Montessori Sensitive Periods

MONTESSORI’S research shows that children learn through movement and should have environments that are specifically tailored to meet their needs. Montessori schools provide a foundation for learning that is centred on care for the environment, care for the self as individual and

In today’s society many people recognize that our current educational system is antiquated and heavily flawed. Many do not believe the education our children routinely receive adequately prepares them to be successful in their adult lives and because of this parents are very concerned. This dissatisfaction has led to the implementation of numerous alternatives to the traditional educational system to which we have become accustomed. Each of these alternatives has their own collection of philosophies and methodologies, proponents and opponents, advantages and disadvantages, but the common thread is that they each aim to provide our children with a better, more effective education suited for today’s world. Montessori education is one of these alternative learning options that been around for many years and has been steadily gaining popularity.

Montessori’s teaching approach aims to develop all aspects of the child mentally and socially (Pound, 2012). Montessori cautioned teachers to remember that children need to be allowed to do basic tasks to learn for themselves (Mooney, 2000, p.28). The role of the teacher in a Montessori setting is mainly observation of the child, encouragement, preparation of the environment, leadership, fostering the child’s independence (Mooney, 2000, p.29), and keeping a complex and delicate balance between each role. (Miller, 2010, p.79). Both theorists acknowledged that children learn best by doing and through repetition of tasks (Mooney, 2000, p.29). Large blocks of time for free work and play, should be scheduled as this was part of the Montessori legacy, this can also be seen in Steiner settings. (Pound, 2012). The teacher should also give children responsibility for keeping the setting space clean and tidy and allow the children to structure their own play. (Mooney, 2000, p.29). Steiner’s role of the teacher is comparable. Steiner wanted to create an education which gave children ‘clarity of thought, sensitivity of feeling and strength of will’ (Pound 2012, p28). Like Montessori the role of the teacher is all about observation, the teacher needs to be both interested and observational of the child’s basic needs to fully develop the child both

The Montessori approach aims to promote children 's holistic development but by stepping back and allowing the children to play by themselves without intervention. Practitioners are expected to step back and only get involved in the children 's learning only if invited or if the child is at risk of harming themselves or other children. I think that it is important that practitioners get involved in children 's play and learning only to improve the child’s current learning. They could do this by challenging them or by asking the children questions to further the child’s learning. This could also be done through adult-led activities as they are more structured as APPOSE to the child-led activities. Child-led activities are SPONTANOUS and are often do not have a certain aim where as in adult-led activities have an aim that is expected to be reached by the end of the activity.

Maria Montessori founded an education system which is called Montessori and still bares her name, her system is based on belief in the child’s creative potential, (Douglas, n.d.). Her first Casa Dei Bambini (Children’s house), where Maria was using her approach of teaching was opened in 1907 in Rome. She was great educator who believed that children are learning through their personal experience at their right time and their own pace. (Ridgway, 2007). Children rather than learning largely from what the teachers and the textbooks say, learn from “doing”,(Douglas, n.d.). To provide for children an effective, independent learning process, and that they become a competent and confident learner, Teacher had to provide for children a healthy, clean, well-prepared and well organised environment in which children could develop. Maria Montessori came up with idea that if children have to work and play independently, they have to be comfortable and need appropriately sized tools and items that fit their small hands (Mooney, 2000). Montessori believed that children learn through sensory experiences. Teacher has a responsibility to provide wonderful sights, textures, sounds, and smells for children. Sensory

Lastly, the principle and philosophy of Maria Montessori in early childhood education is absorbent mind. From the age 0-6 years old is what Montessori called the all-around formative period of the absorbent mind. At 0-3 years old, children are unconsciously absorbing what is around him and is more reactive than purposeful in his actions. Meanwhile at 3-6 years old, children begin to explore the outer environment through more purposeful movement and exercise.

