montessori matters june, 2010 edition
DESCRIPTION
This is the June, 2010 edition of Montessori Matters, the journal of the Montessori Australia Council, in affiliation with the International Montessori CouncilTRANSCRIPT
2010Montessori MattersSummer 2010
www.montessori.edu.au
independance
initiative
communication
Vol 3, 2010
Contents
PublisherMontessori Australia Council
EditorEva Nislev
DesignCharlotte Durack
PrinterTTR Print Management
AdvertisingRenai Delaney – all enquiries [email protected]
Postal AddressPO Box 1125Indooroopilly, QLD 4069
PhotosThe MAC is building a library of photos for its publications. We need photos of children 0-18,
teachers and families. All photos submitted must be accompanied by relevant permission form (see website)
CopyrightAll articles are copyright and full written permission must be sought from the MAC in order to reproduce.
Copy Deadlines 2011Issue Winter April 6
The opinions expressed in Montessori Matters are those of the individual authors and not necessarily those of MAC. We aim to publish material that is diverse in opinion and encourages critical reflection and provides a forum which promotes professional growth and debate in the interest of all our children.
Advertising Deadlines 2011Issue Winter April 1
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Editorial/ Contributors
Why Montessori can be unique
Reflections on education – or is it schooling?
Seminar Day
Activities for Summer!
Multitasking Is Cool, but Can They Task?
Vale, Julie Spencer
Q & A
The Montessori Baby – A Peek Inside our Prepared Environment at Home
The Humanities and Social Sciences for the 6 and over
Observation and Documentation – The great balancing act.
You Can’t Hurry Love! Homework and the Montessori Way
Arts Education in the Early Years
2011 International Montessori Conference
EditorialAs we go to press for this edition the Commonwealth Games in India are in full swing. Wonderful stories from India have been on the television and beautiful photographs are in papers and magazines. What a wonderful opportunity to share with our children another culture, to immerse ourselves in the food, music, sights and traditions and that make this country so fascinating.
The MAC has been busy once again putting together a fantastic Conference for 2011. We are delighted to announce that the conference will be on the Gold Coast and that Griffith University is the Venue Sponsors. Our keynote presenters are world-class Dr. Jane Healy and Tim Seldin. Our website will be updated as information comes to hand – so please keep visiting www.montessori.edu.au.
In one of my other lives I read lots of policy documents in the field of education. I never cease to be amazed at how far one needs to get before the children they are obstensively written for are actually mentioned! This issue is all about children and how our differing
ContributorsCarol Brands is a teacher with 40 years experience in the classroom. She has worked in the State School system, the Catholic system and the Independent system including 10 years as Principal of one of the few Montessori schools in Australia that has an adolescent programme. Carol is secretary of the Board of the MAC and has her own business as a writer and a consultant. As an education consultant she works with government agencies, schools, teachers and parents to improve educational outcomes for students. She also acts as a media training specialist advicing company executives, their staff and sports people on how to deal with the media.
Tim Seldin is the President of the Montessori Foundation and Chair of the International Montessori Council. His forty years of experience in Montessori education includes, twenty-two years as Headmaster of the Barrie School in Silver Spring, MD, his own alma mater (age two through high school graduation). He has also served as the Director of the Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies and as Head of the New Gate School in Sarasota, Florida. He earned a B.A. in History and Philosophy from Georgetown University, an M.Ed. in Educational Administration and Supervision from The American University, and his Montessori certification from the American Montessori Society. Tim Seldin is the author of several books on Montessori Education, including his latest, How to Raise An Amazing Child, The Montessori Way with Dr. Paul Epstein, Building a World-class Montessori School, Finding the Perfect Match - Recruit and Retain Your Ideal Enrollment, Master Teachers - Model Programs, Starting a New Montessori School, Celebrations of Life, and The World in the Palm of Her Hand.
Susan Mayclin Stephenson (Artist and Educator, Trinidad, California) Susan is married and has three children and three grandchildren. In 1969, when her first daughter began attending a Montessori school in San Francisco, California, Susan saw the immediate positive results of her daughter’s experience—the practical application of the best that philosophers had to offer concerning the meaning of life, education, creativity, and happiness. Susan is an artist, educational consultant, writer and world –wide traveller and co director of the Michael Olaf company.
Jane Healy Phd is an educational psychologist, teacher, and author of Failure to Connect: How Computers Affect Our Children’s Minds (Simon& Schuster, 1999); Endangered Minds: Why Our Children Don’t
Think and What We Can Do About It (Simon& Schuster, 1999) and Your Child’s Growing Mind: Brain Development and Learning from Birth to Adolescence (Doubleday/Broadway Books, 2004) Her new book, Different Learners, was published in May, 2010. Her major research interest has been in finding practical applications of current brain research for teachers and parents.
Meghan Hicks is a Montessori educator of children aged 0 to 12, has taught at several Montessori schools and was the founder of the award-winning pilot Montessori program, the Eaton Community Montessori Project (just north of Bunbury in the South-West of Western Australia). She is currently a stay at home mum, caring for her son Noah (almost 5) who attends regular school part-time and directs his own learning at home in a prepared Montessori Home Environment. The family are eagerly awaiting the birth of their second child. Meghan makes handmade Montessori Mobiles and Infant Welcome Baskets (great for baby showers and birth gifts), makes Birthing Packages for expectant mums for use during labour, holds Montessori Gatherings in Busselton for expectant parents, and offers support to families wanting to create child-focused homes. She can be contacted at: [email protected]
Eva Nislev M Ed.During her lengthy teaching career, Eva has worked with many different age groups, from children as young as 2½ to adults in their 70s in a variety of capacities ranging from Montessori centre director to workshop presenter, tutor and lecturer. She holds a Masters Degree in Education with a concentration in early childhood education, a certificate in special education and is Montessori certified for ages Infant through Elementary 6-9 years. Eva currently works as a consultant and lecturer and serves as Chair of the Montessori Australia Council (MAC).
Susie Garvis. (Phd, B. Music (Honours), BEd, MEd (Early Childhood), AMUSA (piano), Lecturer in Early Childhood, School of Education and Professional Studies Griffith University. Susie has worked in the areas of early childhood education and arts education before joining Griffith University. She currently teaches in the early childhood program. Susanne’s research interests include early childhood education, the Arts and the use of narrative inquiry. Susanne’s PhD investigates beginning teacher self-efficacy for the teaching of arts education.
roles intertwine to give all of them the opportunity to be become joyful learners and future happy, well-adjusted citizens of the world.
In this edition we have many contributions including Jane Healy who talks to us about the child’s brain and what happens to its structure with hours of “digital distraction”. Tim Seldin also makes the point that we can’t hurry love or learning and reminds us to the think about the things we really want for our children.
As the school year draws to a close and holidays and celebrations begin, I would like to thank the very hard working MAC board (Carol, Sheryl, Cate) and staff (Kylie and Renai) for all their wonderful efforts this year. Remember be kind to each other, have a great holiday break and hug your children.
Happy reading and Happy Christmas!
Eva Nislev (Editor)
Editorial/ Contributors
Why Montessori can be unique
Reflections on education – or is it schooling?
Seminar Day
Activities for Summer!
Multitasking Is Cool, but Can They Task?
Vale, Julie Spencer
Q & A
The Montessori Baby – A Peek Inside our Prepared Environment at Home
The Humanities and Social Sciences for the 6 and over
Observation and Documentation – The great balancing act.
