Roll#: DK2271

Name: Areeba Haroon

ASSIGNMENT OF MODULE :1

Q-1 Write biographical note on Dr. Maria Montessori in your own words?

BIOGRAPHY ON DR. MARIA MONTESSORI:

Maria Montessori was born on the 31st August 1870 in the town of Chiaravalle, Italy. Her father,
Alessandro, was an accountant in the civil service, and her mother, Renilde Stoppani, was well educated
and had a passion for reading.

Montessori family moved to Rome in 1875 and at the same year she was enrolled in a local state school.
Despite being woman of that time she aspired to be an engineer which was basically breaking the
invisible rule for women.

After graduating from secondary school, Maria Montessori wanted to enter medical field and become
doctor. Even though her parents encouraged her for teaching, she was determined to study medicals.
Even after the refusal by Pope Leo XIII, Maria was eventually given entry to the University of Rome in
1890, becoming one of the first women in medical school in Italy. Despite facing many obstacles due to
her gender, Maria qualified as a doctor in July 1896. Maria was eventually given entry to the University
of Rome in 1890, becoming one of the first women in medical school in Italy. Despite facing many
obstacles due to her gender, Maria qualified as a doctor in July 1896.

Soon after her medical career began, Maria became involved in the Women’s Rights movement. In 1897,
Maria joined a research programme at the psychiatric clinic of the University of Rome, as a volunteer.
This work initiated a deep interest in the needs of children with learning disabilities.

At the age of twenty-eight Maria began advocating her controversial theory that the lack of support for
mentally and developmentally disabled children was the cause of their delinquency. The notion of social
reform became a strong theme throughout Maria's life, whether it was for gender roles, or advocacy for
children.

In 1901 Maria began her own studies of educational philosophy and anthropology, lecturing and
teaching students. From 1904-1908 she was a lecturer at the Pedagogic School of the University of
Rome. This period was a development of Rome, but due to some reasons it led to bankruptcies. Areas
like San Lorenzo, where its children were left to run amok at home as their parents worked. In an
attempt to provide the children with activities during the day to fend of the destruction of property,
Maria was offered the opportunity to introduce her materials and practice to 'normal' children. There,
in 1907, she opened the first Casa dei Bambini (Children's House) bringing some of the educational
materials she had developed at the Orth phrenic School.
 Roll#: DK2271

Name: Areeba Haroon

She put many different activities and other materials into the children’s environment but kept only
those that engaged them. What Montessori came to realize was that children who were placed in an
environment where activities were designed to support their natural development had the power to
educate themselves. She was later to refer to this as auto-education. In 1914 she wrote, “I did not invent
a method of education, I simply gave some little children a chance to live”.

The children in the Casa dei Bambini made extraordinary progress, and soon 5-year-olds were writing
and reading. By the autumn of 1908 there were five Case dei Bambini operating, four in Rome and one
in Milan. News of Montessori’s new approach spread rapidly, and visitors arrived to see for themselves
how she was achieving such results. Within a year the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland began
transforming its kindergartens into Case dei Bambini, and the spread of the new educational approach
began.

In the summer of 1909 Maria Montessori gave the first training course in her approach to around 100
students. Her notes from this period became her first book, published that same year in Italy, which
appeared in translation in the United States in 1912 as The Montessori Method, reaching second place
on the U.S. nonfiction bestseller list. Soon afterwards it was translated into 20 different languages. It has
become a major influence in the field of education.

On 20 December 1912 Montessori’s mother died at the age of 72. Maria was deeply affected by this
event, and in the year following her mother’s death she brought her 14-year-old son, Mario, to Rome to
live with her.

A period of great expansion in the Montessori approach now followed. Montessori societies, training
programs and schools sprang to life all over the world, and from then on Montessori’s life would be
dedicated to spreading the educational approach she had developed by delivering courses and giving
lectures in many countries. Before and during WWI she travelled three times to America, where there
was much interest for her original approach to education.

