Частный Детский сад Монтессори-центр Мон Ами. ЖК Смольный Парк.

FAQ

Частный Детский сад Монтессори-центр Мон Ами. ЖК Смольный Парк. Пин

Yes. There is no timetable and lessons in the Montessori method, as we used to see in traditional education. So, how do we work with children?

Of course, even in a Montessori kindergarten, the child needs some regime moments such as Montessori classes, walking on the fresh air, sleeping, eating five meals a day. All of this happens at a specific time.

A day starts from a Montessori cycle/ session, and its duration depends on the age of a group.

The class is divided into specific zones: the zone of Practical Life, the Sensorial zone, the Language zone, the Math zone, the Culture Studies zone, which includes geography, biology, zoology and creativity.

Maria Montessori’s methodology was based on her observations, which helped her to conclude psychological, physiological, emotional, physical changes and identified six sensitive periods of a child. According to these periods, the materials are located in the class.

Here every child can improve according to the interests, the inner rhythm and the present sensitive period. The necessary skills development, and the child gains knowledge. For example, by improving the senses of smell, touch, stereognosis, shapes, colors, weights, textures, and so on, the child can form his image of the world around.

Children should take their time, and this time for each kid can be different. It can be a few minutes, for another several hour, while it can take several days for someone. Unfortunately, in a classic system of education with lessons, this cannot be done.

Children can study alone, or they can be invited to work in groups. The teacher closely observes the child and introduces the materials according to his interest. The teacher also uses the principle “from simple to complex” as teachers, knowing the child’s sensitive period, can suggest starting with materials from the proximal development zone.

Thanks to the atmosphere of free learning in the classroom, there is no competition between children. Indeed, smaller kids can always ask for help from older ones. This feature helps to keep the festive mood and raise self-esteem and confidence.

There was a reason to separate groups of children from 0 to 3, from 3 to 6, from 6 to 9 and 9 to 12 years old. Maria Montessori noticed that children are active in these age groups but experiencing the world is entirely different. Children have unique tasks that help them build their personalities. ⠀

We cannot see the competition between children in the age group. Also, there are no children who are lagging since each child has the opportunity to practice at his tempo. It helps kids plan their work themselves and compare the results only with their past results, but not with someone else.

Children can choose activities in the class independently or with the help of a Montessori teacher. At the same time, they have an opportunity to observe the work of others, too. Through observation, children also learn and master new  things but, maybe, more complex material that they can use after in the class.

Younger children learn from their elder ones with great pleasure. At the same time, elder children can play the role of mentors and satisfy their leadership needs. This experience is essential for the social and emotional development of both participants in the process. Also, it makes our little teachers repeat and think again about the material they have already passed. Have you noticed that when you explain the information to another person, you absorb it better? ⠀

For several years of study, children and teachers are becoming a genuinely close and friendly family. Children get to know each other and adults better. There is more trust between the teacher and the kid. We are sure that learning is much more comfortable in an atmosphere of mutual support, where the teacher sees the whole picture of the child’s development.

Wood materials are among the strongest associations that come to our mind when we talk about the Montessori approach. Let’s figure out why teachers also prefer them. Maria Montessori created and developed her teaching tools in the early twentieth century. That time, the choice of materials was not that big, but the Montessori method followers prefer to work with them still.

It is not just about the authenticity of the method, but we usually prefer the products made from natural materials such as wood, fabrics, metal or glass. Thanks to different materials, the child can learn the world around him, such as the texture, weight, temperature, density, and shapes of the child’s objects. It gives him a rich experience and stimulates to improve the sensory and tactile sensibility.

This is very important for cognitive and emotional development and also necessary for speech improvement. Even high-quality plastic cannot replace this.

We have this question very often. Parents ask, «Can’t you put several of these at once? Does it provocate the conflicts between children?».

First of all, having only one copy becomes a real help in communication and encourages cooperation. If we look at the situation where one child is already studying, and then another wants to join him or pick up the material, the children learn to negotiate. There can be several forms of negotiation, and each of them is unique. Children may decide to study together, or the second child will have to wait when the first will finish and just watch for the now.  This situation prepares the child for life in a society where we need patience and respect for others’ choices and work.

