MU conducted a practical orientation program at Millat preschool, Mangalore. Munira Akhtar is a devoted montessorian who gives more than 100% in her orientation sessions. This is a 40 hours orientation program run by MU. In these extremely beneficial sessions we engage face to face with our students. These are very interactive and very productive for students.

How to understand child's behavior!

Start treating behavior as a symptom instead of simply as a problem

We focus on behavior too much in schools. It’s understandable. It’s observable, quantifiable, and impacts lives. But the inordinate attention, and attempts to manage it with rules and consequences not only often doesn’t help, but makes matters worse.

The whole mindset behind behavioral management is a set up. We can’t and never do manage others behaviors. The best we can do is manage our own in a way that encourages them to manage theirs. By believing we can and should control student behavior, we actually invite students to adopt mistaken goals like power and control and try to prove to us we can’t, often by cutting off their noses to spite their faces. To which we too often simply double down on our efforts to control them, and they double down on theirs to prove we can’t.

Behavior is the tip of the iceberg. 90% of an iceberg is below the surface. Likewise, there is so much going on beneath the surface in students’ minds. It’s their thoughts about themselves, others, life, what’s happened to them and is now that’s key. Thoughts cause feelings, attitude is always the father of behavior, and a person’s behavior will follow their emotions toward their life events.

Consequences do not address the thoughts and feelings that give rise to behavior. In fact, they often interplay with them in ways that exacerbate them instead, leading to a worsening of the behavior we didn’t like in the first place. If a student has the hot thought “You can do that to me” and we do things to him, he doesn’t acquiesce and think “I guess you can”. He doubles down on his original thought, gets angrier, and behaves even worse.

Behavior is a symptom. It’s a symptom of thoughts and feelings students need help with. We need to be like doctors who strive to identify the underlying causes of a patient’s symptoms, and address those. What would we think of a doctor who prescribed the same treatment for every patient, and simply prescribed more when it didn’t work? 

                                                                                                               Written by
                                                                    Ray Mathis

                                                                               https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-mathis-a8a61a10

It was a wonderful morning in MILLAT preschool, Mangalore on 3rd December 2016.  This morning Millet school was full of parents and educators. More than 40 adults participated in this practical orientation. 

MU organised a workshop for Parents and Teachers about Circle time to make it more interactive for children. This workshop conducted by our Waldrof Pedagogy expert and ECE consultant Ms. Malini Rao.  Our founder Munira Akhtar accompanied her in this special work shop. Malini Rao displayed "hands on activities" and "Creative play" for Circle time. Malini Rao is the Principal of Chimply Fun  preschool in Bangalore and holds a great passion for Early childhood Education.

Practical workshop organised on Creative thinking and Correct expression!!

workshop organised on Creative thinking and Correct expression!

Montessorians United's creative and energetic member Rehmat Merchant teamed up with Mrs. Munira Akhtar and held a workshop on 26th October 2016 at US KIDS International Preschool, Kerala.

Workshop's main objective was to train teachers on language part for future creative activities.

For example we have covered;

1. How to build vocabulary of the child through activities?
2. How interactive story reading techniques helps a child to build vocabulary and sentence formation?
3. How correct expression makes it easy to communicate?

http://www.uskids.in/

This was a practical workshop with lots of creative ideas. As we all are aware that in Early childhood education building vocabulary and sentence formation is most important part of language. It was fun filled and full of activities for teachers to replicate the same for children in future.

 

Dr.Maria Montessori philosophy awareness workshop!

Dr. Maria Montessori Method awareness Program

Recently Mrs. Munira Akhtar completed another workshop on Montessori Philosophy and Methods. MU partnered with Vishwajyothi Montessori school Siruguppa, Bellary. Vishwajyothi teachers participated and learned thru this workshop about Maria Montessori methods in depth. Q & A session has been done. 

Vishwajyothi Montessori school Siruguppa, Bellary

Discussion held on practical aspects of Montessori

Recently Munira Akhtar presented a fresh approach and her view on Dr. Maria Montessori teachings at ILM Montessori Bangalore. Some more known Montessorians from Bangalore joined her in this initiative.

. This session attended by parents and educators from different schools. I was great to see more and more people wants to understand this philosophy...................

New beginning to Dr. Maria Montessori methods of preschool education!

Montessorians united team members are happy to launch our Dr. Maria Montessori online program from today. This is a new beginning in era of technology to bring Dr. Maria Montessori philosophy at your door step. We have developed a course with utmost care for the child and his requirements.

Boost child’s concentration?

Eight Tips to enhance child’s concentration?

These days we hear most of parents and teachers talking that they are unable to get attention from child or he/she is not able to concentrate.  A small child cannot do much about it because he/she wants to concentrate only on those activities which are interesting. As we explained in our earlier article on gaming gadgets we need to do some extra effort to bring back their interest. Can we do something about it? Yes, we can! The Montessori Method provides us various activities to help children concentrate better. These activities are filled with fun and frolic but they have direct and indirect aim concentration. 

