Sensitive Periods in Summary and Implication for Montessori Teachers

SENSITIVE PERIODS IN SUMMARY AND IMPLICATION FOR MONTESSORI TEACHERS SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR MOVEMENT •Movement is tied to intelligence KEYWORDSADDITIONAL IDEAS SENSITIVE TO WHATMovement/Activity (sitting, crawling, cruising etc) WHEN DOES IT APPEAR PEAK DISAPPEARS It appears at pre-birth (0 month) 1-2 years At death and cessation of movement (paralysis) DEVELOPMENTAL AIM- To enable the child to explore his own environment - To perfect himself and his personality through work with his hands INNER WORK TAKING PLACE1. The horme drives his need to develop coordinated movement 2.

The child’s attention is focused on learning to move and balance, and then unite this function (i. e. the child moves to learn) 3. Physical and movement of the mind i. e. the mind controls the physical 4. For the child walking is like a second birth. The child is no longer helpless but active. SIGNS WE SEE1. We notice each milestone in the child’s development of motor skills. 2. The child has an overwhelming need to manipulate and handle objects. BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS FULFILLED1. The child is joyful and content. 2. The child shows no tiredness from working. 3. The child is more satisfied in doing the work than the end result.

BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS NOT FULFILLED1. The child will be unhappy, fretful, tearful and fearful because he would sometimes be ignored. 2. Death of the child’s spirit, if the child is constantly ignored. WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS AT HOME1. The child has to be given opportunities and space to move around and explore his environment. 2. They have to understand the child’s desperate need to move, to handle and manipulate objects. 3. The child needs to see adults who model, precise, careful movement so that he can see how it is done. WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL1.

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The child needs opportunities and encouragement to work with HIS hands by HIMSELF. 2. The child needs INTERESTING and PURPOSEFUL activities that will refine his movement. 3. The child needs time to work at his own PACE, to practice and repeat as long as he has to or wants to. 4. The child needs activities that would refine his gross & fine motor skills stimulation. 5. The child needs adults who model precise, careful and economical movement for the child to copy- so that the child does not dissipate energy WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER TRAINING1. Education for the young child must be founded on movement. . Trainee teacher must understand the child must move and explore to live. 3. The trainee teacher must prepare an adequate environment and activities to encourage fine &gross motor movement. 4. You must plan routines for children, to involve not only seating and listening but also doing (participate, be active in the exercise) SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR ORDER For the child, order is a necessity for him to develop. He therefore needs to orientate himself. KEYWORDSADDITIONAL IDEAS SENSITIVE TO WHAT1. Physically- controls his movement (i. e. sitting, crawling etc, perfect the skills 2.

Emotionally – the child can only build trust if there is consistency 3. Intellectually- intelligence and logical thinking is dependent on outer order, the physical order balance out his internal order which helps his intelligence. WHEN DOES IT APPEAR PEAK DISAPPEARS It appears from the first few months of life It peaks at 2years It begins to disappear at 4years DEVELOPMENTAL AIM- To develop the child’s ability to think clearly and logically; and also to help with the ability to make well thought decisions. - It helps the child to make sense of the world, by seeing and understanding how things relate to each other. It helps the child to understand where he/she fits into what he experiences. - For the child outer order is equal to inner order. INNER WORK TAKING PLACEOrder needs to be absorbed from the order at home, in the classroom and the people around the child (i. e. order is like a cycle) SIGNS WE SEE1. The child’s determination to order & coordinate his movement 2. The child is content in an environment that is ordered and with people who are trustworthy. 3. The child will set things in order within the environment; he places objects where they belong. BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS FULFILLED1.

There is joy and contentment in the child. 2. He shows joy in working. 3. The child works independently. 4. The child works in an orderly cycle of activities- he completes his work cycle all the time. 5. He begins to think logically and makes careful decisions. BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS NOT FULFILLED1. The child works chaotically 2. He does not complete his work cycle 3. The child exhibits some form of disruption to others while working. 4. The child is generally unhappy and cries a lot 5. The child may show disharmony “naughty” or aggressive behavior WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS AT HOME3.