Secondly, children can fully enjoy their work, explore the material calmly and study it as long as it’s necessary. The most important thing here is that the child does not compare himself to anyone: the material’s presentation is done correctly or not, or is he keeping up with the rest of the students. Lack of competition and comparing with other children helps the child to concentrate on his work.

Thirdly, there are many materials in the classroom which are specifically designed for different ages. Since children are engaged in all groups, they can find an activity that he would like to practice according to his sensitive period.

There is no timetable or lessons in a Montessori class as we could see in a traditional school as we talked before. The unique Montessori working cycle takes about 3 hours and dependent on the age of kids. Also, we look at all the physiological and psychological characteristics of children.

Why is precisely this amount of time needed for the «working cycle»? ⠀

To create a learning environment, Maria Montessori observed children’s behavior in a class for a long time. She made several important conclusions which are:

The time when children exercise independent and free work is about three hours. ⠀

This cycle has got two peaks and a quiet time between them. ⠀

The working process consists of certain stages: “immersion,” stage of concentration and completion. ⠀

Every child has his tempo and can manage it independently if he has enough time. ⠀

What happens if work hours are limited with short intervals so children wouldn’t get “overworked”?

It is very often when the child is interrupted while he is already in the process and intensely focused on the material.

Children can feel incompleteness and fatigue, and unfortunately, tiredness, you can see here more often. If a child goes through a working cycle from the beginning to the end, he is full of joy, calm, inspiration, and desire to practice more and more.

Lots of times, Maria Montessori wrote that after a deep, long-term work, children looked rested and happy.

It turns out that the disturbance of a child’s activity is much more harmful than long-term work, which he regulates independently.

Maria Montessori invented Grace and Courtesy lessons. They are handy because they help the child to adapt to society and life.

These activities are similar to a mini-training of social skills and help your kid learn how to behave better in different situations, for example:

  • how to move furniture silently
  • how to ask for things or to give them
  • how to express disagreement
  • how to thank and how to offer help
  • and many others

Maria Montessori believed that children are already friendly and want just a positive communication with people around. If a child behaves “wrongly,” it is only because he does not know HOW it’s needed. ⠀⠀

Lesson topics can be created right within the group walls. Teachers observe children and choose a situation that happens more often. For example, children speak loudly or use harsh words; someone snatches things out of someone’s hands; sometimes, children do not clean up the workplace.

The teacher invites all the kids into a circle and shows how to do this or that action politely and plays a similar situation with one child. After repeating a few times, he offers to do the same to another child. It is essential to understand that Grace and Courtesy lessons don’t have an instructive character but a friendly atmosphere by playing and enjoying the time together. And of course, what is the lesson without practicing! To learn the lesson, the child should live the situation by himself and try to use polite communication in life.

Grace and Courtesy lessons help create an environment where every child becomes responsible for his actions and independent from adults in communications with friends.

The most important lessons are taught daily by adults. We should behave according to the way that we want our children to behave.

The topic of brain development is fascinating and profound, so we will devote several posts to answering this question.

We develop and learn throughout our life. However, the first few years are critical because the being of personality starts right here. ⠀

Maria Montessori said that children have a fantastic ability from birth to 6 years old, which is called an absorbing mind. Her observations of a child’s development were also confirmed in neurophysiologists and neuropsychologists’ studies where the speech was about the stages of brain development, electrical brain activity, and the emotional sphere of the child. ⠀⠀

The baby’s brain begins to form in the womb. Children are born with great potential and little knowledge of the world; after birth, the brain develops by experiences the child receives. ⠀

The absorbing mind allows the child to process a massive volume of information that he receives every day, and after that, he quickly becomes a part of this world and builds himself as a person. This process allows the baby to survive and adapt to the environment and culture around him.

By observing the world around, the child learns everything: movements, language and speech patterns, atmosphere and smells, traditions and values ​​of society, behavior patterns and communication style, attitude towards people, work and the world around them.  We can say – all good and all bad. ⠀

The kid does it without judgment, taking it as it is. Most of the information that a child absorbs is sensorial things.  It means that he is directing the experience of interacting with different objects: tactile, sound, visual, olfactory, gustatory. ⠀

There is no need to explain something for a long time or show pictures -for better remembering the information; the child needs to live an interactive experience for better remembering the information. The more the experience is repeated, the stronger and better the neural connection is. ⠀

This is incredibly important in the first years of life. Repetitive events make your baby feel safe. ⠀

The experience that child lived under six years old stays with him forever!

