What is the Montessori method and is it worth trying?

What is the essence of the Montessori method?

Montessori education is taught under the motto: “Help me do it myself!” It is believed that if you place a child in a developmental environment and give him freedom of action, he will be happy to explore the world on his own.

Maria Montessori, teacher

Maria Montessori

A child can only reveal himself to us, freely implementing his natural construction plan.

Children choose for themselves what and when to do. The adult’s task is not to interfere, not to criticize, not to praise or compare the child with others. But only show how to use the materials, observe and help if necessary.

“The louder you whistle, the higher I will rise.” How the path of a woman of the era began

Photo from the website of the Russian Montessori School named after.
St. George Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870. Her father was in charge of finance at a state tobacco factory and adhered to traditional views. Mother came from the oldest Italian family of Stoppani, which was famous for its prominent scientists. It was she who noticed that young Maria was distinguished by her lively mind and determination. The girl loved mathematics so much that she even took textbooks to the theater. In the semi-darkness of the hall, she was on her knees solving equations and problems.

19th century Italy did not provide educational opportunities for women. The lot of ladies is farming, raising children and charity. Maria, on the contrary, has been involved in science since childhood and dreamed of becoming an engineer. At the age of 13, she broke the stereotype of those years and entered a technical school for boys. Good grades helped her enter the ranks of students at the Technical Institute. Leonardo da Vinci. When the moment of graduation approached, the future student realized: her calling was to become a doctor.

Even in her youth, Maria Montessori first thought about suppressing the student’s personality. The rigid framework of conventions did not allow children to reach their potential and ruined their talents.

She still managed to enroll in the natural sciences course at Sapienza, one of the oldest universities in the world. But the boys were offended by the idea that a young girl would study with them. Dissatisfied classmates constantly tried to “put her in her place,” snorting and laughing contemptuously.

She could only go to lectures accompanied by a man, and sit down only when all the male students had taken their seats. It reached the point of absurdity: a woman examining a naked body is a scandal! Maria had to stay after class and explore human anatomy herself.

What are sensitive periods

Maria Montessori considered the ages from 0 to 6 years to be the most important in a person's life. She identified six sensitive periods favorable for the formation of certain skills. If you start learning earlier or later, the child will be bored or difficult.

From 0 to 3 years: the period of perception of order

It is easiest to teach a child to be clean and to pick up after themselves before the age of 3. In the Montessori system, order is key. Children are involved in cleaning from an early age; they are shown how to lay out things, wipe off dust, and wash dishes. For work, children are provided with special equipment: comfortable brushes and dustpans, a small mop and a broom.

From 0 to 5.5 years: period of sensory development

The child explores the world around him through sensations, sounds and smells. He develops ideas about shape, color, size.

From 0 to 6 years: period of speech development

Each child’s speech develops individually, and if the baby cannot speak at 2 years old, it’s okay. He still has some time left. And special cards, books and visual materials can help.

From 1 year to 4 years: period of development of movements and actions

The child explores the capabilities of his body, develops coordination and strengthens muscles. To do this, he needs a well-equipped children's playground with slides, swings and wall bars.

From 1.5 to 5.5 years: period of perception of small objects

To develop fine motor skills in the Montessori system, it is suggested to perform the simplest actions: string beads on laces, rearrange beans or peas, assemble puzzles.

From 2.5 to 6 years: period of development of social skills

The child gradually learns to live in society: to say hello, to be polite, to be attentive to the needs of other people, to help.

Lessons in Silence

As we have already said, in a Montessori environment there are no heavy or fixed desks. Instead, lightweight desks and chairs are offered that move easily and make sound. But this is not done for the sake of creating noise, but just the opposite. A Montessori garden is a quiet place where every child is enthusiastically busy with their work. And when a child, getting up from the table, makes noise, it distracts other children, they pay attention to the silence breaker. The child who made the noise finds such attention unpleasant, and next time he tries to do it as quietly as possible so as not to disturb other children. All this develops not only grace and skill in getting up from the table unnoticed (and also walking quietly), but most importantly it makes you aware of the value of other people’s feelings, which are so easy to interfere with and disrupt their concentration.

In addition, M. Montessori developed special silence lessons, where children learn to control their behavior and be more organized. For example, one of the silence lessons goes like this: the teacher leaves the children alone, and she goes into another room and from there, in a barely audible whisper, calls one of the children by name. The child’s task is to hear his name and get up very quietly, without making noise, and go to the teacher in another room.

How is the development environment organized according to the Montessori method?

In the Montessori system, children are conventionally divided into age categories: from 0 to 3, from 3 to 6, from 6 to 9 and from 9 to 12 years. As a rule, children from 2 years old are involved in classes. And in the group, children of different ages from the same category study at the same time - for example, three-year-olds comprehend the world side by side with five- and six-year-olds. The youngest follow the elders, and the “adults,” by helping others, develop leadership skills and learn to care for the weak.

