Favorite Toys: A drum
I love the water bottle and its stand. All him. Live a Good Life!
Choosing a Montessori School – The Adults
The final thing I would look at when choosing a Montessori school is the adults in the environment. This includes the administration, the guide and the assistants. I would look at the administration because they make a lot of decisions about the school so I would want them to be Read more…
Choosing a Montessori School – The Method
The last two posts have discussed what to look for in terms of the prepared environment and materials when choosing a Montessori school. Both of those can be faked but it is quite hard to fake the method. This post is a discussion about the Montessori method, some of its Read more…
Choosing a Montessori School – The Materials
All the materials in the Montessori classroom should be developmentally appropriate. They should be materials to help the child in his development of coordinated movement, language and independence. Independence is developed by the acquisition of real and practical life skills. The Nido (Environment for the non-walking children from birth to about 15 Read more…
Choosing a Montessori School – The prepared environment
I received an email from a reader asking for what to look for when evaluating Montessori schools for her son. I tried to answer in a way that helps any reader looking for a Montessori school for their child. There are three basic categories I would look at and ask Read more…
Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed
I observed a two year old today (2yrs and 2 months to be exact). He was playing with some manipulatives in a corner of a public office. His mum, myself, other adults and another child about his age were present but everyone was doing their own thing.
He played for a while with the first set of manipulatives and as he played, a few pieces fell off the table but no one said anything. When he was done, he picked up the pieces on the table, put them back into the container and took the container back to the shelf. He had not picked up the pieces on the floor…
At the shelf, he struggled with putting the container back because it had these rails you have to match the containers to. He struggled for a while, but none of the adults tried to help. We (his mum and I at least) just watched him. He finally got it on the shelf but not in the “correct” way at least not the way the manufacturer intended.
He then took another container with a different but similar kind of manipulatives and went back to the table to play with them. Once again, he finished, packed up, and went through the same process of getting the container into the shelf… he struggled for a while but finally got it in his own way. As he walked back to the table, this time without any container, he realized some of the manipulatives were on the floor. He proceeded to pick them, separate them and put them into the right containers. When he was done, he moved on to play with the other child. It was awesome to watch!
What was so interesting about this episode or why am I even writing about it?
Supporting the first 3 months
This is the 3rd post in the brain development series. If you haven’t already, please read the first and second posts before continuing.
Most people assume that all children do in the first few months is eat and sleep. This is inaccurate. Children are born ready to learn and need stimulation of their senses to support brain development from birth. Because the child is not mobile and mostly supine (lying on his/her back) in the first three months, visual mobiles are a great way to provide visual stimulation. I have to mention that I LOVE mobiles! I love making them, I love watching them and most especially, I love watching children watch them. If you don’t know what mobiles are, keep reading to see pictures.
Makers of Men
“And if education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped for from it in the bettering of man’s Nigeria’s future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual’s total development lags behind? Read more…