You Can’t Hurry Love! Homework and the Montessori Way
Arts Education in the Early Years
2011 International Montessori Conference
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Why Montessori can be unique
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Nearly six years ago I received this wonderful e-mail from our American colleague Tim Seldin. I believe it is more relevant than ever in these times of National Curriculum and the assault that it makes on our Montessori uniqueness. Carol Brands
16 Key Recommednations For IMC Members (MAC members)
These words of wisdom are the basis of the IMC philosophy. They are not always easy to follow, and the odds are that you will slip up from time to time. Gosh knows that I do. It is difficult not to react when we see something associated with Montessori that we feel is bad practice. But try to keep these things in mind in your daily work, and follow them to the best of your ability. If, or when, you drift off course, take notice and try to bring yourself back to what you believe to be best for all. And if you give offense, try to bring balance and harmony back in to the relationship with those who you have offended. Above all else, as Hippocrates taught, do no harm!
1. Forgive other Montessori schools around you for their imperfect application of knowledge.
2. Try to avoid referring to these imperfect Montessori schools in a disparaging manner.
3. Do not describe your school as the only “true Montessori school” in your community, even if you suspect it may be true. This tends to be a matter of opinion, and, even if it is based on the facts, there is no reward to anyone in making that observation.
4. Extend a hand of fellowship to every other Montessori school in your community. If they offend you, or reject your overtures, continue to reach out. If the other school cannot accept your hand in friendship, or trust your motives, the problem may lie with them. Continue to reach out anyway.
5. In describing your school to parents, focus on what makes you distinct and what you have to offer. Do not represent your way as being the true Montessori model. Just explain what you do, and what benefits you believe it offers parents and children.
6. Realize that any school which identifies itself as a Montessori school has already begun the move toward becoming Montessori, even if their current practice seems to be more “Monte-something” in your eyes. Most of the world’s schools are authoritarian or benevolent dictatorships run by adults. We have enough people who dismiss Montessori as irrelevant, outdated, as too unstructured, or as too academic. There is no need or call for us to live in separate camps or disempower one another because we feel that our training, or our Montessori practice, is more authentic.
7. Remember that parents and influential non-Montessori educators are turned off when we say things like “ours is the only true Montessori school in the area.” Negative advertising hurts everyone, including the one who says it.
8. Establish relationships of friendship and respect with the other Montessori schools in your community.
9. Learn what you can from what they do well and what they do poorly.
10. Talk honestly about what you understand best practice to be.
11. Continue your professional development by attending seminars and workshops around the world. The more isolated you are, the more you need to extend your horizons.
12. Work together to promote Montessori in your community. Seek out the things you can agree on, and speak about that together to the outside world. Provide a united front.
13. You do not have to agree with everything another school does. Just be willing to forgive them for being different.
14. Work together, learn from one another, and support one another in learning from those who have even more experience and wisdom in the larger Montessori community.
15. Invite the other schools in your community to join the International Montessori Council too.
16. With the IMC’s help, together, you and your fellow schools can build a much stronger Montessori presence and market in your local area.
Tim Seldin - President, The Montessori Foundation
Fifty years ago when I started school, even twenty five or thirty years ago when many of you started school, Educators knew very little about the brain and how it worked. They actually knew very little about learning and how it happened! Teachers worked on the assumption that if you talked and children listened they would learn, if you wrote information on the blackboard all of the children in the room who copied it down would learn that information. And that’s what school was about, vast chunks of information. A catalogue of facts which every child had to learn and then regurgitate at the end of the year and then forget, clearing the space in the brain for the next years set of facts! Many of which are no longer accepted as correct.
Every child at the same age was taught the same things in the same way and their ability and intelligence was measured by how well they remembered those bits of information. Everyone knew that every child of the same age didn’t look the same, have the same physical build, or wear the same size clothes, or eat the same amount of food, or speak with the same kind of voice, or like the same activities, or laugh at the same jokes, or see the same pictures in the clouds. And yet, they expected them all to learn the same things, in the same way, at the same speed and compared them to each other, ranked them by how much they could remember.
They didn’t know what a marvellous and complex thing the brain was. How in each one of us it functions differently. They didn’t realise that just as in all of the other ways human beings are individuals so too are the ways we learn and the rate of our mental development. They were unaware of the importance of emotional, social and developmental factors in learning.
Maria Montessori observed her students. Almost a hundred years ago she worked out what has only recently become part of accepted educational theory, that there are multiple intelligences and that we all learn in different ways and our age is one of the least significant indicators in determining what we should know and our intelligence. She did not compare or rank students because she was aware that it is never possible to compare two INDIVIDUALS. Their brains work in different ways. She asked only that each child be able to demonstrate their competence and ability as part of a growing and developing process. That each child be “measured” only against themselves. For that is the only true and useful comparison that can be made.
During my education in English literature many years ago I was taught that a rather significant English author said “Comparisons are odious.” While I have always remembered the concept because it seemed to me to be a valuable, universal thought I’ve long forgotten the identity of the author, the piece of information I was supposed to remember!
Those of us who were educated in a traditional classroom can remember all manner of useless facts, but how many of us can think, research, analyse and synthesize. How many of us can question and use the answers we find.
Montessori education isn’t about teaching children what to think, it’s about teaching them how to think, how to interact with their world in a curious and positive way which will lead them through a rewarding childhood and youth and into a confident, happy adulthood.
Reflections on EducationBy Carol Brands
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Editor’s note: The earliest recorded use of this phrase appears to be by John Lydgate in his Debate between the horse, goose, and sheep, circa 1440:“Odyous of olde been comparisonis, And of comparisonis engendyrd is haterede.” It was used by several authors later, notably Cervantes, Christopher Marlowe and John Donne.
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An informative and inspiring day was had by all who attended the Introduction to Montessori Day hosted by the Centre for Continuing Professional Learning at Griffith University, Gold Coast campus on Tuesday 28th September, 2010.
Eva Nislev, Chair of the Montessori Australia Council (MAC) conducted the all day session with attendees ranging from Early Childhood teachers, Heads of Curriculum, Kindergarten and Child Care personnel, and university students interested in learning about Montessori Education.
The day started with Eva detailing the “Four Pillars of Montessori” being Passion and Habits of Academic Excellence, Teaching of Values, Global Understanding and Offering of Service. These were put into context through her explanation of the Montessori method and how teachers and children grow and learn through the prepared environment.
Following on from this session, Eva detailed the principles, features and aims of Montessori incorporating theories of child development and those theorists who had a great influence on the direction of Dr Montessori’s work. An overview of the planes of development, normalisation, and the sensitive periods was presented and to assist in understanding the Montessori method, further photographs of children using the materials from various classrooms around the world were shown.
Eva then highlighted Maria Montessori’s life and the sequence of events which lead to her method of teaching being embraced throughout the world.
A history of the Montessori method included a timeline of events which had occurred throughout the last two hundred years and how Montessori and her method of education was subjected to and influenced by these events.
There was plenty of opportunity for question time throughout the day and the excitement of the participants was encouraging as Eva was able to impart her extensive knowledge, clarify concerns and bust some of the myths associated with Montessori education.
It was a great opportunity to promote Montessori and exciting to see so many interested participants who came away from the event enthused and eager to become more involved.
Dr Maria Montessori was a visionary in the world of education, a champion for women’s rights and an advocate for world peace. Her legacy will continue to thrive throughout the world as long as there are people such as Eva willing to volunteer their time and advocate the tremendous benefits of the method.