The child needs a precise environment for every room the child uses 2. Parents can avoid tantrums if they are aware of this sensitivity and respond appropriately 3. The child needs trustworthy and consistent adults 4. The parents need to provide the child with limited resources to develop logical thinking, WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL1. Trustworthy and consistent adults. 2. The child needs a precise and prepared environment 3. The child needs adults who are knowledgeable and understanding (trained and spiritually prepared. . Provide the child with opportunities to make decision i. e. freedom of choice 5. Keep consistency in work and behavior WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER TRAINING1. Without the outer order provided for, the child will suffer by not developing an inner order and would therefore not develop an orderly way of thinking even as an adult. SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR INTEREST IN SMALL OBJECTS For the child it is as if a special time has been set aside for exploring and appreciating the mysteries of creation and nature which would be overlooked by the busy adult.

The child needs the time and the means to explore his work. KEYWORDSADDITIONAL IDEAS SENSITIVE TO WHAT1. He focuses his attention on details in every aspect of his life – his body, surroundings, work, and people around him. 2. He notices and he is extraordinarily interested in very small objects and fine details in tiny objects, pictures, precise movements, gestures, sounds and languages. WHEN DOES IT APPEAR PEAK DISAPPEARSIt appears at about 1year Peaks about 11/2 years Disappears from 4years DEVELOPMENTAL AIM1. To develop the child’s faculty of attention and concentration. 2.

By controlling attention, the child can concentrate on sounds, precise movements, subtle social gestures and detail in objects to help gain a clear impression of size, shape and colour. INNER WORK TAKING PLACE1. Through the absorbent mind and the force of this sensitive period the child unconsciously adapts to her culture & society and promotes her own development. 2. The child will see with “new eyes” and get clearer impressions to help to order his mind aright. SIGNS WE SEE1. The child is joyful when in contemplating small insects and tiny objects. 2. The child is very observant of fine details and would sometimes point it out. . The child notices a chip/defect in materials and in effect would not use it. 4. If the child puts on a clothing whose button is lost and it is replaced, if the button does not match the child will become distressed. BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS FULFILLED1. The child would be joyful in contemplation – happily doing his work 2. The child is joyful and content. 3. The child develops concentration. 4. The child loves to explore indoor and outdoor world. BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS NOT FULFILLED1. The child will show some signs of frustration if he is not allowed time to examine and if he is watched. . He may throw tantrums, if he is taken away from his examination of something. 3. He loses interest in exploring and been observant. 4. The child stops concentrating and focusing his attention. 5. He jumps erratically from one activity to the next. WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS AT HOME1. The adult must respect the child’s need to examine minutely. 2. The child needs to be given time to look and be attentive. 3. The child should be allowed time to stop and explore when working with an adult. 4. The child should be provided with objects and images with details. 5.

The child should be protected from disturbance when he is concentrating. WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL1. The very small child who has this sensitive period fulfilled will continue to be acutely absorbent of fine details and thereby focuses his attention easily. 2. Activities that will give the child opportunities in classroom & outdoor environment should encourage this – THE CHILD WHO CANNOT CONCENTRATE CANNOT LEARN. TO-DO: 1. Set an example and be a good role model for the child especially in our attitude, life values, speech, cultural behavior and consideration for others. . Give d child a clear understanding of what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviours (i. e. ground rules in class) 3. In the Montessori approach it is fundamental to aid the child’s development of concentration through purposeful and interesting work with an orderly sequence, protection from disturbances, time to explore, exposure to different sounds in words, materials to refine his senses, exposure to socially acceptable behaviours, we must respect the child’s need of sensitivity to fine details.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER TRAINING1. Parents and teachers must respect the child’s need for time to explore and contemplate and encourage the child’s observant nature. 2. Provide an environment and opportunities that encourage observation and exploration for the child. 3. We must keep an orderly and precise environment so that the child can focus his attention 4. You must note that concentration is the key to learning; therefore a precise and orderly environment is a condition for concentration to develop.

SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR SOCIAL ASPECT OF LIFE – GRACE& COURTESY The child attempts to learn the manners and culture of his/her environment and serve others as well as himself or herself. It is therefore good to involve the child in your daily life as much as possible. KEYWORDSADDITIONAL IDEAS SENSITIVE TO WHATThe child is intensely interested in the customs, habits and culture of his/her own community WHEN DOES IT APPEAR PEAK DISAPPEARSIt appears between ages 2yrs – 2 1/2 years (mothers always recognize the child’s need for wider social experiences). It is at this age the child usually starts or attends daycare center.

