The amazing feats preschoolers ‘teach’ their parents

March is the final month of the Philippine school year when various kinds of graduation take place: elementary school, high school and college graduations, even preschool commencement exercises are now marked in the school calendar. Copying their elders, the fives and sixes don their little toga gowns and perform dance and song numbers before the adoring audience of papas, mamas and grandparents.

Veering away from the traditional performance, since the school was founded in 1966, the Operation Brotherhood Montessori preschools instead present all the activities fours and fives have done in 200 school days. Why? Everyday, when one’s darling kindergarten boy or girl comes home, parents would ask, “What did you do today, love?” The child would always say, ”I played…” leaving papa and mama wondering if the child does nothing but play. In these pages, one sees the children prefer work to play. It is the century-old discovery of the child by Maria Montessori.

Showtime ‘the secrets of childhood’

During the annual Closing Day Ceremonies on April 3 at our five schools, each preschooler will amaze their parents, By three, not earlier, the child is ready to be scholastically directed. The “secret teacher” within each child is readily activated by a classroom equipped with completely functional work materials. 

Dr. Montessori dedicated her whole lifetime to observing the true nature and character of children from infancy to adolescence. The most fundamental and important of these is the first six years when the Absorbent Mind operates and develops one’s character. Our parents are generally young in their mid twenties to thirties. At the start of the school year, some of them wonder why sweeping and laundering are taught in our Montessori preschool when they have a housemaid. Why do they learn buttoning, tying ribbons or buckling shoes which their yayas do for them? Because the “secret“ of very young children is that they prefer work to play.

The principle that “work is a recipe” involves the provision of complete materials which trained teacher uses in a step-by-step procedure. The “analysis of movement” per lesson, be it laundering or buttoning, results in easing the difficulties of an activity. In case water spills or a glass breaks, the “error” is regarded as a friend. Instead of scolding or humiliating a child, the teacher lets him correct the error. Montessori reminds, “Insegna, insegna, insegna” (teach, teach, and teach again).

Learning Math, Language and Geography without books

Four-year-old Bobby would pour water on the square pan of the Geographical Contrast of isthmus-strait, bay-peninsula, island-lake, and then he places plastic animals on it. The puzzle maps for three to five’s focus first on the World (eight-pc wooden puzzle), to the Continent of Asia and the country – the Philippines.

Sandpaper letter cards get the full attention of the four-year-olds. Lowercase letters are used and are classified into short, long and tailed letters. Tracing letter includes oral enunciation of sounds, tactile and visual memory.

Moveable Alphabets impresses parent-visitors as five-year-old Gina would compose words with short letter of vowels a, e, i, o, u, and consonants c, m, n, r, s, v, w, x, tall b, d, h, k, l, t, and tailed letters f, j, p, q, y, z.

Geometric Solids are classified into the “rolling” and “sliding” family but accurately identified by the 4’s and 5’s as  “spheroid,” “ovoid,”“ellipsoid,” pyramids and bricks. Three materials teach different aspects of numbers one to 10: 10 Number Rods divided into red and blue segments are arranged from a meter long rod (10 parts) down to a decimeter long, shortest rod (one).

The Spindle Box introduces zero. The Bingo Counters (bingo chips) laid out in pairs, distinguishes even from odd numbers within 10. Learning units tens, hundreds to thousands – five-year-old Julius would lay the Golden Decimal Beads taken from a big wooden box on a floor mat. Alongside, he matches them with the unit tens, hundreds and thousand cards. “Engineer” preschoolers build a 10-story building combining 10 pink cubes of the Pink Tower and 10 prisms of the Brown Stairs. The sensorial apparatus is universally tested to sharpen his intelligence. Just as Aristotle says “There is nothing in the intellect that doesn’t pass to the senses.”

Demonstrating housekeeping

Four three-year-old preschoolers demonstrate the gradation of difficulties in Pouring. The first pours beans with a pair of small ceramic pitchers. The second pours sand which flows almost like water. A wooden tray filled with a small glass pitcher of colored water, two glasses with red tape to mark the waterline and a tabo (dipper) allows the third child to pour water repeatedly without spilling. Lastly the patis (fish sauce) pouring makes use of patis bottle, two empty saucers and an empty bottle with funnel. Each child manages to correct errors of spillage by himself.

Analyzing about a dozen steps in Laundering four-year-old Bella washes six hankies before a small table with a large basin sank in the middle of a small table, two smaller basins on both sides for unwashed and washed hankies. Wetting, soaping, rinsing and squeezing each dry, the hankies are pinned up on the clothesline attached to the table. With a tablecloth she wipes the table dry, then wipes her hands dry with a hand towel.

Parents watched enthralled, amazed at the concentration and precision of movement of each child, whether Folding linens, Polishing shoes or brasswares, and sweeping, mopping the floor as well.

Read all about ‘The Hidden Treasures’ of your children

Our 50th anniversary book “How Well Do You Know The Wonders Of Your Children – Discover the Secrets of Childhood from Infancy to Adolescence” is already published. You can avail of them in any of the five Operation Brotherhood Montessori schools at Greenhills, Sta Ana, Las Pinas, Fairview and Angeles, Pampanga. You may call Olive Lumanta, our secretary at the Greenhills headquarters, tel. 7220019, trunkline 7229720 loc. 204 or 205.