Montessori and Waldorf : Offering a canvas of opportunities for children
With more parents becoming aware of the need to provide holistic education to their children from a young age focusing on their artistic, intellectual and practical skills, the Montessori and Waldorf education systems have turned out to be extremely popular across the world in the last century.
Both Montessori and Waldorf models challenge the conventional and structured kindergarten model which has been adopted by schools since time immemorial. Rather than focusing on quantitative and standardised testing of students, the Montessori and Waldorf models prefer focusing on the individual child, allowing them a green pasture of resources to cultivate their imagination and creativity. The models acknowledge the agency of a child, emphasising greatly on their independence and in the belief that a child is naturally eager to learn and develop their interests through their interactions with the environment. Both systems give great emphasis on music, art and craft, visual arts and nature as subjects for the children to interact with.
The Montessori System of Education was developed by Italian Physician and Educator Maria Montessori in 1907 with the belief that psychological self-construction in children and growing adults occur through their interaction with the environment. A Montessori school has a mixed age classroom where children aged from two and a half years to six years are given a space to interact, learn and grow together. The pupil is given a discovery model where they learn activity through environmentally aesthetic materials without any direct instruction from the teacher. Unlike the Kindergarten model where the focus is on the teacher whose role is pre-defined for all students in a classroom, teachers in Montessori Schools play the role of a guide for the pupil, adapting themselves to the child’s interests and characteristics, allowing them to cultivate their imagination. A child is allowed to pick up their interests from their surroundings, and learn the skill at their own pace. The Montessori Schools have toddler programs (1-2 ½ years), pre-school (2 ½ - 6 years) and elementary school (6-9 years and 9-12 years).
The Waldorf system of Education was developed by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in 1919 with the intent to provide holistic education to a child including its mental, spiritual and physical growth rather than a set academic curriculum. Steiner in his book ‘Human Values in Education’ had said, “Where is the book in which the teacher can read about what teaching is? The children themselves are this book. We should not learn to teach out of any book other than the one lying open before us and consisting of the children themselves.”
The Waldorf System has defined the learning period of a child in three stages of early childhood, elementary education and secondary education with each lasting for seven years. It lays great emphasis on art and craft, music, dance, poetry, team building and practical skills. The overall message which the Waldorf Schools want to imbibe in the children is that the “world is good.”
A classroom in Waldorf Pre-school resembles a home where children are given environmentally aesthetic materials made out of wood in order for them to cultivate their creativity and align themselves with nature. Kids are encouraged for daily activities of singing, dance, theatre, paintwork and story telling/poetry sessions along with outdoor activities.
The Waldorf Elementary Schools allow children to develop their emotional intelligence and creativity where the curriculum is taught through visual arts, drama and story-telling. The school intends to offer the child a role model which they are naturally inclined to follow after which the teacher becomes their guide to further nurture their talent.
Tinos is appreciative of both schools of thought and approaches and hence, our collection consists of a good mix of both Montessori and Waldorf style toys.
