The method of early development of Maria Montessori - developmental classes with children according to a special system

The unique method of early childhood development by Maria Montessori is chosen by a lot of parents to raise their children. This system of educational activities is used for the development of babies and is suitable for correctional classes. Maria Montessori, one of the best teachers, was able to make a real revolution in education in her time. She called for the education of independence in children and encouraged free education. Its system has worldwide recognition in our time.

Few facts from the life of Maria Montessori

In 1870, on August 31, in the city of Chiarovalla, a girl was born into a family of prominent famous aristocrats Montessori-Stoppani. The name her parents gave her is Maria. She adopted all the best that her parents had. Father - awarded the Order of Italy, civil servant, mother grew up in a family of liberals.

The parents tried to give their daughter the best possible education. Maria studied well, had good mathematical skills. At the age of 12, the girl faced social inequality when she wanted to enter a technical school where only boys studied. The authority of Maria's father, her teaching abilities did their job, and she was accepted to study. She graduated from school excellently, despite the fact that she had to constantly confirm the right to study on an equal footing with young people.

Once again, she succeeded in breaking the standards in 1890, when she began her studies at the University of Rome at the Faculty of Medicine. In 1896, for the first time in the entire period of development of Italy, a girl doctor appeared, Maria Montessori, who successfully defended her dissertation in psychiatry.

During her student days, Maria got a job as an assistant at a hospital at the University. It was then that she first encountered working with children with disabilities. She began to carefully study the literature on the adaptation of such children to life in society. The work of Edouard Seguin and Jean-Marc Itard had a huge influence on the work of Mary.

Her confidence that the teacher's competent work with them will have a much greater impact on their development than drugs, led her to the idea of creating a methodology based on a developing environment.

She begins to study various literature on the theory of upbringing and education, pedagogy. In 1896 Maria begins work with guys with limited abilities, and prepares them for the junior education exams. The performance shown by its graduates was simply stunning.

In 1898, Maria decides to give birth to a child out of wedlock. In the same period of her life, she became the director of the Orthophrenic Institute for the preparation of special children. To abandon the business to which she decided to devote her life meant for her to betray herself, and therefore she made the decision to give her son up to a foster family.

In 1901 she entered the Faculty of Philosophy. Simultaneously with her studies, Maria did not stop working at the school. She was amazed at the conditions in which the educational process is conducted, strict discipline in the classroom, none of the teachers wanted to strive for the all-round development of the personality. In the upbringing of special children, in general, violent methods were very often used.

In 1904 Maria became head of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Rome. As before, she continued to experiment in the educational process of the school, to conduct research. And so, in 1907, with the thoughts that society lacks humanity and enlightenment, she opens her own educational institution - "Children's House". She devotes all the rest of her life to the development and introduction of her system, to the educational process.

In 1909 Montessori began the experience of conducting international training seminars. Then many teachers from different countries got to him. During the same period, she publishes her first edition, in which she talks about the "House of the Child" and the methods of working with children used at school. Maria was constantly improving her system, conducting courses to train teachers around the world.

She was able to pick up her son Mario from the foster family when he was 15 years old. Since then, Mario has become her faithful assistant, took over all the organizational aspects of her work. He was seriously interested in Mary's system and became an excellent successor to his mother.

In 1929 the international Montessori association was created.

Due to the events taking place in the world, Maria and her son were forced to immigrate to India, where they lived for 7 years. In the post-war period, she returned to Europe and continued the development and implementation of her system until the end of her life.

Without abandoning his mother's business, Mario passed it on to his daughter, Renilde. It was she who succeeded in introducing the pedagogy of Maria Montessori to Russia in 1998.

If you are interested in the life of Maria Montessori, watch the following video.

The history of the technique

Maria Montessori began to introduce her system by working with special children, children with mental retardation, children whose adaptation to society was very difficult. Applying games based on tactile sensitivity, creating a special developmental environment, Maria tried to develop self-care abilities in these children. She tried to adapt the children to life in society, without setting herself the goal of increasing the level of intellectual development.

