Learning Activities

These colored pictures, illustrated by Madeleine Morin Soltis, are food for the absorbent mind of the young child. The child age 0 to 6 years absorbs his environment. The impressions he absorbs become the very stuff of which his mind is formed.

The Images stimulate joy and radiate the feeling of peace and many other positive qualities for your child to absorb, such as orderliness and cheerfulness!

Download Colored Illustrations

(Download time may be 20 minutes unless you have a high speed Internet connection.)

Showing children pictures of the grotesque, monsters and hellish creatures may inflict harm upon the mind that is forming. It is essential that whatever is appropriate, purposeful, wholesome, harmonious, beneficial and beautiful surround the young child whose mind is in the formative state.

Montessori points out that it is the normalized child who will grow into an adult capable of correcting the ills of society. (The normalized child is the child whose mind has not been formed in various patterns of deviation. Read The Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori.)

We highly recommend that the colored illustrations be used as flashcards for babies because of the positive impressions that can be gained from each picture. Children may see the colored illustrations starting from infancy, as soon as they have recovered from the birth experience. From age 0 to 4 months parents have a, truly, captive audience because the child has little mobility and dearly appreciates whatever stimulation or attention you can provide.

Babies need to be provided with many objects and items of practical value and beauty while the mind is forming. Large, colorful flashcards with pictures of useful objects or simple scenes of childhood, in all its wonder and beauty, are ideal for a baby. And you can show the pictures again and again.

PRESENTING FLASHCARDS

Picture cards are to be kept in loose-leaf page protectors. If you also keep them in a ring binder you can flip the cards over like a flip chart. Otherwise cardboard backing is
recommended. When presenting the cards hold them about 18” from the baby and hold them steady at the child’s eye level. Eliminate noises and distractions from the baby’s environment and provide adequate lighting. (You will find descriptive sentences intended as labels for identification on the last 4 pages of this file. Labels are to be cut out and pasted on the back of the picture cards.)

A baby’s attention upon a picture should be natural and not forced. Allowing the baby to see a picture for a short time works best rather than holding it in front of him for too long of a time. The length of time it takes for you to read the descriptive sentence on the label, slowly with deliberation and clear pronunciation, is as long as you would need to show the picture. (You may find that your baby is as interested in what you have to say, as he is in the pictures, if you speak slowly and articulate each word precisely.) You may show the baby as many pictures as he wants to see. If the baby gives you his attention he wants to see the pictures. Otherwise he will look away. You might want to provide several short sessions per day or make them a little longer if the child is interested in longer sessions.

These hand colored illustrations were colored by I.P.A.'s children's artist Madeleine Morin Soltis. They are ideal for children ages 0-6 years, or for any age. The colored illustrations accompany her coloring book.

Download the free coloring book

Because of high quality resolution, download time may be 20 minutes unless you have a high speed Internet connection.

Coloring prepares the hand for writing and all types of handiwork. Children 3 years old and younger will work to perform, and perfect with their hands what they have absorbed with their minds. They will color the pictures again and again until they achieve the level of perfection they are striving for. It is crucial that children have the example of excellence set before them.

Parents can set high standards for their children by providing them with examples of excellence, such as these colored illustrations that are intended for use with the coloring book, for this very purpose. Simply remove the colored picture, still in its jacket, from the ring binder and let the child see the picture while the child is coloring.

If you do not have a colored printer we suggest that you take the PFD file to a color- coping center. We recommend putting colored illustrations in loose-leaf jackets and storing them in a ring binder.

If you do not want your child to become acquainted with angels and elementals, simply remove the pictures from the collection that pertain to them. You will still find many beautiful pictures of real value for your child.