Essai n°3 - Education des sens

L'enfant découvre le monde par ses sens, et les utilise pour comprendre l'environnement dans lequel il cherche à s'inscrire. C'est autour de ce principe que l'essai suivant se tisse. Il s'agit de décrire et de comprendre l'intérêt de l'aire Sensoriel dans la classe Montessori.

Maria Montessori said : “A child is by his nature an avid explorer of his surroundings because he has not yet had the time or means of knowing them precisely.” (Montessori, 1997 p.102). Exploration  is made through the use of the senses that allows the child to perceive the world around them, leading them to the goal of development, known as the understanding of the world and the child’s integration within it. Senses are innate and present in our bodies since we were born. But the development of those senses is our responsibility. Then, we can ask ourselves: how can we develop them to their full potential? Maria Montessori designed a series of material in order to answer this question. But how does the use of the sensorial materials in a Montessori classroom enable the child to make sense of their environment, and how is this preparing them for later learning? First, we will see the importance of first-hand experience and the sensorial basis of learning for children. Then we will discuss the human tendencies and sensitive periods to understand how the sensorial material help the child to categorize and organize previously absorbed sensory experiences. To continue, we will focus on the “mathematical mind”, and the role of the sensorial material in its development. Last, we will explain the roles of the favorable environment and the empathic practitioner in supporting child’s development.

For Montessori, “[t]he hand is an instrument of man’s intelligence” (Montessori, 2007). It is through the hand that the child can discover the shapes and get in contact with the objects of the world around them. “The opportunities to manipulate objects stimulate and reinforce specific neural pathways implicated in development of key abilities” (Isaacs, p.100). Indeed, manipulating objects allows the child to build a mental image of those. It is what Montessori calls the “materialized abstraction”: through the senses, the child receives stimuli from the environment they explore, which result in sensations. Then, they will form some precepts from these sensations. When the child is ready, language will help them to create a concept, and acquire a full understanding of the object (MCI, 2010); “From sensations to ideas – from the concrete to the abstract” (Montessori, 1912, p.227).

            For Montessori, education is a whole process, whose aim is to help the child to fit in the world they belong to. Therefore, they need to discover it, by experiencing it with their senses in order to understand it. She deplores the fact that education nowadays focuses only on intellectual knowledge: “We have but made thinkers, whose tendency will be to live without the world” (Montessori, 1912, p.221).  For her, each learning experience has to be based on a sensorial approach. Sensorial development is the foundation of intellectual development: “Both hand and senses can be perfected to perform much higher tasks and thus become ever more worthy servant of the spirit that retains them in its service. Any real education of the intellect should also raise the potentialities of these two faculties, which are capable of almost indefinite improvement.” (Montessori, 1997, p.148)  About the education of senses, she states: “This education, therefore, is physiological and prepares directly for intellectual education, perfecting the organs of sense, and the nerve-paths of projection and association” (Montessori, 1912, p. 220). The main example is the development of the mathematical mind, which will be discussed further on.

The child, from three years old, enters the conscious absorbent mind – or “social embryo” as Montessori calls this stage. One of the main sensitive periods presented in this moment is the refinement of the senses. The child needs to practice and improve their senses. Following their tendencies to explore the environment, as well as the tendencies for repetition, exactness and precision (Stephenson, 2000), they aim to discriminate and order all the information absorbed in the mneme for the past three years.

            The sensitive period for order is visible from the birth and relies on the same human tendencies. It explains the child’s urge for constancy and order.

            The sense of movement plays an important role in Sensorial education: linked with the tendencies to explore their environment and to work with the hands, the child moves and uses their muscles to get in touch with the world. By touching, they build a muscular memory and increase the integration of concepts.

            The sensitive period for language plays an important role in the conceptualization of the world: naming the object is the last step before the conceptualization is completed. It is embedded in the tendencies for thinking, for imagination and for communication. When the child tries to solve a problem, during the exploration of the sensorial material, the teacher should engage conversations to force them to express their thoughts, as well as introduce them to a specific vocabulary to enable the generalization of the concept.

            Education of the senses must happen in the first years of life, because it is at this very moment that the child conceives basic ideas and forms intellectual habits (Montessori, 1997). She advises to use the time between three to six years old, “when there is a natural inclination to perfect one’s senses and movements” (Montessori, 1997, p.146).  The child gathers many sensory impressions during the first three years of their life, during the unconscious period of the absorbent mind. After three years old, it is time for them to put order in the mneme, to organize and classify those perceptions. “This is the time when we should, therefore, methodically direct the sense stimuli, in such a way that the sensations which he receives shall develop in a rational way” (Montessori, 1912, p.220). The design and use of the sensorial materials encourage the child to work in a systematic way, contributing to logical thinking.  As “material abstractions” (Montessori, 2012), they aim “to help the child to attain a maximum refinement of their senses and to help them discriminate between stimuli” (MCI, 2010, p.7). It gives the child the means to reach perfection of their senses and to put order in their sensations: by being auto-educational (for individual use with control of error), by isolating one sense and by containing a rational gradation of stimuli (Montessori, 1912). The material has to be clear and ordered, to allow experience, exploration, and repetition from the child and a minimum intervention from the teacher (MCI, 2010).

The “mathematical mind” is a mind which is especially interested in mathematics. For Montessori, all human beings, having enjoyed a favorable environment, should enjoy math: “Thanks to the preparation of their minds, they feel pleasure. Observations of exact mathematical relationships must be stored in the subconscious, so that when the conscious mind is brought into these things, an interest is aroused.” (Montessori, 2012, p. 71) If the child has had a lot of sensorial experiences with mathematical concepts in the first years of their life, when they are able to consciously conceptualize them, it will ring a bell and make sense (Montessori, 2012).

            The activities of the sensorial area help the child to develop rational cognitive skills, such as matching, grouping, one-to-one correspondence, concepts as length and size, plan or solid shapes, exploration of fractions. They introduce them indirectly to algebra and geometry (MCI, 2010), preparing their minds for later deeper understandings.

“[The child is] an ardent explorer of a world that is new to him. And, what he needs, as an explorer, is a road (that is; something which is straight and limited) which can lead him to his goal and keep him from wandering aimlessly about” (Montessori, 1997, p.102). This road is the favorable environment, and the designer of the road is the teacher. To facilitate exploration and discovery, the environment should provide order and freedom to the child, allowing them to experiment and explore. It should allow the child to move, to help themselves independently from the adult. As said above, the auto-corrective material improves children’s autonomy. The only way of learning is to do it themselves. Indeed, no teacher can teach a child how to smell without letting the child use their nose. “We can not create observers by saying, ‘observe’, but by giving them the power and the means for this observation, and theses means are procured through education of senses” (Montessori, 1912, p.229). Thus, the teacher must not interfere in the slightest way. Using Montessori’s vocabulary, the empathic “directress” (Montessori, 1912) should observe the child working as a psychologist would, letting the child to take their time and absorb the environment. Their aim is to “guide the spontaneous education of the child” (Montessori, 1912, p. 174). 

            In the video clip included in the unit, we can see a little girl using the knobbed cylinders. She is focused, working on her own. When she makes a mistake, no adult rushes to her to correct what she did. At the end, she realizes that she has done something wrong in her exercise and fixes the problem by herself, using the auto-corrective quality of the material. She went to the shelf to help herself and used her fingers to take the knobbed cylinders from the solids insets, feeding her need for movement. Thanks to the presentation of the teacher, she knew where to find it, how to use it and how to put it back to its place, following her sense of order. Then, she refined her senses doing the activity (such as visual, tactile, baric, stereognostic senses). In a  nutshell, this sensorial activity shows us how the favorable environment and the empathic practitioner support the child’s need for exploration and discovery.

The world is an endless source of stimuli for our senses. Walking out of my house, I feel the sun and the wind on my skin, I look at the blue color of the sky and I smell the dry hay coming from the fields. Those sensations will help me to understand that it is summertime. But our senses need to be trained and refined, to build a strong foundation to later learning. Thanks to the sensorial material in the favorable environment in a Montessori classroom, the child is able to improve the faculty of senses and understand the world around them, in order to find a place where they can bloom, like the poppy flower in my garden.

Mon matériel pour Activités de la vie quotidienne

Pour la formation Montessori que j'ai entreprise, nous devons réaliser du matériel qui suit la philosophie et les principes Montessori, ce pour chacune des aires de la classe. Je vous présente mon matériel pour la section Activités de la vie quotidienne. Il est destiné aux élèves du secondaire, à partir de 10 ans environ (avec possibilité d'adapter les niveaux de difficultés en fonction de l'élève).

Il s'agit... d'apprendre à trier le linge avant de faire la machine! En effet, je me suis demandée: qu'ont TOUS les étudiants de première année, fraîchement sortis du nid, en commun?