Rooms in kindergartens and Montessori schools are divided into several zones filled with educational toys, materials and aids.

Sensory education zone

It contains materials for the development of vision, smell, hearing, taste and tactile sensations. Children play with noise instruments, put together figures, touch all kinds of surfaces, get acquainted with smells, and guess what fruit they just ate.

Practical life zone

Children learn basic everyday and social skills: caring for themselves and the environment, etiquette, and rules of communication. They clean clothes and shoes, cook food, water flowers and clean using real tools.

Math zone

Acquaintance with numbers and mathematical operations occurs with the help of toys that develop logic, counting skills, the ability to compare, measure and organize. Gradually, the child goes from basic actions to solving quite complex problems.

Speech development zone

The child expands his vocabulary, develops phonemic awareness, gradually learns to read, and masters writing.

Space Zone (Natural Sciences)

Here the child gets an idea of ​​the world around him: geography, history, botany, zoology, natural sciences.

Montessori method - for which children is this approach suitable?

Surprisingly, we often meet parents who are convinced that Montessori teaching methods are only suitable for gifted and “naturally” motivated children. Parents feel that if their son or daughter is not forced to study, they will simply lie on the couch all day.

In fact, it is always worth remembering that children’s curiosity and desire to explore the world are an innate quality of absolutely any child. The described passivity is most often caused by external factors: an unsuitable environment and an incorrectly organized daily routine, incorrect behavior of adults, and poor health of the child.

Despite the fact that all Montessori techniques involve the child’s free choice and almost unlimited movement around the classroom, even the most “uncontrollable” and “difficult” children eventually successfully integrate into the process.

However, if you think that at first it will be difficult for your baby in group classes using the Montessori method or you are worried about some of the child’s health, all branches of our club offer individual lessons so that your baby has additional adult attention for easier adaptation to a new environment.

What are the disadvantages of the Montessori system?

Criticism of the Montessori method comes down to the following points.

• In Montessori groups, children communicate little. Although the elders are expected to help the younger ones, this is where the interaction practically ends. Children perform individual tasks and do not play role-playing and outdoor games together. In the future, they may find it difficult to work in a team.
• Not enough attention is paid to creativity. The Montessori system was originally aimed at teaching practical skills. Therefore, creativity, along with games, was perceived as something distracting from the main tasks.
• It is difficult for a child to adapt to the regular education system. In Montessori groups, children are not given standardized grades. The teacher only marks the completion of the task: whether he did it or not. Transitioning to a regular school with grades, reward stickers, and competitive moments can be stressful for your child. And sitting at a desk, doing uninteresting tasks, can be very difficult.
• You will still have to transfer to a regular school. There are only a few Montessori schools in the world with a full cycle of education, up to 18 years of age. In most cases, everything is limited to kindergarten and the elementary level of education - for children 6–12 years old.

Basic Montessori Methods

To briefly outline the main ideas of the Maria Montessori method, it is important to first explain on what beliefs the approach is based:

1. The child develops following his natural interests and thanks to the experience independently gained on their basis,

2. Only a well-organized environment allows a child to fully realize his development potential,

3. An adult can be a guide and assistant, but cannot become the only full-fledged source of knowledge and skills for the development of a child,

It is these beliefs that determine the style of interaction between children and adults who have chosen the Montessori method for their children.

The approach is distinguished by a specially organized environment (didactic material freely accessible to the child), appropriate to the age of the children; the child’s leading position, his independence and free choice of activities; respectful and attentive attitude of adults to the individual needs of the baby.

Let's briefly formulate the basic principles of the Maria Montessori method:

1. Lack of a classroom system and free movement of the child in the classroom space,

2. The absence of a unified program and compulsory curriculum for all pupils, an individual approach to each child,

3. Classes using the M. Montessori method are held in a group of different ages,

4. Any Montessori session requires a prepared environment, ordered and varied materials for learning,

5. The adult follows the child’s interest, observes the children’s work and is very limited in their independent activities.

Now let's study in more detail the features of the Montessori method and start with what goals a Montessori teacher faces depending on the age of the students.

Pros and cons of the system

Like any system, the Montessori method has opponents and admirers. It will be easier for most people to figure out which group they belong to after they become familiar with the pros and cons of the system.

pros

Among the advantages of the system are:

• the adult has virtually no influence on the development of children or makes only minor interference, which allows the child to master the world without imposed prejudices;
• the technique allows children to express themselves and takes into account individual characteristics;
• children are not forced, but motivated to learn, they are not praised, but they are not scolded either, so the learning process is not so traumatic;
• children gain freedom, independence and develop the ability to independently plan and organize their activities;
• the system takes into account the periods of children's development, improves fine motor skills, develops senses;
• quickly instills skills of self-service, responsibility, and self-control;
• develops intelligence, speech, logical and analytical thinking;
• gives an idea of ​​world realities and contacts with other people (if the child is brought up according to this system and in a group).

