I have been incredibly amazed at how this whole project has come together. Until I started
writing this web site in 2003, I did not realize how well Montessori education and Catholic education work together, and furthermore,
how Livable Learning seems to be the element that pulls them both together in a homeschooling environment.
As I wrote my first book "From Creative Chaos to Livable Learning" I realized that I was teaching
myself in the process. For that reason exactly, I alone cannot take the credit. It is through the Holy Spirit that I might
claim any successes. The book started out as a story of my personal journey from chaos to a more livable order in my home.
As it developed, the book took on much more of the Montessori flavor than I had originally intended.
Both the Montessori Method and the Catholic Faith are based on a universal order and founded in universal Truth.
To be a follower of Montessori is to be a disciple of order. To be a Catholic is to be a disciple of the Creator of Order.
Montessori embodies the teaching of Truth in education, whereas in the same way, the Catholic Church embodies the teaching
of Truth in Faith. Pedagogy is the science of teaching, with Montessori being the scientific
application of education. Theology is the science of God, with the Catholic Church providing the scientific application
of Faith.
Montessori did base many of her teaching methods on the pedagogy of the
Catholic Church. She, herself was a devout Catholic. She was a genius to many; very deep and philosophical, yet very approachable
and practical. Despite those who would choose to distort her original teachings, the Montessori Method has survived the test
of time. I have no doubt that the success of her teaching methods was due to her passionate quest for the truth. At the very
foundation of both Montessori education and the Catholic Faith is the overwhelming element of Truth. The Catholic Church too,
has survived the test of time and continues to triumph in the face of distortions. The point of all of this is not to say
that if a person does not follow all of the original teachings of Montessori that he will not benefit. Nor is it to say that
if one does not follow all the teachings of the Catholic Church that he will not go to heaven. More simply, it is to say that
if one does choose the direct path of Montessori in education, or if one does choose the direct path of the Catholic Church
in matters of faith, he will reap the greatest benefits inherent in the Truth each possesses, which will ultimately lead to
the development of the fullest potential of the human person.
I am the type of person
who needs an overall plan and then the freedom to make my own adaptations from there. I get overwhelmed and paralyzed with
too much detail. My creation of a "Livable Learning" lifestyle is what I needed to maintain a successful environment
in my home and in our homeschool day. I was not able to find the style of resources I needed to bring order to my home, nor
was I able to find a comprehensive, user-friendly presentation of Montessori education for homeschoolers, nor of Catholic
Faith applications to everyday school subjects. I want the "meat" of Montessori and I want the "meat"
of the Catholic Faith. I want it direct and I want it understandable. You will find the writing in my resource manuals designed
just as the Montessori presentation -- with as few words as possible, or without "twaddle" as those who use
the Charlotte Mason method would say.
I have felt an urgent calling over the past
year towards my writing. I am feeling in many ways overwhelmed by thoughts of what may come of all this, and in that I ask
your prayers to lift up my work to the ultimate end of God's will and calling. Maria Montessori said it so well when she
said:
