Learning

Windows of Learning

6 May, 2021

Meet two-year-old Sahil. He is fascinated by small objects. Sahil can spend hours picking up tiny things to examine them; he manipulates them in his hands to learn more about them. But why is Sahil obsessed with this behaviour? One answer to this question may be that he is going through one of his sensitive periods of development.

Sensitive periods as said by the Dutch botanist Hugo de Vries and later used by the Italian educator Dr. Maria Montessori, are from birth until about six. During them, children seem to learn from their environment without any conscious effort. It refers to a period when a child's interests are focused on developing a particular skill. These are several overlapping periods of development where a child is sensitive to specific stimuli; it is almost like an irresistible urge in the child to acquire a certain proficiency. They may not even be aware that they're learning because it is elementary for children to develop certain abilities during this time. This learning of skill comes to the child spontaneously and naturally.

Each sensitive period is:

• An overpowering force or drive directing the child to particular qualities and elements in the environment.
• A period during which the child centres his or her attention to specific aspects of the environment to exclude all else.
• A passion and a commitment.
• A transitory state; once realized, the sensitive period disappears.
• Let us look at a few Sensitive Periods, from 0 to 3 years of age; parents and caregivers can easily identify these at home. They can assist the child in making use of each of these windows of learning in a child.

Sense of Order:

A desire for consistency and repetition characterizes this sensitive period. The child looks forward to established routines. As parents and caregivers, we can make sure that the child's routine is not disturbed. For example, suppose the child is used to having grandparents, and they have to leave for some reason. In that case, the child can react in various ways, including psychosomatic disorder and behavioural issues. (2 – 4 years)

Movement:

Random movements become coordinated and controlled, the child starts grasping, touching, turning, balancing, crawling and walking. As adults, we can give them more opportunities to walk, not become a hindrance in his feeling the objects, not saying "no" to the child. An adult walks because he has to go from point A to point B, but a child walks because he needs to walk; parents complain at times saying "My child doesn't sit still for a minute," hardly realising that it may be because the child is going through that inner urge, to walk. (0 to 2 years).

Love for Small Objects:

Children experience a fixation for small objects and tiny details. At home, the children can be encouraged to look in the garden or scatter some objects or play with things and let the child explore. (1- 4).

Grace and Courtesy:

Imitation of polite and considerate behaviour leads to an internalization of these qualities into the personality. Parents and caregivers themselves can become role models in courteous behaviour and can thus take immense pleasure in seeing the child becoming their mirror image, in courtesy. They can also observe the improved social skills of their child. (2- 6 years).

Refinement of the Senses: A fascination with sensory experiences of taste, sound, touch, weight, smell. Parents can assist the child in having these experiences at home by giving them simple objects from the kitchen to smell, feel and touch the various things with different textures, listen to other sounds in the house and outdoors, etc. It will lead to enhancement of their classification skills cognitive development. (2- 6 years).

Expressive Language: It is a marvel to see a child settling down in a foreign country and the way he picks up the local language without any effort, whereas an adult takes so much time to learn that language. A child can develop a rich vocabulary; a conscious effort can be made not to use baby language but to give new words. Research shows a child of three can learn eight new words in a day. (0 to 6 years).

As adults, let us learn about sensitive periods, which are the laws of development. They are a child's needs. Let us think about what we can do to satisfy these needs. When a home or school environment is not adequately prepared for sensitive periods, the adult becomes an obstacle that causes frustration and mischief in a child. If his instincts are hindered while he is in this phase, he may throw tantrums to show that he has an unsatisfied need to learn.

"The child goes through an internal struggle, torn between satisfying his own needs for development and doing what the adult tells her to do." (Dr.Montessori, the Secret of the Childhood). We must prepare and provide the proper environment according to the needs of each stage of development. Our responsibility is to help the child take advantage of these sensitive periods and make the most of them.