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CASA CURRICULUM GUIDE
Dr. Montessori believed that no human being is educated by another person. She must do it herself or it will never be done. A truly educated individual continues learning long after the hours and years she spends in the classroom, because she is motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Dr. Montessori felt, therefore, that the goal of early childhood education should not be to fill the child with facts from a pre-selected course of studies, but rather to cultivate her own natural desire to learn.
In the Montessori classroom this objective is approached in two ways: first, by allowing each child to experience the excitement of learning by her own choice rather than by being forced; and second, by helping her to perfect all her natural tools for learning, so that her ability will be at a maximum in future learning situations. The Montessori materials have the dual long-range purpose to their immediate purpose of giving specific information to the child.
The use of the materials is based on the young child's unique aptitude for learning which Dr. Montessori identified as the "absorbent mind." In her writings she frequently compares the young mind to a sponge. It literally absorbs information from the environment. The process is particularly evident in the way in which a two year old learns his native language, without formal instruction and without the conscious, tedious effort which an adult must make to master a foreign tongue. Acquiring information in this way is a natural and delightful activity for the young child who employs all his sense to investigate his interesting surroundings.
Dr. Montessori once said "A child's work is to create the man he will become. An adult works to perfect the environment but a child works to perfect himself."
Since the child retains this ability to learn by absorbing until he is almost seven yeas old, Dr. Montessori reasoned that his experience could be enriched by a classroom where he could handle materials which would demonstrate basic educational information to him. Close to 100 years of experience have proven her theory that a young child can learn to read, write and calculate in the same natural way that he learns to walk and talk. In a Montessori classroom at CHMS BVI the equipment invites him to do this at his own periods of interest and readiness.
Dr. Montessori always emphasized that the hand is the chief educator of the child. In order to learn there must be concentration, and the best way a child can concentrate is by fixing his attention on some tasks he is performing with his hands. (The adult habit of doodling is a remnant of this practice.) All the equipment in the cassa classrooms at CHMS BVI allows the child to reinforce his casual impression by inviting him to use his hands for learning.
In The Absorbent Mind, Dr. Montessori wrote, "The most important period is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. For that is the time when mans' intelligence itself, his greatest implement, is being formed and not only his intelligence; but also the totality of his physical and spiritual being. At no other age has the child greater need of intelligent help, and any obstacle that impedes his creative work will lessen the chance he has of achieving perfection."
Modern psychological studies based on controlled research have confirmed these theories of Dr. Montessori.
After analyzing thousands of such studies, Dr. Benjamin S. Bloom of the University of Chicago, wrote in Stability and Change in Human Characteristics, "From conception to age 4, the individual develops 50% of his mature intelligence, from ages 4 to 8 he develops another 30%.. This would suggest very rapid growth of intelligence in the early years and the great influence of the early environment on this development."
Like Dr. Montessori, Dr. Bloom believes "that the environment will have maximum impact on a specific trait during that trait's period of most rapid growth." As an extreme example, a starvation diet would not affect the height of an eighteen year old, but could severely retard the growth of a one year old baby. Since eighty percent of the child's mental development takes places before he is eight years old, the importance of favourable conditions during these early years can hardly be over emphasized.
Another observation of Dr. Montessori's, which has been reinforced by modern research, is the importance of the sensitive periods for early learning. These are periods of intense fascination for learning a particular characteristic or skill, such as going up and down steps, putting things in order, counting or reading. It is easier for the child to learn a particular skill during the corresponding sensitive period than at any other time in her life. The Montessori classroom takes advantage of this fact by allowing the child freedom to select individual activities, which correspond to her own periods of interest.
Although the entrance age varies in individual schools, a child can usually enter a Montessori classroom between the ages of two and one half and four, depending on when she can be happy and comfortable in a classroom situation. She will begin with the simplest exercises based on activities which all children enjoy. The equipment which she uses at three and four will help her develop the concentration, coordination and working habits necessary for the more advanced exercises she will perform at five and six. The entire programme of learning at CHMS BVI is purposefully structured. Therefore, optimum results cannot be expected either for a child who misses the early years of the cycle, or for one who is withdrawn before she finishes the basic materials.
Parents should understand that a Montessori school is neither a baby sitting service nor a play school that prepares a child for traditional kindergarten. Rather, it is a unique cycle of learning designed to take advantage of the child's sensitive years between three and six, when she can absorb information from an enriched environment. A child who acquires the basic skills of reading and arithmetic in this natural way has the advantage of beginning her education without drudgery, boredom or discouragement. By pursuing her individual interests in a Montessori classroom here at CHMS BVI, she gains an early enthusiasm for learning, which is the key to her becoming a truly educated person.
