"The senses, being explorers of the
world, open the way to knowledge. Our apparatus for educating the senses offers
the child a key to guide his explorations of the world…"[i]
This is
the time of year that our senses are enraptured: the smell of autumn is in the
air, the canopy of autumn in the sky and the pumpkin patches are replete with
pumpkins big and small. In the
Montessori classroom, the purpose of the sensorial
materials is to educate and refine the senses. Dr. Montessori observed that
the “child's intellect does not work in isolation, but is everywhere and is
always intimately bound up with his body”, (Standing,
E. M., Maria Montessori: Her Life and Her Work), particularly with his
nervous and muscular systems. Sensorial education helps develop a child's
intellect through exploration of the senses.
Dr.
Montessori was a scientific observer. According to Montessori, a child between
two to six years passes through the ‘sensitive period’ for the refinement of the
senses. She thus took each of the senses and developed beautiful materials that
would support children in using and refining their skills of classification,
ordering, and pairing to help them build an understanding of the world around
them.
What Dr. Montessori advocated
for over 100 years ago has also been corroborated by the most recent brain
research: "Experience
is the chief architect of the brain…. Rich experiences, in other words, really do
produce rich brains.” [ii]
Plus, the materials are endlessly engaging and
fun to work with for inquisitive young minds.
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