Vanessa A FowlerVanessa received her Early Childhood Montessori certification from the American Montessori Society and worked for Boise (Idaho) Montessori at the Eagle Montessori Academy. She has had experience in the Pre-Montessori classroom (2 ½ - 3 ½), as well as Early Childhood and Elementary/Primary classrooms in both the Parkcenter and Eagle, Idaho Montessori Centres. Vanessa is a member of the North American Montessori Teachers Association, American Montessori Society, and the Early Childhood Teachers Association. In addition, Vanessa has a Diploma of Teaching (Speech and Drama) and is currently studying Bachelor of Education (Primary) at Griffith University, Gold Coast
Seminar Day
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REINDEER CUPCAKES
Ingredients:
• 1 box of chocolate cake mix with ingredients to prepare.
• 1 container of chocolate frosting
• Broken pretzel pieces for antlers and assorted candy for reindeer face.
Method:1. Prepare cake mix as instructed on package.
2. Allow to cool.
3. Frost with chocolate frosting.
4. Create antlers and reindeer face with pretzels and candy.
Activities for Summer!
SPARKLING STARS
What you will need:
• Scissors• Silver and/or blue tinsel pipe cleaners
2 per snowflake
• Blue, white, silver plastic pony beads
Cut the pipe cleaners in half so that you have 4 pieces. Make a cross with two pieces, twist and secure. then add the other two pieces, twist and secure.
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Here are some simple, yet yummy Christmas treats that your family will love to create together. Baking with children is a great tradition that your family can start today..www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/kidkitchenchristmas.htm
Add a few beads to each piece of pipe cleaner. Bend the ends of each piece just enough to prevent the beads from falling off. Add an ornament hanger or make a loop with the pipe cleaner for hanging.
Kids’ brains are being changed, and not necessarily for the better, according to a recent study by the Kaiser Foundation of recreational media habits of 8-18-year-olds. Its findings suggest that our upcoming generation of voters and taxpayers may have difficulty either thinking deeply or staying focused on anything for very long. In the United States, youngsters devote approximately 8 1/2 hours a day to electronic media, compared to 43 minutes for all non-school reading and less than an hour doing homework. Increasing amounts of media time involve “multitasking”—doing two or more things at the same time. For example students may surf the web, watch TV, talk or instant message with friends while they are doing their homework. Moreover, had the Kaiser study considered very young children, it would have shown that even preschoolers are overwhelmed by hours of digital distraction. In other countries, similar trends are also drastically altering the landscapes of childhood and adolescence.
Multitasking impresses adults, (“Look how smart these kids are - I don’t know how they do it!”) and it confers a frenetic sense of accomplishment. Yet this trend has dangerous implications, not only for the quality of the schoolwork in question, but also for the quality of the minds that are developing, untended, within the crania of “Generation M” (for Media, of course.)
“Education M” (for Montessori) may provide an important balance to these alarming trends. What today’s students too often lack is the very crux of Montessorian philosophy-- deep and reflective connections to learning gained from extended, personal, and hands-on involvement.
Current neuroscience makes it clear that any activity in which a brain engages causes physical changes in both structure and function. The more time spent, the more significant the effect. At all ages, the brains of today’s children are increasingly being shaped by media over which parents exert little control. Only about 20 percent of U.S. parents in this survey enforce rules about media use; those who do, incidentally, have youngsters who spend less time with media and more on homework. Should we be more concerned about this unprecedented intrusion into the mental lives of our children? Indeed, we should.
Between ages 8 and 18 critical developmental stages unfold in the human brain, which retains considerable plasticity throughout adolescence. At each stage of development, potential connections proliferate; during the ensuing “sensitive” period, use and practice of developing skills are necessary to firm up and link networks of neurons into effective working systems. The Darwinian law of neural development, “Use it or lose it,” applies to mental skills at every stage.
Among mental habits needing refinement—and practice—are self-directed attention and motivation, moral development and social conscience, language expression, problem-solving, planning and organization skills, and the ability to reason abstractly and reflect critically on issues in life and in society. Time spent flitting among electronic stimuli and responding, often superficially, to multiple inputs (especially if they are of questionable quality) may train the brain to juggle many things at once. Yet how much time-- and what brain circuitry-- is left for mental depth and the core qualities of mature intelligence? How about the ability to focus deeply on a conversation or a political issue, or to attach one’s brain to a single task and persist within the lonely enclaves of independent thought without the instant reinforcement of multiple sensory stimuli. Studies of highly creative adults show that roaming around in one’s own reflections often inspires invention, but such talent presupposes the ability to stop, reflect, and generate thought.
Intelligent use of media in reasonable amounts will probably not erode young people’s brains. Some electronic amusements may even develop certain capacities if the brain is actively and deeply engaged. When a brain is “multitasking,” however, each activity gets proportionately less brainpower, especially if the tasks call on similar brain areas. Although we may be able simultaneously to listen to music and draw a picture, trying to converse or write and read intelligently at the same time reduces the amount of attention—and the mental depth-- available to each. The more we divide attention, the more likely we are to “dumb down” the activity. Moreover, a brain at the mercy of electronically demanding stimuli becomes a rapid responder rather than an initiator of thought. Reflection and the ability to ponder (what an old-fashioned word!) become unnecessary encumbrances.
Attention deficit disorder is a new “epidemic” of psychiatric diagnoses in our young people. Fundamentally, it means having a mind at the mercy of changing stimuli. Multitasking may be “cool”, but if it means losing the ability to reflect, imagine, plan, execute, and evaluate one task at a time, we should all start paying attention.
Multitasking is Cool, but Can They Task?By Jane M. Healy, Ph.D.
SPARKLING STARS
What you will need:
• Scissors• Silver and/or blue tinsel pipe cleaners
2 per snowflake
• Blue, white, silver plastic pony beads
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Many of you will have known Julie Spencer as a wonderful Montessori teacher and teacher trainer and Australasian Director of MWEI. Her passing on June 23rd 2010 was a great loss to the Montessori world.
Julie did her Teacher Training in Brighton, England where she met her husband Laurence who was an overseas student, also studying in England. She completed her training in 1970 and she and Laurance were married in 1971. After teaching in England for a year or so the young couple moved to Jamaica (Laurence’s home) where they lived and worked for two years before moving on to Hong Kong where Julie worked at an International School and set-up their first Multi-Aged class.
Enamoured of travel and the possibilities a new country offered, the pair moved to Australia in 1978 and settled in Perth where Laurence was to do his Ph. D. Informed by the Education Department that there was a glut of teachers and there was no chance of her getting a state teaching position, Julie began looking at independent schools.
She applied for a job at Beehive and thus began a love affair with Montessori education that was to last throughout her life.
But Julie also had a life beyond Montessori. In her youth she had been a Governess in Athens, lived in Austria for a while, been on a river cruise in Germany and taken an Oxfam trip to North Africa an experience which created a lifelong desire to help people in third world countries. Involved in the Gideons Bible Society for many years, she was State President of the Ladies Division until just before her death. She loved dancing but was married to a man with (as he put it) “two left feet”. When in Jamaica Julie set out to change this and made a deal with Laurence to let him have his sailing boat if he would take dancing lessons. She was successful to the point where Laurence now admits to having “only one and a half left feet!”
Julie’s children were one of the great joys in her life - she was the loving mother to four sons born between 1982 and 1989. Her strong relationship with her family was to give her great support during her illness.
Their passion for travel led Julie and Laurence to many fabulous places. Over the years they made several around the world trips,
Vale Julie Spencer
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visited Alaska and last year she fulfilled a lifetime dream to do a cruise from Vienna to Amsterdam.
