Some Facts That Parents Should Know
Fact number 1:
The relationships with parents and other important caregivers affect the way children’s brain become “wired”. Researchers now confirm that the way infants are interacted with and the experiences provided for them have a major impact on the child’s emotional development, learning skills and how they function later in life. Brain connections that are used repeatedly during the child’s early years become the foundation for the brain’s organization and function throughout life.
Fact number 2:
A baby’s brain grows rapidly in the first five years of life. It grows to 90 percent of the adult’s brain size by the age of five. There are certain aspects of brain structure and function that do level off during development. For example, the number of neurons peaks even before birth; some 100 billion are formed during just the first five months of gestation.
Fact number 3:
Children learn the most by freedom of choice, independence and age-appropriate activities under appropriate environment setup with positive guidance from the caregiver. The main slogan of Montessori is “Help the child help himself”.
Fact Number 4:
Children have sensitive periods in which the brain must have particular stimulation in order to grow properly. Different experiences during these “windows of opportunities” contribute to the development of such areas as language, thinking, and visual development. The absence of such stimulation can have long-lasting effects on young children. (Newberger, 1997)
Montessori Method of Education – A Scientific Method of Education
In this method, we allow freedom and independence to the children. The main slogan of Montessori is to help the child help himself. We offer positive guidance. There is no correction to the work of children. The directress offers a repetition of the presentation to the children instead of correction. Correction undermines the self-confidence and self-respect. Children lose interest if corrected.
The classroom is setup with five major disciplines such as Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math and Expression (Art, Culture, History and Science). Children are allowed to choose the subject which interests them. This helps the children to work with deep concentration as they choose which interests them. Once they get done with one material/subject, they choose another and go on. Due to this flexibility unlike conventional method where children are forced to study as per class schedule, they get deeper concentration and learn more as well as faster.
The directress offers a different presentation to the children depending on their level. The same material can have a different level of gradation. The children are allowed to learn at their own paces. They are not restricted by age.
They are grouped in 0-3 Years, 3-6 Years, 6-9 Years, 9-12 Years, 12-15 Years and 15-18 Years and each group will have one class. This creates a community environment where the older child helps the younger one. This causes the older child to learn and take responsibility and develop leadership personality. The younger one gets help and learn faster. This environment helps the children to develop the personality needed in real life i.e. in our society where we live together and help each other.
Unlike conventional method, children’s progress is not judged by one final exam. The directress (caregiver) monitors their progress and creates the progress report. This is discussed with parents in a family conference and if there is any area of concern, that is addressed professionally.
For questions and inquiries, please get in touch with us today. Give us a call at 512-609-8844 or send a message to sarum@AustinStarMontessori.com.