Jun 09 , 2023
Let’s talk Montessori materials!
One of the first things you could encounter when learning about Montessori education are the particular Montessori materials.
No other alternative educational approach offers such a comprehensive collection of resources to support kids' learning. The Montessori technique only uses its own materials.
If, like me, you struggled with math, you should look into the Montessori math curriculum to rekindle your love of numbers.
Do parents really need the entire collection of sensory objects at home?
Indeed, the Montessori materials are exquisite. Some of them, like the Seguin boards, were already in use when Maria Montessori improved them. All of the items still used in the present Montessori curriculum were created by her.
What distinguishes the Montessori materials?
Each substance serves a certain function. She created the materials and exercises after studying how the kids learn.
She learned this from observation: Kids learn from concrete to abstract:
- Children learn by using their hands to manipulate things
- Children learn primarily through their senses, starting with the environment around them.
- From a broad to a more focused perspective, children learn.
She created products that:
- Are simple for children to manipulate and made of natural materials
- rely on the reality principle.
- are made to instruct a single notion at a time.
- Give a broad notion before developing it into something more detailed.
- Are quite concrete before becoming increasingly abstract.Allow the child to take control of his own errors by providing an error control system.
- Possess a fundamental order
A curriculum that is step-by-step includes appealing Montessori items.
Those materials are organized. The timing and manner of presentation matter.
Even though research conducted after Maria Montessori's death has revealed an average age for each item of material, age is not the issue.
In the classroom, we watch students to see if they are prepared for a certain subject.
The child's interest in a particular talent will be observed.
For instance, we might see that a toddler enjoys matching objects, lining up objects, and spotting patterns. We might then introduce the touch board and touch tablets or the color tablets as a result of that.
We might notice a different kid who enjoys carrying large stuff. He needs to improve his movements because we might detect that he is a little clumsy. S
So, we may begin introducing the pink tower and insisting on moving it from the shelf to the mat one cube at a time. We hold off on giving the red rods, which are more difficult to manipulate, because we are aware that he is still a very young student and has a tendency to run around the classroom.
I recall a little child who enjoyed touching the sandpaper letters but did not want to sound them out. She didn't appear to be interested in book letters or rhyming sounds. I introduced her to the tactile materials known as touch tablets.
As soon as she got the urge, she began matching them. She was no longer interested in the sandpaper letters because the other activities offered satisfied her urge to improve her sense of touch.
The five categories of Montessori materials are as follows:
Practical living resources: the majority of those materials are inexpensive, DIY-able, or doable using household items. The use of child-sized tools and furniture was unusual during the time of Maria Montessori. For the kids in her care, she made custom tables, chairs, and other furniture. She is credited with ensuring that modern schools contain furniture that is appropriate for children. Dressing frames are one particular type of Montessori object. It is supposed that learning how to button a shirt when it was on a flat surface, such as a table, rather than on our own bodies, was simpler.
Materials for the senses: The main goal of the sensorial exercises is to assist the kid with classifying the numerous and diverse sensory cues that come from his environment. These learning resources are the ones that are best tailored to the Montessori method. The majority of them take a lot of time to build yourself, but if you know what each material is for, you may find an alternative way to let your child use all five of their senses. For example, a set of materials with 10 things corresponds to the decimal system and was created as a pre-skill for mathematical concepts. They are exact, for instance, with each rod increasing by 10 cm from 10 cm to 1 m.
Language resources: while Maria Montessori's decision to use a hands-on, phonetic approach to language was original, other educational institutions have caught up and now instruct in a similar way. It implies that phonics instruction and other educational tools that support your child's development of reading and writing could be utilised.
Mathematics: I adore how the Montessori tools examine the decimal system. The strategy is sane and lighthearted. Many other educational resources, in my opinion, tend to be overly colorful and contain lots of distracting components. Again, you can locate inexpensive or do-it-yourself solutions if you know what each item is for and how to present it.
The part of the original technique that has probably changed the most is cultural/worldview awareness. It's also the one that requires the most adjustment to your own culture, your home nation, and your current time.
The part of the original technique that has probably changed the most is cultural/worldview awareness. It's also the one that requires the most adjustment to your own culture, your home nation, and your current time. Since Maria Montessori's time, we now have a more sophisticated understanding of geography and history.
Always keep in mind that with Montessori, these things are very important:
- Your knowledge of your child
- how you appreciate their growth
- Relationships over materials;
- Quality over quantity
I like to think of Montessori as the cuisine, while materials, toys, and kid-sized furniture as the extra treats and snacks.
