I was guardian to Stephen’s Wolframs Mother. Stephen has tried to help sschools by making programs of interest showing Maths in different subjects of interest to young children. Theese programs are free of any charge.

What is The Wolfram Demonstrations Project?
The Wolfram Demonstrations Project was conceived by Stephen Wolfram as a way to bring computational exploration to the widest possible audience.

With hundreds of interactive, open-code Demonstrations–created in Mathematica by users from around the world–The Wolfram Demonstrations Project brings to life ideas in maths, science, and many other areas, from elementary education to front-line research.

All Demonstrations, and the programs that made them, are provided free of charge and run on any computer with Mathematica ,6 or the free Mathematica Player.
This means that pupils can continue to teach themselves at their own pace in the Montessori way, with now, expert help.

The Wolfram Demonstrations Project was conceived by Stephen Wolfram as a way to bring computational exploration to the widest possible audience.

With hundreds of interactive, open-code Demonstrations–created in Mathematica by users from around the world–The Wolfram Demonstrations Project brings to life ideas in maths, science, and many other areas, from elementary education to front-line research.

All Demonstrations, and the programs that made them, are provided free of charge and run on any computer with Mathematica 6 or the free Mathematica Player.

Whatever the future holds, whether robotic or not, Maths is in nature itself and holds the key to our future.

The need is for easy swift computation,ease of managing equations, and fractions, and also problem solving.

Fast computation is achieved in Montessori schools by such materials as the bead stair which helps with the make up of ten . The ease of knowing 7 qnd 3, 6 and 4 and so on is vital.

The very large numbers that are connected with space travel may thwn be easily handled as ‘powers of ten’.

The multiplication tables are understood with the materials and the use of both hemispheres of the brain help them to go into the long term memory.

Once the make up of ten is known, one of the numbers can be substituted wiith a letter and equations are used and understood.

Problem solving is enjoyed because the children make up their ow ‘Story Sums’ for their friends. There is much laughter as children make up such imaginative themes through these story problems.

Problem solving is a major need for any new invention.

The founders of Google were Montessori chilldren and say it with pride.

Dr Montessori said that we must give the child in his schooling the Keys to the Environment that he will need as an adult in his own generation. We therefore have to look at the next stage of use of technology that is likely to happen.

The cost of a home in the industrial cities means that generally both parents have to work and their need is for more help with the more mundane household chores so that more time can be given to their children when they come home from work..

There is general belief that the age of robots for mundane tasks will come about in his next generation, just as they are now used in the factories to make cars..

Boys have a larger spatial area of the brain than girls and so they are more attracted to engineering.

So what maths will be needed to be conversant with in our schools.? I am so very glad that there are some Senior Montessori schools working in the way advocated by Dr Montessori.

Children in our youngest age groups are very happy working with computation. Numbers and fractions are needed in programming robots. Our very young have the understanding of fractions through their senses working early on substituting one fraction for others..

I will continue tomorrow pointing out the Keys needed to deal happily, with understanding, the probable needs for the future of our children within their new environment.

Dancing a`nd acting should of course be within all ages of Montessori as these are attributes of our humanity.

Walking on a line to music is a coordination development exercise in our schools. However we still need free movement each in their own way, to music.

The music should be vaied from day to day so that sometimes it is easy and flowing and sometimes sycopated and lively.

Children who have eor are distressed by something at home can get a gt eat release from their anxiety or sadness. Similarly great energy and joy can find expression.

When ac4ting the childen’s attention can be drawn to nature bby acting.
“Fly like a bird.”
“Be a little seed that is watered and grows very strong and tall.”
The possibilities are endless and help observation and aid expression.

It is a help afterwards to have everyone go on tiptoe to their seat with their choice of what they wish to do if it is the six and under age group.

Remember Dr Montessori said that she would never segregate those ages as they learn from each other through the Absorbent Mind and through their companionship and care for each other.

Music and singing are a natural part of all human beings. Our brains are made to be activated by the sounds of different types of music, and also to produce music through our voice and through instruments.

Listening to music activates the Auditory Cortex in the right hemisphere of the brain.

When we pitch a note the Precuneus is activated.

When the children know a tune and follow the melody, their right temporal lobe is used.

When a song tune eis played and they play the game of remembering the title then the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere is used.

