Requirements to Be Consider to Start a House of Children

Question 2#
Which are the main requirements to be considered to start a House of Children? How do you implement them?
Answer:
It is not easy to start a house of children. One has to consider so many things before starting it. There are several reasons for why we cannot provide education to the children according to a special system of education. Some of the reasons or the requirements of children are summarized as under:
Problem of restrictions:
The natural urges during childhood are universal and every child experiences them. However the behavioral experiences children undergo during sensitive periods may vary from child to child. The children who are more developed may have better and appropriate experiences as compared to those children which are less developed in the same period.
Homes are designed according to the adult’s needs, so they cannot fulfill the natural urges of children as the children are being restricted and forbidden by elders to meet their natural urges. Children cannot access anything freely and comfortably. The children need to be at a place which should be scientifically designed for their pattern of development and to satisfy their inner urges.
Problem of Complexity and Size:
The furnishing and other fittings are quite bigger in the house as compared to children. There are so many things in the house that attract children and they want to feel touch and explore the use of some objects but they are forbidden because they’ll break things or hurt themselves. This affects the learning and mental capabilities of a child. So it is very necessary to provide a real world according to the size of children which they would be able to explore by themselves and they won’t hear word “NO” many times a day. As Montessori said, “prohibition is prohibition, either sweet or bitter”.
Problem of Lack of Occupation:
Children require some activities all the time and many problems can arise if they are not provided with some suitable occupations. Adults are sometimes so busy that they don’t have proper time to spare for their children. Children get hyper or depressed if they don’t do what they want to do. They will behave normal if they are happy and all their inner needs are being satisfied but they will be deviated minded if they will not get what they want. They can be inclined towards disturbing others, aggressive or will be cause of destroying environment. This is the main reason of problematic child because his inner needs are not satisfied and he’s unhappy. Adults at home usually try to teach children by ordering them or by words which they do not usually practice in real life but they do not realize that by doing so they are oppressing child’s basic urges. Children may also have some complaints with elders and by thwarting and yelling we may become hurdles and torment for child. A good house of children must provide some meaningful activities for children like cooking or gardening etc.
Problem for Superfluous Help:
Usually in houses, mothers provide superfluous help to children and by doing so they become hindrance in the way of their child’s development instead of being helpful. Parents may be unconscious of repressing child continuously by doing his day to day tasks and not letting him doing by himself. The need of the time is not to pamper the child by doing all his tasks instead Montessori motto is “HELP ME DO IT MYSELF”. This is the most important need of child to help child being independent which is necessary for his growth and development which cannot be satisfied at homes since there are many valuables and harmful goods in the adult’s house.
Implementations of the requirements:
Since children start their learning process right after their birth, it is very necessary to provide appropriate environment according to their needs. A good House of Children must acquire all these facilities for children which lack in the normal houses. Where all the activities to interest children are available and an understanding and trained teacher is available to help them do things to which they have natural likings. A Montessori house must be designed to contain all the interesting stuffs of child’s size to explore his real interests. All the requirements of a child to satisfy their inner urges which cannot be fulfilled in house must be fulfilled in a House of Children. To fulfill those requirements the special institute possess following rules.
Activities and Independence:
The child is obliged to be serious about the love of activity with the desire to accomplish the activity. In the house of children, children select their own activities and continue to work with their tasks until they master them and it becomes so easy for them that they can teach it to younger children. This is one way of Montessori educators to know that students have mastered each skill. Another important thing is independence which is vital for growth and development. The child must be provided with things which may help him to do things by himself. In Montessori system, the whole purpose of education is to give the child necessary help, excluding any unnecessary help to develop himself. However it is important to note that freedom too has limits.
Prepared Environment:
Environment is extremely important at any stage of development in a child’s life. Children are always absorbing from their environment and they do not need to be taught in conventional manners. In Montessori house we try to design the environment right according to the needs, interests, abilities and development of children to maximize their learning. The house of children is a place where they live like we do in our own houses. It is a miniature of their house which caters for their natural needs which leads to normalization of children and a stable and flexible personality. With the freedom to select tasks and access to all resources, they learn what they touch and observe. The teacher should design and modify the selection of educational materials available, the physical layout, and the tone of the class to best fit the ever changing needs of children.
Everything is Child Sized:
The furniture (chairs, tables, etc.), equipment like wash basins etc. and supplies that children use are child sized so that they can work all by themselves and all the materials and resources for activities are in low shelves within the reach of children so that they are self-motivated to explore, experiment and reach new level of understandings.
Focus on individuals:
In the house of children, children learn at their own pace and move on to next level when they are ready. The focus of teacher is on each child individually because each child is a unique entity. Each child’s learning progress, growth, understanding, achieving a mastery of particular skill and requirements are different.
Role of the Adult:
The role of teacher in the Montessori class is a guide or facilitator in the class. She helps children exploring the materials and work with them according to their choice. At the right time she demonstrates the use of a material to the children individually. Children learn a lot from their mothers and then from their teachers so the behavior of teachers is very polite, reasonable and helpful towards the children.
Mix Age Group:
Montessori System believes that children learn according to their age and not according to their class or grade. In Montessori system children aging from 3 to 5 years work together without being segregated into division is called ‘Mixed Age Group’. Human life presents a picture of interdependence and house of children is also a miniature world of children in which they learn to depend and help each other which cannot be done with same age group. When the community has mixed age group the older children help young ones. By offering help they become better and stronger while by receiving help the younger children become naturally graceful. The children of different ages get closer to each other and the older children become responsible for younger ones sometimes which results in elimination of envy or jealousy in children. The children also learn to control and strengthen their will as they would have to retain themselves from using the materials of older age group and use only those materials which belong to their age group. They also learn different code of conducts from older children. This happens only in Montessori world.