However, the results were very unexpected. In just a year of working with them, they turned out to be at the same level of intellectual development and even higher than that of their absolutely healthy peers.

Having generalized her knowledge, theoretical developments of various teachers and psychologists, her own research and experience, Maria built it all into one system called the Montessori method.

After that, the Montessori method was tested in the education of healthy children, which did not pose any difficulties. Her system was easily adjusted to the level of development, capabilities and needs of any child.

What is Montessori Technique

It is possible to briefly outline the basic philosophy of the Montessori technique by saying that the child needs to be directed to independent actions.

An adult should only help him in his independence and prompt when asked. At the same time, you cannot force the child to do anything, prove to him that only your idea of the environment is correct, during the rest or observation of the child, approach him.

Maria Montessori came to such conclusions based on the ideas that:

from the moment of birth, the child is unique. He is already a person.
Every little person has a natural desire to develop and work.
Parents and teachers should help the child to reveal his potential, and not be ideals in character and abilities.
Adults should only prompt the child in his independent activity, without teaching. They must patiently wait for the initiative from the baby himself.

Method essence

The main motto of Montessori in his work was - help the child to do it on their own.

Giving the child maximum freedom and organizing an individual approach to everyone, she skillfully guided the children for independent development, not trying to remake them, but recognizing their right to be themselves. This helped the children achieve the highest results on their own, without any adult prompts. Maria Montessori did not allow the children to be compared, to arrange competitions between them. Generally accepted evaluation criteria in her pedagogy are not allowed, as well as encouragement of children, punishment and coercion.

Her method is based on the fact that every child wants to become an adult as soon as possible, and he can only achieve this by learning and gaining life experience. That is why children themselves will strive to learn as soon as possible, and the teacher should only observe this process and help if necessary.

Children can independently choose the pace and rhythm at which their acquisition of knowledge will be most effective. They can decide for themselves how much time they need for the lesson, what material to use in training. If there is a need to change the environment, the child may well do it. And the most important independent choice is the direction in which they want to develop.

At the same time, the task of the teacher is to use all available means for the development of independence, to contribute to the development of the child's sensory perception, paying special attention to the sense of touch. The teacher must respect the choice of the child, create an environment for him in which the child will develop comfortably, be a neutral observer and assistant if necessary. The teacher should not strive for children to be like him. It is unacceptable for him to interfere in the process of acquiring independence by the child.

The principles of the Montessori system:

A child who makes decisions without the help of adults.
A developmental environment that provides the child with the opportunity to develop.
A caregiver who can intervene in the child's development process only at his request for help.

Development environment

The developing environment is the main element, without which Montessori pedagogy will not function.

All furniture and equipment of the developing environment should be selected strictly according to the age, height and proportions of the baby. Children must cope independently with the need to rearrange furniture. They should be able to do this as quietly as possible, try not to disturb others. Such permutations, according to Montessori, perfectly develop motor skills.

Children can choose the place where they will study. The room in which they are engaged should have a lot of free space, light and fresh air. Panoramic glazing of windows is welcomed to provide maximum daylight, good lighting is thought out.

The interior should be aesthetic and elegant. The color palette for him is chosen calm, not distracting the child's attention from the activity. Fragile objects should be present in the setting so that children learn to use them confidently and understand their value. They can also decorate the room indoor flowers that the child can easily care for, they are located at the height available to him.

The child must be able to freely use the water. For this, sinks, like toilets, must be installed at a height accessible to the child.

The teaching aids are located at the level of the baby's eyes, so that he can use them without the help of an adult. All copies of the material provided for the use of children should be one at a time. This will contribute to teaching the child to behave in society, teach to take into account the needs of those nearby. The main rule of using materials is that whoever took it first uses it. Children should learn to negotiate with each other, exchange. Children acquire the skills of caring for their surroundings without the help of adults.

Areas for developing activities

The developmental environment is divided into several zones such as practical, sensory, math, language, space zone and gymnastic exercise zone. For each of these areas, appropriate training materials are used. Mostly wooden toys are used, because Maria Montessori has always stood for the naturalness of the materials used.

