Choosing Appropriate Learning Materials for your Child

Children are driven unconsciously, by an inner force, to develop particular skills at particular phases in their growth.  Dr. Maria Montessori called these phases Sensitive Periods.  During these periods, your child has a strong desire to learn particular skills, and does so in a seemingly effortless manner.  Once the sensitive period is gone, the ease of acquiring the knowledge disappears and does not return.  If your child does not have access to the materials he needs at the time of the Sensitive Period, it becomes more difficult for him to learn that same skill at a later time.  The Chart of Sensitive Periods (see my earlier blog on this topic) can be used as a basic guideline to determine when your child may be ready to learn and when to introduce new concepts and activities. 

Observe your child to see what he or she is focused on and follow that interest.  Watch for cues as they arise and offer activities that coordinate with that interest.  Your child may ask you if he can pour his own juice, or point to a plate of cookies and ask how many there are, or point to a word and ask what it says.  When my grandson Johnny was two, my daughter noticed that he loved to screw lids onto jars.  So she created an activity which included various sized jars and matching lids and before she knew it, he was an expert at the task!

Don’t’ insist that your child do a particular activity.  Instead, ask him, “Would you like to do this or try that?”  If you try to engage you child in an activity and there is no interest, just put it away.  You can try again at another time.  By observing your child’s interests, you will be right much more often than you are wrong about the activities your child is interested in.

During the first six years, it is important to lead children toward independence by helping them master daily life tasks (Montessori Practical Life Exercises) such as pouring their own juice, combing their hair, getting dressed, taking care of plants, helping in the kitchen, and many more.  Ask your child “Would you like to help me fold the laundry, sort socks, set the table?”  For best results, when showing your child a new skill or activity, think of each and every step, then demonstrate it s-l-o-w-l-y.  Use as little talking as possible.  Fewer distractions will help him concentrate on the task.

Here are a few tips to help you find appropriate learning materials:

• If your child shows an interest in a topic, think of as many activities as you can to support it.  If your son loves airplanes, take a trip to the airport; go to the library to find factual books about airplanes, make a paper airplane and fly it, etc.
• Surf the internet to find sites with age appropriate information on specific subjects.  One mom I know planted seeds with her children then found a worksheet on parts of a plant for her children to study and color.  Try “googling” worksheets for kids.
• Check out these websites with valuable toys and activities for kids:  MindWare, Young Explorers, Hearth Song, Magic Cabin, Insect Lore, For Small Hands (features Montessori activities) Back to Basics Toys, Toys to Grow On.
• Look for games that teach motor coordination, thinking skills, i.e., colors, counting, shapes, etc.
• Look for toys that focus on one concept only.
• Avoid toys with  bells, whistles, and music that distract children from focusing on the concept.
• Go to the library and find informational books for your child..  Children crave information.
• Remember that young children learn by manipulating objects.
• Talk to other moms and share ideas.

"If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence".  By Dorothy Law Nolte from her poem Children Learn What They Live. 

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Your Child's Best Teacher - YOU

Not every teacher is a parent, but every parent is a teacher.  You are your child’s first and best teacher.

In the first six years of life, your child learns 80% of what he will ever know.  He is like a sponge, taking in everything in his environment.  Beginning in infancy, everything he does, sees, hears, smells, tastes and feels is a learning experience.  By taking advantage of these facts, you can give your child a great head start.

Your child wants to be like you and emulates you in every way he can.  By being a good role model, by showing the values you want your child to learn, you are teaching by example.  To show the values of respect for others and good manners, say good morning every day when your child wakes up, give a hug and a kiss, say “please” and “thanks”.  In the Montessori classroom, it is customary for the teacher and child to say good morning and shake hands every day.  Model a respect for objects to show that things have value. Handle toys, books, and all items properly, and put them away when you’re finished.  If you put things away, your child is much more likely to do the same.  It helps to make putting toys, books, games, clothing, etc, away part of the process.

By doing things in the most efficient way, you will teach your child the easiest way to master an activity.  For example, put your shoes away when you take them off instead leaving them by the door; carry objects in a way that will avoid dropping, spilling, i.e., one at a time, using both hands.  Demonstrate how to do a task step by step – for example, brushing teeth: how to squeeze the appropriate amount of toothpaste onto the brush, brushing all areas of the teeth, rinsing the mouth, rinsing the toothbrush, putting it away, rinsing the sink, drying hands and face, hanging up the towel.  Taking the time to show your child the proper way to do something is a great service to your child and saves you time in the long run.  Behavior may not happen overnight, it is a process.

