Sensitive Periods and Explain How the Teacher’s Knowledge and Understanding of These Periods Determines Her Preparation and Custodianship of the Prepared Environment

Philosophy assignment

A child‘s different inner sensibilities enable him to choose from his complex environment what is suitable and necessary for his growth. They make the child sensitive to something’s but leave him indifferent to others. When a particular sensitiveness is aroused in a child it is like a light that shines on some objects but not others, making of them his whole world

The secret of childhood p.42 chapter 7

Define the term sensitive periods and explain how the teacher’s knowledge and understanding of these periods determines her preparation and custodianship of the prepared environment

Montessori believed that each child is unique, a cognitive plan in each child determined the unique emotional and mental skills that developed in sensitive periods. Therefore a sensitive period can be defined as blocks of times in the child’s life when he is absorbed with one characteristic of his environment to the exclusion of all others. It can be long, short, some overlap or run parallel.

Sensitive period is a specific limited time when the child shows a strong attraction to a particular activity. The activity helped the child in his physical, mental and emotional development. The child is drawn to particular activity only for a certain length of time, when the skill has been acquired this attraction disappears.

Sensitive periods are spans of time in a child's life when they are absorbedwith one particular characteristic of their environment . Accordingto Montessori, during a sensitive period it is very easy for the child to acquirecertain abilities, such as language, discrimination of sensory stimuli and mentalmodelling of the environment.

According to Montessori Theory, the most important sensitive periods occur between birth and age six. In other pedagogies, sensitive periods are commonly referred to as windows of opportunity or developmental milestones. During their first six years of life, children move through five main categories of sensitive periods, including: order, language, sensory skills, movement, and social skills. Each sensitive period lasts for as long as it is necessary for a child to complete a particular stage in their development. These periods of special sensitivity are only temporary and fade once the aim is accomplished.

Montessori found that the sensitive periods are high important and conducted further research through observation to understand and assist the development of a child. Therefore she identified six different sensitive periods that occur from birth through the age of six,they are not consecutive, some overlap and some are continuous. She found that a child has inborn force to acquire areas of special interest that develops into the acquisition of specific skills.

Each sensitive period is a "transient disposition and is limited to the acquisition of a particular trait" Once such a trait or characteristic has been achieved, the sensibility disappears due to the fact that the development of the brain has progressed past the point at which specific information is absorbed. These transient periods only occur in childhood up to approximately the age of 6. (Montessori, 1966, p.38).

Order is the first sensitive period to appear and may be noticed even in the first few months of life till age 2 years. There is a need for an a specific information is absorbed. These transient periods only occur in childhood up to approximately the age of 6. (Montessori, 1966, p.38).

Order is the first sensitive period to appear and may be noticed even in the first few months of life till age 2 years. There is a need for an accurate, determined environment and a positive demonstration of it. Doubtless it will reflect on the joy of child at seeing things in their proper places. As in the Montessori classroom everything has it place and reachable to the child it. The presence of this sensitive period however, is even more evident when the order is somehow interfered with. For example, Montessori describes the agitation of a 6 month old when an umbrella was placed unusually on a table. It was only with the removal of the object that child became calm.

Montessori stated that "object out of place had violently upset the little girl pattern of memory as to how objects should be arranged"

(Montessori, 1966, p.50).

Montessori point out one wonderful example of order that one time Montessori was in Naples, there was a child of about one and a half years old with her mother, and the child becomes upset ,because her mother did not wear her coat but she hung it on her arm, this thing disturbed her sense of order,