The moment has come when The Unique Generation represents a synthesis of the research actions of our small but valuable hands.
Piše : Emina Šaković
One of the areas of the Montessori curriculum is the culture and science within which botany, zoology, geography, history and scientific experiments are studied.
In order to simplify the whole philosophy and bring the Montessori method closer, I decided to share with you what each of these workshops within the Unique Generation represents for children, what skills it develops, and how it is adapted for all children who have universal characteristics in growing up and childhood, noticeable regardless of where the children were born or where they were raised.
Preschool children express a natural curiosity to learn and discover the world. They observe their surroundings with admiration and amazement, and constantly absorb the same environment with sensory impressions. The role of adults is to present the world in such a way that they can understand it and learn about it through experience.
One preschool child explores the world as a true researcher eager for knowledge. Science is magic to a child, and it represents the discovery of the unknown.
- A child experiences pleasure and joy when he suddenly understands something he did not know just a moment before that.
For the past eight years, from my first maternal instinct, professional commitment and desire for new insights that can benefit the community in a narrower and wider sense, have tied me to children, with a focus on the ages of 0 to 6. All this time in front of me is a clearly defined goal, which is how to prepare a child for life through play, to stimulate, strengthen and encourage every child on his natural path of cognition.
On the other hand, the challenge that arose and found itself on the way to this goal was “how to adapt science to preschool age?”, how to awaken the little trackers in every child. Even today, I find new ways to present all the beauty of knowledge and new discoveries in small heads. Ultimately the message is clear at the age when they are exploring the world for the first time, and knowing how everything in the world is connected.
First of all, it is my responsibility to help children explore the biological aspects of the environment in which they reside. A very important accent of Dr. Maria Montessori attached the very environment in which the children reside. One such stimulating and adequately prepared Montessori environment that represents their microcosm is located in the Montessori Education Center Unique Generation – Jedinstvena Generacija Sarajevo.
Simple experiences can be the most significant and fascinating. What’s important is for children to see how things are happening, and to participate.
Any activity that stimulates the child to manipulate the hands or to move his body in any way is significant for the development of the brain, as well as for the development of the necessary life skills such as fine and large motor skills, manipulation of small objects, and all other periods of special sensitivity that children go through.
So I decided to do a simple experiment in the field of botany in order to understand the process of photosynthesis in a simple way.
The primary role of adults when presenting botany to children is to help them enrich, develop and understand the world in which they live.
The secondary role is to help children understand the importance of balance in nature.
HOW DO PLANTS PRODUCE FOOD?
Plants can not eat, so they have to produce their own food.
Plants are the only components on earth that use the sun’s energy to produce their own food.
First we planted the seeds of the plant, watered and nurtured it, and watched it grow, put it in a bright place where the sun reaches so that children can understand what a living being needs in order to grow and live.
The children concluded that all living things need sun, water, air and food to have energy for growth and development, and that living things can get food in different ways.
Then we decided to “tattoo” the plant!
We have prepared:
- Scissors
- Cardboard
- Paper clips
- A young plant that we take care of every day
We did the following:
- First we cleaned the leaves of the plant using cotton wool pads and spray water
Some cut out the first letter of their name, and some animals and geometric shapes. It represented a tattoo for the plant.
Then we hooked our tattoo with a stapler to the upper surface of the leaf of our plant.
We put the plant in a sunny place and waterit it twice a week.
- After seven days, we took off our red tattoos.
What do you think our pages look like now?
What’s going on?
We can’t wait to get the tattoos off the sheets!
The leaves of the plant are like small factories. They produce food using light, water, a gas called carbon dioxide, and chlorophyll – a chemical that gives the leaf a green color. This process is called photosynthesis.
So when we cover part of the leaf with a “tattoo” the light can not reach the leaf, so the food stops being produced in that part of the leaf.
What do you think will happen if you cover the entire leaf?
This experiment was carried out in multiple cycles. In the first cycle, we tattooed with red tattoos . We added yellow tattoos this week and we are watching these tattoos for the next seven days, watering and taking care of them, and after seven days we will pick up and peek again what kind of tattoo the leaf got.
Plant a plant, nurture it together with your child, prepare tattoos and enjoy the natural process together with your child
Jedinstvena Generacija Sarajevo – Unique Generation Sarajevo
Post Writen by Emina Šaković – Pshychologist and Montessori Teacher
Photos by Jasmin Šaković – Bulb Art Studio
