Personal experience: Children in Montessori kindergarten are more independent, and the reason can be summarized in one sentence

Su Bao is two years old. Since last year, we have visited more than a dozen kindergartens around New York. Many kindergartens in the United States provide parent-child experience classes called mommy & me for families under 3 years old who are interested in joining the kindergarten. These experience classes are usually twice a week, and adults accompany the children to participate, allowing parents and children to During this process, you will gain a more comprehensive understanding of the school and ultimately decide whether to apply to this school. Last year Su Bao and I participated in mommy & me in two kindergartens. This semester we decided to try Montessori kindergarten for the experience class. Seeing is better than hearing. Montessori schools are very different from the previous two traditional American kindergartens in terms of teaching methods, classrooms and teaching aids. The two most profound first impressions of Montessori schools on me are: 1. A very orderly school and 2. Very independent children. In today’s article, Su’s mother would like to share specifically how Montessori schools cultivate children’s independence; I will also write about the sense of order in the future. Although traditional American kindergartens also place great emphasis on cultivating children’s independence, after visiting more than a dozen kindergartens, Su’s mother truly feels that Monterey School has done this to the extreme. From the first time I participated in the school’s open house and observed a Montessori class, I realized that the temperament of the children here was very different. The Montessori classroom gives people the impression of \”a space that truly belongs to the child.\” All teaching aids in the classroom are suitable for children\’s height, which means there are no toys that children cannot reach by themselves. Even the artworks are placed less than one meter from the floor, which is exactly parallel to the children\’s eyesight. In the 3-6 year old mixed-age class I visited, the children in the classroom were relatively scattered. Some were flipping through picture books, some were doing crafts, and two children were watering a small pot of plants (I later learned that taking care of This plant was the area that the two children were “responsible for” that week). The two teachers in the classroom are more in the role of observation and assistance, and do not have much involvement in the children\’s work. There are two children around 3 years old who are learning to pour water independently using transparent measuring cups. One of the children had unsteady hands when pouring water and spilled some. The teacher did not take away the measuring cup or tell him what to do, but encouraged him to continue trying on his own. After the two children had almost finished practicing, the teacher said, \”You did a great job just now, and you are better than yesterday.\” The ground is a little wet now. Let\’s clean it together. The two children brought the rags with ease and wiped the floor with the teacher. Then they packed up the tools for pouring water before going to play with other toys. During my time at Montessori School, Su Bao’s teacher used every opportunity to teach me Montessori concepts in almost every class. The most core sentence is: Help me to do it by myself. Well, it\’s not \”teach me how to do it\”, but \”help me do it myself\”. I think this is the core reason why children in Montessori schools are more independent. A child who learns to be independent can grow up to become a mentally mature adult. Because independence means not needing to rely on others, it means strength and self-confidence. This kind of \”I canThe positive energy brought by a \”do\” mentality is very precious. Ms. Montessori\’s educational philosophy is not to teach children how much knowledge (although basic literacy is also important), but more importantly, to cultivate independence. children, so that they have strong self-confidence and hands-on ability from an early age. In Su Bao’s first experience class, the teacher encouraged her to \”bath\” a toy doll. We did not bring a change of clothes to school, and in front of a two-year-old child A basin of water, I was still a little nervous, it was minus ten degrees outside, and I was afraid that I would not be able to change it if it got wet. The teacher saw through my worries, and she brought a waterproof apron for her to put on, and helped Su Bao roll up her sleeves. , smiled and said, believe her. Su Bao used a sponge dipped in water to bathe the doll, and in the end, the clothes really didn’t get wet. I have been taking parent-child experience classes with Su Bao at a Montessori school for so long, and I have more She learned to let go, and on the premise of ensuring safety, do not stop her from trying, and do not interfere with her \”work\”. Su Bao\’s age happens to be the explosive period of self-awareness, and he has a strong desire for independence. Combined with Montessori The concept is indeed very suitable for this stage. In fact, in a sense, it is suitable for every stage of children\’s growth. The pictures above are of Su Bao \”bathing\” the baby with water in the Montessori classroom, cooking in the small kitchen, and himself Find picture books to read and study the wooden toys in the math area. Surprisingly, a two-year-old child can do a lot more things independently than I imagined. For example, rolling up his sleeves, washing and drying his hands with soap; To organize and put away toys, all adults need to do is to ensure that there is a small non-slip stool next to the sink that she can stand on by herself; there is a toy storage container in her room that she can open by herself. Don’t underestimate two or three years old. Children\’s bodies and minds are actually very capable of learning. As long as they are given a chance, they can master new things faster than adults can imagine. Many times adults want to provide \”help\” to children, but it is actually a kind of interruption. Over time, the child will rely on adults to help her do it instead of doing it by herself. Although we have not yet made a final decision on whether to send Su Bao to a Montessori school, I do appreciate the Montessori teaching philosophy and will also discuss it in subsequent articles. Let’s further share what we learned. By the way, Su Bao’s recent mantra is do it by myself!