Montessori ch 16

Maria Montessori Her Life and Work by E. Mortimer Standing
Chapter 16 - The Prepared Environment

Children have absorbent minds to soak in knowledge from birth to six years, so there's no reason to put off learning to read and write, as long as it's done in the context of a prepared environment. Adults see all the progress that a child makes and then conclude that he's finally ready to be educated at age seven. But, in a prepared environment, the child's absorbent mind can easily absorb reading and writing at age five or six. A prepared environment is especially necessary in these days when children don't have gardens to grow up in and their homes are set up for adults. In a prepared environment, children can reach everything and help themselves. Everything is safe - no bees to sting, no rocks to fall on.

Besides child-sized furniture, a Montessori prepared environment needs things to practice life skills (like brooms), sensory materials (like color boards), cultural lesson materials (timelines, math manipulatives) and whatever is necessary for religious development (I have no clue what that would include!) A child's need for order means that everything should have a place and things should be where the child expects them to be. Children like this environment so much that they naturally maintain it, even cleaning up their own messes. The cultural lesson materials are used more with older students. The teacher is available and accessible to help when needed. She is 'the dynamic link' between the child and the prepared environment. Without her, the environment is wasted. An ideal Montessori classroom has 30-40 children. They'll naturally cluster in small groups and work together and learn from each other.

When the child has developed beyond his need to coccoon himself in the limited environment, he'll naturally want to broaden his horizons, but he'll still have some need for the prepared environment.

There's a list of 14 things the teacher is responsible for:
1 keep the area tidy and clean
2 add touches of beauty
3 show how to use the materials
4 connect the child to the environment, then move out of the way
5 watch to see who needs help
6 come when called
7 listen and respond to children
8 don't interrupt working children
9 don't correct a child making a mistake
10 let children rest if they want
11 continue offering materials
12 be a loving but inobtrusive presence
13 be accessible but not in the way
14 be invisible to children offering work to God (?)

Read the next part of this series, or start at the beginning.
CM's Letter to the Editor regarding Montessori