Understand the child development and developmental milestones

Developmental Milestones are a set of standard skills that children are expected to be able to do at a certain age such as taking their first step, speaking their first word, understanding the concept of pointing, waving at people, or their first time dressing themselves. These milestones can involve physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and communication skills. Doctors and professional caregivers usually use milestones to identify if a child is developing as expected. However, there is still a big concept of what’s considered as normal since some children may develop at a different pace than others. In fact, children who are born prematurely may reach developmental milestones later than children who are born maturely. 

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Child Development guideline, in the first year of infant’s development, infants will start learning basic skills. They are expected to know how to reach out, how to focus their vision, and how to explore the environment surrounding them. Their brain will develop cognitive aspects which is the process of learning language, basic reasoning, memory, and thinking. Infants will also try to listen, memorize, and understand the sounds or voice they have heard and try to copy. Once they understand and know the names of things and people, it means that they have improved a part of language development. Additionally, at this age, infants are developing relationships with people such as parents and other acquaintances. They will feel safe and warm among these people after they build connections of trust and love with them. This is a part of social and emotional development. 

During their second year, toddlers will start moving around more and more. They will be aware of themselves and their environment and enjoy exploring new things. At this stage, they will begin to show that they are more independent and defiant. They will imitate some behaviors from people surrounding them, especially people who are older than them. Also, they will be familiar with the names of things used in their daily life, people that they see often, easy phrases and sentences they have heard a lot, and uncomplicated directions or instructions. 

In their first two years, children are experiencing the world around them based on the relationships they have. Daily activities such as going for a walk in a public park, shopping in a grocery store, cooking their food, and going to the post office help children understand how to interact appropriately with other people in different situations. They will easily absorb information from their environment and adjust themselves to their surroundings.

On the other hand, if children can’t reach the developmental milestone as expected at their age, parents should consult a doctor or a professional child development expert. However, parents should remember that each child has developed at their own pace. Not all kids are going to meet these milestones at the same time. That is why parents, caregivers and teachers play the most important role in monitoring a child's development. Teachers who truly understand child development will work on maximizing each child’s potential individually. Like Montessori teachers, they understand that each kid has their own pace of developments, different interests, different personalities, and different learning styles. In order to create a Montessori classroom, children will make a choice in their learning. Montessori teachers will follow their steps to support them under the condition of age-appropriate activities because the growth of children’s brains is affected by provided experiences. Thus, teachers need to let children discover and explore the knowledge of the world with a loved, secure, supportive, and confident environment. 

Interested in monitoring your child by using the Developmental Milestone? 

Follow the checklists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html

By Fern Janrana B.Ed

Nature-Deficit Disorder

In the 21th century, children obviously are spending more time indoors and always with electronic devices by default compared with previous generations. They have less chance to be outside and play with nature due to the growing number of cities and crimes. It might be easier for parents to keep entertaining children with animated games, TV time and more. Moreover, parents might not have time for them or may have the idea of keeping them safe from the danger outside. Therefore, children are prone to face the term called “Nature-Deficit Disorder”. 

Nature-Deficit Disorder was introduced in 2005 with the publication of “Last Child in the Woods'' which is the term that is not yet recognized in medical manuals for mental disorders, such as the DSM-5. It is the idea that spending less time outdoors and spending more time indoors with electronic devices such as television, video games and Youtube video which will be the result of many behavioral issues, such as Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), obesity and more. 

Children in Generation Z (born after 1997) were born with the proliferation of electronic innovation, communications and devices. It was the cause of lacking time spent with nature. It might also include poor urban planning. In some cities, they might not plan their cities well enough to have green space for their citizens which leads to diminishing open space for children to play and increasing the amounts of cars and street traffic. Parental fear might be another reason that keeps their children residing inside due to social media and negative news around the world. Decreasing the importance of the natural world in both public and private education and increasing competitive education system are additional causes that associated children with spending time inside their place. 

There are extending bodies of research that are burgeoning about Nature-Deficit Disorder. The evidence suggests that children who spend less time outdoors will tend to decrease their senses. For example, they might not have a chance to smell the fragrance of flowers or observe the different types of butterflies. Children may have attention difficulties is another effect that parents might encounter. They have challenges with sustained attention and not being able to engage in the classroom. Last but not least, children who spend more time inside their house or building may face conditions of obesity. They may have less opportunities to play outdoors or exercise outside. 

Spending time outdoors means to explore the world with 5 senses on their own and able to have direct experience with nature. It will increase their executive function which is a core of exert self-control as well. Parents are children’s first teachers and have the ability to protect their children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by helping them care more about nature. Parents are able to guide them with the sense of curiosity and bring them outside to play with nature. It should be something fun and parents will have quality time spending with their young kids too. 

In conclusion, Nature-Deficit Disorder is not something we should be afraid of but to be aware of how we are raising our kids in parallel with their technology world. It is hard to deny the importance and benefit of using technology but parents should be able to balance kid’s time and see the importance of playing in nature that will bring the benefit for their life and allow them to have direct experience in the real world. 

P. Ratnajarn M.A.

Why the Montessori philosophy could be the best method preparing students for 21st century?

"One-size-fits-all" has been in use for over five decades to describe clothing expected to fit people of a wide range of sizes. Then, the term has been extended to the field of education. It defines a method or procedure created to apply to every single student in school. However, it is not always effective to use only one method for every child since each child has their own pace of learning, interests, development and learning style. Thus, a lot of educators have been attempting to find an alternative learning method. One of the most successful alternatives is the Montessori discovered by Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator. Celebrating Maria Montessori's 150th Birthday is on August 31, 2020.