Although she had been battling cancer for a number of years Julie refused to give in. She was determined to live life to the full. In September last year she took the Indian Pacific from Perth to Sydney to attend the Gideons Convention and soon after she and Laurence took their caravan and drove 7,800 kilometres from Perth to Broome, Derby and Carnarvon. Still travelling up to the very end.
Julie spent 30 years spreading the word about the Montessori method that she loved and she will be sorely missed. For those who were privileged to see her near the end her courage, determination, cheerfulness and strength were an inspiration.
Thank you Julie for your contribution to the children of the world.
This article was prepared by Carol Brands. With thanks to Laurence Spencer for generously sharing the stories of his life with Julie.
Is Montessori opposed to competition?No. Dr. Montessori simply observed that competition is an ineffective tool to motivate children to learn and work hard in school. Traditionally schools challenge students to compete with each other for grades, class rankings, and special awards. For example, tests are graded on a curve developed from the permanent students in that class. Students are constantly measured against their classmates, rather than considered for their individual progress.
In Montessori schools, students learn to collaborate with each other rather than mindlessly compete. Students discover their own innate abilities and develop a strong sense of independence, self-confidence, and self-discipline. In an atmosphere in which children learn at their own pace and compete only against themselves, they learn to not be afraid of making mistakes. They quickly find that few things in life come easily, and they can try again without fear of embarrassment.
Dr. Montessori argued that for an education to profoundly touch a child’s heart and mind, he must be learning because he is curious and interested,not simply to earn the highest grade in the class. Montessori children compete with each other every day, both in class and on the playground. Dr. Montessori, herself an extraordinary student and a very high achiever, was never opposed to competition on principle. Her objection was to using competition to create an artificial motivation to get students to achieve.
Montessori schools allow competition to evolve naturally among children,without adult interference unless the children begin to show poor sportsmanship. The key is the child’s voluntary decision to compete, rather than having it imposed on him by the school.
Q & A
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Seven weeks to go! At the beginning of our pregnancy it felt like it would take forever for the newest member of our family to make his debut, but now the days are racing by and we still have much to do.
Thankfully the atrocious “all day sickness” finally faded and I have had a month or so of feeling quite reasonable – hopefully enough time to prepare a special space for our new baby. When I had my first child I was in the throes of setting up a pilot Montessori Family Learning Community with the support of families in our area who were seeking something specific to the Montessori Way of raising children. My first baby came along for the ride and it was a wonderful experience to watch him grow and thrive in a formally prepared Montessori Infant Environment, equipped with all sorts of fantastic materials, and surrounded by a community of people who had children in the same plane of development.
This time round, we are living in a town with no Montessori community and I am quite looking forward to preparing a home environment that meets the needs of our newest family member whilst fitting in with established rhythm and routines of our family life. I hope that you enjoy sharing some of the journey with us and that you are able to take a little of what we have done and find a place for it when creating your own Montessori Home Environment.
In preparing a space for our baby we have tried to keep things simple.
A portable bassinet for sleeping in during the first six weeks after birth. This is to simulate a womb-like environment whilst allowing baby to be free from swaddling cloths and still feel secure. We only plan to use this during the first two months, and will transition to a floor bed when the baby starts to adapt his sleeping patterns from night-time waking and feeding, to a solar pattern in which he has longer stretches of night-time sleep. This happens when the baby’s biological rhythms are respected and if his sleeping space is not artificially darkened or lit.
We chose this basket for its sloping base and low sides which still allow the baby to see most of his environment. A key aspect of this period is an environment of low sensory stimulation to ease the transition from the womb.
Maria Montessori spoke of the child’s first nine months outside of the womb being a second gestation, a period in which his physical,
spiritual and psychic life, are founded. The first six weeks are known as the symbiotic period – a time in which the mother and child are bonded by a need for one another. Dr Silvana Montanaro says that “It is during the symbiotic life that the newborn must move from a biological birth to a psychological birth.” and “Psychological birth follows the time of external pregnancy which consists of the mother’s arms, the points of reference*, food when needed and the reassurance that there will always be a response from the mother when requested.”
When our baby is awake we will be holding him, or spending time with him on a floor mat, or will be undertaking daily routines such as bathing, dressing, feeding and changing in spaces that we have specially prepared. We will ensure that he has continued access the points of reference that he has established whilst still in the womb: my voice and heartbeat, the ability to touch his own face and mouth with his hands, and to move his limbs freely. Hence the need for unrestrictive clothing.
Kimono-style openings mean that you don’t have to frighten baby when pulling a tight-necked shirt over his head. You can lay him on the opened bodysuit and slip his arms into the sleeves. For extra warmth you get one with long legs. Open hand and foot holes mean that baby can continue to access his reference point of touch.
The period before the age of three is the strongest for the development of the sense of order. Infants have an extraordinary ability to “map” their physical environment mentally. Therefore an ordered environment with a place for everything will support this strong urge during its most sensitive period.
“That the mathematical mind is active from the first, becomes apparent not only from the attraction that exactitude exerts on every action the child performs, but we see it also in the fact that the little child’s need for order is one of the most powerful incentives to dominate his early life” – Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
The Montessori BabyA Peek Inside our Prepared Environment at Home
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This is a work area for our little one in recognition of the important work that will take place in his first months and years. Eight storage cubes means that a limited number of jobs can be out at any one time and that packing away is easy to model. After all, when you take a job off the shelf the logical place to put it when finished with it, is in the empty spot! Even though this area will not be used by our baby in the initial symbiotic stage of development, having his first jobs available at floor level and a few of the stage 2 (6 to 16 weeks) jobs at the next level up means that he can orient himself to his place of work right from the start.
A few of the materials we have chosen for this early stage are shown below.
The Montessori mobiles are all visual (ie they are hung out of reach) and are presented in sequence according to the development of the child’s visual sense. It is helpful to remember that at first the young baby can only focus his vision at a point about 30cm from his eyes. This distance increases as he gets older and his vision develops.
The Munari Mobile was designed by Bruno Munari, an Italian designer and author. It is designed to a very specific mathematical formula (based on the diameter of the sphere) thereby speaking to the human tendency Dr Montessori described as ‘the mathematical mind’. It is the first mobile so it is in black and white in order to provide the sharpest contrast of dark and light. Each rod and element is delicately counterbalanced.
The Octahedron Mobile which consists of three, primary coloured, reflective octahedrons which spin and catch the light. The young baby is able to perceive primary colours more easily than shades of a colour at this stage (at around 6 weeks) with the ability to see red and yellow, slightly stronger than the ability to perceive blue.
The Gobbi Mobile, named after Montessorian Gianna Gobbi, appeals to the infant’s developing sense of vision. He is now able to see shades of a colour (at around 8 weeks) and loves to focus on the gentle motion of the balls.
These three mobiles were chosen by me due to their relatively simple design and ability to reproduce them at home.
The Flowing Rhythm Mobile from Flensted Mobiles is a wonderful mobile full of interesting motion due to its counterbalanced design.
A selection of grasping toys, some handmade, some purchased from stores listed in the resources section at the end of the article. They are not all out at the same time, but rotated when the baby loses interest in them.
A box of balls – three at a time means that he can make a conscious choice. Fewer and the element of choice is lost, more and he becomes overwhelmed.
A set of rhythm shakers – they are really little and made of brass and wood which gives a great textural contrast for his little hands. Each shaker has a different tone.
Some hanging toys for when he starts to consciously reach, bat at and grasp things.
A handmade patchwork ball which is easy for little hands to grasp and makes a great first chasing ball when baby starts to crawl as it does not roll too fast or too far. It can also be hung from the mobile hanger for batting at.