And ehrn they sing along with understanding of the words the the area activated is the Wernick’s area.

The children in addition use the Montessori Tone Bars and the wonderful bells and so are helped to perfect pitch and a love of music in all its variety.

Montessori children often hum quietly as they work and the are enthusiastic choral singers and music makers.

Yesterday I had this from my hostess after visiting her school in Israel.

Dear Phyllis,
I have more good news - do you remember the quiet very withdrawn girl who’s interest in the letters you spotted and suggested to Daniela to offer her reading activities? This girl is now spontaneously working and playing with other children in the class room!!! Can you imagine?!? Actually I think you can, as you spotted her hunger and showed us how to do this miracle. You taught me so much in such a little time! thank you so much dearest Phyllis. Big hug! Naomi.

Reading is a great help to all children and so we give the early keys.

My Jewish Hostess took me to the Holy Land, to Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem for me for Easter! Montessori is about the development of ALL humans and so crosses boundaries whilst keeping the culture.

There are said to be over thirty two thousand Montessori schools in the world so we have at least thirty two thousand friends!

I go to Russia on the 14th, no! not for the football but to lecture and to see some schools. I look forward to it very much.

Life is for living even when 90! I go with my wheelchair. Love to you.

The Absorbent Mind is so very strong so use it for the printed word.

Label your shelves so that when the child goes to fetch the Pink Tower, he sees the words, Pink Tower on that shelf at the Pink Tower.

Use capital letters only for Proper Nouns and only for the first letter; remember the absorbent mind takes in everything!

Use a large reading card when you announce a general activity such as a break.

The children very early on will feel the sandpaper letters with the sound for each. They will be using the movable alphabet for their own thought.

The fun of reading must come long before any exercises for spelling with the alphbet and then the fun and magic of reading is captured.

One day let everyone wear already prepared name labels and dsmall children love going around reading the labels because they know what they say.

T&he Command Cards are enjoyed very much. These have such commands as
Clap three times. ( Put the capital letter at the beginning).
Stand up and turn around twice. etc.

Your science experiments should Montessori suggested, say for the plants
‘Water me every day”, then the next plant:’Water me once ea week’ and the third, ‘Do not water.”

Puttt these reading words very early within the environment and like at my Gatehouse School, children will read very easily by five years.

Small children are very tactile so they enjoy feeling the sand paper letters, and hearing and copying the sound. However one of the greatest spurs to early reading were the cards to be found in the ‘Verb Box’.

The child would come and say “What does this say?” And “h o p hop” would be the reply and off the child would go round the room hopping.

The verb box was a great favorite and would be chosen again and again and the reading was so quickly absorbed and enjoyed.

The wonderful thing about all these very early reading activities is the naming of the grammar of the activity. So it is quite common to hear a small child say to another “Let’s do the Verbs!”

The farm preposition game is loved when they read the card that says “Put the cow near the fence.”etc.

The children at The Gatehouse used to be reading just through these materials, by the age of five.

With so many children now in England where they hear more than one language being spoken, these games can be done in more than one language at this age.

The brain cells for absorbing language are still situated. at this age, in the frontal lobes and they die off duering the next year. This sis why reading connected with language is so easily absorbed at this early age

Some children show a great love for words. It is interesting to see how the very young, if they have a real interest in something, and this interest is fed with self corrective material,they can surpass their parents.

You can prove this and amaze the parents by making the following material for any child who shows a love for new and long words.

Prepare some ‘ologist ‘words. Have the first part of the word card and then ‘ologist’ on another card and the meaning on a third card.

So that the child can teach himself/herself, put the word and meaning together on a control card. In this way he can either look and learn by copying it as he puts out the cards, or use it after ss correction.

geolologist making a map
hydrologist looking for water
palaeontologist looking for fossils
palaeoentomologist Looking for ancient bugs and beetles

You will find that they enjoy impressing their parents with these!

Most schools start their mornings with a gathering round of the children and a News Time, when the children tell any news that they may have.

Children’s NEWS is usually the telling of good things that have happened to themselves or which are going to happen.

This is very unlike the news media of the adult world which seems to begin and feed us all only on all the bad news it can find in the world.

When there is so much good local news that we hear about within our own experience and word of mouth, it is so sad that the bad news shoud always be spread.

Montessori stressed something that is so true and so very important:
Spotlight the good and the good will grow.