S. Reichmann, certified psychologist

Within the framework of my freelance activity for the "Jugendpsychiatrischer Dienst" I am looking after a child with a severe behavioural disturbance in a "Myrtel class". I would like to tell you about my positive experiences with "Myrtel and Bo".

Myrtel and Bo – Learning with Head and Heart

"What did you learn in school today?" is one of the questions parents most frequently ask their children at home. The implied expectations of parents in this question suggest that their children should be prepared in school for a future life. By the end of their time at school, students should have acquired, as it is commonly expected, basic capabilities – they should have at their disposal an intellectual backpack which enables them to master the socio-cultural challenges of our society and time. But what are the basic prerequisites a learning system aiming at this must fulfill? What kind of accesses must a system like that have at its disposal should we want to provide our children not only with cognitive abilities but also want to strengthen creative, intellectual, social and emotional compentence?

An equally impressing as well as promising answer to this question is offered by the mulitsensory learning concept "Myrtel and Bo" – a concept of the "Myrtel Team – Teachers develop for children" residing at the "House of Future" in Hamburg. Myrtel is a small caterpillar, Bo a magic bird and together with their friends from the magic forest they lead the elementary students through grades 1 to 4 holistically and with the use of all their senses towards writing, reading, math and general knowledge, simultaneously encompassing all subjects. By the use of music, elements of movement therapy and creative approaches, childrens’ senses are specifically addressed, thus promoting sustained learning which reaches far beyond the mere acquisition of basic school abilities. The working material is especially suited for the development of the personality of the child not only because of its high aesthetic standard but also because it contains key competence which in modern psychology is regarded as a basic prerequisite for success in work, a happy and meaningful life: social competence, the capability for compassion, a sense of responsibility, self-confidence, the ability to differentiate, creativity and self-knowledge, to name the most important.

The multisensory learning system does not only affect the physical and psychological but also the intellectual dimension of the childlike being. Apart from cognitive intelligence, it also, and especially, promotes social and emotional abilities as well as the imagination and intuition of the child. The teaching material is also excellently suited to promote children at different levels of development since it consists of modules complementing each other which can also be worked on separately and at an individual tempo. Moreover, "Myrtel and Bo" leads elementary school children to work independently and freely, and equally promotes social interaction with other children of the same age. It outstandingly broadens the cognitive dimension of learning by its intellectual-creative-sensory dimension. In contrast to a mostly rational pedagogic system "Myrtel and Bo" allows for true sensory experiences.

S. Reichmann
Certified psychologist, speech therapist, healing practitioner for psychotherapy
February 2010