“Respect all the reasonable forms of activity in which the child engages and try to understand them”, Dr. Maria Montessori
Ever wondered what a baby staring at his fist or the window for long hours is doing? He is experiencing the world around him and taking in the mass of information he receives. He is actually working towards developing his cognitive abilities.
Activities are not something a child does aimlessly. Every moment of his life from birth, the child is working towards developing himself physically, mentally and spiritually! As parents and Edu-carers, we have to provide an environment rich in experiences to the child such that he develops himself beautifully to his potential.
So, what exactly is the role of activities in a child’s life?
Everything or every activity a child does is developmental. The child gains control and mastery over his movements through every previous movement or action he makes. Nothing a child does is play, each activity is an experience and learning which aids him towards his development.
Around 2 ½ years of age the child needs more specific and structured guidance from us to be able to reach his fullest potential. We have to help the child ‘Learn for Life’ or as Dr. Montessori said , ‘Education is Aid to Life’. We need to Aid the child towards his self-development not only at school but also at home. As parents and Educarers we need to follow a basic ‘Framework’ which will help us convert all the activities we are doing with the child into something that will ‘aid the child’ for a lifetime.
Firstly, the activities we offer to the child have to be ‘Purposeful’ and meaningful.
The nature of the Child is to ‘learn by doing’ and ‘learn by observing not instructions’. For the Child to be meaningfully active, he needs materials to be active around with his hands and senses. Whenever you buy something, look at what can the child do with it. Does it involve intellectual thinking on the child’s part or is it mechanical? Any mechanical activity will not hold the child’s attention for long.
Is there a purpose to the activity that you have planned for your child? Is there some meaningful outcome at the end of an activity which will encourage the child to do the activity to begin with. A purposeful outcome to an activity also helps the child know that he/she has completed the work properly. It allows him to judge his own activity or work done. The child also gets to know how his work is changing for the better over a period of time.
The bonus for us is that our children get used to doing purposeful and meaningful activities which help them in their overall development.
Example: When the child spills his milk/water, we demonstrate to him ‘how to clean’ the spilled liquid with a sponge, and how clean it looks at completion. Henceforth, every time the child experiences spilled liquids, he will be motivated to clean the spilled liquid by himself. The first time he may not be able to clean it the way it should be done, but certainly through practise and over a period of time the child’s ability will improve.The joy and satisfaction they get out of doing this purposeful activity or work will surprise you.
Thus, we must provide opportunities to the child to engage in ‘purposeful’ and meaningful activities both at home and school environment.
In the following few blog posts, in addition to the above suggestion we will be sharing with you various ways in which we can support the child and help him towards his overall development.
For any feedback or queries please do leave a comment below.
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