" - Môman? Mon pantalon en velours, je le lave avec quoi et à combien? "

ça vous dit quelque chose, non?!

Alors voilà, je me suis dit que si dès l'enfance on apprenait à nos futurs grands dadets à lire les étiquettes et à séparer correctement le blanc des couleurs, on ferait des économies de téléphone, de patience maternelle et de vêtements à racheter car-mon-pantalon-en-velours-est-en-taille-8-ans-maintenant. 

Voici les photos de mon activité:

Essai n°2 - Activités de la vie quotidienne

Voici le deuxième essai que j'ai rédigé dans le cadre de ma formation Montessori. Il concerne les premières activités que le petit Montessorien découvre en entrant à l'école: les activités de la vie quotidienne. Bonne lecture !

In a Montessori classroom, the activities of Everyday Living play a fundamental role. Preparing the child for their future life, they are made to help the child to reach many objectives: the direct and the indirect ones (MCI, 2009, Module 6, Chapter 1, p.3). The first objectives are obvious: they concern the development or refinement of a particular skill that the child will reach by using the material. But mastering these skills will also allow the child to gain order, concentration, social skill and independence. We can ask ourselves now: how do they meet those indirect objectives? First, we are going to present both the direct and indirect aims of such activities, focusing on the objective of independence. Then, we will illustrate our point with examples taken from each of the three areas of activities. To finish, we will see how the adult can facilitate the reach of those objectives, helping the child to help himself.

First, let us focus on the four main indirect objectives that underpin those activities: concentration, social aspects and skills, order and independence.

            Concentration grows as the child repeats the activity many times to perfect the skill. They chose an activity and focus for a long time in order to solve the problem they freely decided to face, being then fully involved. A child learns to regulate attention and to concentrate thanks to movement directed by the mind (Feez, 2010).

            By learning how to behave in the classroom and among their social group, the child can be part of this group. From 3 years old, the child has reached the second stage of the absorbent mind – the social embryonic stage is developing. Therefore, the child stops being self-centered and starts to be conscious about other people and their needs. The activities of Everyday Living such as grace and courtesy or care for oneself and for the environment foster the good behavior of the child, facilitating the “social cohesion” (MCI, 2009, Module 6, Chapter 1, p.6).

            Order is linked with the human tendency for exactitude, and the sensitive period for order. The environment – both emotional and material - has to be organized and predictable, so the child can absorb it and build his/her understanding of the world. Therefore, the environment has to be clear, simple and systematic. The child has to learn to be part of this environment, using it without disturbing it (picking a piece of material and putting it back to the shelf after the activity, for example). 

            Independence is the goal of growth. With such activities, they perfect the skills they need to act freely in their everyday life and do what they want to do by themselves. It boosts their self-esteem, self-confidence and initiative in order to take new challenges in their lives.

            Those indirect objectives lead the child, in Montessori’s holistic point of view, to become a competent member of society, in command of their body and soul through the control of movement and attention.

Among those indirect objectives, independence is the main one. Let us now focus on this one.

The child, following his hormic impulse, “[has] an innate desire to do things by [himself]” (MCI, 2009, Module 6, Chapter 1, p.6). Maria Montessori insists on this point: “The child’s nature is to aim directly and energetically at functional independence. Development takes the form of a drive toward an ever greater independence.” (Montessori, 1988, p.83) This “drive” is coming from the horme, a “vital force inside him that guides his efforts towards their goal” (Montessori, 1988, p.83). We should underline the difference between the horme and the will. Whereas the horme is strong in the first months of age, the will is a conscious power, which blooms from the age of 3.

            Thus, the young child follows unconsciously this intrinsic desire – “the divine urge, the source of all evolution” (Montessori, 1988, p.84) - to live their life by themselves, without the help or assistance of the adults. They work with great interest and commitment because they fulfill a natural and biological need (Standing, 1998). For Montessori, the natural development is the conquest of independence, step by step towards freedom. Montessori notices different periods in this conquest: first the baby is stuck in the womb, totally dependent from the mother. Then, from birth, they have an urge to face the outer world. By the age of 6 months, a great step towards dependence happens: the child is no longer dependent from her mother’s milk and is able to feed themselves with other food. This critical period is characterized also by the beginning of language: little by little, the child learns how to express their needs so they no longer depend on other people’s guessing. Another great step towards independence happens by the age of 1 year: the child begins to walk, “[setting] him free from another prison” (Montessori, 1988, p.86). After independence in his moves, he is seeking for independence in his thoughts, and wants then to develop his mind by his own experiences. The goal of growth is “independence of body and mind” (Montessori, 1988, p.91).

