Toddler

Walking in the child’s shoes

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Montessori, M., & Costelloe, M. J. (1972). Introduction, Childhood: A Social -Problem. The secret of childhood (pp. 76-79). New York: Ballantine Books. (Original work published 1966)

Thoughts after reading PART 1: 11. Obstacles to Growth, Walking

“An adult walks to reach some external goal and he consequently heads straight for it…. An infant, on the other hand, walks to perfect his own proper functions, and consequently his goal is something creative within himself.” (p. 78, para 2)

Children need to be able to walk on their own at their own pace, practicing and perfecting their newly learned skill and developing balance.  As a adults, it is easy to make accommodations to insure that our child can keep up with our pace.  Although this is more convenient, the child could achieve so much more if we would allow them the opportunity to walk at their own pace, resting when they need to rest and exploring as they desire.  Caging up our children or securing them in strollers may protect them; however, they need to be able to develop.

Both of my children were early walkers.  At 9 months old, my children were already breaking free from limited movement and searching to explore their surroundings by foot.  This can be a scary time for parents, it was for me!  The child can reach more things, get into more things and move faster than a crawl!  As they improve their skill they get harder to keep up with!  Still they are still light enough to swoop into your protective arms and easy to fit into a stroller. We want so much for them to be safe from danger.

We don’t want to teach our children to be helpless, when they need to be developing muscle movement and balance.  Every day our Toddlers in our Toddler program go for a walk with their teachers.  The walk is not at the teacher’s pace, but at children’s pace.  They get to pause and look at the ducks in the creek.  If they see something interesting they can show their teacher and friends.  The goal is not to get from point A to point B, it is for the child to practice movement, balance and enjoy the journey.  As a parent, you can look at the walk through your own child’s eyes.  Slow down, enjoy the journey.  These precious moments go by so quickly and you can see wondrous things if you take the time to follow the child.

Importance of order for the young child

/ Cosmicnissa / Leave a comment

IMG_7032[1]Montessori, M., & Costelloe, M. J. (1972). Introduction, Childhood: A Social -Problem. The secret of childhood (pp. 49-59). New York: Ballantine Books. (Original work published 1966)

Thoughts after reading PART I: 8. Order

“In passing from nothing to that which will be the first principles of one’s future life, a child must make tremendous efforts.  He is so near to the very founts of life that he acts for the sake of acting.  This is the way of creation, of which we have neither knowledge nor remembrances.”

We have to be very careful when projecting our own motivations and perceptions on a child. Maria reminds us that as adults we have had many life experience which has given us in indifference towards order; whereas, as child will look for things to be where they expect them to be based on their limited experiences.

The perfect example is the hiding game. I remember playing with my own children, whom always want to hide in the same place. For the young child, the game is not about the “seeking” it is about “hiding.” The child is testing and gathering information about their environment. They are trying to make sense of the world that surrounds them, working to develop trust and knowledge they can depend on.

In the toddler room at our school, the teachers are very careful to not introduce things into the environment that would disturb their senses. Observers may only peek through the windows. Before school and afterschool exist in the same area. Every day the routine is very established and the children expect what is going to happen.

Everyday the toddler class takes a walk and when they return, I am thrilled when they wave at me.  When I first started working there, I could see the disappointment on their faces as they looked for my predecessor.  Today, I know that I have become part of their expanding world and they are happy to see me!