The Reggio Emilia Approach

Why choose High House?

Montessori and her values

Montessori       

HighhouseNursery@btconnect.com

The Montessori ethos has always been an important part of our work with Nursery school children. Her ideas on self discipline and self motivation have a great deal to offer in today's world.

Practical Life activities, so sensible! these are the activities that we, as parents, so often expect our child to just "Know"and of course they don't!! they need to practice, to "work at it"!! Simple expectations, the phrase "Let's tidy up", how? how do we put the books back? how do we tidy a puzzle tray?, these are everyday things that we learn through life, Montessori believed that children of Nursery age could learn life skills through everyday activities and enjoy them!

These activities include, pouring from jugs, balancing a tray, spooning items from one place to another, learning to deal with buttons, zips, clothes, shoes, screws on jars, keys, so many everyday activities, so practical for today's world, yet conceived over a century ago! The practical life materials are the most important

pieces of apparatus in the classroom environment. They meet the child's need for movement and help the child to focus his mind on what his body is doing.

 Dr. Montessori was born in 1870. Having decided on a medical career and having mastered the natural sciences, she obtained at the University of Rome an M.D. at the age of 26 years, distinguishing herself by securing a double honours degree as a Doctor of Medicine and a Doctor of Surgery. This was in 1896, Dr. Montessori being the first woman in Italy, and probably one of the few women in Europe at that time to become a Doctor in the Faculty of Medicine. This was sound scientific equipment for future achievements.
 

From 1896 to 1911, for nearly 15 years, Dr. Montessori practiced medicine and held the Professorial Chair for Hygiene and Anthropology. In 1898, in the course of her professional contact with children, she became interested in education and in 1907 she opened the first institution for children below 6 years which was called House of Children and which became her Educational Laboratory. A period of intense study of childhood and marvellous practical results followed.
In 1909, her historical volume, called English The Montessori Method, was published and was translated and read in most of the countries of the world. 1913 was a memorable year as it was then that she gave her first International Course of Lectures and visited the United States. In 1916 appeared another epoch-making book by Dr. Montessori called by its English publisher The Advanced Montessori Method.
 

Certain activities in this area focus on the coordination of self, on the development of poise and balance and the coordination of body parts.

Other exercises have as their main concern the care of self.

Still other exercises centre upon the care of the environment.

Finally, there are exercises in social behaviour, exercises which help the child to learn how to relate to his peers and to adults. Activities in this area parallel activities which the child is experiencing in the home. The child learns how to dress himself, pour liquids, polish shoes, say "please" and "thank you", and other practical activities of daily living.

As the child acquires skill in the practical life exercises he is able to immediately apply his knowledge to his home environment. Further, this acquisition of basic skills and abilities helps the child to become independent, able to cope with day-to-day situations and more self-confident. In brief, this acquisition contributes to the child developing a positive self-image. The exercises of practical life are indeed vital to the growth of the child and lay the foundation for other learning experiences.

In 1919 she visited England inaugurating an International Training Course in London. Her work spread into every country in Europe, was taken up by the Dominions and was welcomed in India and South America. As a consequence the Association Montessori Internationale (A.M.I.) was founded in 1929 at Elsinore with the aim which was stated as follows: "Spreading knowledge of how the child, immature and struggling to discover and develop his own powers, may be assisted in his task of self-realisation and of reaching his full perfection of growth."

Learning to be independent, learning to share