TIPS

• Avoid distractions - Say as little as possible when showing your child how to do a task or activity
• Think in the smallest steps possible - things that are old hat to you are new to your child
• Much of learning is not formal learning: alphabet and counting songs; reading, games, puzzles, caring for plants and pets
• Play car games: What starts with ‘m’ sound?  What comes after 5?  Name a red fruit.  What rhymes with cat?
• Expose child to stimulating environments:  Find points of interest when you go places.  When you go for a walk or to the park, look at nature, point out birds, trees, flowers, insects, note different shapes of leaves, etc.
• Use vocabulary as a tool for learning.  For example:
• At the grocery store – Name fruits, vegetables, etc.; Note that the can is heavy, the bread is soft; the milk carton is cold, etc.
• When doing any activity, name everything you can: cooking utensils, garden tools, etc.
• Name colors, shapes, names of flowers, birds, not just ‘see the bird’ but ‘see the cardinal’.
• Follow up on topics your child shows an interest in.

Each child develops in accordance with his inner needs.  By being a role model and making activities and information available to him, you are creating an environment for his intellectual, physical and mental growth and independence.

How to Create the Montessori Prepared Environment at Home

Maria Montessori discovered, through her years of research and observation of young children, that they learn best when they are given the freedom to learn as directed by their inner needs (see Sensitive Periods of development discussed in an earlier article).  From this discovery came the concept of the Prepared Environment. The Prepared Environment is Maria Montessori's concept of an educational atmosphere that fosters independent learning and exploration for children.  The environment, activities, and teaching materials were carefully and intentionally designed to help children develop essential cognitive skills based on the science of child development. 

As parents who want to re-create the prepared environment at home, it is important to be observant so that you can evaluate your child’s needs and introduce appropriate learning materials at the right time.  It is important to make these materials easily accessible to your child so he can independently use them any time he interested.  Additionally, each item should have a specific place where it is stored.   For example, when my grandson was around two years old, my daughter noticed that he was very interested in screwing and unscrewing bottles and lids, so she set up an activity for him so that he would have access to various sized jars and lids to manipulate whenever he wanted to.  You can do this with any number of activities you create.  You can also research the Montessori activities that may be appropriate for your child.  Please visit montessoriathome.net for more information on these activities.

  Within the prepared environment, children are free to choose activities, maximizing independent choice and learning.  They work in a calm and orderly space, at their own pace.  This environment is a combination of freedom and self-discipline.  In this regard, the Montessori classroom is criticized by some for being too unstructured, with no academic standards.  It is also criticized for being too structured, with a limited number of activities.  In truth, the concept of the prepared environment has the perfect balance of freedom and limitation that maximizes a child’s ability to be successful.

The prepared environment contains these key elements:

• Freedom to explore, freedom of movement, choice, social interaction
• Structure and order to help make sense of the world
• An uncluttered, well-maintained, calm and peaceful work space
• Accessibility of learning materials, including child-size furnishings

Try to create a home environment that contains these elements and you will be well on your way to creating surroundings for your child where he will flourish.

“Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.” – Maria Montessori

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A Spring Botany Activity

Simple science experiments provide you with activities that will encourage your child’s curiosity, observation skills, and critical thinking. 

You probably already have most of the items you need to do many activities around your house.  Gather them up before you work with your children, test them to make sure they work properly, if necessary, and have them ready to go.  For experiments that your child can do without supervision, try keeping the materials on a tray that be accessed at another time.

Invite your child to participate in hands-on experiences.  Maria Montessori said, “Education is a natural process carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words, but by experiences in the environment.”

Here is a spring botany activity that teaches your child the parts of a seed and how it germinates.  It comes from my collection of twenty-six nature and physical science activities entitled Observing & Exploring which is available on my website www.Montessoriathome.net

Sprouting Seeds

See what happens to a seed when it germinates.

You will need:                                                                                                            

• A jar or glass that you can see through                                    
• Dry lima beans
• Cotton balls
• Water                                                              

Follow these steps:                                                                     

1. Fill your jar or glass with cotton balls                                     
2. Place several lima beans between the cotton balls and the glass so they are visible
3. Gently pour water into the jar to saturate the cotton balls
4. Add water as necessary to keep the cotton balls moist
5. Observe seeds daily and watch as the seeds open up, sprout, and develop roots
6. Plant seedlings in a pot or in the garden and watch them grow                                                                                                                                                          
   
   Vocabulary: germinate, saturate, sprout, roots, seedling, moist

The Parent's Role in Montessori Education

As a parent you want not to just teach your child, but to prepare him for life.  Dr. Montessori’s scientific observation of young children led to her discovery that they are motivated by an inner guidance at specific periods in their early lives which leads to self-directed learning.  By observing your child, determining his needs, and making activities available to him, you will be assisting in his self-development.  Montessori called this “following the child”.  There are several ways you can do this:

Observe:  Listen to and watch your child carefully and be alert to changes in his interests.  Make activities available to him based on his cues.  For example, if he becomes fascinated with water, make water play activities available to him, such as pouring and sponging.

Facilitate:  Slowly and with as little speaking as necessary, demonstrate for your child how to do an activity. Rather than just giving him the tools and letting him succeed or fail, demonstrating will help your child achieve his goals.  Your job is to show your child the correct way to pour the water so that he will have a greater chance of success. 

