The Sensitive Periods - Montessori

(Fisher 2013:5) ‘The years from 0-7 are a period of human development with the capacity to learn.’ This quote links into this assignment as it shows how important the first couple of years in a child’s life can affect them the throughout their life. It shows how important it is to have the pioneers input into the practice and teaching of children as its important they have the best start in life to help them develop.

This essay will cover transitions in the early years. It will discuss a diverse range of transitions, which each child may encounter during their early years of life. It will discuss different types of transitions such as horizontal and vertical transitions, with reference to appropriate theorists such as Bowlby and Ainsworth’s and their research on the attachment theory. The last section of the essay will show a high quality policy and procedure, going into detail on how it will support a child in the transition from pre-school in a nursery setting, to reception in a primary school.

The theories/approaches established by historical and contemporary pioneers provide valuable insight, underpinning the understanding of how children develop, allowing teachers to enhance the holistic development of every child. This essay will analyse the: behaviourist theory; cognitive-developmental theory; and socio-cultural theory.

The early years framework emphasises a personal and individual approach to learning and development because valuing a child’s individuality, ideas and feelings is an important part of developing an individual approach to the learning and development. A child has universal physical needs such as food, drink and shelter and psychological needs such as love, affection, security, friendship which are essential to maintaining their quality of life. In recognising and trying to meet an individual child’s needs each child’s age, physical maturity, intellectual abilities, emotional development, social skills and past experiences and relationships need to be considered.

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.

All children are different in their unique way. The goal of this assignment was to observe different children in an uninterrupted environment. Although all the children observed were the same age, they all acted differently during their observation. The differences in the way we react to different situations are what make us human. These differences can be explained through the theories that different psychologist have developed over the years. Some children react better to things like praise from a teacher or being able to be creative in the activities that they are participating in.

After observing a nine month old child for this Child Observation paper, the author of this paper has taken copious notes during the session. The purpose of this paper is recognizing the biological, cognitive and psychosocial development of the child. The author of this paper identified the background history of the child, the observation made and the development process of the child.

The sensitive periods are triggered due to an unconscious will power/force called Horme, which pushes the child to fulfill his divine urge. The sensitive periods are critical to the child 's self development. The child passes through six significant sensitive periods those for Sensitivity to order; learning through five senses; sensitivity to small objects; sensitivity to co-ordination of movement; language and social aspect of life. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that the child is born with pre-determined psychic pattern or The eight Law’s of Natural Development which are laid down before birth i.e. Law of work; when children were exposed to the material in the prepared environment become calm and peaceful and their destructive behaviors disappear. Thus, Montessori concluded that some great need of the child must have been met through this activity of concentration. Law of Independence, wherein the child uses his independence to listen to his own inner guide for actions that can be useful for him. We must keep children independent by providing them enough opportunities to work with materials. Power of attention, to further enhance and cultivate the power of attention we engage the child into various Montessori activities thereby developing the ability to concentrate and building personality. After internal coordination is established through the child’s ability for prolonged attention and concentration, the Development of Will takes place, where in

This study is intended to document my observation of a child between the ages of 2-5. The small child I observed is a 4 years old male. Family arrangements consist of the mother being the primary caregiver of her son. Since the child is not old enough to consent to my amateur study, I have received permission from the mother and father. The method used in this clinical report is a naturistic observation in which I went to the family’s household where I recorded his behavior for an hour.

0-3 years From the stages between 0-3 year’s children are learning their reflexes, about people around them, how to play alongside others etc. During this stage it is very important that all children get every type development without any problems as this may cause harsh conditions for them in the future.

A sensitive period refers to “a special sensibility which a creature acquires in its infantile state" (Montessori, 1966, p.38). Such sensitive periods were first discovered in insects by the Dutch scientist Hugo de Vries, but according to Montessori, can also be found in children and are very important to consider in teaching.

"Sensitive Periods" are times in which the child is particularly receptive to experience in the environment. The mentality of the child seeks certain experience. The child is particularly receptive the environment, order and language during the time from birth to six years old" (from teacher's power point in the class). For Example, the child going to school and they are trying to follow the life that have already excited in that school.

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

have been costed for parents and their children to establish an acceptable pattern of interaction, however, during the puberty of period, both the

Children who succeed at this stage develop a sense of capability and productivity. Those who have problems at this stage may develop an anal fixation. As adults they might me excessively orderly or messy. (Cherry,