Since the young child’s sense of order is so very strong in this first stage
of life we have carefully considered all the things we will need to fulfil his physical needs and have set aside a space in his bedroom
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for each of these areas. This means we will not need to alter his physical environment in any drastic way for the first three years of his life. Obviously small changes will be made to keep his environment matched to his needs, but we will not be moving large furniture pieces or changing the general layout of his bedroom, respecting his need for stability so that his physical environment always matches the mental map he has formed internally as a young infant.
This great futon starts out as a comfy breastfeeding chair and unfolds to make a low bed. When we transition baby from his bassinet to the floor bed we will use this mattress without the frame so that he is very near to the ground if he wriggles off the bed. Once he starts crawling we will begin to use the frame again.
We will be using this wall-mounted change table at floor level. It’s great because it folds up and keeps all the nappy lotions and potions out of reach of curious little fingers. We did consider mounting this in our toilet to be close to a basin and to help baby to make the connection between change time and toilet use as he grows, but decided against it due to the cold temperature of the room. It will just be in the corner of the room, folded up when not in use.
Rather than buying a separate baby bath, which can be heavy to lift and bulky to store, we successfully used this little baby bath support with our first child and will be using it again this time. It just hangs on a hook in the bathroom when not in use. We used it right up until our first baby could sit unassisted.
All of these things ensure that he will have formed a basic trust in the world by the end of the symbiotic period and at the beginning of his psychological birth. He will have in place the first pillar of his psychological ego and this forms the foundation for an optimistic outlook on life which will stay with him forever.
As our baby grows and moves into the second stage of infancy we will share more about how we adapt and alter the environment to better suit his needs.
With love from the Hicks Family in Busselton, Western Australia.
Some great resources online:
http://amontessorihome.blogspot.com/
http://mimaustin.blogspot.com/
http://sewliberated.typepad.com/sew_liberated/
http://mommybahn.blogspot.com/
These blogs are all written by mums of babies of various ages who are trying to implement the Montessori Philosophy at home. Search through their archives to find information about really young infants.
A few suppliers of infant materials:
http://www.honeybeetoys.com.au/catalogue/Natural_Baby_Toys
http://www.flensted-mobiles.com/start.html
http://michaelolaf.com/store/
http://www.dragonflytoys.com.au/shop/baby/Playing-Natural-Baby-Toys/
http://montessorichild.com.au/
And try typing Montessori in the search box for Etsy at www.etsy.com for great handmade materials
The Humanities and Social Sciences for the 6 and over’sBy Susan Stephenson
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Today those things which occupy us in the field of education, are the interests of humanity at large and of civilization. Before such great forces we can recognize only one country—the entire world. —Maria Montessori
History, geography, and biography—the history of a people cannot be separated from the possibilities of the environment in which it develops, and the leadership of its great men and women.
In the beginning of each year the children are introduced to the study of humankind with stories, beautiful books, maps, posters, timelines and other research inspirations.
Throughout the six years in the primary class, the child moves from the general to the specific in the following way:
Age 6-8, the emphasis is on prehistoric life, and plants and animals. She learns how plant and animals developed based on their environment and the changing climate of the Earth. The children study the amazing variety of species which leads naturally into the study of classification—and the study of botany and zoology.
Age 8-10, the emphasis is on early civilizations, from tribal cultures and ancient civilizations to the development of modern cities. They study the causes and results of migrations and how this is connected to the development of language and cultures, and the sciences.
Age 10-12, the emphasis is on the child’s national and state history. The foundation has been laid in the first four years of the 6-12 class and this makes the study of one’s own continent, country, state, county, city, one’s own culture, make sense.
Of course all of these studies are going on at the same time and the child is free to follow her interests, no matter what the age. It is reinforced by the very important element of the Montessori class, that is that children teach each other, and they go to each other for help. The 6-year-old is exposed to the work of the 11-year-old, and the older child improves and increases her own knowledge because of the act of teaching someone else.
History is essentially a record of how humans fulfilled their physical, mental, and spiritual needs. These can be thought of as:
• Physical needs: food, clothing, shelter, transportation and defence
• Mental tendencies: work, exploration, creation, communication, play
• Spiritual needs: self-respect or self love, love of others, creative love and the love of God or “Other”.
These subjects are also experienced subjectively in the classroom. For example, as the child learns about how different people obtain food, he learns to grow and prepare food. As he learns about clothing he may learn to knit or to make clothing or costumes. He studies the arts of other cultures while developing his own musical and other artistic talents. And while studying the ethics and religions of other cultures he is exploring his own relationship with friends, family and God.
This creates, not only new abilities, but also an empathy with members of other cultures in the present and the past.
Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it. —Santayana, philosopher, Harvard University
BIOGRAPHY
The first “biographies” they study are their parents, their friends, and their teachers—and this begins at birth. As teenagers, our children will operate on information—about relationships, marriage, parenting, teaching, working, honesty, love, and so on—that they learned from living with us! As our children go on to learn about the great men and women of the past it is important that we remind them that these people all started out as children—and that the potential to be great and to contribute to the world is in all of us.
Here is a quote which expresses this idea beautifully:
Each second we live is a new and unique moment in the universe - a moment that was never before and will never be again. What we teach our children in school is 2+2=4 and Paris is the capital of France. When will we teach them what they are? What we should say to them is:
Do you know what you are? You are a marvel! You are unique! In all the world there is no other child exactly like you! In the millions of years that have passed, there has never been a child exactly like you.
Look at your body, what a wonder it is! Your legs, your arms, your cunning fingers, the way you move! You may be a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven . . . You have the capacity for anything.
Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is like you a marvel? —Pablo Casals, Cellist
The study of history, biography, and geography in the Montessori primary class is different each year. There are basic lessons that the teacher gives at the beginning of the year to present an overview and an outline for research. But one never knows where the children will take it, where the individual interests will lead. This is thrilling for the teacher and the children alike, and the children never forget what they learn.
Printed with kind permission. For more www.michaelolaf.com
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Obeservation & DocumentationThe great balancing act - By Eva Nislev
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For early childhood professionals there is a growing concern that observation as a means of understanding children is being threatened. How we gather information and document, plan, assess and evaluate is being destabilised as we move towards greater accountability in education.
This article will discuss how early childhood teachers observe and document, the external influences which are causing concern and the subsequent imposed changes to practice.
Historic Significance Our understanding about children and how they grow, learn and interact with others all comes from first-hand observation. Early educators and psychologists observed the daily activities of hundreds of children (Allen & Marotz, 1999). Records were made of what they saw and heard as children learned to move, walk and talk, identify shapes and numbers, letters and colours, interact with others and solve problems. These records provide the foundations for today’s understandings of child development, curriculum and teaching models and partnerships between children, parents and teachers.
Observation as a teaching tool is by no means a modern invention. Over one hundred years ago Maria Montessori taught that the purpose for observations was to assist children’s growth and development. To accomplish this purpose, teachers engage in a process known as, ‘scientific pedagogy’. Teachers observe and then prepare the environment with appropriate learning materials and activities. The task of the teacher is to discern each child’s needs and interests as they explore the environment, interact with the learning materials and note the length at which the child stays involved the activity, with a focus on discovering and understanding the inner needs and interests of the child (Montessori, 1966). These are still tenets of good practice today.
Record keeping is a vital part of the early childhood educator’s job description. However, record keeping, is not to be confused with observation (Seldin & Epstein, 2003). Over the past few years this task has become more onerous and bureaucratic. Standards are set by government bodies which are required to be met. Accreditation guidelines, National/State curriculums, workplace health and safety regulations, concepts of diversity and equal opportunity for example are all mandated.
