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

When comparing and contrasting two teaching approaches, it is important to remember that although there is a myriad of different types i.e. Froebel, Montessori, Steiner etc., they all possess similarities and differences. Each individual approach has many fascinating points, however the Montessori and Steiner approach will be discussed in this essay. Montessori’s approach is based on the understanding that children have an inborn capacity to acquire information and to teach themselves when placed in an environment that allows freedom and independence to work at their own pace (Miller, 2010, p.71). Whereas Steiner’s approach is based on the understanding that children learn primarily through imitation and whatever is happening around them from

Maria developed three stages of children’s development based on her knowledge and observations. The first stage is the stage of the ‘absorbent mind’, which is from birth to 6 years of age. This stage is when the child is exploring his/her environment, absorbing information, and creating their concepts of reality. The second stage is from 6 to 12 years of age; this is when the child is using skills learned in the first stage. During this stage the child is reinforcing and expanding the skills learned in the previous stage. Maria’s final stage of child development is from 12 to 18 years of age. This is when the adolescent comprehends social roles and trying to find their place in society.

According to Piaget (1929, 1954, 1963), the process of adaptation helps us to understand how a child constructs his/her world. Taking Piaget's theory of Cognitive Development with particular focus on the Sensori-Motor stage of development, I am going to discuss how understanding this stage might influence me when working with a baby as a nursing student in the future.

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.

The Absorbent Mind and the the Sensitive Period influence greatly on children 's development of movement. "Development is a series of re-births. There comes a time when one psychic personality ends, and another begins" (The Absorbent Mind, 2007. Maria Montessori . Page #17). The Horme (a Montessori term meaning 'instinct ' or 'unconscious will power ') is the dominant influence on the child in the first 3 years of life. All impressions are stored in the Mneme which is described as the recording by the subconscious memory of all sensations experienced by an individual. As the child develops into the second sub-phase of the First Plane of Development, the child’s will emerges and replaces the influence of the Horme. The first three years of life are crucial for a child’s development. Dr. Montessori explains how mental movement is connected with physical movement, and depends on it. Movement helps the development of the mind and improved expression in further movement and

Montessori believed 2 conditions were necessary for a child's psychic growth to occur. Firstly the child is dependent upon a close relationship with their environment, both the things and the people within it. Secondly, the child needs freedom. Without these conditions being met, the psychic life of a child will not reach its potential and the child's personality will be stunted. In the words of Montessori, for the children who have "met with severe obstacles during this period, deviations of personality may ensue" (Montessori, 1988, p.178).

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

The Secret of Childhood by Maria Montessori Maria Montessori passionately reveals to us the inner workings of children as they develop into their full potential in an effort to assist adults in understanding and supporting this process. The ideas and methods shared have become the foundation for the Montessori model of education. In the introduction, Maria Montessori asserts “there is no real place for children” in today’s modern society where parents are working, cities are crowded and deemed dangerous, and the home is often filled with furnishings off limits to children. We are asked to consider where children feel they belong and are understood. Though Maria believed that great progress was underway when writing this book, with an

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.

Dr Maria Montessori concluded, therefore, “the tongue, which he uses for speaking and more of his hands, which he employs for work” are more intimately connected with his intelligence than any other parts of body. (Montessori, A Modern Approach, Chapter 1, Page 34). Dr Maria Montessori really emphasized on sensorial activities in her classroom, materials in her classroom are in various textures, sizes, which that some are soft or hard, and that objects have different colours and shades. The child needs to freely explore in his prepared environment so he can differentiate among these qualities. When the child grows older, he is now has more interest in refining his sensory input. A more in depth of exploration into sameness, differences and gradations of same and different objects in his environment is now realizes by him. Through these senses, the child is able to study his environment and through this study, he is then begins to understand his environment and learns from it as well. Dr Maria Montessori here referred the child as a “sensorial explorer”. The child learns through the sensorial materials by given an opportunity to classify the meaning of the material around him which in return leads to the child making his own experiences in his environment. Sooner and later, the child learns to adapt to his environment and now he gains a decision making skill, which is not far from being an independent individual.

As a result, this successfully caters to the child’s sensitive periods. For example, a child may have an interest in letters. He may then go to the language area and work with materials that have been presented to him.

A thorough understanding and knowledge of the 'sensitive periods ' (Montessori, 1972) that a child passes through is crucial in aiding the teacher to provide a suitable environment to assist a child 's optimum development as the environment that the child is in plays a crucial role to their formation according to Montessori.

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.