Concentration Development in the Young Child
至樂國際蒙台梭利兒童之家
為來自世界各國的1歲半至6歲的孩子提供一流的教學環境和純正的蒙台梭利教學課程
共 育
Concentration Development in the Young Child
幼兒的專註力發展
Author: Charlene Lilly
Building a sense of concentration and lengthened attention is often one of the key goals parents seek children to obtain when enrolling into a Montessori classroom. There is good reason for this, of course. Children who graduate from a Montessori program often recognize within themselves a heightened sense of focus and attention when it comes to engaging with learning activities. A developed sense of concentration is one of the core qualities that is most well promoted and supported by teachers in the Montessori classroom.
Young children who first enter our class are all alike; So often theyjump from work to work, trying everything out once or twice before quickly tiring of the environment. It is our goal as Montessori teachers to aid them, then,in developing for themselves a stronger interest in the work presented-- and as a result helping them to grow the ability to concentrate on the activities and goals built into the work at hand. There are several reasons why the Montessori classroom may be the most well suited learning environment for the development of these characteristics:
Environment
The Montessori environment is developed witha sense of aesthetic beauty and the interest of the child in mind. Each of our materials are handpicked according to the needs and interests of students in our classroom. For this reason, children are far more likely to not only independently take work out, but repeatedly work with the materials time and time again. Moreover, because children are welcomed to choose their own work, they are far more likely to engage on a much deeper level with the ideas and activities presented within the materials.
3-Hour Working Period
Each day, children are provided a2 – 3 hour working period. Within this period of time, they move between independent work, small group lessons and even large group lessons with the whole class. This is a period of time when children are relatively uninterrupted by adults; Their learning is respected by teachers, who are nearby to assist if the child asks for their guidance. The lack of interruptions allows child to reach a much deeper level of concentration.
Sensorial Materials, Sensorial Experiences
When children work in the Montessori classroom, we strive toencourage full sensorial experiences with the materials. In learning about flowers, children are asked to smell them, touch them, look at them, recording all of the fine details in their mind. In asking children to draw their focus to the finer details, they learn to slow down, and really engage with the learning in front of them. The wonderful byproduct of this, of course, is a slow move towards more refined concentration in the learning they do.
The development of attention in young children is an important characteristic we aim to support in the Montessori classroom. Beyond just being able to sit for longer periods of time, strengthened concentration skills also can lead to:
·A deeper loveof learning found within the child
· A deeper understanding of the child sown interests and abilities
· A development ofself-regulation and self-control
·A heightened sense of perseverancewhen it comes to challenging tasks
So how can parents in the home environment work together with teachers in the Montessori classroom to support the burgeoning emergence of a child』s attention? Here are five important tips we often give to new parents:
1. Provide Work Suitable for the Age of the Child
Children are most likely toget up and run awayfrom work presented to them when it is too challenging, too abstract, or too boring. If you want your child to focus on the task at hand, you have to incorporate theirinterestsinto the work. Does your child like dinosaurs? Have them practice counting skills from 1-10 with model dinosaurs. Find out what they are interested and use this to encourage their engagement with learning tasks. Most importantly, observe your child and understand where their abilities really lie. If you』re presenting your child addition before they can count to 20, you』re moving too fast.Take learning step by step and provide suitable workaccording to the actual abilities of your child.
2. Stop Interrupting
One of the best things you can do for your child is tostop interrupting.Parents often want to help their children with challenges they face, but in interrupting them to assist we in fact are preventing them from developing for themselves a sense of concentration. In the Montessori classroom, teachers practice a10 second rule, wherein we must wait at least 10 seconds before stepping in to help. Most often, children are able to find help for themselves either through independent problem-solving or asking classmates for help. So stop first, wait and observe. In limiting yourself you are providing your child the right environment to develop a better sense of concentration.
3.Provide Longer Blocks of Free Play
A lot of the work we want to do with children is structured, with pictures and workbooks telling them just how we want them to complete it. Whatever happened to free play? When children are given longer stretches of time to explore (such as the Montessori 3-hour working period), they are more likely to engage on a deeper level of learning. Provide your child time to play outside in the nature, or to play with open-ended materials like blocks and Legos. In doing so, you can give to your childthe space and timeto explore in a way that supports the development of concentration.
4. Limit Screen Time
Television, computer games and Iphone apps are the nemesis of concentration. These days, shows and games move ultra fast, with rapid images and quickly paced song rhythms that destroy any sense of attention building. Research shows that when children watch television, there is little to no brain development going on (Jane Healy, Endangered Minds). Limit screen time tohalf an hour at mostper day. If you want to encourage the development of attention, don t use IPad games – use real materials, open-ended, creative, manipulative materials that encourage children to problem-solve and explore with their creativity. These will take their learning far beyond what any cartoon or TV show could ever offer.
5. Allow For Step-by-Step Progress
The development of a child』s concentration does not happen overnight. We must make room forstep-by-step progressin the child s growth. Attention begins from the first months of a child s life, when they focus on the moving shapes of a mobile for 10 minutes at a time. Later, they continue this development, focusing on playing the game of 「Drop the spoon and see how many times Mom will pick up it up」 for 15 minutes. These are important moments we must recognize as part of the process of developing concentration in the young child. When we allow for these experiences, we are in fact supporting their acceptance of repetition in learning, in engaging on a deeper level with learning opportunities, and eventually in focusing in for longer periods of time on the tasks they have at hand.
