Welcome Readers :)

Welcome readers !
Thank you for visiting 'Inside the child' and hope that your time spend reading my blog is educational. It includes my thoughts and approach to a child, based on the Montessori educational philosophy that emphasize on independence, freedom within limits and learning concepts of working with materials hands-on, rather than by direct instructions.

My favorite quote by Dr. Maria Montessori “There is in every child a painstaking teacher, so skillful that he obtains identical results in all children in all parts of the world. The only language men ever speak perfectly is the one they learn in babyhood, when no one can teach them anything!”
As a Children's House Montessori teacher, it is my pleasure to share my experience with children of ages 2 1/2 - 7 yrs old, and how small little things makes a big difference. Enjoy reading. Thank you.

Normalization

I had no idea what the word 'normalization' means until I started my training as a Montessori teacher. Then later, until my internship began and I started working with children of age group 2-6 years old. Every time I started to observe the behavior closely I would know what Dr. Maria Montessori meant by 'normalization'.

In other terms it is defined as a joy, happiness, devotion, the ultimate satisfaction. You must be thinking that this is too much for the child to feel. We can understand joy and happiness comes from when they eat ice-creams or when they play with water ! Once I was observing a 4 year old girl working on odd-even Math activity, placing the red chips beautifully, silently, finished it quietly. This mode of her while working is called normalization. I thought she would clean up but there you go, she starts all over again. Aha ! she is having fun ! On the other side, a 2 1/2 year old working with scooping activity, again and again, quietly, concentrating nicely as to scoop the beads in the bowl nicely.

This kind of concentration that leads to repetition of an activity by a child gives him the ultimate satisfaction, a feeling of achievement and perfection. The child is enjoying the work. He is happy. He wants to perfect it. Wonder, why !!! They want to show it to their peers, family and teacher. Yes, children love love to show their work to almost every one they know. To their grand parents, neighbors, everyone.

As to continue, the tools of normalization are concentration, independence, order, co-ordination. When practiced over and over again it forms into a joy of doing work, learning and helping others with that knowledge. Concentration leads to devotion, ultimate satisfaction comes from the control of error that guides the child to finish the work appropriately in order. In one word, we call it 'perfect' !