In 2017, the project “Help Me Do It Yourself”, a travelling educational programme for all, was launched. This project developed an educational programme aimed at helping children to unlock their creative potential and develop a responsible, independent and free personality. The methodological basis of the educational programme “Help me to do it myself” is the Montessori system of education, which is wonderfully technological, thoughtful, purposeful and includes not only intellectual but also spiritual abilities. The archive of M. Kuraitytė-Varnienė in the Museum’s collections was used for its development. This educational activity is easily modified from an educational activity for children to a cognitive educational activity for adults. The children will play and develop while participating in the activity, while the adults will find it a great educational tool to get acquainted with the Montessori method, to try it out and to apply it to their own children’s upbringing. The educational session will also be interesting for educators looking for new ideas for the education of the youngest Lithuanian citizens.The project team has drawn on the experience of Adam and Maria Varnas in developing a free and creative personality and revealing its rich spiritual world. The educational programme is aimed at children aged 5 to 12 years. It is a travelling educational programme that took place in educational spaces specially prepared for children’s work. Up to 30 children were working in the space at any one time and at the same time the children were working individually, unrestricted by time and without the interference of adults. All the tools were purposefully selected and prepared to stimulate the creative process, whether it be mother tongue, mathematics, geometry or drawing and music. Information boards were created to decorate the space of the educational programme and not only provided a lot of information about Montessori’s methodology, but also gave a visual representation of how a child feels in an adult world.
The educational programme travelled around Lithuania. For two days, the programme took place at the Lithuanian Museum of the History of Education and visited Druskininkai, Kėdainiai, Panevėžys, Kačerginė, Jurbarkas and Jonava. Due to the great interest, twice as many sessions were held as planned. Over 150 children and their parents or teachers attended the educational sessions in each city.
During the preparation of the educational program and its publicity, the Lithuanian Museum of the History of Education organized a seminar “What does it mean to be a “Montessori parent“?, where Montessori specialists from Norway and the USA introduced parents to how to use the Montessori teaching method at home, what it provides to children and what its advantages and disadvantages are. About 150 teachers and parents of Kaunas city and district participated in the seminar.
