The Montessori method of education is based on the research of Italian physician and educator Dr. Maria Montessori (1870–1952). The development of the 'whole child'—physical, social, emotional, cognitive. She referred the minds of children between 3 - 6 years as the 'absorbent mind.' During this time, children actively absorb information from their environment and from their experiences. Children take responsibility for their own education. Progress at their own pace according to their individual capabilities. Dr. Montessori refered to the 'prepared environment’, where children are free to respond to their natural tendency to work. Their innate passion for learning is encouraged by giving them opportunities to engage in spontaneous, purposeful activities. Her fame is largely due to the apparatus which bring out the hidden learning powers of the children. The activities promotes the development of social skills, emotional growth and physical coordination as well as cognitive preparation for intellectual and academic endeavours. Younger children are intensely attracted to these materials and use them spontaneously, independently, repeatedly and with deep concentration. These materials are generally organized into five basic categories: practical life, sensorial, math, language, and culture. Practical life The Practical Life activities focus around care of self, care of environment, and movement, helping children develop lifelong skills. For example, zipping or tying, pouring or cutting, enhance coordination, concentration, and self-confidence. The materials in the practical life area are familiar to them as they are real utensils. The exercises respond to the children's natural interests to develop their physical coordination. For example, self-help dressing, buttoning, pouring, scooping and sorting activities, develop hand-eye coordination. Other activities include lessons in polite manners, such as folding hands, sitting on a chair, walking on a line. These activities provide a useful opportunity for children to concentrate bringing about their normalization. Sensorial Sensorial materials provide a range of activities and exercises, for the children to refine their five senses- visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, and tactile. The children learn to discriminate order and classify sensory impressions in relation to, size, shape, and color. All sensorial materials have a built-in control of error. This control of error allows the children to self correct their works. Support the children's desire for independence as they continue towards self construction. For example, the pink tower, cylinder blocks, color tablets, sound cylinders, bell, taste, texture (sandpaper materials, fabric matching), and smell. While refining their senses, the sensorial materials develop the children's coordination and control of movement. Mathematics The minds of children have a natural tendency for counting, comparing and calculating. The concept of mathematics is initially presented to children in its simplest form. Through sensorial experiences and indirect preparation, the children measure, compare and analyze. These skills assist them in discriminating size and quantity. The Montessori math materials enable the child to work with numbers beyond ten without difficulty. For numeration, there is a set of ten rods, with segments colored red and blue and “spindle boxes”, which consist of placing sets of objects in groups, 1–10, into separate compartments. For learning the numeral symbols, there is a set of sandpaper numerals, 1–9. For learning addition, subtraction, and place value, materials provide decimal representation of 1, 10, 20, etc., in various shapes made of beads, plastic, or wood. Language Language consists of the spoken words, includes reading aloud stories, poems and nursery rhymes etc. Children learn vocabulary and basic grammar, including parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, articles, prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions and pronouns. Pre-writing exercises with sandpaper letters, the sand tray, metal inset work and with movable alphabets. Pre-reading work such as matching cards. For writing skill development, the metal insets provide essential exercises to guide the children's hand in following outline shapes while using a pencil. Early reading activities, with phonetic object boxes, phonetic reading cards, phonogram cards. For reading, a set of individual letters, commonly known as sandpaper letters, provide the basic means for associating the individual letter symbols with their corresponding phonetic sounds. Descriptive words accompany all material presentations, provide accurate vocabulary and enriched language skills. Displaying several letters, a lesson, guides children to learn the letter sounds, which finally blend together to make certain simple phonetic words like “up” and “cat”. Culture Dr. Montessori called science, history, social studies, music, art, mathematics, language, and geography the cultural subjects. The cultural subjects are taught in a very specific order, and integrated into the curriculum. Creating a deeper understanding of the world and the interconnectedness of everything in it. Children gain understanding of unity, and the inter-relatedness of all things. The cultural subjects eg. geography, science, and art -introduce as exercises of the four general "categories." For example the painted globes and the puzzle maps begin to give the children the understanding of geography. Later, they learn the names of these puzzle maps as a language exercise, and make their own maps. Children's awareness of the world is enhanced, and accurate vocabulary and factual information absorbed. Puzzles, magnifying glasses, plants, animals, small hand tools, and other materials allow the children to observe and draw conclusions from their works. Montessori practice is always up-to-date and dynamic because observation and the meeting of needs is continual and specific. When physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional needs are met, children glow with excitement and enthusiasm to learn, and to create. |
