Developing Concentration

"The first essential for the child's development is concentration.  The child who concentrates is immensely happy."  ~ Maria Montessori 

The Button Frame

Concentration is essential to learning and learning cannot happen without concentration.  How does the Montessori Method develop concentration in children?  

Making Patterns - An Extension with the Pink Tower
 and Brown Stair

Numbers 11 - 19

Firstly, their must be interest.  Montessori environments (classrooms) are beautiful, child-centered spaces.  The Montessori materials are attractive to the children and invite repetition.  This repetition leads to concentration.

The Number Rods

Puzzle Map of Asia

Language Work - The Blue Boxes
(reading and writing phonetic words of four letters or greater)

In a Montessori environment, the children are given the time and opportunity to work with the materials.  The uninterrupted three-hour work period provides children with time. 

The Cylinder Blocks

The adults (teacher guides) in the environment are careful not to interrupt and break the children's concentration unless absolutely necessary.  This is vital to the development of deep concentration.

Language Work - The Pink Boxes
(reading words of two and three letters)

Language Work - The Blue Boxes
(reading and interpreting sentences)

Spelling words with the Moveable Alphabet

The Bead Stair (numbers 1 to 10)

The Golden Beads - The Decimal System

The Subtraction Finger Chart
(memorization of subtraction facts)

Whether a child is buttoning buttons, learning multiplication facts, using a dustpan, raking leaves or tracing the Sandpaper Letters, all work is meaningful.  As the child's ability to concentrate improves, so too does their self-control and self-regulation.  Concentration is essential in schooling and in life.

Look Who Likes Montessori!

Last week the following picture of President Obama had the Montessori community buzzing.  



President Obama visiting the College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center in Decatur, Georgia

I shared the picture with the children at our school during circle time.  I began by asking the children if they knew who President Obama is.  Many children said yes.  One of our five year olds needed further clarification.

J:               Excuse me Mrs. P.  Do you mean Barack Obama?

Mrs. P.:     Yes.  President Barack Obama.

J:               Oh I know him.  Barack Obama is the boss of the
                  United States.

The rest of the children seemed to understand this.  Now that we all knew exactly who we were talking about,  I went around the circle showing each child the picture.  I asked them to pay special attention to what President Obama was doing but not to say anything until everyone had had a chance to see the picture.   Their expressions changed as they looked at the picture and saw something they recognized.  Once everyone had seen the picture I asked, "What is President Obama doing?"  They enthusiastically responded in unison "The Pink Tower and the Brown Stair!". 

The Pink Tower and the Brown Stair (also referred to as the Broad Stair) are Montessori materials found in the Sensorial area of the classroom.  The Sensorial materials were designed by Maria Montessori to offer young children concrete experiences in classifying and comparing their environment.  The Sensorial materials isolate particular qualities such as colour, texture, shape, sound and weight.  The Pink Tower and the Brown Stair are two separate activities.  Once the child has mastered the early presentations, the materials can be combined.  The President is working with an extension of these materials.

While President Obama was working with these materials, so were some of the students at our school.

When the President and the children finished their work, their collective joy at a job well done was clearly evident.  

Note:  President Obama and his administration are currently in the process of expanding the USA's Early Childhood Education programs as mentioned in his State of the Union address earlier in February.  Although the actual program and curriculum have not been finalized, it may draw from many different philosophies of education.  In 2010, President Obama nominated Dr. Margaret McLeod to join the National Board of Education.  Dr. McLeod is a former Montessori teacher.  The preschool shown in the pictures does not identify itself as Montessori, yet there are Montessori materials throughout the classroom.  



The Montessori Mafia

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote a blog titled The Montessori Mafia.  The blogger discovered that many of the world's most creative thinkers and innovative entrepreneurs have attended Montessori schools.  Currently two of the world's most innovative companies were created by Montessori alumuni - Google founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.  The blogger asks if there is something in the Montessori approach to education that nurtures creativity and inventiveness that we can all learn from.  It is a very interesting read.


Here is the link:

http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2011/04/05/the-montessori-mafia/

Montessori Education and Higher Level Thinking ~ Some Current Research

Last week, February 21 - 25, marked Montessori Education Week.  To celebrate, The Canadian Council of Montessori Administrators (CCMA), sponsored an evening with Dr. Steven J. Hughes.  Dr. Hughes is an assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.  His research interests include measurement of attention and executive functioning in children and the neurodevelopmental benefits of classical Montessori education.  He is also a Montessori parent.

Dr. Hughes's research has found that Maria Montessori's brain-based approach to education provides an unparalleled foundation for the development of academic, social and executive functions critical for advanced problem solving and lifetime success.  His research has demonstrated how Montessori education parallels what we now know about brain development and fosters the development of advanced cognitive functions, social cognition and such higher-order competencies as empathy and leadership.

Here are some clips of Dr. Hughes discussing Montessori and his research findings.

Is there any current research on the benefits of a Montessori education?

 Dr. Steven Hughes Discusses Montessori - Part 1 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcNvTPX4Q08 

What role will Montessori play in the future of education? 

Dr. Steven Hughes Discusses Montessori - Part 2  

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTwP-UL18sQ&feature=related 

Dr Steven Hughes: Montessori and the Future of Education  

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faYco1b-IJI