Reflection on reading: Order/Senses and Intelligence
"A very important and mysterious period is the one which makes a child extremely sensitive to order. This sensitiveness appears in the child's first year and continues on through the second." (The Secret of Childhood p.49)
"A child's sensitiveness to order may be noticed even in the first few months of his existence. A positive manifestation of it may be seen in the enthusiasm and joy which children demonstrate at seeing things in their proper places." (The Secret of Childhood p.49)
"...the presence of this sensitive period is perhaps more clearly shown by the obstacles that a child encounters, and it may well be that most childish tantrums are due to this sensibility." (The Secret of Childhood p.50)
"...nature endows a child with a sensitiveness to order. It is a kind of inner sense that distinguishes the relationships between various objects rather than the objects themselves. It thus makes a whole of an environment in which the several parts are mutually dependent. When a person is oriented in such an environment, he can direct his activity to the attainment of specific goals. Such an environment provides the foundation for an integrated life." (The Secret of Childhood p. 55)
Montessori saw that order played a very important part in the lives of young children. She saw that although this sense revealed itself in the first year, children continued to demonstrate sensitivity to it into the second and third year.
"Order consists in recognizing the place for each object in relation to its environment and in remembering where each thing should be. This implies that one is able to orient one's self within one's environment and to dominate it in all its details." (The Secret of Childhood p. 53)
Order in the environment made children feel safe and that they knew how things should be. Something out of place immediately alerted their attention and putting it 'right' pleased an innate need "Order is one of the needs of life which, when it is satisfied, produces a real happiness" (The Secret of Childhood p. 52)
"A child has a twofold sense of order. One of these is external and pertains to his perception of his relations with his environment. The second is internal and makes him aware of the different parts of his own body and their relative positions. This type of sensitiveness could be called 'inner orientation'." (The Secret of Childhood p. 56)
She saw that a child has a 'twofold' sense of order. One is external and related to his perceptions of the environment; the other is internal and related to his own inner muscular orientation. Both needed to be realized for the child to gain mastery over the environment. Great emphasis was made, therefore, on order within the Montessori classroom.
By ensuring that everything had its place, and that the environment was designed to be as accessible as possible for children to work in, they could then be given the maximum freedom to choose their activities.
"A very important and mysterious period is the one which makes a child extremely sensitive to order. This sensitiveness appears in the child's first year and continues on through the second." (The Secret of Childhood p.49)
"A child's sensitiveness to order may be noticed even in the first few months of his existence. A positive manifestation of it may be seen in the enthusiasm and joy which children demonstrate at seeing things in their proper places." (The Secret of Childhood p.49)
"...the presence of this sensitive period is perhaps more clearly shown by the obstacles that a child encounters, and it may well be that most childish tantrums are due to this sensibility." (The Secret of Childhood p.50)
"...nature endows a child with a sensitiveness to order. It is a kind of inner sense that distinguishes the relationships between various objects rather than the objects themselves. It thus makes a whole of an environment in which the several parts are mutually dependent. When a person is oriented in such an environment, he can direct his activity to the attainment of specific goals. Such an environment provides the foundation for an integrated life." (The Secret of Childhood p. 55)
Montessori saw that order played a very important part in the lives of young children. She saw that although this sense revealed itself in the first year, children continued to demonstrate sensitivity to it into the second and third year.
"Order consists in recognizing the place for each object in relation to its environment and in remembering where each thing should be. This implies that one is able to orient one's self within one's environment and to dominate it in all its details." (The Secret of Childhood p. 53)
Order in the environment made children feel safe and that they knew how things should be. Something out of place immediately alerted their attention and putting it 'right' pleased an innate need "Order is one of the needs of life which, when it is satisfied, produces a real happiness" (The Secret of Childhood p. 52)
"A child has a twofold sense of order. One of these is external and pertains to his perception of his relations with his environment. The second is internal and makes him aware of the different parts of his own body and their relative positions. This type of sensitiveness could be called 'inner orientation'." (The Secret of Childhood p. 56)
She saw that a child has a 'twofold' sense of order. One is external and related to his perceptions of the environment; the other is internal and related to his own inner muscular orientation. Both needed to be realized for the child to gain mastery over the environment. Great emphasis was made, therefore, on order within the Montessori classroom.
By ensuring that everything had its place, and that the environment was designed to be as accessible as possible for children to work in, they could then be given the maximum freedom to choose their activities.