Adults follow children,

Children follow nature,

Children lead us into the future!

Maria Montessori “Only when a child becomes his own master and follows some rules of life, can he control his own behavior, and we think he is a disciplined person! Montessori education follows the child. It is based on the principle of giving children freedom to do their own thing. As a teacher, what do we have to do? Teachers, observe the children's work and reactions. The role of the teacher is a counselor rather than an instructor. We must give children freedom. The freedom here does not mean letting the children do whatever they want, but asking the children to be free. Do the right thing. Freedom and discipline are two sides of the same coin. Freedom in a Montessori environment is freedom of the mind, not freedom of external behavior. Some people think that freedom is complete. No restrictions. Some parents come to Montessori kindergarten and hear that Montessori teaching is relatively free, but they feel that their children are less able to sit still and are not as restricted as traditional teaching. This is a mistake. The concept must first give parents a concept: children must first abide by the rules of the classroom, and only under the rules can they be free. It does not mean that there are no restrictions. Most parents will agree. What does Montessori bring? A new definition of freedom, freedom is the ability of an individual to make wise decisions for himself by listening to the guidance of the "inner teacher" and following the natural laws of human existence. Choice. The ability to choose must be acquired through practice! Montessori said: "From a biological point of view, the concept of freedom in early childhood education must be understood as: their environment must be suitable for the most powerful development of young children's personalities." Regardless of the behavior, teachers must not only allow it, but also observe whether it is good or bad. This is the essence. It is worth noting that the "freedom" here is not wanton. There is a certain range of behavior. Why should children be given freedom? Freedom is a necessary condition for children’s normal development! First, children can only show their true self in a free atmosphere. In this way, we can assist in their development. Second, children have inherent development that follows the laws of nature, and their development path must be free. Freedom is the natural law of life.

In the Montessori classroom environment, Freedom is reflected in two aspects: On the one hand, in the classroom, children are not required to sit in a certain place. They can move freely and choose to work. On the other hand, freedom does not need to rely on others. Every child can do this. Be independent. Teachers should assist to help children gain freedom and liberate children from the constraints that limit their spontaneous expression. How to make children independent in Montessori classrooms when they come to school and put on and take off their own shoes? Clothing, washing hands, eating, choosing work, etc. The teacher in the classroom does not directly help him achieve the results, but teaches him how to do it in the process. What is discipline? Discipline is also a skill. True discipline - not obeying a certain person, but obeying the natural laws of optimal human development. Obey the order established within yourself—self-discipline! Freedom has limits, and this limit is discipline. In Montessori's view, real discipline comes from "work". Well-established work can enable children to develop themselves freely and complete the mission of self-growth. Freedom and discipline are like two sides of a coin, inseparable. Freedom is the ability to choose what is best for your own development. Discipline is the ability to implement that choice, even if it means temporary struggle. Montessori used "work" as the medium between the two, harmonizing freedom and discipline. In a Montessori classroom, as long as children do not violate the three major rules: 1. Do not harm themselves; 2. Do not disturb others; 3. Do not damage the environment, they have the right to freely choose their work. As educators, what we have to do It means respecting the independence of children and providing a prepared environment for their growth.

Freedom and discipline are opposite but unified. Freedom is based on discipline, and discipline guarantees freedom. Because they are all based on the same goal: dual sense of mission, creating self and creating harmony! Freedom and discipline are not opposites. The two are very similar processes, both are internal rather than external.

Montessori: New Concepts of Freedom and Discipline

Freedom in the Montessori Classroom

Freedom in the Montessori environment is Freedom with limits is true freedom. Some people think that freedom cannot be restricted, and if there are restrictions, there is no freedom. However, there are traffic signs on the road. Without traffic signs, you are most free. However, when driving on the road, you have to worry about whether a car will collide with you at any time, which seems very unfree. This illustrates the point that such unrestricted freedom is "fake" freedom. In other words, without rules and discipline, it will lead to disorder and disorder. Therefore, we must first abide by the rules before we can have true freedom. Therefore, freedom in a Montessori environment is also freedom of the mind, not freedom of external behavior.

In such an environment, a child is seemingly constrained, but his mind is free. He has the opportunity to choose, to make his own decisions, and to choose for himself. Things are done responsibly, and this environment creates an independent, mature, responsible, and confident child. The rules of an environment are jointly maintained by everyone in the environment. When a new student enters the classroom, the most common thing he will see is that he forgets to lean on his chair, and there will be several voices reminding him at the same time: So-and-so, you forgot to lean on your chair. Such as leaning on chairs, walking slowly, collecting carpets... These routines are already established rules in this group. You don't need to rely solely on the strength of the teacher. Everyone will maintain these rules together, and discipline in the environment will naturally arise.