Practical

In another way, it is called a zone for practical exercises in everyday life. With the help of materials from this zone, children are taught to live at home, in society. They develop practical life skills.

With the help of the exercise materials from this area, children learn:

take care of yourself (learn to dress, undress, cook);
take care of everything that is nearby (take care of flora and fauna, clean up);
different ways of movement (to be able to move calmly, silently, walk along the line, be quiet);
acquire communication skills (greet each other, communicate, rules of conduct in society).

The following materials are used in the practice area:

business boards (frames made of wood, on which various fasteners are located: buttons of different sizes, buttons, bows, lacing and laces for winding on fasteners, Velcro, straps);
vessels for water transfusion;
cleaning agents (eg metals);
Natural flowers;
houseplants;
various flowerpots for fresh flowers;
scissors;
scoops;
watering cans;
tablecloths;
stripes that are glued or drawn on the floor for walking, and objects that must be carried over them (a glass of liquid, candles);
Conversations and role plays are conducted.

There are many aids to practice in your daily life. The most important thing is that by their size, appearance, color combination, ease of use, they meet the needs of children.

Sensory

It uses materials that promote the sensory development of the child. With the help of these materials, the child also develops fine motor skills, their use prepares the child for acquaintance with various subjects of the school curriculum.

The following types of materials are used here:

blocks with liner cylinders, a pink tower, red rods, a brown staircase are necessary for the formation of the ability to determine dimensions;
colored plates teach you to distinguish color;
rough plates, various types of fabrics, keyboard board, touch board - tactile sensitivity;
calls, noise cylinders - develop hearing;
sensory bags, geometric bodies, sorters, a geometric chest of drawers, a biological chest of drawers, constructive triangles - contribute to the baby's ability to distinguish and name the shapes of objects, including by touch;
heavy plates - teach you to distinguish between weight;
odor boxes are needed to develop the sense of smell;
taste jars to distinguish between flavoring properties;
warm jugs - perception of temperature differences.

Each material develops only one of the senses, which gives the child the opportunity to focus on it, isolating others.

Mathematical

The math and sensory areas are closely interconnected. When a child compares objects with each other, measures them, puts them in order, he is already studying mathematical concepts. Materials such as the pink tower, barbells, cylinders perfectly prepare children for the assimilation of mathematical knowledge. It offers work with specific material, which makes the mastering of mathematics by a child much easier.

Here are used:

numeric bars, numbers made of rough paper, spindles, numbers and circles are needed to get acquainted with the numbers from 0 to 10.
Gold bead material, number material, combination of these materials introduce children to the decimal system.
A tower made of multi-colored beads, 2 boxes of beads and double boards - introduce the concept of "number" and numbers from 11 to 99.
Chains of different numbers of beads give an idea of linear numbers.
Marks, tables of mathematical actions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), a game of dots help to get acquainted with mathematical actions.
Geometric chest of drawers, constructive triangles - will acquaint the kid with the basics of geometry.

Linguistic

This zone also has a close relationship with the sensory. The materials used in the sensory development area support the child's speech development. Cylinders, sorters, fabrics contribute to the development of fine motor skills, which has a huge impact on the development of speech. Bells and noisy boxes perfectly develop hearing. Biological maps, geometric shapes help to distinguish shapes. Teachers working on the Montessori system offer speech games and exercises every day, stimulate the development of a child's speech, monitor the correct pronunciation and correct use of words. In the arsenal of teachers there are many options for games for the development of speech (games for memorizing and recognizing objects, assignment games, descriptions, stories and much more).

Can also be used:

metal figures-inserts;
rough paper alphabet;
movable alphabet;
cards and boxes with images of various objects;
frames for shading;
boxes with figurines for the first intuitive reading;
subject captions;
books.

Space zone

The space zone in Montessori pedagogy is a zone where children gain knowledge about the reality around them. The most important thing that a teacher should take into account is the construction of the lesson from certain concrete actions to abstract ones. Often, children are offered clarity with some phenomenon and the opportunity to come to conclusions themselves.

