At the heart of Montessori education is fostering independent thinking and extending children’s skills and capabilities in alignment with their strengths, interests, and talents.
The tenets of Montessori education pay as much attention to physical and social skills as their mental ones. At the end of the day, motor development is just as vital to enriching cognitive and artistic abilities. The same goes for developing language, speech, empathy, and responsibility.
But are these the only areas that the Toddler Montessori program prioritizes?
What, ultimately, are the goals of the program?
In the end, knowing the answers to these questions will serve to enlighten parents about the value that Montessori education brings to young children.
What Is the Toddler Montessori Program?
Essentially, the program nurtures a learning environment that is ideal for extending toddlers. The program is only available for children 18 to 36 months old.
One unique aspect of the program that is immediately apparent is that students are largely learning independently. Many of the toddlers who would normally need supervision manage to learn without much intervention from the teachers.
Such a scenario proves one of the five main principles of Montessori learning, which claims that children are capable and competent learners.
It works in smooth synergy with another major tenet which declares that children are naturally equipped and eager to absorb new knowledge and information.
Overall, the program seeks to stimulate their five senses and immerses them in active collaboration early on.
The Toddler Montessori curriculum is characterized by mostly hands-on activities that are done within a prepared environment. You can expect the program to teach a plethora of subjects and skills that will be crucial to their later education. These include but are not limited to:
Sensorial Skills – These are the skills pertaining to all five senses.
Cognitive Skills – Mental activities that include reading books and taking part in tasks that require concentration are included in these skills.
Motor Skills – Any kind of physical activity that improves their ability to move falls under this category. Usually, sports and dancing are the best activities that educators use to hone these abilities.
Math Skills – Learning to distinguish quantitative number concepts, recognize patterns, and solving simple problems are vital for laying the foundation of a child’s mathematical skills.
Language Skills – Conversational skills are important for optimal communication development. To strengthen this area of a child’s development, teachers usually rely on regular conversation, sandpaper letters, fingerplay, and storytelling.
Practical Life – This aspect of learning immerses the child in nature and more importantly, taking care of the environment. For this, teachers rely on activities like gardening, cleaning, washing, and sweeping, to cite a few. Personal hygiene practices also belong to this category.
Geography – Feeding the child’s natural desire to learn more about the world, geography lessons early on should allow him to grasp the vastness of the world, as well as the framework it is made up of. Your child’s innate ability to learn from the world will be satisfied with the help of these lessons.
Science – Science also involves the natural world so it is just as important for a child that has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about it. Usually, educators rely on the concept of the trial and error method to effectively teach this specific subject to toddlers.
Sign Language – An area of learning that is often overlooked in other educational institutions, teaching sign language greatly benefits the child’s communication skills because it allows him to understand and express himself via non-verbal means. Children do not develop their verbal communication skills at the same rate, after all. With this considered, sign language will allow them to overcome this hurdle immediately and minimize their frustration.
Art – Your child’s creativity always needs to be tweaked to enhance their ability to express it freely. This way, their talents will also be discovered early in life, allowing them to strengthen their abilities. Art gives meaning to our lives and sharing it enhances our social connections. All children should be made aware of the gifts that they possess.
What Is the Main Goal of the Program?
Knowing what the Toddler Montessori Program is all about, what then do its proponents hope to achieve?
Ultimately, teachers want young children to develop key skills that will allow them to handle future formal education comfortably and achieve their potential.
The program also teaches them about the value of being independent and learning to work together as a community with compassion and camaraderie.
Everything about the Montessori classroom readily reveals this. Since toddlers will be taught to take care of themselves independently, it will only aid parents in the long run as the child will not need additional instruction to develop these vital life skills.
The Toddler Montessori Program Is On Track in Achieving Its Goals
We can confidently state that the program is already achieving its goal because more parents are now relying on Montessori-style education than conventional kindergarten schooling.
Montessori-trained children are often better equipped with the proper mindset to tackle challenges that are not just limited to what was discussed in a standard classroom.
In short, the Toddler Montessori curriculum approach is beneficial in that it implements its own methods as well as integrates the best aspects of the conventional kindergarten curriculum.
Now, more parents are realizing the value of imparting to their children the importance and gratification that can be derived from being self-reliant which the Toddler Montessori program prioritizes as much as proper instruction in various subjects and skills.
Conclusion
The Toddler Montessori program has achieved a great reputation over the years for a number of good reasons, and most of them are already outlined here.
As a closing note, children should definitely receive the best education from the outset. Why?
Because research has shown that this period in a child’s life is a period of robust physical and cognitive development. So, to unlock your child’s genius potential, Enrol them in a good Montessori program without further delay.