            Independence is not a static condition; it keeps on changing all lifelong. According to Montessori, independence is a physiological state, that the child develops though exercises such as those of Everyday Living. They help the child to make voluntary choices, not controlled by impulse but by their own willpower (Feez, 2010). This is why, as teachers and adults, we have to help the child to help himself. 

The activities of Everyday Living are organized in three main areas: activities to develop and refine manipulative skills, activities for care of self, and activities for care of the environment. How do they help the child to gain independence, concentration, social skills and order?

            First, let us focus on the activities to develop and refine manipulative skills, such as pouring from jug to jug. With this activity, the child will obviously master how to hold the jug, how to check the level of the liquid. But he/she will learn much more. Let us take the example of Amber, a 4 years old toddler from the Children’s House. One morning, she decides to work on this activity. First, she takes the trail from the shelf and put it on a table. She pours the liquid from one jug to another, with almost no hesitation. It is not the first time she works on it. But even if she is almost an expert, she enjoys repeating this movement. By trying many times, Amber develops her concentration. After a while, when her interest has gone, she decides to do something else. Thus, she puts back all the material in the exact position it was settled when she took it, and stands up. She follows and fosters order in the environment around her. She carries the trail to the shelf where it was, and put it back on place. Then, she goes for another transferring activity. Eventually, the material is already being used by another child. Amber decides to wait for her turn, and goes for her snack. Waiting for her turn and replacing the material back as it was before are two important learning of Everyday Life Activities for social skills and order. Moreover, by learning how to pour a liquid from one jug to another, Amber actually learns to fulfill her future needs, when she will be thirsty and will want to help herself a glass of water. Or when later she will want to make the pancakes dough and measure the milk with the measuring glass. With this activity, Amber is learning how to be more independent.

            The second area concerns the activities for care of self. Eating is one of the major activities of the type, like sharing mealtime. This activity supports order: everyday at 12.30, Amber takes her table mat, places her spoon and fork next to her plate, and seat down. It fosters her social skills as well, as she learns how to follow the grace and courtesy rules. After waiting for everybody to be served at her table, Amber will enjoy a conversation with her friends. This moment of sharing reinforces the cohesion in the social unit. Moreover, mealtime facilitates her independence inside and outside the classroom, as Amber learns how to eat with a nice behavior and in a clean way.

            The activities for the care of environment are the last area. In P3, the children bought golden fish one month ago. We could see that those animals created a link between the teenagers, as they shared a common interest. A group cohesion had been created around the fish tank. It also helped them to develop empathy, and self esteem, as they realized that alive beings relied on them for food and care; developing their social skills. By having to organize and remember to feed the fish or clean the tank, they gain in concentration and order. Then, they become more independent by learning how to take care of an animal if they want to have one at home later.

The environment is fundamental in the process of growth: “the behavior of every individual is product of his environmental experience” (Montessori, 1988, p.88). As adults, we have to prepare the environment, in harmony with the child’s needs and learning progress. Knowing the phases of development and sensitive periods will allow the teacher to create adequate activities for the children of their class. Keeping in mind the indirect objectives for Activities of Everyday Living, the teacher will be able to design activities and organize the classroom in order to favor the autonomy of the child. The environment has to be rich, so he has many opportunities to acquire independence. The teacher has to design activities with control of error, so the child can work in autonomy, without relying on the adult approval.   

            The teacher has to be patient, and follow the child. We have to let him/her repeat and imitate as much as they need to do so. The child wouldn’t bloom at his full potential without freedom. Montessori says: “only through freedom and environmental experience is it practically possible for human development to occur” (Montessori, 1988, p.96).

            Let us take the example of the walk. Maria Montessori had studied the physical development of the child; from his birth until the moment he is able to walk (Montessori, 1988). We can see that the process needs a long time, and it is only when the body is ready (bones, muscles, scalp) that the child stands up to his first steps. Nature knows when the moment comes, and as adults we have to allow nature to speak and not rush any steps: “in this way it is nature who commands and not the nurse” (Montessori, 1988, p.131). Therefore, when we are outside with the child, “we must walk with the child and not having the child with us” (Montessori, p.129). And this until the child is able to walk alone, totally independent from the adult. In his path towards autonomy, the child needs to face challenges of life by himself.

