CULTURE (3 To 6 YEARS ONWARDS)
INTRODUCTION TO ART WORK
The culture subjects are also a big help in the emotional development of the child.Drawing, another kind of artwork, helps the child to express his inner feelings and ideas.Drawing and writing are both means of communication. In fact, they begin alike and are nothing but scribbling of 'contours and tones. The primítive people communicated through pictorial at ore rock carving etc. Later they were able to transform the pictorial art into graphic symbols and thus writing came into being,Dr. Montessori says that, "Prepare the child for drawing and later let him do it himself Whatever the child feels, sees and imagines, he puts it down on paper by drawing it.The indirect preparation requires two things:
1)MECHANICAL PREPARATION / MECHANICAL TECHNIQUE
This refers to the use of hands, the instruments through which the art isperfomed i.e. the hands, and eyes should be prepared.
2)FREEDOM OF SPIRIT
"This refers to the freedom of self-expressions. The child must be encouraged to produce things with his feelings for the inner satisfaction of his expression.
Dr. Montessori said.
. "To confer the gift of drawing or painting we must create an eye that sees a hand that obeys the soul that took the whole life, must Co-operate." In the Montessori environment, the development of all these i.e. hands, eyes and soul must be taken car of first. The movements of the hands are coordinated through E.P.L. Sensorial exercises make the child conscious of forms, colours, shapes and sizes. We must prepare the hand to write and to hold the instrument of writing with care. Then all the preparation is given at the right time, it is seen that art and drawing comes naturally to the child. According to Dr. Montessori the metal insets are the starting point both for writing and drawing. Like Dr.Montessori, we should also realize the importance of the hand as an instrument of intelligence and by all means, help in developing it.
Initially the child makes a drawing which is not clear but gradually it does take some time and he realizes that there is an idea to be put down on paper and thus, he begins to express himself. First the child expresses himself through speech, then through artwork and finally through writing. At about Six years the child looses interest in drawing. Children at adolescence age have great interest for art compared other creative work. Their talent should be properly guided at this stage.
The child is introduced to artwork through the E.P.L exercises, especially when he learns to wash, brushes, wipe palms etc.The sensorial material does not only have forms and colours to train the eyes but also to make him conscious of proportion and likeness of touch! "The child also finds material for artwork by dealing with other cultural subjects like Botany,Zoology, Geography etc. Certain things should be kept in mind regarding the art work in the Montessori environment. Material used should be of good quality.
INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC
According to Dr. Montessori, when the child is of tender age music can only have a beginning and its development comes later. For the development of musical art the child needs to be surrounded with music environment and this is very difficult for every Montessori. lt means the availability of a good musical performer as well as the provision of simple musical instruments. In a good Montessori school musical education is taken quite seriously.Music can be defined as
"The art of combination of sounds which is pleasant to the ears and satisfying to the spirit."
The child should be allowed to participate in music because it is a form of work that is immensely enjoyed by the child. The basic idea of providing music in a Montessori environment is to train the hearing ability of the child. This is done through the sensorial material i.e. sound boxes and musical bells both develop the musical sense of the child. It has great importance in the musical field.The exercise of walking on the line helps in the acquisition of controlled movement, both of feet and hands. It is during this slow and sustained waking, that music is introduced as a guide to the feet. After the child has attained balance,then education in rhythm must be given. The rhythmic march should be distinguished, as they tend to establish pertect balance.The gymnastic exercise requires the lines traced on the floor to guide the feet in certain way. Therefore in these exercises a soft, soothing and uniform music is a must, since it helps in performing the exercise with perfection.
When rhythmic exercises are started, the feet and the line only help the children walk, run and skip.The children may be given musical phrases of easy interpretation which they repeat in order to develop sensitivity to music. Some children between three to six years are seen interpreting rhythm simply by repeating the phrases several times.
The definition of sound by rhythm, melody and harmony are as follows:-
SOUND-All sounds are produced by the vibration of ear-drum.
The types of sounds are :
NOISE-Such as hanging, thumping, clapping etc.
MUSICAL SOUND-There are difficult to define but it can have two characteristics
PITCH- High or low, which is determned by the noise of vibrations produced.
POWER- The volume of loüdness or softness determined by the length of vibrations, which is esthetically present in the quality of sound.
RHYTHM: This term cannot be easily defined. It is a sense of tune, something repeated at certain internals of time. It must be feed physically by an intelligent ear.
MELODY-This can be defined as a succession sound arranged in an effective form, which is pleasant to the ear.
