Montessori Sensitive Periods
In this essay I am going to cover the sensitive periods and I will link them to the child’s first stage of development. I will also go over each sensitive period in full and give examples of my own experiences for each of them. I will also give explanations as to why it is important for us as adults to support and facilitate the sensitive periods and also what will happen if they are not recognised or supported at the right time. I am then also going to explain how the adults understanding of the sensitive periods and child’s unfolding development impacts his/her preparation for a suitable/favourable environment. There will also be examples of what the adults approach should be to best support the individual sensitive periods of children in his/her care and also what qualities the adult should have in order to fulfil his role. Then we will see how the favourable environment and empathetic adult can facilitate/optimise these various sensitive periods.
So to start off, there are three planes of development or also known as periods of growth being; phase one
– birth to six years which is known as the Absorbent Mind (Montessori, 1966 and 2007a), phase two – six to twelve years known as Childhood and then phase three – twelve to eighteen years which is referred to as
Adolescence. The first phase is basically divided into to two sub stages, the spiritual (Montessori, 1966 and
2007a) and the social embryonic (Montessori, 2007a) stage. “The developing child not only acquires the faculties of man: strength, intelligence, language; but at the same time he adapts the being he is constructing to the conditions of the world about him. . . Adults admire the environment . . . but the child absorbs it” (Montessori, 2007a, p56). The spiritual embryonic (Montessori, 1966 and 2007a) is the first sub stage which is already starts from birth and goes up to the age of three and during this time us as adults cannot directly influence the child, it is
So to start off, there are three planes of development or also known as periods of growth being; phase one
– birth to six years which is known as the Absorbent Mind (Montessori, 1966 and 2007a), phase two – six to twelve years known as Childhood and then phase three – twelve to eighteen years which is referred to as
Adolescence. The first phase is basically divided into to two sub stages, the spiritual (Montessori, 1966 and
2007a) and the social embryonic (Montessori, 2007a) stage. “The developing child not only acquires the faculties of man: strength, intelligence, language; but at the same time he adapts the being he is constructing to the conditions of the world about him. . . Adults admire the environment . . . but the child absorbs it” (Montessori, 2007a, p56). The spiritual embryonic (Montessori, 1966 and 2007a) is the first sub stage which is already starts from birth and goes up to the age of three and during this time us as adults cannot directly influence the child, it is