Maria nursed an ambition to create a permanent centre for research and development into her
approach to early-years education, but any possibility of this happening in her lifetime in Spain was
thwarted by the rise of fascism in Europe. By 1933 all Montessori schools in Germany had been closed
and an effigy of her was burned above a bonfire of her books in Berlin. In 1936, two years after
Montessori refused to cooperate with Mussolini’s plans to incorporate Italian Montessori schools into
the fascist youth movement, all Montessori schools in Italy were closed. The outbreak of civil war in
Spain forced Montessori to abandon her home in Barcelona; a British battleship took her to England in
the summer of 1936. Mario and his children joined her and later that summer the refugees travelled to
the Netherlands to stay in the family home of Ada Pierson, the daughter of a Dutch banker. Mario, by
now estranged from his first wife, was later to marry Ada.
 Roll#: DK2271

Name: Areeba Haroon

In 1946 they returned to the Netherlands and the following year she addressed UNESCO on the theme
‘Education and Peace’. Maria was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in three consecutive years: 1949,
1950 and 1951. Her last public engagement was the 9th International Montessori Congress in London in
1951. Maria Montessori passed away at age 81 on 6th May1952 in the Netherlands, bequeathing the
legacy of her work to her son Mario.

Q-2 Write a short note on the first Casa dei Bambini. Also explain how did Montessori Method
developed there.

FIRST CASA DEI BAMBINI

Having developed a method for teaching intellectually disabled children, Montessori wanted to apply it
to those without learning disabilities. In 1906 she was offered rooms in an apartment building in the
slum-ridden San Lorenzo district of Rome. This building had been intended as a model residence for
poor families but was in disrepair because of vandalism by residents’ unattended children. She accepted
the offer, named the rooms Casa dei Bambini, and collected toys, building blocks, and games. When the
school was opened in 1907, about 50 children attended. With minimal supervision, they found the
challenge of building and fitting to be more fun than their previous destructive activities. A second Casa
was opened in San Lorenzo a few months later and one in Milan in 1908. Switzerland’s Italian-speaking
canton of Ticino designated its public preschools as Children’s Houses and ordered them to follow
Montessori methods. Similar schools were also founded in Vienna and Geneva.

Although many Children’s Houses and other Montessori schools were closed by the Italian fascist
government in 1934 after Montessori objected to a government decree, new schools were opened in
1947 after the end of World War II. Since Montessori’s death in 1952, thousands of preschools based on
her model have opened throughout the world.

Montessori Method was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori; she was the founder of Casa Dei Bambini.
Dr. Maria Montessori’s, educational approach based on observation and experimentation. She used a
scientific approach. She worked tirelessly observing children, analyzing results and developing new
materials. In start she worked with mentally disabled children and achieved astonishing results. After
that she thought to work with normal children. She believed the ‘secret of childhood’ that every child
have a potential and it’s the responsibility of adults to help them and flourish this potential. Montessori
was the revolutionary who created her method from observation, not just from old theories.
 Roll#: DK2271

Name: Areeba Haroon

Following were the important discoveries she made which led to the development of Montessori
Method:

She carefully observed the inclination of child’s interest and developed the materials/activities
accordingly.

She also observed the child’s need for repetition which fulfilled a child’s need.

Maria Montessori also observed that children had a great sense of order.

She observed that her children have more interest in academic activities instead of toys.

She observed that a child can learn almost everything in early childhood, as it was previously thought,
that many things are too complex for children.

She observed and believed that real obedience comes through love, respect and faith. Elders/ teachers
should be polite and sharp enough to understand the child’s behavior.

She noticed that children are willing to do their work by their own.

She discovered that for building child’s complete personality, they need to do activities regarding
sensorial concepts, physical activities, languages, math, art, culture and many more.

She noticed that children are more comfortable with their sized furniture and things.

After all these observation and changes first “Casa dei Bambini” (House of Children) came out. The fame
of Maria Montessori, her House of Children and method quickly spread all over the world.

