Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Instilling Confidence from 1 to 6 Years of Age

Every parent wants to raise a confident child. The question is, in today's world of ever-increasing media exposure, how do parents and teachers successfully instill confidence in children?

The Montessori approach is a powerful antidote to the negative consequences of much of the challenges facing children and families today. Here are a few of the ways the program instills confidence in young children.


Learning

Your child's education isn't only important for his or her knowledge and capability. Learning to do things for oneself, from dressing oneself and potty training at an early age to educational projects as a child approaches school age, helps kids to feel more confident in themselves. That's why an early education program is so important for your child's growth, even as early as a year or two old.


Independence

The Montessori program is centered around the goal of fostering independence in children, which in turn promotes confidence. The work cycle allows children to pursue self-directed learning within some structure, helping children stay focused and on task while encouraging creativity and free thinking. This combination of hands-on learning and freedom of exploration, ultimately ending with the successful achievement of their goals, helps children to feel good about their accomplishments -- a basic building block of confidence.


Peer Teaching

Another hallmark of the Montessori program is the way it encourages older, more experienced children to teach and support the younger, less experienced kids. Traditionally, Montessori programs had mixed-age groupings that gave the older kids plenty of opportunities to help the younger ones learn new skills; however, even in modern classrooms where the children are often closer in age, the self-directed work environment still encourages the more capable kids to help those less experienced. The experience of children helping one another encourage confidence in both the teacher, who practices and demonstrates his or her competence, but also the child who is being helped by a peer to learn a new skill.


Self-Direction

Children thrive not only when they succeed, but especially when they succeed at something they want to do. Their joy at getting a gold star on a routine worksheet may be fleeting, but when they achieve something they did by choice and were genuinely interested in, they gain a much greater sense of accomplishment. The Montessori method, with its extended work cycle and self-directed learning, gives children opportunities to make choices about what and how they learn, ultimately providing many more opportunities for building true confidence.


Confidence is a valuable trait that helps our children navigate school, peer relationships, and the world around them. For more information about how our program helps instill confidence in our young students, contact Day Star Montessori today for a tour of our Montessori school.
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Author: verified_user