In reality, the children move about the classroom independently, choosing the order of their learning activities. There may be 15 or more activities, or ?jobs? as they are called in some Montessori classrooms, occurring at the same time with small groups or individual work, yet the classroom remains quiet, yet busy and productive, sometimes with the soft hush of classical music playing in the background. Many Montessori school classrooms place a card around the child?s neck with the day?s objectives written in the form of a checklist for the students to monitor themselves. This checklist encourages the students to take responsibility for their own learning, as well as discourages prompt-dependence, since the student need not wait for instruction. Some of the activities in a Montessori classroom include reading, pre-reading using phonics, math, discovery science and writing. Children learn skills in a way that he or she is not aware that learning is taking place. For example, a child playing in the sand box with a small rake is not aware that he or she is learning fine motor skills and how to hold and control a pencil. Another observation in a Montessori classroom is that most classrooms tend to span three grade levels. This practice allows to children to become mentors to younger students. Also, the large gap in developmental levels allows children to ?learn at their own pace? (Keller, 2001), which is another important Montessori

The success of the Montessori method depends on how the environment us set up, it is essential that it is prepared and simplified for the students’ understanding.

Motto:’’ The teacher as an adult should try to interpret the child's needs and meet them as best as he can by preparing a really suitable environment. This may be the beginning of a new epoch in education, which will consider how it can assist the life of the child.’’ (Montessori, M., The Secret of Childhood, Part1, Chapter IV: Where adults impede the question of sleep, 1963, p.79).

A sensitive period is a stage of development where a child is more receptive to stimuli and is quicker at learning new skills. The impact of stimuli and experiences are not the same throughout development. For example, if a child learns how to play an instrument or how to speak a second language before the age of 8 will most likely be more proficient as an adult. While a child who is exposed to drugs or trauma early on they are more likely to be depressed and/or addicted to drugs in adulthood. Sensitive periods in development can also be observed in nature. If song birds do not hear and copy their native song within the first two months post-birth, they may never learn their native song at all. Evidence surrounding sensitive periods existence

When the child engages with the Montessori materials in total concentration for long periods of time, a transformation occurs. This transformation is what Dr. Maria Montessori calls “normalization”. It is a process that occurs over a period of time, usually three or four years and it requires the child’s total engagement with the Montessori materials. The process of normalization is a journey. It begins when a child is introduced to activities like the practical life materials. The materials help the child to develop his motor skills , acquire a sense of order , and begin the process of extending their ability, and desire for concentrated work.

Children will absorb everything they see, hear, taste, smell and touch in order to gain knowledge. Every child has different life experiences, however all Montessori activities can build upon each foundation in an individual way to create memories, problem solving, reasoning, understanding and, of course, absorption.

Watching a small child discover how to operate his or her favorite plaything is awe inspiring. The look of wonder at the item as it's carefully chosen from amongst their belongings and studied ever so carefully for each and every nuance. How that little face lights up with each new discovery no matter how large or small. The sounds of delight an even dismay at an unwanted result are beautiful. Consider an educational system that would continue to utilize a child’s natural curiosity, unyielding ingenuity and thirst for knowledge. Montessori education creates that environment for children by allowing them the freedom to not only gain knowledge in a natural progression, but also provide a basis on which to continue to grow no matter where

The ability to imagine is a unique human experience and deserves to be nurtured and encouraged. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that the development of the child’s imagination and creativity are inborn powers within the child that develops as his mental capacities are established through his interaction with the environment. The cultural activities in a Montessori prepared environment helps to foster imaginative skills in the early years which make significant difference in a child’s future development. The children while being educated are encouraged to imagine. This freedom

Dr. Maria Montessori was a keen observer of children. She used her observational and experimental proclivities from her medical background to develop, what we might today call, a Constructivist understanding of the process of learning. She studied them scientifically. If she saw some unusual behavior in a child, she would say,”I won’t believe it now, I shall if it happens again”. She studied the conditions in which the children would perform those actions.