These discoveries were the foundation of the principles of Montessori Method.

Principle 1: Respect for the Child. Respect for the Child is the major principle underlying the entire
Montessori Method.

Principle 2: The Absorbent Mind.

Principle 3: Sensitive Periods.

Principle 4: The Prepared Environment.

Principle 5: Auto education.

The Casa dei Bambini was unique because it focused on educating each child based on his or her
development stage. Dr. Montessori encouraged children to take ownership of what they wanted to
 Roll#: DK2271

Name: Areeba Haroon

learn and worked with each child to create a personalized education that played to that child’s
strengths. Children were encouraged to cooperate and work together to accomplish their goals.

In 1929, she founded the Association Montessori International to provide teacher education and
guidance to the many Montessori schools opening around the world. Today, Maria Montessori is known
as one of the foremost pioneers of education in the 20th century.

Q-3 Elaborate the discoveries made by Dr. Maria Montessori by observing the child?

DISCOVERIES BY DR. MARIA MONTESSORI:

At the end of the nineteenth century, it was claimed that children under the age of six were ineligible,
incapable of attention, and could not be supervised. The First House of Children proved that these
children's theories were incorrect and revealed who the children really are. Maria Montessori calls these
the true nature of children who have been obscured by the climate, which is not conducive to their
growth. If the children have found a suitable setting, they have manifested their true characteristics.

Dr. Montessori’s first observation led to her discovery of the ability of children to concentrate. She
noted that children had the ability to concentrate without easily being distracted. Dr. Montessori was
taken aback to notice the intensity of a three year old child who was working on cylinders and their
containers. The child was slipping the cylinders in and out of the containers. Her motion was almost
perpetual like with no change in speed. She was not distracted by her surrounding that it seemed as
though her concentration and interest towards the cylinders had shut her off from her surroundings.
Having closely observed this child, Dr. Montessori made efforts to distract the child by requesting the
other children to sing loudly and in addition to that, Dr. Montessori also picked up the chair seated by
the girl and placed it on the table.

Dr. Montessori’s efforts in distracting the child’s concentration were to no avail. Besides observing the
intensity of concentration in this child, Dr. Montessori had also noticed that the child had repeatedly
conducted the exercise and managed to complete it 42 times. Having completed what is considered a
tiring task, the child seemed pleased. This observation had led Dr. Montessori in developing the method
with the fundamental principle of the spontaneous work of the child. In addition to the level of
concentration in a child as discovered by Dr. Montessori, she had also observed that the child has love of
repetition. She noticed that children needed to repeat a particular task to assist their development. Dr.
 Roll#: DK2271

Name: Areeba Haroon

Montessori shared her experience on how she taught the children in Casa dei Bambini to wash their
hands and thereafter became aware that the children had continually washed them despite it being
clean. They often repeated exercises for no external purpose and this happened often in various other
exercises. This action further was identified as repetition of exercise by Dr. Montessori.

Dr. Montessori’s next discovery was the love of order in a child. During her close examination on the
children at Casa dei Bambini, Dr. Montessori discovered that the children who had often monitored their
teacher placing objects back at its proper place and ‘disobeyed’ their teacher’s instructions to return to
their seat were doing so simply due to their interest in wanting to imitate their teacher’s actions; i.e. to
place objects back at their proper places. Since they portrayed the interest of returning the objects to
where they belonged, Dr. Montessori did not deny their desire and allowed them to do so. With that,
the children adopted this new practice in their life. The children always placed things in order,
straightened objects up and generally kept the environment in order. Dr. Montessori later observed that
this behavior was absent in older children.

