SENSORIAL ESSAY
The child is introduced to the Sensorial area of the Montessori classroom after he has worked in practical life, become familiar with classroom rules and correct handling of materials, and is used to the idea of a full cycle of activity. While the sensorial exercises no longer involve familiar objects, they are working with skills the child uses every day- his senses.
The child’s senses are his link with the world around him and his only means of exploring his environment. The formative years, from birth to six, are a time of great sensory exploration for the child. Since birth, the child has been absorbing impressions from his senses. Now, through the Sensorial materials, the child is given the tools needed to sharpen and refine his senses, as well as to understand, order, name and classify the various sensations he receives. The child passes through a sensitive period for the refinement of the senses between the ages of 2 ½ and 6 years old. The Sensorial area assists the child to educate his senses. While much of this type of education occurs naturally in the child’s life, the didactic materials in the Sensorial area help to isolate and further refine specific sensory impressions in an ordered and methodical way
‘No one can be free unless he is independent. Therefore, the first active manifestations of the child’s individual liberty must be so guided that through this activity he may arrive at independence.’
Dr Maria Montessori
Once the child is introduced to the sensorial activities in the classroom, he starts working with the material, which grabs his attention and develops a sense of judgment and comparison, as to how to use the material. When he further repeats the
Bibliography: : Course manual Jmjpublishing.com/infosensorial.html Creative development of child