There is no question that these standards are necessary and help us to improve the quality of our programs for both children, families and staff, but what is not addressed is when and how teachers are supposed to address these issues and the subsequent real costs to children and teachers.
Current research suggests that children, teachers and families benefit from working together in the care and education of children (Moore, 2001). Not only will we get a better view of the child’s development but teachers are able to improve their practices when engaged in frequent and planned collaborative activities. This collaboration gives us a rich source of information that helps teachers to better support educational developmental interests of the children in their classes.
In the early years best practice suggests that multiple forms of evidence should be sought from several sources: teachers, caregivers, parents and the children themselves. By sharing information across a whole range of children’s experiences parents and teachers become partners in the child’s development. Learning in early childhood is rapid, episodic, and marked with enormous variability (Chittenden & Jones, 1998). It would be impossible to encapsulate the complexity of children’s understanding without considering the big picture. Children’s ongoing behaviours and their interactions within their environment are the sources of teacher’s observations, records and evaluations.
Young children’s thinking reflects both their experiences and their development. As children take their time to practice, question and revisit things of interest we realise that the development of thought is not sequential but rather conspicuous by its many detours. In accepting this model of learning we understand that observation needs to be gathered at regular intervals to reflect a child’s progress.
is an ongoing process. To be successful it requires a systematic collection of many aspects of the child’s activities and interactions. This includes samples of children’s work e.g. drawings, dialogue with peers and teachers, photographs of their work and them interacting both inside and outside the classroom, anecdotal notes, self-assessment, family communication, audio and video clips and different forms checklists (Blagojevic & Thomes, 2005; Diffily & Fleege, 1993; Kankaaranta, 1996).
Parents are viewed as understanding their children better than anyone else. They are intimately aware of their child’s likes and dislikes, anxieties and interests. An important element in portfolio gathering and assessment is the parent’s involvement. Communicating to parents the importance of their role in contributing to the recording of achievements and not just the receiving or sharing of information is increasingly difficult (Kankaaranta, 1996).
No two portfolios will look alike. Each portfolio fits the context of the programme and the individual student. The teacher needs to have the knowledge to determine which methods best document the behaviours under consideration for individual children.
There is increased pressure on teachers to demonstrate their effectiveness through the programming cycle: namely observation, interpretation, planning and evaluation. Development guidelines and checklists are designed to assist teachers in observing in documenting children’s progress (Meisels, 1995). They are generally structured around developmentally appropriate activities and based on accepted curriculum standards.
Teachers need to use a variety of methods when gathering information. In addition to checklists which can aid the teacher in evaluating the program, for example identifying activities which are popular or not attractive, many classrooms today have ready access to digital cameras, audio and video recording devices and computers. The advantages of audio and video recordings are they can secure specific language examples and interactions between children and staff which can then be later interpreted. Many teachers use digital cameras as a means of documenting and sharing with parents. Video and digital cameras enable children, parents and teachers to record excursions and classroom experiences and to play them back for immediate feedback in addition to being a source of further interpretation. The children themselves can take photos of their work, for example seedlings that have been planted or construction made from blocks (Blagojevic & Thomes, 2005; Arthur, Beecher, Dockett, Farmer & Death, 1996). Photographs are similar to anecdotal records in that they capture just one moment. It is important that the teacher take a series of photos so that interpreting becomes meaningful.
Anecdotal records are the stories we write about child’s behaviour that can be significant to understanding the child (Diffily & Fleege, 1993). Each description includes the date, time of day, what happened, what type of development was observed and who observed the event. The observer must be careful to use objective language in writing the event. On its own, a single observed incident will only provide limited insight into the child, but these records gathered over a period of time will provide valuable information on many of the developmental areas. It is important that parents also document their observations at home and offer
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Effective communication, consultation and documentationThe importance of effective communication and consultation between teachers and parents is recognised as one of the principles for high-quality care (NCAC, 2005). To do this effectively teachers and management identify and cater for a variety of communication styles. Daily communication with families happens on a daily basis both specifically through checklists e.g. information about feeding, sleeping, toileting etc and incidentally at drop-off and pickup time.
Regular communication about each child’s development, experiences and interests happens on a more formal basis for example bi-annually. Most early childhood education schools and centres welcome parents to either observe or participate in their child’s program. In follow-up discussions teachers can learn how parents view the program and they can also talk about any mutual concerns and pleasures about a child’s progress. Educational Queensland as part of its 2010 Education Strategy also values partnership with parents (Forces for Change, 2005).
Documenting our observations is part of daily practice. Documentation can be defined as providing evidence (Dahlberg, Moss & Pence, 1999). Documentation tells us how we have constructed the child as well as ourselves as teachers. Through the documentation we see how we relate to children in different ways. There are two issues that are important: the ‘process’ and the ‘content’ in that process. The content tells us what the child is saying or doing and the methods by which the teacher relates this. The process involves the use of this material as a means for reflection (Dahlberg et al, 1999). It is a tool for reflective practice, one where we can challenge the dominant discourses and establish for ourselves counter discourses which will allow us to find our comfort zone.
Documentation and assessment are important elements in safeguarding progress, continuity and flexibility in the teaching and learning of young children (Kankaaranta, 1996). By involving the child in the document gathering and also self-assessment the child’s awareness of his or her learning and growth develops. Central to this task is recognising that children’s development is complex and established by a myriad of factors from the very beginning. This very character of human developmental abilities is one of the reasons it is so difficult to measure specific functions, for example language and perceptual development.
The most widely accepted and used method of documenting is the ‘portfolio’. Portfolio assessment has been proposed as one of the most effective methods of providing a comprehensive picture of individual children and the growth over time. Portfolio assessment
these to the teacher to add to their child’s portfolio.
Being objective when recording an observation is extremely important. Reality based information is essential in that it provides the facts, consensus and concrete information regardless of personal biases. Because early childhood classrooms are generally very active places it can be difficult for teachers to write anecdotal records accurately, often notes are made and the teacher writes a full report outside teaching hours.
Teachers of the 21st century need to be proficient and skilled in many areas including technology to be reflected practitioners. Within our classrooms exist a huge diversity in learning styles, additional and diverse needs, cultural and racial differences, developmentally appropriate differences, differing teaching methodologies and styles coupled with the personality differences of children, colleagues, parents, administrations and the community at large. This paradigm shift necessitates the need for teachers to be highly competent and able to operate in many collaborative partnerships (Landerholm, Gehrie & Hao, 2004).
Observation is the ‘backbone” of a valid assessment system in that it provides ongoing information about the child’s development in the classroom, and takes place on an ongoing basis. It is an essential tool to use for formative assessment. It not only provides information regarding a student’s knowledge, skills and abilities but also provides qualitative information regarding the child’s approach to learning, where learning becomes difficult and under what circumstances (McNair et al. 2003).
As professionals working with small children we are mindful of many things when making observations. We should observe carefully being considerate of the context of an event comment, our own feelings and ability to make records. Whenever we look at something our eyes and brains are classifying and interpreting the information. Things fit into existing categories and constructs that have accumulated over time. The skill for us as observers is to examine critically our perceptions and be aware of our place in that process (Gammage as cited by Dau, 2004) and then maximize our intellect and input into the systems in which we work.
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References
Allen, K.E., & Marotz, L.R. (1999). Developmental Profiles, Pre-birth through Eight. (3rd ed.). Ontario: Thomson.
Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Dockett, S., Farmer, S., & Death, E. (1996). Programming and Planning in Early Childhood Settings. (2nd ed.). Marickville, NSW: Harcourt Brace.
Blagojevic, B., & Thomes, K. (2005). Exploring Growth and Change. Early Childhood Today, 19(7), 1-2
Chittenden. E., & Jones, J. (1998). Science Assessment o Early Childhood Programs. Paper presented at the Forum on Early Childhood, Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (pp.1-17). Washington DC. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 416990).
Dahlberg, G., Moss, P., & Pence, A. (1999). Pedagogical documentation: A practice for reflection and democracy. In Beyond quality in early childhood education (pp.144-158). London: Falmer Press.
Dau, E. (Ed). (2004). Enhancing Children’s Development. Croyden,Vic: Tertiary Press.
Diffily, D., & Fleege, P.O. (1993). Sociodramatic Play: Assessment through Portfolio. Forth Worth, Texas. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED354079).
Education Queensland. (2005). Forces for Change. Brisbane, Qld: Author.
http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/qse2010
Kankaaranta, M. (1996). Self-Portrait of a Child: Portfolios as a means of Self-Assessment in Preschool and Primary School. Finland. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 403058).
Landerholm, E., Gehrie, C., & Hao, Y. (2004). Educating early childhood teachers for the global world. Early Childhood Development and Care, 174(7-8), 593-606.
McNair, S., Bhargava, A., Adams, L., Edgerton, S., & Kypros, B. (2003). Teachers Speak Out on Assessment Practices. Early Childhood Education Journal, 31(1), 23-31.
Meisels, S.J. (1995). Performance Assessment in Early Childhood Education: Work Sampling System. USA. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED382407).
Montessori, M. (1966). The Secret of Childhood. New York: Ballantine Books.
Moore, K. (2001). Collaborating on Assessment. Early Childhood Today, 15(5), 10-12.
National Childcare Accreditation Council Inc. (2005). NCAC Quality improvement and accreditation system: Quality practices guide. Sydney, Australia: Author.
Seldin, T., & Epstein. P. (2003). The Montessori Way. Sarasota, Florida: The Montessori Foundation.
You Can’t Hurry Love! Homework and the Montessori WayByTim Seldin
Far too many schools have transformed the process of learning and discovery, which comes naturally to children at birth, into a stressful and often unpleasant experience. We tend to think about schools from a business perspective. We talk incessantly about high standards, competition, and holding children accountable. Somewhere along the way we forgot that schools are meant to nurture children’s natural development, not manufacture a product.
Montessori schools are obviously different from traditional education. The use of hands-on materials and multiage classes are just some of the most obvious surface differences. What really sets Montessori apart from conventional education is the outcome that we seek in our children.
Montessori’s goal is to prepare students for life, not just for admission to college. All over the world, our schools work to empower, liberate, and encourage young people to become self-confident people who think for themselves, creatively solve problems, and who possess the emotional and spiritual balance, interpersonal skills, compassion and moral courage that will prepare them to lead lives filled with purpose, meaning, and joy.
Children learn at their own pace and they learn in different ways. Learning to read, write, and use mathematics is not a race! The more we, as parents or educators, push children to do things against their will, the more likely it is that many will learn to quietly or openly resist.
“An interesting piece of work that has been freely chosen, has the virtue of inducing concentration rather than fatigue and adds to children’s energies and mental capacities, and leads them to self-mastery.”
“… children must be free to choose their own occupations, just as they must never be interrupted in their spontaneous activities. No work may be imposed; no threats, no rewards, and no punishments used.” - Dr. Maria Montessori
Today it has become common to find parents who feel the need to help their children to excel. They seem to fear that if they do not provide this external ‘push’, their children will not succeed. Montessori demonstrates that children are normally born intelligent, curious, and creative. Without the need for external structure or encouragement, they will learn and explore whatever captures their attention. Keep in mind, though, that they want to learn what they find interesting, not what their parents or teachers choose for them.
Without realizing it, when parents and teachers pressurize children to perform to “adult standards” they are showing them great disrespect. By using external rewards and pressure in an attempt to get them to do things that they are clearly not yet interested in enough to choose them for themselves.
If a child ends up quietly resentful of lessons, tutors, workbooks, and tests, what have we really accomplished?
Montessori urges parents to allow children to develop at their own pace, within a home environment that sets a good example and provides all the right stimulation and support. In an atmosphere that truly respects children as people, we have to allow them to master new skills when they are ready, not when it says they should in a curriculum guide. Some children may begin to show interest at a very early age, others will not show the slightest interest until they are older. With the right approach, we can increase the odds that, when they are ready, our children will want to learn with natural enthusiasm.
As a result, Montessori schools traditionally do not assign homework until the upper elementary grades or middle school, and even then, it rarely looks like the homework many parents remember from their own school years.
Why don’t we assign homework like everyone else? Don’t we want children to get into good colleges?
The answer is of course we do, but we ask a simple questions: why do we believe that assigning hours of homework to children after a long school day is the right way to go about it.
“My vision of the future is no longer of people taking exams and proceeding on that certificate from the secondary schools to the University, but of individuals passing from one stage of independence to a higher, by means of their own activity, through their own effort of will, which constitutes the inner evolutions of the individual.” - Dr. Maria Montessori
School is only one part of a child’s day. Children work hard in school, just as their parents do at the office. All the usual arguments that parents and mainstream teachers use to justify homework miss the point. Homework does not teach children responsibility, time management skills, self-discipline, or more of what they should be learning during the day. What it teaches is how to put up with a job that they dislike. Many teachers seem to think that they can help their students become better educated by requiring them to do tasks that few would ever do voluntarily. Gifted teachers get the job done in a normal school day by inspiring a sense of interest, curiosity, and enthusiasm among their students.
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“The secret of good teaching is to regard the child’s intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination. Our aim is not only to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his innermost core. We do not want complacent pupils, but eager ones. We seek to sow life in children, rather than theories, to help them in their intellectual, emotional, and physical growth, and for that we must offer them grand and lofty ideas to explore.” - Dr. Maria Montessori
Our goal in Montessori is to inspire in children a sense of purpose in their lives, a sense of their own individual minds. We want them to pursue things that interest them, pursuing information, skills, and insights on their own, not waiting to be spoon fed by adults.
“We both went to Montessori school and I think it was part of that training of not following rules and orders, being self-motivated, questioning what’s going on in the world, and doing things a little bit different, that contributed to our success.” - Larry Page and Sergey Brin, (Google Founders).
After school, children should have time to follow their own interests and play with family and friends.
Homework can easily become a power struggle between children and adults. The sad thing is that there is no need if schools instill a love of learning, rather than a sense of obligation and fear. Whenever children voluntarily decide to learn something, they tend to engage in their work with a passion and attention that few students will ever invest in tasks that have been assigned. Our goal is to inspire joyful thinking, not compliance.
Even though most Montessori schools do not require homework, many ask children to read and write daily. Reading is usually established as a suggested time to set aside for reading whatever children find interesting, and writing is commonly either in a journal or involves freely chosen creative or expository writing exercises.
Some schools send home a packet of suggested projects that children might want to work on at home. Here are just a few examples that students and families have found to be both interesting and challenging:
• Perform an act of charity or extraordinary kindness.
• Plan and prepare dinner for your family with little or no help from your folks.
• Plan and prepare a dinner for your family typical of what the ancient Greeks might have eaten.
• Read together books that touch the soul and fire the imagination Discuss the books that the children are reading in class on Fridays.