В Монтессори-классе дети часто занимаются с пособиями индивидуально и столько времени, сколько им необходимо. Учебный процесс организован таким образом, что малыш может полностью сконцентрироваться на своём занятии.

Свой успех в освоении того или иного материала ребенок сравнивает только с самим собой. С одной стороны, такой подход к обучению вдохновляет не только детей, но и родителей.⠀
Ребенок развивается в своём темпе, в соответствии со своими внутренними потребностями.

С другой стороны, иногда закрадываются сомнения, возможен ли образовательный процесс без конкуренции? Ведь соперничество может быть источником мотивации к обучению.
В нашем понимании, чаще всего, конкуренция – это борьба и соперничество. В переводе с латинского у этого слова есть ещё другое значение – быть равным, соответствовать.⠀
В Монтессори-методе условная конкуренция между детьми есть, но как вы, наверное, догадались, выглядит она не как соперничество, а как стремление быть равным. ⠀
В Монтессори-классе конкуренция основана на интересе ребенка и его наблюдение за другими детьми. Группы в Монтессори-школах разновозрастные, дети обладают разными навыками. Материалы для занятий представлены в одном экземпляре, но они разнообразны и отличаются по уровню сложности.⠀

Наблюдая за работой сверстников или деток постарше, у ребят постепенно возникает желание научиться работать с новым материалом, выполнить его самостоятельно или по-своему, внести что-то своё. Переход к новому пособию происходит тогда, когда ребенок к нему готов. Знакомство с новым материалом преподносится как долгожданный подарок, и малыш чаще всего относится к нему с трепетом. ⠀⠀

При такой организации учебного процесса нет места неадекватной конкуренции, зато есть возможность научиться сотрудничать и развиваться в гармонии с самим собой!


Монтессори метод часто критикуют за то, что он не развивает воображение и фантазию у детей. Давайте развеем этот миф и обсудим, что такое воображение и как его используют в Монтессори классах.

Воображение – это умственный и психический процесс, с помощью которого человек может придумывать и воплощать в жизнь принципиально новые идеи.⠀
Воображение можно развивать с помощью специальных упражнений, но немаловажную роль играет расширение кругозора и обретение новых знаний. Творческое развитие начинается с изучения и освоения базовых знаний. После этого мы можем придумать что-то новое или улучшить то, что имеем.

Доктор Мария Монтессори была учёным. Ее исследовательский дух и желание помочь детям адаптироваться к жизни не могли не отразиться на её педагогическом подходе. Мария Монтессори опасалась чрезмерного ухода в фантазию и выдуманные миры. Её метод даёт хорошие базовые знания, чтобы дети могли уверенно себя чувствовать в окружающем мире, а в будущем с таким же интересом продолжали его исследовать.

Таким образом он осваивает новый навык и развивает мыслительные способности, в том числе за счёт воображения. И конечно, во всех классах есть зона творчества.
Таким образом, развитие воображения и творческих способностей происходит через погружение в реальность.

Детям интересно и важно знать, в каком мире они живут.

Самостоятельная работа в классе с различными материалами и будет творчеством для ребенка и местом для развития воображения. Когда ребенок спрашивает: «что это?» или «что с этим делать?», он ждёт, что ему расскажут правду или научат пользоваться чем-то новым. Так ребенок адаптируется к жизни!

Взрослые, когда у них нет времени или они не знают, как поступить, стараются переключить вниманием ребенка или придумывают недостоверные ответы. Мы запутываем ребенка, а он остаётся без информации, а нередко и со страхами. Нет ничего плохого в сказках и фантазиях, но там, где мы можем познакомить ребёнка с настоящим миром, стоит это сделать.⠀
Наш современник, Нил Деграсс Тайсон, американский астрофизик, доктор философии по физике, в одном из интервью на вопрос о воспитании детей сказал: «Во Вселенной и так много потрясающих вещей, зачем придумывать что-то ещё?»

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