Today we celebrate another wonderful Maria Montessori birthday. The photograph shows her surrounded by what comes close to a proper “flower shop” full of bouquets – the year is 1938, she has turned 68 and the place is Laren, where she is pictured seated on the so-called Catalan chair, a delightful present from her 1916 students on the first course delivered in Barcelona. The weather on this day let Maria Montessori down a bit: there were only three hours of sunshine, there was a slight breeze and with 15 degrees Celsius definitely not a summery temperature. But the flowers were great!  By the way, Maria Montessori shared her birthday with Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.

Going from one festive occasion to another, only two days later Maria Montessori opened a teacher training course at her new centre in Laren, the Netherlands. In her welcome speech, Maria Montessori expressed her gratitude to all who had helped in the realisation of the Laren Study Centre, and hoped that it would meet everyone’s expectation and more. She also emphasised the importance of a strong Montessori community to promote the Montessori principles. And this wish remains as relevant as ever — across the world.