Montessori Education at home for children 0 - 3 years

Within Maria Montessori’s framework due to her studies with children, she has observed the occurrence of sensitive periods. In other pedagogies it can get called developmental milestones or windows of opportunities.It is those periods in the child’s life when a certain ability manifests itself strongly. During these periods the child has an especially strong sensitivity towards a particular piece of knowledge or skill. The sensitivity lasts for a certain period and does not reoccur.

Simply it is a period of time in which the child concentrates mainly on one aspect of his environment and excludes everything else. This is when we see a child repeatedly does an activity with passion and conviction per se, and it seems like nothing can deter them to accomplishing that task until it is satisfied. It is a time of intense concentration and mental activity on developing a particular skill at that particular time, age / phase in growth. It is driven unconsciously by an inner force that the best way an adult can support this passion is to prepare the environment and encourage this special time of learning.

This can also be used as basic guidelines as to when a child is ready to learn and when to introduce certain items to children. This can also be determined by observing the child for when they are focused on a certain type of work and follow the child’s interest.

“The child has a creative aptitude, a potential energy that will enable it to build up a mental world from the world about it. He makes numerous acquisitions during the sensitive periods, which put him in relation to the other world in an exceptionally intense manner.” The Secret of Childhood by Maria Montessori.

The following are the Sensitive Periods for Children Aged from Birth to 6 years of Age:

Sensitive Period for Order (age 18 months to 2 years)
Sensitive Period for Language (birth to 6 years)
Sensitive Period for Movement (birth to 4 years)
Sensitive Period for Refinement of the Senses (birth to 5 years)
Sensitive Period for Weaning (5 to 6 months)
Sensitive Period for Numbers (4 to 5.5 years)
Sensitive Period for Manners and Courtesies (2 to 6 years)

Sing Language for Kids

Many parents are curious about baby sign language. Sign language was made popular by the movie “Meet the Fockers” where Robert De Niro’s character was teaching his grand child to communicate using sign language. So the question is: Is sign language effective and helpful to non speaking children or is it just a novel child minding strategy that is popular at the moment?

Let’s look into it: Baby sign language means signing to a child who understands but still does not have the facility to be able to verbally communicate the needs. A toddler or a baby is often characterised with frustrations when no one can understand them and so since they are physically able, yet not verbally able, children lash out physically - by hitting, biting or crying. Sign language can get the message across successfully and immediately. Too often I have seen children who comprehend so much on what is going on around them and are in turn calm. Often we do not give enough credit to children that they can understand more than we think. We try to communicate to them at about 8 months and think they can’t understand what we are saying. It is not that a baby does not understand, it is that they cannot respond. Watch and you will see children’s comprehension in their eyes.

Teaching your baby sign language

A child will often point to what he wants and the adult will immediately run to his aid. This works as a way for children to express their needs, but imagine pushing this a little further and having special signs to help express themselves. Instead of just pointing, encourage the child to as well verbalise and attempt to say in words what they want.

A child can’t exactly point at a toilet if it is not nearby, or tell you he is thirsty if there is not a drink in sight. So how do we make this stage in a child’s life just a bit easier? Use sign language - this language need not be the official sign language that the deaf people use that you should learn, it can just be some understanding within your family and carers for your child. It can be the most obvious actions that one may do to indicate thirst, hunger or tiredness. It can start being a way of you communicating to your child, using both actions and words to get your message across. Like making a small wave to say ‘good night’ as they are led to their bedroom to indicate that it is rest time as part of their routine, or even making a gesture of drinking from an imaginary cup to indicate thirst.
One example of situation when sign language could be useful - you would see a toddler with a busy mother who just wants her child to do something, for example to get the shoes on, but there is protest from the child. The child screams wails and refuses to follow instructions. The adult have a desperate look on her face as this goes on and stress increases. It is only found out later on that it was not the result of the child refusing to go home, but that it was her socks being wet so she did not want to wear wet socks. Imagine if this was averted and instead of wailing making a sign for wet. As soon as it was discovered, the child put on her shoes without socks on.

Working and being with babies and toddlers is often a guessing game. One becomes a master of signs and reading expressions and communicating the same way back to them. As babies language develops it turns into a game of deciphering what they are trying to say. Sign language can be a way to help at this stage of the child’s life and make this stage a bit easier for all parties.
It I soften a pitfall and dangerous if sign language is not used properly. It has to be used in conjunction with verbal communication at all times. Remember we are simply using this until the child can properly communicate which we are further develope by communicating with them verbally too. Do not forget the main goal of making them speak and sign language is just the temporary pit stop or a stage of development in the communication line. Learning how to sign language as well is a multisensorial method of learning which by all means make the experience more concrete for the child and engages more parts of the developing brain.

Most children’s frustration comes from them not knowing what is going on when they are already becoming aware of their surroundings and society. Make this stage of being unable to speak and communicate easier with baby sign language. Communication is said to be 80% body language anyway, so why not exaggerate it? But never forget that it is just a phase that shall pass.

Written by: Emma

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