The Montessori environment is a free and open learning space, and various activities in the classroom are carried out in a life-oriented way. In a well-prepared environment, teachers observe and then guide each child according to their developmental interests, pace and needs, allowing children to explore and learn spontaneously. Children operate teaching aids in the classroom to educate themselves. The teaching aids in each field have the function of self-correction. If a child makes a mistake, he will find the mistake as long as he re-examines the teaching aids. In this way, we don’t need to directly correct the child’s mistakes, and we don’t have to worry about hurting the child’s self-esteem.

In the classroom, children can freely choose not to work independently or with others, and learn to follow the "basic routines" in the classroom. Children will remind each other and even guide younger children to abide by the classroom routines. routine of life. It all looks like an orderly small society.

Montessori classroom routines

Montessori teachers need to know some routine Montessori classroom contents:

Enter the classroom Before sitting down, take off your shoes, change them, and put them in the shoe cabinet. ?

?Putting on and taking off the coat must be in a fixed position. If the coat needs to be placed, it should be folded. ?

?Open and close the door softly. ?

? Say good morning to teachers and classmates and say goodbye. ?

?Walk at a slow pace indoors. ?

?Speak softly indoors. ?

?When talking to someone, you should look at the other person. ?

?Tables and chairs must be lifted with both hands. ?

?Sitting, standing and walking must be correct. ?

?When sitting or leaving a chair, you should first open or put away the chair. ?

?When rolling out the work mat, consider its position relative to other surrounding work mats to facilitate the passage of others.

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?The work on the work mat or table must be neatly arranged. ?

?If you want to join other people's work, you must seek other people's opinions and join after others agree. ?

?At the end of the work, be sure to clean it up properly and put it back in its place. ?

?When eating, when ladling soup and rice, it should not be too full, and fruits should be placed in bowls and plates for consumption. ?

?After meals, the tabletop, chair surface and floor should be cleaned. ?

?Wash your face, brush your teeth, and wash your hands after meals. ?

?After taking a nap, you should fold your quilt and tidy up your appearance. ?

?Keep the restroom clean and tidy when using it, and wash your hands before eating and after using the toilet. ?

?The locker should be cleaned at all times and study items should be placed neatly. ?

?Don’t forget to say: Please, thank you, I’m sorry. ?

?Be orderly and wait patiently when queuing. ?

Note: The establishment of routines is to help children develop a sense of order, concentration, independence and hand-eye coordination from "habits becoming natural". Adults who want to take care of children, *** also Assist children in completing specifications.

Discipline in the Montessori classroom

Discipline in the Montessori classroom is based on freedom.

In the book "The Discovery of the Child", Montessori mentioned that "Discipline arises indirectly and in the simultaneous development of activities at work. Each person must rely on his own efforts, through calmness and Calm movements guide the inner fire to survive and find out how to control yourself instead of relying on external forces. "Therefore, if adults use a domineering attitude to control and suppress children, they cannot help children establish discipline. . There will be no learning without norms, and freedom definitely needs to be learned. It does not mean letting children do whatever they want, but needs to be checked and balanced by discipline. The first glimmer of freedom comes from work, because work cannot be forced on children in a forceful way. It must be the child's desire to do it. Therefore, when a child shows an eager interest in work, you can see from his concentrated expression and The signs can be seen in the endurance of repeated exercises. At this time, the child has embarked on the road of discipline. Once a child's working habits are developed, adults must carefully apply the guiding principles. We respect the children's work of their own choice, but sometimes they must intervene and restrict their free choices. Children must be subject to three conditions when working freely. Restrictions:

1. Freedom is based on the basic principle of not endangering the interests and freedom of others, so the same interests should be the principle.

2. You can choose this teaching aid only after you know how to use it.

3. Children can use any teaching aids as long as they are used correctly, because only through the correct use of teaching aids can the specific purpose of helping children grow.

?In Montessori classrooms, we give children full freedom to control their own time and choose work, but everything must be achieved by observing certain disciplines. For example, as soon as working hours enter, light music will sound, and children can talk freely but the sound should not be too loud to affect other people's work; the teaching aid racks in various areas of the classroom are equipped with work suitable for children, and children can Choose the work that you are interested in, but you must carefully put it back in its place after the work is completed; after selecting the work, you must carefully carry the work tray to the appropriate work table or find an empty space and spread the carpet for operation; you can move around in the classroom at will , but you are not allowed to run and affect other people's work; everyone is busy and orderly, and when they are tired from work, they will choose to drink a glass of water, eat fruit, or lie on the window and look at the scenery outside. Read a book in the library area, or watch others working without disturbing them. Here, children are the masters of the classroom. They are free to control their own time. They know how to respect others and how not to affect other people's work. They understand that only by observing good classroom rules can they gain greater freedom.