In addition to the above, another surprising discovery at Casa dei Bambini which Dr. Montessori came
across was that the children had the ability to select materials and objects of their choice. Dr.
Montessori explained in The Secret of Childhood and in Her Life and Work that the teacher having
forgotten to lock the cupboards in the class arrived in class the next day only to notice that all the
children have helped themselves with materials and objects of their choices. Despite the teachers being
cross and had intention to punish the children, Dr. Montessori quickly noticed that the children had no
aim of stealing as they enjoyed putting things back into their proper places after usage. “This incident
was the beginning of that principle of “free choice of activity”

Dr. Montessori’s next observation led to her discovery that the children were not keen in toys, be it
costly toys or otherwise and that their preference was simply to work with materials and objects. Pricey
toys which Dr. Montessori placed in the room were never chosen by the children. Dr. Montessori got
involved in demonstrating to the children on how to handle and play with the toys but their attention
was short-lived. The children never went back to choose or play with those toys. She simply said that
“They never made such toys the object of their spontaneous choice”. Having witnessed this incident Dr.
Montessori could conclude that children felt that they had a priority which made them attracted to do
any exercise which could assist their development as opposed to playing.

Through Dr. Montessori’s numerous encounters in communicating with the children at Casa dei
Bambini, she discovered that children had a sense of personal dignity. She stressed that adults should
respect this, failing which the child could be offended in the long run. Dr. Montessori described how she
once carefully taught the children how to blow their noses using a handkerchief in the most discreet
manner. When the children clapped with much enthusiasm at her demonstration, Dr. Montessori had an
 Roll#: DK2271

Name: Areeba Haroon

instinct that she had touched a sensitive spot in the children’s lives. As opposed to having taught them
on how to use the handkerchief, many adults had often scolded the children on this accord

Casa dei Bambini, being the first opportunity which arose for Dr. Montessori to work with normal
children, had indeed equipped her with numerous unforgettable memories and experiences which
eventually formed the foundations to her method. Subsequent to all the above discoveries, Dr.
Montessori conducted her first course on education for children in 1909.

Q-4 Explain Sensitive Periods and write short notes of the following:

a) Sensitive Period for Language

SENSITIVE PERIODS:

Sensitive periods are periods of psychological development in the child. This period is a time of limited
duration. During the sensitive periods, the child has very powerful capacities. The child is able to do
great things and make very important acquisitions, like language and movement. But after some time,
these powers disappear.

Each sensitive period is:

· A period of special sensibility and psychical attitudes.

· An overpowering force, interest, or impetus directing the child to particular qualities and elements in
the environment.

· A period of time during which the child centers his or her attention on specific aspects of the
environment, to the exclusion of all else.

· A passion and a commitment.

· A guide towards creative activities.

· An intense and prolonged period which does not lead to fatigue or boredom but instead leads to
persistent energy and interest.

· A transitory state; once realized, the sensitive period disappears.

· Never relived or regained.

Name: Areeba Haroon

SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR LANGUAGE:

From birth to age six, children are in the sensitive period for language. Sensitivity to language involves
three key phases: spoken language, written language, and reading. The sensitive period for spoken
language is from 7 months to 3 years of age. It begins when the child first creates sounds by mimicking
mouth movements and progresses over time, as they learn to form words and simple sentences.

The sensitive period for learning to write is from 3.5 to 4.5 years of age. This begins when the child
learns the alphabet, and then sight words, which form the foundation for reading and writing skills.

For reading, a child is intensely interested from 4.5 to 5.5 years of age. Reading skills are often
developed after a child learns to write as it involves visual tracking skills.

To support language development at home, it is important to immerse your child in an environment that
is rich in language stimulation. This involves speaking to your child in clear language, singing and reading
with them, and allowing them to speak their needs instead of anticipating them

SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR MATHEMATICS:

Doctor Maria Montessori believed that children come to absorb mathematical concepts naturally. She
recognized that there were specific sensitive periods in a child’s development whereby the acquisition of
mathematical concepts were eagerly explored through repetition of activities with concrete,
scientifically developed, didactic materials. Doctor Maria Montessori designed concrete mathematical
materials to represent all levels of quantities and mathematical concepts after she observed that
children who are interested in counting, like to move items as they enumerate them. In the Montessori
learning environment, the children not only sees and learns the symbol for a number, they hold the
quantity in their hand. For most children, the sensitive development period for learning mathematical
concepts is between the age of four and six years.

