Principles in using Montessori materials
“The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. …He must find out how to concentrate, and for this he needs things to concentrate upon…Indeed, it is just here that the importance of our schools really lies. They are places in which the child can find the kind of work that permits him to do this.”
Maria Montessori
The materials must correspond to the child’s inner needs, and they must be presented to the child at the right moment in his development.The right moment in development must be determined by observation and experimentation. The teacher/parent watches for the quality of concentration and for spontaneous repetition. These responses indicate the meaningfulness of the material to him at that particular moment in his growth and whether the intensity of the stimulus which that material represents for him is also matched to his internal needs.
Five other Principles in using Montessori Materials:
1. Difficulty or the error that the child is to discover and understand must be isolated in a single piece of material.
2. The materials progress from simple to more complex design and usage.
3. The materials are designed to prepare the child indirectly for future learning.This principle of indirect preparation enables the child to experience success in his endeavors much more readily and aids the development of self-confidence and initiative.
4. The materials begin as concrete expressions of an idea and gradually become more and more abstract representations.The greater a child’s absorption the more likely he is making the transition from concrete to abstract knowledge.
5. Montessori materials are designed for auto-education. The control of error lies in the materials themselves rather than in the teacher.
“ ‘Control of error’ is any kind of indicator which tells us whether we are going toward our goal, or away from it…” Maria MontessoriThe teacher/parent is never to point out an error to a child.
If the child cannot see the error for himself, it means he has not sufficiently developed to do so. In time, he will be able to see it and will correct his own errors.
“What interests the child is the sensation, not only of placing the objects, but of acquiring a new power of perception, enabling him to recognize the difference of dimension in the cylinders.” Maria Montessori
There are several basic rules in the use of the Montessori Materials:
1. Children are required to treat them with respect.
When using materials, he is to bring all the materials necessary and arrange them on a mat or rug in an organized manner. He is to return the materials to their proper place and in the same condition in which he found them.
2. The child has a right not to be interrupted while working with the materials either by another child or the teacher.
Fundamental Lessons
Introduction of new material to the child is called the Fundamental Lesson.
The purpose of this lesson is to present the child with a key to the materials and their possibilities for him…and…to enable the teacher to discover more about the child and his inner development.
The teacher uses the lesson to observe the child’s reactions, and will experiment with different approaches to him.
Maria said that in this sense, “the lesson corresponds to an experiment.”
Introducing a lesson at the right moment requires sensitivity and experience.
Maria said “In such a delicate task, a great art must suggest the moment, and limit the intervention, in order that we shall arouse no perturbation, cause no deviation, but rather that we shall help the soul which is coming into the fullness of life, and which shall live from its own forces.”
Such lessons will be given almost exclusively on an individual basis.
Maria said “The child not only needs something interesting to do, but also likes to be shown exactly how to do it. Precision is found to attract him deeply, and this it is that keeps him at work.”
Characteristics of the Fundamental Lesson are:
Precision
Orderly Presentation
Brevity
Simplicity
Objectivity
Maria said “The lesson must be presented in such a way that the personality of the teacher shall disappear. There shall remain in evidence only the object to which she wishes to call the attention of the child.”
After the Fundamental lesson has been presented, the teacher invites the child to use the material as she has done.
The teacher then stays on to observe the child’s actions. She is careful not to interfere with his liberty.
If the child shows the teacher that she has misjudged the moment of introduction, the teacher suggests they put the material away and use it another day.
If the child shows that he was ready for the presentation, then the child is allowed to continue with the activity for as long as he likes.
Maria said “This phenomenon does not always occur…In fact, repetition corresponds to a need…It is necessary to offer those exercises which correspond to the need of development felt by an organism.”
One of the main things the teacher will watch for will be the repetition of an exercise.
After repetition of an exercise, the child will begin to create new ways in which to use the materials. Often he will combine more than one exercise or different materials.
In traditional classrooms using traditional toys, the child cannot be creative because of the nature of the materials around him. In the search for something of value the child ends up taking them apart and destroying them.
Montessori materials are carefully designed and constructed with a definite purpose in mind.
Filed under About Montessori, Montessori Education |
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