When we say, \”Don\’t break it,\” what message are we sending to our children?

When I took Su Bao to visit a Montessori kindergarten for the first time, I found that there were very few plastic toys in the Montessori classroom, and most of the teaching aids were wooden, small and beautiful things. Such as wooden puzzles, sensory boards, and math tools. The \”coin tube\” (a teaching aid for training fine motor skills) that Su Bao likes to play with is also made of wood, and the color is hand-painted by the school teacher. Subao’s teacher explained to me that Montessori school teachers and children call the school’s teaching aids works, not toys. When a child holds a good-quality, polished item in her hand, she can feel it. weight and value. Many teaching aids in Montessori schools are durable wooden items rather than disposable cheap plastic toys. This is a responsibility that adults give to their children. In the process of coming into contact with these items: 1. Children can feel the trust and respect of adults 2. Children learn to take care of items (the teacher\’s original words are \”handle things with care\”). Many adults often say: \”Children are always careless\”, or Keep children away from anything that may break. Su Bao and I have been taking experience classes in Montessori kindergarten this semester. I have never heard the teacher say \”be careful\” or \”don\’t touch it\” once. All the teaching aids in the classroom are within the children\’s reach, and every time Every child has a natural confidence in using tools. Words like \”be careful\” and \”don\’t break it\” neither respect the child\’s sense of independence nor teach the child how to use and care for items. Their only function is to convey a negative energy to the child: you can\’t do it, you are terrible. It may get broken. If a child is always damaging things on purpose, he may not have had enough opportunities to learn how to use, care for, and respect things. The Montessori philosophy believes that caution is the nature of most children, and the frequency of children damaging items is much less frequent than adults imagine. The adult carefully picks up and puts down a valuable object in front of the child, and consciously demonstrates it to the child. The child will imitate this behavior unconsciously and gradually learn how to use the object without constant interference and reminders from the adult. . Doing is more important than saying. In fact, children in Montessori schools are also ordinary children. They also spill water on the floor and the toys they play with may be messy. The teacher did these two things: 1. Sufficiently protect and prevent Su Bao’s favorite game in kindergarten is “playing with water”, such as using a sponge dipped in water to bathe a doll. Every time the teacher sees a child participating in this game, he will promptly put on a waterproof apron for them. When learning to pour water from a measuring cup, the teacher will put a large tray on the table to catch the spilled water. At the same time, the furniture and furnishings in the classroom are all baby-proof, and there are no sharp or dangerous items. 2. Turn \”mistakes\” into problem-solving abilities. If water is spilled, the teacher will say let\’s wipe the floor together; toys are thrown messily on the ground, and the teacher will encourage the children to sort them together; eat During snack time, Su Bao became a little cat. The teacher would patiently teach her how to wash her hands and wipe her hands and mouth with paper towels. These \”errors\” can alwaysBeing turned into an opportunity to solve problems and learn new skills is one of the most ingenious aspects of Montessori education. After taking the trial class one day, it was lunch time when we left. I saw that the tableware used by children aged 3-6 in the mixed-age class was not the usual plastic tableware, but ceramic plates, metal knives and forks, and glass drinking glasses. My first reaction at the time was, aren\’t you afraid of breaking it? Su Bao’s teacher seemed to notice my surprise and told me with a smile, belive it or not, we only had 1 broken glass since school started (the whole school has only broken 1 cup in total this semester). I remembered that in the past, if Su Bao was holding a glass to drink water, I would carefully help her hold the glass. After returning home from class that day, I replaced Su Bao\’s plastic tableware with ceramic ones. I showed her how to use her new cutlery and expressed my confidence that she would take good care of hers. For so long, Su Bao has never broken a bowl. I think even if it breaks, we can still learn from the Montessori teacher and turn this process into an opportunity for us to learn to solve problems. In today’s article, Su’s mother does not mean to suggest that everyone abandon plastic products, that would just be to sacrifice the good and the bad. For babies who have just introduced complementary food, breakable tableware is more practical; I will continue to buy well-designed plastic toys. But I will also give Su Bao more opportunities to use tools and complete tasks independently while ensuring her safety. I appreciate boldness and carefulness more than caution. Many of the things taught to children in kindergarten classes are also a form of self-growth for adults (end of full article).