INTRODUCTION TO RELIGION
The place or religion is very controversial mainly because of us treat religion as a dividing force. In reality religion is meant to be a unifying unit, a binding force religion is defined as a system of faith and worship. The basic principles of ethical teachings of all religions are more or less the same.
Till the beginning of the century religious education was a part of all the school curriculums. In Pakistan this is still happening, but in many Western countries a great change has taken place. In very old educational institutions, religion was restored by bringing the children early under the influence of religious schools. In the West, almost every school had a chapel or church in their premises. Today the government schools in the West do not have religious education and their curriculum because their educational schools are open to the people of all religious beliefs.
Dr.Montessori believes that religion should be not considered as side education in the school. It should rather be recognized as a part of life. It should not be merely a collection of belief and observations but it should try to install in the life of the child that the religion is not merely to answer certain questions as a matter of history but deeper knowledge about life is given which helps us to understand God.
Religion means a great subject which should be treated with great respect.Unless the adult does not have the right concept of religion,the child cannot understand the true meaning of religion.
In the Montessori environment,religion should be presented in such a way that it is related to life. We should not impose religion on the child as it will restrict his development. It should be presented in a way that will guide and help the child in future life.
Religion is a universal force that is in the heart of every individual human being. There is a natural tendency in every individual to have an insainate of the word religion. It is something which is fundamental to the human soul and should not be lost as such. Religion is not something which is given externally to the child. It should be developed in the child.The teachings of the religion should be in accordance with different periods of development through which the child passes.With every young child,up to two and a half years,the approach should be very simple,easy and straight forward. Later on in his life, moral aspect of religion could be introduced.
For zero to three years, the child is in his unconscious absorbent mind period and is guided by home. During this time, the child absorbs the religion as it exists in his environment. The suggestion for parents who want their children to be religious minded, is that they should display religion in their home environment. He should watch his adults/parents offering prayers and should be taken into religious places.
Then comes the conscious absorbent mind. That is three to six years. Now the child's movements are meaningful and coordinated,therefore he should be allowed to participate in religious activity. The basic foundation of religion is being laid to at this stage on which the future structure would be built later on.
The environment should be rich meaningful creative and various things required for prayers must be kept. The child should learn everything in general but in a concrete way. Both at home and school, a small place can be provided for children to offer their prayers.They should be allowed and taught to clean and look after this place so that they may realize that this place is a sacred place. This will further enhance self respect and love towards religion.
INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE
The importance of cultural subjects is Montessori system is great as the preserver of the culture. The production of culture is the work of man, while it's preservation is the mission of child. The child absorbs and preserves everything in his mind that he comes across.
Dr.Montessori said ,
"If you find a treasure (knowledge) place it at the feet of the child that he may preserve".
The preservation of culture depends on how far the child understands it".
Science is the key of every civilization, therefore in the Montessori school it is introduced to the children at a very early stage, three years onwards, when a child is in a state of constant absorption.The child is continuously absorbing the present purely scientific world. He notices the things that develop around him in his daily life, both at home and in the prepared environment, example he sees that by pressing the switch the bulb is lightened, the fan starts working it's working etc. When he comes to Montessori school that is 3 to 6 years, he is indirectly prepared for scientific work, this is because at this age knowledge cannot be directly given to him. He is not given explanation but a chance to experience due to which the impression becomes permanent in his mind.
Science is a study of systematic facts. The main characteristic of science includes effective and systematic approach. In the Montessori school the child is given a very basic idea of different science such as Botany,Zoology,Geography etc. All these serve as a foundation upon which the later studies depend. Montessori's aim is to give the key of every subject to the child.
"Those people are illiterate who do not have a scientific culture" in order to give the child some elementary concept of science carry on with simple scientific experiment relating to water, sand,magnet,electricity,machines and atmosphere (can be shown in the environment).
INTRODUCTION TO ZOOLOGY
Zoology is the science that deals with the structural habitat and the life of animal kingdom.This study of science provides us with information about the animals in respect of their class, habits, food, living style,breed etc. The studies involve how the animals were evolved. We also come to know about the distribution of animals in different places and of their usefulness to man.
The animals have been classified into 5 main
classes.
1. Mammals
These are the warm blooded animals feeding their young ones. Most mammals do not lay eggs, with the exception of ant eaters and platypus that lay eggs but also has milk for its young. These are the only 2 kinds of monotremes found in Australia.They are usually hairy. Their brain is more complex compared to other animals.Common examples of this class are whale, bat, dugong,opossum,kangaroo,gibbon (also fur coated animals and rodents example rabbits and moles).