            I have testified some days ago a scene in the Children’s House that illustrated well the behavior of a good teacher. Fedja was pouring himself some water when he accidently dropped the glass. The glass broke into many pieces spread all over the place. The teacher was right next to him. Instead of rushing towards the broom to pick up the glass, she let Fedja staring at the ground for a second, before he went to take the cleaning material. By not intervening when the glass broke, the teacher allowed Fedja to solve the problem he was facing on his own.

            Unfortunately, many times we see parents doing everything for their children. I met a 5 years old boy who had no idea of how to close his jacket alone, because her mother was always doing it for him. But this behavior is actually going against the natural will of the child, who wants to be independent. Maria Montessori says that: “To a certain point, every help given to the child is an obstacle to his development. We must give children service that assists his development, not service that obstructs development” (Montessori, 1989, p.134). In a word, we have to help the child to help himself, and this is possible only in a prepared and adapted environment.

            This is why the furniture and classroom have to be designed according to the children’s size and strength: to underline just few elements of the environment, the instruments used in the Activities of Everyday Living have to be real objects, not toys (Montessori, 1989). The glass of Fedja has to be made of glass; otherwise he won’t know how to react if he drops a real glass at home. The adult has to pay a special attention in finding and designing material with real objects, but adapted to the child. The teacher can also use colors to make it more obvious (as the set for hand washing for example). Using real objects as grownups makes the children filled with a special joy (Montessori, 1989). 

            The aim of the adult is to the child to perform the task in a more perfect way: “in a word, there is no action which we do not try and teach so as to approach perfection. We leave nothing to chance”, says Montessori (Standing, 1988, p.216). After thinking and elaborating the piece of material with different level of difficulties, the teacher will demonstrate his use to the child. We have to show the actions in details, as objectively as possible, so the child is not confused about the movements and can act in his own way.

            Maria Montessori states that “if the child is prevented from enjoying these experiences at the very time when nature has planned for him to do so, the special sensitivity which draws him to them will vanish, with a disturbing effect on his development and consequently on his maturation” (Montessori, 1988, p.95). Thus, an adult who wants to rush a kid, or force him to do an activity too resistant for the child will become a barrier to the child’s development. The child will deviate from what his horme urges him to do, and won’t be ever able to reach his all potential.

Allowing children to grow as independent adult is the aim of education. The child has to be allowed to be autonomous since his/her birth, expressing his hormic impulse to live his life by him/herself. Adults have to prepare and adapt the environment of the child so he/she can behave freely. This is the only way we can help the child to help himself, until he/she doesn’t need our help anymore. Then our mission as teacher or adult will be fulfilled. 

Essai n°1 - La philosophie Montessori

Voici mon premier essay concernant la philosophie de Maria Montessori. Il s'agissait ici de poser les bases de sa pensée et de son point de vue sur l'enfant et son développement. De nombreux concepts fondamentaux à la pédagogie Montessori y sont ici développés et illustrés. Bonne lecture les têtes d'ampoules !

Growing is a fascinating process. Maria Montessori spent her life studying children in order to create a system that would eventually allow them to bloom fully. In this essay, we will develop some of her fundamental concepts in order to understand her pedagogy. Who is the child? How does he/she develop?  How school can supply him/her the favorable environment for his/her development? Those questions will lead us to focus on the child in a first part, his/her stages of growth and sensitive periods. In a second part, we will discuss the importance and the details of a good environment including both adults and classroom.

To understand the child’s development, one should pay attention to Maria Montessori’s concepts on the topic. First we are going to underline the stages of growth, focusing on the first one and its two embryonic stages. Then, we will focus on the sensitive periods, putting them into the perspective of the child’s development.

            Maria Montessori divides the child’s life into three main periods (Isaacs B., 2012). The first one, from birth to six years old, is also called the “Absorbent Mind”. The second period, “Childhood”, is from six to twelve years old. The last period, from twelve to eighteen, is also known as “Adolescence”.

            In order to unfold and grow, the child has been given an “absorbent mind” to go through the “sensitive periods”. Both concepts are fundamental in the Montessori pedagogy. The term “absorbent mind” refers to the child’s ability, from their creation in the mother’s womb to the age of three, to learn constantly without any effort, thanks to their interactions with the environment around them. Montessori compares the child’s mind to an embryo (Isaacs, 2012).

