This is a very stable period for the child. It is a period of comparative
calmness and serenity. During these years, the child is capable of
accomplishing a great deal of mental work. Montessori calls it the years of
plenty. She says if given the right opportunity and the right material,
these children will lay up a great store of intellectual information.
Around 7 years of age, visible changes of the physical body begin. The
proportions of the body of the child change. His legs become longer in
comparison with his trunk. His whole appearance changes. The rounded
contours of childhood disappear. The child becomes thinner and more bony.
There is also a deeper pigmentation both in the color of hair and eyes. The
section of hair becomes more rounded. The child is less likely to have curly
hair. The most striking difference is that of dentition. It is at this age
he loses his milk teeth and begins growing his second set.
At this plane of development, the whole type of life of the child changes.
He is no longer content to work on practical life which helped him to master
his instruments of expression. He is not satisfied with special furniture or
a line drawn on the floor for equilibrium. These things no longer interest
him. He does not need them as a formative exercise-they are just habit. This
child needs a wider environment than school. Modern education takes this
into consideration by organizing sports, long walks, hiking, camping, Girl
Scouts and Boy Scouts.
The child's psychic nature evidences certain changes too at this time. The
child's attitude now and at other critical stages changes so radically that
he seems to have become somebody else and there are psychologists who speak
of man being born several times in the course of his life. At this time the
child detaches himself from the love of the environment and directs his
attention to his inner life and towards that of others. He shows great
interest in the thoughts of others and the logic of things.
In character, he becomes stronger and more self-conscious. Montessori says a
fact which shows itself is the child's tendency to boast. "I can climb
higher than anyone else. " At this age, he becomes offensive to his mother
and considers it a great insult to be called a mama's boy. What has happened
to the love he had for her at 31/2 when she was his whole world? His
daintiness and refinement of manner disappears. He becomes a tough guy. In
fact the mother may wake up one morning to find her child has disappeared
and a tough guy has taken his place. At this time he grows from an explorer
of the material world into an explorer of the psychical world. One of the
things he seems most anxious about is the moral point of view. He wants to
know which are the good things and which are the bad and he shows special
interests in the actions of other people. This is so he can acquire an
orientation for himself in this field so new to him. Very often, teachers
complain that children during this plane of development seem to be tale
bearing. One must understand that the reason the child wants to tell on his
friend is simply because he wants to know if his friend's actions are good
or bad. Children at this age also judge the actions of others, make their
own deductions, criticize and answer back. This adult thinks this is
impertinence and scolds them for it. This age is universally called 'The Age
of Bad Manners.' It is also the age when the child shows interests in things
we think he should not and which up to now, he does not appear to have
noticed. At this plane of development, the child has lost some of his
beauty. This period is well defined chiefly for its unfavorable
characteristics. Yet in defining the psychic plane of development, we would
say it is the intellectual plane because at this age the child wants to know
the reasons for things
Unlike earlier, he insists on being given reasons he can follow. His mind is
no longer satisfied with facts, with being able to observe distinctions and
make classifications. This child wants to go into the hidden passages so it
is quite clear in his mind how things function. If he is interested in
something mechanical, he wants to know not only how it works but where. Once
he is satisfied with simple explanations of the visible world. Now he wants
to explore invisible things simply because they are invisible. He's restless
until he has found answers to his problems. This form of curiosity persists
throughout life and it is responsible for man scientific research.
First, the child must build himself so he is perfectly adapted to his
country, so his intelligence can take the widest sweep of the environment
and all that it contains. Then he must prepare himself for the outside
world, study society in order that he may be a social being and take his
place in it.
Society is his new field of exploration. Earlier he hated his parents to go
out without him. Now the child does not want to come in for meals if he is
playing with his friends. Parents no longer have the same magnetism. It is
the group beyond the family which attracts him. In choosing his friends,
he's oblivious to the social distinctions observed by his parents. This
second plane of development is characterized by a marked development of the
herd instinct as though drawn together by some irresistible power. Children,
especially boys, form themselves into 'gangs' of all kinds. In fact, they
possess at this stage, characteristics so clear and definite that they seem
a race apart. They are so sure of themselves, so precise in their interest,
so happy in one another's company, so busy with their own affairs, so
unconcerned as to the fate of the rest of mankind that they might almost be
denizens from another planet. This group interest is of prime importance
that we should recognize it and make use of it. At school, children of this
age indulge in organized rebellion against the teachers. Woe be the tide who
breaks the rules of their group. The groups' own discipline is very harsh
but accepted without question while the discipline at home or at school is
both resisted and resented.
By creating a group of special laws, signs and sometimes language, the child
has experience of social life as previously he experienced sensorial and
intellectual impressions through manipulation. One day he will become a
social being and this is how nature prepares him for his grown up task.
The second plane of development is considered the most intellectual period
of development. One of the peculiarities is the clarity of intelligence. The
mind is often eager and receptive and the child has an enormous capacity for
work. Sensorial impressions and manipulation, that is activity, remain very
important for his understanding and development. The need for repetition
continues as well. However, the repetition is amplified. The child works
with the same material, not merely to learn, but to involve maximum effort.
For example, instead of repeating his tables or making sums, he will enjoy
immense multiplications.
We honor birthdays with a ceremony. A 'sun' is placed in the middle of the
circle with a candle lit inside and the birthday honoree holds a globe
representing themself as the earth rotating around the sun. We begin by
describing their birth/first year with a short paragraph and a picture or
two. The honoree begins by walking once around the sun, to symbolize a year
passing. We continue in the same way, sharing a short paragraph and a
picture or two for each year, until we reach the year of the present day. We
then take the globe and the honoree makes a wish, blows out the candle, we
clap the amount of years that have passed and then sing happy birthday.
Treats are then shared with the class and then we take turns sharing things
we think are special about the honoree as we are eating the treat. This
ceremony is often performed at 2:30. However, in cases where more than one
birthday is being celebrated or by request, if a parent would like to be
present at a different time, we can change the time of the ceremony
accordingly. Pictures are kept in the classroom for the duration of the
month of their birth so that all can have a chance to look at the pictures
and reflect on the years that have passed. Mounting the pictures on a poster
board works nicely.
Ingredients:
Magazines
Books
School texts
Mail (letters)
Comic pages
Instructions:
Reading aloud seems like such a simple task, but for a child with reading
problems it can be difficult and frustrating. If you make reading aloud a
normal part of the day, your child will become accustomed to reading.
Begin with a book or other reading material in which your child has a high
interest. A letter from a relative or friend might be a good choice, or
start with your child's favorite comic strip. Have your child read the
material aloud for a certain amount of time each day. At the end of the
paragraph, go back and review difficult words and have her read it again.
Continue this until the time is up. Praise your child for her efforts.
This activity is from 50 Fun Ways to Improve Reading, which was created as
part of the Bridges to Reading kit, developed by the Schwab Foundation for
Learning. Reprinted with permission from the Schwab Foundation for Learning