The purpose of Montessori's educational theory is "children-centered" and "children have absolute autonomy and let them decide what to play and learn". According to children's own natural characteristics and growth needs, in a free and happy learning environment, children are trained to actively study and explore, so as to develop children's wisdom, tap children's potential, stimulate children's memory, realize the independence of body, will and thought, and improve their personality, psychology and spirit.
Montessori believes that as soon as a child is born, the sensory organs begin to perceive and absorb the information in the surrounding environment. Early education should pay attention to sensory training, including vision, touch, hearing, taste and smell. Cultivate children's keen senses, train children's discriminating ability and hand-eye coordination ability, and cultivate children's ability to observe, compare and judge. The sensitive period of children's development is mainly the period of order, language, movement, feeling and sensitivity to small things before the age of 3. According to the sensitive period of children's development, discover and create early childhood education. Under the guidance of this theory, Montessori teaching method, Montessori school and Montessori teaching AIDS came into being.
Montessori education focuses on the environment (classrooms and teaching AIDS) and preschool teachers. Montessori's requirements for the environment are: "including products made for children, bright and refreshing rooms, low windows for flowers, small furniture, small desks, beautiful curtains and small cabinets in the room." This small cupboard is easy to open, and it is full of all kinds of things that children can take at will. "The classroom environment provided for children must be true, natural and beautiful, and children can enjoy full freedom here, so as to ensure that children have the opportunity to move freely here. At the same time, according to the different sensitive stages of children's development, we can create various teaching AIDS with specific teaching functions suitable for children's growth, so that children can know their size, height, weight, order and order. These teaching AIDS include five parts: daily life teaching AIDS, perception teaching AIDS, mathematics teaching AIDS, Chinese teaching AIDS and natural humanities (astronomy, geography, humanities, history, science, art, etc.) teaching AIDS. ). The parts are closely linked and inseparable.
In Montessori education, preschool teachers and parents are called "enlighteners", that is, people who inspire and guide children. Different from the teacher's role in traditional education, the instructor does not design learning content for children and teach them what they want to learn, but assists and guides them to be observers, demonstrators and helpers. The children are the masters here. Kindergarten teachers need to prepare the environment for children, ensure that children have opportunities for free activities, and provide suitable and orderly teaching AIDS for children, assist children in their work, guide the operation of teaching AIDS and demonstrate activities.
Montessori calls children's study and play "work" here, and "work" plays a positive role in constructing self and social order. Children gradually improve themselves and improve themselves through work. Children stimulate their interest in learning in this free environment. Teachers should be full of love for children, observe their needs as observers, discover the spontaneous tendency of children's wisdom potential in all aspects in time, capture and induce them in time, and provide corresponding Montessori teaching AIDS and activities opportunities for children according to the sensitive period of their development, so as to strengthen and develop them. If they are ignored, they may lose the chance to appear again. Teachers also appear as promoters, always focusing on children's activities, giving help and guidance, inspiring children to learn spontaneously, rather than instilling knowledge into children by coercion. Children gain various abilities through self-repeated operation of Montessori teaching AIDS. Therefore, in children's free and spontaneous learning, children's potential can be tapped to the greatest extent, thus improving their wisdom. In Montessori classroom, children finish their "work" independently. When there are mistakes in the work, the teacher should not help the children to correct them, but let the children find the mistakes themselves and correct them themselves. Through these repeated training, children can know nature, develop and transform nature, and improve their ability to know and transform themselves.
In Montessori activities, children feel the greatest happiness, because they are the masters here and give them the greatest freedom. Although children are given enough freedom, this freedom is not laissez-faire. They must also observe discipline, learn to obey orders and become a self-disciplined person.
It should be noted here that teachers who carry out Montessori education need to undergo professional training. It is very important to pay attention to whether the children's classroom environment and teaching AIDS (which may be expensive) are qualified, and whether this early education class can correctly implement Montessori's educational thought.