Part B:

THE MONTESSORI EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM

THE MONTESSORI PHILOSOPHY

As educators our role is to teach children through curriculum. Through the years
many different types of curriculum have been created. Curriculum is defined as the
learning programs, activities, school subjects, materials, plans, and topics of study.
The Montessori Method was established over 100 yrs. ago and is still used in some
form in today's class rooms.

Montessori is a method of education named after Dr. Maria Montessori. 

Dr. Maria Montessori founded the Montessori method in Italy in the early 1900s and
her scientific approach to education was shaped around the individual needs of the
child. Her goal was to develop the child and their whole personality through a
system that is focused on spontaneous use of the human intellect.

Built on three primary principles – observation, individual liberty, and

preparation of the environment – it designed an environment children could freely
choose from a number of developmentally appropriate activities.

The method is focused on the role of childhood in the formation of adults; she is
a formidable progenitor of so much of today's thought concerning early childhood
education. Her educational views have been very influential in the development of
today's preschools, daycares, and philosophies of early learning. 

What Dr. Montessori believed - that another could teach no human being; that
we must learn for ourselves or it won't mean a thing. In the classroom, children get
up and move around and let curiosity be their guide. And because she believed "the
hand is the chief teacher of the brain," students most often learn by touch - by
handling specially designed materials such as golden math beads, sandpaper letters,
and wooden maps of the world. The teacher's job is to show children how to use
these materials - then leave them to learn independently.

From watching how effortlessly a child learns to speak, or walk, Montessori

concluded that a young child's mind is like a sponge - she called it "the absorbent
mind." And because it is so absorbent, she called the first six years "the most
important period of life; the time when intelligence, man's greatest tool, is being
formed."

As a result, classrooms often expose children to challenging concepts earlier

than the public-school system does. And they seem to grasp such concepts with the
help of special materials. It is through such creative elements of the classroom that
the gifted Italian educator continues to promote "the excitement of learning" in new
generations of children.

THE MONTESSORI CURRICULUM AREAS

 There are five major areas of curriculum in a Montessori environment that were
discovered through Dr. Maria Montessori’s scientific observation of the natural
tendencies children have toward learning. The curriculum areas are universal except
for the Practical Life area, which is influenced by culture; for example, using a fork in
Canada to eat food is different to the use chopsticks in China. The five main areas of
the Montessori curriculum include: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics,
and Culture. 

1. Practical Life

Practical Life activities develop independence, fine and gross motor skills, social
skills and confidence. These are genuinely useful jobs that keep the work
environment neat and tidy, and allow the children to learn using their imagination as
they are working with real things.

Children are given the opportunity to develop important life skills which will
allow them greater freedom in the classroom. The children pour liquids, polish silver,
wash tables, sweep, and in doing so, are developing calmness, order, concentration,
coordination and fine motor skills. At the same time, through the process of learning
to meet their own needs, learning to take care of the classroom environment and
through the experience of helping others, children in Montessori programs begin to
develop independence, self-confidence, and self-respect.

Advanced Practical Life activities expand a student’s concentration and help him

pay attention to detail. They further improve the student’s fine motor skills,
independence, grace and courtesy and give him pride in his work. Students learn to
show respect for the environment, class mates and teachers which leads to strong
self esteem, self confidence and self control.
 Conclusion, Practical life includes life skills to help develop independence,
coordination, concentration, self-control, self-awareness, confidence and include:

Care of Self (food preparation, dressing, Care of Environment (cleaning,

washing) gardening, care of pets,
environmentalism)

Grace and Courtesy (greetings, manners, Control of Movement (refining

social interactions) movements, walking the line, moving
quietly)

2. Sensorial

First learning is done through the senses and the Montessori Sensorial material
cover a range of well thought-out exercises to help children sort, match and
compare objects by shape, size, touch, taste and sound. These early sensorial
impressions boost the children’s powers of observation and deduction, broaden
their vocabulary and contribute to their later understanding of formal educational
concepts.

The Sensorial materials lay a solid foundation for mathematics, geometry,

geography, botany, art and music. The materials are self-correcting and so the
children become comfortable with the fact that errors are essential to the process of
learning. Therefore, Sensorial activities allows the child to refine each of their senses:
 Sight (visual),
 Touch (tactile),
 Smell (olfactory),
 Taste (gustatory)
 Sound (auditory)
 Stereognostic (kinaesthetic).

A popular Montessori Sensorial work is the pink tower where pink cubes are

built from the largest at the bottom to the smallest cube at the top. The pink tower
cubes are a concrete representation of the Decimal Numeral or Base Ten System of 
Mathematics. Children love to build the pink tower.

Here are some picture of sensorial activities:

3. Language

"Knowledge can best be given where there is eagerness to learn, so this is the
period when the seed of everything can be sewn. The child's mind being like a fertile
field, ready to receive what will germinate into knowledge."  Maria Montessori.

Dr. Maria Montessori realized that there is a sensitive period of language

development and that the richer the learning environment, the more beneficial for
the acquisition of a child’s skills and love of reading and writing.
 The ages from three to six years old are a sensitive period for language
achievement. The language curriculum includes oral language activities, pre-reading
work, writing and reading comprehension.