This period can itself be subdivided into two stages: the “spiritual embryonic period” (Montessori, 2007) – from zero to three years old - and the “social embryonic period” (Montessori, 1966) – from three to six years old. The spiritual embryo refers to the unconscious absorbent mind (Lillard, 1972): like a sponge, the child explores the world and collects information to start to build their understanding of it. Those experiences are collected in the “mneme” (Isaacs B., 2012), their unconscious memory. During the second stage, the child gradually pays more attention to the others around them, becoming a “social” person. From three to six, the child will classify their impressions, making sense of the world in a more conscious way.

            The psychic development happens hand-in-hand with the physical development, one influencing the other. It results in a “normalized”, balanced, and fully blossomed child. In order to reach this state, the child will go through different sensitive periods.

            These periods are moments in the child’s life when specific abilities or skills are omnipresent. The child keeps on repeating actions in order to master those skills. Lead by a great inner natural will to develop, the child looks to fulfill their human needs and understand the world. This special will is also named “horme” (MCI, 2010). We can see that the child shows genetic traits unique to human beings: it is what we call the human tendencies to adapt to any kind of environment (such as the homo sapiens leaving his cave [Stephenson, 2000]). Let us present the sensitive periods with regard to their human tendencies.

            The sense of order is the first to appear, from the first months of life. Order helps the child to understand and categorize the world, creating their conceptual framework. Order has to be everywhere in their environment – environment including space, time (routine), and relationships with their people. Montessori states: “It is necessary for the child to have this order and stability in his environment because he is constructing himself out of the elements of the environment… It is his foundation” (Standing, 1984, p.125-126). The peak of this period happens when the child is one and a half year: at that age, the child can walk and manipulate the objects around them, allowing them to explore even more. For instance, a one-and-a-half-year-old toddler sees a shiny cube on the other part of the room, takes it, looks at it intensively and decides to show it to their parents. They will then walk back to the place where they originally found the object to put it in the exact place where it was. Then, evolving in a secure and predictable environment with order will allow them to fulfill their human tendencies for exploration and orientation.

            The sense of movement is present since the fetus is moving in the womb, and that period lasts for six years. The child needs to move, and according to Montessori, movement is a key in the process of learning (Lillard, 1972). Little by little, the child refines their motor skills (gross and fine) through the repetition of many different movements (pulling, pushing, grabbing…). Repetition is a human tendency visible in the young child: in order to master their new faculty, a toddler repeats many times the same action, acquiring precision. One of the clearest examples can be seen by observing a child who has recently learnt how to walk. They can walk for hours from one place to another for the only sake of moving. One of the main achievements in a child’s life is mastering how to walk. It is a great step towards independence: it allows the child to become an active being able to explore an even wilder world. Thus, the sense of movement shows the human tendencies for orientation, repetition, and exploration.

            From six months old, the child shows a great interest in small objects. This sensitivity for details shows that the child becomes more aware of his environment. A six-month-old baby will for example grab the shampoo whereas their parents are washing them, and stare at the ingredients list for a long time with great interest. Details are part of the environment the child is trying to conquer.

            The sensitivity for language starts from the mother’s womb and lasts until the age of five. It is a very important part of the child’s development, and it fosters the tendency of communication and gregariousness. It becomes a core tool during the social embryonic stage. Montessori uses Itard’s experience with the boy from Aveyron that had been excluded from any contact with language in his first years, to prove that the environment is decisive in order to develop the sense of language. That boy had been kept apart from any language environment during his first years of life, and thus had never learnt how to communicate properly.

            Together with the sense of language, the sensibility for the refinement of the senses is central in the social embryonic stage. By exploring with their hands and tongue, the toddler learns how to discriminate their senses and foster their coordination. For Montessori, the path to intellectual development is going through the hands (MCI, 2010). Through repetition, their senses become more precise. We can see that children are all the time touching what makes their environment: it is a way to understand it.

            The last sense is the one for social aspects of life. It doesn’t start before the age of three, when the toddler is aware of the others and less self-centered than before. The child wants to be part of a group (gregariousness) and starts to imitate his peers. This sense is based on the human tendency for communication, enabled by the recently acquired language skill. For Montessori, the wish to be part of a group belongs to human nature, creating a spontaneous cohesion in the group (Montessori, 2007). It is obvious in the Children’s House when one of the pupils is missing: the rest of the group will notice it, and ask for the reason why the group is not complete.