In this zone you can see:

a variety of literature to find the necessary information;
the solar system, continents, landscapes, natural zones - contribute to the development of geographical representations;
the classification of animals, their habitat give the concept of zoology;
plant classification, habitat - introduce you to botany;
timelines, calendars - form an idea of the history;
various materials for experiments, four elements - introduce science.

For gymnastic exercises

The place for this zone may not always be allocated. Often this is the space between tables lined up around the perimeter. In this area, sports and recreational activities for kids with elements of aerobics, exercises with fitball, stick are organized. Includes outdoor games, walking, running.

From how many months should you conduct such developmental classes?

The Montessori system not only has such a name "system", but it is exactly what it is. She invites parents to take a more holistic look at children's nature. It is very good when the parents got acquainted with the basic principles and essence of the technique even before the birth of their first child. This will help them prepare for the birth of a baby with knowledge of the basic needs of mom and newborn. Indeed, according to Montessori, the education of the baby begins precisely with the readiness of the parents for this, since they will be the most important environment for the baby.

The first two months of life, the baby and the mother are still very dependent on each other, so it is important for the mother to concentrate only on the child. After that, the child already begins to show an active interest in the world around him, becomes more mobile. From this moment on, mom with a baby can already start attending a Montessori class, which is called nido, if there is a space for the little ones. During this period, it will likely be more useful for the mother, allow her to escape from worries about the baby and diversify her leisure time, spending it with him. There is still no need for the child to attend a Nido class. If desired, the entire developmental environment and materials used (such as mobiles) can be reproduced at home.

From the moment the baby starts to crawl, attending a nido class can give him much more room for development. It is quite possible to start leaving the baby there without a mother. This is suitable for mothers who need to go to work or for families who do not have the opportunity to provide a lot of free space, create an atmosphere at home and purchase materials for large movements of the baby, preparing him for walking. For this, a variety of large bars, heavy tables and chairs for children, ladders are useful. With the help of these materials, the baby will learn to stand, walk with support, climb up and down, sit.

When the child begins to walk, he goes to a class called todler. In Russia, the creation of such classes is not yet widespread; this requires a special Montessori education. However, for parents who are well prepared, it will not be difficult to do this at home.

Attending a todler class, a baby is faced with the need to follow the rules of behavior, learns to communicate with his peers, interact with them, and cooperate with a teacher. This will turn out to be a good preparation for the kid to visit the kindergarten. Unfortunately, parents cannot recreate this at home.

It should be borne in mind that up to 3 years old, a long parting of a baby with a mother is very difficult. Therefore, it would be ideal to visit the Todler class for only half a day. This will not be possible if mom goes to work and is full-time. But not every parents will be able to financially afford to attend a private todler Montessori class, if the mother continues to be a housewife. If the kid goes to classes 2-3 times a week, and not every day, then he will need more time in order to get involved in work. Such visits are suitable as a compromise solution.

We conclude you can start attending Montessori classes when the child reaches the age of 2 months, if the mother has a need for this. This will become interesting for the child, not earlier than from the moment when he crawls. Attending a tiny Montessori class up to 3 years old will give a good base for future kindergarten attendance.

Montessori classes and Montessori lessons

Montessori pedagogy, as already mentioned, is based on the independent development of the child in a specially prepared developing environment. This is the basis of the education process, where children express their needs, and the teacher helps them in their activities, with the help of observations and individual work with everyone.

Maria Montessori herself has always called the learning process precisely classes, not games, despite the age of the children. She called teaching aids made from natural materials as educational material. All materials offered for classes were unique, in the classroom only in 1 copy.

In her methodology, Maria Montessori offers 3 types of lessons:

Individual. The teacher works with only one student, offering him educational material. It shows and explains how you can work with it, where to apply it. The materials used should arouse the child's interest, attract him, differ from others in any property, be it thickness, height, width, be able to the child independently check mistakes, see where he performed the action incorrectly. After that, the child begins independent activities.
Group. The teacher works with children whose level of development is approximately the same. The rest of the children in the class work independently without disturbing the group. The same algorithm of work is observed as in individual lessons.
General. The teacher works with the whole class at once. Lessons are short and short. Generally, general classes are held in music, gymnastics, biology, history. After the children have received the basic information, they independently decide to deal with special material on the topic, or they are not interested in it at the moment. The work continues on its own.