Initial sounds are introduced through Sandpaper Letters and Matching Objects.
After the children learn a few sounds, they are then introduced to blending exercises
through moveable alphabets. The Metal Insets are used to refine pencil control and
help to improve writing skills. 

Associating numbers in Matching mandarin Matching alphabet with

chinese characters with strokes sandpaper letters
number cards

4. Mathematics

Mathematics is about understanding relationships in the environment and being

able to express them in abstract terms. In the nursery class, Montessori materials
such as the number rods, spindle boxes and golden beads provide step-by-step
learning. The children learn to count, associate quantity and numerals, and gain a
sensorial impression of the decimal system.

Once again the materials are self-correcting, which means that children can see
at a glance if they have made a mistake. Each child progresses at his or her own rate
and understands each stage before they move on to the next.
 
Maths at the Primary and Elementary level is made up of many little details that
form a whole, but each detail is complete unto itself. All early maths exercises are
worked at the sensorial level so as to ensure that the child relates the quantity to the
symbol.

Here are some of them:

1.  Numbers to Ten: The foundation of maths is numbers to ten. The exercises in this
section must be firmly rooted in the child before continuing through the math
materials. The child learns the names of the numbers and the fact that each number
represents a certain quantity. The child learns to associate the language, written
symbol and quantity of each number from 0 to 9.

2.  The Decimal System: The Decimal System introduces the child to the bead
materials and the associated cards for each category. The child learns that zero can
give a greater value to a number and also learns the language of the larger numbers.
The child then learns how to change (10 units/ones change for 1 ten), and gives
them a sensorial impression of addition, multiplication, subtraction, division and the
relationship between the operations.

3.  The Teens and Tens: The section on Teens and Tens works parallel to the
association of beads and cards. The child learns to associate quantities, names and
symbols of the teens and tens. This section finishes off by consolidating the child's
knowledge when he works on the linear and skip counting of the square and cube
chains from the bead cabinet.

4.  The Exploration and Memorization of Tables: This section focuses on the

exploration and memorization of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
tables. The materials in this area give the child the opportunity to explore essential
number combinations for each mathematical operation and continue to move the
child towards less concrete materials.

5.  Fractions: The last section of the maths area introduces the child to fractions and
has the child explore the materials in order to discover the rules of each fraction
operation.

Some picture of activities:

5. Culture

Culture Studies bring an awareness that everything in the universe is connected

and all components depend on one another. This forms a ‘whole’ that works in
harmony; we are part of this whole and our contribution towards the well being of
this whole is important.

Children use globes, puzzle maps and flags, which help them to build their
understanding of other countries, cultures and people. They use pictures and name
cards to match, classify and name the elements and species of the natural world.
Classroom plant-growing and caring for pets help to form a bridge between the
child’s knowledge of the immediate environment and the wider world.

The Elementary curriculum introduces history through the Five Great Lessons;
the story of the universe, life coming to earth, the coming of humans, the story of
writing (language) and the story of numbers (mathematics).

Conclusion, Culture allows the child to explore the natural world around them
and includes:
Geography (continents, landforms, earth Zoology (classification, physiology of
layers, solar system) animals)

History (time lines, using a calendar) Science (life cycle of butterfly)

COMPARISON OF THE MONTESSORI APPROACH TO MY SCHOOL’S APPROACH

A recent study comparing the outcomes of children at a public Montessori

School with children who attended traditional schools found that a Montessori
education produced children with better social and academic skills. In addition,
Montessori children:
1. Displayed a greater sense of justice and fairness.
2. Were more likely to engage in emotionally positive play with peers.
3. Less likely to engage in rough play.

So what is it that makes the Montessori method so unique and successful? Here
are four fundamental differences between my school teaching and the Montessori
method, that I had found during my observation in my own school.

1. Active vs Passive Learning: 

In my school, while inside classrooms are teacher-led, with children instructed to
listen passively, Montessori children are active participants in their learning.
Understanding comes through a child’s ability to discover things for themselves
while most of my school method, learning is based on predetermined and limited
subjects.

2. Individual Learning vs Set Curriculum: 

Most of my school teachers are teaching requires the delivery of the same
lesson, at the same pace, in the same order for all students, regardless of their
differences. The Montessori method allows children to learn at their own individual
pace and follow their unique interests, resulting in enjoyable learning which is
sustainable over a lifetime.

3. Internal vs External Validation: 

The Montessori method of teaching encourages children to develop their self-
esteem based on an internal sense of pride in their own accomplishments while my
school, self-esteem has been shown to come from external judgment and validation,
making it more vulnerable to outside circumstances.

4. Environment: 
The Montessori method of teaching puts an enormous emphasis on a thoughtfully-
designed kindergarten environment, prepared in advance based on students
individual needs. While Montessori children are able to teach themselves using
specially prepared materials, my school is based on teacher-centred activities or
lessons.

Last but not least, if we wish to change the world, the only path is love. There is
no battle to fight - only respectful ways to share our teaching methods, and those
ways must be shared with the grace and courtesy we believe in modeling for our
children.