It peaks at about 4years. It disappears at about 5 ? years DEVELOPMENTAL AIM1. To entirely adapt to his/her own culture and circumstances 2. To be integrated and identifiable in his/her own society INNER WORK TAKING PLACE1. All the work of the unconscious absorbent mind which takes in all impressions equally, know differentiation between positive or negative social values and customs to form the child’s personality and traits for life typical of his/her culture. 2. The child is acutely observant of his/her social group especially his/her family unit – he/she takes in their verbal & non- verbal behaviour and fixes them for life, good & bad. . Remember that the child is also sensitive to fine details at the same time, this sensitive period is like an extra spot light on the details of his/her family and social experiences SIGNS WE SEE1. The child stands and watches a lot – observes all aspects of social life such as greetings, courtesy, respect, how people treat one another, how they dress, eat etc. Their habits and beliefs, people’s way of talking and gesturing, people’s attitude and outlooks on life. 2. The child tries to imitate what he or she sees and hears. BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS FULFILLED1.

The child exudes confidence and positive self-esteem. 2. Begins to join in the community life of the pre-school- first watches, stands at the edge and later accepts invitation to join in. 3. The child is joyful and content. 4. Learning and working is easy. 5. The child is interested in and repeats activities of grace and courtesy. BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS NOT FULFILLEDIf the child has had poor models of social attitudes, values and behaviours he/she would emulate them and they will become fixed for life as in; 1. Poor table manners. 2. The child exhibits discourteous behaviour (very rude and unruly). . The child id tolerant of some people’s behaviour and intolerant of others (mood swings). 4. The child is disrespectful of others space, possession and values. 5. The child exhibits aggressive and disturbing behaviour. 6. Because of his behaviour he is shunned by other children he is either distressed by the shunning or he is full of bravado (I don’t care attitude) 7. The child is not integrated and identifiable in his/her society. WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS AT HOMEParents needs to; 1. Understand how the child’s mind works and absorbs everything. . Parents need to set an example and be good role model for the child especially in attitude, life values, speech, cultural behaviour and consideration for others. 3. Give the child a clear understanding of what is good and what is evil, what is acceptable and not acceptable behaviour to them. WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL1. The Montessori Pre-school needs to create a sense of community within the pre-school. 2. We need to allow the time to observe before joining in and contributing to the pre-school community. 3.

The development of community life in the Montessori pre-school involves each member taking responsibility for himself or herself and the environment. The child has to learn how to put away activities for the next person to be able to use it and clean up after he had made a mess. These are ground rules for acceptable behaviours and younger ones will follow suit. 4. The development of community life is dependent on mixed abilities and ages and the opportunity for the child to teach one another the lesson, he/she has learnt. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER TRAINING1.

If the child is exposed to disrespectful attitudes towards himself/ herself and his/her needs, he/she will grow up to be a disrespectful member of the society. 2. Care givers have the responsibility of informing parents and their communities about the work of the child absorbent mind and the need for positive role models in the child’s life. SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR REFINEMENT OF SENSES KEYWORDSADDITIONAL IDEAS SENSITIVE TO WHAT1. The need to see, touch, taste, smell, hear and manipulate everything around him. 2. The child is in active pursuit of sensorial stimuli, he is now trying to move, in order to learn.

WHEN DOES IT APPEAR PEAK DISAPPEARSIt appears at pre-birth. The child touches, feels and hears while still in the womb. It peaks between 2years- 5 1/2 years DEVELOPMENTAL AIM1. He is learning – the only way a child learns is through his senses and personal experiences (hands on). 2. The child tries to gain information about his environment. 3. To order the impression gathered so far. 4. The child tries to pair and classify – this is the function of sensorial curriculum. 5. Helps the child to look for fine distinctions i. e. grading or categorizing 6. Consolidation of knowledge. Sensorial Curriculum is designed to help the child to sort out, clarify and classify all of the impression he gathers from his environment. INNER WORK TAKING PLACEAll the inner work is achieved by the absorbent mind and the child’s development of coordinated movement so that he can work with his hands. SIGNS WE SEE1. The child is first to touch and manipulate everything in his reach. 2. The child has an overwhelming interest in colour, shapes, size and the feel of objects. BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS FULFILLED1. Joyful learning. 2. The child works actively and explores through his senses. . The child does not get tired by work. 4. The child is eager for more experiences. 5. The child has an increased awareness of the outside world 6. The child has love and care for the world and people BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS NOT FULFILLED1. The child cannot develop because he does not have the full function of all of his senses. 2. The child will become apathetic (not happy, angry towards everyone) 3. The child shows certain behaviours such as been noisy, displaced/disturbed. 4. The child will not sit still to listen nor will he want to listen.

WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS AT HOME1. The adult attitude should change allow the child to touch, explore and experience as much as possible. 2. The adult should respect the child’s need to repeat activities. 3. The adult must understand that manipulation is vital to his development. 4. The household must be rearranged willingly to suit these needs. WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL1. The adult must provide sensorial keys to each sense through the sensorial curriculum. 2. Isolation of stimulus (i. e. only one sense is attended to with an activity. . We work from concrete to abstract, because the child works with the real thing before he begins to abstract. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER TRAINING1. The refinement of sensorial impression lays a firm foundation for future learning, so the children should be provided with an adequate environment with sensorial activities and experiences. 2. The teacher should note that education in the school must be sensorial based if not the children cannot develop intelligence and would not love life and learning Note: Sensorial is the KEYS to the child’s universe.

Chinese Proverb: I see I forget, I hear I remember, I do I understand. Whatever a child does becomes part of the child because the child has participated and his/her hands have touched the materials or activity. It therefore becomes a part of him/her. SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR LANGUAGE KEYWORDSADDITIONAL IDEAS SENSITIVE TO WHAT1. The human voice 2. The rhythm and flow of the sounds of words without necessarily understanding what they mean. WHEN DOES IT APPEAR PEAK DISAPPEARS It appears from birth It peaks at about 2years and explosion into speech

It disappears at about 5 years DEVELOPMENTAL AIM1. To adapt the child to his/her own culture and circumstances 2. To fulfill his/her tendencies and need to be socially integrated 3. To be able to express his/her own personality and spirit 4. To be able to think and develop his/her reasoning intelligence INNER WORK TAKING PLACEInner working precedes every outer signs SIGNS WE SEE1. Each milestone in the child’s development of language such as babbling, cooing etc. 2. The child’s love for song, stories and poems. 3. Listen to sounds and tries to copy them. 4.

Learn new words easily (Note: PLEASE USE CORRECT LANGUAGE WITH THE CHILDREN AND NOT BABY TALK) as it is an obsolete language. 5. The child practices “writing” long before he/she starts/has the skills to write. 6. Tries to “read” long before he/she knows the sounds and sand paper letter. BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS FULFILLED1. The child expresses joy and contentment. 2. Love to talk and talks all time. 3. Contributes in group activities. BEHAVIOUR IF SENSITIVE PERIOD IS NOT FULFILLED1. The child is withdrawn and unhappy. 2. Does not join in activities. 3. Cannot settle to work and concentrate. . The child cries a lot and he is fretful because he cannot express his needs and he is often misunderstood. 5. The child can get very frustrated and may result to aggressive behaviour such as biting, kicking, crying etc. WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS AT HOME1. A rich exposure to language, he needs to see adults enjoying talking, singing, writing & reading. 2. He needs to see exaggerated movement of the mouth so he can see how sounds are made. 3. The child needs to hear correct pronunciations; so that he hears the individual sounds of words he is trying to make. 4. The hild needs to hear variety of word from a broad vocabulary that is the only way he can increase his vocabulary. 5. The child needs to hear correct, precise language from whoever is speaks whatever language to the child. 6. The child needs to hear correct sentence construction. 7. The child needs to be listened to with full attention. WHAT HELP DOES THE CHILD NEED FROM THE ADULTS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL1. Provide an atmosphere and have the attitude that encourages the child to talk, be an amiable approachable teacher. 2. Find time to chat with individual children and show them that you care and you are interested in them. . Find time to listen to individual children. 4. Find time to listen patiently to the child whose language is slow. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER TRAININGAll the elements of language including grammar should be learnt while the child is in his/her sensitive period for language and as he/she learns it so effortlessly and easily; but if he/she learns it later then it would be hard and full of errors – he/she would have to be taught, it would develop spontaneously if not given the right opportunities and encouragement at the right time.

To Do’s To be knowledgeable about the development of language and to know which; 1. To know which activities to prepare, to promote a firm foundation in spoken language. 2. Activities to prepare the child’s hand for writing (i. e. indirect preparation for writing). 3. Activities that would prepare the child to read (indirect preparation for reading). Note: if the teacher does not do these, the child’s learning will be hard, schooling a negative experience.

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