筆記: Practical Activities: Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-Five
Montessori and her Theories:
Some time into this process, Montessori began to notice something very strange and wonderful about some of the children. Those who freely participated in the activities began to reveal a facet of childhood which Montessori had never seen before. Some of the more experienced children began to evidence a kind of inner calmness, and they were able to concentrate contentedly for very long periods of time. Not only did they quickly absorb complex skills and sophisticated knowledge, they also developed a self-discipline which relieved any need for external authority. In the their dealings with adults and other children, they began to show great thoughtfulness, compassion and understanding. P.2~3.
Absorb--
Montessori used the term 'absorb', not in the sense of 'take in' as a dry sponge absorbs water, but rather in the sense of 'combining into itself'. The absorbent mind makes possible the transformation of a helpless, gurgling infant into a young personality with all the basic physical and mental abilities needed for daily human existence: feeding, cleaning and dressing onself; sitting, climbing, grasping and a wide range of fine motor skills; as well as language, recognition, memory, will, grace, courtesy, cultural customs, and a self-identity. The feat of self-creation is accomplished by the child's simply living in and 'absorbing' the surrounding cultural environment.
So although the absorbent mind's first phase is unconscious, it is not undirected. At any one time, the child's unfolding intellectual structure makes special use of certain aspects of the impressions it absorbs. It is the effect of absorbed mind, starting around age three, the structure's developmental work has progressed sufficiently to give the child enough mental faculties to express interest consciously in the particular experiences that will henceforth most benefit the evolving structure. So, from ages three to six, the child feels and shows preferences for the types of stimuli needed to refine and integrate the basic abilities created from ages nought to three.
The general order of the hidden construction work going on within th eyoung children was thus suggested by special, transient sensitivities to certain categories of stimuli. Montessori called these broad, but distrinct and temporary sensitivities, the six 'sensitive periods':
Sensory perception: 0-5 yrs --touch as much as possible.
Language: 3month~5.5 yrs--talk to your baby/child.
Order:1yr~peak at 2~subsides @3yrs--yhe construction of the intellect appears to be going through a vital organisational phase. Impressions and experiences are being placed in ordered patterns that will form the basis for the child's emerging world view, which is in turn beginning to make possible the ordered expression-the idea about the world....When some disorder is necessary in the young child's surroundings, we should be sympathetic and supportive, and should stress the things that haven't changed.
small detail: 2yr
It is also essential to early development that a child be able to broaden the field of obseration available to the absorbent mind, and to tighten the concentration of the inner intellectual structure in processing what is absorbed.
co-ordination of movement: 2.5~4 yrs. bringing the body under control of the will: work on manipulative skills involved: turing taps, holding slippery soap, rubbing to make lather, rinsing, and finger-drying.
Social relations: 2.5~5yrs. Pays special attention to the effect of one's behaviour on the feelings and actions of others, and how one's behaviour is in turn affected the judgements and tendencies of a group of children.
The Practical Activies may be seen to fall into three basic categories: Manipulative Skills, Self-Development, and Care of the Environment.
Manipulative Skills, Such as pouring, opening containers, handling books, and carrying delicate items, are relatively simple tasks that adults want to hurry things along for convenience, but often to alloay adult fears of accidental messes.
Self-Development: grace, which describes how one moves about; courtesy, which concerns how one behaves socially; and personal care, which involves dressing and cleaning oneself.
Care of the Environment is a fancy name for housework - work which the young child constantly watches adults do, but is never invited to join in on.
The child conducts the Practical Activities for the sake of working through the processes, rather than for the sake of their results. But if you are directing a group of children, the products of the Practical Activities eventually become useful to the small Montessori community in which the child is working. For instance, the painting table is kept clean by children practising scrubbing a table top, the shelves are kept free of dust, floor mats are neatly put away, no one trips over chairs not pushed in, visitors are politely greeted and seated, and coats neatly hung up are easy to find. The children soon realise that they are responsible for their own environment, which enhances their respect for others and for themselves.