In Montessori pedagogy, there is a division of children into 3 age categories:

Children from birth to 6 years old. This age period is called the building one, the child is capable of developing all functions.
Children are 6-12 years old. This period was called research, the child is interested in the world around him, events and phenomena.
Children aged 12-18. This last age period was named a scientist. The child sees the relationship between various facts, looks for his place in the world, creates his own picture of the world.

In Montessori schools there are classes of different ages, from 6 to 9 years old, and from 9 to 12. A child can move to the next class only when his needs and abilities allow him. Using classes of different ages helps older children become more caring, and younger children build self-confidence.

The class does not have a clear statement of goals and objectives for the academic year. The program is calculated for 3 years, but at what pace the student will learn it depends only on him. If a fast pace suits him, this is good, if the child is used to working slowly and thoroughly, then no one will rush him. Having independently chosen the area for the lesson, the child can work there individually or in a group of other children. The most important rule that everyone must follow is not to interfere with another's work. The child builds his own relationships in the team. Everything that happens in the class is supervised by teachers who provide assistance if necessary.

Watch the following video about the features of the technique.

Pros and cons of the system

Despite the fact that Montessori pedagogy is recognized as one of the best in the world, there are many who criticize it. Therefore, you should carefully study its positive and negative aspects.

Pros

Montessori children develop without adult intervention and outside pressure.
Individual pace of development.
The guys get to know the world by making discoveries. This promotes better assimilation of the material.
Montessori pedagogy tends to give children freedom.
Students learn to respect the personal free space of others.
There is no criticism, negativity, violence against children.
The child's intelligence develops through the senses. Much attention is paid to the development of motor skills, which is important for its development in general.
Groups of different ages are formed based on the interests of children.
Education and assistance are provided not by adults, but by older guys, in a language accessible to a child. Learning to care for others.
Pupils learn an important skill from an early age - to make decisions for themselves.
Self-service skills are quickly taught.
The ability to interact in society is developed, self-discipline is brought up: you can not interfere with others, make noise, clean up the workplace, have patience and much more.
Montessori pedagogy implies cooperation with an adult.

Minuses

Little time is devoted to the development of imagination, creativity, communication skills are not sufficiently developed.
In the preschool age, play is the leading activity, but Montessori believed that the child does not receive any benefit for practical life from play and toys.
Children are little acquainted with fairy tales that talk about the opposition of good and evil, teach ways out of life situations.
When entering a traditional school, it is difficult for a student to change his attitude towards the teacher. In the Montessori system, the teacher is only an observer, and in the school, the teacher is an authority.
There are times when children find it difficult to adapt to the traditional school and its discipline.
Children do not make much effort while working with objects; in the future, this may manifest itself in the fact that the child will hardly force himself to perform active actions.
A small amount of physical activity. Basically, classes are held in a calm environment, excluding it.

Commandments for Parents

Children learn what surrounds them.
If you constantly criticize your child, he will learn to judge.
Children who are often praised learn to evaluate.
By showing your child a hostile attitude, you teach him how to fight.
The child will learn to be fair if you are honest with him.
By making fun of a child, you instill shyness in him.
A child will learn to believe if he lives with a sense of security.
The child will constantly feel guilty if you embarrass him.
Approval teaches a toddler to be nice to himself.
Indulgence teaches a child to be patient.
By giving your child a lot of encouragement, you can help them gain confidence in themselves and their abilities.
A child will learn to find love if he is surrounded by an atmosphere of friendship and he will feel necessary.
You can never talk about a baby badly, neither in his presence, nor in his absence.
So that there is no room for the bad, focus on bringing up the good in it.
Always listen to the child who comes to you and answer his questions.
Have respect for the kid who made a mistake, let him correct it.
Help the child in the search, if he needs it, and be invisible if the child has already found everything.
Use caring, restraint, silence, and love to help your child learn new things.
Treat your child only in a good manner, give him the best you have.