Dear keepers of the future,
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday, a season of renewed hope and a new beginning. Through this hustle and bustle of celebration, did you find time to relax, connect with family and close friends? Have you read a book? And did you play with your children?
I hope so. Play is an important part of our lives, especially for our children.
Movement and Play
“You will be surprised when I tell you that the greater part of what you call ‘play’ is really work.” -Maria Montessori
When children work on a Montessori material, they think they are playing. Each delightful movement is an adventure of discovery. They are unaware of the formation of mathematical or geometric concepts in their minds as they carry each golden bead. Yet they are driven to examine these fundamental perceptions.
Similarly, when children play outdoors, they form scientific concepts while they tinker with leaves, sticks, and stones from their garden. They cultivate their language skills while they role-play in their fairy costumes. A game of tag improves physical coordination and calculative skills while they strategize their win.
This is serious business for a child. Play is an essential part of their development. They need the freedom to choose their games and the liberty to pursue learning at their own unique way.
Movement and Memory: The Hand-Brain Connection
“Movement of the hand is essential. Little children revealed that the development of the mind is stimulated by the movement of the hands. The hand is the instrument of the intelligence. The child needs to manipulate objects and to gain experience by touching and handling.” -Maria Montessori
I’ve noticed that I memorize my notes more easily when I write them down. Perhaps you experience something similar. Movement has a strong connection to our brains.
Studies show (Lillard, 2017) that your memory improves when your movements align with what you need to remember. Moving beads across a board helps children memorize the multiplication tables more efficiently than simply by rote.
Emir learned his words faster when he was more actively participating in the activity, such as matching picture cards to their corresponding labels, rather than just listening to me demonstrate.
Sensory play leads to improved academic skills. Learning to visually discriminate objects leads to refined reading skills. Feeling sandpaper letters leads to greater retention of letter sounds, just as composing words with movable alphabets (cutout letters) enhances writing composition.
Adapting to Individual Learning Styles
Sensorial and movement activities can be adapted for children with various needs. Since English was Emir’s second language, my verbal instructions initially fell flat. A visual and kinesthetic approach generated more success with him.
My student, Anna, preferred the auditory approach. Sound significantly affected her. Loud sounds made her anxious, but uncannily, the auditory approach was the most effective way to teach her. She enjoyed my soothing voice when I delivered instructions and could memorize through oral repetition. The sounds of instrumental music or the rattle of beans awakened her curiosity.
Some children touched everything and marveled at the different textures. My student, Dennis, reached out to touch many materials on the shelf. He loved the sandpaper letters and responded favorably to the stimulation of textures.
Each child learns in their unique style. That’s the beauty of the Montessori method. It’s not a one-size-fits-all way of teaching. Recognizing and adapting to these individual needs allows each child to learn in the way that suits them best.
What kind of a learner is your child?
What is their best sensorial channel? Auditory? Sight? Touch?
Think about it and use it to your advantage in teaching. Use it to their advantage in learning.
Till then, my friends,
Susie