There is no need to set aside any time to use the Montessori system. The beauty of this technique is that you don’t do it periodically, but live in it. Moreover, this form of living is quite convenient for adults. Children develop themselves at a pace that is convenient for them, and the adult’s task is to provide the baby with everything necessary and monitor his safety. In addition, this technique is “inexpensive”. All equipment is inexpensive, especially if you make it yourself.

Minuses

The method also has some drawbacks:

• greater emphasis on the intellectual side of the child’s development to the detriment of his emotionality and creative inclinations;
• ignoring role-playing games, arguing that they distract the child;
• omissions related to the temperamental characteristics of children (not all children will ask for help, and not everyone will be interested);
• the methodology is fundamentally different from the methods of education and presentation of material in kindergartens and schools, which creates difficulties for the child in adapting to the school schedule and the peculiarities of interaction with teachers;
• lack of physical activity.

Given these shortcomings, classical Montessori is rarely implemented in its “pure” form. More active games and elements of control over the child’s activities are added to it, so that it is easier for him to socialize in educational institutions.

How to make Montessori toys with your own hands

The peculiarity of the Montessori system is that, in fact, you do not need to buy any special toys. If you don’t have something at home, you can do it yourself or buy it in a store for pennies.

It will take a minimum of time and will not require special skills on the part of parents. And improvised means are suitable as materials.

Insert frames

Such toys will help kids understand what shapes are and what they are. And also learn to quickly distinguish colors, master the concepts of “more and less.”

For production you will need:

• box (you can take it from the candy you’ve eaten);
• a landscape sheet, but a Whatman paper is better;
• multi-colored cardboard.

Cut the box into rectangles. Their size depends on the number of figures that will be placed in the frame. For each rectangle, its own geometric figure is cut out of multi-colored cardboard. The figures in one row should be multi-colored and vary in size. The largest figure comes first, and those below should gradually become smaller. To hold the figures, whatman paper is glued to the back of the box.

Pyramid

The easiest way is to sew such a toy, but in order to do this, the parent must have at least primitive sewing skills. But there are a lot of benefits from this toy. She will teach the baby to distinguish colors, sizes, tactile sensations and more. All you need to do is use different fabrics and fillers.

To work you will need:

• fabric of different colors and, if possible, texture;
• Velcro tape;
• materials for stuffing - cereals, foam rubber, padding polyester, pebbles, in general, anything.

The fabric needs to be cut into paired squares of different sizes - from 5 to 12 cm. Take a pair of squares. Velcro is sewn onto one of the flaps of fabric, and the part that should stick is sewn onto the second. The squares are sewn together (from the wrong side). Next, the material needs to be turned out and filled with filler. And repeat this until all the pads are filled.

But it is important that the pyramid does not turn over; the lower layers are filled with heavier materials.

Colored hedgehogs

Hedgehogs are one of the most popular characters in children's fairy tales, so a child will be happy to play in such company.

To make these toys we will need:

• sheets of multi-colored cardboard;
• multi-colored clothespins.

You need to cut out two identical hedgehog shapes from cardboard. The easiest way to do this is to fold the cardboard in half and then start cutting. Next, you need to glue the figures together, drawing eyes, a mouth, and a nose. When the workpiece is ready, all that remains is to invite the child to give the hedgehog needles by attaching multi-colored clothespins to it.

Laces

Lacing games are the best way to develop fine motor skills in a child’s hands. You can buy them in a store, but the price isn’t great, so it’s much cheaper to make them at home.

Moreover, everyone probably has the materials needed for this at home:

• wooden base, an alternative to which can be thick cardboard or plywood;
• holes can be made with a hole punch or knife;
• buttons glued to the base;
• lace.

The set of materials depends on what is at hand. Sometimes you don’t even need to drill anything, just glue buttons to the board and show your child how to wrap the laces around them. It all depends on your imagination.

Soft balls

The essence of the game is that the baby is given four fur balls, which must be pushed through the tube one at a time so that the last one pushes the first one out.

To make such a toy, we need:

• thick cardboard;
• bushing (balls will pass through it);
• shampoo bottle (this will be the leg that will hold the sleeve);
• skeins of multi-colored yarn acting as balls.

You need to make two cuts in the shampoo bottle through which the sleeve will go. The sleeve itself should be exactly long enough for three balls stacked in a row to pass through it. You can secure the structure with tape and decorate it with colored paper.

