A Parent’s Guide to Montessori Progression
Sep 04, 2022
Baby steps teach you that you have to start slow and small to progress. Similarly introducing Montessori educational toys to your child requires progression from simple to complex.
From birth through childhood, each little layer of your child’s world is built on the one before and that’s why understanding the planes of development matters for how you choose and sequence Montessori toys.
Montessori observed that children move through four major stages, or “planes” of development: roughly birth to 6, 6 to 12, 12 to 18 and 18 to 24 years. Each stage comes with its own rhythms of growth: intense absorption, consolidation, exploration, identity formation. Progression order helps you understand this sequence and create the right learning environment at home for your child in accordance.
If you introduce Montessori educational toys without a sequence, the child may find the task too hard and lose interest. Therefore, following order is very important to their Montessori learning and development plus it makes play and learn more enjoyable.
When you pair a child’s planes of development with the idea of “progression order” (that toys and activities should move from simple to more complex) you are doing more than just organising play. You are aligning your child’s environment with the natural flow of their development. In essence, you help your child move with ease from one developmental milestone to the next.
Why Is Progression Order Important In Montessori?
Progression order makes play and learn fun. Order of progression prepares your child for learning later in school as it incorporates lots of sequences, order, and progression.
For instance, the Montessori puzzles progress in complexity as the child grows. Each Montessori activity may have an inbuilt progression in it, e.g., Montessori educational toys like the mailbox grow from one shape drop to a multi-shape drop. With the Pink Tower, the child learns to arrange the blocks in order so that the tower stays firm. It teaches repetition, which is a key concept in Montessori learning mathematics and mastery.
Repetitions with Montessori toys help them progress to more challenging puzzles after working with simpler puzzles. The child learns the order and sequence of things with Montessori educational toys. They gain the ability to plan and arrange ideas and thoughts in a progressive order. It makes it easier to recall from memory.
Progression order aids in Montessori learning speaking comprehension and reading. Your child learns letter sounds with Montessori educational toys and can string them into words; thus, they can read and speak. Your child learns to put puzzle cards in a sequence and tell a story about them using Montessori learning techniques.
They also learn to observe and express what they see. They can explain a logical series of events in their life It helps them develop concentration skills with Montessori toys since they learn to reason and conceptualize what they see. This is very key for Montessori learning writing and mathematics in later years.
How do you practice progressive order at home?
Montessori educational toys are essential in Montessori learning. Introducing progressive toys that introduce the child to colors, shapes, and patterns and improve the development of their senses are great for starters. You must introduce one Montessori toy at a time according to the readiness and development stage of your child, so that they can master one skill before they move to the next one.
Let them struggle a bit and make mistakes with Montessori educational toys. Allowing them time and patience for the 'Aha' moment when they figure out the solution with Montessori toys should be your bigger goal. Involving them in practical life activities like turning switches on and off, handing over spoons, bringing their plates to the kitchen, and then building from there are great activities to ensure your child follows the right order.
The natural sequence is a solid foundation for Montessori learning and helps the child to understand and not just memorize using Montessori educational toys.
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