Machine generated contents note: 1.The Foundations of Montessori Education -- Nurture and nature -- Jean Marc Gaspard Itard (1775-1838) -- Adhered Seguin (1812-1880) -- Giuseppe Sergi (1841-1936) -- 2.Montessori and the First Children's House -- The first experiment -- What was new in the Montessori method? -- Relationship to current issues -- Learning to write and read -- Beginning handwriting -- Beginning reading -- Mathematics -- Implications for education -- Relation to current issues and research -- 3.Teacher Training and the Early Dissemination of Montessori Education -- Teacher training -- Preparation of a new directress/researcher -- Critics and supporters -- Dissemination of Montessori education -- 4.Montessori and Child Development -- Planes of development -- Understanding development of the whole child, a personality -- Connectionists - how children learn -- Developmental curriculum -- Cosmic education (6-12 years) use of imagination -- 5.Montessori, the Teacher and the Prepared Environment -- Critics and supporters -- The Montessori directress -- Preparing the environment -- Social and emotional relationships -- 6.Montessori, Parents and the Home Environment -- Understanding child development -- Mental health -- Prizes and punishments -- In the home -- School/home relationships.