Montessori Method

ABOUT THE MONTESSORI METHOD

 (an amazing note from the wonderful Montessori school where I had been a teacher there)  

Dr. Maria Montessori, the first female doctor in Italy, developed the Montessori Method of educating children. Through her observation of the way children learn and of their needs physical, emotional and intellectual in the developing years. These scientific observations developed into a unique educational method with specific material and methods of presentation related to children’s needs.

The Montessori environment is designed so children can learn and develop, and their needs are always catered for. The method helps to develop their independence and self-confidence, to build concentration and logical thinking. They gain a sense of responsibility for themselves and others, they also gain respect for the right of others, which foster their respect for all human beings and is a gift for life.

The teacher’s role in a Montessori school is to prepare the environment carefully in a scientific manner and to give the children direction and guidance within that environment. The Montessori teachers always observe and monitor children’s development and record progress scientifically so that they can plan appropriate activities for the children to facilitate further growth in a step by step manner. Montessori teachers respect children as individuals and their dignity is respected. No punishments or verbal abuses are applied.

Children are active learners. Children in Montessori school choose their own activities and the teacher decide if the chosen activities are in accordance with the child’s development level. Individual activity is encouraged because every child learns at a different rate.

The children in Montessori classroom are vertically grouped, they are not grouped according to their ages. There is made up of children of mixed ages, ranging from 2 years to 6 years old and share the same classroom with the same teachers. The mixed-age grouping of children gives an excellent opportunity to children to interact in a variety of ways. The older children are a role model for the younger, as a result this will increase their confidence and knowledge, and also gives them a sense of responsibility through being leaders in the class, which furtherer enhances self-images. The younger children, on the other hand, are exposed to more advanced work through observing the older ones. This method ensures that children can work at his or her own pace.

The child’s independence and initiative are encouraged. His abilities and achievements are cherished and as a consequence his self-confidence is well nurtured.

The principle to adhere to is : “Help me to do it myself”

The Montessori classroom is an environment only for children. All of the limiter is child size and the materials are scaled to fit the physical dimension of a preschool child’s body.

There are five areas in a Montessori classroom :

1.    EXERCISES FOR PRACTICAL LIFE (EPL)

During this phase of development children have a strong need to imitate adults and this is necessary for their development. Lithe EPL area children are given the opportunity to mimic what they see adults do around them every day. For example, they sweep the floor, wash dish, pour out water, transfer object with different tools (spoon, etc), polish mirror/shoes, open and close button/ bottles/boxes/keys etc. Through these interesting activities children learn to help themselves, concentrate, refine their gross and fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination and develop good work habits (return work in good order back to its place in the shelf after use). 

2.    SENSORIAL

The Sensorial materials are designed to refine the child’s sense at the time when children are particularly sensitive to learn these skills. The child can learn to judge, discriminate and distinguishing dimension, height, weight, color (individual colors and grading), sounds, smells, textiles and develops language and vocabulary. Through the sensorial material, the child can develop muscular control for specific task, e.g. pencil control in writing, he strengthens with his pincher fingers through working with Knobbed Cylinders and the smaller cubes on the Pink Tower.

3.    MATHEMATICS

The introduction to mathematics is done through matching, sorting and ordering activities that the child encounters in his daily activities in the EPL area and Sensorial area. Mathematics is introduced to the child with clear and interesting concepts. The method provides for the child’s need to manipulate concrete material before they arrive at abstract concepts regarding the world of numbers. After the child grasps the basic idea of quantity and its relation to the respective symbol, the task of learning big number and mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division becomes natural.

4.    LANGUAGE

The Montessori preschool classroom emphasizes spoken language as the foundation for all linguistic expression. Throughout the entire Montessori environment, the child hears and uses precise vocabulary for all the activities, learning the names of textures, geometric shape, compose, plants, mathematical operation and so on. In addition, certain materials in the language area are particularly supportive of spoken language. The material for written language first introduces the child to the moveable alphabet (twenty-six letters of the alphabet). Later, the child may begin composing words, sentences and whole stories using this material.

5.    CULTURAL

Children are introduced to studies of Geography, History, Botany and simple Science. Children learn through individual exercise, group and project activities, as well as discussion sessions about the World around them, now and in times past. Gain more knowledge about plant and animal life, as well as simple experiments to discover more about Natural Science.

These five areas are interrelated and concurrently introduced to the child. There is no need for the child to master one complete area before moving onto other areas, however there are many exercise that need to be mastered before early math and language can be understood. The child is often found in a few different areas on a single day. Each of the areas builds on one another and is as important as the others. The EPL and Sensorial areas are actually from the most basic foundation for the other areas.

KEMBALI