Now that we have discussed in details the process of child growth, we can wonder what we adults can do to support the child in this first crucial stage.

Maria Montessori said: “Just as a physical embryo which needs its mother’s womb in which to grow, so the spiritual embryo needs to be protected by an external environment that is warm with love and rich in nourishments, where everything is disposed to welcome, and nothing to harm it” (Montessori, p.165, 1964). We will first focus on the reason why the six first years of life are crucial, then we will reflect on the adult’s role in supporting the child, and we will eventually highlight the elements needed for the best environment.

            If the child misses the chance to explore those senses during their first six years, Montessori assures that their psychic development will never be able to reach its best potential (Lillard, 1972). Therefore, the environment – such as the mother’s womb for the physical embryo – has to support the child’s needs in their path to self-construction. The goal of early education is to allow the child to build their character and future social role, until they reach the “normalized” state. As such, the child will be able to play an important role for a better society. “This is the most important single result of our whole work”, states Montessori (Montessori, 2007, p.186). Thus, we have to put the greatest efforts in order to build a favorable environment for those future citizens.

            Montessori explains the process of the child’s self-construction as the result of two conditions: freedom, within a favorable environment (Isaacs, 2012). The environment stands for both prepared adults and prepared classroom.

           

            The adult has a decisive role in the process. Our main goal is to teach the child how to be independent, as the child needs freedom to bloom (Montessori, 1966). Therefore, the teacher has to be a guide towards the child’s path to self-construction (Isaacs, 2012).

           

            As a role model of behavior for the children, Montessori says that “the teacher should be precise like a scientist, and spiritual like a saint” and also “patient like a servant” (Montessori, 1965, p.138). The saint would show a great respect for the uniqueness of each child and have faith in their fundamental goodness and in their individual potentials. The servant would be patient, have the capacity to stand back and refuse to control the child to leave them the opportunity to make choices and express themselves (Isaacs, 2012). Kindness, consideration, and consistency are required as well. The scientist would be able to reflect on their actions and practice, always aiming at what is best for the child. In order to know what the child needs and accompany them in their path, the teacher needs to observe (Montessori, 1966). In order to analyze those observations, we should have updated knowledge of the child’s development. Thus, the teacher can anticipate, prepare, and improve the environment to fulfill their thirst of discovery.

           

            The teacher (prepared adult) is the custodian of the (prepared) environment. We should not teach the children, but instead prepare a rich environment to allow them to teach themselves through exploration, manipulation, and discovery (MCI, 2010). To be favorable, the environment has to allow the child to be free and to express their human tendencies in the discovery of the sensitive periods.

            Providing freedom in a class is a key principle of the Montessori pedagogy (Montessori, 1965); the limits thereof are the ground rules of the class. Freedom actually creates a sense of responsibility from the child within the group they belong to. Having freedom also implies having self-discipline (Isaacs, 2012).

           

            A Montessori classroom is well-structured, tidy, and predictable for the child, in order to foster both senses of order and movement. If the environment changes constantly or is messy, the child will be confused and will not be able to create the conceptual frameworks they need. To fulfill the natural tendency for orientation, the organization of the classroom is logical, with well-delimited areas (practical life activities, education of senses, numeracy and arithmetic, literacy, cultural studies, and an access to the outdoors). Exploration is possible only if the child feels safe. In the classroom, each child is able to move, choose an activity (placed on low shelves, reachable by the small ones), work, and put it back. Therefore the teacher needs to take great care of making sure that the material is where and how it is supposed to be in the classroom, ready for the next explorer. If so, the child can independently make good use of it without any assistance. As for the didactic material designed for the children’s use and size, the children are able to carry the classroom furniture (Montessori, 1966). The room is spacious so the children can sit on the floor (Isaacs, 2012). The material is made from natural matters, and the walls are free from too many decorations. Nature can be found in the classroom (plants). The atmosphere is calm, relaxed, and harmonious.

           

            In a Montessori classroom, you will find pupils of different ages. Indeed, the vertical grouping is a very important principle of Montessori pedagogy, putting together children with up to three years of difference. The result is like a small society. Moreover, we can notice that learning is more natural in this way. For instance, Jan, 5, is tying his shoelaces. Maria, 4, is looking at him. She tries to imitate him, and fails. She goes to Jan, and asks him to teach her how to tie hers. The result is that Jan learns on a deeper level the activity he is teaching and Maria learns with great interest how to tie shoelaces, imitating Jan. They use their language skills and they develop social cohesion.

