Roots
Mantra: The
point is, not to compare yourself with bad quality and say you are better. Pit
yourself against the great ones and ask if you are good
enough……….
MONTESSORI
METHOD FOR PRE-SCHOOL-AN
INTRODUCTION
Roots is a pre-school meant for 2 ½ to 6 year olds. So we would like to
acquaint you with the Montessori method as applicable to this age group.
The Montessori method is named after its
founder Dr. Maria Montessori. She
was the first woman to practise medicine in Italy. As a
doctor, she used to interact with children and she got interested in child
development.
The first House of
Children (school) was set up by Dr. Montessori in San Lorenzo,
Rome. The method began
to take shape in this ‘Casa de Bambini’ (Italian for House of Children).
Later, she developed the method based on an extensive research involving
children from different social, economic, geographical and cultural
backgrounds.
In her book the ‘Absorbent
Mind’, Dr. Montessori emphasises the importance of Early Childhood years in
these words:
“The most important period
of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from
birth to age six. For that is the time when man’s intelligence itself, his
greatest implement is being formed. But not only his intelligence, the full
totality of his psychic powers.... At no other age has the child greater need of
intelligent help, and any obstacle that impedes his creative work will lessen
the chance he has of achieving
perfection.”
These theories have been
confirmed by modern day research as well.
After understanding the
importance of the early years in a child’s life...let us take a glimpse at some
of the important features of the Montessori method for the
pre-school:
Mixed Age
Groups: In a Montessori classroom, children from
age 2 ½ years to 6 years are all in the same environment. This mixed age group
fosters an atmosphere of protection and admiration. The older children take care
of younger ones, helping them understand the rules of the environment and
comforting them when they are upset. The younger ones look up to the older ones
with admiration. They feel that they can also perform more complex activities
when they grow bigger. They also ask for explanations about activities the older
ones are doing and they get replies easily understood by them. What the adult
may struggle to explain, the 5-year old can do it better because his mind can
relate better to the mind of a 3-year old. These are some of the advantages of a
‘mixed’ age group environment.
The Montessori program allows a
lot of freedom for speech and movement (including carrying, walking, pouring,
lifting, etc). Hence there is a busy hum of activity in a Montessori
environment. Despite this, there is discipline in terms of all children
completing the activity they have chosen to do, proper winding up after
completion, talking in low voices, not disturbing other children at work,
waiting for a particular material if the same is being used by another child,
etc.
Learning during ‘Sensitive
Periods’:
Dr. Montessori observed
that during the course of development, the child exhibits a natural desire to
learn specific skills at certain periods of time. These periods are called
sensitive periods. For instance, it is common to see a child who has just learnt
to climb the stairs, repeat the activity several times with great fascination.
In due course, he masters the same. Once he has mastered it we do not notice
such a repetition. The child thoroughly enjoys the process during the Sensitive
period. The Montessori method takes advantage of these ‘Sensitive Periods’ to
help the child acquire various skills (including reading, writing, counting
etc).
Learning through hands and
senses:
Dr. Montessori often compares the
mind of the young child to a sponge. The mind absorbs information from the
child’s environment through his hands and senses in a manner which brings great
joy to the child. The Montessori environment allows for this exploration through
purposeful activities which are within the understanding of the child. All
learning material as well as the furniture in the Montessori classroom are
physically proportionate to the child’s size. These materials are specially
prepared and invite the child to learn at his own periods of interests and at a
time when he/she is ready to learn.
Role of the adult
(teacher):
The role of the adult in a
Montessori environment is based on the concept of the child being ‘guided and
set free’. Guidance and freedom go
hand-in-hand. The adult guides the child in using the materials and allows him
the freedom to work at his development at his own pace. The method of working
with each material is shown to each child on a one-on-one basis. They are called
presentations. There are some topics/ concepts which are presented to the
children in groups. The adult also monitors their performance and keeps track of
their progress.
The activities in a House of
Children are broadly divided into four areas:
- Exercises of Practical Life
(among other things, it leads to the refinement of motor co-ordination,
lengthen the span of concentration, good working
habits)
- Sensorial
activities (develop consciousness with respect to
various sensorial impressions like colour, shapes, dimensions, weights, tastes,
smells, etc)
-
Language (structured around the phonetic method,
helps in the development of spoken language, enrichment of vocabulary and
eventually the writing and reading
skills)
-
Arithmetic (helps understand the concept of
counting and the basic operations. Initially through activities with materials
and eventually with only writing
materials)
Apart from the above activities,
children also introduced to Botany, Zoology, Science experiments, History,
Geography in its natural
form. Rhymes and stories offered
to the children are based on facts. The children are eager to explore the world
they have newly come into. Parents and teachers are their gateways to a lot of
information. Children impose complete faith and trust in their parents and
teachers. We cannot fail them by giving them concepts which are not true. The
pre-schooler has no power of imagination. So the idea is to expose him to facts
now...he can be given fantasies when he is 6 years and above. He would enjoy
them better at that age.
Day Care
Although we started off as a Montessori school we have
now branched out into a Day Care Centre as well. Our premises at 8th block,
Jayanagar houses both the Montessori school as well as the Day Care Centre.
The building over looks a big lawn and a natural garden
within the compound front which doubles up as a play area for
children.
The children are taken care of by our caring
and committed staff. Each child gets individual attention. The children also
have freedom to move around and interact with other children. There are birds
and rabbits to give company to the children too !.
Timings: 8 am to 8
pm
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