       Telling a story to a child is a very good way to get back his concentration. One story telling activity has so many hidden benefits in it, for example- Sound, Phonics, Vocabulary, Entertainment, Theater, Culture and Moral values. It is a wonderful method to bring back a child’s concentration. It should be an interesting session using sounds, soft toys or even enacting a story.

     Image: itsallaboutculture.com
          Walking on the line’ (a Montessori Method) and other similar formations help children to concentrate with lots of fun and learning. This is an activity which aims at benefiting in multiple ways. These activities can easily replicate at home.

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Image: tse4.mm.bing.net
       

          Building blocks or puzzles, which we all are aware of on a large scale, starts from very young age.  This activity helps a lot for better concentration, but the child should be free to experiment with the blocks and puzzles as their imagination takes them. The child may need a parent or teacher to partner with them to keep them motivated during different occasions.

Image: Montessorians united

           A ‘Nature walk’ helps children to discover insects, plants, sunlight etc., helping them to learn about the unknown. This activity brings back their concentration to a large extent. A ‘Nature walk’ works much better if it is a group activity.

Image: Montessorians United

   Montessori provides lots of opportunities to the child to experiment with himself and explore new material. With the Exercises of practical life we may find plenty of things where the child can concentrate and learn with material. For example, we should encourage them to cut vegetables, roll the dough, dust and tie buttons etc.

Image: www.montessorialbum.com/montessori

Board games help a child to learn, observe and calculate. But every child feels bored due to two reasons –firstly, due to the lack of company and secondly, he/she might not understand the game. Every child wants to win, and to win they need to understand it better. This is the point where an adult can help.

Image: www.lifeofasteward.com

   We should play games of missing letters or numbers with them. Its study shows that children get more attracted towards missing numbers. Make puzzles with the numbers. Use bright colours, animals, vegetables, and fruits to make it more interesting.

Image: shop.atozteacherstuff.com
       Above all, Yoga can provide assured help to children to concentrate in a much better way. So, if teachers and parents can partner with each other and teach them yoga, they would definitely get very good results.

Image: wholeheartsfamilycenter.com

Allow your child to take his own time in doing things, such as dressing up, eating, washing,etc. Do not interrupt him or hurry him up. Otherwise he cannot develop his concentration skill, which is the most important tool for learning. 

MU presents a beautiful example, how Maria  Montessori method helps a child to use his Intellect, Material and Freedom. He is a student of Prathama Montessori in Bangalore just 4 years 3 months old, he felt free to use his imagination and presented a girl and a boy. 

Key benefits of Dr. Maria Montessori's education

Our two leading montessorians Munira Akhtar and Kaushy Lal conducted one day work shop at Bright kids Montessori in Hassan, Karnataka. This workshop was an awareness program for parents and teachers.

The session was all about Montessori philosophy and methods. Workshop was extremely interactive to bring more clarity for educators. These sessions help parents to understand Montessori method and their child too.

Munira Akhtar and Kausy Lal appreciated the focus and dedication of bright kids Montessori team!

Montessorians United team will look forward to meet this wonderful team again.

Nature plays an important role in child education

Dr Maria Montessori always said that “a child, who more than anyone else is a spontaneous observer of nature, certainly needs to have at his disposal material upon which he can work.”

Children by nature are cautious and careful about living beings around them -- be they animals, insects or plants. If they see a dry plant in need of water they will be anxious to water it as soon as possible. They keep collecting things from nature’s treasure like feathers, leaves, flowers, and straws. We may call it natural learning or learning from our environment.

A child experiences real joy when he or she sees ducklings early in the morning and butterflies of different colours. Children feel excited to place a seed in a garden and wait eagerly for a little plant to appear. They find extreme pleasure in exploring the natural environment around them. Children connect with nature beautifully. 

Montessorian Fariba took her class children out for natural learning

The Montessori Method helps children to build a strong connection with nature. The Method includes learning about animals and plants, the preparation of an aquarium, and cultivating plots for growing vegetables as a way to build upon this connection. In the Montessori method, teaching about nature and being with nature, both are equally important. Constant changes in our lifestyle lead to problems like childhood obesity, which presents serious health threats for children including heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, social and psychological problems.

Parents and educators should provide more and more opportunities for children to connect with nature and its surroundings so that they can explore more & more natural sciences.

Dr Montessori observes: “This kind of study methods have led to a spontaneous and purposeful exploration of nature and to a number of discoveries made by the children themselves.” 

Maria Montessori illustrated beautifully and scientifically four planes of development. Proven fact, It is a journey of a Child to his or her Adulthood. Montessorians United & Kido Montessori materials illustrated this fundamental aspect of child growth in self explanatory way. This can totally change your view of how children learn!