• Visit a church or synagogue of a different faith than yours.
• Meet the rabbi, priest, or minister and learn as much as you can about this other faith.
• Go to a boatyard and learn what you can about different kinds of boats, their purpose, cost, advantages and disadvantages.
• Buy some stock and follow its course over time. Pretend that you have a thousand dollars to invest, ten thousand, a million.
• How many square feet of carpet would it take to cover your entire house? Convert this number into square yards. Call two carpet dealers. What kinds of carpet do they offer and what would it cost to carpet your house.
• Build a square model of the floor plan of your house out of cardboard, one floor at a time. Be as careful and exact as you can.
• Develop a pen pal in a Montessori school across the USA or in another country.
• Prepare a list of all the things that you would like to do with your life: career, cities to visit, mountains to climb, things you want to learn, etc.
• Teach your dog a new trick.
• Build a model of the Parthenon, an aqueduct, or some other historical structure.
• Plant a garden, tree, some bulbs around your house.
• Write a play and perform it with some friends for your class.
• Make puppets with your folks, build a puppet theater and put on a performance.
• Learn about magic and master a new trick.
• Build a bridge out of popsickle sticks held together with carpenter’s glue that will span a three-foot chasm and support several bricks.
• Interview your grandparents about their childhood. Write a biography or share what you learn.
• Using one of the better books on children’s science projects, select an experiment or project, carry it out, and prepare a report that documents what you did.
• Build a model sailboat using different types of sail plans. Race them on a pond with your class.
• Select a city somewhere in the world where you have never traveled. Find out everything that you can.
• Learn something new and teach it to someone in your class.
• Meet a real artist and visit her studio.
• Learn first aid.
• Prepare a timeline of the Presidents of the United States, along with picture cards, name tags, and fact cards. Study until you can complete the timeline on your own.
• Make your own set of constructive triangle, golden beads, or some other familiar Montessori material.
• Using 1 cm as a unit, build out of clay, wood, or cardboard pieces to make up units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions - up to one billion.
• Prepare a scale model of the solar system in which the distance from the sun to Pluto will be two miles.
• Prepare carefully measured models of the planets and sun and calculate the distance that each will need to be placed on the scale away from the sun.
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Arts Education in the Early years
“Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and the strength, use it to create.”Maria Montessori
Arts education is essential in the environment of every child from birth onwards. From an early age children learn to express themselves first through the arts before they learn to read and write. While we cannot teach a child to be an artist, we can help the child develop their senses for the arts.
Research suggests arts education equips students with skills necessary for the 21st century workforce, allowing nations to develop the human resources necessary to tap their cultural capital (UNESCO, 2006 ). It can therefore be argued that arts education is an essential component of a comprehensive education, requiring highly skilled teachers to achieve quality arts integration (Andrews, 2004 ).
Montessori believed that the child would only produce art when he had a need to. If the child was engrossed in creating art, he could repeat the same task over and over without tiring. Observing the child engaged in an arts activity also reveals to teachers what children have gained from the exercises of the senses and what activities for the senses to offer next.
There is a commonly accepted approach to art appreciation within the Montessori curriculum in the work of Aline D.Wolf, entitled ‘Mommy, It’s a Renoir’ and ‘Child Sized Masterpieces.’
(See http://www.parentchildpress.com/art.html). Children as young as 2 are introduced to art through the use of postcard sized prints of famous artists. The postcards are used to match pairs, recognise styles and technique and starting discussions. According to Susan Feez, author of Montessori and Early Childhood: A Guide for Students (2010 ), art appreciation can be linked to appreciation for music and also the child’s interests.
Children benefit from having a variety of art materials available to them at all times. It is important that art materials are the best quality that you can afford. These include pencils, crayons, clay, paper, brushes, paint. Part of this approach is also teaching the child how to use the material and care for it.
It is liberating for a child to be exposed to a variety of art forms across a range of different time periods. It allows time for the child to free themselves from anxieties about their own work. The problem arises when children are not given the freedom of expression in art work. Today, many people have negative beliefs towards arts education based on their early feelings of inadequacy. As a result, adults exclude themselves from arts opportunities that allow communication, self-expression and appreciation. Through a Montessori education we can break the cycle.
1UNESCO. (2006). Road Map for Arts Education World Conference on Arts Education: Building Creative Capacities for the 21st Century. Lisbon, Portugal, 6-9 March, 2006. Retrieved November, 2, 2007 from http://portal.unesco.org/culture/es/ev.php-URL_ID=30335_DO-DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=2a.html.2Andrews, B.W. (2004). Curriculum Renewel Through Policy Development in Arts Education. Research Studies in Music Education, 23, 76-93.3Freez, S. (2010). Montessori and Early Childhood: A Guide for Students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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2011 International Montessori Conference
Jane will pose some tricky questions and offer solutions. For example: • When and how should children start using computers, and should they have them at home?
• How can parents and teachers support children’s learning with technology? Which ones may be harmful, and why?
• How do we balance education and entertainment?
And... the most important question of all: How can we best help the young prepare for a changing and unpredictable future?
Tim Seldin knows Montessori - not only is he the President of the Montessori Foundation, Chair of the International Montessori Council, Head of the NewGate-Field School but Tim was also a Montessori student from age two. He is a noted Montessori teacher trainer, school consultant, and keynote speaker at scores of Montessori conferences around the world and it is our pleasure to welcome back an old friend and colleague.
When asked what the reasons for the longevity of the Montessori method are, Tim replied, “it works, Maria based her ideas on fundamental truths. She knew how to prepare children and design schools. A lot of things that go on in education don’t make sense. Her ideas make sense.”
As Australia wrestles with the “Education revolution” and what that really means? New research leads us to question what children really need and what children want. As educators we are entrusted with the task of preparing the children for their adult lives, helping them reach their potential etc, etc. In doing this we are often conflicted by what “good practice” may look like, indeed should look like and of course what actually do we want for our children?
With this in mind the Montessori Australia Council is delighted to have two fabulous keynote speakers at the International Montessori Conference at the Gold Coast, QLD next April who will share with us, confront us and best of all create robust discussion.
Jane Healy will challenge us to think about the “digital world” we are living in. When are our children ready for it – the games are getting more sophisticated but are the children getting brighter? She states, “technology shapes the growing mind. The younger the mind, the more malleable it is. The younger the technology, the more unproven it is. We enthusiastically expose our youngsters to new digital teachers and playmates, but we also express concern about the development of their brains, bodies, and spirits. Shouldn’t we consider carefully the potential - and irrevocable - effects of this new electronic interface with childhood?”
Engaging the Child the Gift of Montessori
‘To engage: to involve or become involved in an activity, to hold attention.’Does this apply to schooling today?
Griffith University, Gold CoastApril 30th – May 1st 2011
The Montessori Australia Council is proud to host this International Conference - the only one of its kind in Australia, bringing together International and National speakers and presenters.
After nearly 110 years the Montessori method is stronger than ever. What is it about this teaching and learning philosophy that makes it so unique? And how can our children benefit?
Our speakers and presenters will help unlock the “Gift” of Montessori and why it is even more relevant today.
Featuring 25+ concurrent programmes over two days with 15 different presenters covering a wide range of topics for teachers, assistants, Principals, Directors, Board members, academics, education students, parents and interested individuals.
Distinguished International KEYNOTE Speakers:Jane Healy and Tim Seldin.Master Classes and Foundation Seminars 28th & 29th April.
Costs from $550 early bird members
For Further information or to register interest www.montessori.edu.au