The Montessori Method
The play or “Montessori” method of educating children is based on the concept that children are innately curious and creative. Be it Prince Williams as a student or Beyoncé’s graduate degree, play toys give younglings the key to learn further about the world around them. They only need a bit of push, the right set of alphabets and building blocks to become fully independent learners.
It may come as a surprise, but Jeff Bezos, amongst the many tech giants, and pre-schoolers have something in common and that is: Montessori education. Back in 2018, the e-commerce maestro signed a 1 billione dollar pledge to fund low-income Montessori pre-schools. Becoming aware of this eye-catching donation and some of the most prominent figures acquiring the Montessori pedagogy might have you interested in knowing more about what Montessori play is and the cost of investment to taking this educational approach.
Montessori Toys: Why invest in them?
A Montessori toy should be a toy that could be manipulated helping children to develop their fine motor skills. The play thing should also give them a chance to work independently at their own pace with a touch of creativity and uniqueness. For example, a box of Legos could be considered a versatile Montessori toy. Children learn the art of structure by piecing building blocks together, while being challenged to utilise their wild imagination and create a piece through trial and error.
The Montessori philosophy explores the idea of encouraging children as they learn by touching and playing around with objects. Resultantly, it is vital for you, as parents, to seek toys that will help your child grow both inside and outside the classroom.
What the experts say
One of the most prominent studies conducted by the Naeyc suggests that different toys impact children’s behaviour in different ways. Some playthings have a powerful impact on children’s mind, thought processes and eventually their thinking expression and interaction with peers. Other toys do not. Some of the toys that do look interesting might not contribute well enough for the creative development of children.
That tells you, parents, that you should make decisions about toys as carefully as you do when making decisions regarding any other area of the child’s life. Once the toys have been invested in, the children’s play and its impact can be closely observed.
Much of this can easily happen outside a classroom setting with parents or guardians organising a “Do It Yourself” Montessori space at home as supplement to remote learning. The work in Montessori “at home” learning is centred on the idea of children keeping their heads busy – a welcome break from social media in general – and spurring the untouched creative spark within.
According to Marissa Poole, a Montessori teacher in Denver, if you want your children to be independent and succeed while you take care of work and other responsibilities, you need to have what they want to execute the activities. To help you get started on what to get for your kids as a starting Montessori kit, we have gathered a list of few things that would be best suited for both in and out classroom environment.
1. Montessori Memory Touch Flap
Montessori is all about connecting with memory spans and sharpening them for the future visage build-up. Therefore, buying a memory touch flap as the first plaything for your child is always a good idea to boost careful observation and thinking, analysis and assembling. The toy is educational as well as easy and fun to play with adults and children both. While developing colour, shape and recognition skills, the memory flap builds a child’s identification monitor on sorting compartments and matching similar objects. The material it is made of is environmentally friendly, which is probably the toy’s best feature. It is safe to touch with sustainable wood so you do not have to worry about toxic paint contacts by children during activity time.
The Rainbow Building Blocks come with an arch bridge design, providing children with a myriad of ways to mould and create in a play room. The kit can be used as a basic building construct to develop creativity, stimulate imagination and strengthen intellectuality. Using your hands to form an edifice is known for improving eye-hand coordination and colour shape recognition in younglings between the ages of 2 – 10 years.
Children learn abstract concepts by the age of 12 and move on to developing in-depth reasoning. The building block game, with regards to abstract thinking, cultivates images and the reality of specific things through operational process and visual input. These arched wooden blocks can possibly offer more possibilities than conventional boxes or plants for kids. It has seven different colours like the rainbow, for better mental stimulation.
3. The Three-Dimensional Jigsaw Puzzle
Puzzles are time tested and never go out of style. They are a fun learning toy that encourage fine motor skills and emotion regulation. The 3D jigsaw puzzle can be a thoughtful yet intelligent gift for your child on their birthday or any other special occasion. Alongside being wooden and environmentally friendly, the kit has 180 blocks with different modes.
Your child is challenged to combine various colours and shapes that fit the puzzle, developing their cognitive ability. If you are thinking about this kit being difficult, then it really is not. In fact, the puzzle is moderate and suitable for children of all ages. When kids are finally able to locate different combinations, they are able to form many wonderful connections between them.
In a nutshell...
As your children become older and more active, you can also introduce to them the concept and importance of physical play by using certain toys like the tricycle. This is also a good way of inducing cognitive development. Many other playthings like drawing sets can foster better writing, holding a pen and other fine motor skills. Playing video games and reading a stash of novellas can also help your child develop name recognition and emergent literacy skills. All in all, incorporating play in your child’s day can be both entertaining and beneficial to their growth.