By Donna Curtis (IMS ’02)
Most refreshing! Most delightful! Most hospitable! Thank you, Giuliana DeFrenza, for opening your heart and school to me.
I was discouraged and disappointed trying to find a Montessori school to observe to update my IMS Teacher Certification, until I discovered Giuli-ana DeFrenza’s Montessori Harbor-Mesa School about 90 miles away. When I called the school and spoke with Mrs. DeFrenza, I experienced great relief and exuberance, a real “Eureka!” moment. Giuliana was absolutely delightful and welcoming and invited me to visit and observe her school. Needless to say, I immediately nailed down a date on my calendar, gassed up the car, and off I went.
Giuliana met me and we spent some time chatting privately about our Montessori journeys. Her demeanor made me think that Maria Montessori herself must have been similar—my projection. She trained in 1957 at Scuola Magistrade Livio Andronico in Taranto, Italy and now these years later Giuliana has both a Primary and Elementary School. I visited her Primary School.
After our chat, she graciously led me into three separate classrooms and let me choose which one to observe. I observed Head Teacher, Ms. Eva, and Assistant Teacher, Ms. Angelina. As I quietly sat and watched, I saw over and over the IMS techniques being used in the classroom: Eye Contact before talking, Proximity, Least amount of adult involvement, Clear Direction, Cooperative Touching, and Patient Waiting. The children were generally peaceful, joyful, engaged in work.
My highlight moment was when one boy, who had not been peaceful with goofing off and disturbing other chil-dren, settled down to work with the Short Bead Stair with a paper exten-sion. After some time, he stood up holding his paper in his hand with a huge smile on his face and called out, “I did it!”, once again establishing the premise that Maria Montessori put forth regarding the connection be-tween the mind and working with the hands. This moment was momentous for me because I observed the use of the IMS techniques which offered up the path for his success that could have been so easily squashed with too much adult direction or correction. I reveled in his joy right along with him—he did it!
If you are ever in the region of Costa Mesa, California, do make a point of setting up a visit to this wonderful Montessori school and soak in the IMS techniques at work.
About Donna Curtis (IMS ’02)
For many years, Donna Curtis has been conducting her own Mustard Seed Montessori School, in Petaluma, CA, as a free ‘mission’ for children and families to benefit from her considerable skill and knowledge of “true natural” Montessori teaching and IMS technology. She also provides guidance and support to educators outside her local area, such as through a social media network for educators in Nigeria. She and her parents are now sponsoring Nigerian educator, Evelyn Onyeka, to take the IMS distance learning course, to bring the benefits of the “new education” and IMS technology to parents and educators in her west African country.
Donna is also a senior mentor consultant for students in the IMS teacher education course, and is presently seeking to raise interest for IMS to conduct its two-day weekend Montessori workshop in her area. For further information about her consultation services and support, contact: Donna Curtis, donnacurtis@hotmail.com, Tel. 707-762-6524