The Montessori Casa classrooms here at CHMS BVI are indeed a child's world, geared to the size, pace and interests of boys and girls between the ages of three-six. It is designed to put the child at ease by giving him freedom in an environment prepared with attractive materials. These materials are arranged on low shelves within easy reach of even the smallest youngster.
The tables and chairs in the Casa classrooms are moveable, permitting a flexible arrangement for many activities. The children also work on small mats on the floor where they are naturally comfortable.
The Montessori Casa Programme can be divided into three main groups; The Practical Life exercises, which are the beginning activities for three and four year old children; The Sensorial materials, which can be used by all ages in the class; and The Academic Materials, which await each child's moments of interest in reading math and Geography.
THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER
In a Montessori classroom there is no front of the room and no teacher's desk as a focal point of attention because the stimulation for learning comes from the total environment. Dr. Montessori always referred to the teacher as a "directress" and her role differs considerably from that of a traditional teacher. She is, first of all, a very keen observer of the individual interests and needs of each child, and her daily work proceeds from her observations rather than from prepared curriculum. However at CHMS BVI we do have a curriculum which parents are invited to study at home. The directress demonstrates the correct use of materials as they are individually chosen by the children. She carefully watches the progress of each child and keeps a record of his work with the materials and any other observations re stress, acute tiredness, lack of focus etc., She is trained to recognize periods of readiness "Sensitive Periods" and sometimes she must divert a child who chooses material which is beyond his ability; at other times she must encourage a child who is hesitant. Whenever a child makes a mistake, she refrains, if possible, from intervening and allows him to discover his own error through further manipulation of the self-correcting materials. This procedure follows Dr. Montessori's principle that a child learns through experience and follows CHMS BVI's Casa Motto "Teach me to do it myself."
BEHAVIOUR OF THE CHILDREN
There is always a busy hum of activity in a Montessori classroom because the use of materials involves many motions - walking, carrying, pouring, speaking and particularly the constant use of the hands. All activity, however, is guided by a respect for the teacher, a respect for the work of others, and respect for the materials themselves. Dr. Montessori never equated goodness with silence and immobility. Self-discipline, she felt, should be acquired gradually through absorption in meaningful work. When a child becomes vitally interested in a particular casa classroom activity, his behaviour almost always matures. If a child misbehaves in a Montessori classroom, the teacher usually helps him select work which will more fully absorb his attention.
WHY MIXED AGE GROUPS?
If classroom equipment is to be challenging enough to provoke a learning response, it must be properly matched to the standard which an individual child has already developed in his past experience. This experience is so varied that the most satisfying choice can usually be made only by the child himself. The Montessori Casa classes at CHMS BVI offers the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of graded materials. The child can grow as his interests lead him from one level of complexity to another. Having children ages 3-6 together permits the younger children a graded series of models for imitation, and the older ones an opportunity to reinforce their own knowledge by helping the younger ones.
NON-COMPETITIVE ATMOSPHERE
Because the children work individually with the materials, there is no competition in the Montessori classrooms at CHMS BVI. Each child relates only to his own previous work, and his progress is not compared to the achievements of other youngsters. Dr. Montessori believed that competition in education should be introduced only after the child has gained confidence in the use of the basic skills. "Never let a child risk failure, until he has a reasonable chance of success."
ACCOMMODATION OF DIFFERENT ABILITIES
The use of individual materials permits a varied pace that accommodates many levels of ability in the classroom. A younger or slower child may work for many weeks on the same piece of equipment without retarding the other members of the class. Advanced children in the same room can move from one piece of equipment to another very quickly, thus avoiding the boredom of waiting for other members of the class to catch up. The children with a high level of ability are constantly challenged by the wide variety of materials and their many uses.
It is a well-established fact that younger children mature at very different rates and their periods of readiness for academic subjects vary a great deal. Because interest is stimulated and the materials are at hand whenever a child is ready, some youngsters in CHMS BVI Casa Classes begin to read and calculate at an unusually early age. However, very early learning is not the norm, nor was it ever Dr. Montessori's objective. Her idea was only that the learning experience should occur naturally and joyfully at the proper moment for each individual child. "It is true, we cannot make a genius, we can only give each individual the chance to fulfill his potential possibilities to become an independent, secure, and balanced human being."