"Education should not limit itself to seeking new methods for a mostly arid transmission of knowledge: its aim must be to give the necessary aid to human development. This world, marvellous in its power, needs a "new man." It is therefore the life of man and his values that must be considered. If "the formation of man" becomes the basis of education, then the coordination of all schools from infancy to maturity, from nursery to university, arises as a first necessity: for man is a unity, an individuality that passes through interdependent phases of development. Each preceding phase prepares the one that follows, forms its base, nurtures the energies that urge towards the succeeding period of life." (From Childhood to Adolescence, p. 84)
                                                                                                           By Maria Montessori

http://www.businessinsider.com/tech-innovators-who-went-to-montessori-school-2014-3?IR=T

Sensitive Periods a term developed by the Dutch geneticist Hugo de vries and later discovered by the Italian doctor and educator Maria Montessori. The term refers to several phases of child development where a child is sensitive to particular type of interaction.

Montessorians united is sharing this wonderful discovery about first plane of Montessori philosophy in its own way.

 How Montessori materials and Intellectual toys enriches children as compared to gaming gadgets?

This process leads to Innovation

Once upon a time children used to play with toys provided by Nature – flowers, stones, shells, and branches. In those days, children made inventions because they were free to experiment. Mankind’s evolution provided children with different materials for toys -- wood, metal, and plastic.  But, today, our toddlers, preschoolers, preteens and teens are so fond of gaming gadgets that the offerings of Nature have taken a backseat. Undoubtedly, technology is the backbone of today's world and it helps children in aspects like observation and exploration, experiencing virtual reality, and learning new skills.

But this has reached such a stage where children are not even demanding any intellectual toys or material from their parents. They find unbelievable thrill and adventure in gadgets. But a rising concern among parents and educators is that these gadgets provide competencies like: observations, speed, physical challenges and skills with the help of technology but no training for innovation, patience, real life skills, and sensory development.  Parents are observing behavioural changes in their children with increased screen time, like frequent mood swings, sleep disorders, irritability, and short low attention spans. Children seem more inclined towards rewards rather than achievement and appreciation through other methods.

On the other hand, Montessori materials provide children with patience and skills in early childhood and elementary years. Montessori material was invented with a lot of research in science and child psychology. Prestigious toy companies are producing wonderful material for today’s generations. Parents should encourage their children to use all kinds of technology. Gaming gadgets are important to learn about new technology. But at the same time we need physical toys to feed a child’s mind.

Let the child think

Children are our future and their imagination knows no boundaries. This exploring mind is what parents and teachers should cultivate, and aid children to think independently. A simple thought is all that is required to groom new ideas that could lead to innovation.

So what does Montessori have to do with this? The Montessori system provides wings to your child’s thoughts in a constructive manner. The most important requirement for new thinking that a child needs is independence and patience from the adults in his or her life.

The Montessori philosophy encourages unconditional thinking, and provides an environment of opportunities and freedom where your children can experiment and think.

                                                                                

                                                                             

As we entered in next month we started our online training specially designed for mothers who really wants to help their children by learning child psychology and handling their home assignments with the help of  proven ways of montessori....we understand these small workshops or sessions are very important for parents..It helps them to understand their child's needs. With the help of online sessions we are able to reach  more more parents and educators..

Sessions arranged by our Senior most montessorians Mrs. Munira Akhtar and Ms. Kaushilal

Our journey continues and we met Miss Nandini from a NGO who is working on overall benefits of tribal community of Karnataka. It was a wonderful experience she brings students with her from different tribes of Karnataka. They all have a dream to bring a change in their community children with the help of montessori learnings....It was an overwhelming experience to meet these girls & boys interested in preschool education.
Our Sr. Educators helped them in their effort of change.............................................

World of montessori is beautiful in a way that whoever learns it surprises them with child psychology in its foundation. Each and every montessori material takes care of child's depth of brain and our senses......

Introducing the knowledge of kannada as first language as language is very important aspect of education......by Anitha

Montessorians United started its operations in 2015. Last year MU took a very good start with its concepts and values. We believe montessori method is for each and every child to nurture his true self  and holistic personality.

To nurture a new life we should have a educator who understands montessori philosophy from depth of the heart. If someone does not believe in a system or philosophy she/he won't be able to do justice with the child. We spread awareness to learn whole montessori content because every child is unique and to understand his special needs, all people associated with early childhood education has to understand the real philosophy behind montessori, which revolves around child psychology.

Montessori Philosophy discussions at ILM montessori Koramangala, Bangalore

Montessorians United welcomes you!

Montessorians United founded by highly dedicated montessorian Mrs. Munira Akhtar. She has spent about 25 years in the world of montessori with great commitment to make a difference in early childhood education.
She has a wonderful team working with her. All the members are specialist in montessori backgrounds and have rich experience. We have completed one successful year in the field of montessori education.