Essay On Child Development By Maria Montessori

During the first stage of life, early childhood- from birth to age six, one can see children developing themselves and absorbing their environment through their hands. This is clear in the three to six year old age group, as children of this age need kinesthetic activities in order to master the concepts. Maria Montessori has a great philosophy on how important it is to study the development of the child through movement and the development their intelligence as it is directly connected to the development of their hands. The ability to manipulate material with the hands is the number one factor in developing the young child’s intelligence. While young children typically develop their feet in the same fashion as others their age, the hands

As I mentioned in the above paragraph, for ages people have walked using their feet in a similar, if not same manner. The hands tell another story entirely. In fact, the hands tell many different stories and we see this display in the unique work left behind when one dies. Just as everyone has a unique fingerprint, people develop through the work of their hands, into unique individuals. This work of the hands toward increasing intelligence begins from strengthening hand movement in the womb and is apparent throughout early childhood as we witness children mastering skills necessary to grow in their environment. It is beneficial at all ages to combine movement with learning, but it is essential for the 3-6 year old

Montessori’s scientific approach to educating a child and helping them reach their full potential was ground-breaking and is to this day a progressive, rewarding way to develop the whole child. “The secret of good teaching is to regard the child’s intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown…Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core.” (Montessori,1989) At the time when Maria Montessori was developing her theories, Darwin had determined that children and people had fixed intelligence that could not be changed even with the right environment. Although Darwin’s theories were well respected and widely acknowledged, Montessori continued to advocate for educational reform. She came across some opposition but was steadfast in her research. It is because of her dedicated work that we can tap into the potential intelligence of all children, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or social