Through the Montessori Curriculum areas of Practical Life, Sensorial and Mathematics, children
experience the concepts of order, measurement, calculations, numeric symbol recognition, counting,
and exactness. There are six key skill areas within the Montessori Mathematics Curriculum, including:
numeration (numbers 1 – 10), the decimal system, the tradition names, the arithmetic tablets, and the
passage to abstraction and fraction. In order to help each child achieve their full mathematical potential,
it is the role of the Montessori teacher to set up and organize the materials in a way that is progressive
and sequential. Young Montessori students learn about precision and exactness by measuring how
many water drop it takes to fill a vessel (i.e. ice cube tray). These Practical Life activities not only help
children to gain independence, but also provide indirect foundations for higher level math skills.
 Roll#: DK2271

Name: Areeba Haroon

As children develop in the Montessori learning environment, they become ready to encounter more
concrete mathematics materials that explore abstract thought, beginning with quantity. Quantity is first
presented to the child in the form of variables to avoid confusion. The Montessori teacher will use a
material, such as the Number Rods, in order to introduce quantities from one to ten. The red and blue
partitions of the Number Rods make the quantity countable. The number rods are then given a name
and a number. As the child works with the rods, they begin to realize that the first rod is the unit of
measurement, with which the other rods can be measured. In this way, Montessori students learn about
the mathematics through their hands.

SENSITIVE PERIOD OF MOVEMENTS:

The Sensitive Period to Movement is evident from the first moments of human development… arms flail,
muscles tense and relaxes. Even in the early hours after birth, infants placed on their mother’s bodies
will move toward food and nurture. In the next few months, the infant’s intrinsic motivation to move
can seem to overpower almost all his or her other instincts. There is little a child needs, except time and
a sturdy environment, to compel him to wiggle, roll, scoot, crawl, stand, and, eventually, walk, all in the
matter of a relatively short window of time.

The Sensitive Period to Movement persists past that first year, though. Take some time, for example, to
observe a toddler: sit still and watch how many steps the child takes in even a few minutes. Watch as he
or she moves around the room, picking things up and placing them down, carrying items from one side
of the room to the other, moving baskets or trying to climb on the furniture. It’s not a lack of
attentiveness that drives this constant movement: movement is, indeed, the way that children learn.
The more they move, the better coordinated their gross motor control becomes. The more they move,
the more nuanced their fine motor grows. And as they master their bodies, they become increasingly
able to direct that mastery toward particular activities. Consider the amount of self-restraint it requires
to sit still at a table and complete a puzzle. A child who has not first developed his or her own muscular
control will be hard-pressed to regulate his or her own impulses when a new task requires
concentration.

As movement develops fine and gross motor control, it also gives the child opportunities to test his or
her environment and to learn from the response. Our goal is to give children ample opportunity to learn
that the world is a safe and reliable place that will respond to them consistently. With that in mind,
Montessorians will encourage parents to prepare environments for their children in which the physical
response matches the child’s action. In other words, the world around the child should respond the
same way to the same stimuli, over and over again. For young children, avoid bouncy chairs or seats
with motors that increase the impact of a child’s movement… when a child bounces gently, his or her
chair shouldn’t respond noticeably. To do so undermines the truthfulness of the lessons the child is
 Roll#: DK2271

Name: Areeba Haroon

learning about his or her strength or impact. Choose riding toys that allow your child to cause the action
independently, rather than motor-driven toys that only require your child to sit still to move. Offer your
child multiple levels to climb, various textures to amble over, and sufficient time to navigate his or her
own environment independently.

