When The Mushkins met Montessori

"The goal of early childhood education should be to active the child's own natural desire to learn" - Maria Montessori 

It was love at first sight. 

I read. I qualified. I utilised. 

Quite often when people ask what is Montessori, but the question should be who is Montessori? Some have never heard of her, some don’t care and others love her. 

Maria Montessori was a lady way before her time. She was a scientist, educator and inspiration that recognised the unique nature of each individual.

She created a child-centred approach whereby education was needed both in social aspects of life and to learn. The ideology that a curious and free child can educate themselves to fulfil their individual potential and passions. Moreover, the construction of her ‘three stages of growth’ allowed Montessori to change education by honing in the senses and facilitating a learning environment that was truly accessible for children. 

The three stages of growth, also known as the planes of development, provide specific detail towards child development from birth to eighteen years of age. It is divided into three six-year periods. These three periods are clearly distinguished from one another but equal in length: birth to six, six to twelve and twelve to eighteen. From her perspective, she greatly valued the first period, the embryonic stage, and became the first pedagogues to advocate the importance of the first six years of life. In terms of physical and mental development, she believed this was the most active developmental stage we experience due to the creation of individuality in the absorbent mind. 

If we consider the transformations, adaptations, achievements and conquests of the environment during the first period of life, it is a fact that we develop the most through these years. It is functionally a longer period than all the following periods put together from three years to death. 

Think about it… in the first stage of our life, what did you achieve? Was it a giant dribbling mess of snot and food? Probably.

But on a serious note, babies learn how to talk, think, communicate, walk and develop an awareness of their social impacts. This spiritual embryonic stage collects and processes all this information unconsciously, forming their own individual personalities and metacognition. Some children reach outstanding achievements before the age of four. 

Heard of Bella Devyatkina? She is four years old and she can speak six languages fluently plus her native language, Russian. It’s an impressive watch on YouTube while equally supporting Montessori’s theory. Children are like sponges, soaking up information naturally and effortlessly in the unconscious. Do you think you could learn 7 languages fluently so easily? It's debatable but there is no doubt we should pay attention to the rapid development at such a young age.

Alternatively, the social embryonic stage is the first step towards social consciousness. A child’s mind begins focusing upon order, movement and language. This second sub phase allows children to utilise and practice their skills in permitting environments. With time, freedom and exploration, the ability to become more socially aware can advance interpersonal skills, by absorbing the social and cultural norms. Children become sensitive to certain curiosities and educators should be there to guide and nurture them.

Cohen similarly suggests self-discipline and sociability will follow from the freedom of sensory discovery. 

So, this is where our connection begins. 

We understand that the developing brain shows us that early childhood experiences build the foundation for a skilled workforce, a responsible community and thriving economy.

Our mission is to build strong minds to cope with the challenges of tomorrow. We aim to achieve this by putting the emphasis on mindful skill-based learning. 

Tests measuring different forms of executive function skills indicate that they begin to develop shortly after birth, with ages 3 to 5 a window of opportunity for dramatic growth in these skills.

Thus, we have created incursions, digital resources and training to aid Early Learning Centres and schools to implement resilience and mindfulness into the classroom.

If you'd like to know more, reach out at: 

[email protected]