Fatima with the children
In her writings below, Fatima is writing to a teacher who may be new to Montessori education. She gives clear and concise instructions on how to approach and work with children in a joyful way that is very different from the controlling style so common in conventional classrooms. We can feel Fatima’s love and respect for children in her words, as she describes different stages in the work:
How to introduce a new child to a completely unfamiliar environment, the Montessori preschool
When a child joins the kindergarten and goes to a completely new environment and suddenly encounters new students, none of whom he has seen or known before, and teachers about whom she has no information, the child naturally becomes excited and a kind of fear and terror appears in her. She cries because of the separation from her parents, and screams so much that she does not even listen to anyone’s words.
So before the child cries, the teacher should use the following skills with the child:
The teacher should make friends with the child from the very first minute while the child is still with his family, talk to the child with laughter and sweet words, make funny jokes and adopt a friendly attitude with the child so that the child thinks that this person is my friend and begins to trust.
And tell the child, “Now give me your hand so I can introduce you to new friends. They have also become friends with me, like you. At the beginning, we learn the names of our friends. In this class, we work with all these beautiful and colorful materials. After a few hours, we all return to our homes. We tell our parents about the activities we learned here. We get to know the materials in the class, each of which has its own place and must always be left in its place after working.”
Funny jokes or children’s stories should be told to the child so that the child completely trusts the teacher and should be enthusiastic and interested in kindergarten every day.
The importance of the teacher’s mood
“Catch a good mood!”
What more can a good mood do? We ask teachers to be good-natured, patient, and tolerant with children, so that the child can spend the first days of his life well and happily and start his life’s journey from here. As the elders have also said:
“If the first brick is laid by a crooked architect, as long as the sun rises, the wall will be built crooked!”
Kindergarten teachers are the founders, so they should try hard to start the foundation of children’s education based on friendship, patience, tolerance, intimacy, camaraderie, love and affection.
The importance of real work
We can also say that the Montessori method has gained great popularity with its practical life materials or practical life skills for children. By teaching them real practical life skills, these activities in the first days make the child interested in learning and make the child curious. The child’s learning ability expands and he learns with great interest.