Montessori is a child-centered method which approaches education based on the scientific observations of children. It is designed to accommodate educational and behavioral needs of each individual child that cannot be adequately addressed in a traditional school setting.  The pedagogy also provides an educational experience tailored to each stage of a child's development. Montessori teachers will use specially designed tools and techniques to help children learn through hands on experience and working with objects, not only from memorization and direct instruction. Rather than memorizing math facts, for example, children will start by counting and adding using a set of color-coded beads. This method provides a more involved and exciting learning environment for children. 

In the same way, all these Montessori concepts are complied with the 21st century skill set which does not only focus on 3Rs (writing, reading and arithmetic) as in traditional schools, but they also focus on 4Cs (collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking). Thus, educators, early childhood development experts, and parents need to work cooperatively to develop a child’s important skills set at their early age. It is crucial to develop these skills early because infancy is the most flexible time to accommodate a large range of environments, interactions, and experiences. Similarly, play is the heart of how children learn. While playing, they can show what they are learning, what they care about, and what they are interested in. If teachers understand and spend more time with children, they will be able to identify what skills that children need to practice more and will guide each child to the next level when he or she is ready. 

According to Helping Young Children Build 21st-Century Skills article by David Ross, a global education consultant and former CEO of the Partnership for 21st Century Learning, there are ten essential strategies to help children build their 21st century skills set; 

1. A child-centered focus that explores their interests 

2. Providing opportunities to develop skills beyond basic language, math, and reading

3. A play-based learning environment

4. Provide a cooperative learning environment where children are encouraged to work together in creative ways to solve problems. 

5. Blending online play with hands on play. Online play creates a personalized environment where the child to learn at their own pace and test the skills they have developed. The learned skills are then reinforced during hands on play with group activities.  

6. A flexible attitude and learning environment that allows children to follow their interested even in a structured environment.  

7. Differentiated instruction which adds variety to the learning environment and can account for each child’s different learning styles.

8. Observe the children while at play to help determine a lesson plan based on the skills they display.

9. Create consistent routines and expectations to help children feel secure in their learning.

10. A focus on developing the 4C’s: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication.

Combining all these methods can provide a perfect environment for children to develop the skills they need. Once they enter the higher level school, they will be ready to learn new lessons effectively since they have all important basic skills. That is why the Montessori concept focuses on these key areas to help prepare young children for the future. 

By Fern Janrana B.Ed

Why Montessori?

Iconic Italian educator and physician Maria Montessori developed her revolutionary empowering method of teaching and learning over the first few decades of the 20th century.  Montessori teaching has grown ever more popular as increasing numbers of people question the traditional methods of education that grew so much in the second half of the century. 

Montessori education is about developing children into lifelong learners by encouraging them to explore, experiment, and discover at their own pace, inside a safe environment and guided by experienced educators.   My wife and I enrolled our own children in a Montessori preschool when they were one year old, and it was an excellent decision, and enriched their lives and turbocharged their education.  The thing we saw immediately in our own children was that they not only loved going to school each day, even as toddlers, but they loved learning.   We saw them bring their passion for learning home with them, along with a confidence and independence that they learned in their Montessori classroom. 

In our experience, children who come out of quality Montessori preschools are well prepared for elementary school.   Mariner Montessori incorporates age-appropriate activities that engage the young mind, and build, over the elementary years, into a strong foundation for the rest of their education and lives. 

For example, Montessori is well known for developing independence as children are encouraged to discover and explore solutions on their own.  This forms an excellent basis for group work, when a great teacher guides children to work with each other to explore not just their own solution but possible solutions by others in their group. 

At Mariner, the Montessori method is woven into a strong STEAM curriculum with complementary extracurricular activities that help develop resilience, creativity, and problem solving ability, and a passion for learning.  For more on the terms “STEM” and “STEAM”, read about our Preschool STEAM curriculum.

Preschool versus Daycare

Many parents of young children have full time jobs, and need a safe and nurturing place for their children to remain during the day.  While safety is the most important factor, more and more parents are realizing that children as young as six months old will benefit from an environment enriched by a qualified teacher specializing in early childhood education.  In other words, more parents today are looking for more than daycare – they want preschool – also known as “early childhood education.”

An effective early childhood classroom looks a bit different than an elementary school classroom – and different from daycare.   In an early childhood classroom, teachers incorporate learning into the play and socialization activities that take place.   

One of the most effective methods of teacher-guided “play” is known as Montessori education, and is especially popular at the preschool level.  In Montessori classrooms, teachers show young children how to work with toys known as “manipulatives”.  The Montessori methodology is more fully described here.

The fact is that children are capable of much more than most adults realize.  Language acquisition is just one area where extremely young children benefit greatly from an environment rich in conversation.  Children also learn valuable socialization skills when exposed to other children at very young ages.  This is especially true when the environment is created and guided by an experienced teacher.   Children can also acquire a significant head start in other skills such as experimentation, analysis, reasoning, logic, and of course literacy, numeracy, and familiarity with colors, shapes, animals, and other things that are a part of our world.

 Children who have been enrolled in quality preschools are more prepared for elementary school.  Whether you are interested in a competitive private elementary school for your child, one of the most sought-after Magnet schools, or even your neighborhood public school, a good Montessori preschool experience is a great choice. And a choice your child will thoroughly enjoy!