Prepare the Environment:  Set up your home or your child’s space with his interests in mind.  The materials and activities that he uses should be set out in an orderly manner and be pleasing to his eye.  Make activities easy for him to access without your help.

Show Respect: Give your child the freedom to choose the activities he wants to do.  Allow him to use an activity for as long as he wants to and avoid interfering with his work, criticizing, or interrupting his concentration.  Show respect for his independence.

Be a Role Model: You are the most important person in your child’s life and he wants to be just like you.  By living the values and behavior you want your child to learn, you are teaching by example.

The Montessori Method prepares children for life by helping them reach their fullest potential at their own unique pace.

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The Absorbent Mind - Another Secret of Childhood

All animals, with the exception of humans, are born with instincts.  These are innate, inherited, unlearned patterns of behavior that enable them to perform the tasks necessary to protect and preserve their existence.

A human baby begins life with no knowledge.  He learns through spontaneous, intense mental activity from the moment of birth, using all of his senses, what Maria Montessori called the “Absorbent Mind”.  This happens in two phases:

• Birth to three years: unconscious acquisition of basic abilities, such as speaking, walking, physical control of his body
• Age three to six: conscious, purposeful activity, with active participation in learning

Let’s take language as an example.  Although a baby hears all of the sounds in his environment, he has the unconscious ability to pick out those of language and grammar and separate them from all the rest.  He absorbs them before he is actually able to begin the motor process of speech.  In general, babies start to “babble” and speak words such as “mama” and “dada” between four and six months of age.  By 18 to 24 months, they are speaking two to three-word sentences.   Between two and three years, children begin to use pronouns properly, string nouns and verbs together, and have a vocabulary of up to 300 words.  This ability to acquire, order, and understand the language process comes from their absorbent mind. 

Children have the natural power to construct their minds in an orderly manner until they acquire within themselves the abilities to remember, understand, and think.  The Montessori philosophy and learning materials recognize this and take advantage of this crucial formative period.  Montessori stresses a sensory-rich environment that helps children classify and order all of the information they take in.

“Education must conform to the facts of human life.” – Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind.

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Sensitive Periods - One of the Secrets of Childhood

Dr. Montessori’s concept of sensitive periods explains that children, from birth to age six, move through periods in their development when their minds are highly receptive to learning certain skills and knowledge. During this time the child has a strong desire to learn particular skills, and does so in a seemingly effortless manner, due to an intense inner drive. She also discovered that learning can still take place outside of the particular sensitive period, but it becomes far more difficult for the child to master it. 

During her many years of studying and observing children, Montessori recognized that during these periods, children were drawn to and focused on single aspects of their environment and that they easily acquired certain abilities.  She created manipulative materials to fulfill these needs, and after observing the children’s interactions with them, created a series of activities that would enable them to satisfy their developmental requirements a time of their choosing.

As parents, we have all noticed how our children respond to certain activities at one stage more than the other.  They focus in on a certain task, returning to it again and again, concentrating on it intensely for long stretches of time.  Then, for reasons unknown to us, their passion for the activity is gone and they move on to something else.  It is during a sensitive period that their developmental needs guide them to mastery of a task.  By using the sensitive periods as a guide and observing our children, we can provide the tools and create an environment in our homes that enables and encourages our children to act on these needs when they occur.

Dr. Montessori’s Chart of Sensitive Periods

Sensitive Period	Age
Movement	Birth-1
Language	Birth-6
Small Objects	1 - 4
Order	2 - 4
Music	2 - 6
Grace & Courtesy	2 - 6
Refinement of the Senses	2- 6
Writing	3 - 4
Reading	3 - 5
Spatial Relationships	4 - 6
Mathematics	4 - 6

Interestingly, the Suzuki Method for teaching children to play musical instruments follows many of the same theories and practices as the Montessori Method, including the concept of sensitive periods.  These include:

• Following the natural order of child development
• Playing an instrument from a young age, with formal training beginning between the ages of three and five (note the sensitive period for music)
• Sensory training
• Scaled-down instrument size for stringed instruments

During my time as a Montessori teacher, a five year old girl named Laura joined our class in the middle of the year.  Her mother was German and her father was Spanish.  Laura spoke both of these languages fluently, but spoke no English.  The teachers and children welcomed her but she very shyly sat on the sidelines.  She attended school each day, observing but not participating in any of the classroom activities, or interacting with any of her new classmates.  This continued for approximately one month.  Then, one day, she walked into the classroom, said “good morning”, and joined into all the classroom activities, speaking flawless English, with no trace of an accent.  This is a true example of the power of the sensitive period for language.   Any of us who took a language class during our school or adult years knows the difficulties of learning a foreign language with its grammar, vocabulary, tenses, and pronunciations.  Yet this child mastered it all in only one month.

"A child's different inner sensibilities enable him to choose from his complex environment what is suitable and necessary for his growth. They make the child sensitive to some things, but leave him indifferent to others. When a particular sensitiveness is aroused in a child, it is like a light that shines on some objects but not others, making of them his whole world." - Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood

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February16, 2011