2. Fish
These are a spindle shape for free movements in water, they are known as aquatic creatures. They breed with the help of their gills. Some of the fishes are shark, cord, goldfish, starfish, jellyfish,eel etc.
3. Reptiles
These are cold blooded animals.Their movements consist of creeping and crawling example: lizards, snakes,crocodiles.
4. Amphibians
This class consists of animals which can live both on land and water. They occupy intermediate position between the fish and reptile example: frog,toad, newt and salamanders.
5. Birds
They are feathery animals with two wings and two legs. They lay eggs.Their bones are hollow which help them in flight. They have a beak for taking their food and to feed their young ones,except for a very few, all birds are able to fly.There are many ways to make the child aware of the importance of animals.One of the best ways is to allow them to keep pets.
INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY
We all know that culture plays an important role in own life and that the subjects are inter related, therefore no subject can be taken individually. History too can not be studied without knowing something about other related subjects example geography, religion and vice versa. In case of history we should keep in mind that our duty is to make the child aware of the importance of all the cultural subjects in general and history in particular rather than teaching them as definite subjects. It is commonly misunderstood that the child when more interested in fantasy than in reality the fact is that the horrifying glossary stories brightens and confuses the child while on the contrary he understands more if presented real things, this observation is due to his interest for real and concrete things rather than fantasy, the first thing to be considered while presenting any cultural subject to the child of three to six years is to begin with the concrete for this model maps charts, pictures etc can be used. This helps him to understand these subjects better as he brings to his realization that history in fact is the story of men or human race to which himself belong.It is the story of what has happened in the past to our nation or people. Make him realize that the man himself has the power to transform the world as he has done over the years.
He should be made aware as to how the man progressed. Show him the picture of the modern man and the primitive man. By comparing primitive and modern man the child will realize how the families and tribes were formed which today have taken taken the form of a nation. He should be told that all these developments have been achieved after a lot of struggle and painful events suffered by a man over the years.This eventually leads to the fact that we belong to brotherhood of man, and no matter how far back we go and how we differ from each other we still form a part of human race. Thus one concept of paternity that is brotherhood, given at three to six years helps the child to become a true human being above everything else. It is we who can make the child to love or hate the people or culture. Dr. Montessori firmly believes that the child should be made to feel that in general he is a citizen of the world free to go anywhere he likes.
Since three to six years is also the sensitive period of acquisition of culture,therefore the child learns history like other cultural subjects with ease and joy.
INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHY
Geography is the study of distribution and inter relation of phenomena connected with Earth's surface. Cultural subjects help the child in his adaptation to the world as well as form the basic structure of his future.
Dr. Montessori always believed in giving the indirect preparation to the child through E.P.L, SENSORIAL etc.
Language
In the enrichment of vocabulary the child is given nomenclature and classified cards. Huge display of charts, maps etc help him in absorbing a lot. The exercises of word study and classified reading also comprises of geographical terms and definitions,stories,poems of different countries that makes him think not only about their fact their history but geography as well. In group lessons and activity he learns about days, months and seasons of the year.
E.P.L
This subject also prepares the child for geography example the exercise of walking on the line. When the child has to hold a flag and this flag arouses his interest to know more about the corresponding countries example customs, climates and profession etc.
Sensorial
The child builds the basic concept of geography through his senses for which special material is designed.
Following are the ways of presenting geography sensorially:-
1- Models This consists of clay models of Island, Lake, Bay , Peninsula etc,which lay the concept. The soil or land is Brown and rough while the water is blue and smooth. While working with these models the child unconsciously learns geography through visual and tactile sense.
2- Globe study
Two models of globe are kept for studying. First of all we give him the globe which is only Brown and blue in color as it follows the idea of presenting the whole concrete first. While working with the globe the child feels the difference between the land and water and realizes that the land area is much less than the water , he also knows about its shape. After studying the whole globe he is given another globe with colorful continents ,to study the part of the world. While turning spinning the globe the child may also ask why it goes around rotation .At this stage tell him that it's rotates to cause day-and-night and moves around the sun causing change of season. Thus after studying the universe as a unit, he is gradually brought to continents then countries,cities and finally the particular place he lives in.
3- Puzzle map
The Puzzle map or guides of the world permit the kid to genuinely see, hold, and follow areas of the world to recognize every mainland, nation, and express that is addressed in the riddles.