           

            Now that we have considered the classroom and its organization, let us focus on the material on the shelves. It is rich, beautiful, attractive, and located within the visual field of the child. The material helps the child to go through the period of refinement of the senses. It presents a great diversity of sensorial components such as weights, textures, or colors (Stephenson, 2000). The learning process has to be separated in different achievable steps, supported by different pieces of material. Its purpose has to be clearly defined, with a control of error. Thus, the child is able to learn by themselves, totally independent from adults.

           

            The child is free in the classroom: in their space (they can walk, sit on the floor, or grab a table), in their time (the organization of the day in work cycles and cycles of activities, with breaks when needed), and in the activity conditions (working alone or with other children). If the child is free, they will follow the “horme”. Only then the learning will reach its higher potential, and the child will fully bloom.

The first years of any human being are both wonderful and mysterious. The child is going through different stages specific to their needs. As adults, we have to support the child’s in this hard path. To be able to follow the child, we have to know the child. Therefore, Montessori’s theories must be the foundation of our work, the frame of our behaviors.

Bibliography

·         Isaacs, B (2012) Understanding the Montessori Approach London: Routledge (Chapter 2: Montessori’s views on Children’s Development, Chapter 4: Teaching & Learning, Chapter 5: The Favourable Environment)

·         Lillard, P. P (1972) Montessori: A Modern Approach New York: Schocken Books (Chapter 2: The Montessori Philosophy)

·         Montessori Centre International (2010) Module 1 Philosophy London: MCI.

·         Montessori, M (1964) The Montessori Method New York Schocken Books

·         Montessori, M (1965) Dr Montessori’s Own Handbook New York Schocken Books

·         Montessori, M (1966) The Secret of Childhood New York: Ballantine (Chapter 3)

·        Montessori, M (2007) The Absorbent Mind Amsterdam: Montessori Pierson Publishing Company (Chapter 23: Cohesion in the Social Unit)

·         Standing, E. M. (1998) Maria Montessori, Her Life and Work New York: Plume

·         Stephenson, M.E. (2000) The Human Tendencies NAMTA Journal (Vol.25 (No.3), pp 5 - 22.

5 juin 2016, 20h30.

Et le canon retentit. Et le muezzin s'égosille.

Joyeux Ramadan à tous !

C'est l'effervescence à la mosquée principale.
Un écran géant est même installé dans la cour
pour retransmettre la cérémonie qui se déroule à l'intérieur,
en cas de grande affluence (comme on peut le voir sur la photo). 

Montessori timeline

Pour ma formation Montessori, je dois réaliser une frise historique sur la vie de Maria Montessori. Voici la mienne, un peu customisée !

Au bout des racines de l'arbre on trouve l'explication du contexte dans lequel ses idées ont trouvé écho, puis le tronc représente sa vie, alors que les branches et feuilles de l'arbre bah... c'est nous !

 Pardon pour les images à l'envers mais je n'arrive pas à les changer de sens !

Séquence "A table !"

Pendant plus d'un mois, nous avons travaillé (tous à des niveaux différents bien sûr) sur le thème de la nourriture. Le nom des ingrédients, des fruits et légumes, faire ses courses au marché, commander au restaurant, la recette de cuisine... Tout y est passé !

Afin de motiver mes élèves de P3, youtubeurs invétérés, je leur ai proposé de faire une compétition de vidéo de cuisine. Celle-ci devait reprendre toutes les étapes de la réalisation des crêpes, de l'achat des ingrédients à la dégustation au restaurant. Ils ont adoré tourner les scènes et s'organiser, même s'il était parfois dur pour eux de travailler en groupe (paradoxalement, ils ont tellement d'indépendance dans cette école qu'ils n'ont pas l'habitude de devoir compter les uns sur les autres et de travailler en équipe).

Malheureusement, des petits couaks au montage des vidéos ne nous ont pas permis de mener la cérémonie du Sarajevo Crêpes Video Festival comme il se devait, mais on a quand même bien rigolé (et bien dégusté, aussi!). 

Ci-dessous, la vidéo du groupe vainqueur :

Bravo Lukas, Omar, Iva et Elana !

Avec mes P2, nous avons fait du pain perdu ! Miam-miam ! Ils ont adoré, et plusieurs m'ont dit qu'ils en avaient fait à leurs parents après le cours !