You are bridge between what your child will learn at Montessori and what your child can learn at home. As a Montessori parent, it will not take you long to learn that every moment can become an exciting learning experience.
Choosing how your child will be educated, especially in the early formative years, can be the most important decision you make regarding your child’s future. Research proves that the early childhood school education can have a lifetime impact. The decision you make now will affect his or her academic and social progress through adolescence, university and life.
If you have enrolled your child in a Montessori, you have already taken the most vital step for the future of you r child. But you are probably asking yourself a lot of questions, such as: what do I do to help make the Montessori experience even better and fascinating approach to learning? What makes Montessori unique? what do I do at home to augment what he/she learns from school?
While you may think that Montessori education is a method, it is really an approach or attitude about life, growth and development. Montessori materials do not create that approach; rather understanding Montessori principles can help you create the right attitude about your child’s learning. Basic to this attitude is that you cannot learn for your child. Only your child can do that. Your job is to help them learn for themselves.
For 100 years, Montessori has educated generations of children all around the world. Dr. Maria Montessori, creator of the Montessori education was a keen observer of children and how they learn. Her methods and conclusions were ahead of her time; but, within the context of today’s enlightened approach, they are the cutting edge of where education is heading. Learning is all about how to adapt to the environment and solve the problems creatively. 21st century is going to challenge the intellectual capabilities of your child and the foundation from Montessori methodology will be the best tool that your child will ever have.
The following will help you acquaint yourself with your child’s learning environment and help you with motivating your child to get the best out of this program.
Montessori at Home
Remember the first time you walked into a Montessori classroom? The beautiful materials and calm, orderly atmosphere probably enchanted you. That is the same atmosphere you can create at home and it is not difficult. If a classroom with twenty or more children moving about can be orderly certainly your home can be as well. Following are few concrete ways you can reinforce at home.
1. Encourage Independence
“A servant does things for a child, while a parent should be an educator”. You can continue Montessori experience for your child at home by helping him/her learn to take care of his/her own body. Always allow the child to do things for himself/herself whenever they want. If your child wants to cook show him how to tear lettuce, beat eggs etc. Whenever you do a task with the child, explain what the end result or accomplishment will be. Also the child learns by making mistakes, so encourage him/her when he/she does a mistake rather than being very protective. Of course letting a child to do things might be time consuming in these busy days but yet the payoff is self-reliance and self-confidence.
2. Establish Order
The order of a Montessori classroom can be echoed at home. Establishing order helps children become independent. Order helps child to concentrate and become independent. Contrary to your thinking a child has a natural affinity for order. You can do this in the following way:
· Organize at least the child’s room so that everything the child needs is within their reach.
· Avoid clutter to minimum by rotating child’s toys into storage so that they are not all out at one time
· A small step stool by the sink lets children turn on the taps themselves in the kitchen and the bathroom.
· Keep all toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrush, water cup, etc) in a small box on the bathroom counter or lower drawer so that the child can reach them.
· Place simple food snacks on a special low shelf in the kitchen. Put a child-size jug of milk so that they can pour themselves and then put them away
3. Help Children to be Helpful
In Montessori classroom children are taught to be helpful to others and to take care of materials and the classroom itself. Children do make a mess but they are encouraged to clean up also. They are asked to pick up if they drop something, to wipe off the table if they spill. These activities make them feel that they are responsible and these actions will raise their self-esteem. These activities also increase their motor skills and hence they are very important to build at home too. Few things that children can do at home are
· setting and clearing the table
· loading and unloading dishwasher
· making theirs beds
· making their snack, lunch
· watering plants, feeding pets
· cleaning mirrors, sweeping floors and vacuuming
· sorting and folding laundry
· bringing mails, news papers etc
4. Develop Concentration
Maria Montessori always said that a focused child is a happy child. Don’t interrupt a child when he is engaged and focused on something. You can encourage focus by paying attention to what sparks enthusiasm and interest in your child, and then make sure you provide opportunities and materials to help this happen. For example if the child likes to build things (out of toothpicks, wood or cardboard) make sure you have materials on hand. Like every skill, concentration deepens with practice. Watching TV is occupation not concentration. Limiting amount of TV time improves child’s ability to create his own visual images.
5. Introduce Your Child to Nature
Maria Montessori believed that nature talks directly to children. Go for walks and talk to them about leaves, houses, pinecones, animals, trees, birds etc. Encourage them to observe insects or animals in the wild. Growing plants from seeds or sprouts from a carrot top are rewarding for children. Other ideal places for children to spend time are sandy beach full of shells and other natural objects at the shoreline, or even just a yard full of snow.
6. Do Practical Life at Home
Children learn by doing. Practical Life is all about teaching a child of how to take care of themselves and their environment. Children like practicing real life-things. Give your child the real life experience of folding socks into pairs, polishing shoes, sorting cutlery, folding clothes. For example give children a button box and they will happily spend hours sorting them into shapes, colors and sizes. This is a perfect example of how you can use your everyday objects to get your child involved. Some of the best learning experiences come from mundane and ordinary efforts of life and by giving your child the opportunity to exercise their mind and their motor skills.
7. Enable Self-Discovery
Children love to discover things for themselves. As a parent, your role is to help create the environment and provide the time for your child to find things by themselves. This kind of help can include asking leading questions, providing few extra steps in an activity, or giving her time to discover and reflect on what he/she is seeing or experiencing. It is challenging as a parent not to rush in and provide the answer when your child has questions, but with patience you will enable your child’s sense of curiosity and joy of discovery to blossom into a love of life-long learning. Sometimes you would be surprised at what they can do on their own when they are given some time.
8. Encourage Choice and Interest in Learning
Children learn best when they are engaged in self-chosen activities. If you want to play a game or share an activity, be sure that the child is interested and ready for the new experience. Be ready to stop an activity if the child is frustrated or does not want to continue. Try to end in a positive note such as, “we’ll do this later, when you are ready.” Children enjoy playing the games that allow them to build on previous learning. Remember the Goldilocks story: Just the right bowl of porridge, not one too hot or too cold. If a game is too easy or too difficult, the child will not want to play nor will she have positive experience. Determining just the right amount of challenge requires knowing your child and assessing the size of the steps to be taken when moving from one activity to another.
9. Use Encouragement, Not Rewards or Treats
Most of us at home do reward or give a child a special treat if they complete task. This is tempting but is short-lived. When you give external rewards to motivate your child, he/she learns that there is no intrinsic value to the activity and the only reason to do is for the reward. Encourage your child so that when they do the activity they get involved and enjoy themselves and be more self-confident when they see their results. Comments like “You did this all by yourself”, “You have worked hard on this” are the rewards for a completing the task.
I hope this will help you as parents to understand the philosophy and overall goals of Montessori.
Santoshi Pathak