When a child establishes good habits in the classroom or in life, knows how to respect himself and others, can make the right choices and naturally displays obedience, then the child will have true freedom, which is an inner freedom to do as he wishes. The child will feel safe and normalized in the environment. In addition, children have freedom of movement, freedom of choice, freedom of language and freedom of trust, so that their body, mind and soul can develop and integrate, and their unique personality can be formed. But the definition of freedom is not to do as you please.

Allowing a child to do things he likes but is beyond his control is actually a betrayal of freedom.

In the process of personality development, if we allow children to do whatever they want, we are letting them be at the mercy of temporary desires and impulses, which often harms others, the environment, and even themselves. In fact, freedom in a Montessori environment means self-control, being able to do what you choose, and being responsible for your choices. In order to cultivate discipline in children, we must establish appropriate living standards and behavioral limits from an early age, and enforce them firmly, fairly, and consistently. We must also lead by example and become role models for our children to learn and imitate.

How to grasp the relationship between freedom and discipline

When a child enters a Montessori class, there will inevitably be some confusion at first. This so-called confusion is a complete lack of control. Children who have been suppressed and controlled will show excessive behavior. “There are only three situations that are prohibited in Montessori kindergartens. One is disturbing others, and the other is rough and impolite behavior. This kind of roughness refers to destruction, hitting, swearing and some uncivilized actions. Such as picking your nose. The other is taking other people's things. Only these three behaviors are strictly prohibited. This prohibition is not based on punishment, but on reminding the children. "For example, in our classroom, children are doing things in small squares. Work is done on a small rectangular table. In order not to interfere with each other, we negotiated with the children that only one child can do work on a small square table. The small rectangular table can be used for work at both ends, but it is often the case on two small square tables in the daily area. There are two or three children working on the same table together. It is very crowded. If you are not careful, you will touch the work on the ground and disturb each other. Once I see this phenomenon, I will gently The children walked over, knelt down and asked who used the table first. The children who came later were invited to work on the empty table. For another example, if a child interrupts another child who is concentrating on his work for no reason, the teacher must show great interest in the child and say: "Come, let's do another job." Repeat this reminder several times, and the child will Gradually I came to experience that the teacher would always ask me to leave if I did this, and the concept of not disturbing others was formed. In this process, he will gradually show a certain interest in life. Once he shows this interest, he will focus and work repeatedly. In the process, he will find difficult problems and he will solve them himself. Montessori teaching aids all have self-correcting functions to help him solve problems on his own. Then he will have a sense of success. When he succeeds, he will be able to control "his" behavior. At this time, discipline will be generated in the work process. Therefore, Montessori said: The first glimmer of true discipline comes from work. Why should children be provided with working conditions? Because children need to "work freely" as they grow. Children have been developing their lives continuously and non-stop since the day they were born. Children will never give up this development for a second, so children who are "working" are the most normal children. "Working" can make children return to "normal" ization” track.

At a specific moment when children are very enthusiastic about a certain job, their passion, high concentration of attention, care and endurance, perseverance and persistence, initiative and creative spirit are the full expression of discipline. . It is also when children begin to embark on the path of discipline.

No matter what tasks they undertake, they are equally well disciplined. Work provides teachers with a good opportunity to cultivate children's discipline. At work, children follow the rules from the bottom of their hearts.

Enlightenment and thinking

Freedom and discipline education is one of the shining points in Montessori’s educational thought. Its basic idea is based on children’s freedom and independence. Its connotation is quite different from the discipline thought in ordinary schools. It has great reference significance for early childhood education in my country. We should always remember that inner discipline is learned, not innate. Our task is to point the way towards the formation of this discipline. When children can focus on things that are attractive to them, it shows that they have developed discipline. These attractive objects can not only give them useful practical experience, but also help children control their mistakes. It is precisely because of this practical experience that the children's hearts begin to have an overall consistency, and they also become quiet and happy, reaching a state of selflessness. This ability of a child is amazing. He shows us the great value of the human heart. The Montessori teacher's job is to point out a path to perfection for them, teach them methods, help them eliminate "obstacles", and accompany children's healthy and happy growth