Pigeon Plum Families,
How time flies. It’s hard to believe that an entire school year has almost gone by and that summer is just around the corner.
“Whoever touches the life of a child touches the most sensitive point of a whole which has roots in the most distant past and climbs toward the infinite future.” – Dr. Maria Montessori
Working with, and raising toddlers can be so very rewarding and at the same time challenging. Understanding Montessori philosophy, even just a little bit, can help you to better understand and relate to your toddler. Dr. Maria Montessori believed and identified the absorbent mind to be a critical component of the human mind that relates to early learning. The absorbent mind has three components; the unconscious, the subconscious, and the conscious. All of the components of the absorbent mind are developing from the moments the brain is formed until about the age of six.
Have you observed your child being curious? When demonstrating curiosity your toddler is being controlled by their unconscious. The unconscious in the underlying drive that keeps your toddler moving forward. They know cause and effect must exist even if they have not yet identified what effect they can cause in any given situation.
I am sure that we have all in some manner experienced the strong will of a child of any age. Instant gratification of all of their needs is the will of the toddler. Toddlers need their basic needs to be met along with the stimulation of all of their senses. By following their unconscious, toddlers learn subconsciously what worked and what did not work to get their needs met. If undesirable behavior got a toddler what they wanted they will do it again because it worked. Within The Children’s School’s Montessori Toddler Program we strive to model the behaviors that we want to see within our toddlers; those of grace and courtesy.
“The child passes little by little from the unconscious to the conscious, treading always in the paths of joy and love.” – Dr. Maria Montessori
From birth until about the age of three, a conscious will does not truly exist. Until the ages of about three to six years old, a toddler’s mind is absorbing information and reacting in mostly reflexive ways and not purposely. What your toddler absorbs from their environments will make an impression and all of these early interactions form the adult your toddler will become.
“To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely. A child is passing through a period of self-realization, and it is enough to open up the door for him.” Dr. Maria Montessori
I am most grateful to have worked with and watched each one of your toddlers to learn, grow and blossom throughout the school year. Ms. Šárka and I would like to wish you all a safe and fun-filled summer vacation.
Happy Summer,
Ms. Dori and Ms. Šárka