Q-5 Write short notes on the following core concepts of Montessori education;

a) Mixed Age Group

MIXED AGE GROUP:

Mixed-age classes, also commonly referred to as vertical learning structures or groups, refer to groups
of children across a three year age span together in one class. At House on the Hill our mixed-age class is
for children ages 3 to 6 years, combining Nursery and Kindergarten students in one classroom. Some
parents, and even other educators, initially balk at the idea that this would be a conducive learning
environment! However, we proudly advocate for vertical learning based on our daily observations in our
classrooms and the research conducted by Dr. Maria Montessori and other scholars. Time spent in our
mixed-age classes makes it clear that vertical learning offers a unique and wholly positive learning
experience for children of all ages.

All children in a mixed-age class benefit from the community and familiarity that is built over the years.
Each year, approximately ⅔ of the children return to the same class, with only ⅓ graduating, and with
few exceptions, the child will work with the same teacher each year. This consistency helps build trust
amongst children and between children and teachers, which in turn creates a healthy community where
children feel they belong and can use each other as guides in learning.

SPIRITUAL EMBRYO:

There are 2 embryonic periods in humans, the first is the prenatal period, the second is the postpartum
period. Long-term infancy in humans distinguishes it from animals. In the animals, the newborn animal
begins to act on its own in a short period of time, while in humans there is a long inadequacy.

Each individual is different from the other, has a unique soul. The child is born with a unique spirit and
has a unique personality development. The child hides his/her personality in essence and has a
development plan to follow.
 Roll#: DK2271

Name: Areeba Haroon

For the development of the spiritual embryo, there is a need for an external environment which is
supported by love, respected, and helping the its development, as in the physical embryo.

What an adult supposed to do is to respect this spiritual embryo, try to understand the spiritual needs of
the child and to prepare an environment for him/her. The adult’s greatest responsibility is to support
the development of the child’s natural spirit.

There is a relationship between the environment and the individual. The child slowly discovers his/her
environment, adapts to it, develops it and uses his/her environment to reach his/her personality.

ABSORBENT MIND:

The absorbent mind is one of the most important ideas in early childhood education. Maria Montessori
presented this fundamental concept to the world more than a hundred years ago from her initial
observations of children. The absorbent mind makes our adult lives possible.

The absorbent mind is the sponge-like capacity to absorb from the environment what is necessary to
create an individual from his or her specific culture. It is the quality of the child’s mind up to the age of
about six, when there is a transition to the reasoning mind we have as adults.

Children absorb not only their language, but the traits of their families and communities. They learn how
and what we eat, and how to behave in certain situations. Some of it is consciously taught, but a great
deal of it is simply absorbed through this powerful child mind.

PREPARED ENVIRONMENT:

The “prepared environment” is Maria Montessori’s concept that the environment can be designed to
facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by the child. In the prepared environment,
there is a variety of activity as well as a great deal of movement. A Montessori teacher serves as the
preparer and communicator of the environment to the child and is responsible for maintaining the
atmosphere and order of the prepared environment. A prepared environment gives every child the
freedom to fully develop their unique potential through developmentally appropriate sensorial
materials. The materials range from simple to complex and from concrete to abstract, catering toward
every child’s age and ability.

Montessori classrooms are designed to offer lessons, activities, and tools that match the developmental
needs and interests of each individual child. It is important to note that not every child will be interested
in every available lesson. This is why children are allowed to choose the lessons they gravitate toward
naturally.
 Roll#: DK2271

Name: Areeba Haroon

The lessons and learning materials in the prepared environment are specially designed and set out on
low, easily accessible shelves. In addition to child-height shelves, Montessori classrooms have child-sized
furniture, fixtures, tools, and utensils

FOCUS ON INDIVIDUAL PROGRESS:

Montessori learning programs are personalized to each child based on their unique stage of
development, interests, and needs. Lessons with the Montessori materials are presented one-on-one
based on each child’s academic progress. Educators track each child’s progress and support them as
they progress through the curriculum.

Every child is under the supervision of the teacher and if the child is having difficulty in anything or in
any subject, the teacher guides the child and make him improve under extra care and direction.

When the child is able to compete and learn among others and when their actions shows what their
interest is, they are sent to the particular group.