Bringing the Montessori Approach to your Early Years Practice

Barbara Isaacs

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781317572350
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Early Childhood Education

Have you ever wondered what the Montessori approach is all about and how it can be used to benefit the young children in your setting?

This book explains how the Montessori approach works offering guidance on planning and assessment methods alongside practical activities for practitioners to try. Throughout there are practical examples involving children of different ages in a wide range of settings to show how Montessori principles have been implemented. .

This new edition has been fully updated to include:

• The revised areas of learning in the EYFS and how these link to Montessori practice
• An examination of early effective learning
• Approaches to effective learning in Montessori settings
• A new chapter on Montessori approaches to the assessment requirements of the EYFSquestions for reflection

This convenient guide will help early years practitioners, students and parents to really understand what the Montessori approach means to their setting and children.

Appendix 1 How the early learning goals are met at a Montessori nursery

This Appendix makes links between the early learning goals (ELG) and Montessori practice. In this edition the developmental steps outlined in Development Matters (BAECE, 2012) are listed and matched with Montessori activities, recognising the importance of a learning journey a child makes during his/her time in a setting while working towards the early learning goals. Many children achieve these goals at the end of the reception year and are currently assessed at that time using the Early Years Foundation Stage profile (DfE, 2014a) which may become optional from September 2015, as it is replaced by the proposed baseline assessment on entry into Reception class. Whilst not everyone is likely to agree with the developmental steps identified by Development Matters it is important to remember that learning and development in the early years are unique to each child and are not necessarily a uniform process. Therefore, scaffolding children's learning and ensuring that children have time to play, explore and investigate whilst they are developing their critical thinking, as well as personal and social autonomy in a relaxed and calm atmosphere, are important elements of school readiness.

In this appendix the Development Matters guidelines on the expected developmental progression will guide the child in working towards the early learning goal in this area of development. The learning goals to be achieved in each area are set out in individual boxes with each box outlining the learning goal in bold. Whilst the examples of the Montessori Practice are presented in the boxes shaded in light gray.

Prime areas

Communication and language involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skill in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.

Listening and attention

In Development Matters the child of:

16 to 26 months:

listens to and enjoys rhythmic patterns in rhymes and stories

enjoys rhymes and demonstrates listening by trying to join in with actions of vocalisations

rigid attention – and may appear not to hear

22 to 36 months:

listens with interest to the noises adults make when they read stories

recognises and responds to many familiar sounds, e.g. turning to a knock on the door, looking at or going to the door

shows interest in play with sounds, songs and rhymes

single channelled attention, can shift to a different task if attention fully obtained – using child's name helps focus

30 to 50 months:

listens to others one-to-one or in small groups, when conversation interests them

listens to stories with increasing attention and recall

joins in with repeated refrains and anticipates key events and phrases in rhymes and stories

focuses attention – still listens or does, but can shift own attention is able to follow directions if not intently focused on own choice of activity

40 to 60+ months:

maintains attention, concentrates and sits quietly during appropriate activity

two-channelled attention – can listen and do for short span

Early learning goal as described in the EYFS: by the end of the Reception year children should be able to:

• listen attentively in a range of situations
• listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions and actions
• give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity

In the Montessori setting the child:

has daily access to, and enjoys listening to and participating in nursery rhymes, songs and stories and musical instruments

is encouraged to join in and contribute when ready

participates in the silence game which encourages focused listening

participates in two way conversations

is given time to respond appropriately

is encouraged to focus on presentations of new activities

Understanding

In Development Matters the child of:

16 to 26 months:

selects familiar objects by name and will go and find objects when asked, or identifies objects from a group

understands simple sentences, e.g. ‘Throw the ball’

22 to 36 months:

identifies action words by pointing to the right picture, e.g. ‘Who's jumping?’

understands more complex sentences, e.g. ‘Put your toys away and then we'll read a book’

understands, ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ in simple questions e.g. Who's that? What's that? Where is?

developing understanding of simple concepts, e.g. big/little

30 to 50 months:

understands use of objects, e.g. What do we use to cut things?

shows understanding of prepositions such as ‘under’, ‘on top’, ‘behind’ by

carrying out an action or selecting correct picture

responds to simple instructions, e.g. to get or put away an object

beginning to understand ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions

40 to 60+ months:

responds to instructions involving a two-part sequence

understands humour, e.g. nonsense rhymes, jokes

able to follow a story without pictures or props

listens and responds to ideas expressed by others in conversation or discussion

Early learning goal as described in the EYFS: by the end of the Reception year children should be able to:

• follow instructions involving several ideas or actions
• answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories and events

In the Montessori setting the child:

is given opportunities to demonstrate their understanding by following short conversations and non-verbal interactions

listens to instructions from adults and peers which gradually become a routine as the child matures and settles into the rhythm of daily life

responds to questions from adults and friends

is able to follow complex instructions and respond to them appropriately as the child becomes more experienced and settled in daily routines

Speaking

In Development Matters the child of:

16 to 26 months:

copies familiar expressions, e.g. ‘Oh dear’, ‘All gone’

beginning to put two words together, e.g. ‘want ball’, ‘more juice’

use different types of everyday words including nouns, verbs and adjectives, e.g. banana, go, sleep, hot

beginning to ask simple questions

beginning to talk about people and things that are not ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table Of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Appendix 1 How the early learning goals are met at a Montessori nursery
• Appendix 2 The Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements (DfE, 2012)
• Appendix 3 Comparing the EYFS Statutory Frameworks: 2014 with 2012
• Appendix 4 Montessori activities and materials
• Bibliography
• Index