Five principles proposed by M. Montessori

1. The child is active . The adult acts as an assistant, his role is secondary. The child needs to be interested, and he will develop himself. Classes take place in a specially prepared environment.
2. The child is his own teacher . He has full freedom of action and choice. Children teach each other according to the principle from older to younger, which allows them to learn to care for others;
3. Child's independence in decision making;
4. Full self-development is a consequence of freedom in actions, thinking, and feelings. A child becomes himself when we follow the instructions of nature, and do not go against them.
5. Respect for children – absence of prohibitions, criticism and instructions. A child has the right to make mistakes and figure everything out on his own.

In order to understand what the Montessori method is, it is enough to follow its theory and agree with the belief that any child is a normal person, capable of discovering himself in active work

Zoning of premises

According to the Montessori system, the following main zones are distinguished:

1. Practice or real life . Here children will learn basic everyday skills. Cleaning and washing supplies, buttons and laces can be placed here.
2. Perception or sensory . For children to be able to develop, all objects located in this zone must be of different shapes, weights, sizes and shades. You can use jars, boxes, etc. The baby will train fine motor skills and learn to distinguish things by tactile sensations. In addition, in this zone he will be able to train his memory and attention.
3. Mathematicians . This zone promotes the development of abstract thinking, fosters perseverance and patience. Materials can be counting sticks, figures (squares, triangles, etc.).
4. Language . Here children can learn to write and read, therefore in this area there should be various cubes with letters, copybooks and alphabet books.
5. Space . As the name implies, this area is used so that the baby can get acquainted with the world around him. For example, with other countries, weather, animals, etc. In this area you can place animal figures, maps, books, etc.

This is the author’s version of zoning, but more modern variations of the technique involve the use of zones for physical development, music, art, dance, foreign languages, etc. But there is rarely enough space for them in average apartments. But such in-depth zoning comprehensively develops the child.

Real life zone

This zone is called practical, since its main task is to accustom the baby to the everyday side of life and instill hygiene habits.

Classes in this area help children master the following skills:

• how to take care of yourself (fold clothes, perform hygiene procedures, eat and even cook);
• how to care for the surrounding space (clean, water flowers, feed pets);
• how to move (walk quietly, in a straight line);
• how to create communications (communicate with parents, educators, peers, in society).

In the area under consideration, you can use materials such as:

• boards with buttons, straps, clasps, etc.;
• dishes of different shapes and sizes;
• indoor plants and cut flowers;
• broom and dustpan.

In principle, you can use any item that is used in everyday life. But the use of toys is undesirable - all things must be real. Although you should not forget about safety rules and such items as scissors, knives, etc. use only when the child begins to understand what danger this thing can bring and how to use it correctly.

Sensory area

This area promotes the development of sensory perception.
Helps improve:

• fine motor skills;
• vision;
• touch;
• hearing;
• baric feeling (feeling of weight).

To ensure that children can fully play in this area, the following items are used:

• multi-colored signs;
• nesting cylinders of different sizes;
• signs with rough and smooth surfaces;
• fabric scraps;
• bells;
• heavy and light objects;
• fragrant bags.

The main difficulty of equipping this zone is to emphasize all sensory senses without highlighting any one. Therefore, it is important to collect a variety of materials. Some will affect hearing, others - vision, others - smell, etc.

Math Zone

The areas of sensory and mathematics are interconnected. Comparing materials with each other, the child measures them by performing mathematical operations. The sensory zone only prepares the baby for numerical operations. In mathematics, children are already beginning to master mathematical concepts.

This will require special materials:

• numbers made of fabric (can be made of paper, but then the risk of tearing them is higher);
• cards with numbers;
• rulers;
• beads for mastering basic mathematical operations;
• circles divided into shares;
• geometric figures.

The main thing is that the materials are visual. It is easier for a child to remember a number if he can touch it or turn it in his hands.

Language zone

This zone is closely connected with the sensory zone and develops fine motor skills.

That is why almost all the equipment in it is aimed at developing sensory sensations:

• letters made of tactilely pleasant materials;
• inserts;
• movable alphabet;
• frames for shading;
• intuitive reading cards.

All these devices contribute to the correct formation of speech skills and their development. The materials expand children's vocabulary.

Space zone

The second popular name for this zone is natural science education. Children here receive information about the environment, subject connections, learn historical facts and gain an understanding of biology, geography, natural history and other sciences.

So that the guys can gain as much knowledge as possible in this zone, you can leave the following equipment:

• encyclopedias and reference books (naturally, for children, with an abundance of colorful pictures);
• maps (geographical and natural);
• models (for example, solar system, mountains, volcanoes);
• materials on the typology of animals and plants;
• calendars;
• materials for experiments (something safe, such as potatoes and iodine to see starch);
• seeds and leaves of the plant.

In general, these can be any materials thanks to which the child can better get to know the world where he lives.