Related Read: 12 Characteristics of a Successful Montessori Presentation Sensitive Periods of Development For instance, a child might go through a stage where she’s particularly receptive to learning about communication or exploring her mobility. In addition to noticing distinctions between different children at one point in time, you’ll observe that individuals vary over time.Ī sensitive period of development can manifest in different ways.
In other words, a child may not be interested in an activity because he has yet to enter that particular sensitive period of development. The sensitive period definition builds on the idea that children aren’t consistently receptive to learning experiences.
What are Sensitive Periods? Sensitive Period Definition His absorbent mind fades as he reaches six years of age. This is the “let me do it by myself” stage and we adults should allow that to happen.
Movement and liberty are big inner drivers at this time. He does not experience new impressions but instead seeks ways to give order to or to create a system for, those impressions gathered unconsciously during the prior period of development. Once he enters the latter period of development, the child consciously takes in his environment. During the earlier period, th e child unknowingly gathers impressions from his environment and begins to develop the “self-concept”, and life skills, such as independence. Montessori broke the Absorbent M ind down into two phases: the unconscious ( from 0-3 years old ) and the conscious ( from 3-6 years old ).
Furthermore, knowledge of this concept allows adults to understand a child’s development and how to plan the learning environment accordingly. These distinctions help adults structure their kids’ learning activities. Sensitive periods are critical milestones where children are particularly open to acquiring certain skills. The Montessori framework recognizes several important stages in a child’s learning. W ithin that concept of the Absorbent Mind, she defined Se nsitive Periods of Development.